Chats Should Be Good - Eric Powell

I think the Goon is a really great comic book. Eric Powell's stories generally have at least one or two laugh out loud moments an issue, and plenty of other really good jokes. At the same time, he manages to have a cool style of art. His recent covers for the Marvel Monsters Month were truly amazing. His Swamp Thing covers are so good that the story inside just doesn't deserve covers THAT good! So I am quite pleased to note that he will be chatting with fans this Tuesday, December 6th, at 5pm Pacific/8pm Eastern at Comic Book Resources.

You have have to register at CBR to chat, but, whatever, it's just a free registration. Click here to register.

Once you have registered, just click on "Comic Chat," then vbchat room change, and enter the room marked "Eric Powell Chat."

Hope to see you there!

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What I bought - 30 November 2005

Ah, the floppies. The anachronistic remnants of a bygone era. I'm such a sucker for nostalgia.

The Expatriate #4 by B. Clay Moore and Jason Latour
$2.99, Image


Moore does a nice job extending the story after last issue's shocking ending, and it will be interesting to keep up with this "Pop Noir Spy-Fi Chiller!" as the cover says. The story is derivative of The X-Files, but the fact that it's set in 1964 makes it more interesting and the fact that Moore is aiming for a much smaller audience means that this shouldn't lose focus like the television show did. There's a lot of scientific technobabble, but it doesn't distract from the story, and Jack Dexter sort of shows up at the end to re-enter the story, with some help from Russian sex bomb/doctor, Anna Novosi, who has plans for him. Big plans!!!!

This continues to be a nice little book. And although it's been a while since the last issue came out, at least it's showing up. How's that Hawaiian Dick mini-series coming along, Mr. Moore????

Fell #3 by That Cranky British Bastard and Ben Templesmith
$1.99, Image


This was a weaker issue of Fell because, well, it's not that good. How's that for trenchant insight? Actually, it's not bad, but I miss that chick who branded Richard (whatever her name is). She's cool. It's more interesting and better than Jack Cross or Down, because Ellis shows us again that he does understand human nature, and what makes people do what they do and why they might crack. Richard talks down a suicide bomber by using precisely what the suicide bomber thinks should make him commit suicide. I don't mind that every issue of Fell doesn't feature an actual "crime," because Ellis can write these kinds of things, but it feels a little more lazy this month. I'm torn, as you can see. It's still a very nice book and I'm looking forward to a long run on it. And the nun who looks like Richard Nixon is totally freaking me out.

JLA: Classified #14 by You-Know-Who and Jackson Guice
$2.99, DC


The name on the cover says "Michael Stribling." I don't know who Michael Stribling is, but he should never be allowed to do a cover for a comic book again. He should be tied up and dropped in Kashmir or someplace where there are no comic books. These covers can't be attracting readers, can they? They're repellent. I don't use that word lightly, but they are. Crap.

The issue is filler. Arrrrgggghhhh! Ooh, the Justice League isn't afraid! Ooh, they overcame their fears long ago! Ooh, Ellis does scientific technobabble! He has admitted in the past that he doesn't know anything about science, but he keeps putting it in his books. It's not that it's bad, it's just that it's somehow silly. You know what I mean?

Another lame ending. Oh well. I hope he will pull it together for the stunning conclusion, because I do like the characterization, but it's one of those stories that is too long. Much like another book this week (see below), the origins of this story feel like a MacGuffin. I don't like MacGuffins.

The Keep #2 by F. Paul Wilson and Matthew Smith
$3.99, IDW


I think I'm done with The Keep. I want to like it, and it's not bad, and it's spooky and all, and the art is sufficiently minimalist, and there's some good tension, but I think I'm done with it. For two reasons:

1. I'm tired of the "noble World War Two German soldier." Sure, I know a lot of German soldiers were not Nazis and just wanted to kill Allied soldiers honorably, but I'm sick of it. If Klaus Woermann didn't like the Nazi policies, Klaus Woermann should have done something about it.
2. I'm tired of vampires. The thing in the keep is apparently a vampire, and I'm tired of vampires. I don't have anything against vampires - I'm sure they're lovely people when you meet them socially, as long as they're not, you know, hungry, but I'm tired of them. They bore me. Please don't tell them I said that.

So I may be done with The Keep. Next issue I may pick it up, glance through, and make up my mind. We shall see.

The Middleman #4 by Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McClaine
$2.95, Viper Comics


The first mini-series comes to an end, and there's really no excuse, if you haven't bought this, to skip the trade paperback. It has a clever premise, it has snappy dialogue, it has killer monkeys, it has evil scientists, it's action-packed and it's fun. And it has killer monkeys. Oh, did I mention that already? And it has an Animal House joke. If you buy it, maybe McClaine will be able to buy enough drawing materials so that he can give Wendy more of a shirt. That poor girl.

Buy the trade! It's ten dollars!

Silent Dragon #5 by Andy Diggle, Leinil Francis Yu, and Richard Friend


See, now, here's another series that appears to have a MacGuffin. Diggle sticks with it longer than Ellis did, but it seems like this entire series is just about getting Reizo into a big throw-down with Hideaki. I don't have a problem with that, but did we need five issues to get there? It's an enjoyable read, and the art is absolutely gorgeous, and there's a great deal of slaughter in this issue, but it just feels like Diggle wanted a big ol' martial arts sword fight at the end and thought, "How can I get the story there, consarnit?" Am I missing something? Shouldn't this resonate more? Next issue: Japanese dudes kicking ass.

X-Men #178 by Peter Milligan, Salvador Larroca, and Danny Miki
$2.50, Marvel


Boy, that's a cool cover. I think Larroca got ahold of The Iron Giant DVD and was inspired. Still, it's cool. Nice that the scene doesn't actually occur in the comic book. Marvel should bring those disclaimers back: Warning! This scene does not actually appear in this comic book!

Oh, the issue. Well, we learn that Valerie Cooper and the friendly Sentinels (the ones that you can control yourself!) are going to be hanging around the mansion for a while. I have no idea what's going on because I'm not reading the rest of the "Decimation" crap, so I read it and zipped by it. What was really interesting was that something bizarre happens to Bobby at the end (it's not that big a spoiler, but I'll still keep it quiet) and that the whole space sub-plot that began a while back and comes to head in a few issues gets a few pages, and it's intriguing and weird and a little goofy and pure Milligan. I mean, come on - Phantom Torso? Good stuff. One wishes Marvel would just ignore this book and let him go nuts on everyone's favorite mutants. Whoops, sorry, they're not everyone's favorite mutants, they're the mutants that nobody wanted, so Milligan should be allowed to do all sorts of wacky shit to them. It's still an okay issue, but I want this whole Decimation thing to go away so we can get back to the main story.

That's it for this week. What say you all?

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Comic Stores Should Be Good - Big Monkey Comics

I am always pleased to tell you folks about good comic-related things (and also creepy Rom-related things), so with great fanfare, I give you fine folks - Big Monkey Comics!

It is a pair of stores (a mini-chain, if you will, or rather, a burgeoning comic store empire) by Scipio and Devon.

If you click on the "Big Monkey Comics" link above, it will take you to the store's website, which features:

* RSS feeds from comic book newsites
* a blog (The Big Blog) to which Devon and I and others contribute
* comic book reviews by Devon and some of our expert friends
* store info and sales (gotta make a living!)
* the Astounding Stupid Quote Balloon!
* a very easy way to listen to Big Monkey Comics Radio (formerly SuperHero Radio)
* links (of course) to our Ebay store and on-line Monkey Merchandise store
* Devon's Pick of the Week and Recommend Readings
* Two fan forums (FanFatale for women readers and Comic Book Issues for general
topics)

As I always say, the world can always use another cool comic book store, so if you are ever in Georgetown or Fredericksburg, or if you just want to do some online shopping, check out Big Monkey Comics.

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Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #27!

This is the twenty-seventh 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-six.

Let's begin!

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Firebreather was originally the son of Fin Fang Foom

STATUS: True

In an interview with Andrea Speed, Phil Hester (who just had a cool chat at Comic Book Resources, natch) talked about the plans HE had for a title that was to star, oddly enough, "Young Avengers,"

I don't believe for a second anyone ripped us off. Our whole pitch was about AIM cloning super heroes (Captain America= Crusader, Wolverine=Foxclaw, Scarlet Witch=Mystere, She-Hulk=Dakota, The Thing=Bronze) in an attempt to study their weaknesses, etc. AIM even went so far as to dupe them into forming a super group so they could analyze the group dynamics. Of course, the kids get away and fight back. I think it probably has more in common, at least in tone, with Runaways.

Marvel was hot for it, but pulled the plug for some reason. At least Kuhn and I took one of the villains we developed, a teen aged son of Fin Fang Foom and redeveloped it as Firebreather, which we just optioned to Paramount. So all's well!

All's well, indeed! I thought Firebreather was a fun book.

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Devin Grayson named herself after Dick Grayson.

Writer of Nightwing (starring Dick GRAYSON), Devin Grayson has never hid her admiration for the character of Dick Grayson. So upon hearing that her name (Devin Kallie Grayson) is NOT the name that she was born with, it is not surprising that people would presume that perhaps that her name came from the character that she has such a predisposition to.

Grayson, in an interview at Alvaro's Comic Boards, set the record straight:

Devin Kalile Grayson is my real and legal name. It's what's on my driver's license, passport, social security, etc. I've never written under a pseudonym. I was born with a different name, but had it legally changed in my early twenties - well before I was working in comics or even thinking about such - in response to sexual abuse issues in my childhood that made me feel like I needed to distance myself from my past a little bit psychologically. I told this to Wizard magazine when they interviewed me for the very first time something like seven years ago and said they could run that as part of the story as long as they were willing to include some phone numbers for national sexual abuse hotlines, but they didn't want the piece to be a "downer."

I guess someone got the rumor into circulation without the context, and that actually has been a little painful for me, just since the whole idea was to move on from that part of my life, and now I get constantly asked about it. Believe me, if I'd known I'd be writing Bat-books someday, I would have picked a different last name.

STATUS: False

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: John Byrne's 2112 was initially designed as a launch of Marvel 2099.

STATUS: True

Over on his forums, John Byrne described the situation as it unfolded as thus:

In 1990, Stan Lee contacted me and asked me if I would like the be "editor-in-chief" of a whole new line he was going to create at Marvel -- a line which would be set in Marvel's future, unconnected to the Marvel Universe as we knew it. As it happened, I had been giving some thought to a "Futureverse" of my own, and, being flattered by Stan's offer, I suggested that what I had come up with (but at that time thought I had no place to develop) would fit the bill for his project. To this end I plotted (Stan was to script) and drew a 64 page "pilot".

When Stan saw the pilot pages he asked for more specific MU references. I'd tried to keep the thing "clean", so as not to turn the whole MU into a Superboy story, but Stan thought we SHOULD at least HINT at what had happened to some of the folk we knew from the present continuity. Fortunately, since my story was told in the 64 pages, this meant only adding some 12 additional pages and some bridging material to make them fit. Thus, when I took the project back it was, luckily, not a case of re-writing or re-drawing, but simply of removing pages I had not wanted in there in the first place. I'd taken a set of concepts, bent them slightly to fit Stan's needs, and then had only to "unbend" them to get back to my own original material. Stuck with 64 pages and no thought of where to put 'em -- I did not want to offer the book to DC, since that seemed vaguely scabrous somehow -- I mentioned my dilemma to Roger Stern, who suggested I give DarkHorse a call. I did. They accepted the proposal with open arms. I also pitched NEXT MEN, which had been floating in my brain for a while, and which they also liked. I then realized the tiniest bit of tweaking in the dialog would make my graphic novel -- now titled 2112 -- into a prequel/sequel pilot for JBNM.

Imagine how THAT would have turned out? We might have been saved from the ravages of Ravage 2099!!

Okay, folks, that's it for this week!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Fear Agent #2 Makes Fear Agent #1 Look Like a Piece of Shit

And I liked Fear Agent #1.

See?

But for everything that I liked about Fear Agent #1, Fear Agent #2 had just a lot more goodness. I will now elaborate...

First off, in both stories, Tony Moore and Sean Parsons kicked a lot of ass on the art. That continued in this issue, but I think there was more scenes in developed areas (while last issue was mostly in a cave), so Moore got to be a show off and draw such neat little details into all of the scenes.

Secondly, probably one of THE biggest problems with #1 was the fact that it was all told in voiceover. I liked the voiceover, but let's be honest, voiceover is NOT the coolest way to tell a story. In addition, with a character as rogueish as Heath Huston, you do not want him just interacting with himself.

In this issue, writer Rick Remender gave him a talking ship (by the way, why are there so many talking ships in Sci-Fi? How did THAT become a standard?) to talk with, a government connection, and also, a female scientist!! The female scientist was the best. It was like the banter between Indiana Jones and What's-Her-Face from Temple of Doom, only good.

Meanwhile, there was a subplot in #1 about these aliens eating this trucker. So I'm expecting this to be addressed, like, in 4 issues or something. Nope, we get to it THIS issue!

How cool is THAT?

So in this one issue, we get to see Heath on another extermination job, we get to see how he lives, we get to see his banter with the ship, we get to see him interact with some government guy, we get to see him interact with some scientist lady, AND we get to see some proud, intergalactic horrible conspiracy!

All with a kickass cliffhanger ending that promises that next issue will have all sorts of cool action in it.

At one point, Heath blows a hole in a spacestation so he and the scientist lady can get to safety. That's right, he blows a hole in a spacestation to get them to SAFETY!!

How cool is that?!

That is basically a rhetorical question, but I will answer it anywas - it is really cool!!

Man, don't you feel bad for Cory Walker?

In four issues, he's going to have to live up to THIS!

Harsh.

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Current Comic Conversation for 11/30

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. This week, I am talking with my pal Cayman, and my pal Ronald (writer of Space Monkey Robot Zombie Ninja Pirates)(B=Brian, C=Cayman, R=Ronald). There very likely WILL be some spoilers mentioned in the discussion, so be forewarned!

Let's begin!

SEP050221 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #646 $2.50

B - Don't you just feel bad for Nunzio DeFillipis and Christina Weir? To have to just script Rucka's plots?

B - It must be like being Liz Taylor's makeup artist.

SEP050206 BATMAN #647 $2.50

R - Wonder if Winick will explain how Batman fit the giant penny in the batcave this issue? There are no doors big enough for it!

B - Where does Penguin buy his umbrellas?

R - We need three pages of finding that out, Brian!

C - Is Shane Davis drawing this issue?

B - I think Shane Davis is resting up for the Annual, Cay.

C - it'll be dumb if they claim Jason was never dead, when we saw him in Limbo

B - I think it will be Earth 2 Jason

B - But that's just me

B - I think they just gave Shane Davis an exclusive.

R - So, that means he's stopped working then?

B - I think everyone gets an exclusive.

B - It is like that episode of Oprah.

B - And YOU get an exclusive!

B - And YOU get an exclusive!

B - And YOU get an exclusive!

C - I want a comic where a superhero throws cars at villians and goes "You get a car! You get a car!"

JUL050216 CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS ABSOLUTE EDITION HC $99.99

B - Anyone else mystified at the idea of selling an "absolute" edition of Crisis, when Crisis is filled with "follow this story in the pages of ____"?

R - Heh.

C - In Infinite Crisis #2, I noticed that Omacs were killing the Metal Men? Fuckers.

B - I missed that.

B - Bastards!!!

C - They'd pulled one of their heads off

B - Bah

B - They can grow their heads back

B - Just so long as their responsometers aren't destroyed!

SEP050233 DOOM PATROL #18 $2.50

C - I think it's funny that Doom Patrol finally ends this week

C - Slowest cancellation ever

B - Hah

B - It HAS been a long time, hasn't it?

C - We knew that 18 would be his last issue after issue 1 came out

B - Man...I thought Byrne had something there, too.

B - For, like, a nanosecond in issue #2.

B - But you just cannot debut a controversial new series, then have a piss poor first issue.

B - #2 was a big improvement, but by then, everyone was gone.

B - And I still cannot believe that Nudge is supposed to be Korean.

C - I can't believe someone though a four-armed gorilla was a good idea

B - Good point.

R - Doom patrol?

R - Sucks!

B - Yes, and it reached the conclusion we all saw coming from #1.

B - Which, of course, just raises the point regarding all these Infinite Crisis spin-offs.

B - How many of them will see #18?

B - A brand-new Blue Beetle?

B - Yeah, THAT will be a success

C - Wasn't it shortly after 1 came out that Byrne announced that DP was guaranteed until 18?

B - Yeah, which WAS a big deal at the time, that he got past a year.

R - Blue Beetle will not make it that far.

C - it's pretty sad that all Giffen can do is say "aw give it a try"

B - Although, at least Giffen will have a scripter on Blue Beetle.

R - He doesn't have a scriptor on Drax though

B - Drax is like Halley's Comet.

C - Drax mainly works because Paibok is so funny, I think

B - Paibok IS awesome in it.

C - It should be called Paibok, really. Drax has barely been in it.

B - I think Drax also works because of the scenes where the Blood Brothers attack Drax just because, well, they have to.

C - I liked when they killed the old lady too

B - And when Drax was drinking the fuel.

B - The little girl is a nice angle.

C - I'm surprised that DC's learned nothing from the tepid response to the Firestorm relaunch though

C - As far as Blue Beetle goes

B - Yeah.

C - you can't just pass the costume around

R - Yeah, Spider-Man is Peter Parker. Captain America is Steve rogers. Other people may have been them, but they will remain that character in the long run.

B - Will Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis make it 18 issues?

B - Or will it either be cancelled or rechanged?

R - There probably will be an aquaman comic, but who knows.

C - Aquaman: Shield of Sub Diego

B - Aquaman: Spork of Taco Bell

B - I think the thought is, as Marvel so aptly mocked in the What The..? special, that Infinite Crisis is SO great that it will make any series that spins off from it great.

B - As we know, only one or two spin-offs ever actually succeed.

B - Which will be the one that succeeds from Infinite Crisis?

B - I can't think of a single one.

B - Shadowpact?

B - Checkmate?

B - I can see Checkmate lasting as a "Gift to Rucka" from DC.

B - But that's all.

C - Like how Gotham Central survived on good will

B - Yeah, like how Didio apparently said that he would NEVER cancel Gotham Central.

R - Well, he's renaming it.

B - Is he?

B - I thought that that was a rumor.

B - I didn't know that was true.

R - And they did lose the better writer on the comic.

B - The writer I (perhaps unfairly) attributed every single good thing on the book to

R - As far as I still know, they are continuing a cop comic. But you know DC plans change daily.

C - I expected they'd be announcing a lot of big teams like Morrison/Kubert Detective, but instead it's all this pissy stuff

B - Agreed, Cay.

B - They were getting us all hyped up.

B - And so far, the biggest COOL news has been Waid/Perez on Brave and the Bold.

B - And that...

B - Well

B - Isn't THAT cool.

R - I wish Perez would draw for someone not so... Waid. or Rucka, or Johns.

B - Yeah.

B - Imagine Morrison and Perez. How trippy would that be?

B - I don't even know if it would WORK.

R - That's what i was thinking.

B - It would just be trippy.

R - Or All Star JLA with Miller and Perez.

B - Wow.

B - That'd be BEYOND trippy.

SEP050244 JLA CLASSIFIED #14 $2.99

C - I like the irony of Ellis being the only person writing the JLA with respect

SEP051663 IMAGE COMICS HC $24.99

R - Wow! the Image 10th anniversary hardcover is out this week! And it beat Kevin Smith!

B - Are they still calling it the 10th Anniversary?

B - It should be called something like Image X.

R - Well, they are now calling it "Image Comics hardcover"

AUG051723 VICE CGC GRADED 9.8 #1 $59.99

R - Why the hell are Image soliciting graded comics?

B - Because something needs to support Jack Staff's publication!

B - It was either sell graded comics or heroin. I THINK they made the right call. But I am not sure.

B - Also, wait until you see how Dynamic Forces responds.

B - Rick Remender better check underneath his car tomorrow.

SEP051922 AMAZING FANTASY #15 3.99

R - Isn't Amazing Fantasy #15 the issue with the debut of Spiderman, nemesis to Spider-Man?

B - No, it is when Marvel forces a bunch of cool writers to recreate old Marvel characters.

B - I am guessing that it will actually be good.

B - Although nothing else in Amazing Fantasy has been.

B - Okay, that's a bit harsh. Fred Van Lente has had some good work on Scorpion.

R - Mark Brooks was artist on the Arana arc.

B - He was, but luckily, most of her scenes involved her being covered up, so he did not have to draw a human face.

R - Heh.

R - Brooks has a similar problem with faces that dillon has, in he doesn't really make more than one face. But, he's not as good with that face.

B - Agreed.

R - And also, Brooks is, like, 12. He was signing at the shop the one Wednesday.

B - Jimmy Cheung is also freakishly young, considering that he has been in comics since 1995.

C - I think Amazing Fantasy would do better to do shorter arcs

B - That is what this issue is, it is all short stories.

C - I might get it next week when I have more $$$

B - The book IS pricey.

C - I want to read the Pak story

B - I bet the Pak story will be good.

B - I think it has a story by the winner of Comic Book Idol I. It is always good to know that Comic Book Idol did some good.

SEP051913 BLACK PANTHER #10 $2.99

B - I think Hudlin's main goal.

B - Is to have every character in the Marvel Universe.

B - At one point or another.

B - Say, "Wow, Black Panther is AWEsome!"

R - And to show how much cooler and smarter Black Panther is.

B - In this issue, Luke Cage is shown in prison,with posters of Black Panther on his cell wall.

B - For real.

B - Really.

B - On his cell wall.

B - Luke Cage.

B - Has posters of Black Panther.

B - On his cell wall.

B - Luke Cage.

C - lol

C - Marvel always has to have a bad writer to stand by for no apparent reason, and then quietly get rid of. Zimmerman, Austen, Hudlin

B - Hah.

B - In addition, Hudlin also rewrites Cage's origin.

B - You know, just for kicks.

B - Now, Cage breaks out of prison, instead of being released.

B - Which sorta, you know, makes the whole "Public Hero" thing a bit, you know, sorta NOT WORK

SEP051960 GENERATION M #1 (OF 5)$2.99

B - This is the example of big company "shockers."

B - The perfect example.

B - They depower Chamber, thereby giving him a gaping hole in his chest.

B - But....

B - He doesn't die.

R - When did chamber get the hole back?

B - I think it is a conspiracy against Frank Tieri's continuity.

C - I heard Paul Jenkins is the new writer on Pulse.

C - He was going to start in a few months, but suddenly, he had an opening in his schedule where 'write Sentry #7 and 8' was"

R - HA!

B - OUCH!

B - And yeah, the creative team from Generation M is going to be doing the Pulse.

C - Jenkins is a good choice for Pulse but I have doubts about how well it will do

B - Probably the ultimate "meh."

B - Not "boo"

B - but not "yay."

B - In any event, Chamber is depowered, but it somehow didn't kill him.

B - Which is just silly.

R - Well, the hole is already healed over.

B - But he had a giant hole in his chest!!

B - You cannot live with a giant hole in your chest!!

R - ...I am.

SEP051937 GIANT SIZE INVADERS #2 $4.99

C - MY big ticket item is Giant-Size Invaders!

B - Why are you getting Giant-Size Invaders? Isn't it all reprints?

R - Because Cay loves the Invaders

C - It has 8 pages of new stories

B - Does it, Cay? Who by?

C - Roy Thomas

B - Is it really Roy Thomas, Cay? That's kinda neat.

B - Although, I remember the last tiem they let Roy Thomas redo an old book of his

B - It was called Secret Defenders

B - And, to quote Mssr. Gump, "That is all I got to say about that."

C - I'm baffled why they are releasing Giant-Sized Invaders though

C - Unless it's to capitalize on the Winter Soldier?

R - Maybe they are planning a New New Invaders. or an Old New Invaders.

C - New Invaders rocked

C - Marvel should get Allen Jacobsen to write something else

C - Geoff Johns's first series bombed, too!

SEP051940 NEW AVENGERS #13 $2.50

R - New Avengers will rock this week when Ronin takes off his body because there is no way he can look like that!

B - I really don't get the Ronin thing.

B - I mean, it just doesn't make sense, does it?

B - I really don't CARE

B - But at the same time, it really doesn't make sense either.

C - It's a bad way to do a who-is-it mystery

B - In addition, I can just imagine Finch's reaction to being asked to draw it, "What do you MEAN, she has a HANDPRINT on her face?!?!"

R - Heh.

B - What's great about Finch is that he'll be right upfront and say, "yeah, I had no idea who she was."

R - Poor Finch. He thought with a book called "avengers" he would get to draw action scenes.

C - I like the character but not the man suit.

B - I like the character, too, but the man suit is just weak.

R - Yeah, how does one wear a man suit?

C - It's a very cool costume, though.

SEP051965 NIGHTCRAWLER #12 $2.99

R - Nightcrawler finally ends this week.

R - Now, Cay gets to write his Amanda sefton book.

B - I like how Nightcrawler was basically just a big book of "Whatever Darick Robertson wants

B - They even explain that in the letter pages of Nightcrawler #12.

B - Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa explains how he would write stuff into the comic because Robertson wanted to draw it.

C - Nightcrawler got cancelled just as it got really cool

SEP051964 OFFICIAL HANDBOOK MARVEL UNIVERSE X-MEN 2005 $3.99

B - Is this one of those things were only, like, total loser characters get entries?

B - Or ones with major changes?

R - Or do they repeat the entries from last year?

B - It's the same fear I have with the new A-Z series they're having.

B - Is it going to be new stuff, or not?

B - Because I really do not know of a market for a comic that just tells us "Oh yeah, Wolverine remembers stuff now." or a comic that is just about, like, Azazel, Blazing Skull and Caliban (for A-C).

R - And how does it feel to be the writer for those kinds of books?

B - That is why they have so many.

B - It is like a firing squad.

B - Where only a few of the multiple shooters have loaded guns.

B - The rest have blanks.

B - So they get all these writers together, and they write, but no one knows if THEIR piece is the one appearing IN the comic.

B - So no one feels the need to kill him or herself.

R - And how bad is it for the book when half the information is probably outdated?

B - Not as bad as DC's Who's Who, which came out...DURING CRISIS!!!

R - Heh.

R - For the Magneto entry, they should just have a "he's dead, no alive, no dead, no alive..."

B - They should write Not Applicable

C - "He can't even make a spoon fly"

SEP051921 WOLVERINE #36 $2.50

R - Will wolverine start calling himself James now?

B - Chris made a remark about Wolverine today that made me laugh, because it was so true.

B - "This issue will likely be people talking about Wolverine and barely show Wolverine in the issue."

B - How the hell does Way have a tic already?!?!

R - Heh

SEP051972 X-MEN #178 $2.50

C - I heart Milligan

B - I think Milligan has such a crummy hand to work with.

B - I mean, who the hell came up with the idea of having specifically "the lame X-men team"

C - his team has my favorites on it

C - plus Gambit

B - Yes, but that's not why they gave him them.

B - They did not say, "Here's a team full of characters Cay likes."

C - they should've!

B - I like most of the characters, too.

B - But he got them because they were the ones Whedon and Alan Davis didn't want.

C - yeah

B - Which is a freaky way of doing things.

OCT052790 ARCHIES SUPER TEENS #1 (O/A) $2.00

R -What is O/A?

B - Offered Again

B - What other genre should they do Archie comics in?

R - archie hentai!

R - Archie Hentai tentacle super spectacular!

R - Or Archie Hard boiled Detective Stories

OCT053090 LIVING IN INFAMY #1 (OF 4) (MR) $2.95

B - This is an interesting concept.

B - Supervillains in witness protection program

B - Guess who is writing it? Ben Raab!

C - eek

C - Although he is good-looking. Good-looking Ben Raab.

R - Raab's writing it? It will be the best comic of the year!

"SEP053118 EVILS RETURN VOL 4 (OF 4) GN$9.99"

R - That would be so much cooler if it was called "Elvis return"

B - That WOULD be a lot cooler.

B - But then I bet the British Royal Family would sue.

B - Just out of principle.

C - "We killed Elvis too"

B - I heard Priscella Presley made Elvis sell his comics.

B - I am pretty sure that's the right story.

SEP052967 FLARE #30 $2.99
SEP052968 FLARE ADVENTURES #15 $2.99

B - Which one has more T n A, do you think?

R - Flare. Adventures suggest more kid orientated content.

Well, folks, that's it for us! Feel free to check in to tell us how horribly wrong we were!!

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This Chat Was Good - Brian Wood

This transcript of the Brian Wood chat from earlier this month is pretty sweet, if I do say so myself (and I do). Check it out!

Comic Quotes Should Be Good for the week of 11/23

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!

Thanksiving was during this comic week, so I hope that does not interfere with folks delivering the goods!

The Big Hurt himself, David Welsh, and his nice, concise review of Rick Geary's Treasury of Victorian Murder series, Rick Geary’s latest entry in the Treasury of Victorian Murder series (NBM Comics Lit),

The Murder of Abraham Lincoln, might be the best I’ve read so far. In spite of the familiarity of this particular chapter of history, it’s still very engrossing reading. By translating these events into a graphic novel using his specific gifts as a storyteller, Geary demonstrates that any material can seem fresh in a new medium.

“Part III: Good Friday” is a particularly strong illustration of this. Geary ticks off the events of the day, alternating between domesticity with the Lincolns and conspiracy with John Wilkes Booth. Against all likelihood, the sequence ends up being wonderfully suspenseful, quickly cutting between concurrent events. The combination of inventiveness and detail in these books always impresses me, and this is no exception, but The Murder of Abraham Lincoln achieves an even higher level of pathos than usual.

Your pal, and mine, Joltin'Johnny Bacardi, does us all a grand service and reviews a few comics from Oni and Slave Labor Press. I am just running one of the reviews, the one he did for Rex Libris, by James Turner,

REX LIBRIS #2: I found the first issue of this almost too clever for its own good fantasy series waaaay too text-heavy and talky, but this one dials down the verbiage and lets the story breathe, and it's the better for it, managing to be kinda clever in places and occasionally amusing to boot. If you recall from last time, Rex is a sort of uber-dimensional Library Policeman, who deals with threats from within and without. It's all played for laughs, kinda like The Tick in its goofy anything-can-happen attitude. Rex gets a couple of supporting cast members this time out- a sexy-librarian type Spetsnatz-trained assistant, and a chatterbox bird. The stiff, angular, exaggerated art is still a problem- it looks like Fred Hembeck inked by Picasso, and while I like both of these guys separately together it just looks odd. Still, this is a step in the right direction. (Slave Labor) B+

The great white hope, David Campbell, points out some problems with Denny O'Neil's Iron Man in his review of Iron Man #160,

Writer Denny O’Neil’s run on Iron Man was full of hilariously mismatched hero-villain fights – Iron Man was always going up against somebody who had no chance against him. I heard that O’Neil was more interested in chronicling Tony Stark’s descent into alcoholic hell than in who Iron Man was fighting each month, and I can believe it. O’Neil had Iron Man – who is like, a nuclear powered killing machine – go head-to-head against jokers like Vibro, The Brothers Grimm, The Fucking Termite*, and The Serpent Squad, among others. These match-ups did not make for gripping comic book battles.

In this issue Iron Man fights Anaconda, Death Adder, and Black Mamba – The Serpent Squad! Fortunately for the villains, Iron Man also has to fight Denny O’Neil, who crafts the plot in such a way that our hero actually has a hard time against the loser villains. If I were writing the book – that’s right, if I jumped in the Wayback Machine, traveled back to the year 1982, kidnapped and replaced Denny O’Neil, and then wrote Iron Man – I would have Stark wipe The Serpent Squad out in two panels, and then we’d move on to something more challenging, like Iron Man vs Runaway Stagecoach.

The Sultan of Swat, Mike Sterling, gives us a look at Superman in The Computer Masters of Metropolis,

As I noted previously, Luthor's motivation for causing a ruckus at the fair is because his inventions were not allowed to be displayed. Using your typical comic book logic, Superman figures that Luthor will make his initial strike against the fair at the exhibits were his inventions would have been presented, had they been allowed in. He remembers that the Daily Planet ran a story on Luthor's threats against the fair some time back, but can't remember the details on which specific exhibit was the one that did the rejecting. He tries to call the Daily Planet for the info, but gets a busy signal on what is apparently the Planet's single phone line. So, Superman, who couldn't remember the details of a story involving his arch-nemesis, remembers the home phone number of Whiz Kid Alec, and calls to ask him to use his amazing computer powers to access the Daily Planet's online archives.

Alec, despite his smart mouth, is a good kid, and does Superman's bidding, calling up the Daily Planet stories in question on his home TRS-80 Color Computer:

Once he gets the information he needs, six or seven hours later, he and fellow Whiz Kid Shanna manage to get the info to Wonder Woman, who rescues Superman, then they capture Luthor (who was going to blow up the computer and electronics exhibit, surprise, surprise), and we've all learned a little something about the importance of computers. Specifically, the TRS-80 Color Computer, the pinnacle of home computing achievement.

The Iron Horse himself, Jog, helps me out by giving a great review of a book I never got around to reviewing myself (sorry, folks!), Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #1,

This particular plot pulls off the impressive trick of fitting in perfectly with the Sheeda’s backstory and accompanying themes, while still feeling like a slightly weary stock plot rolled out to fill time as the project hits issue #20. The execution seems weirdly tossed-off, from one character’s half-sniggering death scene (“I love you. In a totally doomed way that you’ll never forget.”) to the utterly bizarre background locale of ‘Excalibur Fantasy Butterfly World,’ which has an awesome name but... what is it? A butterfly supply store? A butterfly-themed fantasy/comics shop? I get the 'bad maturity v. good maturity'/'Sheeda-as-evil-butterflies' metaphor, but this is just awkwardly positioned, as if Morrison just liked the name and decided to roll with it for better or worse.

Still, there’s something to be said for a high school outcast story that ends with no forgiveness, no understanding, only the realization that some situations are so irrevocably poisoned that one can only burn down the school and move on. Doug Mahnke (veteran of a lot of DCU properties but still best known to me as the primary artist for The Mask) provides some decently grotesque visuals; his talents with the humorously vile are well-utilized on this subject matter, with our awful high school antagonist serving as a particular standout. There’s still a long way to go with this title, and I expect matters will level out soon.

I do not agree, per se, but Say Hey Sean Maher sure gives She Hulk a good pimping (oh no, I should not have said that aloud, or else Greg Horn might get ideas!),

You know what book really returned to form last week? She-Hulk.

Fuckin' She-Hulk? Are you damaged?

Well, yeah, but we've been over that already. Seriously, writer Dan Slott's done something pretty special with the b-list hero, as folks remember from the twelve-issue run he did last year. The "Season II"-style relaunch didn't wow me quite as I'd built it up in my mind, but issue #2, released just last Wednesday, is exactly what I remember loving about this series.

Awesome Andy on a secret mission. A relationship between She-Hulk and Hawkeye that actually addresses both characters' specific personalities and how those might interact. Vaudevillian "who's on first?"-type jokes. Character-revealing sex talk. A really clever, rich time travel story, complete with paradox. Moral quandries and emotional reactions (Jen's single tear was a great moment). Giant spidery robot. Crazy giant arrows that confuse me a bit (do they expand after Hawkeye shoots 'em?). Tough choices and tricky consequences. A bang-up cliffhanger ending leaving me super-hungry for the next issue.

All this in 22 pages. All drawn by the amazing Juan Bobillo, who continues to build a style and visual voice for the book that makes it completely unique on the comics racks.

God damn, this is good comics. I laughed, I cried, I cheered.

This is only a taste of a much larger look at Brave & The Bold by Hammerin' H (who REALLY needs to give me a name other than H!!!), but I am sure it will lead to you wanting to click on his name to read the whole thing,

Zany Haney.

That’s the best way to describe the 1968 The Brave and the Bold tales in my collection. And what one scene best captures these stories? No, it's not Batgirl climbing out of the cockpit of her plane to stand on the wing trying to put Batman in a liplock (although, that scene is a close second). Here's the winner. Batman draws a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

For my money, it’s the dark knight’s finest moment. Ever.

And I sure hope zany and Haney rhyme. Or I’m going to look stupid. Again.

I think the Crime Dog, Chris Tamarri, is spot on with his review of Liz Prince's Will You Still Love Me If I Wet The Bed?,

One of the most interesting elements of Wet the Bed is its relationship to the truth. Now obviously, I don't know Prince personally, nor do I know anything about her and her boyfriend other than what's on the page. When I talk about the truth, I mean verisimilitude, how Prince's report stands up against the monolithic, subconscious Way Relationships Go. Observed in the particular, each little moment feels true, a story that only one of two people could tell. But step back and it feels as though there are connections missing. It's as if it was a portrait of someone using only their most attractive features, and leaving their flaws blank; it's not untrue, but it's arguably inaccurate.

This is particularly curious because of the sorts of things Prince chooses to include. When I talk about the Way Relationships Go, I mean the commonalities that show up over again, irrespective of partners, where I go "Guess what she did yesterday…" and then you're all like "I know how that goes." But there are unique particulars in between those, the pieces of character alchemy that could only have been the result of the combination of two people. Wet the Bed is nothing but those moments, which is notable in that it's something you couldn't find elsewhere, but difficult in that it precludes any sort of empathy. It's particularly exemplary that there's a lot of reference to the physical--Liz Prince must really like her boobs--even, curiously, some scatology scattered about (so to speak). It drives home that idea that the book's about--couldn't possibly be about anyone but--Liz and Kevin.

So should Liz Prince be praised for being so unselfconsciously honest, or be criticized for creating a book and a pair of "characters" with which the reader couldn't possibly identify? Both are fair, and I'd be hard-pressed to say which attitude ultimately stands taller. I suppose that Wet the Bed is just one of those books: you'll like it, if you like this sort of thing. As for me, I found it to be the uncommon example of a book that's more admirable than enjoyable.

The Rocket, Kurt Addams, gives a nice review to Daniel Zettwoch's Schematic Comics,

I bought this on a whim based on a recommendation from Jog and it may have been the best four dollars I spent on a comic this month. It’s a semi-autobiographical book by Daniel Zettwoch, containing a series of comic shorts, many of which have appeared in other places, although it’s unlikely you‘ve seen any of them.

Each piece has a unique charm to it that will likely resonate differently for everyone. “The Secret Society of Six Mile Lane” and “The Disappearing Man of Hill Behan” were entirely different in tone and theme and yet each struck a chord from my own past. That’s really the key to enjoying the book as the author draws extensively on his childhood for most of the stories. I’d guess most of us can find some common ground with Zettwoch, but even if you can’t the foundation was probably laid for you in any one of a hundred books, television shows or movies, and you should enjoy the humor and basic humanity of the stories.

The book itself is what I guess is called “pamphlet” sized -- essentially 8 ½ x 11 folded over -- with a thick cardstock cover. On my copy the ink from the front cover bled over to the inside, which somehow added to the character of the book. You can order your own copy here. (They take PayPal!) And if you’re lucky you’ll even get a little note from the author himself:

Bet you never got that from Brian Bendis.

Finally, the Georgia Peach, Chris Sims, gives us a nice bullet review of Batgirl #70 (among some other quick reviews of the week's books),

My thanks goes out to Anderson Gabrych, who keeps Batgirl enjoyable with very few missteps along the way. Unfortunately, I think this was one of them. Mr. Freeze seemd a little bit out of character, and to be honest, I'm never a fan of somebody busting onto the scene and shouting their new super-villain name for everyone to hear. Still, Pop Mhan's art fits the book like a kevlar/spandex bodysuit, and it's still not a bad read.

That's it for this week! Thanks for giving me so much to work with, folks! Hope you had a good Thanksiving, as well!

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There Is Not Enough Love For Comic Book Superheroes Out There

I just do not think that enough fans out there these days TRULY appreciate their comic book heroes. That is why it warms the cockles of my heart to see a fan out there not ashamed to admit that s/he LOVES her/his favorite comic book hero! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you (which was linked to me by my pal Chris)....Rom & Me, by Ceoia.

Here is a sample of the grief Ceoia suffered when s/he first learned that Rom had been killed in the sequel comic Marvel did in the late 90s (they did not have the rights to Rom, so they tried doing a series about the OTHER characters from the series without using Rom,

Now today I just finished reading a new set of books about his sons. The story took place some time after the devastation of his world. Now it was rebuilt and he was it’s leader; it’s Prime director. He was chosen as such by the Galadorian people. He was married to Brandy Clark, a woman who fell in love with him when he came to Earth as a Space knight to fight the Dire Wraiths. (now he was a man again) The Beyonder sent her to Galador at her request. Now she stood by his side with their two sons, Balin and Tristan.

ROM was revered as a kind of Messiah, a Savior. He was revered so for all his heroic deeds as a Spaceknight, an honor that he greatly deserved! Under his rule, Galador was prosperous and united in peace.

Now I am filled with an unexpected pain. This pain was like no other, a grief that felt like drowning! I read the passage again and my eyes filled with bitter tears, tears for the One that I have loved for so long! I knew at least, that when the book was canceled, that he was still lived in the Marvel Universe but now he was ....just....gone....They had killed him. He died on his ship when it exploded due to a surprise attack by the Dire Wraiths. He was on his way to a planet called Treion, to negotiate a truce between warring factions there when his ship was attacked.

My mind just couldn't take this, it reels with shock and pain. The pain is so great that my emotions went numb. I went numb, unable to function properly. I have been through Sept 11 and being abandoned by my spouse, both I stood and felt, but this..this was just to much for my mind to bear! It hurts so bad that I couldn't even cry! My body screams, "NO!!"

and

This fills me with a terrible bottomless grief. This agony is very deep, I loved him for over 20 years, half of my life! Now he was just..gone. I realized that what broke inside was my heart! I cried openly now. I hugged the figure that I made of him and cried hard on it and I choked out to it, "Why? Why couldn't they just leave you alone, ROM!"

Than I kissed and hugged it, crying again. I cried till my face hurt. All I thought was, "Why?? Why couldn't they just leave him alone?" This pain was deep and unrelenting, it was bottomless. It went beyond tears. It surpassed and overstepped them. The feeling of sadness and emptiness felt like drowning, not even my tears could comfort me.

The next few days were a real hell. I went numb with shock and grief. I went through the motions without feeling anything. I just couldn't stop thinking, "They should have left him alone I felt hollow and dead. A piece of me died with him that day. I had loved him so much, so hard and for so long! Through my own stories I wrote, I could comfort him and we could be together, helping one another, having each others back!

Later, in a dream, Rom came to her/him.

S/he sees him passed out in a chair on his ship.

The rest...well...I will let Ceoia describe to you, with her/his words and art...



I kneel before him and hug him
__________________________________________________



I said to him as I kissed him, " I love you."
__________________________________________________



I bend over and try to lift him from the seat
__________________________________________________



The feel of him is so agonizingly real that I scream out: " NO!! Please...Please don't let this happen!
__________________________________________________



Oh God, Please DON'T let this happen!!
__________________________________________________



I WON'T LET YOU DIE!!
__________________________________________________



.....At that we become encased in a shimmering pink bubble of energy; I could feel it's great power inside me! Than, I felt an explosion beneath us and I screamed "NOO!!!" as the ship blew up! Everything went a blinding white than black!
__________________________________________________



Slowly, as if in a dream, I aproached him and embraced him. I rubbed my face on his chest as I wept on him. I cried from sheer joy! He was alive! He was ALIVE!!
__________________________________________________



I am overcome with emotion and I kiss him tenderly on the lips
__________________________________________________



Rom and Me kissing.
__________________________________________________

Ladies and gentlemen, THAT'S love!

So the next time you are irked at what a writer is doing to a character you enjoy...well...take a look at Rom & Me, and think, "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

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I feel dirty ...

... because I bought (and read!) the latest issue of Wizard magazine.


Please forgive me, gentle readers! I sinned!

Actually, I bought it because it's the year-end issue, and I'm a sucker for those kinds of things. I'm always interested in seeing what other people thought of the year in movies, television, books, and, of course, comics.

So let's pry this sucker open and see what the crazy people at Wizard thought of the year:


Surprisingly, they use cheesecake to sell the magazine. Oh, Wizard! You pander so shamelessly! It's as if you don't trust the content and feel that lonely fanboys will only buy it if you put pictures of Miss Alba on it - from a movie that has, after all nothing to do with comic books. Not a good start.

Let's look at the interior, and their awards:

Man of the Year: Geoff Johns. Well, I suppose - he has taken over DC, much to the surprise of the Absolute Overlord.¹ I really can't say much, because I am still trying to figure out if I've ever read anything he's written. Seriously. How can I call myself a comic book fan???? This really should be "writer of the year," because there's an artist of the year, so I will say something different. How about Vaughan? How about The God Of All Comics????

(In the same section, they have DC as Publisher of the Year. Do the folk at Wizard flip a coin each year - heads for DC, tails for Marvel? Just wondering.)

Artist of the Year: Ethan Van Sciver. Really? Really? They even admit he can only do six issues a year. I always wonder why these guys can't work faster. I'm not an artist, so I don't know the process, but what's up with that? Anyway, it's not a bad choice - Sciver certainly draws well - but let's see ... Harris? Ferreyra? If you haven't seen Juan Ferreyra's work on Small Gods, you're missing a gorgeous treat. Of course, since it's been cancelled, most of you probably did miss his work, but he's one to watch ...

(Artist to watch in 2006: Steve McNiven. How about he stays on a book longer than four issues? That would be something to watch!)

Book of the Year: Captain America. Hmmm. I don't read it, so I can't speak to its quality, but the resurrection of Bucky sounds stupid. It just doesn't sound all that compelling. Did we really need a resurrection of Bucky? I know there's more to their selection, but they're hinging it on that one story, and I very much doubt that "readers were shocked" by it. Really? Anyway, my choices: Small Gods, Fables, Noble Causes, Detective, Ex Machina ... Lots to choose from.

(Book to watch: Spider-Woman. Because if you don't watch it, Bendis will come to your house and talk to you the same way his characters talk! Nobody wants that!)

Single Issue of the Year: All-Star Superman #1. I don't have that big an issue with it, but I actually like Seven Soldiers #0 more, if we're talking about The God Of All Comics' work. I still think JLA: Classified #7 is the best single issue all year, although you can't go wrong with any issue of Action Philosophers!

Breakout Talent of the Year: Allan Heinberg. I guess. I should pick up the Young Avengers trade. I don't know enough about how long talent has been around to know if that person is "breakout" or not.

(New characters of the year: the Young Avengers. Fancy that.)

Mini-Series of the Year: We3. I don't count that. Didn't two of the three issues come out last year? I could be forgetting the exact publication dates. Anyway, Mnemevore was awesome. And it all came out this year. Vinamarama was pretty damned skippy too. I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League was a fine read, as well. Livewires was excellent. Samurai: Heaven and Earth is brilliant.

Hero of the Year: Blue Beetle. They list his heroic accomplishments, only a few of which are heroic. I still maintain that if a super-villain is holding a gun to your head and asks you to join him, you say yes and work at stopping him later. Maybe Maxwell Lord would have killed him anyway, but still, Ted - good move. I don't have a strong candidate. Zephyr Noble, maybe? Richard Fell? He's kind of neat. Adam Archer, maybe. How about Stem Cell?

(Hero to watch: Flash. Watch his book get cancelled!)

Villain of the Year: Maxwell Lord. Blech. One of the reasons I don't want to read this whole mess is because I don't think what Lord did makes sense. But that's just me. How about Batman? That would have been cool.

(Villain to watch: Quicksilver. Blah.)

Comeback of the Year: Cat-man. Alan Grant wrote a good Cat-man over a decade ago. Come back from what? He's coming back from a Meltzer issue of Green Arrow. Another character Meltzer ruined! Whoo-hoo! Again, I have no candidates to put forward. Sorry.

(Comeback to watch: the Hellfire Club. Emma should never have been made a good guy, so I won't mind at all if she's evil again. She won't be, but I won't mind.)

Cover Artist of the Year: James Jean. That was easy.

Moment of the Year: The Society Attacks! Was that a moment? I don't know, I didn't read it. When Boy Blue kills the Emperor was pretty cool. When Tora is doomed to hell in JLA: Classified #7, that was pretty freakin' cool. The climactic battle in We3 is pretty neat-o. The beautiful conversation between Desolation Jones and Emily in Desolation Jones #2 is some of the best writing of the year.

Supporting Character of the Year: Spider-Woman. Why? Because David Finch drew her? That's pretty weak. There are so many better choices than this I can barely start listing them.

(Supporting character to watch: Hawkeye. So he's not dead? So hard to keep track.)

Cliffhanger of the Year: The end of Daredevil #79. Yeah, if you like your cliffhangers limper than ... well, I was going to go with some sort of phallic reference here, but I won't. It's a weak ending. Cliffhangers should make you gasp and recoil and marvel at the sheer audacity of it all. This doesn't do it. The end of Seven Soldiers #0 was a better cliffhanger. The end of Expatriate #3 was better, and even more so because it's probably going to be another six months before we see the next issue, if ever!

(Cliffhanger to watch: Infinite Crisis #5. The DCU jumps ahead one year! I'm not holding my breath.)

Collection of the Year: Invincible Ultimate Collection. Holy shit, a non-DC-or-Marvel book! I'll give them a pass just for that.

It's frustrating reading an issue of Wizard, because not only do they ignore most indies, they even ignore Dark Horse and Image stuff, which I don't really consider "independent" stuff. They obviously know about the non-DC-or-Marvel stuff, and it's strange they don't even consider it. I know I'm in danger of beating a dead horse here, but it always bugs me that a magazine like Wizard, that has a lot of influence among the comics-reading public, doesn't do a better job promoting weirder stuff. Does Infinite Crisis really need all the publicity it gets? Really? I used to love when Wizard did reviews of a chunk of issues from a particular run. The reviews were insightful, very funny, and didn't pull punches. In this issue, I couldn't believe that they were actually grading trade paperbacks instead of just telling us they were all "cool." Is Wizard pulling back from the perpetual oral love they continually give DC and Marvel? Only time will tell.

¹ Yes, I'm linking to my own posts on this very blog. Cronin isn't the only narcissist around here, you know!

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Welcome to Comics Should Be Good, MarkAndrew, Hope You Survive the Experience!

Yes, it is true, everyone's favorite Loeb-lover, MarkAndrew is now a part of the gang. But fear not, he has plenty of other topics to talk about, like his planned "Eternals/Gaiman's Sandman" compare and contrast, or maybe we'll finally get some Beanworld reviews (or, perhaps, even a Stray Toasters review!!!).

So, welcome, MarkAndrew!

Is The New Mister Miracle Artist Good?

According to All The Rage (and confirmed by Williams himself), Mister Miracle replacement artist, Billy Dallas Patton, has been replaced by Freddie Williams II, best known (as was Patton) for his work on Noble Causes (specifically the flashbacks for the current Noble Causes storyline). So, the question becomes, is Williams II any good?


Williams' most noted work is his Noble Causes stuff, which I have enjoyed so far. Here is a sample of his work from an issue of Noble Causes (for every picture, click on the drawing for a larger version):



Here are two pin-ups he has done, starring familiar characters (Note: All pictures, except for the Noble Causes drawing from jayfaerber.com, come from Williams' site here.

First, the Justice League...



Next, Spider-Man...



Here is some sequential art samples of his...

The first is from a project called Wargod, from Speakeasy Comics...



The second is from a project called Chance of a Lifetime, from Cellar Door Publishing...



I like the Noble Causes piece the best, and I hope that is the style that he brings to Mister Miracle.

All in all, though, what I am struck by is just how SIMILAR his work seems to be to Billy Dallas Patton's work!

I guess I figured the idea was to get AWAY from Patton's style.

Well, if you liked his work, he is ALSO doing a fill-in issue of Aquaman in a month or so (#39, I believe).

What do you all think of the change?

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Why Brownsville HC Will Be Good

As I mentioned here awhile back, I am looking to give you all more info on the books that might be overshadowed in the mountain of materials that make up the Previews catalog.

Today, let's take a look at the Brownsville HC by by Neil Kleid & Jake Allen, which is being solicited in this month's Previews (DEC053126) for 19 bucks.

Neil Kleid gave me the lowdown on the project. I will let him tell the rest:

In the 1930's, life in Brooklyn was murder. "Jewish gangster" isn't a term you hear much in post-Holocaust society ... but back when the Dodgers played in the East, and licorice cost a penny a bag, Brooklyn corners were lousy with semitic young toughs looking for adventure and excitement — none more so than in Brownsville. Follow the intertwined lives of Allie Tanennbaum, Abe Reles, and scores of hoods organized by Louis Lepke Buchalter into the deadliest hit operation in Mafia history, "Murder, Inc.", as they escape the mean streets and lonely tenements of East New York, and make themselves into the most dangerous men in America, only to eventually send their best friends and closest allies up the river.

Here's what people are saying about BROWNSVILLE:

"Jewish gangsters are almost unheard of these days. This taut and suspenseful drama takes people to an era that no longer exists. I'm not saying Jews are untainted by crime these days - but at least they're not out knockin' heads like they used to be!" - Harvey Pekar, writer, AMERICAN SPLENDOR

"Most of the material you'll find about the 'jewish mafia' is garbage. This book examines a piece of the history of organized crime, and does so with grace, style and power. BROWNSVILLE carries history. Read it." - Carla Speed McNeil, creator, FINDER

There's a short sequence available for preview up at the NBM site.
Click on this page to scroll through the preview:

The full color cover is available for viewing here.

There's a hefty interview about BROWNSVILLE at Newsarama up here.

Thanks for checking it out!

Neil Kleid

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X-Men Deadly Genesis Guessing Game Contest!

Okay, so Ed Brubaker is a good writer. I think he has pretty much proven that. Do we all enjoy every single thing he writes? Of course not. That should not bring down the fact that he is a good writer. In honor of his goodness, I am starting the X-Men Deadly Genesis Guessing Game Contest! I am stressing the whole "Ed Brubaker is a good writer" thing because, well, I can reasonably see how a lot of you folks might not think Deadly Genesis is all that great. I think #1 was good, but I can definitely see how reasonable minds may vary. So for those that have a problem with Deadly Genesis (specifically those who say, "I like Ed Brubaker, but I think his talents are being wasted writing an X-Men "Event"), just view this contest as a way to match wits with Ed Brubaker, who is a good writer.

The contest is as follows: I will post what I think the "twist" will be in Deadly Genesis, based on my guesses and some guesses of others (Michael Pullmann was the first one I saw make the main twist guess, but I am sure others had as well). The contest will be for you all to come closer to the ACTUAL plot of Deadly Genesis than I did.

I will judge the contest, and the winner gets a cool trade. The trade will be determined based on the winner's preferences (I want to make sure the winner gets something he or she has not already read and/or something he or she WANTS).

Here is my guess at the plot of Deadly Genesis:

This is the first team put together to save the original team.

Krakoa killed them, but realizing his mistake (that he could not feed off dead mutants), he let Cyclops free to go get him some fresh mutants.

Moira is naturally upset that Charles let a bunch of mutants die.

I do not think that Xavier neccesarily had to brainwash people to forget. I think he could pull this off by just not telling everyone, but let's say he brainwashes her.

Meanwhile, once they died, Xavier was prepared to just leave it be, as he did not want to see any more mutants die.

However, that's when Cyclops returns. This gave Xavier new hope. At this point, I bet he figured the original team was dead, too.

Now knowing that they are alive, he tries a new team. Note the international arrangement of X-Men. Wasn't that kinda weird? After all, why travel around the world when you can just go to USA. This is because the USA mutants were the ones he picked FIRST, and now they're dead.

So he had to stretch his reach to international mutants, as well as former acquantinces like Banshee and Sunfire.

Krakoa (or at least pieces of it) is now in space, and when the mutant energy escaped from Earth, it collided with Krakoa (or leftover pieces of it), bringing one of the dead mutants back to life.

So this is a cool idea because it makes Xavier a "villain" without REALLY making him a villain, as he never intended to send out a new team until Cyclops returned alive (heck, maybe he even thought his second team was alive!). This would address the whole "That sick bastard, why would he send out a new team when the previous team died?" complaint (which is a reasonable complaint). It also explains why Xavier went to international mutants for the All-New, All-Different Team.

So there you go! Simply come closer to the actual plot than that, and also come closer than everyone else, and you win yourself a nice comic book trade!

The contest will last until the 2nd issue is released (which is December 21st, 2005).

You can post your entries in the comments section.

Sounds easy enough, no?

So go to it!

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