The Comics Should Be Good Best Comics Of 2005 - Best One-Shot Or Mini-Series

The breathtaking Comics Should Be Good Year-End Review continues! This time: the best one-shot or mini-series! Sharpen your knives now!

Greg Hatcher:
Okay. This is going to look like blatant logrolling, but I just don't care because more people need to know about this guy. Brandon Hanvey's The Stereos: In The Garage was without question the best one-shot I saw in 2005.

Now, full disclosure: Brandon and his wife Nicole are dear friends of ours. Known them for years. We were at their wedding. I've worked comics shows with Brandon and in fact we're splitting a booth at the upcoming Emerald City Con in Seattle this April. Nevertheless, I honestly think that his book was the best single issue of anything to come out in 2005, and the reason is simple: crossover appeal.

This gentle story of a high school rock band is the most lovable comic book I've ever seen. I loved it. My students loved it. My friends at the printshop loved it. My wife loved it. Everyone who has seen it loves it. Over and over I would have the book in a stack of comics on a table, in class, at the art studio, wherever, and every time without exception it was Brandon's book that people would pick up to flip through, and once they started flipping, they stopped what they were doing and read it from start to finish. I saw this phenomenon play out any number of times; even the press operator at the shop that prints my students' zines did this. The Stereos is a comic that, like Brandon himself, is simply impossible to dislike.

So yeah, I know the guy. But I would plug his book anyway. Because it's just a great book. If Brandon weren't so in love with being a small-scale independent comics guy, he would be rich; because as soon as a major publisher picked this thing up and got it into bookstores, it would be a license to print money. Seriously.

Brad Curran:
If We3 counts, since 2/3rds of it was published this year, I think I'll go with that. If not, I'd say Livewires, which was a whole lot of fun.

[Editor's note: Only one issue of We3 came out this year.]

Bill Reed:
I could choose one of the Seven Soldiers minis. I mean, Klarion was awesome, Guardian had a killer second half, Zatanna was trippy fun. But those picks are probably too obvious, especially coming from me. Looks like I'll have to go with something else. But, like I said earlier, my memory is terrible. Does Street Angel count? Is that series returning? Whatever. The Street Angel trade is one of the best comics of the last decade. We'll go with that. And then, if a #6 shows up out of the blue, I will mimic Numfar and do the dance of joy.

Mark Ludy:
God. Damnit.

I totally missed Kim Deitch's Stuff of Dreams. Didn't even know it existed 'til I saw it mentioned in some other fine folks year-end comix blog reviews.

Which means that, with the addition of, like, three new panels ...

Ice Haven, a slightly modified reprint of Dan Clowes' sarcastically heartfelt and occasionally howlingly goddamn funny story of small town crime.

Well, actually like eight stories of small town crime.

Except that some of them aren't about crime.

But they're all in a small town.

Except the one about the Blue Rabbit. Shit. I dunno WHAT the fuck that was.

Anyway, this modified edition is twice the price an' smaller than the original form back in Eightball 22, but this story's good enough that it might be worth eight bucks for 3 pages.

Brian Cronin:
I would go with the Seven Soldiers series overall, but if I had to pick one, then I would definitely go with Seven Soldiers #0, and since I am never one to waste time, here is my initial review of Seven Soldiers #0:
Sometimes, it really is almost moving to see how Morrison does these things. He writes these comics ... and he uses a lot of the same ideas (don't get me wrong, another specialty of his is using ideas that other writers CAN'T think up) as other writers, but he manages to make them just come out ... better.

I think a lot of it comes from the lack of cynicism.

You could say the guy is too hip for his own good.

I would disagree, but you could say it.

But his work is not cynical.

And I admire the heck out of that. After you read the work of cynical writers, it just gets to you. It is like a fog covering you, and constantly following you with the wind currents.

In Seven Soldiers, Morrison introduces a big group of superheroes, and
kills them all in #0, setting up the gathering of the NEXT Seven Soldiers.

That is such a hackneyed idea, but Morrison totally avoids it coming off like that. Partially by using new characters (who you have more leeway with), but furthermore, by actually spending so much time investing in these characters that you actually feel sad when some of them die.

It is really good stuff.

Greg Burgas:
This is a very tough category, since all comics seemed to be geared toward mini-series these days. I don't know if "one-shot" refers to Original Graphic Novels, but I'm going to assume it doesn't because OGNs and minis are so different. I would put a particularly good issue of Solo in this category - so there! Anyway, Brad is right - Livewires was very fun, and apparently no one bought it. Mnemovore was very good. The Surrogates is doing well so far, but I'm not going to pick it because it's not finished. Elk's Run is close, even though it's only half done. Lastly, Captain Gravity and the Power of Vril was derivative, but extremely entertaining. All of them are worthy, but only one rose above:

GrimJack: Killer Instinct.

The return of John Gaunt! The return of John Ostrander! The return of Tim Truman! An excellent story with lots of twists and turns and weird stuff and betrayals and murders and all sorts of hard-nosed attitude from Mr. Gaunt and ... ninja mimes. NINJA MIMES. This is the kind of all-out, balls-to-the-wall fun that comics should be (not fun in the sense of it's funny, but in the sense that you have fun reading it). Buy the trade. Make yourself happy.

Tomorrow: the final installment!

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Will Entanglement Be Good?

Find out for yourself, as Brandon Hanvey has a 27-page (holy crap, that's a lot of pages!) preview of his upcoming graphic novel (it is a romantic comedy, which is a genre that is seriously lacking in comics today), Entanglement. Click here for the preview.

The Comics Should Be Good Best Comics Of 2005 - Best Ongoing Series

It's Part Three! How exciting! This time we focus on all those fun series that keep trotting out, month after month, entertaining us with 22-page slices of goodness, but never get their due because all anyone wants to talk about are trade paperbacks and mini-series. Poor little ongoing series - the Caribbean wife locked away in the attic of Mr. Rochester's house of comics.¹ I still love you, ongoing series! You can always come stay with me!

Let's see what some o' our contributors had to say:

Greg Hatcher:
You guys are killing me here. Anything good that I like that's new is either A) ending, like Gotham Central; or B) losing its creative team, like Conan; or C) not really on any kind of dependable schedule, like True Story Swear To God or Astro City.

Screw it. I'm going with True Story Swear To God, just because I have to pick something, and I really like this book and want more people to read it. Plus, Tom Beland's getting pretty good about keeping to a schedule.

[Editor's note: Jesus, Greg H. really likes TSSTG. Shit. Do I now have to track this down? Just another excellent book that I missed?]

Brad Curran:
It occurs to me that I didn't really follow any ongoing monthlies this year, at least for any extended length of time. I read Mark Waid and Barry Kitson's Legion revamp for awhile, but stopped after the fifth issue. Ex Machina and Plastic Man lost me, too, although I plan on catching up with them at some point. I'm very fickle when it comes to monthlies. The best I can muster is a vote for Runaways vol. 2, which I'm reading in digests.

Bill Reed:
To be honest, I don't even know if I read any ongoing series. Let's see. Human Target was very good, and was cancelled this year. Hmm ... Desolation Jones came out, that's some damned good comics ... then we've got ... oh, what the hell. I pick Fell. I mean, it just started, we only got three issues ... but it's ongoing,damnitt. A petite comics experiment, it's also good eats. Figurative eats. Not literal ones. I suppose it'd be high in fiber or something, though. Try it sometime.

[Editor's note: Desolation Jones doesn't count. It's a mini-series. Luckily Bill wised up and picked an ongoing.]

Mark Ludy:
Ongoing?

After the violent one two gut-shot of Mike Allred's alternately joyful and absolutely terrifying love letter to Silver Age DC, and Teddy Kristiansen's Eastern-art tinged meditations on loneliness 'n being human ...

I HAVE to say DC's Solo.

Takes a bunch of genuinely good, decidedly NOT fan favorite artists and let's 'em do whatever they want to do.

I kinda forgot about this book, only picking it up occasionally, until I started to think about this "Best of the Year Thing ..."

And realized that well over half of the "Beat Poor MarkAndrew Over the Head with their AWESOME STICK!" moments I've read in mainstream comics this year came from this humble anthology book.

And, surprise surprise, this makes for some of the most genuinely effective storytelling I've read this year. And sends me on a wild, harried hunt for back issues.

Every one of the four issues I bought this year (Paul Pope, Teddy Kristiansen, Howard Chaykin and Mike Allred) were bordering on genius, shelling out painstakingly labored Original Graphic Novel level material at a cheap five bones cover price.

You.

NEED.

These.

Comics.

Brian Cronin:
I understand that on the Comic Blogger's Poll, the Solo series is being treated as a series of one-shots, and that probably makes some sense, but what can I say, I am a cold-hearted snake[Editor's note: Like Paula Abdul?] - I don't play by rules, so since they DO number these things and it is ongoing, I am choosing Solo as my favorite ongoing of 2005.

As for why?

Well, look at it!!

You got a giant comic devoted to just Darwyn Cooke! You got a giant comic devoted to just Mike Allred! You got a giant comic devoted to just Howard Chaykin! Each and every issue of Solo promises to present the reader with a plethora of good stories, and the great art is almost always guaranteed.

Great art and really good stories each issue? A LOT of stories each issue? Stories in different genres?

What's NOT to like?

Please note that I would have picked All-Star Superman, but couldn't bring myself to choose as "Best Ongoing" a title that only had one issue.

Greg Burgas:
Sigh. I'm almost ashamed that I need to keep setting these guys straight. Actually, I haven't read True Story Swear To God, as I mentioned, and I don't have much of a problem with the other picks. But they weren't the best. So I thought long and hard. I put my puzzler to work. I liked a lot of ongoing titles this year, and this is a tough choice. But tough choices are what makes this country great, and I knew I had to take the challenge! Here is what I considered:

Small Gods. Technically, it's an ongoing, but only seven issues came out this year. It's still brilliant.
Ex Machina. If Vaughan is my writer of the year, I should at least consider one of his books, right? This is one of my favorite titles out there, and I almost picked it.
Fables. Another one of my favorites. However, the two-parter with Jack was a bit of a clunker (decent, but not up to the usual standard), and the climax to the "Homelands" arc was a bit anti-climactic, which, as I understand it, is not something climaxes should be.
Gødland. It's only six issues in, but it's awesome. I loves me some Gødland.

But none of those made the cut. So I choose ...

Noble Causes. "What?" you may say. "What? Isn't that just a superhero book? Where's the gravitas?" Well, screw gravitas. And screw Invincible, too - well, okay, don't, because it's a fine book, but Noble Causes is the best superhero book out there. And yes, I know we're supposed to move beyond superheroes and embrace all the possibilities of the medium, but when they're done this well, it's difficult. Jay Faerber doesn't write for the trade, even though he does big, sweeping epic storylines. Each issue gives you action, drama, hints about the big story but enough in the here and now to satisfy you. You get a contained story in each issue, plus enough to keep the overall story moving forward. This year he reached the end of a big, multi-thread story that took us to hell and deep space, and just when it seemed like he had nowhere else to go, he introduced the Blackthorne clan, the evil counterpoint to the Nobles. And the book just got better. When each issue is better than the last (a phenomenon that is taking place in Gødland, too), that's a damned fine comic. And that's why Noble Causes is the best book of the year. I get giddy when a new issue comes out. Isn't that what reading comics is all about?

Another category down. Like Tony Kornheiser says on Pardon The Interruption, I win again!

¹ Look at me with the high-falutin' literary references!

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Guest Rant - "Give Us an African-American Spider-Man!"

So, my pal Stony did not think that his rant in this week's Current Comic Conversation came out that well. He actually had asked me to delete it, but I left it in, so I feel bad if it did not go over well, after I kept it in over his protests. So to make it up to him, here is the full, elaborated upon, rant. Enjoy!

So here it is, my challenge to creators in comics who don’t all come from New York and are, well, on the pale side of the spectrum. Allow me to start with the inspiration of this rant, a quote from the Reverend Al Sharpton on the tv series “Boston Legal”: Yes… yes… I know… Boston Legal… but hey, people get inspirations for the most unlikely of sources, no? Think about Sir Isaac Newton and that apple falling on his head

"Today! Give us an African American Spider-Man. Give us a black that can run faster than a speeding bullet and leap over a tall building in a single bound. Not tomorrow, today. Today! The sun needs to come out today!"

Now, a lot of people are going to look at that quote and think, "Well that’s just Al bucking the system, he's just trying to get the system to change and that's never going to work, holding the system to ransom to put out minority comics" The thing I like about what Al says… this isn't a thing about blacks crying about reparations that some guys... I think Brian likes to call them “disenfranchised whites" always moan and piss about with their bleatings about "I never got a handout! and waah waah waah wahh" Man do those guys bug the hell out of me, but that's another thing totally. I see that quote... as a challenge.... to the Black creators, to the Asian creators, to the Hispanic creators, to the Maori creators, to us, a rallying call for us to create our own mythologies, and damn the consequences if they sell or not, but to make them anyway

I see it as a challenge to us to stretch ourselves and not just creators who mirror the white trends to put out our own flavour... Not just another black Superman, or an African American Spider-Man but to stretch our creativity to look into ourselves and create our own heroes, with their own virtues, their own weaknesses, and just put them out there and to give a right royal kick up the bums of our own future generations to pick up the trends and run with it, to want to tell stories about ourselves, and not just about any honky who gets a Green Lantern ring. No, I haven’t forgotten Mr Stewart… Isn’t he hosting some news show now…?

“But there’s no demand for minority comics! Look at what happened to Milestone!”

Who cares about demand? Was there a demand for Superman before he came out? Was there a demand for Spider-Man before he arrived? Was anyone really thinking "You know what I'm craving for? A guy... that dresses like a bat!" I say: Just put it out there, and if it's any good... it'll fly. Milestone was good stuff... and when that folded, what? Do we all just pack up and stop trying? Do we all just give up and go home? Do we all just resign ourselves to writing/drawing mainly white guys for the rest of comics history?

And to the readers out there, the ones who are largely from a majority perspective, let me assure you… this rant is in absolutely no way a threat to your way of life. This isn’t a threat to your paycheck, to all that you have earned and worked hard for so far. This is a rant for the other guys to take chances. And hey! If you want to read different comics that are put out by those other guys? Go ahead! If you don’t… guess what? That’s cool too. And if the other guys still want to read and enjoy the standard fare? Well get going! There’s some good stuff there!

Screw it if it's "minority' or not I'm just saying... to the creators of other ethnicities out there... Hurry up and put out your own stuff and stop copying off Kirby and Jim Lee.... hmmm... that last analogy doesn't quite fit, non?

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What I bought - 5 January 2006

It's a new year! Have I learned to curtail my spending habits? Of course not! I will, though - I'm slowly cutting my pull list, because let's face it, an annual culling is a good thing. No, I'm not going over to the Dark Side and converting to trades. Begone, foul trade paperback demons! You have no hold over me!

Where was I? Oh, yes, new comics. Good stuff this week, but also a disappointing new title, and another book I bought but will continue to warn you against! It's all part of my public service to you, the discriminating reader.

Batman & the Monster Men #3 by Matt Wagner
$2.99, DC
 
 
Ah, Matt Wagner. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
1. The art. Simple, yet classic. People who look different and real, the intimidating presence of Batman, the cool, reserved wealth of Bruce Wayne. Wagner is one of those rare artists who can draw wealth without seeming ostentatious.
2. The story. Batman spouting ridiculous dialogue to Sal Maroni without a hint or irony - "The only rest for your kind, Maroni, is on the flat end of a slab, or the deep end of the grave!" Why is this better than ASSBAR (Miller and Lee's thing, coined in the comments section of this post - and yes, I know the acronym doesn't exactly work, but it's funnier this way)? Doesn't Miller put ridiculous dialogue in Batman's mouth and expect us to dig it? Yes, but Wagner is a better writer than Miller (I know, sacrilege, but I'll type it again if you didn't read it correctly the first time), and here, it's done for a purpose other than scaring a little kid and Batman (and more importantly, the reader) knows it's ridiculous without having an inner monologue bludgeoning everyone over the head with how ridiculous it is. It's all a question of tone, people! Anyway, there is also Batman actually (sort of) doing some detective work, a nice tip of the hat to the old-school setting of Batman in New York (Hugo Strange's license plate reads "Empire State"), a nice scene between Bruce and Julie Madison, and lots of threads coming together. I forgot to mention in the last few issues that we even have an Indian assistant to Dr. Strange, just like in the original story. At least he's called Sanjay and they don't call him a Cossack, like they did in the politically incorrect 1930s. Another nice hat tip to the past. This is a very nice book.

Down #3 by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner
$2.99, Image/Top Cow
 
 
Brian mentioned something about Tony Harris doing the art on this, but he didn't. Well, he did the first issue, but since then it's been Hamner. The art is fine - Hamner is a perfectly serviceable artist. Next issue is the last one of this mini-series, and it's nothing you should kill your puppy to get. It's fine, but it's middle-of-the-road Ellis and will probably be relegated to that place where all middle-of-the-road Ellis goes, there to reside with Reload and Mek and Tokyo Storm Warning. Nothing bad, but nothing spectacular either. Deanna gets in to see Nick, who gives her assignment. If you think it has something to do with killing a bunch of people, you obviously know your Ellis. The interesting thing is the ending. Of course Deanna was going to face a choice about crossing the line, and she does. It's in an interesting situation, and sets up the final issue nicely. Even so, this is just okay.

The Exterminators #1 by Simon Oliver and Tony Moore
$2.99, DC/Vertigo
 
 
I was very disappointed with The Exterminators. I had high hopes for it, and there's nothing really that awful about it, but it's just not that interesting. I don't really care about mutant cockroaches or depraved exterminators or even Zen Buddhist cowboy exterminators. I don't need a full-page shot of Henry ripping a raccoon's guts out. There is some interesting stuff here - the idea that the mutant roaches are multiplying in the poor sections of town because no one cares if they do is interesting, but overall, this is just a dull and nasty book. In it we have three men propositioning a tenant so that she can get rid of the bugs in her apartment, an exterminator tasting the remains of a mouse, that same exterminator pinning a rat to a wall with a Rambo knife, the aforementioned raccoon disembowelment, the landlord (one of the aforementioned propositioning men) having sex and sticking his hairy ass in the air, and the aforementioned exterminator shooting up with roach poison. It's an unpleasant book. Maybe it's meant to be, but I don't have to like it. And I don't. So there!

Gødland #6 by Joe Casey and Tom Scioli
$2.95, Image
 
 
And then there's Gødland. Great, glorious, gargantuan, gregarious, goofy Gødland. This is on my short list for best title out there right now, and like most titles I love unabashedly, it's tough to tell you about it because it's just so freakin' excellent. Would I lie to you? Discordia goes on trial, and of course it's a circus. Something interesting happens to her when the verdict comes down, too. Meanwhile, Neela still wants to go into space, and finds the means to do so, while Adam learns more about Iboga and his destiny, and it promises more cosmic craziness. I really can't say enough about the awesomeness of this comic. Just a few choice moments: on the first page, a guy in his underwear gets angry because the coverage of the trial is pre-empting "My Name Is Earl." I'm with you, Underwear Guy - how dare they! Friedrich Nickelhead and Basil Cronus are still hanging around, but Basil is not enjoying life as a paper weight on Nickelhead's end table. Hilarity ensues! Finally, Doctor Doom - I mean The Tormentor - shows up (in Luxembourg, of all places, although I've been to Luxembourg, and I don't think the mountains are that high there), with his legion of, well, costumed rats. Seriously. Some of them are dressed like a superhero, others in business suits. W. T. F.?

Glorious. More fun than should we should be allowed to have while reading comics. The trade paperback should be out this month, so seek it out. Seek!

Hard Time #2 by Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes, Brian Hurtt, and Steve Bird
$2.50, DC
 
 
Another interesting issue, as Ethan gets into trouble with the inmates who may or may not have something to do with the murder last issue, and learns a lot about prison economics. This is the most fascinating part of the issue, because in most prison movies, the economic system is already in place and everyone understands it. In this, Ethan does not understand it, so it is explained to him (and us). He tries to take advantage of it, but finds that there is always someone who can make a better offer. Why the person who makes the better offer wants harm to come to Ethan is left unexplained. It's a nice little mystery. Ethan uses his power again (which I didn't know was invisible - does he even know about it? Help me out, loyal readers of the first volume!) and a nasty serial killer shows up at the prison. Good stuff.

The nice thing about Hard Time is that it has drawn me right in. Two issues into it and I'm already immersed in this world and I want to know more. I'm still looking for the trades of the first 12 issues, and I'm looking forward to this series continuing. Of course, it will probably get cancelled soon enough, but it's nice to have it around for now.

Jonah Hex #3 by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Luke Ross
$2.99, DC
 
 
Gaaaakk! Another. One. Issue. Story. Can we stand the brevity of it all?

The cool thing about these one-issue stories, beside the fact that they're good gut-punching tales, is that Hex isn't even slowly building a supporting cast for later, multi-issue epics. It's just him roaming the West dispensing his own brand o' justice. Excellent. I don't know how long they can keep this up, but it's fun to read and makes it easy to pick an issue up and see if you like it.

This one, actually, annoyed me a tad. First, it's a little too Deadwood for me, with the plot lifted from an early episode and even a reference to Yankton. It's a nice tale of revenge, however, and yes, Bat Lash does show up, wearing a flower in his hat and enduring taunts about his manhood. All in all, a decent issue, even if it feels stolen.

My biggest complaint with the issue is its political correctness. Now, I'm as liberal as they come (well, maybe not that liberal, but I'm still a lefty), but I'm getting sick of all the evil in the world comin' from the white man. Back in the day, all Western atrocities were committed by Native Americans, or, as the Duke would call them, "Injuns." Now, we've gone completely the other way. Of course the Indians in this book are "noble." They can kill someone as well as the next one, but they would never attack a wagon train! Plains Indians are people, and they get pissed off as much as the next group. I'm just tired of popular culture portraying them as somehow more noble than the whites. They were just savage in different ways. People suck sometime.

Okay, I'm done. Excoriate me at will!

Marlene by Peter Snejbjerg (translated by Snejbjerg and John Tomlinson)
$3.95, SLG
 
 
Snejbjerg's probably best known for his work on the second half of Robinson's Starman run or The Light Brigade, which is finally being collected in trade (go buy it!). This is a Danish work from 1998 that he translated for us, the ignorant English reading public. Be warned: it's weird.

It's the story of a model named Marlene who has an unfortunate effect on all men - she turns them into drooling idiots. Even Michael Joergensen, the detective assigned to investigate the murder of Marlene's stalker, falls under her spell. Meanwhile, there's that pesky murder, and another one occurs too, so is Marlene killing these ogling men, or is someone after her? And what's up with the artist who only paints Marlene? What's up with him, I say?

This is an interesting book. It's certainly fine reading, even though it feels a bit rushed. Joergensen is a bit of a cliché, but Marlene is very well developed as a character. It's by turns creepy, funny, exciting, and spooky. Snejbjerg's art has developed over the years, and his writing isn't bad. Interesting use of your four dollars.

Of course, it's European. You know what that means. Lots of nudity, both female and male. Lots. Of. Nudity. Not for the prudish. You have been warned!

Did I mention there was a lot of nudity?

Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein #2 by That Guy! and Doug Manhke
$2.99, DC
 
 
Frankenstein on Mars. Hee hee.

Supreme Power: Nighthawk #5 by Daniel Way and Steve Dillon
$2.99, Marvel
 
 
I told you last month to ignore this title. Don't buy it! Seriously. I hope you listened. This issue is a smidgen better, if only because Way attempts to get to the heart of the Batman/Joker relationship in a way that DC will not allow. But then it goes back to being nasty, cruel, misogynistic, and awful. Why am I reading it? I am a comic book martyr, for you, good readers. I read lousy books so you don't have to. Please avoid this. Like the plague, I tell ya!

Team Zero #2 by Chuck Dixon, Doug Mahnke, and Sandra Hope
$2.99, DC/Wildstorm
 
 
See, this is what the scourge of the six-issue trade paperback hath wrought. There is no earthly reason why this issue could not have taken five pages, MAX! All it does is bring Deathblow's team together for the mission to Peenemunde. Yes, we get to see them do their specialties, but I imagine we'll see them do those sorts of things on the mission itself, or else why bother? At the end, Deathblow says, "Nothing to prove here, ladies. You wouldn't be here if you weren't all hardasses." But why did we have to see each and every one of them being a hardass? Again, presumably they're going to have to be hardasses on the mission. This is just an excuse to pad the story to six issues. Gaaaaahhhh!

Sigh. I like the art, I like the moments in the story, but it's pointless. Do DC and Marvel want us to stop buying monthlies? Is that what they want? Stupid. Just give us a team and move on. I compared this to Where Eagles Dare last month. We didn't need to see Clint performing some mission all hardassily. Clint just shows up and you know Nazi asses will be kicked! And then he goes out and does it! That's what should have happened here. Apparently the ass-kicking will begin next issue. I can be patient, I suppose.

And, to make matters worse, no hot nurses this issue. Sigh.

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The Comics Should Be Good Best Comics Of 2005 - Best Artist

For the second of our 5-part series about the best comics of 2005, the staff decided to focus on artists. Shocking, I know - we did writers yesterday, so now we do artists. We're so unpredictable! I agree with Mr. Brian (I kind of have to, it's in my contract) - there is a lot of great talent out there, and just because all the sheep here picked Grant Morrison as best writer doesn't mean they don't think all the other ones suck. Keep bringing up your choices, though - we could always forget a great one! And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that you can cast your own vote over at the Comic Bloggers' Poll 2005, the brainchild of Chris Tamarri, whose name Cronin still can't spell!

Greg Hatcher:
Here's my criteria for picking a "best artist." Whoever it is should have range, variety, constantly be striving to improve, and show me something I haven't seen before. Which, again, makes this a tough call for me because the books I was looking at the most, art-wise, were older things, back issues and reprint collections and the like. I'd really like to say John Buscema, since I probably was blown away by more of his work in 2005 than anyone else's. Especially his Tarzan books for Marvel.

Of the folks doing current work, though, I am going to say Tom Beland. His True Story Swear To God is becoming, more and more, a treat for the eyes. He understands comics and cartooning and he knows when to push the slapstick-exaggeration on a character and when to dial it down. And he has an absolutely perfect grasp, I think, of how to pace a story and lay out a page. Best of all, he continues to get BETTER. He never just hacks it out to make a deadline. This is one of the advantages of being an indie self-published sort. Plus the book is a terrific read story-wise, too.



Brad Curran:
I think I'll go with [Frank Quitely] for Best Artist, for his elegant and creative storytelling in We3 and All Star Superman, even if that only comes out to 3 comics this year. I can't think of anyone else whose work I read this year that impressed me more. Well, from this year. Jaime Hernandez and Steve Ditko impressed me a lot, to name two artists, but I didn't read anything they published this year (although that's a moot point with Ditko). That, and I'm already kissing up to Morrison, so I might as well give one of his frequent collaborators some love too.

Art from We3 #3. Holy shit, that's awesome. Awe. Some.

Bill Reed:
I'm going with J.H. Williams III. With a regal name like that, he better be damned good, and he is. I think the last issue of Promethea came out this year — I could be wrong — and it was a sight to behold in its poster form. Also, we got Seven Soldiers #0 and the first four issues of Desolation Jones, which were exquisitely beautiful comic periodicals.

Art from Seven Soldiers of Victory #0

Mark Ludy:
HUGE GLOBBERING CHUNKS OF LOVE for Joe Kubert, who's my favorite artist ever and STILL kickin' righteous ass at the age of seventy-nine, turning in the immensely enjoyable and all-round solid Jew Gangster ...

But I'm calling the entire team who worked on Promethea #32. (J.H. Williams III - artist, Alan Moore - writer, Todd Klein - letterer/co-designer) for reimagining the traditional 32-page comic as some kind of
bizarre art object.

Now, this wasn't a completely successful experiment, to my mind ...

But I'm awed by the gi-normous brass balls it would take to (A) think this up; (B) get DC to publish it; and (C) at least make it absolutely gorgeous t' look at. This issue, being the final of the series, also serves as the last word on both Alan Moore's mystical ramblings on tarot cards and all whatnot ...

AND the most ambitious of his experiments with the comics form, transcending the "Hey, what can I do with a series of panels that's never been done" inventiveness that's why I bought 31 previous issues, even when the mystical lecture lost me ...

To completely reinvent the comic form.

I'm always happy when the lines between comics and the visual arts start to get fuzzy, and I'd love to see more conceptual interplay between comics and the "fine" arts, the same way that comics an' film seem to have hooked up.

This wasn't just the best drawing of the year, though I might well argue that J.H. Williams has a lock on THAT too, but this takes comic art a step forward, and totally reconsiders what a comic can be. Groovy stuff, and easy on the eyes even for those of us who didn't jive on the drawn out mystical lecture stuff so much.

[For more on Promethea #32, Mark points us to Jog.]

Brian Cronin:
Remember what I said about Seven Soldiers #0 and All-Star Superman #1? Well, the artists on those two books are also the two artists that I would point to as the best ARTISTS of 2005, but because ties are like kissing your sister (which is weird), I will choose Frank Quitely over J.H. Williams III, even though it is probably a bit unfair, as Quitely only drew the one issue of All-Star Superman, while Williams did Seven Soldiers #0 AND Desolation Jones, but consarnit, I just think Quitely is better (and I think Quitely did some awesome covers this year, too, that should count for something).

Greg Burgas:
And so it falls to me, once again, to be the voice of reason. I almost picked Williams, but decided that as nice as his work was, it didn't blow me away. Okay, it did, especially in Seven Soldiers #0, but others blew me away more. I considered Tony Harris on Ex Machina - a beautiful book with strong storytelling and unique characters. I considered Bryan Hitch on Ultimates - even though I don't buy it, I can look at it in wonder, can't I? I thought about Luke Ross on Samurai: Heaven And Earth, but decided it was a little too photo-referenced (or at least it looked that way to me). So many choices! Finally, I came up with someone whose art looked like nothing else this year: Tommy Lee Edwards on The Question. Holy bleepin' bleep, that was gorgeous. And unlike anything he'd ever done before:

I like how he drew Superman the way Vic sees him - as pure energy (kind of like that Information Society song). It's a cool way to look at Supes.

Choke on this, J.H. Williams III!

I also decided to throw another superb-looking book in the mix, because I like to waffle: Sal Abbinanti's Atomika, with its astonishing and bizarre double-paged spreads strewn throughout each issue. Soak in the gorgeousness!

Art from Atomika #5

I rule again. Sorry, blog pals, it's just common sense! (Of course, it helps that I have the last word, don't you think?)

Comments? Questions? Vitriol-filled rants about how we all don't know nuthin'? They're all welcome here!

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Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #32!

This is the thirty-second 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 thirty-one.

Let's begin!

Today is another special theme week, inspired by a request by David Campbell, asking to clear up one of the urban legends on the list today.

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: The GI Joe series was partially based on a previous Marvel pitch Larry Hama made to Marvel.

STATUS: True

In the early 80s, Hasbro came to Marvel looking to both have a comic book to tie into their new launch of smaller, more detailed GI Joes and also have a back story for the characters.

Luckily, Marvel editor Larry Hama already had developed a series for Marvel that had not been picked up called Fury Force, which was about, oddly enough, a group of specialized soldiers who worked for SHIELD.

The concepts very easily translated to Hasbro's pitch, and Hama was given the job of not just writing the comic, but designing the backstory for each toy character.

According to Hama (in an interview at QKTheatre.com),

There were a lot of holdovers from the 'Fury Force' concept that I had been developing for Marvel at the time. The whole idea of a secret base under a motor pool, for instance. I even had a "Snake-Eyes" type character, who didn't speak, had his face covered with a cowl and was a mysterious assassin type. He carried a pump shotgun and a commando knife in his boot and was actually inspired by the Pahoo-Ka-Ta-Wah (Wolf Who Stands in Water) character in the old 'Yancy Derringer' TV show.

Luckily for us, Metropolis Comics got ahold of the original Fury Force design sheets, and they have a nice bit about it at this link. Here are some of the original designs:

The whole team



Hawk



Scarlett



Soon, all of these characters would make their way, in one form or another, into 1982's smash hit, GI Joe #1.



Oddly enough, though, while you might have expected that Cobra was just a substitute for Hydra, that was not the case. Archie Goodwin came up with the concept of Cobra after Hasbro approached Marvel.

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: The famous "Silent Issue" of GI Joe was originally meant to have dialogue in it, but it was left out due to some sort of error.

STATUS: False

The 1984 issue of GI Joe #21 has become a modern comic classic.



The concept of an entire comic without any dialogue was fairly novel at the time (not the first time it was done, but one of the most notable), and on such a popular title!

Rumors have swirled around since then, because the idea was SO weird, that it was not INTENTIONAL, that the dialogue was lost in a printing error, or something like that.

This, however, was not the case.

It is true that the issue was produced in haste, as the book was behind schedule, leaving Larry Hama to not only write the issue, but DRAW the issue as well (behind that awesome Mike Zeck cover).

However, the idea for the silent issue was in Hama's head for awhile. According to Hama (in an interview with Dwight Jon Zimmerman, from David Anthony Kraft's Comics Interview #37 & 38),

I wanted to see if I could do a story that was a real, complete story - beginning, middle, end, conflict, characterization, action, solid resolution - without balloons or captions or sound effects. I tried to do it again, as a matter of fact, with the Joe Yearbook #3 story.

So while yes, the genesis of the issue probably came due to Hama's interest coinciding with a need for haste, but the issue was always meant to be dialogue-less.

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: One of the G.I. Joes was based upon Larry Hama himself.

STATUS: True

For years, one of the coolest things about the GI Joe toys was how much effort and detail Larry Hama went into with the backstory and origin of each member of the team. Hama would often give characters real names that were puns or names of people he knew, even going so far as to take names off of the Vietnam War Memorial (Hama, himself, was an Army veteran) as a tribute to the fallen soldiers. He eventually dropped this practice when requests became too numerous.

However, in 1987, the ultimate honor that Hasbro could give to Hama came about, they made HIM a GI Joe!

As Hama recounts (in this interview with Dan Epstein), That was a lot of fun. They actually sent the sculptor to take photos of me. He's the same guy that did a lot of the holograms for credit cards. He's a miniaturist sculptor. He did the dove for the VISA card. Once you sort of reduce a likeness to that size, a lot is lost. It was rather flattering.

Here is a picture of the figure (courtesy of Fletch Adams):



Pretty cool, eh?

Well, to quote the adage, now you know, and knowing is half the battle!

Feel free to drop off any urban legends you'd like to see featured!!

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Current Comic Conversation for 1/5

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 Jake (his blog is here) and my pal Stony (Jake=J, S=Stony and B=Brian). There very likely WILL be some spoilers mentioned in the discussion, so be forewarned!

Let's begin!

OCT050023 13TH SON WORSE THING WAITING #3 (OF 4) $2.99

B: what is this about?

B: Either of you two know?

J: nope

S: And there's already been 2 of them...

B: I am just surprised, as it is three issues in.

B: And I have no idea what it is about.

S: I'm guessing something... Lovecrafty?

J: But it's yet another strange title from Dark Horse

J: much like SIN CITY GLASS ASHTRAY BLACK DEATH ICELANDIC SCHNAPPS

B: I must say, though, that if

SEP050063 SIN CITY CERAMIC ASHTRAY RED APPLE CIGARETTES $9.99

B: INCLUDES the cigs

B: Then that is a good price.

J: The funny thing

J: Is that "red apple" cigarettes are from Pulp Fiction

B: Sin City is pulp fiction!

B: So it works!

J: BAH

J: I want Quentin out of Sin City

B: That is what his parole officer said, too.

OCT050055 STAR WARS PURGE ONE SHOT $2.99

B: Any clue?

B: Anyone?

B: Bueller?

S: The purge of the Jedi?

J: It's what Jabba the Hutt does after eating too many of those still-alive aliens

B: Could this have to do with the "purge" they are doing of the Star Wars titles?

B: That'd be kinda cool, I guess.

B: If they have a crossover to announce a cancellation.

J: Why would they stop doing Star Wars comics?

B: No, just not the CURRENT Star Wars comics.

NOV050252 AQUAMAN #38 $2.50

S: Is this where Busiek comes on?

S: The Sword and Sorcery thing?

B: No.

B: One of the annoying things about Infinite Crisis.

B: Is the same annoying thing about Crisis on Infinite Earths.

B: Where the "main" title will include basically the entire plot of the "subordinate" title

B: Making you wonder why bother reading the subordinate title at all?

B: If the main crossover series is going to include the entire plot!!

B: Of course, I guess this gets to the gist of what the folks at spoilt talk about.

B: They suggest that "spoiling" the plot of a comic would not really impact one's enjoyment of the actual comic that much.

S: Oh I dunno, i liked being surpriosed about who Ronin was

B: As you read a comic not for the "summed up plot"

B: But for the nuance and details.

B: Stuff that would not be present in a plot summary.

B: Sorta like how a musical will provide the audience a complete summary of the story at the beginning.

B: But, for instance, if you read Infinite Crisis #3, and it BASICALLY told you what happens to the Amazons of Paradise Island.

B: Would you be interested in reading an issue of Wonder Woman which describes the events in greater detail?

S: I don't think I buy that... This is essentially, a story... If you have the story already, why do you need to buy the comic?

B: Well, you know the plot of King Kong

B: Before you watch King Kong, no?

B: But you still watch it.

S: Hmmm... I would if I were already reading Wonder Woman....

S: I guess if the plot-hook or whatever it's called is strong enough, it might just lure new readers...

S: I remember when Jack and Ted Knight first appeared in Zero hour, it was a couple panels... Now just as well i thought I'd try that title anyway, because the brief scenes i saw of Ted saying he'll carry on and Jack saying 'good luck bro!" weren't exactly the most riveting pull to try a new comic...

B: That reminds me of the hiLARious Blue Beetle intro in Infinite Crisis #3.

S: That was weird

J: Where did you leave off?

B: Asking whether you feel that giving away the plot of an issue of Wonder Woman in Infinite Crisis #3 would keep you from reading the next issue where it details the same plot.

J: Like I care

J: I don't read Wonder Woman

J: But I suspect that people who regularly read it would get pissed

S: How so?

B: So you think it WOULD affect you?

B: If you read Wonder Woman, that is.

J: The idea of resolving a WW plot in some other place

J: Is just kind of silly

B: But the plot ALSO resolves in Wonder Woman.

B: It was just resolved in Infinite Crisis FIRST.

B: The Wonder Woman issue gives the same story in greater detail.

B: So, would you still want to read it, in greater detail?

J: Well that pretty much removes any jeopardy that the plot had

B: Well, as I mentioned to S, so does watching King Kong (2005).

J: I dunno, I can't get past the whole "pretend you read Wonder Woman" thing

B: Touche.

NOV050232 BATMAN AND THE MONSTER MEN #3 (OF 6) $2.99

B: How amazing is Wagner's art on this book?

S: I still haven't read #2... which is missing somewhere in the treacherous mists of my flat

J: It's quite good

S: Well at least it's better than Trinity

B: It IS bettter than Trinity.

J: I liked Trinity

B: But I liked the art on Trinity, too.

B: Just saying that I think Monster Men is better.

B: Speaking of Batman, did you see that Sam Kieth is now DC Exclusive, and doing a Batman mini?

J: I read something like that

B: That's pretty cool, I think.

J: I like Kieth

S: I wonder if they'll get him to do some more DC characters... would be nice to see Keith do some lesser DC character, like baker on Platic man

B: Yeah.

S: I liked Trinity too mostly... His take on R'as was a bit off though I though

B: He did a hilarious Bizarro!

S: He did a great Bizarro, yes

S: His R'as? not so cool

B: Fair enough.

JUN050460 BATMAN BLACK AND WHITE STATUE JOE KUBERT $55.00

B: Is it cheaper because it is black and white?

J: 55 bucks for a statue?

B: Wouldn't that be funny?

J: Fair price

B: If statues were expensive just because they were painted?

J: I think the sculpting has something to do with it too

B: Something.

S: i wonder if they come cheaper half-baked?

B: A little.

B: You mean just a playdoh statue?

J: "Make your own Batman" statue!

APR050436BATMAN THE LONG HALLOWEEN SER 1 BATMAN AF PI

S: I haven't even seen any pics of these... Have you?

B: No sir.

J: I saw some

S: I fear for the standability of toys designed by Sale...

J: It captures Sale's designs

J: but thats about it

B: http://www.psychodogtoys.com/Batman-longhalloween.htm)http://www.psychodogtoys.com/Batman-longhalloween.htm

B: Here ya go.

S: Grazie

B: Yeah, not exactly inspired toys.

S: I wonder what Darwyn cooke's toys will be like...

J: DC Direct still has yet to do a decent straitforward Batman figure

B: I count the McGuiness one as pretty straightforward.

J: All of them so far have been based on artists designs

B: Oh, gotcha.

S: I disagree. I LOVE my Alex Ross designed Batman figure.


S: Mainly because this Batman... has brown eyes.

J: Oh, it's good

J: But I mean like a Marvel Legend or something

J: Take the old Superman line for example

S: I hate Marvel's toys... too many balls of articulation

J: it was just a very basic line of figures

B: Didn't they have a Justice League Batman toy?

B: Not designed on an artist's design?

B: http://www.figurerealm.com/ItemPics/8697.jpg)http://www.figurerealm.com/ItemPics/8697.jpg

B: There you go.

B: There's a straightforward (FUGLY) Batman.

J: Yeah, no

NOV050255 DAY OF VENGEANCE INFINITE CRISIS SPECIAL $3.99

B: If the Infinite Crisis tie-ins were members of the comedy troupe, Stella.

B: Discluding, of course, Rann/Thanagar, which was crap on a stick.

B: Which one would be Michael Ian Black?

J: Villains united

B: TOTALLY.

J: Because it was good

B: And I pick OMAC Project for David Wain.

B: And I really see Day of Vengeance as Michael Showalter.

B: Not as good as the others.

B: Very forgettable.

B: But decent enough, in their own right.

S: I have no idea who you're talking about

S: Not a one.

J: I know nuzzink!

J: See, once upon a time, there was a great show called the State

B: I mean, people do not even recall that Showalter was DOUG!

B: That is how nameless he is!

J: Doug the cartoon, or Doug that said "I'm outta here"?

B: The latter.

NOV050320EXTERMINATORS #1 (MR)$2.99

S: This is it! This is the one I thought DMZ was!

S: I like to try every new issue that vertigo puts out... just to be there on the groundfloor of the new PREACHER or FABLES

B: I read the preview copy.

B: Exterminators rocks.

J: What's the premise?

B: The gist of the plot is as follows:

B: It's LA

B: And the bugs are pretty badass.

B: But they're under control.

B: Due to a special toxin.

B: So everything is just the same as it is today.

B: No one knows that it is just this toxin keeping them in line.

J: I don't recall the bugs in LA being that badass

B: Exactly.

J: The Crips are pretty hardcore though

B: Because it is being hidden from you.

B: Well, in this first issue, we find out that not only does the toxin no longer work - it is mutating them into super cockroaches.

S: Alas... Vertigo's gone downhill... I had high hopes for Human target too

B: So that is the premise.

B: Following these exterminators as they end up having to fight super cockroaches.

B: All with super duper art by Tony Moore.

S: Thank you, Mr Infinite-Crisis-#3, now i don't need to buy the comic to know what happens!

B: BAH!

B: Yes, like "A virus kills all the men on Earth" really ruins Y for you.

B: Doofus!

J: WHAT?

J: I was waiting for the trade!

J: THANKS A LOT!

S: Me too!

B: Waiting for the trade is killing comics, or so I hear.

NOV050236 GOTHAM CENTRAL #39 $2.50

B: He best not become the Spectre.

J: I predict that this comic will be hardcore badass awesome

B: But it is pretty much a given now, I believe.

S: Wait... who is becomign Spectre?

J: I hear that Montoya is gonna be the Batwoman

S: Commish Gordon?

B: I think she is going to DATE the Batwoman.

B: Never mind, Stony. No ruining Gotham Central for you.

S: I bet the new Spectre is a WASP

J: Not this guy

S: Oh tell me! I don't read GC anyway

B: Crispus Allen, Stony.

J: Allen was a STRONG BLACK MAN

S: YES!!!!

B: Montoya's partner.

J: Which is why DC decided that he had to get shot!

S: Finally!

B: He was killed last issue.

S: A black spook!!

S: oh wait...

J: So now they are gonna make a STRONG BLACK MAN all pale

S: Forget I said that last bit

J: When he becomes the Spectre

J: Because DC hates STRONG BLACK characters

B: And the new Spectre apparantly is going to be torn between the spirit of vengeance and this logical, factual person who is the new host.

B: Sounds like Crispus, no?

B: Hey, Stony, speaking of black characters.

B: Didn't you have some sort of rant?

B: Or something?

B: That you wanted to share with the people.

S: I thought you didn't want that?

B: Go right ahead.

B: Here's your platform.

S: I thought that's why you didn't like the last CCC?

B: No, that was because the last CCC was half-assed.

B: Especially my contributions.

S: Bloody hell... I can't remember what I said1

B: Come on, this is your platform!

B: Black heroes - GO!


J: I have no problem with Crispus being the Spectre

J: I think it's a cool idea

B: Meanwhile, I will say, Jake, that I don't dislike Allen as the Spectre EITHER. I'm just irritated that it is another Rucka character becoming a big character in the DCU.


S: Why does that bug you?

J: He's a Brubaker character too

B: True.

B: But mainly Rucka.

S: Ok, now I'm bugged

J: HA

S: Bloody Brubaker getting his grimy fingers everywhere

B: Nepotistic continuity is silly.

B: So, come on, Stony, what did the good reverand say?

S: This reminds me... of a quote by the Reverend Al Sharpton

S: "Today! Give us an African American Spider-Man. Give us a black that can run faster than a speeding bullet and leap over a tall building in a single bound. Not tomorrow, today. Today! The sun needs to come out today!"
-The Reverend Al Sharpton

B: So how is this Sharpton quote relevant, Stony? Elaborate, please.

S: Now,. a lot of people are going to look at that quote and think, "well Al's just bucking the system, he's just trying to get the system to change and that's never going to woprk, making the system put out minority comics"

S: But not me. I have a different view on it.

B: What kind of different view?

S: I see it as a rallying cry, nay, a challenge! A challenge to creators from minority backgrounds to come out and put forth their own creations, ones that deliberatley reflect their own identities

B: But isn't a mantra of "let's see some more new ideas" pretty basic?

J: Didn't they already try that with Milestone?

B: Milestone was good stuff!

S: I mean, You had Stan lee... and arguably his greatest creation was a dorky kid growing up on the streets of new York... it was simple, it was heartfelt, and it was what. he. knew. These days you have, what, english/scottish/black writers? filopino artists? All working on this character of Spider-Man that is pretty much removed from their own backgrounds and experiences

B: I don't know if Spider-Man's creation was all that heartfelt.

S: Milestone was good stuff... and when that folded, what? Do we all just pack up and stop trying? Do we all just give up and go home/ Do we all just resign ourselves to writing/drawing white guys for the rest of comics history?

B: I think he, like creations like Batman, were just meant to make a buck.

J: I think Spider-Man was heartfelt

J: Because Stan was sure it would be a failure, but he did it anyway

B: Where did he say he was sure it would be a failure?

J: In every interview he gave about the creation of Spider-Man?

B: I mean, the comic ITSELF may have been heartfelt

B: But the creation was not.

J: You're probably right there

S: Well there's the whole other thing of marketing, of being able to get this stuff to the people we want it to reach... But i'm just saying,. i'd like to see some diversity, and yes, it's hard... They don't always sell, but hey1 Let's put that stuff out there, because without that stuff already out there, how are future creators going to be inspired by something they see that can bang! reflect themselves and their own experiences and backgrounds?

B: Fair enough.

B: But you mention diversity.

B: Shouldn't we expect that from EVERYone?

S: Yes, I knew you'd latch on that word

J: Does it count if a guy like Morrison creates a bunch of minority characters?

J: Or do black characters have to come from black creators?

B: I mean, EVERYone is in the same boat as black creators.

B: NOone is creating new superheroes.

B: So sure, I'd like to see them try new diverse heroes.

B: But I'd like to see new heroes PERIOD.

B: Heck, look at the Ultimate Universe.

B: We're five years in, and we have, what, ONE new character?

B: Two, sorry

B: The big guy who is friends with Flash.

J: I don't know if that was the intent of the Ultimate line

S: How about this... A scottish guy... does some scots stories... an Irish guy... does some stories with an irish guy, doing, i dunno, a lot of drinking... A black guy putting a white hero smack dab into whatever kind of past he had, just to see how he would react... An Indian writer using Hindu concepts in say, a veritgo comics...

S: I think you too have missed the point of the Ultimate line... the hell is wrong with you?

B: Did you see that bit in the recent Ultimate X-Men comic where they even kept the thing with Havok and Cyclops' powers?!?

J: It was a good set-up for the lead pipe gag

B: If ever you're gonna have a place to do new things.

B: It should be the Ultimate Universe.

NOV050282 SEVEN SOLDIERS FRANKENSTEIN #2 (OF 4) $2.99

B: Anyway it could be better than #1?

S: Last issue was a weird weird ass thing

J: It's possible

B: Wouldn't that be so awesome?

B: If this was even BETTER?

J: He goes to Mars to fight things

J: That's pretty awesome

B: That IS pretty awesome.

S: I liked it, but, it was just so weird

S: I think I liked it because it was Mahnke though

B: Bah.

B: Mahnke is good.

B: But it was good because of the MIXTURE!

B: Good writing AND good art.

J: Mahnke was really rushing there

S: he made the pretentious weirdness work

B: Yeah, I DID notice that, a bit.

B: The first thing, not the untrue pretentious comment.

S: You lie, I know you're argeeing with me

NOV050313TEAM ZERO #2 (OF 6)$2.99

S: I've missed Action Dixon

J: Ah, resurrecting Jim Lee ideas from the mid-90's

B: Dudes!

B: I read the issue.

B: And it actually IS ressurecting the ideas!

S: I dunno, the Team 7 series were always quite a lot of fun

J: Hey, it can sometimes be really good

J: Look at Casey's Wildcats

B: For instance, Marc Slayton is in it.

B: And his name is Backlash.

B: I don't get it.

J: Is it set in the past?

B: I mean, is this supposed to be "in continuity"?

B: It's set during World War II.

J: Oh

B: So is this saying that Marc Slayton was around since World War II?!?

S: Man, you guys are picky...

J: I like Slayton better when he has a mechanical leg

B: Because Dixon wrote the Team 7 series.

B: And that was in Vietnam.

B: So you'd THINK that he would know if this was in continuity, no?

J: Just leave Dixon alone to write his war comics

J: It's all he has left!!

S: "I'm Joy"
"Is that a name or a promise?"
It's just fun! Just stop thinking and enjoy it!..... much the opposite of what Morry's comics make you do actually...

S: Ok ok, I kid

B: But their names!

B: Why do that for no reason!?!?

J: Because the Wildstorm universe is all going to shit anyway

J: So who cares?

B: But it WAS a cool issue.

B: And next issue, Tommy Lee Edwards covers!!

B: Anyone read Tommy Lee Edwards What If..? Daredevil last week?

J: No

S: no... good?

B: No

B: But nice art.

J: Well that settles that

S: What was the concept?

B: Matt Murdock in Japan.

B: During the time that Europeans first visited.

B: A bit YAWN.

S: *snore*

B: Total snoozefest.

B: Might have been interesting, if it came out in 1970.

B: And it would at least be original.

S: Let's see if we can come up with a better one

B: Matt Murdock in a romance comic.

B: The cover can be "I know you're making eyes at another man, even though I'm blind!!!"

J: Would his girlfriend get impaled at the end?

B: Yes.

B: Sexily.

NOV051783 CITY OF HEROES #9 $2.99

J: This is a comic now??

B: Yeah.

B: And you can't understand it if you do not follow the game.

B: I know, I tried.

NOV051782 DOWN #3 (OF 4)$2.99

S: Y'know, Warry's really doing a lot more comics than I thought...

S: I thought he'd all but given up, but no, he's really churning them out

B: No, he isn't.

B: This comic was written 27 years ago.

B: Ellis was, like, six when he wrote this.

S: Oh, right...

J: Cool

J: This comic actually slipped by me

S: How's Tony's art on this?

B: It is good.

S: Are all the women as buxom as they are in Ex Machina?

B: Yes.

S: Tony Harris is the new Frank Cho!

J: He's not hyping it at his site

J: So this leads me to believe that he's not happy with it

B: I don't think it's a matter of happy and unhappy.

B: Just, how pumped can you be for a project from years ago?

NOV051984 ASTONISHING X-MEN SAGA #1 $3.99

J: What the hell is this?

B: Man.

B: What a lame idea.

B: How do you have a recap comic.

B: When, like, nothing happened.

B: It's obviously tied into the whole thing Lost does.

B: Where, right before a new batch of episodes begings.

B: They air a one hour recap.

B: For two reasons

B: 1. To recap and help new readers and refresh old ones.

B: 2. Figuring that its an extra hour of Lost to make some money

B: Same thing here.

S: Which reminds me, must buy the new trade

B: Saga recaps for the old readers and new ones

B: and it hopefully will make some money via an extra Astonishing issue.

J: The second Astonishing arc wasn't that good

S: Yeah I thought the first arc was ok, a good read but... nothing mind-blowing

B: And now we have a recap issue.

S: I suppose it really does just down to how much are you invested in the characters?

B: To tell us the three things that happened.

S: It's all soap opera

B: Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I dislike Astonishing.

S: Don't spoil!!

B: Just that the idea of a recap issue for a book like Astonishing.

B: Just silly.

J: I'm leaning in that direction

J: The only thing that's keeping me around is Cassaday

S: I've met him.

S: He was a bit moody

B: By the way, Jake.

B: Remember your take on the end of #12?

B: Which I totally agree with.

J: Yeah

B: Wizard did a bit on it.

B: And they were acting like it was what it was.

B: And not your take.

B: They didn't say for SURE.

J: Well they're all idiots

B: So I'm hoping they were just riffing.

B: But I just worry that Wizard is "plugged in."

J: Because to take the end of #12 as it appears would be insanely stupid

B: I really hope it isn't what it "appears" to be, and it is what you think it is.

S: It's quite fun watching you dance around what you don't want to spoil...

J: Oh, when you see it, you'll agree

J: You look at that last page and say "wow, this is dumb"

B: Hehe

J: I mean, talk about completely missing the point

NOV051959DOC SAMSON #1 (OF 5)$2.99

S: You know what they should do? Give Doc a younger brother that's more him than he is... and move him in an apartment with his old man, and a british caretaker

B: Have you been drinking again?

B: Everything in moderation.

B: Remember that.

J: Yeah, I can't be bothered with second rate Hulk supporting characters

S: What? Frasier lasted for years! copy that formula! Bottle it

J: Especially when the Hulk himself is meaning less and less to Marvel

B: Move on!

AUG051916 IRON MAN #5 $2.99

B: Can it be?!?!

J: FUCK YEEAH

J: Here's the thing

J: Nothing is gonna happen in this book

S: I'm not even going to make any jokes, it's just too easy

S: Let it go

J: The 6 issue arc structure dictates that this issue is all set-up for #6

B: This is true.

J: So it will be massively disappointing

B: But it is OUT!

S: ... And?

J: We might get to see the new armor

J: so that's something

S: Is this something new?

S: Is this some great revelation you've JUST stumbled on?

S: No wonder you like Brubaker...

NOV051967MARVEL ZOMBIES #2 (OF 5)$2.99

S: Surprisngly enough, given my apathy towards zombies... i'm giving this a go

J: It's entertaining

B: Oddly so.

B: In addition...they really should have made it an Ultimate book.

B: It would have sold a lot better.

S: I like that zombie Spidey still does his brain-dead quips...

B: And it IS a freaking spin-off from an Ultimate title!!

B: There's a great scene in this issue where they lie about eating, and someone
figures out they're lying by a trick.

J: Yeah, it's odd that they don't really refer to it being a spin-off

B: Very funny.

NOV052003 PUNISHER #29 (MR) $2.99

B: What's going on in this series?

B: Oh right, the entrails scene.

B: Good stuff.

J: Punisher is about to torture someone

B: Good stuff.

NOV051983 SABLE & FORTUNE #1 (OF 6) $2.99

B: ...

B: ....

B: Yeah.

B: Sable & Fortune.

J: Yep

B: Yeah.

NOV051977 SENTINEL #3 (OF 5) $2.99

B: You reading this at all?

J: Nope

B: Fair enough.

B: It's decent.

B: Slight, but decent.

J: I like the idea of a giant death machine being friends with a kid

B: You like Iron Giant?

J: I liked it

B: Same concept, no?

J: Basically

B: So why not give Sentinel a shot?

J: Because...

J: I dunno

S: You know what I'd really like to see Grell do? Daredevil. he just does urban warriors great, I think if he was given Daredevil, he'd be... well, he'd be better than Brubies anyway

S: I mean really, brubaker on Daredevil? Where's the challenege? whewre's the uniqueness? That's why bendis on Daredevil was good, he was different, we didn't know what he'd be like on Daredevil... But I think we pretty much know what Brubaker will be like on this

NOV051944 SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED #13 $2.99

B: I don't like how these are starting to fit formulas

B: Like, if EVERYthing is offbeat, then it is no longer "offbeat"

B: It is just the beat.

NOV052001 X-MEN THE END MEN AND X-MEN #1 (OF 6) $2.99

B: Only thing more annoying than this story is waiting for a year for it to be over.

S: You guys both read a LOT of comics... Let me ask you something...

S: Do you think you might enjoy them more... if you could only read a few?

B: No.

J: Nah

J: I really like the comics I read

B: I like reading comics.

B: And I do not let reading so many affect my judgment.

S: Well how would you know if they did or didn't?

B: Because it doesn't do anything.

B: How does reading a lot of comics make a comic worse or better?

J: I'm not reading a bunch of crap because I feel obligated

J: All Star Superman would be 1 million times better if thats the only comic you read ever

S: See?

J: No, not really

S: Yeah I didn't thjink it was that great either

J: You need to read some shit to make the good stuff stand out

S: It was awesome... but not great as great could be

B: The only thing reading more books does

B: is A. Make the good stuff stand out more

B: and B. Teach you some typical plots.

J: Reading a lot of books makes you appreciate the good ones more

B: Right, MORE

B: appreciate them MORE

B: stand out MORE

B: Not "appreciate period" or "stand out period."

B: They do that on their own.

J: And if I only read ASS, then how would I know if it was good or not?

S: Are you going to do madonna's number from Dick Tracy now?

B: By enjoying it.

J: Obviously

B: If you read no other comics, you'd still like ASS.

B: Exactly.

B: So Stony is wrong, excellent.

S: Wait... how?

B: At the end of the day, that's what it is all about.

S: I never said reading more is a bad thing!

B: Oh, okay.

B: Good.

B: Then we're all right.

B: That's only slightly worse than Stony being wrong.

S: I just asked if reading fewer might be better!

J: No

J: The real lesson here is that Stony is wrong

J: Whatever the subject

J: Stony is wrong

S: Pfft

B: Anyone want to talk about an indy book?

B: Or do you think we should wrap up on the high note about Stony being wrong?

J: I thought Stony being wrong was a given

B: But it's a good ending, no?

S: No no, terrible ending

B: Fine.

B: Each of you.

B: Pick out ONE indy book.

S: Only one eh? hmmm

NOV052850 EVIL ERNIE STRAIGHT TO HELL CHROMIUM SGN $16.00

J: FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!

B: Never has a title been more accurate.

J: Fucking chromium?

J: In 2006?

B: Chromium is wicked sweet.

B: That was what was missing from The Other, I was told.

B: It did not have any Chromium covers.

S: I was tempted to go with Betty and veronica and hassle Brian about his crush on Betty but.....

OCT053339PRINCE OF TENNIS VOL 11 GN $7.95

S: What a title...

J: Veronica takes it in the backdoor

J: That is why she's awesome

B: It is good to know that Prince of Tennis has lasted ELEVEN volumes.

S: Is it actually about Tennis?

B: Yes

B: It is about a young tennis star.

B: Which is not a bad topic, really.

B: Didn't Marvel have a comic about the same thing?

B: That was never launched?

B: Something like Fifteen Love

B: Or something like that.

J: I remember that

S: I remember hearing about that

J: It had photo covers

B: But then Trouble BOMBED.

B: So it never happened.

J: And was supposed to be part of Epic

S: The underage ggirls?

B: Retailers REALLY loved how Marvel hyped the SHIT out of Trouble.

B: Then pulled all support right away.

J: I liked Trouble

J: So there

S: Well that says all we need to know about you...

B: So did I.

B: I'm just saying Marvel pulled support.

B: Just the opposite of how Peter's father pulled out of Aunt May.

S: What was it abaout again?

J: It was about Aunt May getting laid

B: Yeah, and getting pregnant with Peter Parker.

S: what, really??

B: Yep.

B: But they erased all references.

B: Just kept the first names.

B: So it wasn't REALLY that.

B: Which was soooo lame.

B: They totally pulled a "Diana"

J: Lemme say that I was OK with that idea

J: Of May being Peters mother

S: So what did that make Ben?

B: He married her anyways.

B: Yeah, I liked it, too.

B: It was one of Millar's most clever ideas.

S: So why did it bomb?

B: Because Marvel pulled support of it.

J: It was more that the entire line of comics bombed

B: Instead of ACTUALLY being about Aunt May etc.

B: It was just about May, Richard, Ben and Mary.

J: That was around the same time that Jemas was getting kicked out, right?

B: Was it?

B: Soon enough, I guess.

S: I miss Jemas

J: I miss him too

SEP052854 SOULSEARCHERS #75 $2.50

B: That's my pick.

B: Folks, if you like Peter David.

B: Just buy this book.

J: Guess I won't buy the book then

B: Fair enough.

S: Same

B: But if you DO like David, and I know there are some who do and DON'T buy this book, you really should buy this book.

S: I have given old PAD plenty of goes, but i've never been able to stay for the long haul

B: Fair enough.

S: Like who?

S: Name them

S: Name them and Jake and I'll shame them

J: Everyone who reads X-factor

B: Haha.

J: What? A non X-Comic? And It isn't by marvel? Well fuck it then!!!

B: Basically.

Okay, that's it for us, folks!

Feel free to stop by tomorrow, to see if we know what we're talking about, at all.

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The Comics Should Be Good Best Comics Of 2005 - Best Writer

Yes, we here at Comics Should Be Good are looking at the best comics of 2005, because it's what comics bloggers do, after all! This is the first post in a five-part series of different categories that was supposed to start on Monday night, but I foolishly offered to post everyone's choices, little knowing that my Internet connection would go down like a punk in a bar under Ultimate Black Canary's spike-heeled boots, and I would be off-line for almost two days. Oh, the horror! But now I'm back, so let's see what the various contributors here had to say about comics in 2005. Then I'll tell you why they're wrong.

Greg Hatcher:
I'm the guy on this weblog who ISN'T going to automatically nominate Grant Morrison. Surprise! For one, I haven't read hardly anything of his this year except All-Star Superman, and even that I thought was just pretty good.

There were lots of writers that did work I adored, but then they'd turn right around and do something that made my teeth grind in hatred. I loved J. Michael Straczynski's Fantastic Four, but on the flip side he's also giving us all this icky horrible stuff in Spider-Man that makes you want to go scrub after reading it. Greg Rucka did amazing work on Queen and Country and Gotham Central, but then it all went to hell in Wonder Woman and Adventures of Superman. And so on. Good, bad, up, down.

The guy that ended up on the plus side the most often for me was Kurt Busiek. Astro City, Conan, Secret Identity ... they all did the job, they entertained me, they were well-crafted comics. They weren't exciting; I think Kurt Busiek is a bit too mannered and precise a writer for that particular accolade, but they are books that I'll probably reread and enjoy, especially Conan.

Brad Curran:
Best Writer - Unlike Greg Hatcher, I'm going to be completely predictable for this blog and pick Grant Morrison, although it's almost by default. He's the only writer whose work I buy regularly in the monthly format anymore, and I've been disappointed by a couple of his recent mini-series (Shining Knight and Vinamarama). That said, he's still one of my favorite writers, and the Seven Soldiers minis as a whole gave me that mixture of energetic plotting, a satisfying single issue read, and anticipation for what's going to happen next that I look for in my single issue comics. While I wasn't as orgasmically enraptured by it as some folks in the comics blog community, I also enjoyed All Star Superman immensely and look forward to seeing what Morrison and Frank Quitely do with the icon of icons after giving me pretty much everything I've been looking for in a Superman story in the first issue.

Bill Reed:
Really, I'm trying to pick someone other than Grant Morrison. I really am. But I can't. The guy had a hella huge output this year and it kicked ass. Seven Soldiers is a better "event" than, oh, House of Meh and Infinite Psoriasis. Yes, it's a cheap shot to make up funny and insulting names for them. But I'm petty and spiteful. Also, Grant gave us the last issue of We3 and the first issue of All-Star Superman, both of which had delicious Quitely art and were excellent.

Mark Ludy:
Most of my favorite writers (Dan Clowes, Lynda Barry, Jason) not doin' much diddley squat this year, I'll give credit to one of the coolest brains in the Mainstream:

Grant Morrison. More'n any other writer Morrison uses comics as a vehicle for expressing cool, new, ideas, and for talking about stuff that he wants to talk about, 'stead of re-re-re-re-cycling ideas that Gardner Fox had forty years ago, bringing us a Bollywood Musical in comix form, the most intellectually ambitious series of interconnected superhero (more-or-less) comics since Kirby's unfinished (more-or-less) line of Fourth World comics waaaay the hell back when. That's before breaking the Internet in half with his take on Superman.

Maybe the bald Scotsman ain't the greatest writer in comics, but he sure does seem to be havin' the most fun. And that's worth a best of the year from me.

Brian Cronin, the one to whom we all bow:
Wouldn't it be funny if everyone on the blog said something like, "Well, everyone else is going to vote for Grant Morrison, so I will vote for ____" and then no one end up voting for Grant Morrison?

Well, I will keep that from happening!! My pick for best writer of 2005 is Grant Morrison.

I thought that Seven Soldiers #0 and All-Star Superman #1 were possibly two of the finest single issues that 2005 had to offer us, and Morrison was responsible for BOTH of them!

In addition, I was a big fan of each of the Seven Soldiers mini-series (okay, not so much Mister Miracle, but I recently even reread THAT, and it grew on me a bit).

There really is not another writer that I can think of that I can so consistently count on for being great each time. So, for that, I must pick Grant Morrison as the best writer of 2005.

Greg Burgas:
Okay, so The God Of All Comics is good. Yes. We know that. But I'm not going to pick him, not just to be contrary, but because I haven't read Seven Soldiers, and the other stuff he wrote last year was just okay. We3 was excellent, Vinamarama was okay, All-Star Superman was fine. The reason I'm not picking him (which, of course, makes my esteemed colleagues wrong) is the same reason I'm not picking Ellis. Too often he seems to be going through the motions. They are brilliant and astounding motions, but haven't we seen it before? So I thought and thought, and came up with:

Brian K. Vaughan.

Look at the résumé. I don't read Y: The Last Man, but I probably should, because it sounds neat. I read the first big ol' volume of Runaways, and although the debate rages over whether it has lost its mojo, it's certainly something different. The two titles he wrote this year that I read, Ex Machina and Ultimate X-Men, are completely different but both very good. Ex Machina is the better book, and in it Vaughan does a great job of injecting politics into a superhero book. The characters are interesting and diverse without being stereotyped, and the book does a nice job of doing big story arcs and throwing in good single issues too. Ultimate X-Men turned into a very good soap opera/superhero comic in the grand Claremontian tradition, with several short stories that culminated in "Magnetic North," where those threads came together. For his diversity and flexibility and, of course, his ability, Vaughan was the best comic book writer in 2005.

See? I told you I would tell you why all my blog-mates were wrong!

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Comic Quotes Should Be Good for the 12/29 Comic Week

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!

Alex gives us a recipe for goodness in Jack Kirby's Kamandi,

Want a recipe for delicious comic goodness?

Take one cup of cut-off pants.
Add a tablespoon of feathered hair and a laser gun.
Mix in an ample portion of talking animals, including Tiger Pirates and Dogs dressed as Prussians.
Pour in a gallon of Apocolyptic wasteland filled with Giant Grasshoppers and Atomic Mutant Men with Cyclotronic hearts.
Stir it all into a Jack Kirby casserole dish and let simmer at a million dgrees for twenty years.

When that pie comes out, it will be the most tasty thing you've ever put in your mouth.

Speaking of Alex, he also recently expressed curiosity as to why people have enjoyed All-Star Batman & Robin, to which Mike Sterling rose to the challenge,

To answer a question posed elsewhere: I enjoyed All-Star Batman and Robin because...

1) It's Frank Miller clearly having a good time with the character

2) Like the majority of Miller's recent work, its tongue is firmly in cheek...

2 1/2) ...though not all the time, since, also like the majority of Miller's recent work, there can be tone shifts throughout the story -- not so much in this work, so far, but I think that's what bothered people about Dark Knight Strikes Again

3) It's written like a Big Hollywood Summer Action Movie (with the attendant chase scenes, dialogue, gorgeous dames*, etc.), freeing up the character from the "Dark Avenger of the Night" straightjacket that's been making the Bat-books so (yawn) terribly exciting over the last two decades

4) I'm not the world's biggest Jim Lee fan, but the art in this series has kind of grown on me, particularly in the facial expression department...Robin's reaction to the Batmobile is priceless

5) Miller also seems to be deliberately tweaking the too-serious fans who don't want to see these kinds of shenanigans in their caped crusader comics, what with his dialogue ("I'm the g--" well, you know) and staging choices

6) The overall over-the-top outrageousness of the comic...there've been a couple scenes in each issue that just plain make me laugh out loud. I can't remember the last time a Batman comic made me laugh. I mean, with it, not at it.

Jog also spoke about enjoying All-Star Batman & Robin, but specifically, the latest issue, #3,

Debate however you’d like the aesthetic appropriateness of Lee on this material (obviously he’s needed for the economic boost), but he’s gamely working to incorporate a worthwhile set of influences into his work, and it adds a little spice to an issue like this - what with all the scantily-clad vigilante women, the big bushy hair on that little guy in the bar, and of course the many splashes, this feels more like an early Image book than anything else I’ve seen in a while, even from a genuine Image founder like Lee.

But you know what? It works pretty damn well here. And that’s undoubtably in part because of Miller’s already famously eccentric scripting, but this is no one man show. Just look at the first seven pages of this book. There’s that overheated narration (“A rotten joint. It sits there like something that came out of the back end of a horse.”). There’s corny gags, like the “It’s Sunday! Have a shot with Jesus!” sign, or Matt Murdock and Elektra sitting around in the background. There’s Miller’s odd predilection for replacing naughty words with less-naughty and rather silly ones (‘dipstick,’ ‘sass’). There’s plenty of cheesecake.

But as the pages pass, these elements suddenly fall into place as something resembling a coherent design strategy; Miller’s narration dances around that almost-splash, raising repetitive questions as dislocated word balloons toss out fragments of statements and snatches of jokes, often directly separating the narrative captions form one another. The fuse on the dynamite begins to burn away.

Michael writes "Dear John" letters to some classic comics celebrating twentieth anniversaries in 2006 (I don't necessarily agree with these takes, but they were pretty cleverly written, and I guess the following letter is the one I would agree with the most),

Dear Maus,

You know, after those other two, you don't look so bad. You're pretty good for us. Great rhetorical device, simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking plot, and enough wisdom not to take yourself too seriously. You were just the indie we needed. In fact, the trouble isn't with you at all; it's with everybody since you. Because when it was all over, we handed you the Pulitzer and wrapped you up in a nice dual hardcover set, and went right out and looked for the exact same guy again.

And that's exactly who we got: an unending succession of perfect carbon copies. Neurotic antisocialite? Check. Issues with women, especially his mother? Check. Wallowing in self-pity? Check. The back half of our not-so-little black diamond book is clogged with guys so cloned, Richard Attenborough gives a tour about them to Sam Niell and Jeff Goldblum. You were supposed to open our eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, but instead, we clung just as hard to our new archetype, and instead of an infinity of ideas, we got two. Escapist fantasy and navel-gazine semiautobiography: is that all we can do? No, because like mom always said, there's other fish in the sea, and we're changing bait.

Johnny Bacardi had a year in review as well, that I missed! (Sorry, Johnny!!) Here is one of his picks for best of the year,

KANE: THE UNTOUCHABLE RICO COSTAS AND OTHER STORIES (Image)
Been waiting seemingly forever for this- the singles it collects are kinda hard to find- and although I have yet to hear a plausible explanation why this collection of late-90's stories took forever and a day to be released in 2005, it was definitely worth tolerating the delay. I discovered Paul Grist through JACK STAFF, and it's an excellent title in its own right, but the more I read of its predecessor, the more I think that this was/is his best work. Besides the usual Grist daredevil storytelling techniques, this features a nifty Sin City parody. I hope the next collection comes out before the decade's end...

I can be forgiven for missing Dave Carter's Year in Review, as he just put it up today, but he gets extra props for making a sports reference regarding Grant Morrison. I like sports references.

For my money, Morrison is the most interesting writer working in comics today. He started off the year with the final issue of We3; had his Kirby-Meets-Bollywood Vimanarama in the middle; ended with the first issue of All Star Superman; and somehow in the middle of all that did his huge mega cross-over epic, Seven Soldiers. What I like about Morrison is that no matter what he's working on, he always brings his 'A' game, and swings for the bleachers each time he's up. He may not always hit a home run, but he's always trying--never phoning it in. And different things work for different readers--while almost no one has liked all of the Seven Soldiers series equally, most readers have found at least one or two to be very much to their liking, and every series seems to have its fans. Mainstream comics would be a heck of a lot more boring without Grant Morrison around stirring things up. With his new overseer position within the DCU in 2006, we'll see if he's able to have a 'Michael Jordan' effect on the rest of the line.

David Campbell is spending the week looking at the Oficial Handbooks to the Marvel Universe, which leads to plenty of discussions like the following look at the Red Ghost,

OHMU #9 also featured the Fantastic Four villain known as The Red Ghost, a Russian commie who could become intangible at will. That's a good enough power as is, right? Anybody else would be satisfied with that, but not Red Ghost. In addition to becoming intangible, The Red Ghost had a trio of super-apes who did his evil bidding.

You hear me: super-apes.

I have no idea how primate henchmen fit into the whole Red Ghost brand identity, but I say if you have the opportunity to use super-ape flunkies, use them! Who cares if they don't fit in with your powers or your costume? "They call me Queen Cobra! I spit venom, I have a lethal bite, and I have these three super-apes that rob liquor stores for me!" See? Super-apes are never a bad idea. I want that phrase on my gravestone.

The Red Ghost also bears an uncanny resemblance to Canadian rock god Neil Young:

Lyle doesn't blog about comics enough, so it was nice to see his thoughts on the best collections of the past year, even if they were just bulletpoints,

Bite Club: Normally, Howard Chaykin's work has a "been there" feel for me, but this one had a more to it than the typical Chaykin cliches. With those aspects reined in, Chaykin made for the perfect writer for a mini-series that tries to capture the feel of The Sopranos in sequential art form. Even better, David Hahn's clean art style (which Shelly Bond perfectly described to me as "Archie with an edge") meshed with the story, adding emphasis to the more shocking moments by the contrast.

Johanna Draper Carlson, in my mind, basically sums up the appeal of Owly as well as anyone could,

Readers will be charmed by the innocence of these stories while laughing out loud at their good humor. The messages are simple yet profound. It’s always good to be reminded that those who are taught to hate each other can still be friends or that helping others brings its own rewards. Although cute and charming, the comics also have drama and sequences full of adventure.

Shawn Hoke takes a look at Robin Enrico's Stupid and Unkind,

Volumes 1 and 2 of Stupid and Unkind tell the story of Ronan, his ex-girlfriend/current obsession Leona, and Jennet, the girl unlucky enough to land in Ronan’s lap in volume 1. Ronan and his ex-girlfriend Leana are film geeks, they love watching movies and creating their own. Jennet is more into music and likes romantic comedies – a grave social error in Ronan’s eyes.

Since his breakup with Leona, no girl has been able to meet his lofty expectations. But it’s funny, because Ronan isn’t that much of a catch himself. He doesn’t know that, however, and this is the basic triangle of Stupid and Unkind. Filling it out is lots of conversations between Ronan and his friends, Clerks-style at times, and the rise and fall of Ronan and Jennet’s relationship.

Robin has a good handle on the flow of conversation between characters. His speech balloons have long tails at times, making you look a second time to figure out who is saying what, but it’s not enough to pull you out of the comic. Occasionally, he does a neat little trick where the character speaking, when they are not in the panel, will show up in the very bottom corner as a tiny head with a long trailing speech balloon attached. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this used, but it’s handled well here.

Thanks, folks, for providing me with so many great quotes! See you next week!

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