Parties Should Be Good

So I figured I would give all you New York comic book fans a chance to meet me, and other online comic fans, at a couple of different gettogethers!

First off, a number of online pals and I are having a meetup on May 26 to watch the 10:30 pm showing of X3: The Last Stand at the Regal Union Square Stadium 14 theater. Afterwards, there will be libations. If you'd like to see the film with us, or just hang out afterwards, please let me know (cronb01@aol.com).

Secondly, the girlfriend and I are having a party on Saturday, June 3, 8:30pm at an establishment named Yello, which is at 32 Mulberry St in Manhattan. Besides a nice menu and a full bar, there will be free karaoke there, so come on - comic geeks SINGING! How can you pass that up? Again, if you're interested, e-mail me (cronb01@aol.com) so I can add you to the evite guest list.

Finally, I think I'll be setting SOMEthing up later for post-MOCCA. We shall see.

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Free Swag on Ho Chi Minh's Birthday!

Yes, it's Ho Chi Minh's birthday today - he would have been 106 today! It's also Joey Ramone's birthday, Pete Townshend's birthday, Malcolm X's birthday, and Pol Pot's birthday (boo!). It's also my birthday. Yippee! I turn 35 today, which means I'm old. Okay, not old, but I feel old. It also means that I remember buying comics when you could give the clerk a single piece of green paper with George Washington's picture on it and receive a comic book in exchange and get change. I know - sit down and catch your breath for a second! Phew, that's quite the head rush!

In celebration of my natal-versary, I'm giving stuff away! I have in my possession a copy of The Nightmarist, which the fine folk at Active Images (I assume Richard Starkings had something to do with it) sent me not long ago. It is written and drawn by Duncan Rouleau, and is a fine graphic novel. I reviewed it in this post (trust me, it's there), and Rouleau himself stopped by to say hello. Our Lord High Cronin dug it too, in case you don't trust my impeccable taste. Broken Frontier really liked it, too, if that's your thing. Anyway, I'm giving it away, so it could be crap and you'd want it! Free = Desirable! It's the American Way!

So I'm having a contest. Now, unlike my last contest, this will not depend upon my opinion of your mad skillz. This will be cold hard scoring! Here's the game:

Below I have posted twenty-five (25) panels/pages from certain comic books. Some are wildly famous, and some are pretty darned obscure. I want you to identify them. That's not so hard, is it? I would like you to tell me:

1. The name and issue number of the comic book in which the panel appears. Yes, I want the issue number!
2. The name of the writer.
3. The name of the penciller. Don't worry about the inker - they're just tracers, after all!

Each answer is separate, therefore the total number of points is 75. Each correct answer will give you one point. The person with the most points wins. Simple, right? I want the issue number because if you happen to see a certain Caped Crusader, I don't want you to just say, "It's Batman!" I want you to say, "That's Batman #612 with that totally awesome fight between Batman and Superman!" Flex those comic book geek muscles, geeks!

There is one exception. I don't need an issue number for #8. The reasons are my own!!!!

If you want a free copy of The Nightmarist, e-mail me with your answers. It's Friday, so let's set the deadline on Monday. By the end of the day on Monday, have your answers. That should give you enough time to hang out in your garage flipping through your long boxes! Have fun!

Number One.


Number Two.


Number Three.


Number Four.


Number Five.


Number Six.


Number Seven.


Number Eight.


Number Nine.


Number Ten.


Number Eleven.


Number Twelve.


Number Thirteen.


Number Fourteen.


Number Fifteen.


Number Sixteen.


Number Seventeen.


Number Eighteen.


Number Nineteen.


Number Twenty.


Number Twenty-One.


Number Twenty-Two.


Number Twenty-Three.


Number Twenty-Four.


Number Twenty-Five.


Remember: issue number, writer, penciller. 75 points are there to be had! If you don't know the issue number but recognize the artist, that's one point! If you don't know the artist but think you know the writer, send it along! If you don't know the creative team but are sure you know the issue number, that's another point! You don't need to get every part of the answer correct! How cool is that?

So, again, e-mail me by close of business on Monday. Good luck!

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Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed #51!

This is the fifty-first 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 fifty.

Let's begin!

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: John Byrne had a much longer storyline in store for Scarlet Witch before being taken off Avengers West Coast.

STATUS: True

Years ago, on the awesome "Wonder Man: Cooler Than Superman" website, I read an interview by John Byrne. I had totally forgotten about it until someone brought it up recently on Comic Book Resources here. It reminded me of something that John Byrne had planned for Avengers West Coast had he not been unceremoniously pulled from the book in the midst of his "Dark Scarlet Witch" storyline, a story that would be revisited years later during Avengers Disassembled, and this neat interview had the visuals to go along with Byrne's telling of what he would have done, so here is Byrne, from his forum, discussing his plans, along with unpublished covers courtesy of the Wonder Man site:

I'm going to break my own Number One Rule and tell a story that did not see print.

All this came out of the Immortus/Scarlet Witch debacle, of course. With the "realism" in Marvel at the time -- you know, like talking dragons being "telepathic", because that was more "realistic" -- it had become impossible to accept that Wanda's hex power could be something as prosaic as merely causing people to have "bad luck". So it had been decided that what she actually did was alter probabilities . Thus, if the probability of a badguy's gun jamming was 1000 to 1, she could make it 1 to 1, and the gun would jam. Bad luck for him!



When I came to do AVENGERS WEST COAST this was the accepted way of portraying Wanda's power -- but the more I thought about it, the more I realized this was really an incredible complication of something that had once been so simple. I mean, think about it! For Wanda to alter probabilities she would have to be reaching back thru the whole temporal chain of events that led to a single moment. She would have to be altering time -- retroactively!

Well, that sure seemed like something that could catch the eye of Immortus, eventually, and as I wrote the story, it did. Immortus, who had been seen pinching off alternate realities as part of a set up to this story, was engaged in a program of whittling the multiverse down to a single time-line. One which he would control.



Discovering Wanda's power, he was going to kidnap her and use her to further his plans. And the first thing he was going to do was alter probabilities so that when the Avengers battled Kang the first time, Kang won!

My story would reveal this in flashback, however, as we would open in the world long after this had happened. Pretty grim place, where most of the familiar heroes had been killed off or never become super powered in the first place. No FF, since they never took that rocket ride. No Hulk, since Rick Jone has never driven his car onto the Gamma Bomb test site. (One of the main characters was going to be Peter Parker, who had not become Spider-Man because of Immortus' manipulations.)

As the story progressed, we would learn slowly what had happened -- and also learn that we were not seeing "present day" Marvel, but rather a time a "few months" (Marvel Time) ago. The date would be just prior to when Thor, in order to save a wounded Black Knight, had used his hammer to open a portal in time and space and stuck the Knight into it. We would learn this when the Black Knight basically fell out of the air into the post-Kang's victory world. In that timeline, Thor had not placed him in the "time stasis", so when the changed world "caught up" to that moment, out popped the Black Knight. The multiverses intersected at that point, you see. Well, the Black Knight pretty quickly figures out what's going on, learns there is an underground (of course!) and helps the folk of the twisted version hunt down and stop Immortus, freeing Wanda (herself another link to the multiverse, by virtue of how Immortus has been manipulating her power) and setting everything right.



When all is restored, the Black Knight of course is back in that "hole in time", and Wanda is the only one who remembers how things were. A memory that fades, like a dream, very quickly. . . .

LOOK FOR THIS TITANIC TALE IN A NuMARVEL BOOK APPEARING SOON !!

Pretty neat, eh?

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Terror, Inc. was a continuation of a previous comic from another publisher.

STATUS: True

In the late 1980s, Marvel's Epic line was not exactly in great shape.

In an attempt to pump some life into it, writer D.G. Chichester was assigned to create a bunch of new characters and titles and work them into the "Shadowline" universe.

Later, the series had a big crossover called Critical Mass.



Does the character on the cover look familiar?

Well, his name was Shreck.

He had the ability to replace parts of his body (hands, feet, arms, legs, eyes, ears, nose, etc.) with those of other people.

Sound familiar?

Well, when Epic went under, editor Marc McLaurin asked Chichester to bring Shreck to the Marvel Universe, where he became (you guessed it)...

Terror, Inc.!



Only, of course, Marc McLaurin said that Terror was NOT Shreck.

The move is discussed in detail here, and Chichester shows up to give his feelings on the matter,

No matter what Marcus may or may not have said as a "good soldier" in the Marvel Universe army, Shreck was Terror and Terror was Shreck ...but for the fact that Terror got to develop more of a a back story as time went on. We never did address the transition from Shadowline to MU, however, and probably never would have (as at that point the Shadowline was long since relegated to "Who cares?" among the larger editorial staff at the office (although those of us who invested a lot of time and effort in it kept a warm spot in our hearts).

Odd history, eh?

I liked Terror!

COMIC URBAN LEGEND: Colossus was originally intended to be Ferro Lad's brother.

STATUS: False

A rumor that has made the rounds over the years is that Colossue was originally intended to be a part of Dave Cockrum's previous work, the Legion of Superheroes.

In fact, here's a post by "Captain Kal" at the Superman Through The Ages forum, on the topic,

I remember reading somewhere that the similarities between Ferro Lad and Colossus were not accidental. I heard one of the creators involved in Colossus wanted to do something with Ferro Lad at DC, but DC resolutely refused his proposal, so he created the analogue of Colossus at Marvel.


Can anyone confirm this?

While I cannot confirm it, I CAN deny it.





In The Legion Companion (TwoMorrows 2003, Page 73), Cockrum gave an interview, and the question was raised,

Q. True or False: your design of Colossus was originally intended to be used as Ferro lad's brother.

Dave Cockrum: False.

Well, that about settles that, eh?

Thanks to H from the great blog The Comic Treadmill for sending me this bit of info about Cockrum.

Well, that's it for this week, thanks for stopping by!

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

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The End

It is nigh upon us.

Just thought you folks would like to know.

Reviews for the 5/17 Comic Book Week

All Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder #4 (DC)

Simpsons Comics #118 (Bongo)

Robin #150 (DC)

Scooby Doo #108 (DC)

Infinite Crisis Question

So, I'm reading this week's Aquaman, and it mentions that Aquaman's son AND "foster son" died during Infinite Crisis.

"Foster son" has got to mean Tempest, right?

So is Tempest dead?

What I bought - 17 May 2006

Wow - I actually read everything I bought this week. Only one book was a mini-series, and it was the last issue. But that's the weird world of comic book distribution! Let's delve in, shall we?

This week's mini-theme: THE ART! IT BURNS MY EYES! All will be clear soon enough.

Bomb Queen #4 (of 4) by Jimmie Robinson
$3.50, Image

Well, Bomb Queen isn't awful, but it's certainly not as great as its creator thinks it is. I haven't quite gotten over the text piece in the back of the first issue, in which Robinson tells us how wonderful he is and how subversive Bomb Queen is. Well, he may be, but it's not.

It's a perfectly fine four-issue mini-series. There's loads of gratuitous violence and nudity, and nothing changes, as Ms. Queen is still in charge of New Port City at the end just as she was in the beginning. She does awful things - she is the villain, after all - and exposes the mayoral candidate Robert Woods as - shocking! - a hypocrite, but it all feels hollow. Allow me to explain.

It's obvious from page 1 of this book that Robinson wants it to be a satire. So, in order to be clear, I looked up "satire" in my handy-dandy dictionary. "Satire" is: A literary work in which irony, derision, or wit in any form is used to expose folly or wickedness. I have to think this qualifies. Except it's completely lacking in wit, which is where we separate good satire from poor satire. This is certainly ironic and derisive, and I know the definition says "OR," but good satire is able to be witty as well, even though it doesn't have to be. Anyone can be derisive, and most people can be ironic, but witty - that's a different story. In this series, Robinson simply wants to show that we as a society view sex and violence just as forms of entertainment, and we set people up as "heroes" and "villains" not based on any rigid morality, but whoever happens to cater to us. Therefore, Bomb Queen, who constantly reminds us she's a villain, loses the support of her city when it looks as if she's not playing fairly, but when Robert Woods attacks her in the last issue, she regains the adoration of the people because he is seen as acting unfairly. She has, ever so briefly, become the victim, and so is able to triumph in the court of public opinion, and the status quo is retained.

My question: so what? Robinson's book, as puerile and violent as it is, tells us nothing new. It's sad, sure, that this kind of book doesn't shock us and is nothing worse than you can see on network television (maybe not quite as graphically depicted, but close enough) any night of the week. Robinson isn't being as "cutting-edge" as he'd like to think, and he's certainly not doing anything particularly witty. Society sucks? Really? If Robinson really wants to do satire, he should pick something a little less obvious. Whenever I read satire, I'm invariably reminded of Swift's "A Modest Proposal." I can't help it. I don't want to compare anything to that because it's a classic, but Swift's proposal works because it is so off-the-wall, to the point, and although it's tongue in cheek, Swift never lets on that it's a joke. Robinson wants to poke fun at society as well as celebrate it, and therefore, Bomb Queen doesn't work. It's certainly entertaining, but it falls far short of its pretensions.

Fallen Angel #5 by Peter David and J. K. Woodward
$3.99, IDW

Meanwhile, we have the ending of what was supposed to be a mini-series, but is now an ongoing. So issue #5 wraps up a story arc and, surprisingly for this series, doesn't really set up that much for the next issue. Sure, Lee is staying in the city and helping out her son, who is now the Magistrate, but other than that, it feels like an ending. Next issue should be a fine place to start reading, if you're still not on board (for shame!).

This is an interesting issue, as the first four of the IDW series has been, because David eschews his usual coyness and actually gives us some closure, probably because he wrote this thinking it would be a mini-series. Therefore, Juris turns the administration of Bete Noire over to Jude, who gets more than he bargained for. Juris gleefully leaves town, with unexpected results. The core of the book is when Lee tells Jude that God wants to quit but humanity won't let him, because they keep worshipping him. Then idea that God is a concept we need to outgrow isn't necessarily original, but David sells it well. In the context of this book, we can believe it, because Lee does have first-hand knowledge of God, so she could be telling the truth. And the correlation between humanity not being able to let go of God and Xia not being able to let go of Juris is interesting, especially as Lee specifically links humanity to a battered wife.

As usual, David gives us plenty to chew on in this issue, and even though unexpected things happen, they are not events that come out of the blue but, once they occur, we understand why they did happen and how it got to that point. David is very good at this sort of thing, and when he doesn't allow his cleverness to overrun that trait in his writing, he's capable of brilliant stuff. This is one of those titles. So you should buy it.

Fell #5 by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith
$1.99, Image

I certainly don't want to keep harping on Desolation Jones, but because it is the most high-profile of Ellis' work these days (isn't it?), it colors how I am reading Ellis right now and how I criticize him. This latest issue of Fell fits in perfectly with that idea, because it's so similar to certain parts of Desolation Jones, specifically issues #2 and 3, in that it's basically a conversation between two people. How Ellis structures these conversations is why he's a fascinating and occasionally infuriating writer.

Richard's interrogation of Michael Connah is simply, as Ellis puts it, "a two-men-in-a-box" story. He discusses how he needed to lay out the story so that Templesmith could draw it and not make it a comic with one mounted "camera" showing the action. But although the art does keep us interested, it's the dialogue I want to consider. In DJ #2, we get the conversation between Michael and Emily, and I've mentioned that it is one of the more beautiful dialogues you're going to see in comics in a long time. In the third issue, we get the porn deconstruction, and it's annoying because it takes us out of the narrative and comes across as Ellis rambling on about whatever happens to interest him. During Fell's brief life, we have seen that Ellis also injects stuff that he finds fascinating into Snowtown, and although it hasn't taken over yet, it threatens to occasionally. In this issue he goes all psychological on us, as Richard breaks down Michael, who doesn't want to talk. But Richard is able to get him to crack, and Michael freaks out and pulls a gun. This is when Richard kicks it into high gear, and Michael eventually realizes what a mess his life has become. Richard talks him down, and this is where Ellis shines. Unlike the porn issue of Desolation Jones, but like the conversation in issue #2, Ellis is able to blend his pet ideas with dialogue that rings true, and so when Michael shouts "No-one can help me!" and then switches abruptly to "Help me," it affects us more than a porn actress simply spouting off horrible stories, even though we recognize how horrible it really is. Because Richard and even Michael are part of the narrative and are characters instead of mouthpieces, the interrogation scene has a drama and a resolution that is much more powerful than in Desolation Jones. And when Michael tells Richard not to waste time with Mayko, it also affects us, because it comes from their conversation and not from out of the blue. Therefore, Richard's exchange with Mayko at the end of the issue works well and is nicely done.

One of the reasons why I am so disappointed in DJ is because of issues like this. Ellis is so capable of this kind of thing that anything less is a big disappointment. Fell #5 delivers. And, as usual, it's one and done. Whoo-hoo!

Moon Knight #2 by Charlie Huston, David Finch, and Danny Miki
$2.99, Marvel

The awesomeness that is Moon Knight returns for a second issue, and it's interesting on several levels. First, let's look at the story. It's split into two sections, not unlike the first issue. In the first part of the issue, we see how Marc Spector got the way he is, as he battles Bushman, presumably to the death. Bushman throws him off a roof and breaks him into teeny, tiny pieces, but Marc still has enough in him to take out his arch-enemy. It's a nice brutal battle, with neither man speaking. The fact that Bushman says nothing in the issue is very cool, and all we get from MK is internal narration after the fact, as he reflects on this final battle. It's horrifically effective.

The scene then shifts to the present, as Crawley picks up Marc's drugs and brings them to him. Marc is still attended by Samuels and Nedda, which is strange, and he's not in the mood to talk to Crawley, who is trying to get him off his butt and back into action. Strange things are afoot, as we clearly see Khonshu's eyes glow in one panel. Marc wants nothing to do with him, but then Crawley tells him that Frenchie is in trouble. This spurs him into action. Finally, the last page shows us that Marc is being tracked (well, presumably it's Marc, although the guy calls him "asset prime") by people we assume are up to no good. So that sets up the rest of the story.

That's just the bare bones of it all. Let's look deeper. First, THE ART! IT BURNS MY EYES! Okay, not all the time. Finch has never been accused of being sloppy, and the details he is putting into this book is appreciated. The fight between Bushman and Moon Knight is beautifully rendered, except for a few crucial things. First, what the hell is up with Bushman? Others have been making fun of the cover for issues to come in which Bushman appears (#4, I think), and it's true - he's gigantic, which makes him very bizarre-looking. It's just ... off. As someone who owns every issue of the third (and most recent) Moon Knight series, I don't really recall the last time we saw Bushman, but I am certainly going to go check, because this Bushman is grotesque and barely human. At one point he licks the blade with which he cut Moon Knight, and the tongue sure ain't human. Yet we see his tongue later, and it looks normal. WTF? After Marc plunges from the roof and Bushman is about to gut him, it appears that Marc throws one of those nifty moon discs he has and it circles back around and catches Bushman in the neck. The layout of panels here is confusing, and it bugs me. Then, MK pulls Bushman's face off. Yes, it's icky, but it appears that Bushman was wearing the skin as a mask. When did that happen? Again, I have to go back and check my collection. Darn. Other than those things, Finch's art is very nice, and his details are fantastic. Again, I'm sort of on the good side of the fence when it comes to Finch's art, and despite those objections, I like the entire look of the book.

The final question I have when it comes to Moon Knight the series is whether it will appeal to enough new readers to make it viable. So far it's a wonderfully gripping story, but is Huston being too insular and appealing too much to the hard core fans of the character. Bushman is brought in with no fanfare and no update on who he is, other than Marc doesn't like him. The rest of the cast - Crawley and Samuels - simply show up, and why the heck (one might ask) is Crawley calling Marc "Jake"? These are small complaints from me, because it's nice to see how Huston is structuring this story so that it moves the character forward while still retaining some of the past, but are new fans going to pick this up because, maybe, of the appeal of David Finch but not stay with it because they don't know what the hell is going on? And if so, will the series survive?

I don't know. I'm just wondering. For now, this is a very good book. And it doesn't tie into Civil War!!!!!

Rex Mundi #18 by Arvid Nelson and Juan Ferreyra
$2.99, Image

Speaking of THE ART! IT BURNS MY EYES! I don't like Humberto Ramos. Therefore, I don't like this cover. Boy, it's ugly. Ugly ugly ugly. Boo, Humberto Ramos!

This is the last Image issue of this title, as it moves on to Dark Horse, and it's also an ending of sorts, as we reach the halfway point of the epic with Julien in the prison of the Inquisition, the king reasserting his control of France by arresting the Parliament, the Duke of Lorraine on the run but assembling an army, and Prussians on the border. Oh, the drama! The reason this book is better than, say, a certain new movie coming out starring a certain ex-cross dressing actor, is because we accept the hint of the supernatural that runs through this book, and when the Duke of Lorraine's daughter does some strange things, we accept that it adds a nice layer of meaning to the narrative. Isabelle is a wild card in the mix, and it's interesting how Nelson keeps introducing characters to his ever-expanding cast but we're still able to recognize them and understand their motivations. It's a mark of a good writer that he's able to do this.

I guess that there is a movie in the works, which is strange because of the aforementioned movie that opens this weekend, but its move to Dark Horse means that it might get more publicity and might actually sell some more copies. I'll keep saying it - this is a great book, people. Seek. Purchase.

Ultimate X-Men #70 by Robert Kirkman, Ben Oliver, and Jonathan Glapion
$2.99, Marvel

The last entrant in this week's THE ART! IT BURNS MY EYES! theme is this month's issue of UXM, drawn by Mr. Ben Oliver. It's not horrible art by any means, but let's look at a few egregious examples.

First, the Blob on the cover. He has just dropped a hoagie as Cyclops grabs him around the neck. I'm not sure if that's one of the dumbest things possible, or if it's clever. I vote STUPID! The interior art is fine, except for the fight scene between the X-Men and the Brotherhood. It's far too cluttered. It's difficult to tell what's going on just by glancing at it. We need to really try to sort through all the various characters, and it's really not worth effort. A poor layout by Oliver. And the characters look too old. They're teenagers!

Other than that, it's a decent enough issue, plagued by the normal middle issue syndrome in that everything has already been set up but nothing can be resolved. So we get fights and lots of hemming and hawing on the Lilandra/Jean Grey front, until the Phoenix shows up at the end. I've said it before that the presence of the Phoenix in the Ultimate Universe is okay with me for now, but I truly hope Kirkman wraps it up satisfactorily next issue and it's never heard from again. I won't hold my breath.

Oh, and Kurt's an asshole. On the one hand, it's a shame, but on the other hand, it's kind of cool. We need more assholes who happen to be heroes in comics. Batman doesn't count. He's always been an asshole.

X-Men #186 by Peter Milligan and Salvador Larroca
$2.99, Marvel

And so the Peter Milligan era on X-Men comes to an end (doesn't it? this is his last issue, right?) on a strange and disappointing note, much like the rest of his run. It was marked by absolutely gorgeous art, which continues in this issue and odd ideas that could have taken this title somewhere special but never really got developed, and I'm not sure if that's Milligan's fault or the editors'. In this issue Apocalypse finally realizes that the mutants who might be best suited to survive are those that fight against him so vehemently. It's something that has been obvious for years, but Milligan points it out, which is nice. The fight between Apocalypse and the X-Men is interesting, and it's nice to see that Milligan remembered the Avengers are in New York, since the last time a mutant bad guy came to Manhattan (Magneto), there seemed to be a distinct lack of superheroes around. The presence of the Sentinels continues to be annoying, but let's hope they're going away soon. And Milligan leaves plenty of things unresolved for the next writer, including some tantalizing things about Apocalypse himself. I'm sick of Apocalypse, but at the same time, he does have potential (as long as he loses that stupid outfit!), and it would be nice to see someone realize it. Milligan wrote the best Apocalypse I can remember, but as usual with this bunch of issues, it was strangely neutered.

I can't say this was a very good run of X-Men, but it wasn't awful, either. At least Milligan tried some things, even if they didn't come to fruition. But this is what it means to write Marvel's Merry Mutants - everything must always stay the same!!!!!

So, a pretty good week. And, surprisingly, not a DC comic in the bunch! That's weird.

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Judging (Marvel's August) Books By Their Covers

Marvel's August Solicitations are up, so let's make some prejudgements based just on the covers (as we all love to make prejudgements, don't we?).

Let's begin!
___________________________________________________

Good lord, man, that's some misshapen anatomy!



Sadly enough, it's not even the worst depiction of character builds on a cover this month.
___________________________________________________

Stuart Immonen AND Frazer Irving?



Where do I sign up?

The Immonen cover, however, was just slightly too bland.
___________________________________________________

Also, the bloom sure seems to have come off Pasqual Ferry's rose, eh?



For a time, I was all, "How could DC let him go?!?"

His projects for Marvel, though, have made it a good deal less shocking.

I still dig his work, though! Just like I did pre-Adam Strange. There just isn't the same "WOAH" effect anymore.
___________________________________________________

Well...



that's SOMEthing.

Can't say it isn't that.
___________________________________________________

Am I the only one who gets a kick out of Mark Brooks' current job assignment?



Essentially, he is just the "Ultimate Spider-Man Annual" artist.

Or at least that has been what "special projects" have turned out for Brooks - two Ultimate Spider-Man Annuals.

I'd like to see him try something else.
___________________________________________________

Very nice Salvador Larocca cover for the Ultimate X-Men Annual.



It's to the point and packs a lot of zest.
___________________________________________________

Compare that to Tom Raney's bland, lifeless cover for the regular Ultimate X-Men.



Did he really think he was achieving "movement" with this cover?!?

Seems more like Wolverine and Cyclops "Vogue"ing.
___________________________________________________

CIVIL WAR COVERS!
___________________________________________________

This is just toooo unfair.

The pro-registration side has Wonder Man, Tigra AND Hank Pym on it!

Who could ever side against such a collection of superhero titans?!?!



Sorta belies the whole "fair and balanced" thing when one side is basically represented by the freakin' West Coast Avengers!

Very nice drawing by McNiven, though.
___________________________________________________

This reminds me of when Denny Crane led everyone in reciting the National Anthem.



It was creepy there, too (at least Boston Legal was intentionally so).
___________________________________________________

WAIT...Spider-Man ends up siding AGAINST Iron Man!?!?

Why is this cover the first I've heard of this?!!?



Oh.

Right.

Never mind.
___________________________________________________

Pretty nifty Amanda Conner cover for Cable & Deadpool.



At least the drawings of the heroes.

Deadpool looks a bit like a colorform.
___________________________________________________

Wow.



That MAY be the worst thing I've ever seen David Mack draw (I reserve the right to remember some awful project I'm sure he did during the 90s, where everyone was required to do at least ONE dreadful project).
___________________________________________________

I can honestly tell you that I have no idea WHAT the hell is going on on this X-Men: Civil War cover.



And I think Juan Doe is awesome normally.
___________________________________________________

So, do you think this cover will be the truth, and it'll be Sue and Reed along with Ororo and T'Challa?



And why does Ben look so...odd on this cover? Almost like a crocodile.
___________________________________________________

Sadly, I think you could photostat this Thunderbolts cover from a page from Avengers/Thunderbolts, that's how similar it looks to the work Grummett did there.



Live a little!!
___________________________________________________

You have to give Tucci credit...



he knows how to use shading and light to make things seem more prominent. He presents his work well.
___________________________________________________

What is Wolverine trying to achieve on this cover, exactly?

Is he trying to STAB Namor?



That seems odd.

What would happen if he DID?

I bet he would feel sad.
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Coipel does a GREAT job with Jessica Drew's indecisiveness regarding Civil War on this New Avengers cover.



I can't iamgine how hard it must be to draw a FEELING and make it the centerpiece of a cover like that.

Good, good work.
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Fairly generic Jim Cheung cover for Runaways/Young Avengers.



Not bad, though.
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This is the first Ladronn Hulk cover that I've been less than thrilled with.



Seems a bit too muddy.
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ANNIHILATION COVERS!
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Man, Dell'Otto is a lot cooler looking when he has to mix things up a bit, as he does with the first issue cover for the Annhilation mini-series.


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However, Andrea DiVito draws the tie-in "Guide to Annihilation" cover like it's a boring dinner party.



Way too bland.
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Okay, now Angel Medina has ALSO showed...



no one can make the new costume look good.
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I love how FUN the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man covers are!!



I keep expecting to see the Fonz show up!
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I don't think this is a great Venom cover for Beyond #2.



However, maybe Scott Kolins is on to something, as I keep coming back to it, in a sort of a "gawking at a trainwreck" type of thing.
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I like that Linsner made Wolverine shorter than Black Cat.



Nice touch.

That is all.
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Man, only Chris Weston can make a guy walking around on fire seem mundane.


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Mark Texeira's Ghost Rider cover at least delivers what most people expect from a Ghost Rider comic book.


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Man, Hester really falls apart with this Marvel Team-Up cover.



It looks almost kinda painful.

And we've SEEN him draw Wolverine well before, so I don't know what the deal is.
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Speaking of painful, THIS is the winner for weirdest builds of characters - Moon Knight #5.



Unless, of course, that's the Incredible Hulk under Taskmaster's costume.

Maybe that's Doc Samson under Moon Knight's costume.

It might be some sort of new-age therapy.
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Very nice Paolo Rivera cover for Mythos Hulk.



I look forward to seeing Jenkins' take on a character he's so familiar with.
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Bah!

I miss Marcos Martin on Runaways covers!!



Jo Chen is okay, too.
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Gotta give it up to Greg Horn!



Still not thrilled with the drawing, but it sure is a clever idea!!
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Did Gary Frank do the covers for the Nighthawk mini-series, or did Steve Dillon do them?



If so, Frank is looking like Steve Dillon these days.

It's odd.
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Gotta give Mike Mayhew credit.



Cheesecake art has its place in the world, and poster books are one of those places.

He is quite good at it.
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That is one weird group.


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I love Marvel Westerns!



I think this would be cooler if it was Eric Powell PENCILLING the cover, though, rather than inking Marshall Rogers.

Still, Englehart and Rogers!!!
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UH OH!

A Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man cover by...CAMERON STEWART!!



The collection is almost complete!!

DC, clutch Doug Mahnke and JH Williams to your heart and never let them go!!!
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Decent David Williams action shot for this Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four cover.


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Nice, dramatic pose by Aaron Lopresti for this Marvel Adventures: Avengers cover.


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Strong John Cassaday cover for Astonishing X-Men.



Surprising that this hasn't been used more often as a cover design.
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I love Bill Sienkiewicz, and I applaud the use of him on the cover of X-Men: Fairy Tales...



but I think he dropped the ball a bit.

A bit TOO abstract.
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Now THAT is a hilarious cover!!



Well done, Paul Pelletier (and Tony Bedard for the idea of an Exiles team made up of all Wolverines).
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Nice Paco Medina cover for New X-Men.


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I enjoy seeing less of a "Barney and friends"-style cover of New Excalibur from Michael Ryan.



Good work.
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I think John Watson is great.



And this is a nice painting.

But I don't think it is dramatic enough for a cover.
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Holy crap, Bianchi!!!



That is just WEIRD!!!
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Interesting cover layout from Sook for X-Factor.



I don't know if I love it, but I love his willingness to try new things.
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I like Tim Bradstreet's backgrounds, at least!



Clever silhouette use!
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Strong Jack Kirby cover.



I wonder if this bounty hunter book will be any good?
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HONORABLE MENTIONS!
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I'm sorry, but I can't help it...



this looks like it could be fun!
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Just SLIGHTLY too hokey for the top five.



Still, very nice cover.
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Very nice Adi Granov cover for Iron Man.



Just outside of the top five.
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TOP FIVE!!
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5. Very strong cover design by Tomm Coker for Agents of Atlas #1.



Anyone know what Coker is up to these days?

I enjoy his work.
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4. Good Trevor Hairsine cover for Black Panther.



Panther v. Doom is a nice matchup, and the cover demonstrates that.
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3. Very dynamic Captain America cover...



even if we WEREN'T all comic geeks and understood the symbolism of the cover.
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2. A large round of applause for Rick Berry's redesign of Sersi for Gaiman's Eternals.



Excellent work!
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1. Finally, an amazing job by Chris Bachalo.



Best cover I've seen from him in years.

Such striking character design.

And yes, kudos to Carey, for putting Bobby (a person people keep rumoring is gay) with a character who can become a man. Clever job, there.
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Well, that's it for this month!

Feel free to weigh in with your prejudices (and your top five covers)!

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