Wait, What? Ep. 126: More of Everything

Because it is Kirby and because it is...my heart.

Okay, tech problems resolved! (You know, as long as you're talking about our recording problems, and not about how everyone has basically been hacked by the government without their consent for years...) So, behind the jump, show notes for our two-hour plus installment of the Show That Cannot Say Die (Without Skype Cutting Out On It)!

Oh, but before you do, make sure you check out posts by Hibbs and Smitty below -- today is our semi-annual Salute to Content!

Anyway, yeah, embarrassing though it is to admit, I think maybe both Graeme and I using Macs now may have exacerbated some of our recording problems with Skype?  Hopefully, that will no longer be an issue as we're trying a whole new workaround (Audio Hijack Pro of our Facetime calls, in case you're interested).  It's not quite perfect -- I've gotta learn how to adjust my microphone levels before we talk and I pray to God that doesn't mean going through Soundcloud because that shit baffles me -- but it's a start, I guess.

So: show notes!  They are short, in part because we were very focused in our chatty way this week and also because I kinda strained my back moving longboxes this weekend and so I'm loathe to spend too much time sitting in this damn uncomfortable desk chair of mine.

0:00-34:57:  Salutations: yup,  it's the dawning of a brand-new era for Wait, What? as we dump Skype and go with a different recording method.  (To be fair, Skype dumped us first.)  We try to be mercifully brief talking tech shit so we can get down to our first minefield of the podcast discussing (again!) the fourth season of Arrested Development.  Wildly over-caffeinated, Jeff wants to talk about critical reception and how a person's individual critical taste develops and (I guess when you get right down to it) how frustrating it is that all the smart sensible people disagree with him.  Graeme, for his part, is having--if not none, then certainly very little--of Jeff's points, for better and worse. 34:57-1:11:05: Finally! Graeme and Jeff talk about Al Ewing's The Fictional Man!  Unfortunately, it's been long enough for Graeme and Jeff (and Jeff is over-caffeinated) that the opening of our discussion should be listened to *for comedic purposes only*.  There's a tremendous amount of initial flailing about how to describe the book, especially when one of the contributors to the podcast has apparently had a stroke and cannot use his big boy words. 1:11:05-1:24:43:  Comics! We do in fact remember what they are.  Jeff read and enjoyed tremendously Faith Erin Hicks' The Adventures of Superhero Girl, and also dug In the Kitchen With Alain Passard by Christophe Blain.  Thanks to a Whatnaut sharing their digital codes for Daredevil #26 and Superior Spider-Man #10, I read those and boy oh boy were they good. 1:24:43-1:38:45:  By contrast, Graeme has read Age of Ultron #9.  If you listen to it, you can hear Jeff rubbing his hands with glee as Graeme shares his feelings about the book, and Graeme also read Avengers Arena #10, which provides a bit of comparison and contrast with the Catwoman/Justice League controversy.  "Bonus:" Jeff's not-very-good Hellblazer story pitch from around the time the Constantine movie came out. 1:38:45-1:39;21: Intermission! 1:39;21-1:43:53: We are back and, in relatively short order, we contemplate Paul Jenkins and his rather spectacular interview at Bleeding Cool  and, to a lesser extent, his open letter at Comic Book Resources. 1:43:53-2:07:01: Oh, but first before we do, here's the first installment of "Graeme Says It Because You Said It" [working title].  Then it's on to a consideration of what we're currently buying from DC, whether Jeff should once again take the crazy train to Boycottville, more from the Jenkins article, and what have you. 2:07:01-end: Graeme didn't much of a chance to talk about comics he's read this week, so Jeff twists his arm and tries to get some quick opinions from him about Green Lantern, Angel and Faith, and a re-run of Pete Tomasi's Batman and Robin. And then we end the podcast! Without it ending us first!

Chances are good the sucker will be up on iTunes by now, but even if so, you are welcome to get at it with the handy link provided below.  As always, we thank you for listening and we shall return next week with more...of everything.

Wait, What? Ep. 126: More of Everything

Arriving 6/12/13

Not as big a week as the last one, but still some notable titles including the latest Walking Dead and the new Snyder/Lee Superman book. See what else after the break! A DISTANT SOIL #40 A1 #1 (OF 6) AMERICAN VAMPIRE THE LONG ROAD TO HELL #1 APHRODITE IX #2 ARTIFACTS #28 ASTONISHING X-MEN #63 AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #16 NOW AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #22 BATGIRL #21 BATMAN #21 BATMAN LIL GOTHAM #3 BLACK BEETLE #4 (OF 4) NO WAY OUT BRAVEST WARRIORS #9 BREATH OF BONES A TALE O/T GOLEM #1 BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #22 CONSTANTINE #4 CROW CURARE #1 (OF 3) DAMSELS MERMAIDS #2 DEADPOOL #11 NOW DEMON KNIGHTS #21 DOOMSDAY.1 #2 (OF 4) DREAM MERCHANT #2 (OF 6) FERALS #15 FREELANCERS #6 GREAT PACIFIC #7 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #21 GRIMM #2 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #3 NOW HALF PAST DANGER #2 (OF 6) HARBINGER WARS (VU) #3 (OF 4) HELHEIM #4 JENNIFER BLOOD #28 KATANA #5 MANHATTAN PROJECTS #12 MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS EARTHS HEROES #15 MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ORIGIN OF HORDAK #1 MEGA MAN #26 REG CVR MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #8 NIGHTWING #21 PETER PANZERFAUST #11 SAVAGE WOLVERINE #6 NOW SHADOW #14 SHERLOCK HOLMES LIVERPOOL DEMON #5 (OF 5) SIX GUN GORILLA #1 (OF 6) SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #14 SPONGEBOB COMICS #21 STAR WARS #6 BRIAN WOOD 2013 STITCHED #14 SUICIDE SQUAD #21 SUPERBOY #21 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED #1 SUPURBIA ONGOING #8 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #9 NOW THRESHOLD #6 THUMBPRINT BY JOE HILL #1 (OF 3) TRUE LIVES O/T FABULOUS KILLJOYS #1 (OF 6) ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #27 UNCANNY X-FORCE #6 NOW VENOM #36 WALKING DEAD #111 WOLVERINE #4 NOW WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #31 WORLDS FINEST #13 X #2 (OF 4)

Books/Mags/Stuff CAPTAIN AMERICA PREM HC VOL 01 CASTAWAY DIMENSION Z BK 1 NOW CATWOMAN TP VOL 02 NO EASY WAY DOWN DEADPOOL KILLUSTRATED TP DOCTOR WHO TP NEMESIS OF DALEKS ESSENTIAL WOLVERINE TP VOL 07 FERALS TP VOL 02 GI JOE HEARTS AND MINDS TP GOLGOTHA GN JINX TP VOL 02 LITTLE MISS STEPS LONE WOLF 2100 OMNIBUS MACHINE SABBATH HC MAD PRESENTS SUPERMAN #1 MANARA LIBRARY HC VOL 05 MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS VICTORIES TP VOL 01 NEIL GAIMAN MAKE GOOD ART HC PREACHER TP BOOK 01 RESURRECTION MAN TP VOL 02 MATTER OF DEATH & LIFE (N52) SMURFS ANTHOLOGY HC VOL 01 STORMWATCH HC VOL 02 STORMWATCH TP VOL 01 THE END HC TMNT SECRET HISTORY OF THE FOOT CLAN TP WAKE UP PERCY GLOOM HC

As always, what do YOU think?

Mainstream Comics, Ellen Burstyn & Jim Broadbent star in “The Momentum of Things”

 

That's 30 issues, fella.  That's over $120 of cascading plot.  That's probably over 70,000 words of dialogue. (Eyes boggle)

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Shakespeare – Hamlet 1:1

According to the work in the public domain there are about 32,000 words in Hamlet, FFS.

Given my druthers, I'd rather have a blast of something like this:

Follow me!  Into the maw of insanity!

So, gang, here's your problem.

Tragedy at the Walgreen's  "Out of eye shadow?!?!"

Of course, not JEM specifically but rather this meandering blech that is now mainstream comics.  Don't believe me?  Listen to Vince Gilligan!

It’s helpful to have an end date. Most shows are designed to go on into perpetuity – to go on indefinitely. You don’t want it to end, but, actually, desiring an end date from early on held us in good stead.

Vince Gilligan – Creator – Breaking Bad

 Our desire to apparently complicate the uncomplicated is a real thing.  A real big problem.  It's strangling something we love.  To be honest, it's ripping it to pieces.  You pick up something in the middle of that 30 issue diagram and your brain is going to turn into oatmeal.  PORRIDGE, I SAY!

What is needed, for both thee, me, and the royal WE is a little bit of a format redefinition.

And that realization left me gasping.  How, where, to what degree?  And then, a bolt from the blue.  Combing my rapidly dwindling longboxes this week I came across a massive stack of What If… from the volume II era (late 80’s).

WHAT IF… The Avengers Lost the Evolutionary War? WHAT IF… Steve Rogers had Refused to Give Up Being Captain America? WHAT IF… Iron Man Lost the Armor Wars? WHAT IF… The Fantastic Four all had the Same Power? WHAT IF… The Vision had Conquered the World? WHAT IF… Phoenix Rose Again? WHAT IF… The X-Men had Stayed in Asgard? WHAT IF… The Avengers Lost Operation Galactic Storm?

In the strictest sense, a lot of this was CRAP comics. Tryout art. HACKneyed dialogue.

Uuuuuuurgh

But on further inspection, and I say this with some level of seriousness, this is (or, rather, was) the last vestige of verve and piss in mainstream comics.

I challenge any individual to the patented“What if…” F You set-up. Can anyone find a comic that goes from the equivalent of the panel above to the panels below in less than two pages?

What you can’t really debate or put down about it was the amount of single issue ambition here. Sure, they’re imaginary stories. But as we famously know, “Aren’t they all?” What I was absorbed by in these stories was the sheer amount of FINISH on display. Things get done here. Wrapped up and put down all the way through. Whether that be Cannonball marrying a dwarf princess or the Fantastic Four all getting Human Torch powers – burning down a slum irresponsibly – and killing an adorable street urchin through their reckless hubris.

Things get done.

What I really found myself asking – as retailers and publishers struggle to identify the best delivery method for comics - Is whether or not long form serialized storytelling is rewarding or merely masturbatory?  When something so deliriously underproduced, rushed, and throwaway could give me such a jolt I was left wondering  why the "brightest minds" in the comics biz spend years telling stories that go nowhere and do - largely - nothing of lasting consequence.

Many (in internet terms) weeks ago I stumbled into a volley of barbs between the unanimously loved DEAR LEADER Brian "SAVAGE" Hibbs and one Jennifer de Guzman. Jennifer is, according to twitter bio and I have no reason to doubt it, PR and Marketing Director at Image comics.

This person, dear reader, is the tip of the spear when it comes to how the most bleeding edge – for all intents and purposes mainstream – comics company chooses to represent itself to the world. She must be very good indeed. So, in one corner the world-weary retail mastermind. In the other, the probing, challenging new method seeking distribution executive. Should be smooth sailing, yeah?

Well…

The crux of the “AHEM” discussion seemed to be the legitimate viability of short term “mini-series” versus ongoing titles in the current marketplace.

Now, fair being fair, these two fine folks must work together to simultaneously sustain and reinvigorate comics. This was all one night’s worth of twitter spit balling. I was a few cups in reading it so I can only assume they were a few cups in writing it. Logical, right? So, anywho, get these two together in a room and legitimately good ideas will come of it because they are both dedicated and passionate individuals who believe comics are worth a great deal of their waking hours and unlike us have committed their professional lives to that (slightly more than) 4 color gambit.

The problem is – neither of them can wave a magic wand to get the books selling like early 90’s Aunt May wheat cakes again. The question that arises from that problem is – where do they BEGIN to get books selling like the aforementioned wheat cakes?

Side Note - Yes, that is Uncle Ben as Silver Surfer.

 I think it’s fair to say that at this point anything is worth a shot.  I don't want to speak for Brian.  He knows via hard earned experience what sells in his location.  As a fellow small business owner I can say for myself that I tend to look at “tried and true” methods.  Publishing companies seem to feel a bit more comfortable working on different delivery vehicles. It’s the thing they can control – format of content – via their solicitation or publishing choices. Whether it’s a mini, maxi, annual, prestige, jumbo, or even the most elusive prey of all – THE DOUBLE SIZED ISSUE – publishers have long been tweaking the delivery system.

How – How – HOW?!?! How to get the people back?

Is it like this?

Look on my DIAGRAMS ye mighty and despair! - Jonathan Hickman (Allegedly)

A Traumatizing Apologia for New Avengers

Nuanced. Oo, yes. Swaive and De-Boner as the old man used to put it. But lemme ask you this:

Does it put butts in seats?

The simple answer is no. Now, this kind of thing does bring some proverbial milkshake to the yard. Established readers, with a deep investment, a subtle appreciation of nuanced characterization, a willingness to follow the Byzantine pathways of a critical and calculating mind dedicated to telling what is - for all intents and purposes – a multi-year story….Ah, ah, ah. Navel Gazing. YOU ARE NAVEL GAZING.

Now, listen, until Watchmen and its 80’s brethren made it passé to have clunky in-issue recaps of what had immediately come before (try reading a couple hundred issues of Amazing Spider-Man digitally and tell me it’s a seamless story) we had what were largely anthology comics.

In an anthology any comic basically makes use of the archetypal nature of the protagonist and tells a story that can fit with what any schmoe can understand from that single issue. It can be picked up by anybody and they can be sucked in by art, wit, word play and technical skill. “Hero, got it.” “Villain, check.” “Cool fight scene at Rockefeller ice rink.” “Oh, he called him a canucklehead!”  "What a neat twist - his glasses broke on the steps of the library!"

Somewhere along the line - and wiser comic heads than me will know the date - some bright bulb figured out if you made an issue only PART of the overall story then the hapless chump buying the thing (That's US, by the way) would need to buy the next one to get the story.  But then, why bother with two parts when you can have three?  Or Twelve?  Or THIRTY?

The problem is, Writers can totally play it safe with a meandering 12 issue story. You can break it into two six issue chunks, plod around for the first four issues of both chunks, deliver a lightweight resolution or, GASP, CONTINUATION

…and then hurry home in the last two issues to the status quo. “Look, everybody, they didn’t kill the Human Torch after all!”

That’s what diagrams get you. That’s what laziness and a navel gazing market conspire to get you. That’s what serialized fiction in comics has mutated into.

Marc Maron recently sat down with Sam Simon, (He of Simpsons greatness and glory) talked about his terminal cancer, and the shitness of serialized fiction vis a vis the new Charlie Sheen piece of garbage he’s working on half a day a week as a favor to a friend.

Sam Simon's WTF episode

“It’s called a 10 / 90 show…ugh, it’s death. It’s just the end of anything being good. You do 10 and then they pick up 90. What? Like if it’s no good after 40 episodes what do they do with it?”

He burns people in this thing – why not, right? And it’s breathtaking.

The takeaway for comics and writers - REGARDLESS of delivery method – is that there is a real need to break out of the cycle wherein they commit to these long form pointless wank explorations of nothing that ouroboros-like wind up back at the start and return to the status quo.  That's why readers bleed from titles if you ask me.  If you're telling me facets of the same story for 30 friggin issues with a whole lot of...

...then no wonder people are falling off left and right?  Who has the freaking endurance?  Not everybody was put on Earth to run marathons, comics!  Some of us just don't have the wind!

Look, it's simple.  If you want status quo then develop characters and story arcs that fit into anthology style universes. Bart Simpson is 10 years old forever for a freaking reason and it's a GOOD ONE.  Interesting, funny, weird shit happens to 10 year olds.  If you want serial fiction then you must NOT spend years of issues going nowhere! It’s fundamental! It’s elemental!  Sliding timeline be DAMNED!

I'm going to leave you with a big, important quote.  This quote explains why it's awesome when Cap gets shot in the head and the book ends.  Why it's great when The Vision conquers and becomes benign dictator of Earth.  Why it's possibly the greatest comic thing ever when Superman flies into the Sun to save us all.

Dread is an underutilized emotion on TV. This is most likely due to the shackles of serialized storytelling that, impossibly, demand both constant forward momentum and deeply settled consistency. Most shows, even the very best of them, traffic in the illusion of change, not the thing itself: The Sopranos was never really going to whack Tony, and Nicholas Brody isn't going to be martyring himself on Homeland as long as Damian Lewis is winning Emmys. It's hard to feel like something terrible is going to happen when the multiseason model of television remains too invested in nothing happening at all. Because Game of Thrones began its life, like Samwell Tarly's insider knowledge of castles, as a series of marks on paper, it's not bound to this risk-averse small-mindedness. I give the show a lot of grief for all the ways its fealty to pre-existing source material hampers the dramatic burst and bloom of a typical television season, but it's in episodes like last night's that the advantages are made abundantly clear. Only Game of Thrones can blow up the present like this, because only Game of Thrones already knows its future.

-Andy Greenwald Game of Thrones, Season 3, Episode 9: It's Like 'Rains' on Your Red Wedding Day

Over 5 million people watch this show.  And it's growing.

 No more TO BE CONTINUED.  COMICS.  I BEG YOU.

More Hibbsian thoughts about the market and how it works

One of the things that I keep thinking I need to break my habit of is writing posts in the comments threads of consumer news sites, because, frankly, most people really want to talk about Superman plotlines, or whatever. Here are a couple of things I've been posting over to the Beat which quickly scrolled away with no, or few comments, that I thought might be more reasonable to "archive" over here (and, dunno, maybe generate some actual conversation?). They're below the jump.

(Reviews? Later today?)

From the post "$143,379 Later, Lady Sabre’s Kickstarter Closes"

Speaking as a retailer, there is not a single book that has been “kickstarted” yet that went on to sell a meaningful number of copies at retail for me. I’m at try #9 or 10, I think, and 10 and 20% sell-throughs are just death for us.

I attribute this to two main things: 1) The marketing attention, the “mindshare”, has already been long spent by the time that the work actually arrives, and it is tricky (though far from impossible) to get a second wave for the ACTUAL BOOK.

2) Kickstarter is, sort of by definition, the MOST PASSIONATE fans. Take them out of the equation (as they’ve already got the fanciest version), and you’re left with an anemic customer base for a work. Further, KS seems to invert the traditional publishing model where at least a certain percentage of customers are given the opportunity to double- or triple- dip through various incarnations of a work — serialization, collection, upscale collection, super-limited upscale collection — and if you’ve already given them the filet mignon, why would you expect to sell much skirt steak?

Someone, eventually, will crack the code on how to KS something that leads to long-term, lasting, and meaningful sales in a variety of markets, and I hope Rucka & Burchett are the people who can do so, but as the market stands this instant, KS-ing a book marks it as “super risky” in the retail market.

-B

From the post "Coloring books, Paul Jenkins and the Big Two" (Excellent piece, BTW)

In my experience (sorry!), the audience is really pretty good about catching sincerity (NOTE: this is DIFFERENT than “quality”), and books that are “coloring books” generally don’t have all that much sincerity.

This is why, say, in the last comparison here on the Beat, DC’s SUPERMAN is down 26.5% at the one-year mark (from #7 to #18) while AQUAMAN is only down 14.5% in that same time period — one has a creative team that would appear to just be hired by Editorial in order to fill a slot, while the other has a creative team that has some actual passion for the work/character.

In the long run, as a pure publishing concern, customers desire explicit passion, and there’s really only so long you can coast on “good will”/external-marketing-driven circulation stunts.

-B

One post down, in the same thread:

One other point: “Standard attrition” is NOT (*N*O*T*) a function of “retailers ordering less” in the manner in which you imply — it is a function of our guesses about the consumer behavior. The Diamond order numbers are reflective of WHAT HAD HAPPENED MONTHS BEFORE.

What I order of (let’s stay with SUPERMAN)#18 is “How many of #16 did I sell, plus or minus what I perceive the TREND to be” I actually think it’s pretty easy to parse out what sell-through was on any comic (typically after #4) by simply looking at what the next order is.

Here’s the data collected by Marc-Oliver from that report:

03/2012: Superman #7 — 66,588 (- 4.4%) 04/2012: Superman #8 — 64,486 (- 3.2%) 05/2012: Superman #9 — 62,232 (- 3.5%) 06/2012: Superman #10 — 59,081 (- 5.1%) 07/2012: Superman #11 — 56,066 (- 5.1%) 08/2012: Superman #12 — 53,326 (- 4.9%) 09/2012: Superman #0 — 60,493 (+ 13.4%) 10/2012: Superman #13 — 52,155 (- 13.8%) 11/2012: Superman #14 — 52,572 (+ 0.8%) 12/2012: Superman #15 — 51,225 (- 2.6%) 01/2013: Superman #16 — 50,621 (- 1.2%) 02/2013: – 03/2013: Superman #17 — 49,666 (- 1.9%) 03/2013: Superman #18 — 48,236 (- 2.9%)

See it? Everything that’s outside of ACTUAL “standard attrition” (1%-ish) is reactive to the issues before. DC gets that HUGE spike on the #0 because that’s SPECULATIVE — it’s *actually* “what we really sold of #11, plus 10% or so” of us HOPING that people might jump back on, but #13 warps immediately back to the level that #12 *sold*, since that was the most recent data point. The next little boost? #14, which is reflective of how consumers *actually* BOUGHT #0 — it worked a LITTLE, but not as much as WE were hoping.

By #16 & 17 there you’re seeing that, for the most part, we all guessed correctly on #13 & 14 (They are in “SA” range), but that the audience didn’t much like #16 (a middle point in the Superman “Family” x-over), because #18 takes a too large jump downwards. And so on.

If you’re seeing 3%+ drops on books on comics past issue (say) #6, that’s a fairly clear sign that the audience is not responding to the work. If MOST retailers are getting MOST titles MOSTLY right MOST of the time, they’re not going to be able to stay in business. The math is just too brutal otherwise for the (let’s call it) 6-700 SKUs that the “Premier” publishers flood the market with every month.

To paraphrase Mr. Miller, I’d say “There’s nothing that can’t be fixed in the comics publishing industry that can’t be fixed. With my fists.” — EVERY problem that (Premier) publishers have in selling comics comes down to their own behavior.

(Non-”Premier” publishers have a different set of challenges, but that’s a different essay)

-B

So, yeah, didn't want that to scroll away and be lost forever.

Any thoughts?

-B

"Do They Still READ In The Future?" COMICS! Sometimes It's Great To Be Rude!

It was Half-Term last week hence the silence. Yes, the blessed silence. But now your God has failed you and I am back! It has been quietly suggested that I put on hold my tribute to Charlie Drake and maybe look at some comics this time. So, no actors who were dead before you grew your big teeth this time out. Just comics! Just lovely, lovely comics! But were they lovely? Hmmmmm? Anyway, this... NEXUS by Steve Rude & Mike Baron

ALL STAR WESTERN #20 Art by Moritat (Jonah Hex) and Staz Johnson (Stormwatch) Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti Coloured by Mike Atiyeh (Jonah Hex) & Rob Schwager (Stormwatch) Lettered by Rob Leigh Jonah Hex created by Tony DeZuniga & John Albano Stormwatch created by Brandon Choi & Jim Lee DC Comics, $3.99

I kind of liked this issue. I don’t know whether the worms have finally reached my brain, or what but twenty issues in and this one almost clicked. I’m not exactly the most demanding Jonah fan either, I just enjoy the scar faced twat in a hat going around kicking up dust and making life brutal, difficult and short for folks. I prefer it to be a straight western but it isn't a deal breaker.

Jonah Hex by Moritat, Gray & Palmiotti

No, I don’t mind Booster Gold turning up for no reason that is ever going to be explained (hey, that’s just how comic books roll these days). I’m just pleased the book has a bit of a spring back in its step. Maybe it’s the beneficial effect of getting Jonah out of the city and into the countryside? Like when you ferry troubled youths by coach out into the boondocks to stroke goats. Moritat’s art seems a bit more lively and engaged although that might be due to the brighter and more varied colour palette in use. Watch these backgrounds though, I’m not a native of the Americas but I’m pretty sure mesas aren't mobile. Like I say I don’t expect much really and this delivered that making it OKAY!

RED TEAM #2 Art by Craig Cermak Written by Garth Ennis Coloured by Adriano Lucas Lettered by Rob Steen Cover by Howard Victor Chaykin Red Team created by Craig Cermak & Garth Ennis(?) Dynamite, $3.99

More like RED MEAT amiright, soft lads? Here Comics’ Firmest Handshake Garth Ennis turns his surly attention to a tale of cops taking the law into their own hands. I’m sure that will work out really well for everyone involved. At the minute it isn't working out too well for me. I guess my LCS sent this as Howard Victor Chaykin is doing the covers and I like Comics’ Deepest Voice Garth Ennis’ war comics. So, okay, fair enough. I’m not turned off by the concept either. I’m always up for that old story which ends with a bunch of people dead or drenched in blood while sirens scream closer and those who aren't corpses suddenly realise why there are rules.

Red Team by Cermak & Ennis

Maybe it won’t go that way, after all Comics’ Hottest Curry Garth Ennis spends enough time (i.e. too much time) explaining how his characters can smoke in a government building that it must surely (surely!) pay off later in an example of Chekov’s Fags! Maybe everything will go swimmingly but the racially and sexually mixed cast will succumb to a series of smoking related diseases. Maybe not. But hopefully the series will avoid plummeting into maudlin sentimentality like a sloppy drunk slurring on about The Old Country as the barkeep dials for a taxi. Not an uncommon occurrence in work by Comics’ Softest Hearted Big Man Garth Ennis. This thing seems written for the screen (no, the page and the screen are not interchangeable) and the art just isn't up to the job of hiding this. It gives me no pleasure to say that. In fact I’ll leave it there except to express the hope that you really like that panel I picked because you’ll be seeing a lot of it on these pages. RED TEAM is not a complete wash though and that’s due mostly to the dialogue of Comics’ Hairiest Chest Garth Ennis. It’s good dialogue and it means RED TEAM is OKAY! That probably still won’t save me from a beating though.

THE SHADOW #13 Art by Giovanni Timpano Written by Chris Roberson Coloured by Fabricio Guerra Lettered by Rob Steen The Shadow created by Walter B. Gibson Dynamite, $3.99

Everything in this book is so familiar that the sight of your face in the shaving mirror delivers more surprises. This issue is impressive only in its devout refusal to bring anything new or interesting to bear on the join the dots plot with its transparent mystery, its space wasting reluctance to provide more than one speech bubble in a panel and…oh...look, there’s a three page sequence of a drunk man going home, going upstairs, pouring a drink and being surprised. No. That’s not comics, that’s just horseshit. I’m not even going to scan a picture of the contents as the fewer people who see this then the less damage done to those involved. Honestly, I’m doing them a solid here. Or a salad as they say in Nyawk. So, no offence to any of the people involved here as we all have bills to pay but this was AWFUL!

WONDER WOMAN: #20 Art by Goran Sudzuka & Cliff chiang Written by Brian Azzarello Coloured by Matthew Wilson Lettered by Jared K. Fletcher Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston and H. G. Peter DC Comics, $2.99

This is an atypically action packed issue but all too typically when the dust settles the forward plot motion is infinitesimal if not entirely illusory. With its large cast, stateliest of paces, squandered artistic talent and elevation of chat at the expense of incident it’s hard not to see WW as Azzarello’s attempt to bottle a bit of that drab Bendis magic. Luckily, despite his heroic efforts, Azzarello appears incapable of attaining such low levels of blandery. For starters his characters don’t sound like they are recovering from traumatic blows to the head; trading only in recursive whirlpools of bland doggerel. And every now and again something does happen. So, it’s an improvement but it’s still very far from being good. It still rarely rises above word play on a par with puzzles in the magazines old people in hospital spontaneously secrete in-between visiting times. Also, I think his cast have a problem with the booze. Although as the middle class assure us, if it’s wine it isn't alcoholism.

Wonder Woman by Chiang, Sudzuka & Azzarello

At some point in any given issue the chattering cast will mingle about some tasteful locale sipping drinks and hoovering up nibbles. Thankfully the medium of comics spares the reader the no doubt inevitable soundtrack of Toploader Orion snuck on to smooth things along. The whole thing is like one of those hellish networking soirees for people who do a bit of wee when they think about Powerpoint presentations. Except everybody is cosplaying Sandman and the evening ends abruptly when a big blue catfish in a crown stabs Simon from Accounts in the face. And puns! This issue’s highlight was when War asked, “Where’s my drink? You said you’d get me a Belgian White Beer!” and Wonder Woman replies “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a Hoegaarden!” Face it, Tiger; this book’s so far gone you’re not even sure if that happened. So it’s a fact that the crisp clarity of Goran Sudzuka and Cliff Chiang's art which brings this up to OKAY!

CREEPY #12 Art by Richard Corben, Richard P. Clark, Peter Bagge, Matthew Allison, Julian Totino Tedesco and Steve Ditko Written by Richard Corben, Ron Marz, Dan Braun, Peter Bagge, Matthew Allison, John Arcudi and Archie Goodwin Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot and Peter Bagge Dark Horse Comics, $4.99

There's the usal raggy grab bag of one pagers and spot illos but storywise we have:

Uncle Mangus by Richard Corben

Corben’s on first and Corben’s on form with a frivolous shamble of a shaggy corpse story. Corbenites won’t be disappointed as the shadows drape at strange angles across distorted faces, the undergrowth looks like gathia sticks from Bombay Mix, the borders are jagged when nerves become ragged and the horrific punchline is drawn with slapstick mixed with the ink. Yes, Richard Corben continues to defy Time itself and belligerently refuses to budge from VERY GOOD!

Uncle Mangus by Corben

Fishing by Ron Marz & Richard P. Clark Not entirely rote retelling of one of the usual variations on kids go fishing fear fables. Sorry, but EH!

Local Talent by Matthew Allison Allison's tale nicely conveys the grotty zest of late '70s foreign filmed schlock but would have conveyed it better in less space. Also, I know this charmingly cack cinematic genre was limited by budget but it's not a limitation shared by comic art, so c'mon let's have some backgrounds, son. Good enough for an OKAY!

The Spirit of The Thing by Ditko & Goodwin The Spirit of The Thing by Steve Ditko & Archie Goodwin

It’s Steve Ditko! "He is Dee Aye Tee Kay OH! He is Dee Aye Tee Kay OH! He’s Dee- delightful! Aye – Innovative! Tee- Totally not open to compromise on any point of principle upon which he has formulated an Objectivist stance! Kay – Kind of kooky! OH!- oooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooo! He is Dee Aye Tee Kay OH!" In this reprint Archie Goodwin does his usual solid scripting but it’s Ditko’s groovy grey wash German Expressionism that makes this one retain its VERY GOOD! kick lo these many decades after its original printing. It’s also a nice reminder that aficionados of Sturdy Steve should be salivating after the Creepy Presents…Steve Ditko volume that will be dropping imminently. Pre order from your LCS now, they'll appreciate it!

Pack Leader by Tedesco & Arcudi

Pack Leader by Julian Totino Tedesco & John Arcudi While Ditko and Corben get to VERY GOOD! on the merits of their art alone Arcudi and Tedesco’s tale reaches the same grade due to the success of their collaboration. This one really gels and even wrong-footed me at the last. That's nice. Arcudi and Tedesco knew what they were after and they went and got it. Nice work, fellas!

DARK HORSE PRESENTS #24 Dark Horse Comics, $7.99

BLACKOUT CHAPTER 1 Story and lettering by Frank Barbiere Art by Micah Kaneshiro Blackout created by Mike Richardson (?)

This one didn't grab me I’m afraid. With its slickly appealing tech sourced graphics and plot predicated on the promise of explanations further down the line it read like the tie-in to some video game I've never heard of. It’s only a few pages though so maybe it’ll pick up and improve from EH!

ALABASTER: BOXCAR TALES CHAPTER 6 Art and lettering by Steve Lieber Story by Caitlin R. Kiernan Coloured by Rachelle Rosenberg Alabaster created by Caitlin R Kiernan

My total indifference to this one is purely a case of it not being my cup of tea rather than any failure on the part of the creative team. I did read it but I couldn't tell you anything about it except it’s in space and usually it isn't. There are some talking animals and a lady, usually with a very broad accent, having magical adventures. Oh, she’s called Dancy Flammarion. Yeah, that’s me gone. I'm no Garth Ennis but fey’s not my thing, I fear. Disregarding my witless bias this is bound to be OKAY! Because Steve Lieber can sure draw nice and Caitlin R Kiernan writes proper books (she should not be confused with Caitlin Moran who doesn't). The most interesting thing was how disproportionately irritated I was by the bit where the team tell us what they were listening to when they created the strip. It was really distracting. I mean was Kiernan really listening to the Sunshine OST? Why? Was it just because it’s the soundtrack to a movie set in space? That’s a stunningly literal approach isn't it? What did she do when it was finished? Start again? Stop writing?

Like a real asshole I find it all a bit disingenuous when creators share stuff like this with us. No one ever says they were listening to Phil Collins or Cher do they? Ever. Yeah, right. Have you seen some of the people who make comics? Seriously. I mean that guy who always does that stupid thing in photos with his face so it looks like a wet thumb sliding down a window is a Foreigner fan and no mistake. Look into your heart, you know it is true. Anyway, this stuff's just the thin end of the wedge, next thing you know they're telling you about their substance abuse problems, how many kids they have or whether they get to put the fairy on top of the Christmas tree. Being an unfeeling automaton it’s just not something I need to know about creators. I mean, does it do any of you any good to know I wrote this while listening to SWANS’ Time is Money (Bastard)? Oh, alright it was Cher. "Do you belieeeeeeeeve!?!"

Bloodhound by Jolley, Kirk & Riggs BLOODHOUND: PLAIN SIGHT CHAPTER 2 Art by Leonard Kirk & Robin Riggs Written by Dan Jolley Coloured by Moose Baumann Lettered by Rob Leigh Bloodhound created by Dan Jolley & Drew Johnson

This is a revival of a defunct DC property which has now been given back to the creators to do with as they will. I believe DC also returned the less than successful Monolith property to its creators recently too. This is really rather sporting of DC and we should probably acknowledge that before reminding ourselves of their treatment of Alan Moore. It appears that the lesson here is that if you create anything successful for DC they will line up and bang you like a shit house door. Meanwhile the creators of Bloodhound have decided to put it in DHP. I liked this series when it first appeared and I still like it despite the pony tail our hero sports. He’s kind of like a government sanctioned Punisher with all his marbles and a beer belly who targets super villains. This is just a short three parter so the mystery tends to be cleared up by the characters approaching each suspect, the suspect immediately breaking down and pointing to the next suspect and then the villain breaking cover to provide a thrilling cliff hanger. Brevity isn’t doing it any favours is what I’m saying. But I still find the premise promising, the characters solid and the art pleasant enough for it to be OKAY!

BRAIN BOY CHAPTER 2 Art by Freddie Williams II Written by Fred Van Lente Coloured by Ego ("The Living Colourist"?) Lettered by Nate Piekos of Blambot Brain Boy created by Gil Kane & herb Castle

Although it’s not explicitly stated I guess this is an update of Herb Castle and Gil Kane’s 1962 creation for the faster paced and more luridly violent Now. Since Dark Horse published a pricey hardback of these (old and very probably nuts) tales you’d think they might want to draw attention to this. Weird. Anyway, the update is definitely fast and bloody and it’s not without its charms. Chief amongst these are Van Lente’s witty revisionism best exemplified by the call centre riff and the ‘magic cereal' which fools no one. Artwise Williams II has obviously thought long and hard and come to some definite conclusions about how to draw our hero’s nose. I can’t speak with any surety as to the conclusions he’s reached but there’s definitely something going on with Brain Boy’s hooter. Oh, it all bounces along in a lively if not altogether logical fashion, which makes it GOOD!

Nexus by Rude & Baron

TREKKER: THE TRAIN TO AVALON BAY CHAPTER 1 Story and art by Ron Randall Coloured by Jeremy Colwell Lettered by Ken Bruzenak Trekker created by Ron Randall

It's super-nice that an old lag like Randall has his own creator owned property. It's less agreeable to report I found the whole future bounty hunting lady with sad past thing a tad too generic for my fussy palate. I am certain there is an audience for this but I adamant I am not amongst their number. I wish Randall well in all his travels but this, for me, was EH!

KING'S ROAD: THE LONG WAY HOME CHAPTER 2 Art by Phil Winslade Written by Peter Hogan Lettering by Steve Dutro

Oooh! It's a high concept! What if the kids from a book very similar to (but. lawyers take note, not the same as) The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe grew up and had kids who didn't know about their adventures and then The Evil Returned and the kids had to take up arms on behalf of their paunchy and totes dull 'dults?!? This. That's what. No doubt Hogan will be exploring the Christian symbols underlying his borrowings with the same rigour and aplomb as his source. Or at least get a movie deal. Just joking! This is a promising (if not a little cheeky) premise and it's made all the more attractive thanks to Winslade's endearingly gangly characters. Although these do inhabit a blurry world of boisterous blooms of colour, the intensity of which suggest Mr. Winslade should pop down the opticians pretty sharpish or at least dial his PC settings down a bit. Maybe I'm getting soft in my dotage but this was OKAY!

CRIME DOES NOT PAY: CITY OF ROSES CHAPTER 5 Art by Patric Reynolds Written by Phil Stanford Colours by Bill Farmer Lettering by Nate Piekos of Blambot Crime Does Not Pay: City of RosesCity Of Roses created by Patric Reynolds & Phil Stanford

This is EH! due to the perfunctory writing and the weirdly flaky looking art. It isn't terrible but it isn't terribly exciting either. Everybody thinks crime comics are easy and nearly everyone is wrong. Everyone except David Lapham. Christ, I miss STRAY BULLETS. Why can't Dark Horse Presents find room for new David Lapham genius? WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???? WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

NEXUS: INTO THE PAST CHAPTER 2 Art by Steve Rude Written by Mike Baron Lettered by Steve Rude Coloured by Glenn Whitmore Nexus created by Steve Rude & Mike Baron

Eventually every open ended continuing narrative strip gets to Jack the Ripper, it's likely that they get to Sherlock Holmes too, but only Nexus would throw in H.G. Wells without overbalancing, without even wobbling in fact. It's Nexus so it's VERY GOOD! In fact I'll tell you this: I'd never read Nexus until it appeared in DHP but once it did I ordered Vol.1 of the Omnibooks pretty darn lickety split. I would imagine there is no higher praise a comic creator can receive than a sale. We'll be coming back to Nexus at some point. Aw, yeah!

HUNTER QUAID: ARMAGEDDON OUT OF HERE Art by Melissa Curtin Written by Donny Cates & Eliot Rahal Coloured by Lauren Affe Lettered by Lauren Affe Hunter Quaid created by Donny Cates & eliot Rahal

I couldn’t get a grip on this one. It’s like something an artist would do to showcase their style but it has a writer, no, two writers? And they are the creators but it's the art that is the stand out feature? I don’t know. I don't get that. It looks nice but, hey, that’s all you need sometimes. It was OKAY! but only because of the artist.

Villain House by Wheeler

VILLAIN HOUSE CHAPTER 4 By Shannon "Papa" Wheeler

It’s a kind of testament to the durability and depth of the concepts at the heart of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee’s Fantastic Four that half a century later it still provides fertile soil for trees of mirth like this. As mirth trees go this is a sturdy beech indeed. This is some funny stuff right here from the surly insistence of 'Not The Thing' that everything bad is Communist to the laser targeted title of “Invisible Wife” and beyond. The laughs aren't empty either, there’s a sympathetic villain whose world is ruined by a bunch of powered berks getting all up in his business to hilariously disastrous, but not unmoving, effect. I’d hazard a guess this strip is somewhat more refreshing and engaging than yet another modernisation of an old Kirby & Lee classic. ( “Yo, Yo, Yo! Ben Grimm is Totes Sad, Bro! (Ch-Ch-Ch-check out Mi Tumb-LAH!!!)”) Wheelers’ treat of a tummy tickler may not beat the ultimate yukkifier of Don Simpson’ s Yarn Man and “Golly! That crazy gizmo really works!” but it comes closer than most in a very small space. And that’s VERY GOOD!

Christ, I think I sprained something back there. And now I know why people don't review anthologies. I still don't understand why they don't buy em. They're stilll - COMICS!!!

Wait, What? Ep. 125: Short Round

Caricature by Michael Corley of Vox in a Box, who clearly knows us -- and our recording woes -- well.

Hey! It's episode 125 and it's, um, short. Yup, Skype problems kept us to a (what some would call reasonable) length of just under an hour. Sorry? You're welcome? We don't know anymore! But we are already in the process of taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.

After the jump: show notes! Kirby! More whingeing!

0:00-3:24:  And this is why I never make plans.  As the saying goes, "If you want God to laugh at your podcast, make a plan. Or try to describe moe." 3:24-32:18: Graeme is mainlining The West Wing.  Jeff mainlined the fourth season of Arrested Development and was hoping to talk about serialized TV fiction vs. serialized superhero comic book fiction.  Graeme, having picked up the biography of Chris Morris (No Known Cure: The Comedy of Chris Morris, I think?), talks about Jam and Blue Jam.  Also mentioned: Futurama, Firefly, Pushing Daisies, and following your bliss. 32:18-36:05:  Comics!  Very old comics!  Jeff and Graeme talk about the awesome that is merely a quick plot synopsis of Jack Kirby's Kamandi issues #21-23 (on the podcast I say it's just two issues but it is in fact three but each issue is ninety-nine cents on Comixology).  Here is the page we mention that I tweeted because of its awesomeness: Yup, I would say Jack Kirby predicted the Internet with 100% accuracy. From Kamandi #22

Also mentioned in passing: Graeme's theory about The Demon and Venture Bros. 36:05-42:46:  Also available on Comixology? Bad Dog by Graham Chaffee, a charming 26 page black and white comic that is currently free.  This leads to a fascinating confession from Graeme about the double-edged storytelling trick that is putting dogs in trouble, and then--- 36:12--SKYPEPOCALYPSE (and Intermission #1) 38:48-42:46:  And we're back!  More about dogs, a bit about what the hell just happened, and maybe the start of a new feature: "request words for Graeme McMillan to say on-air." 42:46-54:31: Fast & Furious 6!  It's not a comic book but it might as well be!  Graeme hasn't seen it but Jeff has and is very happy to talk about it (and spoil the last scene of the film, which is really about the only minute of the film that can be spoiled).  The most important cinematic question of our time:  Is the franchise more like The Wacky Races or the Laff-A-Lympics?  Join the fight here! 54:31-end:  For those keeping track at home, Graeme is now more optimistic this week about Man of Steel.  Maybe that's why Skype finally decided it was through with us: not enough talk about genuine comic books?

See?  Short!  Or maybe...petite?  Refreshing discreet?  In any event, el shrimpo should have made its way to iTunes or else its appearance is imminent.  But also -- it is here?  Already cut up into nice little pieces for easy chewing:

Wait, What? Ep. 125: Short Round

As always, we appreciate your patronage and thank you for listening.  We will be back in more typical filibusterian fashion!

Arriving 6/5/13

The last two weeks that saw only a few books out was clearly the calm before the storm, as this week sees a veritable ton of comics storming the shelves, including the long awaited return of Astro City! Check out the huge list after the break! ABE SAPIEN DARK & TERRIBLE #3 ACTION COMICS #21 AGE OF ULTRON #9 (OF 10) ALL NEW SECRET SKULLKICKERS #1 ALL NEW X-MEN #12 NOW AME COMI GIRLS #4 ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (VU) #10 ASTRO CITY #1 AVENGERS #13 NOW AVENGERS ARENA #10 NOW BATWING #21 BEDLAM #7 BLACK BAT #2 BLACKACRE #7 CABLE AND X-FORCE #9 NOW CALIGULA HEART OF ROME #5 (OF 6) COLONIZED #3 (OF 4) CROSSED BADLANDS #30 DAREDEVIL DARK NIGHTS #1 (OF 8) DAREDEVIL END OF DAYS #8 (OF 8) DARK SHADOWS #17 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER EVIL GROUND #2 (OF 2) DARKNESS #113 DETECTIVE COMICS #21 DIAL H #13 DJANGO UNCHAINED #4 (OF 6) EARTH 2 #13 EAST OF WEST #3 EMPOWERED SPECIAL #4 ANIMAL STYLE FAIREST #16 FASHION BEAST #10 FEARLESS DEFENDERS #5 NOW GARTH ENNIS RED TEAM #3 GREEN ARROW #21 GREEN LANTERN #21 HAUNTED HORROR #5 HEROBEAR AND THE KID SPECIAL #1 INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE #3 IRON MAN #11 NOW KEVIN KELLER #9 REG CVR KICK-ASS 3 #1 (OF 8) KIRBY GENESIS DRAGONSBANE #4 KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #198 LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #9 LOCKE & KEY OMEGA #5 (OF 7) LOONEY TUNES #213 MARVELS THOR DARK WORLD PRELUDE #1 (OF 2) MICE TEMPLAR IV LEGEND #3 MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS VICTORIES #2 (OF 5) TRANSHUMAN MISS FURY #3 MISTER X EVICTION #2 (OF 3) MOVEMENT #2 PLANET O/T APES CATACLYSM #10 POLARITY #3 (OF 4) RACHEL RISING #17 RED SHE-HULK #66 NOW ROGUES #2 SAVAGE DRAGON #188 SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #34 SHADOWMAN (VU) #7 SPAWN #232 STORMWATCH #21 SUICIDE RISK #2 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #11 NOW SWAMP THING #21 TEN GRAND #2 CVR A TEMPLESMITH THANOS RISING #3 (OF 5) NOW THE LONE RANGER #15 THE SPIDER #12 THUNDERBOLTS #10 NOW TMNT COLOR CLASSICS #11 TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #9 UBER #2 ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #25 WINTER SOLDIER #19 X-FACTOR #257

Books/Mags/Stuff BATMAN & ROBIN HC VOL 02 PEARL (N52) BATMAN & ROBIN TP VOL 01 BORN TO KILL (N52) BTVS SPIKE TP VOL 01 DARK PLACE CRISIS ON MULTIPLE EARTHS TP VOL 06 (RES) DRAGON BALL 3IN1 ED TP VOL 01 ELEPHANTMEN REVISED & EXPANDED HC VOL 01 EVERYBODY WRONG DAVID CHELSEAS 24 HR HC VOL 01 FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #268 HARBINGER (VU) TP VOL 02 RENEGADES HARLEY QUINN NIGHT AND DAY TP HELLBOY LIBRARY HC VOL 06 STORM FURY BRIDE HELL HOLLOWS HC JOHN K PRESENTS SPUMCO COMIC BOOK HC KNOCK ME UP GN LONE WOLF & CUB OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 LOVE INFUSION GN MAGENTA GN VOL 04 DROP DEAD GORGEOUS MISTY CIRCUS HC PACIFIC RIM PREM HC TALES FROM YEAR ZERO POKEMON ADVENTURES PLATINUM GN VOL 08 SILENCE & CO GN SMUT PEDDLER GN SOLO DELUXE ED HC SPIDER-MAN DANGER ZONE TP STAR TREK LEGION OF SUPERHEROES TP STRAIN TP VOL 02 SUPERMAG GN TODAY LAST DAY O/T REST YOUR LIFE GN WALKING DEAD TP VOL 18 WHAT COMES AFTER WOLVERINE BY CLAREMONT AND MILLER HC WOLVERINE SABRETOOTH HC WOLVERINE SEASON ONE PREM HC WOMANTHOLOGY SPACE HC X-MEN TP GHOSTS

As always, what do YOU think?

Wait, What? Ep. 124: Stare Trek

The return of Vegan Viking! Courtesy of the brilliant Gar Berner

Yes, Vegan Viking (thanks to the supremely talented and kind Gar Berner) is back, and so are Graeme and I, with a close-to-two-hour episode filled with funny book kvetching and show notes right after the jump. Join us, won't you?

0:00-12:21:  Salutations!  Graeme is sick and jet-lagged, having returned from his first visit to Scotland in five years.  Jeff, with his eyes on the prize, presses him for comic book and comic book store-related details.  Names dropped:  Plan B Comics and Forbidden Planet of Glasgow, Comixology as it aids and abets all-ages storytelling, and Grant Morrison. 12:21-27:01:  From there, we get to a discussion of the new Man of Steel trailer, and whether or not All-Star Superman is going to be the best fit for the upcoming movie..which leads to a difference of opinion about Morrison's villains, camp vs. melodrama, etc. All I can say is: look out for that surprise edit! 27:01-33:08:  Which brings around to Batman Inc. #11, by Chris Burnham and Jorge Lucas.  It's fun!  But is it the right time and place in the series to have fun, though? 33:08-49:07: And on the subject of potential Batman-related fun, we ponder the upcoming Batman Inc. Special, the writing talent of Dan Didio, and comics that are fun or "fun."  Jeff's example of how fun can fall short?  Green Team #1…although he's quick to mention how he is not quite in comics' tractor beam recently.  He's underwhelmed by Batman and Robin #20, for instance, although it did lead to an interesting discussion in the Lester/Berton household recounted here. 49:07-57:26:  By contrast, Graeme read Monkeybrain's Subatomic Party Girls by Chad Bowers, Chris Sims, and Erica Henderson, and loved it.  (By contrast, El Grumpus merely liked it.)  It certainly was better than Twelve Reasons to Die #1, which Jeff very much wanted to like but very much did not. 57:26-1:20:09:  Hey, everybody!  Graeme has stopped reading Age of Ultron, while Jeff thought he was still reading it so we could moan about it.  So his attempts to get Graeme to talk about it by dragging in the excellent essay by Colin Smith about the issue over at Too Busy Thinking About My Comics (now on sabbatical, which is entirely understandable but also a bit of  bummer).  We do contrast AoU with Flashpoint, Age of Apocalypse, Avengers vs. X-Men, and other events.  All of which leads up to.... 1:20:09-1:21:06: Intermission Two! 1:21:06-1:40:30:  Star Trek Into Darkness!  Spoilers! (Although we tried not to!) Bitchiness! (Although we tried not to be!) Another story involving Jeff's wife! And the curse of…sleep spoilers! 1:40:30-1:47:30: Then as the clock is running out, Jeff talks--all too horribly briefly--about the comic excellence that is Michel Fiffe's Copra (and the Copra Compendium published by the mensches at Bergen Street Comics) and Ant Comic by Michael De Forge (which is currently online and which I cannot recommend highly enough.  (Fun fact/full disclosure: the cartoonist Jeff spends an absurd amount of time trying to remember the full name of, is Rory Hayes.) 1:47:30-end: Running out of time, Graeme and Jeff begin discussing Al Ewing's novel, The Fictional Man.  Sadly, it ends up being a discussion we have to punt to the next podcast but we do drop a toe in about all the many things the book has to offer.

And that's it until next week, when we'll have ep. 125 ready for you along with far less illness and jet-lag.  (Although seeing as I'm writing this while utterly under the weather, and feeling like I have a bubble with a razor blade inside trapped in my throat,  really we can only guarantee a lack of jet lag.)  While the uploading end of the Internet has been very, very slow over at mi casa, the latest ep should be on iTunes very, very shortly.  And of course it's also available for your delectation below:

Wait, What? Ep. 124: Stare Trek

As always, we hope you enjoy and thanks for listening!

Arriving 5/29/13

Friendly reminder, despite it being Memorial Day weekend, comics will still be out on Wednesday as per usual. Check out what's new after the break! ADVENTURE TIME ANNUAL #1 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #1 AMALAS BLADE #2 (OF 4) ANGEL & FAITH #22 ARCHIE #644 ARCHIE MEETS GLEE PT 4 ATOMIC ROBO REAL SCIENCE ADV #8 AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #21 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT ANNUAL #1 BPRD VAMPIRE #3 (OF 5) CAPTAIN AMERICA #7 NOW2 CATWOMAN ANNUAL #1 CHEW #34 CLIVE BARKER NEXT TESTAMENT #1 (OF 12) CLONE #7 CROSSED BADLANDS #29 DANGER GIRL TRINITY #2 (OF 4) DARK AVENGERS #190 DEATHMATCH #6 MAIN COVERS DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME #5 (OF 12) EARTH 2 ANNUAL #1 ELEPHANTMEN #48 FIVE WEAPONS #4 (OF 5) FURY MAX #12 FUTURAMA COMICS #67 GAMBIT #13 GI JOE #4 GODZILLA ONGOING #12 GREEN HORNET LEGACY #37 HOUSE OF GOLD & BONES #2 (OF 4) INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #8 NOW IRON MAN #258.4 IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #10 JENNIFER BLOOD FIRST BLOOD #5 JOHN CARPENTERS ASYLUM #1 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #4 KILL SHAKESPEARE TIDE OF BLOOD #4 (OF 5) KING CONAN HOUR O/T DRAGON #1 (OF 6) LAST OF US AMERICAN DREAMS #2 (OF 4) MIND THE GAP #10 MORBIUS LIVING VAMPIRE #5 NOW MORNING GLORIES #27 MY LITTLE PONY MICRO SERIES #4 (OF 6) FLUTTERSHY NEW AVENGERS #6 NOW POPEYE CLASSICS ONGOING #10 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS ANNUAL #1 RED SONJA #76 SAVAGE WOLVERINE #5 NOW SHADOW YEAR ONE #3 (OF 8) CVR A WAGNER SIMPSONS SUMMER SHINDIG #7 SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 SPECIAL #1 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #249 REG CVR STAR TREK ONGOING #21 AFTER DARKNESS PT 1 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #80 THIEF OF THIEVES #14 TMNT ONGOING #22 UNCANNY X-FORCE #5 NOW VENOM #35 WAKE #1 (OF 10) WARLORD OF MARS #25 WESTWOOD WITCHES #1 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #30 X-MEN #1 NOW

Books/Mags/Stuff ABSOLUTE TOP TEN HC ALL NEW X-MEN PREM HC VOL 02 HERE TO STAY AVENGERS COMPLETE COLL BY GEOFF JOHNS TP VOL 01 BATMAN NOIR EDUARDO RISSO DELUXE ED HC CAPTAIN UNIVERSE HERO WHO COULD BE YOU CLONE TP VOL 01 COMPLEX GN VOL 01 WAYS OF LIFE DEADPOOL TP VOL 01 DEAD PRESIDENTS NOW DOCTOR STRANGE TP OATH NEW PTG GOOD DOG HC JUDGE DREDD COMP CASE FILES TP (S&S ED) VOL 05 LUCIFER TP VOL 01 MONSTERS INC DIGEST TP NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS HC VOL 03 OBITUARY MAN GN PHANTOM STRANGER TP VOL 01 A STRANGER AMONG US (N52) PREVIEWS #297 JUNE 2013 PUNISHER TP ENTER WAR ZONE SPIDER-MAN 2099 TP VOL 01 NEW PTG SUPERBOY TP VOL 02 EXTRACTION (N52) SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TP VOL 01 MY OWN WORST ENEMY NOW THOR GOD OF THUNDER PREM HC VOL 01 GOD BUTCHER ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN BY BRIAN WOOD TP VOL 01 USAGI YOJIMBO TP VOL 19 FATHERS & SONS WATCHMEN THE DELUXE ED HC WITCHBLADE DEMON REBORN TP

As always, what do YOU think?

“Seems I've spent the better part of my life amongst the dead.” PEOPLE! Sometimes They Are Uxorious! (Peter Cushing!)

Sunday 26th May 2013 marks a very special occasion. Yes, 100 years ago on that day Peter Wilton Cushing OBE (26 May 1913 - 11 August 1994) was born.Look, he’s even on a bloody stamp! Happy Centenary, Peter Cushing!

The Beast Must Die (Amicus,1974)

Anyway, this… Peter Cushing is/was/will always be  EXCELLENT! And here's how we get to there from here...

Peter Cushing made 90 or so movies (and The Bitch ain't one). That's a lot of movies and sometimes the only reason to watch them is Peter Cushing. Even in the worst of his movies Cushing remains the steely calm at the eye of a storm of camp; the one man taking it all seriously enough to pin your attention to the screen; enhancing rather than undermining what is, in all probability, a load of seedily eerie nonsense. That doesn't mean he couldn't erupt into a frenetic flurry of startling physicality when required, because he could. Even better, not only was he a fine screen actor but he was agreed by all to be a genuinely decent and gentle man. So profound is the consensus on this that you could be forgiven for being permanently tensed to receive some terrible reputation soiling revelation.  As of this writing no news has reached me that Cushing’s home was built from the bones of missing hitchhikers or that he liked to set fire to tramps and laugh, so we’ll adhere to the accepted text of his life.

Peter Cushing was raised in a comfortably middle class Surrey home where he appears to have wanted for little. His childish exuberance in play seems to have held fast throughout his life and found the perfect home in the adult equivalent of make believe; acting. He did, however, want for support in his desire to act. His father wasn't keen and, sadly, Cushing remained estranged from his elder brother, David, due to Cushing’s career choice until David’s death. When Cushing was 40 his father declared him a failure which was both appalling parenting and a trifle premature as at the age of 44 this failure would headline two of the most successful films in British cinema history;The Curse of Frankenstein (1958) and The Horror of Dracula(1959). (Anyone rolling their cynical eyes at my assertion earlier that Cushing could act, and act well, could do worse than to watch these performances back to back. Sure it's the same man but they are very, very clearly different characters.) 44 is hardly the bloom of youth and so it looks like success came late to Peter Cushing, but he had been quite successful for a while. In 1940 he had even been in the Americas and also in Laurel & Hardy's A Chump at Oxford (1940) amongst other well received movies. Following his return to Blighty (due to a small thing called WW2; he did not serve, he was not fit) he trod the boards and the sound-stages with Laurence Olivier (Hamlet, 1948), starred opposite a bewigged Richard Burton in Alexander The Great (1958)  and appeared in the 1954 BBC adaptation of George Orwell's 1984 ; now widely regarded as Television's first masterpiece. Indeed, the small screen was where Cushing found his biggest success as his cinematic career stubbornly failed to gain traction. Such a common and popular sight was Cushing in the  domestically screened plays of the day that to deny he was successful prior to Hammer would be to have a very narrow definition of success. But there's a kind of success that doesn't put money in the meter and that was the kind Cushing had. Well, until Hammer hit the anvil of success big style with The Curse of Frankenstein.

After that it was all gravy (vein gravy!!! Sorry.) but it had been a tough road. Luckily Cushing hadn't had to walk it alone. In 1942 Cushing had found emotional support in the form of Helen Beck whom he married on April 10th 1943.  The tenacity and sincerity of Cushing’s love for Helen was such that swans look like slackers in comparison. Together they helped each other through periods of depression and physical illness, eventually enjoying the silliness of cinematic success as they deserved. In 1971 Helen Cushing died. After her death Peter Cushing was different. Oh, he was still Peter Cushing. He was still lovely. Still polite and gracious to all on set. Still able to keep visitors in stitches all afternoon. But he couldn't stand to have anyone interrupt his sight-line when filming now. And now he would be sighted less when not required on set. And, at least once, he would request his wife’s portrait be used when such props were required for his character to react to. And for a while the tears he wept on screen were real. He never got over it but he didn't forget he still had a life to live. So he got on with it. Peter Cushing was a charming English eccentric who always treated every film as though it mattered; he embodied strange notions such as courtesy and civility but was nobody's fool. He died in 1994.

I like to think I first encountered Peter Cushing’s filmed presence when lax parenting ensured I was, while still a child, allowed to stay up and watch horror movies on Friday nights. But then I like to think all sorts of things. No, it’s far more likely that Cushing’s relaxed command of the screen imprinted on me earlier via his several forays into child oriented fantasy movies. I would certainly have thrilled to his performance as The Doctor in Dr. Who And The Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. (1966) Why, I can only imagine the good natured esteem they are held in by today’s easy going Who fans (AKA “Whosers”). You may be a bit thrown by the dates on those movies after all according to my passport I’m not quite that old. But back then, when we killed our own food, the only other outlet for visual entertainments was the time limited and channel light medium of Television. So, to maximise receipts movies remained in circulation a lot longer; even boomeranging back to more bums on seats some years after their initial release, as in the case of these entertainments. Sometimes, though, I’d catch a movie fresh as tomorrow.

Peter “This Nation’s Saving Grace” Cushing, Caroline Munro (who could make masonry blush) and Doug “You May Know Me From…” McClure in the Amicus motion picture presentation At The Earth’s Core (1976)

In fact one of the greatest cinematic experiences of my young life was going to “The Picture House” to see At The Earth’s Core (1976). Yes, it was a sheltered life, cheers. In this one Cushing played a primly bumbling professor who reached the earth’s core in a Very Big Drill accompanied by Doug McClure, a man who resembled an affably sybaritic cousin of George Peppard. There they found not only a subterranean race ruled by men in wholly unconvincing monster suits but also a sweaty Caroline Munro; yes, I have heard the sound of a hundred Dads crossing their legs simultaneously.

I would also have seen Cushing sporting a tinselly wig on TV in Gerry Anderson’s weekly live action exercise in failing to predict the future Space: 1999 circa 1976. From 1969 onwards Cushing had been making sporadic appearances on The Morecambe & Wise show, all of which were part of a long running joke about his seeking payment for his first appearance. This joke ended in 1980, I told you it was long running. And believe you me back then everybody watched Morecambe and Wise, or they got shipped off to Australia. Yes, there is a point beyond the ubiquity of Peter Cushing in The Dream Life of Albion, although I am moving steadily away from it. See,  1976 ,the year of At The Earth's Core's release, would also see the release of another fantastical entertainment for children featuring Peter Cushing. Yes, Peter Cushing witnessed the passing of the baton of escapist children's entertainment from Edgar Rice Burroughs to George Lucas.

"Far too many men are hobby-less...Without the escapism which comes only from dabbling with adult toys, their minds are prey to all the frustrations and fears of the working day. So many, it seems to me, lose happiness as they grow up. Their entire absorption in their careers and adult responsibilities bring lines of worry and premature old age. It is not silly or childish to have an interest in hobbies..." Peter Cushing in TV Mirror, July 1956 (taken from Peter Cushing; A Life in Film by David Miller, p.74)

He’s talking up the case for hobbies there; toy soldiers in particular. But he could have been talking about comics. He was known to have liked those too. Other than that bit where his mother dressed him like a girl, Peter Cushing was a healthy young British lad, and like all such stout hearted chaps had a healthy interest in comics. Little Peter Cushing is documented as favouring the periodicals Gem and Magnet. I looked them up and they seem a bit fusty and musty in comparison to the comics of even my far gone youth never mind today’s stuff. Cushing’s favourite was the Greyfriars feature written by Charles Hamilton (AKA Frank Richards). Greyfriars was, as you all know, the school in which the famous character Billy Bunter was boarded up. These strips no doubt involved high spirited tuck shop centred larks enabling readers to delight in the gentle rebellion of the characters and their thrillingly close shaves with having their backsides beaten with a stick.  Yes, comics were somewhat more sedate and establishment friendly back then. Basically, these are the kinds of comics Pat Mills has spent his life ensuring never happen again. Given the demands on his finite time by his other hobbies of painting, model soldiers, model building together with his full time jobs of actor, loving husband and being the most decent man in the world, Cushing seem to have let the comics slip away. He did, however, have sufficiently fond memories to later reminisce in print and on Television about these early paper pals. Bless his cotton socks. Had he kept up the habit he would have no doubt have been thrilled to bits to find himself on the comics pages himself. Although it was hardly the Magnet his image graced.

Today Dez Skinn is chiefly renowned for his role in the whole Miracleman fiasco currently keeping Padraig O’Mealoid out of mischief, but before inadvertently embroiling some of comics finest talents (and Todd McFarlane) in Comics own Bleak House saga Mr. Skinn livened up 1976-84 by publishing House of Hammer/Halls of Horror. This was a B&W magazine focusing primarily on Hammer but also, and increasingly as Hammer slipped from relevance, on the wider area of the Horror genre. Now, given its title and somewhat lurid cover imagery even my comics illiterate parents could tell it wasn’t exactly Buster or Whizzer and Chips so I had to bide my tiny time. Luckily, and this really was terribly fortunate, there was a newsagents in the market who had a near full run HoH that, judging by the static size of the pile until I got stuck in, no one was interested in except little old Cresta drinker me. When I finally read HoH I liked it just fine, but what I liked most were the comic strips. A lot of these (naturally) were Hammer films which was nice; what was nicer was the level of talent was pretty impressive. Brian Lewis always stood out with his highly European layouts although I don’t know what happened to him, but I know what happened to Brian Bolland (Vampire Circus (1972)) and John Bolton (the further adventures of Father Shandor from Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)).

Neither of those movies have Peter Cushing in by the way, but HoH did adapt The Gorgon (1964), Horror of Dracula and Twins of Evil (1971) etc etc so obviously there are plenty of pages of comics in these magazines graced by the cadaverous visage of Peter Cushing.  I can’t provide any scans or, indeed, any particularly original information as, sadly ,I have no physical evidence of my having purchased this magazine due to a hilarious misunderstanding where my parents thought that because I had grown older I had grown up; burning all my comics in my absence. Memories! It doesn't matter though because Dez Skinn his very self  has a whole load of images and words about this very magazine at HERE.  If that doesn't keep you busy I don’t know what will. Oh yeah, and that 1977 children's entertainment? That film. ..sigh, okay Star Wars, STAR WARS okay? Star Wars was adapted into the comics form for Marvel Comics and was drawn, at George Lucas' suggestion, by one Howard Victor Chaykin. I am still cruising on the fumes of the happiness my seven year old mind distilled on opening a Star Wars comic and finding Peter Cushing drawn by Howard Victor Chaykin. And in a risky narrative manouver there's where I'll choose to leave it - with a small child experiencing a magical confluence of all he thought was wonderful in the world; a lot of which he still finds wonder in. I've never really been one for goodbyes; best to go out on a high note. How smashing! How Cushing!

Thanks, Peter Cushing!

Happy Centenary!

Bibliography

No man, no matter how awesome he be, is born replete with Peter Cushing lore. Consequently, I am indebted to the books below for allowing me to beef up the preceding with something other than whimsical nostalgia. There's some of that, yes, but that's not the fault of these books. And nor are any (inevitable) errors; they’re all mine.

Peter Cushing: A Life In Film By David Miller, Titan Books, h/b £18.99 (2013) This is the one-stop 24 hour all night garage for all your Peter Cushing information needs. Need to know how many guineas Cushing was paid for a role? What kind of fry ups the builders who worked on his house made? ("Wonderful!", seriously). A mammoth effort of research rendered down into a breezyily paced and detail studded chronological chronicle of the man known as Peter Cushing. EXCELLENT! Unless you have no interest in Peter Cushing in which case I’m not really sure why you have read this far. Or if your taste can be trusted.

A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of Hammer By Denis Meikle Scarecrow Press, h/b £44.95 (2009) This one is thoroughgoing history of Hammer Studios and so covers all their films with Peter Cushing in as well as the many which lacked his presence. I found this particularly informative about the less familiar, to me, pre-success Hammer period and the studio’s final flailing at various, perhaps thankfully, unrealised projects (Nessie! Vampirella!). Although the price and paper suggest it is some tedious reference affair Meikle makes his subject interesting and even slips in some very good jokes now and again.   Comes with an introduction by Peter Cushing in which he says nice things about, well, everybody, dear hearts. Simply everybody! Simply VERY GOOD!

A Thing of Unspeakable Horror: the History of Hammer Films By Sinclar McKay Aurum Press Ltd, h/b £16.99 (2007) This is another history of Hammer but written with the emphasis firmly on the entertaining. McKay’s frothy approach does mean that it is still enjoyable even if you have already read a history of Hammer, but slack editing lets through a few errors even I could spot. (Yes, Hilary Mantel, I know I have no room to talk.) To McKay’s credit unlike other, cleverer, books he doesn't shy away from the nightmarish horror of the execrable On the Buses movie series. As a casual and light hearted introduction to Hammer it’s GOOD!

Peter Cushing: The Complete Memoirs by Peter Cushing Signum Books, h/b £19.99 (2013) A centennially stimulated repackaging of the  two previous Cushing autobios (An Autobiography, Past Forgetting) with the 1955 memoir The Peter Cushing Story as a single volume. This didn't arrive in time for me to read it but I'm sticking it on the list because it is a primary source for all the other books. I have read the two autobios though, back when I had more hair on my head than up my nose, and recall them being charmingly wobbily canters through the life of the great man himself related in his own endearingly effusive style(!). His memoirs may be surprisingly light on Hammer but are startlingly frank regarding some of the more distressing events in his life. This new edition also has some quite lovely informal photos of Cushing rocking his perennial cravat and slacks look down the ages. It’s the man himself in his own words so it could never be less than EXCELLENT! However, the reader does have to supply their own slippers, biscuits and hot tea.

A Selective Peter Cushing Filmography

Peter Cushing Suffering For His Art with Veronica Carlson. On the set of Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

The Baron Frankenstein Series The Curse of Frankenstein (1956) The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) The Evil of Frankenstein (1963) Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) Frankenstein Must be Destroyed (1969) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1972)

The Van Helsing Series Horror of Dracula (1957) The Brides of Dracula (1960) Dracula A.D. 1972 (1971) The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1972) Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1973)

Portmanteau/Anthology (Basically, Like EC Horror Comics) Films Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1964) Torture Garden (1967) The House that Dripped Blood (1970) Tales from the Crypt (1971) Asylum (1972) From Beyond the Grave (1973) The Uncanny (1976)

Miscellaneous The Hound of the Baskervilles (1958) The Mummy (Hammer, 1959) The Gorgon (1964) The Skull (1965) Blood Beast Terror (1967) The Vampire Lovers (1970) Twins of Evil (1971) Horror Express (1971) The Creeping Flesh (1972) Madhouse (1973) The Beast Must Die (1973) The Ghoul (1974) Legend of the Werewolf (1974) House of the Long Shadows (1982)

Children’s Entertainments Night Creatures (1962) She (1964) Dr. Who and the Daleks (1965) Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966) At the Earth’s Core (1976) Star Wars (1976) Arabian Adventure (1978)

I have no title, and I must scream! Hibbs' 5/22/13

Thoughts on Twelve Angry Comics from this week, below that jump

AVENGERS #12: I've tried, really I have, but I find Hickman's AVENGERS titles so bloodless and over-plotted that I just can't get into them whatsoever.  Here we are at what would be the "one year mark" for a "normal" comic, at the five months-old mark (and people wonder why Marvel is driving sales now?), and I'm so very very cold to this one and it's sibling title. Only "Spider-Ock teaching those kids how to be selfish" showed any real spark. I find this so very EH.

BOUNCE #1: I don't understand what Joe Kelley is trying to do here? "Speedball, except with swearing and explicit drug use?" That's not so very appealing, and then the first issue ends with an "alternate reality", and I'm trying to figure out what I'm rooting for? Some of the wilder ideas (A superhuman who IS a drug, shadowy conspiracies run by lizard-eaters, etc.) probably work a lot better with the mainstream-like art by David Messina that some of Casey's other co-creators.  I liked it fine, but I'm having a hard time deciphering the actual premise. Call it a very strong OK?

DAREDEVIL #26: this book is moving from strength to strength, and I think that the new enemy is one of the strongest ones that DD has ever faced... but, damn, I can't for the life of my recall his name. Akemi? Ashema? Somewhere in that range. Too bad it wasn't something like "Devildare" or something else easily remembered (Like, dunno, "Bullseye", maybe?), as that would mark a perfect nemesis. Either way, this book is VERY GOOD.

FANTASTIC FOUR #8: There's been something just a few degrees off from this renumbering, that I wish I could put my finger on -- but it's just dying in sales on our racks. Plummmmmet. Which is a damn shame, because this was as near as perfect of a single issue of a superhero comic book that I read this year. Ben Grimm on his one "day of being human", visiting the past of Yancy Street even before his sainted Aunt Petunia, and its just a great great little Done-In-One. VERY GOOD.

FLASH #20: Excited, oddly, about a new "Reverse Flash", but, like much of the Manapul/Buccellato era, it's just not delivering it's potential in my eyes. I really really want to believe, but the fairy is dying right in front of my very eyes. It tries so very very hard, and I desperately want to like it but like a poor marksman, it. keeps, missing. its. target. (KHAAAAAAAAAAANNNN!)

(Christ, I'm a nerd)

I honestly can't generate more than an OK, though I *want* it to be a VG, y'know?

GREEN LANTERN #20: And so ends an era. Really, this deserves an essay of its own, but Geoff deserves some amazing props for turning what was a (lets face it) second string character into a genuine franchise. Some people deride the "rainbow corps" (and, yeah, it probably went a step too far), but at least there are really legitimate differences and motivations and backstories between the various Corps.

I am personally of the mind that Geoff's run ran 3-4 years too long -- I'm not convinced that anything after "Blackest Night" was really particularly good -- but you GOT to give it up to Geoff for what he's accomplished in the run, overall.  I think even moreso because MY expectation is that the franchise of GL is going to crater out without Geoff at the helm... largely I think that the audience was essentially tolerating much of the excess in the line due to perceiving it as a creative vision. We'll see.

This last issue, sadly, wasn't much special -- the villain of this story has been uninteresting, and the final crossover dragged on way too long, with way too much handwaving and gnashing of teeth -- so I'm not inclined to go over an OK, but I do want to make special mention of the "text pieces" scattered throughout the issue which (and this is really straight from Jeff Lester, I am sorry for stealing!) read like nothing more than signatures collected in a high school yearbook, with all of the empty insincere praise that entails -- I'm shocked there's not a "Have A Great Summer!" in there somewhere, honestly -- the nadir probably being Diane Nelson's. I'd be shocked if she could recite the rest of that.

Yeah: "Have A Great Summer!"

GREEN TEAM #1: Here's the good news: We're guaranteed to get more issues of this than from the first series (which had just two issues, after it's debut in "1st Issue Special", both cancelled before they shipped), as this will last AT LEAST until issue #8. It's hard to think that it will get much more beyond that, however, since there wasn't a ton of ACTUAL premise on display in this first one. I get that on paper it's "rich kids buy superpowers", but that only happens for ONE of the "team", and that only on the last page. Has no one heard of "in media res"? Plus? I liked them better as, y'know, little kids. Well, copyright resecured, I guess.

I *love* this description of the cancelled first series: "In the first of the two unpublished adventures, the boys were pitted against giant lobsters and the Russian Navy. In what would have been the third issue, the Green Team face a villain called the Paperhanger who had special wallpaper that grew plants and trees, and who was a dead ringer for Adolf Hitler. They dispatch all menaces, then disappear into history in their private jet." Oh oh, the wacky wacky 70s...

This was highly OK, but needed to be so so much better to escape the event horizon of the current DCU

HALF PAST DANGER #1: Nice try, but another example of "burying the lede" and starting the story long long before the story should actually be started -- "WW2 adventurers FIGHT nazi dinosaurs!" is a great idea, but so much of this comic was walking through woods and sitting in bars and things that were not actually fighting nazis OR dinosaurs. Plus Stephen Mooney's art is just too anatomically awkward in places.  There's virtually no genre serialization that couldn't learn a lot by studying the structure of, say, an episode of Star Trek, and applying that to EACH INDIVIDUAL issue of the comic. Yet another OK on display in this one.

OCCUPY COMICS #1: I think this might be a year too late to do any good, but I liked virtually every page of this polemic of a comic. You could also call this "time capsule comics", because that's likely how this will seem in a decade (sort of like how the 9/11 comics are today), but that doesn't stop this from being a solid little anthology, and (I thought) VERY GOOD. POWERS BUREAU #4: there are times that I think that Bendis has single-handedly done more harm to the very idea of creator-owned comics than another other guy in comics. As a working retailer, I am constrained to point out that this issue is nearly a full month late, and that's after they utterly wasted having a few issues "banked" by shipping the first two bi-weekly and bragging how they were absolutely "guaranteed" to ship on time. And now we're already selling fewer copies than we did of the prior series, *sad trombone noise*

And the shame of it is that the book is very readable again, after a pretty dire patch of thinking it was better than it was -- I thought this issue was solidly GOOD.

UNCANNY X-MEN #6: Speaking of Bendis, he's just killing it here. KILLING.

I don't know why -- maybe because the Claremont DNA makes "chatty" a good move for x-books? I don't know, but this (and "All New") are absolutely "good" Bendis, and I thought this issue, with art by the incomparable Frazer Irving, was VERY GOOD.

YOUNG AVENGERS #5: Really GOOD ending to the first arc, and they're all given a plausible reason to be a team. It's just too bad that "Avengers" comics are as common as STDs on a hooker these days, because the clutter on the shelf (there are FOUR "Avengers" comics just this WEEK) is leaving this one the poor-selling stepchild.

Right, then, that's me -- what did YOU think?

-B

The Week That Was...

Well, between selling a boatload of donuts and running myself practically ragged I managed to give away a BUNCH of comics.  Probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-70 but I didn't think to count them beforehand so we'll never know for sure.  Let's take a look at some highlights and lowlights, yes?

Fantastic Four 243 and 245

A running theme in these posts is most definitely going to be the very transgressive and transformative nature of the comics themselves.  The bulk of my collection (suitable for giving away to relatively all ages) is from a time before "This Business" had identified status quo as a desirable state and condition for merchandising purposes.  Costumes, names, characters, all seemed up for grabs.  Case in point - John Byrne's barn burning pace on Fantastic Four.  Invisible Girl No More - Galactus Falls.  Byrne did a really, really nice job showcasing the talents of Sue Storm.  Her invisble force projection power (vague and uninspiringly defined by recent art teams) was given a huge "level-up" under his able draftsmanship.  Similarly, watching a group of Marvel's finest and also-rans take Galactus down a peg over the course of 3 issues blazed with a kind of manic pace that's not very common today.  As our beloved mainstream titles get lost in wandering stories spanning actual years of the fleeting readership's lives it's important to remember what made this stuff "Can't miss" as opposed to "Days of our Lives" never-ending soap opera horseshit.

Star Trek 10 - 11 - 12

The Mirror Universe concept gets dusted off here and by the end of it everything is blown up and Kirk is literally strangling himself.  Awesome.  Sidenote, for the LONGEST time I only had issue 11 of this arc.  Can you imagine the fever dreams I had?

THOR 247

Thor and Firelord find themselves in the bewitching thrall of a gypsy's magical diadem.  No worries, here comes JAne Foster to challenge her to (and win cleanly, I might add) a girl knife fight.  APPROVED BY THE COMICS CODE AUTHORITY!  Thor gets the patented "I say thee, NAY!" moment but not until AFTER Jane wins the fight on her own.  Take that, Bechdel Test!

Superboy starring the Legion of Super Heroes 200

Wow, great Cockrum costumes.  Duo Damsel's wedding dress is gorgeous.  Starfinger, on the other hand...jesus.  Just...no.

Amazing Spider-Man 258 and 270

In 1985 Ron Frenz and Tom DeFalco took over from my boy Roger Stern (He of ASM 251 ENDINGS fame) and went on quite the little tear themselves.  in 258 Spidey discovers his swanky black threads are an alien symbiote and he battles it with the FF.  That resulted in the classic Spidey wears a bag on his head bit.  "Kick Me" sign and all.  Then, in 270 he somehow gets pulled into a fistfight with a former herald of Galactus and after a really well done cat and mouse game finds himself lured into the open.  It's at this point Peter goes full "Ralphie beats up the bully" from A Christmas Story on Firelord and beating him into unconsciousness   He only snaps out of it when Captain America taps him on the shoulder and is like, "Whoa, son."  The man who killed more Nazis than anyone else in history just told you to take a chill pill, Spidey.  Time to switch to decaf.

Adventures of Superman 463

This comic broke my "Superman and the Flash are forced to race under a dubious premise" cherry and it was soooooo good.  Really dynamic stuff from Art Thibert of all people sees Superman breaking through to the developing core of the Wally West character.  Wally being all insecure but trying hard to earn it.  It's a comic about people who are learning, growing, and destroying a Mxyzptlk altered Mt. Rushmore...oops.

Wonder Woman #0

Thanks Azzarello.  20+ issues of pushy gods, bad puns, and about 12 issues of wasted Cliff Chiang and I'm practically willing to forgive it all because of this #0.  It's a great "Young Diana" story about learning the virtue of Mercy and the importance of staying true to your heart.

But no, I don't see an audience for this kind of book, do you?  

Welp, that was the week that was.  Looking forward to next week when we discuss our favorite Hostess Pie interludes!

Arriving 5/22/13

Young Avengers, Daredevil, and Mind MGMT are just a few of the books out this week that we are excited for. Check out the rest after the break! 12 REASONS TO DIE #1 A PLUS X #8 NOW ADVENTURE TIME #16 ADVENTURE TIME FIONNA & CAKE #5 (OF 6) AKANEIRO #1 (OF 3) ALL STAR WESTERN #20 AQUAMAN #20 AVENGERS #12 NOW BART SIMPSON COMICS #83 BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #16 BATMAN INCORPORATED #11 BATMAN LIL GOTHAM #2 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #20 BOUNCE #1 CROSSED BADLANDS #28 DAMSELS #7 DAREDEVIL #26 DARK HORSE PRESENTS #24 DARK SHADOWS YEAR ONE #2 DEADPOOL #10 NOW2 DMC DEVIL MAY CRY VERGIL CHRONICLES #1 (OF 2) DOCTOR WHO VOL 3 #9 FANTASTIC FOUR #8 NOW2 FEARLESS DEFENDERS #4AU NOW FIVE GHOSTS HAUNTING OF FABIAN GRAY #3 (OF 5) FLASH #20 FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MAN #20 GHOSTBUSTERS #4 GI JOE COBRA FILES #2 GREEN LANTERN #20 (WRATH) GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #20 (WRATH) GREEN TEAM #1 HALF PAST DANGER #1 (OF 6) HELLRAISER DARK WATCH #4 IRON MAN #258.3 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #652 NOW JUDGE DREDD #7 JUSTICE LEAGUE #20 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #20 LOBSTER JOHNSON SATAN SMELLS A RAT ONE SHOT MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #14 MASKS #7 MASSIVE #12 MIND MGMT #11 MINIATURE JESUS #2 (OF 5) NOWHERE MEN #5 OCCUPY COMICS #1 POWERS BUREAU #4 RED LANTERNS #20 (WRATH) RED SONJA #75 RUBI CVR REVIVAL #10 SAVAGE HAWKMAN #20 SCARLET SPIDER #17 SEX #3 SIXTH GUN #31 SOLID STATE TANK GIRL #1 (OF 4) STAR WARS DAWN O/T JEDI PRISONER OF BOGAN #5 (OF 5) STAR WARS LEGACY #3 STEED AND MRS PEEL ONGOING #8 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #10 NOW SUPERMAN #20 TALON #8 TEEN TITANS #20 TMNT VILLAIN MICROSERIES #2 BAXTER STOCKMAN TRUE BLOOD ONGOING #13 ULTIMATE COMICS WOLVERINE #4 (OF 4) UNCANNY AVENGERS #8AU NOW2 UNCANNY X-MEN #6 NOW UNWRITTEN #49 WASTELAND #45 WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #29 X-MEN LEGACY #11 NOW2 YOUNG AVENGERS #5 NOW

Books/Mags/Stuff A PLUS X TP VOL 01 EQUALS AWESOME ARCHIES 1000 PG COMICS DIGEST TP BRICKJOURNAL #23 CHRONICLES OF KING CONAN TP VOL 05 BLACK DRAGONS DEMON KNIGHTS TP VOL 02 THE AVALON TRAP (N52) FLASH GORDON TP VOL 01 ZEITGEIST GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR TP JIM FEATURING SIF TP VOL 01 STRONGER THAN MONSTERS NOW NAZI ZOMBIES TP NEIL GAIMAN MAKE GOOD ART HC RED SONJA ATLANTIS RISES TP SCOTT PILGRIM COLOR HC VOL 03 (OF 6) SLAINE GRAIL WAR GN SONIC UNIVERSE TP VOL 05 TAILS ADVENTURE STAR TREK JOHN BYRNE COLLECTION HC TMNT WORKS HC VOL 01 TORPEDO TP VOL 03 UNCANNY X-MEN BY KIERON GILLEN TP VOL 04 AVX WOLVERINE BEST THERE IS TP COMPLETE SERIES

As always, what do YOU think?

"...Eerie Friend Of The Needy..." COMICS! Sometimes Gil Did 'em With Roy!

What? Oh, yes. I was on about Gil Kane wasn't I? Thought I'd forgotten didn't you? Or hoped. Probably the latter. Springs eternal, so I hear, much like my chuntering. Where were we...ah, 1980s Gil Kane...

...and no, nobody does answer that question. But then who cares - it's 1980's Gil Kane! Anyway, this...

SECRET ORIGINS #28 Starring: Midnight Art by Gil Kane Written by Roy Thomas Lettered by Jean Simek Coloured by Tom Ziuko (Also Nightshade by Rob Liefeld, Robert Greenberger et al.) DC Comics, $1.50 (1988) Midnight created by Jack Cole

I found this a few years ago, it was wedged in the back of a bargain box and only eyes trained in Shamballa to spot the word "Kane" on a comic book flickering past in a four colour blur allowed  me to halt my fingers long enough to pull it towards me; like a tiny child rescued from a rushing river. A rushing river whose waters were Time! A child who was not a child but a comic! It's not a comic people talk about a lot but, by Mishima's slippers, it is an astonishing piece of work by Mr. Gil Kane. It starts like this...

In order to impose some sense of order and consistency on the post CRISIS DC Universe SECRET ORIGINS delivered 50 issues during the years 1986-1990, with each issue being dedicated to presenting the newly established origin of one or more DC characters. That's right, in 1986 -1990 DC Comics actually gave enough of a chuff about continuity to have given it a bit of thought so it all worked out nicely. I think we can all agree that the Nu52 has had none of that. Although DC's total banjaxing of their own continuity does still give us the joy of seeing Baleful Brian Hibbs going all puce every single time he realises that Batman now hasn't been Batman long enough to have had all those Robins. Yes, there was a time when DC Comics didn't just pretend everything made sense they actually made it make sense. Obviously Rascally Roy Thomas was all over this series like a rash. So much so that he wrote this comic. And Gil Kane's only gone and drawn it!

GilRoy worked together on many magnificent series/characters all of which are better remembered today than this. Which is a shame. Mind you, I'm not even sure this character has ever appeared again.  Feel free to correct me, as ever. Midnight first appeared in the Quality published Smash Comics #18 (Jan 1941). The strip was certainly drawn, and probably written by, Jack "Plastic Man" Cole hence the little credit box in the splash above. Just as The Death Patrol were a copy of The Blackhawks so was Midnight essentially The Spirit. Yes, there is a text feature by the Rascally one I have cribbed from. Midnight then is a man in suit and a domino mask who decides, inspired by the character whose adventures he narrates on old timey radio, to right wrongs and smack bad guys about. His name comes from the fact that he confronts his enemies at...midnight! This is clearly a very poor gimmick that the bad guys would soon twig to ending in a dead man in a suit with a domino mask. Inspired, I have submitted to Dan Didio a treatment for a Nu52 treatment of the character which is basically the same except he attacks his foes when they are mid shite. Take my word, people have a really hard time defending themselves when they are on the pot. Anyway, I think it has the requisite level of class modern DC Comics requires and I breathlessly await their response.

As much as I treasure Roy Thomas, and his work here is entertaining and sprightly as befits the pulpy period set material, I am actually here to talk about Gil Kane. Because 1980s Gil Kane is what I'm all about. Sadly I wasn't invited to personally watch Kane create the art on these pages but to me it looks like he's using markers. That's the sign of a confident man right there. Of course, so I hear, he would have broken down each page into rough layouts down to the panel level. Usually then some tightening up would transform the layouts to pencils and then, naturally, the final inking. But Kane, so I've read, would skip the pencils and just bang! ink over his layouts. With markers. That's...confidence. That's Gil Kane. Worship at your convenience.

Of course the markers may be a mundane reason for the obvious lightness of detail in Kane's work. Certainly in "The Secret Origin Of Midnight" Kane continually veers away from heavy detail.  So much so that his hatching is very rarely even crossed. Cross hatching and heavy detail were the mark of illustrators and, for Kane, there was a clear delineation between artists who favoured continuity and those who had an illustrative bias. Kane was a continuity first guy. To clarify this Kane would often cast it in terms of his work versus that of the Filipino school. Hence his documented dissatisfaction with Rudy Nebres inking of his pencils on the Marvel John Carter series. The reader's eye was meant to flow through Kane's pages obeying the visual rhythm set by the artist himself. When detail occurs it occurs in controlled quantities and its purpose is specific. Here city scenes seem detail rich but on closer inspection the illusion of detail is the result of an accumulation of what turn out to be visual generalisations. Kane saves the more honest detail for when he shows a face in close up. On these occasions he uses his hatching to cue in the mood of the subject regardless of light sources as with the noir movies of his youth. Basically for Kane illustration is used to convey intensity. Here it's usually the intensity of the villainy of a bald fat man but my point remains.

Also present on these pages is Kane's constant attempts to differentiate between the flesh and the forms of the world it inhabits. It might be argued that there is a concerted and clear divide between the living and the inert in Kane's art. This is a city based tale packed with artfully implied period detail, including suits that make natty look tatty. At no point is there any confusion on the part of the reader between the person and their clothing. This is due to Kane's skill at drapery but also to the fact that he varies the level of detail and line-weight between the clothes and the flesh that they drape. Noticeably so.  A striving for seperation, and yet also some balance, between the natural and the manufactured line was an important part of Kane's artistic ambition. He would always be quick to praise Lou Fine, an artist who Kane felt had achieved excellence in both the geometric and organic line. However, in all fairness I should note that Gil Kane could draw men in hats better than Lou Fine.

Oh, don't worry this comic contains all the explosive movement, bombastic gymnastics, panel breaking, in-panel montages, punched people back flipping and chisel chinned cavorting that the most frenetically entertaining and irresistibly enjoyable work of Gil Kane always contains. I just thought I'd highlight a couple of things I wouldn't usually mention. If I came off sounding like someone having a dry drunk please don't let it put you off this comic should you see it. After all, it's 1980s Gil Kane and that's VERY GOOD!

After all, if 1980s Gil Kane is anything he's certainly - COMICS!!!

Five for Friday, but not the Spurgeon kind: Hibbs on 5/15/13

Sorry, this is so late, but lots of stuff going on this week. Under the jump for four new #1s, and something that shouldn't even have been printed!

(Really, that was a pretty shitty week for comics -- I kept most of what shipped LAST week up on the shelf too, just to fill in room....)

AGE OF ULTRON #8 (OF 10): So, I'm reading this and I'm literally thinking, "Why am I reading this? This doesn't count, this story didn't happen being the inner-level alternate reality of an alternate-reality-driven comic. The last page when, dunno, something huge drops on New York, and the city goes up in hellfire and destruction? I'm thinking "Yeah, and...?" I mean, it didn't happen, and it's all just time-travel, alternate-reality nonsense, and there's eight and one half minutes of my life that I desperately wish I had back. Wake me when the Angel-girl shows up to unthread this.... AWFUL.

AVENGERS ENEMY WITHIN #1: This is the first part of the CAPTAIN MARVEL / AVENGERS ASSEMBLE crossover, conveniently not attached to either series. I don't know, this is pretty drama-free to me, because, just like AGE OF ULTRON above, I'm fairly confident that Kelly Sue DeConnick isn't going to murder Carol, so "the enemy within" of her comic-book illness isn't really much of anything at all, now is it? This also wasn't really written with a new reader in mind -- I felt like it thought that I knew what was going on when I opened page 1, and I really don't, especially. And, more importantly, nothing on display here warmed me to Carol or Captain Marvel, or made me want to read or learn more about any of it. Foo! Also? The art was really bad, I thought -- Scott Hepburn doesn't seem to have basic control of anatomy or human proportions. I also have to give this one an AWFUL, though that's more a limitation of the SavCrit scale... "Very EH" might be slightly more accurate...

DOOMSDAY.1 #1 (OF 4): John Byrne has been killing it with these sci-fi books now -- I thought this was very much a airport best-seller from the 70s or something, and that's not even slightly a complaint: there is an easy level of craft and professionalism on display here, with many dramatically distinct characters. This isn't saying a LOT, since, like I said "shitty week of comics", but I thought that this was easily the best thing that I read this week. VERY GOOD (and available on our digital store, he said fruitlessly)

DREAM MERCHANT #1 (OF 6) : One of two named "Dream" books, and the one I couldn't really follow very well. The art by Konstantin Novosadov has some nice ethreal qualities, but it gets colored far too dark in too many places, and he kind of bobbles the faces again and again. The writing I thought was too self-indulgent, and should have covered twice the ground in half the space. WHAT IS THE ACTUAL PREMISE OF THIS COMIC? It's really not in issue #1. A very very low OK. (You could also get this at our digital store... and the coloring might be tuned to a screen, for all I know)

DREAM THIEF #1 (OF 5): Our other "Dream" comic is much easier to follow as Jai Nitz gives you a reason to care for the protagonist, and set out a controlling mystery very effectively. And I thought the art by Greg Smallwood was extremely effective in the flashback-to-dreams sections. The story is kind of Little Nemo in Slumberland meets The Spectre, and while I found the mystery compelling, I'm not sure that the body count produced makes the book really my cup of tea. Still, this is a very very solid GOOD, maybe even a bit higher.

That's what I thought at least, what did YOU think?

-B

Cullen Bunn -- “The Power of ‘No’ and the Painful Lessons of ‘Yes.’”

Hello, Comics Internet! (So awkward, still.)

Keep an eye out for a new “giving away comics” post a little bit later. Currently, this 100% opinion piece!

Something you may not know about us working donut professionals is that we keep odd, lonely hours. Between one and five-thirty am every day not only am I awake and functioning at a high level it is exceedingly rare for me to utter a single word. Take a second to think about your day. Have you ever been silent for four and a half hours and not asleep?

What a nutty life.  Much, much more after the jump.

Anywho, in order to fill those hours when I can’t speak to anyone I listen. I listen actively and intently to all manner of media. Albums, comedy specials, NPR, Hood Internet mixtapes, TV Series. Hell, I HEARD more Friday Night Lights, House of Cards, and Cheers than I ever actually watched. I also found that I am not averse to the sound enthusiasm. Podcasts such as our own esteemed “Wait, What?!” Marc Maron’s WTF, Grantland, and Nerdist…sweet, sweet, Nerdist brought me a new arena of entertainment.

Let’s clear one thing up right now. I am a faithful Ben Blacker apostle. I listen to Thrilling Adventure Hour, every one of his Nerdist Writer’s Panels, and literally anything else he and his writing partner, Ben Acker, produce. These guys are legit trailblazers. Architects of a new endeavor. Check ‘em out!

http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/nerdist-writers-panel/

http://www.nerdist.com/podcast/thrilling-adventure-hour/

(Bonus: Latest behind the scenes episode #115 features a sneak peak at upcoming comics pod co-host Heath Corson.)

At any rate, I was toiling away one morning and listening to him chat up some guy named Ryan Condal.

http://www.nerdist.com/2013/04/nerdist-writers-panel-84-ryan-condal/

Ryan was/is responsible for adapting Cullen Bunn’s Sixth Gun for television. To be fair, frank, and clueless I didn’t know this was going on and I haven’t read more than two issues of Sixth Gun. Here’s a quick recap of the surrounding hullabaloo featuring our own Savage Graeme!

January 22 – May 8

Graeme ‏@graemem22 Jan Congratulations to @cullenbunn @brihurtt @crabtree_bill @OniPress for the Sixth Gun getting a pilot order for the TV version.

Jay Faerber ‏@JayFaerber6 Apr Congrats @cullenbunn -- the Sixth Gun is apparently an early favorite of the NBC pilots! http://www.deadline.com/2013/04/primetime-pilot-panic-the-early-buzz/

Brian Hurtt ‏@brihurtt8 May At end of day @cullenbunn and I intend to stay focused on the one thing we do have control over. The comic. Thanks for all your support!

cullenbunn ‏@cullenbunn9 May Don't give up hope for THE SIXTH GUN tv show just yet. http://ht.ly/1W0trk

Whew, that’s a rocket ride. Throw your entire career related highs and lows into a basket and it would be tough to match that six-month run.

This episode of “Writer’s Panel” had gone up prior to the bad news so Condal was still very hopeful and excited. Throughout the interview he was kind, considerate of others feelings, and seemed an all ‘round good egg. Additionally, his twitter icon is Shatner – as Kirk – mid ‘KHAAAAAN’ scream and his background is Frazetta’s “Conan the Destroyer” so say hello to my innermost gristmill, Mr. Condal. We are close on a level few humans have words for. I salute you.

However, missing in all his amiable chat with Blacker was any mention whatsoever of Bunn, himself. The man, along with artist Brian Hurt, who is more responsible than anyone for the vision of the Sixth Gun as a “thing” did not rate a single mention. It should be said, of course, that it may have been edited out and certainly Blacker knows Bunn as he’s mentioned him numerous times on other shows. I’m not saying – unequivocally – Bunn’s been given short shrift. However, they both mention Oni Press, the production company that holds development rights for all Oni Press offerings (“Closed on Mondays,” a division of Oni created back in ’03 if you’re curious.) and various other people associated with the project.

What I am saying about Cullen Bunn is simply this: He’s not up front – where a creator should be.

Without getting into Hickman-esque diagrams it’s clear that Cullen Bunn is down the ladder. Is he going to write any of this? Is he going to get a producer credit? Is this creation going to secure his working life – financially and creatively – for the foreseeable future? Have we been sold a bill of goods in the “Creator Owned” arena?

At it’s average, The Sixth Gun was selling under five thousand copies and he’s ending it at issue 50. According to Publisher’s Weekly that’s just Beer Money under most models. http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/53365-the-kirkman-bendis-debates-four-years-later-creators-look-stronger.html

In the realm of “Creator Owned” not all contracts are written equally. For example, we have no idea how far Cullen’s creative rights extend to development in other media. Does he get to say what goes in and what stays out? Does he get to exercise final say over any decisions in regards to merchandise? In the link to his blog post above he mentions that the showrunners were “open to feedback.” Very reassuring.

What’s Oni’s mutated role in all this? They may be oh so happy to write a contract that gives creators control of a 3,000 issue-selling comic but does “Closed on Mondays” offer extended rights? Or is that a new raft of deals, reduced options and shares? As our own Abhay once opined:

THE SIXTH GUN is a comic book published by Oni Press. Oni Press is a comic publisher founded in 1997, and since 2003, it’s been the sister company to Closed on Mondays, a production company that Oni describes as “created specifically to help Oni Press creators and titles find life in mediums outside of comics” which “works closely with Oni creators and staff members to find [appropriate] creative partners.” Like other similarly situated comic companies, Oni refers to their comics as “creator-owned” — though when comic publishers have sister companies that work closely with creators, some people might find it a little fuzzier what creator-owned means exactly– or at least, it’s my limited understanding that reasonable minds might differ on that point. All the crowing and chest-puffing of this past year aside, the label “creator owned” on a comic seems sort of like the label “organic” on a box of cookiess– it’s not exactly clear to me what that means, and I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to always assume what’s being sold is healthy just based on that label.

http://www.savagecritic.com/reviews/abhay-the-sixth-gun/

Hear, hear Mr. Khosla.

Contrast this position with that of one Robert Kirkman. A person, who since launching stage two of his career post-manifesto has, essentially, written the book on how to “get yours.” You can’t look at a thing that is Walking Dead without knowing Robert Kirkman made that choice. His was the power of “No.” Right from the outset he saw through a plan that got him dirty but left him free, clear and holding permanent rights to the kind of success Jack Kirby might only achieve in a fever dream.

Cullen Bunn, on the other hand, working with a loose definition of creator owned, a bright burning dream, a restrictive in house production company deal, and sub five thousand sales may well have felt his options were reduced to one simple, “Yes.”

TILTING AT WINDMILLS #223 is live!

As always, you can find it at Comic Book Resources.  

Quick addition to the piece:

One other thing that I forgot to mention in the piece is that "A series of mini-series" is the WORST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS.

See, what happens with POS systems is that they track "series" by an internal number assigned by Diamond called a series code.  However, each mini-series RESETS that series code, making it more difficult to track subscription orders, or to see changes in the series over time, etc. Things like, say, BPRD, which was producing at least 12 issues a year, but renumbering them every few months, didn't show any native relationship to one another when looked up... unless the retailer took extra time and effort to "marry" (and edit!) the various series.

I know that for myself, a lot of time when I'm rushing to get the order form done in time, I'll just "lowball" the next series rather than ordering precisely perfectly in the way that I would with an ongoing book. And why wouldn't I? It is "just a mini-series"!

-B

Wait, What? Ep. 123: Assault Monitors

From the amazing Kirby-written, Kirby-drawn finale to the first Super Powers miniseries.

See, everyone? I don't blow every deadline, just some of the deadlines.

Anyway, we're back (although SPOILER: we're off next week again) with not quite two hours of Kirby talk, Ewing talk, and...three year old niece talk?  Um, I'm afraid the answer to all of those is: YES.  Join us after the jump for show notes, why don't you?

0:00-2:35:  Hello again!  It has only been about two weeks but we are confoundingly rusty. 2:35-19:01:  And yet, within the first three minutes we are talking comics.  More specifically, we are talking the terrific Ethan Rilly's Pope Hats #3, which Graeme found on the cheap while we were at the comic store together up in Portland.  We talk about it, the work of Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian; the Paul books by Michel Rabagliati; how it feels to be in the elite cadre of CE newsletter writers; the difficulty of digging through long boxes as you get old; the food in Portland; Vegan Viking -- Portland food or Jack Kirby character?; the hero of World War II, Ken Dynamo: and more. 19:01-21:16: After some problems with his 2000 A.D. app, Jeff managed to get his subscription ironed out and was up to his neck in 2000 A.D.  And so in Part One of "this week in Al Ewing," we rant about the Zombo strip in 2000 A.D.'s Free Comic Book Day issue, or do until an unexpected tech snag sends us instead into…. 21:16-21:52:  INTERMISSION ONE! 21:52-24:19:  And we are back, with a story from Graeme about some hold music that is all about listening to music while on hold.  Meta.  And then about a company that has put the Star Trek logo onto an arrangement of atoms. Terrifying. 24:19-29:33:  But, yes. Back Al Ewing and Henry Flint's fantastic Zombo story for the 2000 A.D. Free Comic Book Day story.  Also, Graeme was in the store during Free Comic Book Day and saw some eye-opening things.  (I mean, apart from comics.) 29:33-34:54:  Hey, Whatnauts:  care to help a brother out?  Jeff is looking for ideal comic books for his three year old niece that are age appropriate and feature female action heroes.  This segment talks about the stuff he's looked at, the stuff he's looking for, and how you can help. 34:54-54:08: And somehow this leads into Justice League of America #3.  Graeme has read a bunch of recent DC titles and comes away with a good feeling about the variety in the New 52's line-up…or does he?  Included in the discussion:  the latest issue of Swamp Thing, Suicide Squad #20 by Ales Kot and Patrick Zircher; Ann Nocenti doing her thing on Katana; Jeff Lemire's Green Arrow;  Batman & Robin, and more.  By contrast, Jeff read The Movement #1 and Action Comics #20, and was maybe not so positive about it. 54:08-59:59:  Part Two of "this week in Al Ewing":  Graeme sells Jeff on Avengers Assemble #15AU, and Mr. Ewing's latest novel, The Fictional Man. 59:59-1:07:22:  Also under Graeme's magnifying lens, Gilbert Hernandez's Julio's Day and Paul Pope's The Death of Haggard West. 1:07:22-1:07:43: Intermission Two! 1:07:43-1:16:16: Can you withstand the onslaught of….The Graemebot! And Jeff has a story of frustration--dire funny book frustration.  Family are involved. 1:16:16-1:28:09: Jeff has seen Iron Man 3 and talks about that a bit.  What about Jeff's boycott?  He talks about that, too, as well as the weirdness that appears to the Avengers 2 negotiations and Marvel Studios. 1:28:09-1:32:46:  Which brings us to Graeme's tweet about Marvel and Jack Kirby that was retweeted 645 times. The figures in Graeme's tweet comes from the first issue of Comic Book Creator from Two Morrows Press, which we also talk about for a bit. 1:32:46-1:55:56: Speaking of Kirby, we discuss The Jack Kirby Omnibus Vol. 2, as well as the amazing "White Zero" issue of 2001: A Space Odyssey #5.  We discuss the first Super Powers miniseries, especially the last issue written and drawn by Kirby. 1:55:56-end: Closing comments.  Next week we have a skip week thing going on (again) but we make pledges! We make vows!  We take oaths! To try and give a good run of episodes for a bit.

As for the episode itself, well, hmm.  It probably hasn't hit iTunes yet (although that RSS feed does seem to synch up quite nicely to it these days) but, as always, you are more than welcome to listen to it here:

Wait, What? Ep. 123: Assault Monitors

As always, we hope you enjoy, and we thank you for listening!

Arriving 5/15/13

A bunch of great books out this week, check them out after the jump!

AGE OF ULTRON #8 (OF 10) ARCHIE & FRIENDS DOUBLE DIGEST #27 AVENGERS ENEMY WITHIN #1 BATGIRL #20 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #1 BATWOMAN #20 BIONIC MAN VS BIONIC WOMAN #5 BIRDS OF PREY #20 BLOODSHOT #11 HARBINGER WARS BPRD HELL ON EARTH #107 WASTELAND #1 (OF 3) CABLE AND X-FORCE #8 NOW2 CATWOMAN #20 CONAN THE BARBARIAN #16 DOOMSDAY.1 #1 (OF 4) DREAM MERCHANT #1 (OF 6) DREAM THIEF #1 (OF 5) DREW HAYES POISON ELVES #2 EDGAR ALLAN POES FALL O/T HOUSE OF USHER #1 (OF 2) FABLES #129 FATALE #14 FF #7 NOW GAMBIT #12 GI JOE SPECIAL MISSIONS #3 GREEN HORNET #36 GREEN LANTERN THE ANIMATED SERIES #13 HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #2 HELHEIM #3 IRON MAN #10 NOW2 IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #10 JENNIFER BLOOD #27 JSA LIBERTY FILES THE WHISTLING SKULL #6 (OF 6) JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICAS VIBE #4 LEGEND OF LUTHER STRODE #5 (OF 6) LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #20 LORD OF THE JUNGLE #15 MARK WAID GREEN HORNET #2 MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #7 NIGHTWING #20 NON HUMANS #3 (OF 4) NOVA #4 NOW PATHFINDER #7 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #20 REGULAR SHOW #1 SHADOW #13 SIMPSONS COMICS #202 SONIC SUPER DIGEST #3 SONIC UNIVERSE #52 STAR WARS DARTH VADER & NINTH ASSASSIN #2 (OF 5) SUPERGIRL #20 SWORD OF SORCERY #8 THINK TANK #7 THUNDERBOLTS #9 NOW2 TO HELL YOU RIDE #4 (OF 5) ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #23 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #29 WOLVERINE MAX #7 WONDER WOMAN #20 X-FACTOR #256 X-O MANOWAR #13

Books/Mags/Stuff 2000 AD PACK APR 2013 ADVENTURE TIME MARCELINE & THE SCREAM QUEENS TP VOL 01 ADVENTURE TIME ORIGINAL GN VOL 01 PLAYING FIRE ALTER EGO #116 ALTER EGO #117 AQUAMAN HC VOL 02 THE OTHERS (N52) AQUAMAN TP VOL 01 THE TRENCH (N52) AUTHORITY HC VOL 01 BATMAN BEYOND 10000 CLOWNS TP BLEEDING COOL MAGAZINE #4 CAPTAIN MARVEL TP VOL 02 DOWN COMIC BOOK CREATOR #1 CROSSED WISH YOU WERE HERE HC VOL 02 CROSSED WISH YOU WERE HERE TP VOL 02 DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME TP VOL 01 FAIRIES MAGAZINE #14 GARFIELD TP VOL 02 HELLRAISER TP VOL 05 INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK PREM HC VOL 01 AGENT OF SHIELD NOW IRON SKY TP JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #335 JUSTICE LEAGUE BEYOND KONSTRICTION TP MEGA MAN TP VOL 05 ROCK OF AGES MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC TP VOL 01 NEON GENESIS EVANGELION 3-IN-1 ED TP VOL 03 NEW AVENGERS BY BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS TP VOL 04 AVX PETER PANZERFAUST TP VOL 02 HOOKED STAR WARS DARTH MAUL DEATH SENTENCE TP WOLVERINE AND X-MEN BY JASON AARON TP VOL 04 AVX

As always, what do YOU think?

Busiek Red - Busiek Blue

I gave away a big, big bunch of Superman books this week.  It took no small amount of reading back and I was actually conflicted about what to put out due to some suggestive content issues with the Superman line.  I get the feeling this is going to be an ongoing concern.  Read on to get my extended take. In 2005 I was established as a young idiot with a local comic store, disposable income, and THE INTERNET.  So, it’s not really surprising that I found myself extremely excited at the prospect of one Kurt Busiek signing a DC exclusive contract and taking over Superman.  In hindsight, we can throw all the shade one cares to at the “exclusive” and DC’s perceived lack of success with it, but at the time it really struck a tone of excitement and anticipation.  I, of course, loved the nostalgia and overall vibe of Marvels.  Throughout his career, before and after, I don't think you could ever make the accusation that Busiek lacked “the feel” for his characters and material.  Today we lament stories where characters all read as one person speaking through different avatars.  I can honestly say that I've never had that sensation with a Busiek comic.  Another nice component is that his stories also “moved” and didn't take long getting there. Marvels, as a complete work, was in and out in four issues.  Can you imagine what path that series would take today?

Anyway, back to the DC exclusive. Coming out of Infinite Crisis the mandate was to update and reinvigorate the core line.  “One Year Later” had been, to outside eyes, a total crapshoot with results all over the board.  DC needed to lock things down and get a vision going forward.  While they'd tapped Geoff Johns and Richard Donner to kick start the greatest of them all it was the Busiek work – for me – that really gave the standout performance.  However, he would walk down two separate paths to get there.

On the illustrative side, Kurt was truly blessed.  For his initial “Up, Up and Away” arc Pete Woods completely smashed it. Fluid, confident, and willing to give Superman a “bend” that he had been lacking for some time.  His Superman was rarely posed or locked but rather relaxed and comfortable – an easy grin always at the ready.  When you pair that style with his mercurial eye for background depth you’ve got a versatile artist with skill for days.  When Johns / Donner (and Kubert?) fell behind by three months almost immediately - Busiek stepped into the gap, brought Woods along, and delivered a pocket masterpiece in 3 issues of Action Comics.

Over in the Superman title Carlos Pacheco was delivering fine work as well but in a different vein.  Lots of arched backs and physiques a poppin’ over here.  Heavier line, solidly built.  Pacheco works so hard here to develop a firmness in the world.  Unfortunately, the first issue I have of the run is #654.  That issue is book ended by a couple pages of Lois in various stages of undress.  I’m no prude but it kinda puts me in a spot setting it out on the give away stand, right?

Continuing in this vein #655 starts with a depiction of the newly re-surfaced Arion post three way (or ménage a trois if you’re feeling faux classy).  Nice strategic sheet placement, Carlos!  All kidding aside, as I was giving this block of Superman and Action issues the flip test for potential kiddy consumption, I noticed how Busiek’s writing took on a certain character for each series.  You can tell that the Superman arc was to have more consequence and be more “important” in terms of long-term development.  This was going to be "his" book and his long-term plot.  The narrative asks a supposedly big question of Superman, introduces new villains, re-introduces elements of his past, and fleshes out his returning abilities.  There’s a great deal more blunt violence as well.  However, Busiek also manages to seed in really adorable Silver Age stuff.  One fine example is when Superman pretends to read some mainstream bestseller but in the periods of that text he’s hidden microdots loaded with science, mathematics, and all manner of “super knowledge.”

We sense Busiek working very hard to make us believe the threat of villains Khyber and Arion is real.  Arion says some variation of "damn" at least five times in one word balloon.  HE'S PLAYING FOR KEEPS!  It’s gotta be over a dozen issues of this thing perking away.  Is Superman a threat? Savior? Both? Questioning, questioning, from this angle and that angle.  Throw in a Prankster appearance?  Sure, why not?  The problem here is that it’s just too obvious an answer.  Put Superman in any situation and he’s going to fight and think his way out of it.  We know that as sure as we know he wears an S on his chest.  It felt manufactured that Superman would need so much self-analysis and be so, frankly, indecisive.  It's a mistake we'd see Straczynski (half-assedly) make years later.   Still, it was a nice chance to see Zatanna’s / Lana’s / Callie’s / Lois’ chest almost fall out of her corset / dress / jumpsuit / lingerie like seven times.  Yes, those all correspond.  Yes, it’s also safe to say Carlos likes to draw well-endowed and scantily clad women.

By contrast, Action Comics #841, #842, and #843 delivers an ultra compact and completely BOSS version of this very similar – practically identical – narrative arc.  It’s a stock Superman idea: People are wondering whether they should trust Superman and he’s got to overcome all the doubters.  Now, you give ACTION COMICS Superman three issues to do the aforementioned and he is going to leave no doubt you’re dealing with the real issue.

Let’s start with the Dave Gibbons newspaper covers.  How casually amazing is this stuff?

On the interiors you’ve got Kurt’s usual grace and note perfect writing for the supporting cast.  Young Firestorm sounds that perfect balance of bewilderment and put on nonchalance.  Nightwing trusts his gut about Supes right from the word go and is played to his strengths throughout the three issues.  One of the villains and fellow abducted, Livewire, has never been more interesting as a character.  He delivers not one but two great cliffhangers and a satisfying conclusion! It’s economical comics and it is BEAUTIFUL to behold.  I guess what I’m getting at is any and all of these issues are a note perfect introduction to a great character and one I’m proud to get into someone’s hands.

In both Superman and Action Comics Kurt Busiek (Red and Blue) went looking for answers close to the core of Superman. In one case he took a circuitous and seemingly forced route to an obvious truth. In Action Comics he let the truth speak for itself.