Chats Should Be Good - Phil Hester

This Monday, Phil Hester is going to have a chat at Comic Book Resources at 5pm Pacific and 8pm Eastern!

Hester is a really (in my opinion) artist on titles like Nightwing and Green Arrow (and soon to be a talented artist on some Marvel project), and he is also a good writer on projects like The Coffin, The Atheist, Deep Sleeper and Firebreather.

He is a very talented comics person, so it is cool to have him in chat. Try to stop by Monday at 5pm! Click here if you have not registered at CBR (which is all you need to do to get to chat).

New 20 Questions

New 20 Questions For You All up at the Great Curve here. 20 Questions is fun!

What I bought - 23 November 2005

I may be burned out. I bought 14 comic books yesterday. FOURTEEN! Holy crap, that's a lot. Not one of them published by anyone outside the Big Four, either. And you know what? None really made me stop and think, "That was excellent." There were some very good issues, some issues that were okay, and some that were the last issues of a title I'm going to buy. Am I burned out? I don't want to be, but it's getting to the end of the year, which is when I reassess which titles I buy. Some will not make the cut.

Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her ... #3 by Richard K. Morgan, Sean Phillips, and Bill Sienkiewicz
$2.99, Marvel
 
 
This is kind of a treading water issue. Blech, I hate treading water issues. Don't get me wrong - we get quite a bit of information that will presumably be important about Augusto Pinochet, and any comic book that delves in 30-year-old Chilean history can't be that bad, can it? However, Natasha gets into a completely superfluous pissing match with Matt Murdock, and it goes on and on. It might turn out to be germane to the plot, but it feels superfluous, and that's what annoys me. I know that Natasha herself wears a costume, and Daredevil is much more of a crime comic than a superhero book, but his presence in what is basically a spy thriller bugs me. I want to read a Black Widow book that doesn't reference Daredevil in any way! It's been done before. Why can't it be done now? Nick Fury gets beaten up. Ha ha. That's what we like to see!

Catwoman #49 by Will Pfeifer and Pete Woods
$2.50, DC
 
 
I want to like this. The art remains beautiful, and I like Pfeifer's characterization of Selina, and the interaction between the characters feels right. But the story, oh the story. Last month Selina died. Well, okay, she didn't, and now she's out for revenge against Hugo Strange and the rest of the cabal that killed her! Run for the hills! The problem with this conclusion is that Pfeifer spent so much time setting up the whole "bad guys taking over the East End" thing and Selina puts the kibosh on it so easily. Why did it take her so long? And why did she need to fake her death? As Hugo Strange himself puts it, he's died so many times that it just doesn't scare him anymore. Go, Hugo! It's just a disappointing payoff. Zatanna shows up at the end for next issue's "Everything you know about Selina is wrong!" revelation, and I'll buy it because of the good stuff I mentioned before I started bashing the book, but it's on notice. ON NOTICE!

Oh, and I hate the skull Black Mask. HATE HIM! I miss the guy with the burned face. Now there was a gangster you could respect.

Daredevil #79 by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev
$2.99, Marvel
 
 
Well. Bendis is close to finishing, and it's just okay. It's a big fight issue with Elektra and Murdock beating on and getting beaten on by Bullseye. Hey, remember when Bullseye had a cool costume? I'm glad they got rid of that stupid-looking thing and etched a target in his forehead. So much better. Anyway, the end of the issue is what's important, when Fisk drops a bombshell. It's kind of a stupid bombshell, and it doesn't have the impact that Bendis is obviously hoping for. It might work out, but I don't have high hopes. The big problem I've had with this storyline is that it simply rehashes things that have been done more than once by other writers, and it makes very little sense if you think too much about it. Disappointing. Pull it together, Bendis! Please! Don't ruin a great run on the title!

Paladin has a cameo. How awesome is that???? Freakin' Paladin.

Down #1 by Warren Ellis, Tony Harris, Ray Snyder and Dexter Vines
$2.99, Image/Top Cow
 
 
I'm worried about Warren. Someone should force him to write a book without the same protagonist. I'm tired of them. Please, Warren - write a book about an accountant who's afraid of his wife! Or an ad executive who faints at the sight of blood! Something different, please! You're a good writer ... aren't you? Aren't you????

Oh, the book? Tough chick cop, kills drug dealers because they're about to rape someone, gets suspended, is forced to go undercover because she'll get fired if she doesn't, kills rapists because she was raped herself ... I don't want to write blah, blah, blah, but what the hell - blah, blah, blah. Add to it the somewhat rushed but still pretty Tony Harris art (with people with tattoos - who'da thunk it?) but only for one issue (Cully Hamner takes over next issue, which isn't that bad a thing) and you have a book that is just blah. As you know, I have pre-ordered issue #3, but I will have to think about picking it up when it comes out. On the inside cover it says Part 1 of 4. I like to give books a few issues to win me over. I don't know if this is a mini-series or an ongoing, but I might - might - give it four issues. Sigh. Ellis is better than this, isn't he?

Ex Machina #16 by Brian K. Vaughan, Tony Harris, and Tom Feister
$2.99, DC/Wildstorm
 
 
Hmmm. Even one of my favorite titles is treading water this month. It's supposed to be the second part of a two-part story, so things wrap up, but it's kind of blah. It would be okay if, maybe, it's the second of THREE parts, but as a conclusion, it's dull. We learn about Mitch's father, and he acts all badass with some local yahoos, and then it ends. Mitch's mother comes to New York to live with him, so that's a development, but that's about it. Better Harris art than in Down. Still a good book, but this issue was a bit lackluster.

Girls #7 by Jonathan and Joshua Luna
$2.99, Image
 
 
Well, I thought this was a mini-series, and I was willing to stick it out. It's not a mini-series, it's an ongoing, and that means I am leaving it behind. Goodbye, Girls. You are not good. I just don't care about any of these characters. Not even the naked ones. How sad is that when I don't care about naked women? Bad news.

Gødland #5 by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli
$2.99, Image
 
 
I'm sorry to say, but if everything about this comic was exactly the same and it said "Morrison" on the front, people would be writing paeans to what's going on in their pants like Paul did. Admit it!!!! Each issue adds a bit more to the tapestry that Casey and Scioli are creating, and we get a little more insight into the characters even as we're getting beautiful full-page spreads like when Adam, Neela, and Crashman tear into the torture-bots. Go, heroes! There's a new mystery, the one of Iboga, and there's some nice internal stuff with Adam. When he first appeared, we thought he was just a standard hero, but he's envious of Crashman and doesn't listen to his sister and gets grumpy when things don't go his way. This is such a gorgeous book, and it's a lot of fun. And it's not even written by The God Of All Comics!

Jack Cross #4 by Ellis and Gary Erskine
$2.50, DC
 
 
See, the nice thing about this is that it's a four-issue arc, and now it's over. Goodbye, Jack Cross, whenever you return. This is why I'm worried about Warren. This is totally paint-by-numbers comics. Death and dying, evil government agents, ranting about freedom and how the Patriot Act is a bad thing - listen, I liked it in Transmetropolitan because it was a better story and Spider was more interesting than Jack, but here it's just a Warren screed. Blech. Speaking of freedom, is there a better feeling than the freedom you have when you drop a book? Aaaaahhhhhhh.

Perhapanauts #1 by Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau
$2.99, Dark Horse
 
 
I was on the fence about buying this, but then Eliot Johnson ordered us all to buy it, so I decided to pick it up. I'm glad I did. This is a really good book. The concept isn't all that unique - a group of weird people investigating all the weird things in the universe - but it's how it's executed that does it all, right? We are introduced to BEDLAM - The Bureau of Extra-Dimensional Liabilities and Management - and a team of Perhapanauts: Arisa the psychic, MG, Molly the ghost, Big (as in "Bigfoot"), and El Chupacabras ("Choopie") the mythical Latin American goat-sucker. They go out and investigate a monster that has suddenly appeared in Massachusetts. They fight the monster. Then things start to happen.

Because I'm not a scumbag, I'm certainly not going to ruin the ending, which is pretty neat. It's the kind of twist that makes you want to read more, not leave you sitting there thinking, "How stupid!" It's very interesting. I will buy the next issue to see where it goes. It's a good comic. If you're not going to buy the monthlies, get the trade. It's cool. It's actually better in this format, because now we all have to sit on pins and needles until next month!

Seven Soldiers: Zatanna #4 by Grant Morrison, Ryan Sook, and Mick Gray
$2.99, DC
Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1 by Morrison and Doug Mahnke
$2.99, DC
 
 
 
 
So I didn't read them, but goddamn! they look cool.

She-Hulk #2 by Dan Slott, Juan Bobillo, and Marcelo Sosa
$2.99, Marvel
 
 
This issue perfectly sums up why I don't like time travel stories: they make my head hurt. I will not think too much about the time travel plot. You can't make me!

That's all window dressing, anyway. The two important plot points are how Jen deals with Hawkeye and whether she should warn him about his impending death. This is a tough moral choice, and Jen has a great deal to think about. It's very funny how, when Hawkeye goes out on patrol, all the people he encounters sputter about how he's dead, but he misunderstands him. The other point, and by far the more interesting, is Jen's increasing split personality. This is different from Bruce Banner's, because Jen is aware of her two sides and does not feel they are necessarily in conflict with each other. She knows she has issues with the two sides, but doesn't see it as that big a deal. It's something that I hope gets explored, especially because Jen likes being She-Hulk more and, it seems, everyone else likes Jen better. Very neat. And the art continues to be excellent.

Why, oh why is Marvel publishing these with Greg Horn covers? They are completely incongruous with the interiors.

Ultimate X-Men #65 by Brian K. Vaughan, Stuart Immonen, and Wade von Grawbadger
$2.50, Marvel
 
 
Whenever I mention I buy this, someone picks on me. That's okay - I can take it! I don't care, either, because although I own every issue, with Vaughan as writer this has become a wonderful straight-forward superhero title. Vaughan is channeling Claremont (the good one) in that he introduces plots and wraps things up but remembers them and shows how they tie together later on. Witness Longshot's appearance here. It's somewhat obvious where the issue is going, but it's still a cool twist at the end. This is Vaughan's last issue, and although he has told complete stories, he still leaves things there for the new writer (Robert Kirkman) to play with. This is an excellent comic book. Let us hope it continues that way.

Waterloo Sunset #4 by Andrew Stephenson and Trevor Goring
$6.99, Image
 
 
The mini-series wraps up with this issue, and it's been a long time since #1 came out, and I'm just exhausted by it. I like it, and it's gorgeous to look at, and when I sit down and re-read it all at once I'll like it more, but it has some problems. The biggest one is that Stephenson knows so much about this world (it takes place in 2051) that he forgets that we don't know as much as he does. The people say cryptic things that sound meaningful, but are so oblique that we're not sure what's going on. We can follow the story well enough, but I always got the sense that I was missing a lot. It is a fascinating science fiction book, and has a lot to recommend it, but it's a bit tough to get through. Sit down with the trade (if it gets collected) and take your time.

Phew. That's a crapload of comics. At least I can drop some titles!

I hope everyone had a groovy Thanksgiving!

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Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #26!

This is the twenty-sixth in a series of examinations of comic book urban legends and whether they are true or false. Click here for an archive of the previous twenty-five.

Let's begin!

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: US Postal Laws made for some interesting comic title transitions.

STATUS: True

My pal MacQuarrie reminded me of this fact recently (it is funny the stuff you have in your brain that you forgot you knew!) in his post here.

You see, postal service laws require (or at least they did require at the time) that, whenever a publication begins a new volume, that is reapply for a new postal code for subscriptions, and, naturally, pay a new fee.

Magazines generally could afford such a fee, so they were fine with starting a new volume each year.

Comic companies, however, did NOT like to pay this fee, so they would not start a new volume, but rather simply change the title of the book to the new feature (as a "#1 issue" did not have the same panache back then) when the book changed features.

The most infamous example of this frugality HAS to be EC Comics and their Moon Girl character.

Moon Girl began in the late 40s as a new superheroine.



But this was when the superhero fad was drawing to a close, so EC quickly picked up on the new CRIME comic angle, and changed the name of the book to Moon Girl Fights Crime.



Two issues later, they decided to make the move to ROMANCE comics, and the best name change ever occured, as Moon Girl Fights Crime became.... A Moon, A Girl...Romance.



COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Hank Pym appeared in comics BEFORE the Fantastic Four!

STATUS: False

Plenty of current Marvel characters existed BEFORE the Fantastic Four made their debut in 1961. Patsy Walker, Fin Fang Four, Captain America, Namor, etc.

However, Hank Pym made his debut a few months AFTER the Fantastic Four, but not as a superhero, but rather as a scientist who devised a way to shrink himself. This adventure later inspired Marvel POST-Fantastic Four to make Pym into a superhero (I guess they figured out that superheroes were selling, sorta like EC and romance comics!).

Reader, thekamisama, though, recalled reading a reprint of a Marvel horror comic that ALSO featured a scientist named Pym!

Was this the same guy?

Luckily, another reader, Hoosier X, solved this dilemma, where he fills us in that the reprint comic Tomb of Darkness #22 DID, in fact, reprint a story from Strange Tales #75 featuring the scientist thekamisama remembers, AND the scientist's name WAS Pym!



So it sounds good, no?

But as Hoosier X notes, this was an EDIT. The character's name was changed TO Pym, whcih was NOT the character's name in the original!

Tricky, Marvel, tricky!

Thanks, Hoosier X!

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: The DC character Triumph was gay.

STATUS: True

On his website, Christopher Priest discusses the hero, Triumph, and his frustration at Triumph's treatment at DC Comics.



He also drops an interesting bombshell that, once mentioned, really DOES make sense...Triumph was gay.

According to Priest, "Triumph was gay, something probably only Brian and I knew since we didn't have an appropriate storyline to deal sensitively with that issue, but that was my subtext for his emotional center: how out of place and out of sync Triumph was with the DC Universe."

Interesting, eh?

And if you re-read the issues, it DOES fit!

Okay, folks, that's it for this week! Thanks for stopping by!

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Current Comic Conversation for 11/23

The shtick here is that I and a friend (or friends) look at the shipping list for this comic week and riff, using the books that are coming out for inspiration for the discussion. I will usually be mixing up who I talk with each week, but Stony cried so much that I took pity on him and let him do two weeks in a row. But next week will be someone new, I promsie! Not that Stony isn't a fine guy to talk to about comics, of course (S=Stony, B=Brian).

Let's begin!

DEC040034 BMW FILMS THE HIRE #4 (OF 6)$2.99

S: I got the first copy of this... because I quite liked those little movies they did but.... I dunno... it's just not enough

S: Now if they did a series with Jason Statham's Transporter! Then I'd be all over those like white on rice

B: Only if Greg Horn did the covers.

B: And they had Statham straddling a fence in cutoffs.

SEP050025 PERHAPANAUTS #1 (OF 4)$2.99

S: Nice title... I'll give them that... the cover art I've seen... it's not Mike Mignola, is it?

S: I have a theory... you know that guy matt Smith? Mignola lookalike?

B: Yes?

B: What about him?

S: My theory is... Matt Smith *is* Mike Mignnola... just when Mignola wants to do work for pure money but doesn't want to sully his name by doing anything his Name is less than worthy of? He changes it to Matt Smith

B: That is a fine theory.

B: Except their art is not THAT much alike.

S: Really? i remember Smith's fill-ins on the STARMAN Times Past Stories... I thought to myself 'That's RIGHT!" It's Mignola!

B: http://www.matt-illustration.com/images/explorer-02.jpg)http://www.matt-illustration.com/images/explorer-02.jpg

B: http://www.matt-illustration.com/images/minibosses-NES-final.gif)http://www.matt-illustration.com/images/minibosses-NES-final.gif

B: http://www.matt-illustration.com/images/miniboss-02.jpg)http://www.matt-illustration.com/images/miniboss-02.jpg

B: Oh yeah, totally Mignola.

B: What was I thinking.

B: That is an absolute TOTAL Mignola likeness.

B: Oh?

B: What's that?

B: That doesn't look like Mignola at all?

B: Well, what do you know!

S: Bah!

S: You think Mignola can't cover his tracks?

S: You think he's not that good an artist?

B: Heck, I will be honest with you

B: That might not even be the same Matt Smith who draws comic books.

SEP050290 AUTHORITY THE MAGNIFICIENT KEVIN #4 (OF 5) (MR)$2.99

S: I see Ennis is following Ellis's example by writing in a bubble...

B: What's that?

S: By a bubble i mean writing totally in auniverse by himself where he uses existing characters with no regard to the continuity of whence those creations came... Like Ellis's Gah-Lak-Tus story

B: Or how he just made up a new characterization for Hawkeye?

B: I thought that that was weird (in Ultimate Secret, that is).

B: By the by - Nextwave? It is going to RULE.

AUG050264 EX MACHINA #16 (MR)$2.99

S: I love the concept of this title... Alas, it just isn't arresting me as it should... It isn't riveting enough... Now, when priest wrote Black Panther... that I thought was the perfect mixture of politics and superheroics, but Ex Machina... I dunno... what do you think?

B: I think Ex Machina is good, solid stories.

B: But yeah, it isn't knocking it out of the park, either.

B: A lot of solid singles, though.

S: Then why am i on the verge of dropping this?

B: Because you expect more.

B: Hell, you want to drop FABLES!

B: Which is a good deal better than Ex Machina.

S: Well i read the recent issue, and I *loved* the set up for the Djinns... a lovely set-up... and then bloody Willinghanm destroys it by making Yusuf little more than a cardboard cut-out villain

B: Bah

B: Yusef was no more than a means to an end.

B: It is like complaining about the DMZ lead being bland.

B: He's there just to move the plot along.

B: There is so much characterization going on in Fables, it doesn't NEED another character.

S: Well, he was on to something there... Yusuf had legitimate concerns! And he throws it all away by making totally self-serving wishes!

B: LET him be the straightforward villain.

S: You and your supervillain shtick...

S: I do love Prince Charming...

B: In addition, how cool is it to show how King Cole was a great politician?

S: That was rather nice...

B: And you want to drop it

B: So hell, what hope does Ex Machina have?>

B: Which only has about half a story a month!

B: The one half is told very well, though.

B: With nice art.

SEP050245 I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT THE JUSTICE LEAGUE TP$12.99

S: I wonder what they'll call the next series... "I was part of the Justice League and all I got was this T-Shirt"?

B: No

B: "I was a part of the Justice League and all I got was shot in the head"

S: Talk about a burn

S: Isn't Morry bringing Beetle back somehow?

B: I dunno.

B: There are "rumors" going around that Booster will be the new Beetle.

B: Which I can't see happening.

B: As that makes absolutely NO sense.

B: Whatsoever.

SEP050235 FLASH #228$2.50

S: Wasn't Darwyn Cooke having a shot at Flash around this time...?

B: Yeah, but they decided against that.

B: It would make Johns' run look too bad.

B: That is the official reason.

B: But don't ask anyone at DC.

B: They'll deny it.

S: Well that sucks... I saw the episode he did on JLU.... He did Suicide Squad... trademark femme fatale and all

B: And was it great?

B: I bet it was.

SEP050247 JACK CROSS #4$2.50

S: I love this title... however... I heard from an unrealiable source that there haven't been any more solicitations after #4...

B: It is taking a break after #4.

B: I think it is here to stay.

S: Well I hope so... I know Warry wrote these a while back

S: I like that we liberals have our own kick-ass role-model

SEP050313LOVELESS #2 (MR)$2.99

S: The first issue of this didn't really inspire me to continue with this... nor did Jonah Hex...

B: Agreed.

S: Brian Azzarello... his 100 Bullets, if I may take a tangent here...

B: Go right ahead.

S: I read the first few trades of this, enjoyed them, but I thought to myself that this series *needs* to be set in l;ike, a South American city... forget all that CIA and US Govt rubbish, just set the whole thing within one city, make it more focused, where the local Govt is involved in corruption and is running the city like it's own empire... I think that would make for a more focused, tighter setting

S: And when I told this theory to a Mexican friend of mine he told me a revelation that I had not seen.... "The yanks wouldn't buy it because it's not set in America"... and he was right!

SEP050312 LUCIFER #68 (MR)$2.75

S: You know what I miss? The Devil. The goold old DE-E-VE-I-UM-EL... Horns, goattee, pitchfork, forked tale... Not one of those bloody Byrnoic, brooding, anti-heroic moaners who whine and complain about their fate... I want a Devil that revels in the evil and mischief he indulges in

SEP050260 SEVEN SOLDIERS FRANKENSTEIN #1 (OF 4)$2.99

S: I think i would like to see Morry doing Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman...

SEP050317 Y THE LAST MAN VOL 6 GIRL ON GIRL TP (MR)$12.99

S: Nice title...

SEP051737 DOWN #1 (OF 4)$2.99

S: I wonder if Tony Harris will draw his women to be... as well-endowed in this as he does in Ex machina?

B: I think he will draw whoever he happens to have a picture of.

S: I like how he's evolved

JUL051656 INVINCIBLE #27$2.99

S: I still say blue and yellow is a *horrible* colour scheme

B: Why?

S: It just is.... hideous

SEP051915 BLACK WIDOW 2 #3 (OF 6)$2.99

S: With all the mini-series she's had... You think she could hold an ongoing yet?

B: I think he would grow bored if he did an ongoing.

SEP051953 MARVEL 1602 NEW WORLD #5 (OF 5)$3.50

S: Marvel's more strict on their canon than DC aren't they?

B: I don't think so.

S: But still... if they're going to do more stories like this... they really should consider a better name that "What If?"

SEP051934 NICK FURYS HOWLING COMMANDOS #1 DIRECTORS CUT$3.99

S: Could this really be much of an improvement? What, did they get someone else to do the art?

B: Can you imagine that?

B: What possessed them?

B: I mean, who could have thought this was a necessary product?

B: Who?

B: A Director's Cut for HOWLING COMMANDOS?!?!

SEP051920 PUNISHER VS BULLSEYE #1 (OF 5)$2.99

S: Is this the new trend of non-Ennis Punisher? What next? Punisher vs. Doop?

B: It is an attempt to recapture the excitement of the Way/Dillon Bullseye mini-series, which was excellent.

S: Oh aye? I didn't know that... I know they do Nighthawk, which I'm quite enjoying

SEP051987 WOLVERINE ENEMY OF THE STATE VOL 2 PREMIERE HC$21.99

S: Premiere....?

S: fancy name for a 1st edition...

B: They should do a red carpet event.

B: I wonder who Wolverine would take to the premiere.

S: Elektra?

SEP052847ALEX RAYMONDS FLASH GORDON VOL 5 HC$19.95

S: Flash! Aaaahhhh! He's save every last one of us!

SEP052753 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #138$3.59

S: Well that's just wrong... it should be Veronica and Betty

B: Except.

B: Of course.

B: That Betty is the star.

S: bah! The thing about Betty is... cute blond girl-nest-door who has a crush on you... How is that not every man's fantasy? Now see Veronica.... she's the real thing

B: She is not a fantasy.

B: She is a well-developed character.

B: Unlike Veronica.

B: The whore.

OCT052975GOOD APOLLO IM BURNING STAR IV VOL 1 GN (MR)$19.99

S: Some of these things have really strange titles...

SEP052730OZ THE MANGA #6 (OF 8)$2.99

S: I once saw a Zorro manga series... a travesty it was... for one thing, "Zorro" was a blonde-haired, blue-eyed kid...

B: As well he should be.

SEP052953 UNCLE SCROOGE #348
SEP052954 WALT DISNEYS COMICS & STORIES #663$6.95$6.95

S: That's it!! Stony's broke for the week... WDC&S features a "Three Caballeros" story by Don Rosa!!!

Okay, folks, that's it! Feel free to chime in with YOUR thoughts about the comics coming out this week, or just riff on what Stony and I talked about!

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Comic Quotes Should Be Good for the week of 11/16

On the side of this blog are a lot of fine blogs where folks talk about comic books. Each week I pick out ten cool quotes about comics from those blogs during the past comic week. I cannot promise that my picks will be thorough, or even the best quotes. They are just quotes that made me laugh or smile or say, "Good line." Please note that the folks who write on this here blog (Comics Should Be Good) are excluded, as it strikes me as a bit too self-serving to quote any of them here. But be assured that I think they are all quite good!

Let's begin!

I think Shawn Hoke is going to sell at least one copy of Benjamin Birdie's mini-comic Kevin Analog with this review,

Kevin Analog is a sixteen page black and white mini-comic from Benjamin Birdie. Analog is about a struggling caped crusader who uses the power of analog mix tapes to fight crime. It's weird though, because like us, Kevin lives in a digital world. In one scene, Kevin endures the teasing of his coworkers, and as he looks around for an analog device (presumably to use as weapon), he only sees digital.

Still, Kevin seems to be an effective crime fighter - that is when he isn’t being yelled at by his fiancé for using her mix tape in a street battle.

Chris Sims gives an interesting review of the holiday special from awhile back, Ant Man's Big Christmas,

I'll be straight with you: I don't like Ant-Man. Nobody does. And it's for the very good reason that Ant-Man fucking sucks.

Not as lame as you might think, relatively speaking.Aquaman gets a lot of flak from the mainstream crowd for being lame, since his one big power is that he can talk to fish, but really; if you can get a Great White Shark to do your bidding, that's badass. They are nature's perfect killing machines, and according to the Discovery Channel, well worth a week of television programming. Ant-Man, however, talks to ants, which are at best a minor annoyance. And he had to build a helmet to do it. A stupid-looking helmet. Apparently, it was a lot easier to get into the Avengers back in '63.

That said, I love this comic. I read it every Christmas.

It's written by Bob Gale, who also wrote the Back to the Future series, which ranks just after the Kid as the second-greatest movie trilogy of all time. Phil Winslade's pencils are great, illustrating Gale's story of a kid who wants the sweet taste of revenge against his holiday-ruining relatives. And considering that one of my first pro writing gigs was a column about the disastrous family events surrounding Christmas '97, it certainly appeals to me.

See, Larry Magruder's father made a promise to his dying mother that he would always have the family over for Christmas, despite the fact that they're all wretched, petty, and inconsiderate people. So instead of trying family therapy or appealing to Dr. Phil, Larry does the sensible thing and writes a letter to the Avengers. Defying all logic, he's an Ant-Man fan, and wants him and the Wasp to help out. A few shots of shrinking gas and a healthy dose of righteous punishment meted out to reatives later, evil is punished, Christmas is saved, and everything works out okay.

It makes me like Ant-Man, and that's a Christmas Miracle.

Paul Teel writes the greatest All Star Superman #1 review ever, as seen by this snippet,

Because I think each of us should post about All-Star Superman at least once a day for the rest of eternity, I thought I would tell you all about what it did to my wiener.

After reading All-Star Superman I popped such a violent stiffy that it socked me in the jaw and knocked me out cold for 13 hours. While I was unconscious, I dreamed I was the man that Clark Kent saved from the train.

When I awoke, I found that my engorgement had not subsided. And, in fact, I now had two black eyes from raucously thrusting my hips in excitement. It's been my misfortune that I've been unable to see enough to type until now. And now I notice that the bulbs on my ceiling fan have been shattered, leaving me only enough light from the windows and the computer monitor to barely make out gorgeous Frank Quitely artwork. I still cannot reread the words on the printed page, and this fills me with sorrow.

This, of course, is not a knock at the nice turns this week by other bloggers (including some on this blog), and hey, here is Graeme talking about it, too!

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #1: Yes, Lester got here first and wasn’t as impressed with this as I was. But still, there are far too many things that I loved about this book. The opening three pages, which condense the usual backstory into eight words in four panels on one page – because it’s Superman, for God’s sake, and everyone who’s interested in Superman already knows the basic set-up – before giving us a wordless double page spread of the character looking not angry or angst-ridden or weepy, but concerned and determined. The way that Grant Morrison seems determined to try and make the dialogue for each character not only seem in character, but also introduce the character (Lois’s “I always write the Superman headlines before they happen, Steve,” for example, or the difference between the way that Clark speaks and Superman speaks). Frank Quitely’s stunning artwork, with the layouts giving the book it’s own special pacing, and moments like Clark’s accident-prone entrance to Perry White’s office, or the off-panel accident that Clark saves the passer-by from at the end of the book. The “DC” rating for the book in the credits (“Pulse-pounding, rip-roaring action to be enjoyed by all”). The over-the-top new character, Leo Quintum (“Only nothing is impossible, Flora.”). A million miles away from what the regular Superman books are full of, this version of the character isn’t full of self-doubt or about to be mindcontrolled and sent to beat Batman up (and I think that this is being created as an alternative to the regular books, and as such is meant for people who don't read Superman right now, which is why I don’t have some of the same problems that Jeff does), the lack of moral ambiguity from anyone should probably make it feel like a much more childish book, but it’s all done with such abandon that it all just feels right. It’s very much what you’d expect from Morrison and Quitely: Optimistic, imaginative and human. I loved it, in case you can’t tell. Taken on its own terms, this was Excellent.

Kurt reviews a comic I have not praised enough, Silent Dragon (specifically the latest issue, #4),

Now mind you, this a very good series. Excellent almost. While there are moments when you wonder just who’s fighting who over what, the sense is that it will all tie up neatly - bloody, perhaps, but neatly. There’s a great deal of depth not only of plot but of characters and place. Diggle has created a new feudal Japan, populated with techno-warriors who speak of honor and loyalty and then slice their opponents to bits with cybernetic broad swords and polearms. To keep us on track Diggle provides the character of Suki as our stand in – as she learns, so do we. (And it’s good she has some redeeming quality as she’s wholly annoying beyond that.) It's an old trick, but much needed here.

The artwork in this book is marvelous. This series is my first extensive look at Yu’s work and it won’t be my last. (I’m tempted to pick up the SUPERMAN: BIRTHRIGHT trade just for his art alone.) He has a clear love for depicting large, mechanical objects yet they never overwhelm the frame and his covers are practically frameable.

H at the Comic Treadmill (who really needs to give me a name other than H, as I feel so dorky writing "H" each time) has a good summation of the problems with Ultimate Spider-Man, as he reviews the 8th TPB,

With this volume, Ultimate Spider-Man has settled into a readable albeit spark-free series, which is an improvement, because I was thoroughly dissatisfied with the first couple of years of the run. My three big complaints remain:

1) Ultimate Peter Parker is a thoroughly unexceptional character, although strides toward giving him an engaging personality are being made;

2) The derivative nature of the premise keeps this series in the shadows of the original Spider-Man – something that could be avoided if writer Brian Bendis concentrated on new characters and new plots instead of tweaked versions of the old thing; and

3) The excessive amount of scenes unnecessarily stretched out when the story flow would be better served by compression (see, e.g., the sequence introducing the Black Cat by showing her cavorting for 17 largely dialog-free and quickly tedious pages) isn't getting any easier to take.

Johanna has a nice write-up on the third Electric Girl collection. I like Electric Girl, and so, it seems, does Johanna,

Book three starts off with a set of stories focusing on Blammo. He wakes up the household (as dogs tend to do); he chases a cat sent by gremlins; he meets robot friends. That's followed by a longer Halloween story where a younger Virginia faces off against a witch, a short piece showing how Virginia's parents deal with her abilities, and a long adventure involving robots at a baseball game. The stories are about more than the basic premises, though; they're really about patience and cleverness and taking care of others and learning more about the world.

By using flashbacks to younger versions of Virginia, Brennan demonstrates how earlier events in her life have shaped the young woman she is in the present-day tales. Blammo and his nemesis, Robo-Blammo, often cause trouble for their owners, but that's part of the responsibility of pet ownership and what's involved in taking care of another living thing.

The volume also includes an early version of the characters in a different art style, some full-page pinups, and a page of Blammo sketches.

I dig Greta's Book Reviews, and here is a nice quick take by her on Sketchbook Party by Allison Cole,

Yet another cute Allison Cole book! Though there wasn't a plot, it was interesting reading about Allison Cole's feelings and thoughts in her sketchbook. It's a cute, quick read and if you're looking for something personal, then it's for you. I recommend this book to anybody who likes to butt into other peoples lives. Just kidding... but not really.

Here's a neat New Avengers review by Chris,

The New Avengers, inexplicably still fighting ninjas in Tokyo, spend this issue fighting more ninjas. Ninja ninja ninja. Then, in a mind-bogglingly stupid development, we see that Spider-Woman has been working for Madame Hydra for awhile because Mme. Hydra was the one that gave Jessica her powers back, or something. Apparently Hydra-Babe blackmails Jessica into taking her into custody with the promise of releasing her whenever she says so. Finally, the New Avengers show up at Ninja Theme Park HQ, where they are confronted by…sigh…Silver Samurai.

Whatever.

Whatever indeed, Chris. Whatever, indeed.

Ah, screw it, let's see one more All-Star Superman #1 review!

Kevin, if you would?

This Superman is a character with a complete history already in place. All-Star Superman #1 feels a lot like a Maggin / Swan story in that Jimmy has a rocket pack and a super-watch, Lois has an established reputation, and Lex Luthor has obviously already devoted quite a lot of time to mayhem and menace and that's just how things are. For me, this recalls the strange 70s Superman comics, where Silver Age bits rubbed uncomfortably against editorial direction, but this time around everything fits because Morrison and Quitely get to create everything from scratch, making a world where it's only completely logical that Jimmy straps a rocket to his back and flies to work while Superman visits scientists on the moon to talk about his strange new power and to find out what exactly happened to his body when he flew through the chromosphere of the Sun.

That's what I want in a goddamn Superman story - pop madness and wonder. Morrison's scripting takes his JLA style and strips it down even further while, remarkably, making the storytelling more accessible than ever, and Quitely actually tops his work on We3 thanks to the help of Jamie Grant's "digital inking." Lines are clean and the trademark "ugliness" (which I have always liked) is toned down a bit to make sure everything stays "on message."

Well, once again, thanks to all you folks out there for writing so much about comic books! And for the rest of you, be sure to click on the links on the sidebar! A lot of fun reading out there!

See you next week!

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Supergirl should be good

It's around about that time of the month where I'd do my regularly scheduled rant about what Jeph Loeb has done to Supergirl this time. But you know, I can't even be bothered. I mean, if Jephy has reached the barrel bottom scraping level of lazy writing where he's recycling material from Smallville, I don't see why I should be making any effort*.

People have asked why I even bother reading any Loeb stuff at all, and where other comics are concerned they might have a point, but with Supergirl it's personal. I was crushing on Supergirl before I knew what a crush was. We go way back. Supergirl and I have history, man.

So when some guy comes along and turns my gal pal into some vapid anorexic bimbo I'm not about to drop her because she's made some bad choices. It wouldn't be the first time she's been led astray, and I console myself with the knowledge that I've been hanging out with Supergirl a whole lot longer than Jephy has been writing anything, and she and I will still be around long after this brief misguided affair is over.

*Note: for those who are wondering how this issue fits in with Infinite Crisis continuity of Superman #223 two weeks ago where Kara tells Supes she's going off on an adventure with Troia, or Infinite Crisis #2 last week where she meets Troia for the first time, I can only point and laugh at your niavete.

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This Chat Was Good - Will Pfeifer

I used the same snippet to plug the chat on Comic Book Resources, but it is so perfect, I think I will use it here, too. If you missed out on the Will Pfeifer chat from awhile back, you missed the following (according to Will)topics: "a discussion of how to pronounce my name, Jerry Lewis, Jimmy Olsen, Black Lois Lane and Catwoman's breasts. No kidding." If that sounds like your cup of tea, click here to read the full chat!

No Way! A Pop Culture Wake-Up Call Update!

I slacked behind on the Pop Culture Wake-Up Calls, but last night, I caught up, in the person of FORTY-ONE quizzes that I added last night! So I am now up to date! Check them out here!

The following is a list of the comic book related ones that I added:

Masters of Evil rosters

What people traded their souls for in Underworld Unleashed

Titles of various Wolverine mini-series and one-shots

Former names of comic characters who changed their name

Mini-Comics Quiz (with a Shawn Hoke shout out)

What character ALSO debuted in the same issue as the listed characters

What was the "Special Enhancement" on the listed comic covers

Which Imperial Guard member matches which Legionnaire

Hope you have fun checking them out!

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Variations on a theme; or, why we buy comics

I made another trip to my local comic book store today, or, as I like to call it, Bizarro-World. I was there to drop off my Previews order for January. Why should you care? Well, as usual, strange things were afoot at Greg's Comics.¹ First, here's a peek at some of the books I pre-ordered:

The Atheist #4
Expatriate #6
Fell #5
Gødland #7
Down #3
Marlene #1
Action Figure #1
Tales Designed to Thrizzle #2
Cyclone Bill and the Tall Tales GN
Free Fall #3
Past Lies GN
The Surrogates #4
The Middleman Vol. 2 #1

Now, this is in addition to my DC and Marvel purchases: Ultimate Extinction (yes, I'm buying it because I'm a sucker); Ultimate X-Men (possibly); that new Ares mini-series I might buy (haven't made up my mind yet); Black Widow; Daredevil; Daughters of the Dragon (again, maybe); Nextwave; She-Hulk; X-Men; X-Factor (probably); Catwoman (more than likely); Seven Soldiers; Desolation Jones; Team Zero; Planetary; Fables; DMZ.

The point is not to bore you to tears with my reading list, but to give you an idea about what I will be buying. Yes, I buy a LOT of monthly books. I get a LOT of mainstream stuff as well as some less corporate stuff. So I stroll into the store, where the owner is hanging out with another regular. I mention that I missed pre-ordering Down #2 and I was hoping he could get it for me. It's a Warren Ellis Top Cow book, in case you're wondering, and it looks decent enough - the first issue isn't out yet, so who knows. Then I picked up Infinite Crisis #1 and flipped through it. I mentioned that I have no interest in it, and the owner said, and I quote, "You're not interested in the best thing DC has put out in years?" I said I doubted very much whether it was. They mocked me. I mentioned that I hadn't read it, so it might be good, but I couldn't believe that it was really that excellent - as Brian pointed out in his quote post last week, more than one person has pointed out that this is a comic about how shitty DC comics have been recently. Anyway, the other regular customer, mocking me, said it's better than a Warren Ellis Top Cow book that won't ship on time. I said that judging books on whether they ship on time is a poor criterion. I then said that I had no interest in spending money on all the various mini-series leading up to this mini-series just to read about Old Superman ranting about how comics suck. I also said I gave up on the whole thing because Identity Crisis sucked so bad. This was akin to, I don't know, saying I had sex with their mothers, because they mocked me some more. Arrrggghhh! It was time for me to go.

Those of you who have read my ranting before can see where this is going. I'm not going to bash anyone who reads Infinite Crisis. I haven't read it, so I can't really speak to its quality. I'm not even going to bash anyone who read Identity Crisis, even though I personally think it was one of the worst comic books published in the past decade. To each his own, right? I listen to Bon Jovi. Who the hell am I to talk?

But, as usual, I have thoughts. I wonder about why we buy comics and what we expect from them. I started buying comics in 1988, when I was 17, and originally, I bought superhero comics with familiar characters - Batman and Spider-Man. I liked Batman from my youth, and I used to watch Spider-Man on The Electric Company, for crying out loud!² I gradually branched out into other superheroes and the very occasional independent title, but for years, I was reading superhero stuff. Again, there's nothing wrong with that. As I got older and picked up, say, Sandman, then Shade, then Doom Patrol, then Preacher, The Spectre, and others (but still stuff from the Big Two), I began to see the possibilities of the medium. Comics are a wonderful art form, and that's why I love them. You can do things in comics you simply CANNOT do in other media. Can you imagine trying to do any of the long-form serials I listed above as movies? You can't. You can't do them as straight fiction, either - if you read the "novelizations" of some of the big comic book events, they don't hold up that well. Comics are perfectly suited for telling all kinds of stories, and that's why eventually I started buying other kinds of those comics. Why limit myself?

Here's what I don't understand about the people at my comic book store and those like them (the large section of the comic-buying public, I imagine): why do they ONLY read superhero books? What's the point? Despite my love and obvious purchasing of superhero books, aren't they adolescent fantasies? I mean, aren't they? Do these people read only Harry Potter books and when presented with other kinds of literature say no thanks and mock those who do buy them? Arrrggghhh!

The biggest problem I have with the Infinite Crisis thing is that I'm not quite sure what the point is. Does DC want to make comics more light-hearted? Is that the point? Maybe it is, because it seems that every character who comments on the events that are happening bemoan how horrible the world has become. Uh, DC? Here's a thought to address that: Don't publish a comic in which a defenseless pregnant woman is murdered after it was revealed she was raped years ago. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Is the point of this whole thing to completely redo the DC Universe? How? By making Batman even more paranoid than he used to be? By making Wonder Woman - who used to be an ambassador who would teach the world how to live in peace like the Amazons - a murderer? I don't mean to belittle the whole thing (well, not much), but I honestly wonder about these things. Is it really the best thing DC has published in years? I should have said, "Yeah, since 'Hush,' I guess," but I wasn't quick enough. Damned esprit d'escalier!

Anyone who reads my rants knows that I think superheroes are awesome. Guess what? Superheroes don't start and stop with Batman and Wolverine. Noble Causes is blowing anything by DC and Marvel out of the water right now, and that's straight-forward superhero goodness. I just got through the 18-issue hardcover of Runaways. Man, it's good. Sure, it goes off the rails a bit at the end, but for the most part, it's excellent. And guess what else? Superheroes are NOT everything we can do with comics. I know I've said that before, but it's astonishing how so many people are too busy debating whether or not Wolverine can clip his fingernails or if his healing factor prevents it to notice. Arrrggghhh!

I've said before that in a few months, I'm going to read all the mini-series dealing with the Crisis. I hope it's good. I really do, because I don't want any comics to suck. I refuse to pick on someone because they read only Marvel comics. I refuse to pick on someone who thinks the latest iteration of the Avengers is the best one yet because it had Spider-Woman in it and she's a HOTTIE! I just can't believe that those kinds of people think that comics readers who aren't necessarily buying only superhero books are somehow deficient. Isn't it all about trying to grow the MEDIUM, not just a sub-genre of it?

Sigh. I'll shut up now, at least for another couple of months. I'm sure something will set me off again. Why do you guys buy comics? Have you ever thought about it?

¹ No, I don't own the store. That would be awesome.
² Sing it with me: "Spider-Man, where are you coming from, Spider-Man? Nobody knows who you are!"

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This Cover Is GOOD - X-Men #181

Greg might not want to see this, and nor should anyone who does not want the Lorna Dane storyline in X-Men KINDA spoiled for them, but for those who do not mind, let me just say that the cover of X-Men #181 (the final version, courtesy of Lying in the Gutters, not the unfinished one that they showed in the solicitations until now) is AWESOME.



Isn't that so good?

What a clever way to address what Lorna saw in outer space.

See the Cover and be SPOILED!

I pimp because I can!

If you're ordering through Previews, here is a comic you might enjoy in the November issue (yes, I know it's well into November, but you can still order from it):

Action Figure: From the Journals of Richard Marzelak. It's on page 228. It's published by Baboon Books, on whose web site you can read more about it. It's 32 pages, in black and white and red, and it's $3.50. Richard Marcej, the creator of the series, sent me a little promotional kit, and it looks pretty good. I'm ordering it, and in case you skipped over it in Previews, I thought I'd give it a shout-out. Just so you know. It looks fun.

That is all.

Comic Book "That's RIGHT!!" Moments!

You know what I mean by "That's RIGHT!" moments, but in case you don't, I will elaborate. "You're RIGHT!" moments are those times when someone points something out that has been present in the comic for a long time, but it just did not OCCUR to you until someone actually pointed it out. For instance, the at least HINT of homoeroticism in the relationship between Batman and Robin - when someone points it out, you say, "That's RIGHT!" That is a "That's RIGHT!" moment. Recently, David Campbell came up with a really good one, in his bit on Saliva Strand Syndrome.

Which led me to think of other "That's RIGHT!" moments in comics that I can recall, and to also open it up to you folks to see if you can think of any, as well.

Here are some I thought of:

- When I first noticed the similarities in Warren Ellis' protagonists.

- When I first saw someone parody Bendis' dialogue.

- When someone pointed out to me that I probably enjoyed every project I've read by Grant Morrison.

- When someone pointed out that Greg Rucka's female heroines do not fair that well in comics.

- When someone first pointed out that Geoff Johns comics sorta read like history assignments.

- When I noticed that Mark Buckinham was trying to keep Chris Bachalo looking like their old work

- When I figured out who the new Swordsman was (and then, as soon as I did, thought, "Watch him change it just to make me feel stupid").

- When I first noticed that the Doom Patrol are pretty similar to the X-Men

- When someone offered up the possibility that Selina Kyle would become Batwoman.

- The first time I realized that Claremont repeated a lot of the same phrases in his comics.

That's about it for me now - what about YOU folk?

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Marvel's David Manning?

So I'm reading Newsarama, and for one reason or another, I click on this story about a Scarlet Spider variant cover that they're doing for one of the parts of "The Other" crossover (I think I might have wanted to see the Ultimate Wolverine/Hulk preview in the same article).

So I read the press release, and these points in the beginning really staggered me -

Critics have continued to praise Spider-Man: The Other. Koben Kelly of Newsarama.com says, “In all honesty, this was the most fun I've had with a Spidey book in years.”

In reference to the previous sellout of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #2, ComicFanatic.com says, “Not hard to see why this one sold out so quickly. Why? Because it’s that good.”

First off, I will admit, I am not familiar with Koben Kelly, so I guess he really is a columnist/staff guy at Newsarama, but from a quick search, all I see is a poster named Koben Kelly, so you folks would have to fill me in on whether he is on staff with Newsarama, or if they just quoted some random Newsarama quote. I cannot even find the quote that is cited, which is weird. Anyways, I am sure Kelly is a fine guy, but I DO find his position regarding the Other to be pretty silly (I mean, The Other as the most FUN you've had with a Spidey book in years? That is really sorta sad. I mean, even if you LIKE the Other...how is it the most FUN?!!? The story is INTENTIONALLY depressing!).

However, it is the SECOND quote, from "comicfanatic.com," that makes me think David Manning (the fake reviewer that Sony quoted in some movie ads). I clicked on comicfanatic.com, and there was NO site.

Sounds kinda fishy, huh?

Does anyone have information on this that they could share?

I'd gladly like to hear that this is NOT a David Manning, so please, if you know something, let me know.

On the other hand, if it IS a "David Manning," how weak is THAT?

EDITED TO ADD: Marvel just had the wrong web address. There IS a comic fanatic, and he DOES apparently really like The Other.

Which on the ONE hand, is great, as it means that there IS a reviewer, and it is not a "David Manning."

On the other hand?

That means there is some guy who thought that it was “Not hard to see why this one sold out so quickly. Why? Because it’s that good.”

Shudder.

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