Arriving 8/14/13

You have been asking and we have been waiting and finally it is here, Saga #13 this week! That and other great books follow the cut!  

A1 #3 ADVENTURE TIME CANDY CAPERS #2 (OF 6) ARCHER & ARMSTRONG #12 ASTONISHING X-MEN #65 ASTRO CITY #3 AVENGERS ARENA #13 BATGIRL #23 BATMAN #23 BATMAN LIL GOTHAM #5 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #3 BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #24 BUCK ROGERS IN 25TH CENTURY #1 (OF 4) CONSTANTINE #6 DAMSELS MERMAIDS #4 (OF 5) DEADPOOL #14 DEMON KNIGHTS #23 DJANGO UNCHAINED #6 (OF 7) DOCTOR WHO VOL 3 #12 DOOMSDAY.1 #4 (OF 4) EAST OF WEST #5 FANTASTIC FOUR #11 FEARLESS DEFENDERS #8 GHOSTED #2 GREAT PACIFIC #9 GREEN LANTERN CORPS #23 HALF PAST DANGER #4 (OF 6) HALO INITIATION #1 (OF 3) HARBINGER #15 HEROBEAR & THE KID INHERITANCE #1 (OF 5) INFINITY #1 (OF 6) JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #7 (TRINITY) KATANA #7 LAST ZOMBIE #3 (OF 5) THE END MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #17 MIND THE GAP #12 NIGHTWING #23 PETER PANZERFAUST #13 RED SONJA #2 RESIDENT ALIEN SUICIDE BLONDE #0 SAGA #13 SAVAGE DRAGON #190 SCARLET SPIDER #20 SECRET AVENGERS #7 NOW SHADOW GREEN HORNET DARK NIGHTS #2 (OF 5) SIX GUN GORILLA #3 (OF 6) SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 #16 SPAWN #234 SPONGEBOB COMICS #23 STAR TREK ONGOING #24 STAR WARS #8 2013 ONGOING SUICIDE SQUAD #23 SUPERBOY #23 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #2 NOW SUPURBIA ONGOING #10 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #11 THRESHOLD #8 THUNDER AGENTS #1 TRUE LIVES O/T FABULOUS KILLJOYS #3 (OF 6) ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #30 UNCANNY X-FORCE #10 UNCANNY X-MEN #10 WALKING DEAD #113 (MR) WOLVERINE #8 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #34 WORLDS FINEST #15 X-FILES SEASON 10 #3

Books/Mags/Things AMELIA COLE AND THE UNKNOWN WORLD GN AVENGERS ASSEMBLE TP SCIENCE BROS NOW BAD BREAK HC BEST OF ARCHIE COMICS TP VOL 03 BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 06 RETURN O/T MASTER DR STRANGE AND DR DOOM TP TRIUMPH AND TORMENT ESSENTIAL FANTASTIC FOUR TP VOL 09 FEARLESS DEFENDERS TP VOL 01 DOOM MAIDENS NOW FLASH TP VOL 01 MOVE FORWARD (N52) FRANK CHO WOMEN DRAWINGS & ILLUSTRATIONS TP VOL 02 MIKE NORTONS BATTLEPUG HC VOL 02 MY LITTLE PONY DIGEST TP VOL 01 NIGHTWING OLD FRIENDS NEW ENEMIES TP ONE TRICK RIP OFF DEEP CUTS TP RIGHT STATE TP THUNDER AGENTS CLASSICS TP VOL 01 WHAT IS ABOVE HC (MR) WOLVERINE TP VOL 01 HUNTING SEASON NOW X-FORCE PREM HC PHALANX COVENANT

As always, what do YOU think?

Last Issues, First / Last Issues, Second Issues (that could be first issues) and so on...

 

Grand Champion of the Kumite Brian Hibbs is going all Howard Beale above and below this post.  Go check 'em out and get smart.  Or, read me going on about comic books.  Win / win, right?

Disclaimer: This is not to say that Hibbs will follow down the awful rabbit hole Beale goes in Network.  He's just mad as hell and he's out the window telling you about it.  You're human beings, damn it!  Your lives have value!

Capsules of the last weeks after the jump!

Dial H # 15

Mieville / Ponticelli

At $4.99 and stuffed with 38 pages of story Dial H #15 doesn’t disappoint in the “crazy be crazy” department.  My interest in the series had waned after the initial arc but I kept on with it and now at the abbreviated end I’m glad that I did.  Ponticelli’s rough madness grew on me throughout and Mieville introduced some elements I’d never thought of let alone seen in a Dial H comic.  These radical takes on existing property seem to get shorter and shorter runs at relevancy and I’m left wondering what a juggernaut like DC is doing trying to have main line (52) contributions from books like these on a sales level.  One hopes that Vertigo provides a lifeline with realistic expectations.  Oh, also, does anyone give a rip about those Channel 52 things?  Seems an indulgent house ad with no discernible value when “costs keep going up!” (by the by – 7 pages of ads in this one – mostly house and house adjacent)

Though…this is pretty funny.

Prophet #38

Graham / Milonogiannis / Roy

$3.99

First, I got the Jim Rugg cover and it’s pretty great.  I highly recommend seeking out SuperMag #1 by the man himself.  Stylistically and in all different types of delivery Rugg is really and truly a virtuoso talent.  Stunningly flexible. Check it out.  Amazing. (Additional superlatives needed)

Anywho, Prophet is lean and mean as a comic book.  The gang throws us 29 pages of story content with nary an ad.  Even the inside front and back covers are dedicated to story.  It’s a generous gesture and almost certainly costs someone money.  I can’t stress enough how immediately – by breaking the opening page monotony – Prophet slams you into the narrative.  By changing the pace you change the experience.  Not cookie cutter comics.

Also worth mentioning is the continuing and “as the wind blows” back-up selection.  This month, Kate Craig brings us a precious story about the emotional and psychological benefits of not always trying to annihilate anything that has the temerity to exist outside our immediate scope of meticulous plans and schemes.  Being decent, essentially, is its own reward.  The whole thing is enjoyably paced with a nice, emotive style.  Kate also draws amazing and weird hands / paws.  Cool.

Catalyst Comix #2

Casey / McDaid / Maybury / Farinas

$2.99 

Art = NICE.  Each brings an identifiable tone – sense of place – and individual style.  I gushed over each of these in my original review and talked through the motifs they’re employing but I have to say – AGAIN – that the super…SUPER…SUPER star of this thing so far is Brad Simpson.  The color palette for each of these chapters is individual – unique and simply gorgeous.  Colorists just don’t get enough love and this guy is on another level.  A true secret weapon who deserves all the credit in the world for giving this book something to simultaneously help hold it together and break it up.  Get paid, Brad Simpson.  Get paid!

On the other hand your enjoyment of the story is going to be largely dependent on how much you enjoy winking asides.  If, like myself, you generally respond with atrocious and socially unacceptable amounts of sighing and eye-rolling you may want to read this one in the isolation chamber.

At points Casey goes full frontal assault, totally aping Dr. Strangelove, using Vandelay Industries as the company responsible for rebuilding the trashed city (when everyone knows they deal exclusively in latex), and having the group therapy session centerpiece of Change Agents not only fall prey to every, single, boring satirical stereotype trope of such an encounter but also take place in the gymnasium of the Jean M Giraud Fighting Arzachs.

That is to say...it's kind of what you expect from a Joe Casey comic and that's not what I was sold as a "bold re-invention of the super-hero comic experience."

Anywho, all 3 segments here could actually be part of an extended #1 comic.  We’re re-introduced, the supporting cast fleshes out a bit, a new wrinkle is revealed.  I think it’s not a bad strategy early on to give people late to the party a bit of breathing room so, from me at least, the feel of the pace is not too bad.

Still, does this line make any f’ing sense?  I must have read this three times and I was afraid it was going to give me a Lewis Black aneurysm.  Maybe Casey is trying to say the guy talking is just coming right out of his ass with this stuff but…I kinda doubt it.

Brain…hemorrhaging….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ0s0KUUpxo

"If it weren't for my horse..."

Save me…Paul!

The Invincible Haggard West #101

Paul Pope

$2.99

32 pages – No ads

All this goes without saying and to prattle about it would really belabor the point but it’s really and truly quite striking as an artistic statement.  From the hand-drawn sound effects to the visual choices made for each character this thing is a note perfect juggernaut.

Quickly

Each sound effect is perfectly and I mean fucking perfectly suited and delivered.

Contrast a well placed “Klop, Klop, Klop” or “TCHOOF!!” with some digitally inserted garbage in Batman / Superman and that tells you there is a difference between art and product.

The design work is so elegant and beautiful it engenders hyperbole.  In action or at rest Haggard’s “flight frame” is a thing of wonder.  His guns are neon tube death machines with impossible innards.  Hell, the man himself is so pulpy when his scarf gets shot you feel him take things to the next level.  (I pulled two vertical panels out of sequence just to show you the elements)

The supporting characters are well rendered in a minimum of space.  Haggard’s daughter, Aurora, is on for all of three pages and she’s already got a backbone to envy and a multifaceted personality.

This is A work and EXCELLENT.  Battling Boy can’t come soon enough.

Happy reading, everyone!

The staggeringly epic incompetence of DC Entertainment

I've already written a great number of words on the subject of next month's DC "Villain month" cover stunt, and I suggest that you follow that link for some reasoned background. Sadly, the real villain of the month is DC Entertainment. As some of you might know (though, not it would seem, from the actual comics press: CBR, Robot 6, The Beat, The Reporter, I'm not finding a single link as I write this at 8:30 in the AM the day after the announcement) DC announced that each and every 3D cover is going to be allocated, and that they're doing a same-day 2D reprint for $1 less.... oh, and by the way, that's the digital price as well.

Below the jump you'll find a much fuller reaction to this latest news, as well as the actual words from DCE -- click through!

So, there's this press release that DC sent out.... that I don't have a copy of because something is wrong with my emails from DC (and ONLY DC) in the last few weeks. This is (mostly) my own problem, and I am on top of shit enough to have found it, but I think that this shows the perils of not putting out information through the "normal" channels: not EVERY retail customer of DC's is getting ALL of the information through other channels.

Here's the press release, join me after it.

Due to unprecedented demand for the September 3-D motion covers, DC Entertainment announces that orders on the 52 Villains Month issues will be allocated. These issues are now sold out at the publisher level.

Now, each 3-D motion cover issue will have a Standard Edition with a 2-D cover, priced at $2.99 US. The Standard Editions are scheduled to arrive in stores on the same day as the 3-D editions, starting with titles on FOC starting August 6 and closing on August 12, which will arrive in stores on September 4.

In addition, the entire run of 3-D motion covers will return in December in the Villains Month 3-D Motion Complete Set. This item is on FOC on August 12; see below for details.

“Because of the time needed to create the 3-D motion covers, we were forced to set September print runs much further in advance than we normally would,” said Dan DiDio, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher. “As we got close to the FOC dates, even though we were very aggressive with our sales forecasts for the 3-D editions, it was clear that orders for these issues were going to be greater than the quantities we had printed. Once we saw from the first 3-D edition FOCs that we were oversold on initial orders, we decided to institute a system across the entire 3-D line that was in accord with previous retailers' ordering patterns to minimize the impact of fringe speculators."

“It’s very exciting to see how much interest there is in these 3-D covers, which are latest in a long line of innovations from DCE, like the fold-out poster in Superman Unchained #1 or the die-cut covers from the Death of the Family issues," said Jim Lee, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher. "Our goal every September has been to create great, new ways to draw attention to our entire DC universe line and the reaction to Villains Month capped by the launch of our first universe event 'Forever Evil' has been just incredible." 

The allocations will range from approximately 50% to nearly 100% on different titles. The allocations are based on an average of your orders of each Villains Month titles’ base title over the past few months.

Like the 3-D motion cover versions, the Standard Editions will be first printings of each title.

To give retailers as much time as possible to focus on ordering the Standard Editions and the 3-D Motion Complete Sets, retailers will no longer need to place FOC orders for the 3-D editions for the remaining weeks in August—therefore, the 3-D motion cover issues scheduled to arrive in stores on September 11, September 18 and September 25 will not be listed on FOC.

Retailers will receive an email from Diamond detailing their allocations on each 3-D motion cover edition before the Standard Editions’ FOC date, and should check their allocation on each 3-D issue carefully.

Retailers should watch their FOC lists in the coming weeks for the Standard Editions of all 52 Villains Month issues.

Please note that the digital versions of these issues do not have 3-D Motion Covers. Like the Standard Editions, the digital editions are priced at $2.99 US and will be available for download the same day the 3-D and 2-D print editions ship to stores.

Retailers who wish to decrease their orders on any of the 3-D motion cover issues should contact their Diamond Customer Service Representative or DC Sales Representative. DC’s red-hot 3-D motion covers are set to return in December in the new Villains Month 3-D Motion Complete Set!  This set will include second printings of all 52 Villains Month titles with the 3-D motion covers plus the Forever Evil #1 3-D Motion Cover Variant Edition. (Standard Edition cover shown.)

The Villains Month 3-D Motion Complete Set (JUN138292) will be on FOC on August 12, and is scheduled to arrive in stores on December 11 with a price of $199.99 US.

Please note that because of the longer than normal production time needed to print 3-D motion covers, this is the soonest they can arrive in stores. The issues included in this set will be printed to order; they will not be allocated. Covers in this set, including Forever Evil #1, will be labeled “second printing.”

And don’t forget to order the DC Comics—The New 52 Villains Omnibus HC (AUG130289), which has its own 3-D motion dust jacket and is scheduled to arrive in stores on December 11.

So, let's unpack this a bit:

ALL DC comics are order adjustable three weeks before shipping through a process called "Final Order Cutoff" (or FOC). Seriously, each and every product DC offers goes through this process... and, this is important for later, there are a reasonable number of retailers who only put in "placeholder" for "1" copy at their "initial" order -- because DC (and Marvel and Dark Horse and Image and IDW and Dynamite and Boom!) have spent YEARS telling us that FOC is the only order that actually matters.

So, to cancel FOC (and to do so retroactively for at least one of the weeks of this stunt that we've already FOCed) is, at the very least, morally suspect, and is possibly illegal (I'd have to read the Terms of Sale closely)

As I noted in the original piece, even if YOU are an "every Wednesday" guy, that doesn't actually describe the majority of periodical purchasers -- it takes 12+ weeks to contact ALL of them (and even there, "all" is like hand grenades -- "close enough")

Now, at my store at least, the process of taking, placing and filling subber orders involves a LEGAL CONTRACT. In other words, I CAN NOT take orders for 3-D versions and fill those orders with 2-D versions instead. I could be sued for that (though, the ODDS of that happening are laughingly remote, but then that's what they said about a retailer suing Marvel comics....)

We put an enormous amount of effort into trying to educate customers about the 3-D covers, the importance of preordering them, and so on. You have to understand, as well, that a lot of folks weren't at all happy about the idea of a line of $3.99 covers, and there was a certain amount of "talking people into" signing up for them. So, to find out just three weeks before shipping that there's suddenly going to be a version of these comics without the stunts, for $1 less, well this is migraine inducing, at best.

See, if there had been ANY official and public information that this was going to happen, that there would be two versions, that these books could be allocated, the way I presented this to my customers for the last 8 weeks would have been ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.

Let me be clear here: I loath speculators, I think that collecting comics for value alone is the work of both the moron and the devil, I think that multiple covers on single stories is purely a way to trick and exploit you the consumer, and to prey upon the lowest and basest instincts and compulsions of the customer base. I think it shows contempt for you.

I run a comic book store that is much more like a book store, and we have active policies explicitly against this kind of game-playing -- things like "no variant covers whatsoever unless they are explicitly requested by the customer in advance of FOC" and so on, and yet I now believe that I have been tricked into going "all in" on a variant cover scheme promotion with an obvious bait-and-switch that I otherwise would have never have participated in if the rules had been explained whatsoever.

Understand this as well: there has been NO official communication -- no email, no FAQ, no blog post, no press release, no solicitation, nothing -- NO official communication whatsoever from DC Entertainment until this moment, three weeks before the books ship, about ANY of this.

Now, yes, if you read Rich Johnston (and many of us do) you've gotten a game of "telephone" version of what seems to have happened in the meetings (Ex: Rich reported it was said that DC was "losing money" on every copy; this appears to actually be "making a smaller profit on each copy"), but DCE never told the other (I'm guessing something on the order of) 2600 retailers who COULDN'T attend one of those meetings a damn thing about even the POSSIBILTY of allocations until after 5 pm yesterday.

So, this means that there ARE retailers out there that have been happily and aggressively promoting this stunt, racking up big preorders, selling full sets in advance of shipment, in some cases EVEN COLLECTING MONEY from consumers, all the while DCE didn't officially or formally tell the retail community that these could be allocated. Whoops!

(Also: once you put "could be" in there? You are ASSURING that it is instead "Will Be")

And some of the people who have been earnestly promoting this are also the same people who put down "1" for their initial orders just like the industry has trained them to. What will these people receive? Tune in on Friday to find out!

So, now this isn't just speculator book, it is out-and-out feeding frenzy at the trough as stores will be unable to fufill 100% of the commitments that they made causes a rippling panic throughout just enough of the customer base that even stores that "get it right" are going to be trampled by people panicking/looking to cash in.

The release says that the allocation will have a relationship to rolling orders of the "parent" title, which I think means that if I ordered 60, 63, 75, 61 on the last four issues of BATMAN, then I won't be allocated on the first 64 copies of JOKER, RIDDLER, PENGUIN, and BANE, though that's far from explicit.

One potential problem with this scheme is SETS, which is well represented by this:

3

100.00

BATMAN #21

$3.99

DC

142,088

79

18.95

GREEN ARROW #21

$2.99

DC

26,924

That's a big gap between "parent" titles, and it seems very likely that there are going to be too many gaps in full sets for a number of retailers.

Then there's "so just HOW do we order the 2d versions, with zero time to gather data?" that breaks the paradigm of the Direct Market in many ways, and, what is worse, is that by letting DC get away with this we've just assured that Marvel is going to think of an even bigger way to stunt/no solicit manipulate the market, because it is simply what these companies do.

Ordering an entire month's worth of variant editions, that are priced cheaper, with no ability to solicit orders, this is a mug's game -- there's NO WAY to get it right. Either you'll be horribly over or horribly under, in either case failing our primary mission: to satisfy our customer's demand while remaining profitable doing so.

Do you understand? DCE had us collect fake data, based on fake behavioral inputs (price, etc), data that would have ABSOLUTELY have changed (and probably for the BETTER) if they had told us the actual facts in the first place. A comics retailer's job IS data.

This is the comics equivalent of Lucy yanking the football at the last second from poor Charlie Brown. As I thought every time Lucy did it, I think it here: what a fucked up thing to do.

I thought for a second, "Well, shit, I'm already all-in, I can just skip the 2-Ds", but, no, DC is keeping with their "all in" on Digital, and is making digital price parity with the cheaper version, of course, so just defensively we've got to stock both versions.

The worst part of this is that it will be claimed as victory, regardless of how many retailers get burned one way or another, because it WILL be successful financially. DC isn't publishing all of their shit-selling titles during the month -- and shit-selling titles is most of what the bottom 30 or so of DC's books are these days, and they have pretty much guaranteed that the +$1 versions will be specul-leech bait. I'm probably going to make a LOT more money that month on DCE Product than any other month this year, but my problem is two-fold:

1) THIS IS NOT HOW I WANT TO MAKE MONEY. I resent being tricked into carrying two copies of every release for the month, I resent that it will play on my more OCD customer's worst habits, and that I've been railroaded into participating in it, I resent all of the insanely stupid extra work this is unnecessarily cause me in trying to track and pick and manage the two versions, work that exists purely because THEY DIDN'T TELL US THE RULES.

2) IT LEADS TO NOTHING. Great, so OCD-guy will now give me $6.98 instead of just $3.99 for that issue of PENGUIN, but how does that lead to a sale NEXT month? Let alone next year? I have limited promotional time and space, and I've been selling a bill of goods that didn't actually represent what the product really was adequately, and doesn't move forward my goals as a retailer, and I've done so because they misrepresented what the product actually was. That's shameful.

That's EVIL.

-B

Wait, What? Ep. 130: Friendly Neighborhood Peaslingers

Mmmm, delicious tail... From Batman, Inc. #13, art by Chris Burnham

Hey, we are back! Like, backity-back! Like, two full hours of back! Back like Baby's Got Back! Back, like Back to the Future! Like The Front is back! Like Orange is The New Back! Like Back That Azz Up is back, but with more of a later Outkast-influenced Atlanta sound! Wikipedia!

Posterior! Glutes!  Back!

After the jump: show notes...are back! Back like [etc., etc.]

0:00-22:49: Man, it seems like it's been forever, doesn't it?  After a few minutes of us trying to remember how it works, we finally remember that it seems to include "talking" and "listening" and so I wrest from Graeme the full report on his San Diego Comic-Con experience. Topics covered: Marvel's Hall H presentation; the Agents of SHIELD TV show; interviewing Simon Pegg; meeting Glen Weldon; including the Marvel's press conference adaptation of Waiting for Godot; and more. 22:49-1:02:01:  And then we actually talk about, you know, comics?  We discuss the joys of Lisa Hannawalt's My Dirty Dumb Eyes; the pleasures of current 2000 A.D.; Indestructible Hulk #11 (the first part of the "Agent of Time" arc by Mark Waid and Matteo Scalera); the first 19 issues of Irredeemable by Mark Waid, Peter Krause, Diego and Eduardo Barretto; Batman Annual #2 by well-that's-as-far-as-my-resolve-to-list-everybody-went; The Wake; the first trade of Saucer Country by Paul Connell, Ryan Kelly, Jimmy Broxton, and Goran Suzuka. 1:02:01-1:37:27: "It's crazy that we've been talking for an hour and we haven't even talked about Batman, Inc. #13." We try and quickly cover the rest of the stuff we've read so we can get to that milestone, but pretty much fail impressively.  Discussed along the way--we talk about Lazarus #2 by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark; Satellite Sam #1 by Matt Fraction and Howard Chaykin; the latest issue of Sex by Joe Casey and Piotr Kowalski; Amelia Cole #9 by Adam Knave, D.J. Kirkbride, Nick Brokenshire and Luiz Moreno; Hawkeye Annual #1 story by Matt Fraction, art by Javier Pulido (and we throw in a  shout-out to Jog's stellar TCJ column discussing the early art of Jae Lee; Flash #22; Optic Nerve #13 by Adrian Tomine; Judge Dredd Year One #4 by Matt Smith and Simon Coelby; and Five Ghosts #5 by Frank J. Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham. 1:37:27-1:57:31:  We finally cut to the chase (90 minutes into the two hour podcast) and talk about Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham's Batman Inc. #13.  We mention David Uzimeri's brilliant take on the issue over  at Comics Alliance, as well as Morrison's run on New X-Men, Action Comics, the work of Chris Burnham, and much more. 1:57:31-end:  Almost two hours; a lot of comics talk; some pathetic attempts at beatboxing.  The magic is back! Back like Return to the Planet of the Apes! Back like A la recherche du temps perdu! Back like a thing that was absent for a while but now is present! Back like if you look for this episode on iTunes, chances are good you'll find it! Back like if you look right below you can download and listen!

Wait, What? Ep. 130: Friendly Neighborhood Peaslingers

As always, thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy and that when there is a next episode you are aware of it and listen to it as well.

Arriving 8/7/13

Smallish week, but Jeff Lemire's new Vertigo space romance series "Trillium" hits the stands! That and a bunch of other good books after the break!

ABE SAPIEN #5 ACTION COMICS #23 ALL NEW X-MEN #15 AME COMI GIRLS #6 ARTIFACTS #30 ATOMIC ROBO SAVAGE SWORD OF DR DINOSAUR #2 (OF 5) AVENGERS #17 INF AVENGERS AI #2 BATWING #23 BLACK BAT #4 BLACKACRE #9 BURN THE ORPHANAGE BORN TO LOSE #1 (OF 3) CABLE AND X-FORCE #12 CATALYST COMIX #2 (OF 9) CHRONOS COMMANDOS DAWN PATROL #1 (OF 5) CROSSED BADLANDS #34 DAMSELS #9 DAREDEVIL DARK NIGHTS #3 (OF 8) DARK SHADOWS #19 DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER SO FELL LORD PERTH #1 DEADPOOL KILLS DEADPOOL #2 (OF 4) DETECTIVE COMICS #23 DIAL H #15 EARTH 2 #15 EMERALD CITY OF OZ #2 (OF 5) FAIREST #18 FATALE #16 GAME OF THRONES #16 GARFIELD #16 GEORGE RR MARTIN SKIN TRADE #2 GODZILLA RULERS OF THE EARTH #2 GREEN ARROW #23 GREEN LANTERN #23 HELHEIM #6 HIGHER EARTH #9 HUNGER #2 (OF 4) IRON MAN #14 JOHN CARPENTERS ASYLUM #2 KEVIN KELLER #10 KICK-ASS 3 #2 (OF 8) LADY RAWHIDE #1 (OF 5) LEGEND OF LUTHER STRODE #6 (OF 6) LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #11 LOONEY TUNES #214 LORDS OF MARS #1 (OF 6) MANHATTAN PROJECTS #13 MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS EARTHS HEROES #17 MEGA MAN #28 MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS VICTORIES #4 (OF 5) TRANSHUMAN MINIATURE JESUS #4 (OF 5) MOVEMENT #4 PATHFINDER GOBLINS #1 (OF 5) PLANET O/T APES CATACLYSM #12 PROPHET #38 QUANTUM & WOODY #2 ROBOCOP LAST STAND #1 (OF 8) SATELLITE SAM #2 SCOOBY DOO WHERE ARE YOU #36 SHADOW #16 SHADOWMAN #9 SHELTERED #2 SIDEKICK #1 STEAM ENGINES OF OZ #2 STORMWATCH #23 SUICIDE RISK #4 SUPERIOR CARNAGE #2 (OF 5) SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN NOW #2 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #15 SWAMP THING #23 TEN GRAND #4 TRILLIUM #1 (OF 8) TRINITY OF SIN THE PHANTOM STRANGER #11 (TRINITY) X-FACTOR #260

Books/Mags/Stuff ALAN MOORE FASHION BEAST TP BAKUMAN TP VOL 20 CROSSED HC VOL 06 CROSSED TP VOL 06 DAMNED TP VOL 01 DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID PREM HC VOL 05 DISTANT SOIL TP VOL 01 THE GATHERING DISTURBINGLY AWFUL MAD TP DRAW #25 FAGIN THE JEW 10TH ANNIVERSARY HC FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #269 FELDSTEIN MAD LIFE & FANTASTIC ART OF HC GARTH ENNIS BATTLEFIELDS TP VOL 07 GREEN FIELDS BEYOND IN THE DAYS OF THE MOB HC JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #61 LONE WOLF & CUB OMNIBUS TP VOL 02 NARUTO TP VOL 62 NO STRAIGHT LINES QUEER COMICS TP RACHEL RISING TP VOL 03 CEMETERY SONGS RED SONJA TP VOL 11 ECHOES OF WAR SAUCER COUNTRY TP VOL 02 RETICULAN CANDIDATE THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON TP VOL 01 THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR HC TMNT ARTOBIOGRAPHY HC TODD THE UGLIEST KID ON EARTH TP VOL 01 TORPEDO TP VOL 04 WINTER SOLDIER TP VOL 04 ELECTRIC GHOST

As always, what do YOU think?

Tilting #225: Cover Design 101

Like always, it is at Comic Book Resources. How does your store rack?

-B

No, What?: The Accidental Skip Week (Again?)

From Mad #1. Not really on-point...or is it?

Hey, everyone!  For those wondering where this week's podcast might be, I regret to inform you it will not be happening this week.  Good ol' Graeme McMillan was game to record, despite being wiped out post-SDCC, but I unfortunately had decided to undertake a money-making scheme in my free time that ended up requiring a lot more attention and effort than I had planned.  (Who knew you had to sell so many issues of GRIT in order to get that bicycle?)

Anyway, we really will be recording this week, honest, which means we really will be posting a podcast next Tuesday but we do apologize for yet another delay.

See you next week!

If I (you) had a million (200) dollars I'd (You'd) buy...?

So, as my "give it all away" enterprise has continued I've started to run dangerously low on single issues of "all ages" material for the shop.  I've done my good deed, internet.  I think it's "me time." Still, continuing in the spirit of "paring down" I made another drastic decision.

In short, I "sold" the following GN's, Trades, and what have you's:

Essential Spider-Man 4

WildCATS Gang War

Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight

Planetary Collections 1,2,3 and Crossing Worlds

Hellboy: Right Hand of Doom

GI Joe: Cobra

Usagi Yojimbo Collections 2,3,4,6,7 and "Shades of Death"

Formerly Known as the Justice League

Criminal: Lawless

Two Fisted Tales

X-Men Vignettes 1,2

Captain America: Red Menace 1 and 2 - Rebirth - War and Remembrance - Winter Soldier 1 and 2

Sin City Big Fat Kill and A Dame to Kill For

Invisibles 1,2

Daredevil: Born Again

JLA: Justice for All and World War III

Solar: Man of the Atom (Alpha & Omega)

Eternals 1 and 2

LOEG Black Dossier and 1910

Uncanny X-Men: Ashes

X-Force: The Final Chapter and X-Statix: Good Guys and Bad Guys

The Sentry

Batman and the Monster Men

Arkham Asylum

Batman Chronicles 2

Ultimates 1 and 2 and Ultimates 2 1 and 2

Essential X-Men 1 and 3

Stormwatch: Change or Die

The Authority: Relentless and Under New Management

Sandman: Endless Nights

In the final analysis it was like 60 GN's and trades which, rather generously imo, turned into almost $200 store credit.

So, my question is - dear readers - what do I spend it on?

Nothing is off the table - Since I'm not actually exchanging cash I might even convince myself to utilize paragraph 10 subsection 37 of the Jazzy Jeff Lester Marvel boycott provisions and snag some NEW Marvel material.

Have at it, gang.  I'm really curious to see what you want ME to see.

Thanks again!

Arriving 7/31/13

Optic Nerve #13 hits our stands this week, along with a bunch of other good stuff this week. Check it out after the break! 3 GUNS #1 (OF 6) ABSOLUTION RUBICON #2 ADVENTURE TIME SUMMER SPECIAL 2013 #1 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #3 AKANEIRO #3 (OF 3) AMALAS BLADE #4 (OF 4) ANGEL & FAITH #24 STEVE MORRIS CVR ANIMAL MAN ANNUAL #2 ARCHIE #646 ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #242 BATMAN ANNUAL #2 BATMAN INCORPORATED #13 BATMAN ZERO YEAR DIRECTORS CUT #1 BEDLAM #8 BPRD VAMPIRE #5 (OF 5) CALIGULA HEART OF ROME #6 (OF 6) CAPTAIN MARVEL #14 CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT #1 MASSAFERA CVR CLIVE BARKER NEXT TESTAMENT #3 (OF 12) COLLIDER #1 DAREDEVIL #29 DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #2 DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME #7 (OF 12) FEARLESS DEFENDERS #7 NOW FF #10 NOW FIVE GHOSTS HAUNTING OF FABIAN GRAY #5 (OF 5) FLASH ANNUAL #2 GI JOE #6 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY #5 NOW HOUSE OF GOLD & BONES #4 (OF 4) INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #11 NOW IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #12 JUDGE DREDD YEAR ONE #4 KING CONAN HOUR O/T DRAGON #3 (OF 6) LAST OF US AMERICAN DREAMS #4 (OF 4) LENORE VOLUME II #8 LIBERATOR #2 LIFE WITH ARCHIE #31 MORNING GLORIES #29 MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #9 OPTIC NERVE #13 PLANET O/T APES SPECTACULAR ONE SHOT RED LANTERNS #22 SEX #5 SIMPSONS ILLUSTRATED #7 SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 SPECIAL #2 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #251 SUPERBOY #22 SUPERMAN ANNUAL #2 TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #81 TMNT ONGOING #24 TOM STRONG AND THE PLANET OF PERIL #1 (OF 6) TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #2 (TRINITY) UBER #4 ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #28 UNCANNY X-FORCE #9 NOW UNCANNY X-MEN #9 NOW VENOM #38 WAKE #3 (OF 10) WASTELAND #46 WHAT IF AVX #4 (OF 4) WOLVERINE IN FLESH #1 X-MEN #3 X-MEN LEGACY #14 NOW

Books/Mags/Stuff 2000 AD PACK JUN 2013 39 MINUTES HC VOL 01 ABC WARRIORS VOLGAN WAR GN VOL 03 AGE OF BRONZE TP VOL 03.B BETRAYAL PT 2 BATMAN ILLUSTRATED BY NEAL ADAMS TP VOL 03 BEWARE THE CREEPER TP BLACK BOLT SOMETHING INHUMAN THIS WAY COMES CAPOTE IN KANSAS HC ELEPHANTMEN HC VOL 06 EARTHLY DESIRES GHOST TP VOL 01 IN THE SMOKE AND DIN GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS HC VOL 02 BEYOND HOPE (N52) INFINITE VACATION DLX HC INVINCIBLE TP VOL 18 DEATH OF EVERYONE JUDGE DREDD COMPLETE CASE FILES TP VOL 20 JUDGE DREDD FATTIES GN KODT BUNDLE OF TROUBLE TP VOL 40 KOMACON HC MARK SCHULTZ XENOZOIC COMPLETE NEW PTG TP MULLINS GOLDEN AGE BASEBALL DRAWINGS HC 1934-1972 SHOWCASE PRESENTS DC COMICS PRESENTS TP VOL 02 SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE HC VOL 02 SUPERMAN SILVER AGE NEWSPAPER DAILIES HC 1958-1961 TEENS AT PLAY GN END OF INNOCENCE UNCANNY X-FORCE TP VOL 01 LET IT BLEED NOW WORLDS OF SAM KIETH HC VOL 01

As always, what do YOU think?

Kim Thompson Died a Month and Four Days Ago...

 

((As ever and always my own opinions and speculation follow))

(J_Smitty_ enters a small and darkened room.  The feeling is almost claustrophobic.  He twitches, nervously, almost reflexively as a panel slides back to reveal a small figure barely perceptible and perched on the sill of the opening – cloaked in darkness)

“What have you come to confess?”

“Sir, I only just picked up my first Fantagraphics book at the tender age of 33.”

(The little figure sighs deeply and shifts its weight - testing the heft of something)

“10 hail Kim’s and take this brick with you!”

KLUNK

First, you should probably all take the time to read Tom Spurgeon’s detailed and wonderfully complete obit over at the Comics Reporter:

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/kim_thompson_1956_2013/

Second, in that wonderfully complete obit there is only one mention in passing of George Herriman.

Herriman's Krazy Kat and Ignatz Mouse, are how I came to know Kim Thompson and more importantly how I choose to believe K.T. (as he often signed) viewed death and its power – or lack thereof.

In the final volume of Fantagraphics odyssey effort to reprint every available Krazy Kat work we find a one page tribute – written by Thompson – in memory of series editor Bill Blackbeard.  You can find a more comprehensive look at Blackbeard here:

http://www.tcj.com/bill-blackbeard-1926-2011/

He was an amazing man – his quest was beyond tilting at windmills and yet, he’s very nearly pulled it off and I am PROUD to live in Columbus, Ohio where the majority of his collection has come to rest at The Ohio State University.

But, back to Thompson.  I’ve scanned the page because you need to see it.

Thompson shines here as everything he’s been made out to be over the course of his monumental career:

A sharp editor (Three paragraphs to sum up a man’s life with love and affection)

A skilled translator (How to see the utter beauty in what many saw as obsession)

An unparalleled publisher (Who often and seemingly chose projects he believed in would succeed through the cumulative will of the people involved more than any “commercial appeal.”)

In a time when things come and go – when the news cycle is faster and more than anything a hungry beast waiting (impatiently) to be fed – it’s important to remember that a legend has passed and little more than a month ago.

It’s important to remember how he viewed death and what he may well have hoped would be his legacy.

I believe Thompson didn’t place these works in front of us because they were important or the best.  A publishing strategy so laborious and fraught with peril couldn't come from such a conceited place.  He published them, translated them, labored over them and dedicated his life’s work to them because he wanted us to enjoy them.  He wanted it to be perfectly fine for an avowed comics fan to pick up one of these things 25 years into his comics reading life and be changed by them.

And, in a good world, our continued enjoyment and love of his work will be his reward.

(I first saw this picture in Joe Hughes' obit over at Comics Alliance.  I have no idea where it first appeared.  No idea of its context or origin.  I include it here because it's true...and damn funny)

“Choke!”, “Gasp!” Not A Podcast! BOOKS! Read 'Em On The Beach, Read 'Em On The Pot!

Despite the fact that I am sat in the middle of a thunderstorm I understand Summer, as it is commonly understood, is still on. I also, understand that the Podcast Magic Gentle Jeff Lester and Graeme McMillion$ provide is delayed due to things. Maybe even rain. So, here are some more potential beach reads for you to stain with sugary drinks, crisp salt, tanning lotion and tears of rejection. But who are the Arthur Haileys, the Wilbur Smiths of this, the sparkliest generation? Probably not this 'orrible lot. This is just a bunch of books an old man read. I wasn't even on a beach. My whole life is a lie. If I tried hard I could probably find it within myself to care. Anyway, this...

THE FLAME ALPHABET By Ben Marcus Granta Hardcover (2012),£16.99 Paperback (2013), £8.99 Kindle £4.63

It’s a nice cover,right? I know we shouldn’t do that, shouldn’t judge a book by its cover (so why do they have them?) but judging a cover by itself is permissible, right? It’s such a nice cover that My Lady Of Infinite Patience plucked the book from my feeble grip and started complimenting it on its general loveliness. Then she asked me what the book was about, because usually I (so the popular perception chez K(UK) has it) read only dour, depressing, mentally exhausting exercises in nastiness which curdle my world view for at least as long as it takes my unerring internal radar to locate another such book. Confounding no one’s expectations then, I was able to tell her the book concerned a universal plague whereby language becomes toxic and the source is children. Laughter, ahoy! There are a lot of fantastic tricks played with language here but the biggest trick is that it enables the wholly insane premise and developments to, after a brief period of immersion, appear sinisterly plausible. The Flame Alphabet starts out as a coffee dregs dark satire of how parents with teenagers feel like they are victims of some senseless and fatally draining force for which there is no defence. Then it swings out into a post-apocalyptic narrative which rivals J G Ballard for its presentation of insanity accepted as sanity. Finally the book’s scope shrinks backwards and inwards and you realise that it was about love all along. I don’t want to spoil this book any more than I have; it is terrifying in its terrible beauty as are the talents of the author. This is a magnificent fucker of a book and if you are a parent it will fuck you up, and you will thank it for it. I can’t deny it was VERY GOOD!

ORWELL'S REVENGE: THE "1984" PALIMPSET By Peter Huber Simon and Schuster Hardcover (1995),£OOP (OOP = Out Of Print)

This is a truly bizarre book; unique maybe? Because what Peter Huber did here was write a refutation of Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four using Orwell’s own words against him. Literally. Huber loaded most of Orwell’s writings into his PC and used (with mid-90’s tech!) only Orwell’s language, phrases, similes etc to write a sequel to Nineteen Eighty-Four. A sequel which seeks to unwrite its predecessor. Because Huber’s contention is that Orwell’s book failed to predict the future and since he, Huber is living in Orwell’s future he can go back and correct the book. And so we read about Blair (Eric?) who discovers Winston Smith’s Diary and eventually faces O’Brien revealing to him, and us, the fatal flaw in Big Brother’s society. A flaw, it turns out, which was there all the time, in plain sight, but Orwell missed it; the fact that I have written this and you are able to read it is a clue. But it isn’t so much the what but the how.  And interleaved with the fiction is a non-fiction analysis of Orwell, his works, Nineteen Eighty-Four and how and why the central conceit was flawed from the start.

Initially I thought Huber was just being picky but thankfully what is of greater interest to Huber is why Orwell missed the things he did. No one can deny that Orwell was sharp as a tack, yet with Nineteen Eighty-Four he’s in error because of two convictions so ingrained in his otherwise elastic mind that they veer on the obsessional. Huber isn’t unsympathetic, despite his final chapter illustrating that the evidence of Orwell’s faulty thinking was all around him in his own time. He isn't unsympathetic because he can see where Orwell’s biases originated and how the ideas became fixed. And he can see that because it is in practically everything Orwell wrote. And he can do that because he is actually using practically everything Orwell wrote. The revelation of these two mistaken convictions is enlightening and not a little surprising and wittily illustrated in example revolving around gramophones and a Ministry for washing up. There’s a slight stumble at the end with a final chapter so dryly academic I swear I heard a dying fly spinning uselessly on the windowsill of the classroom of my mind. Perhaps that’s because Huber has left Orwell’s words behind by that point making it plain that if there were things wrong with Orwell’s wiring there was nothing wrong with his writing. Orwell’s Revenge is an engaging and entertaining mash up of fiction, meta-textuality, economics, psychology and literary innovation. You’ll probably argue with it while you read it but a little bit of cerebral stimulation is always GOOD!

HAWTHORNE AND CHILD By Keith Ridgway Granta Hardcover (2012),£16.99 Paperback (2013), £7.99 Kindle £4.12

I have no real inkling why I picked this up. Probably the cover (don’t judge me!, it pleads. But we do. We always do. Good cover.) A précis of the premise is just the kind of trite shite I’d chuck across the room at a Dan Brown fan. Two mismatched cops (it’s in the UK so ‘coppers’ or ‘bobbies’ we’re talking about here)! One’s black! One’s white! One’s gay! One’s straight! One’s Troubled! One’s Not really all that fussed to be honest! Together they fight crime! Sounds like one of those brick thick things with the wide line spacing and broad margins about them there cops with their troubles, with their burdens. Those burdened, troubled coppers that despite the alcoholism, debts, broken marriages, estranged children, dodgy tickers, gammy ears, undescended testicles, in-growing toe nails and burdens, those ever present burdens, manage to catch the cleverest criminal minds of all time. Again and again. Annually at least. But not at no cost, because, burdens. More burdens for the next book. Burdens. But…So, yeah, anyway, Hawthorn and Child! together they fight crime! Except they don’t. Or they do, but the book isn’t interested in that. Yes, there’s a crime but that’s soon left behind and the book wanders off looking in on minor characters, veering into tangential magical realism, slapping you with a short sharp hostage situation, drawing pornographic parallels between kettling and salty bath house frolics, wherever it wants basically. Which is alright by me. Please don't worry about the homosexual intercourse depicted within as none of them are married so no bigots should be offended in the reading of this book. Any offence whatsoever should be dulled by the evidence that Ridgway is a sensationally fine writer. You know what language is to him? No, me neither but I know what it isn’t. A burden. Given the nature of its structure some may question whether Hawthorn and Child is a novel or a suite of short stories linked by themes and recurring characters, or maybe both. Sure as eggs is eggs, as soon as people start discussing what a novel is then it’s just a matter of time before some smart arse brings up that (anecdotally at least) Hemingway’s shortest novel ever “For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn.”, and then steps back radiating an almost unholy satisfaction. Fine, now go and charge someone £16.99 for that and see how you get on, buggerlugs. Hawthorn and Child might be a novel or it might not but it is certainly worth the £16.99 and more besides. Because it is VERY GOOD! I think that’s what matters most, but then I’m a simple man. Without burdens.

Next time - COMICS!!!

Comicon, Comicoff: No Wait, What? This Week....

Howdy, true believers!  Those of you who heard our last podcast might've heard Graeme and I planning on talking Sunday to give you another up-to-the-date moment of podcasting action!

That...never happened.  Unsurprisingly, Graeme was wayyyyy too busy being besieged for us to figure out a time to talk.  So although we wanted to give you two bite-size of-the-moment podcasts, you'll have to settle for just the one.  Unless something happens otherwise, we should be talking this Thursday so watch this space next Tuesday for another installment of indefatigable blabbity-blab!

Arriving 7/24/13

A smallish week but still full of some real gems! Check out the list after the break! ALL STAR WESTERN #22 AOD VS HACK SLASH #1 (OF 6) AQUAMAN #22 BART SIMPSON COMICS #85 BATMAN SUPERMAN #2 BATMAN SUPERMAN #2 VAR ED BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #22 BETTIE PAGE IN DANGER #8 BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #214 BLOODSHOT #13 BOUNCE #3 CAPTAIN AMERICA #9 NOW CATWOMAN #22 CLONE #9 CONSTANTINE #5 (TRINITY) CROSSED BADLANDS #33 DAMSELS MERMAIDS #3 DANGER GIRL TRINITY #4 (OF 4) DARK HORSE PRESENTS #26 DARK SHADOWS YEAR ONE #4 DOCTOR WHO VOL 3 #11 DOOMSDAY.1 #3 (OF 4) DREAM MERCHANT #3 (OF 6) FERALS #16 FLASH #22 GAMBIT #15 GAMMA ONE SHOT GARTH ENNIS RED TEAM #4 GHOSTBUSTERS #6 GREEN TEAM TEEN TRILLIONAIRES #3 HARBINGER #14 HARBINGER WARS REG CRAIN HAWKEYE ANNUAL #1 HUNGER #1 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #654 NOW JUDGE DREDD #9 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #22 (TRINITY) LARFLEEZE #2 LAZARUS #2 LOBSTER JOHNSON SCENT OF LOTUS #1 MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #16 MARVELS THOR DARK WORLD PRELUDE #2 (OF 2) MASS EFFECT FOUNDATION #1 MASSIVE #14 MIND MGMT #13 NEW AVENGERS #8 INF RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #22 ROCKETEER SPIRIT PULP FRICTION #1 (OF 4) SCARLET SPIDER #19 SIXTH GUN SONS O/T GUN #5 (OF 5) STAR TREK ONGOING #23 AFTER DARKNESS PT 3 STAR WARS LEGACY II #5 STEED AND MRS PEEL ONGOING #10 STITCHED #15 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #14 NOW SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #1 NOW SUPERMAN #22 SUPERMAN UNCHAINED DIRECTORS CUT #1 TALON #10 TEEN TITANS #22 THUMBPRINT BY JOE HILL #2 (OF 3) TOMORROWLAND #1 (OF 4) ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #29 UNCANNY #2 UNCANNY AVENGERS #10 NOW UNWRITTEN #51 WARLORD OF MARS #27 WHAT IF AVX #3 (OF 4) WILD BLUE YONDER #2 (OF 5) WITCHBLADE #168 WOLVERINE #7 NOW WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #33 YOUNG AVENGERS #8 NOW

Books/Mags/Stuff ALLIANCE OF THE CURIOUS HC ALTER EGO #119 AVENGERS BY BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS TP VOL 05 AVENGERS TP HEAVY METAL BACK ISSUE #66 CAMELOT 3000 TP CREEPY PRESENTS STEVE DITKO HC DISNEY JUNIOR MAGAZINE #15 FAILURE GN FAIREST TP VOL 02 HIDDEN KINGDOM FANTASTIC FOUR TP CRUSADERS AND TITANS ILL GIVE IT MY ALL TOMORROW TP VOL 05 KICK-ASS 2 PRELUDE TP HIT-GIRL MOVIE CVR MAD MAGAZINE #522 MMW GOLDEN AGE ALL WINNERS TP VOL 01 NIGHTWING TP VOL 02 NIGHT OF THE OWLS (N52) PORCELAIN A GOTHIC FAIRY TALE GN PREVIEWS #299 AUGUST 2013 SIZZLE #58 STAR WARS AGENT O/T EMPIRE TP VOL 02 HARD TARGETS STAR WARS DAWN O/T JEDI TP VOL 02 PRISONER OF BOGAN TOWER CHRONICLES BOOK ONE PREM HC GEISTHAWK UNTIL DEATH DO US PART GN VOL 04 WARS IN TOYLAND HC X-MEN TP X-TERMINATION

As always, what do YOU think?

Wait, What? The Special 2013 SDCC Episode

From this month's Megazine and kinda appropriate in many ways....

Yeah, this is as close as you're going to get as podcasting in real time, Whatnauts -- Graeme and I talked for half an hour just a few hours ago, and I decided I'd get this edited and uploaded for you to enjoy.  Super-brief show notes for a super-brief SDCC special after the jump!

0:00-10:23: Very scattered greetings!  Graeme is directly outside SDCC and Jeff is….not.  We have thirty minutes to talk which of course is a stunningly short period of time for us, so this is far from us at our sharpest.  Although the connection is a bit echoey at various points, Graeme gives up the big update on the DC All-Access panel: Aquaman vs. Sharknado -- who does Geoff Johns think would win? Also mentioned: the state of Preview Night 2013; the crazy low prices over at the 2000AD booth; the state of cosplay; the awesome people at Fantagraphics; the upcoming Comic Blogging Panel; and more. 10:23-17:48: Comic books --we do in fact read 'em and decide, hey, why not talk about them?  Covered in today's talk  Justice League of America #6 (Graeme's read it, Jeff hasn't); Walking Dead #112; Batman #22 by Snyder and Capullo; Batman & Catwoman #22 by Tomasi and Gleason; The Invincible Haggard West one-shot by Paul Pope; Deadpool #13; and Batman '66 #3. 17:48-19:16:  Whoever had 16:47 in the betting pool for when Jeff would start talking about 2000AD, pick up your winnings at Window No. 2!  2000AD Prog. 1841 as well as Judge Dredd Megazine #338 hit the apps yesterday and Jeff really liked the Dredd stories in both. 19:16-23:45:  There is a brief chat about the upcoming Al Ewing Avengers book (Jeff is a bit bummed he will not be able to buy it), Avengers books back in the '90s, and Irredeemable which Jeff had followed for a while and is now giving another try.  Graeme read Extermination by Si Spurrier and Jeffrey Edwards. 23:45-end:  Back to SDCC talk. Running into people at SDCC, as well as not running into people at SDCC; Graeme as Dr. Doom; Jeff wussing out on a more extensive part two to this talk.  More bits about what Graeme has coming up (which I guess might make it possible to… stalk him, I'm just now realizing?), some great passerby (or is it passerbys?), and closing comments.

It is on iTunes (maybe?) and it is also right here (definitely):

Wait, What? The 2013 SDCC ConCast1

So yeah, clearly, we're not going to be replacing Twitter anytime soon, but since Graeme was willing to talk, I was willing to do what I could to get it up in a timely fashion.  Obviously, we hope you enjoy!

"...Sweet Innocence Defiled By The Breath Of Foulness..." COMICS! Sometimes The Undead Are Impeccably Dressed!

"Four hundred years ago my vampiric kiss transformed the woman I loved into a soulless thing called Mary, Queen of Blood! Today an unholy order follows her evil designs, and the blood they spill is on my hands!..." But enough about me. What about Andrew Bennett? What about "I...Vampire!"

Anyway, this... I…VAMPIRE! Art by Tom Sutton, Ernie Colon, Adrian Gonzales, Paris Cullins, Dan Day and Jim Aparo Written by J M De Matteis, Bruce jones, Dan Mishkin, Gary Cohn and Mike W Barr Lettered by John Constanza, Gaspar, A Kawecki, Andrews, Ben Oda, Todd Klein, Jun Roy Talactac Coloured by Adrienne Roy I...Vampire! created by Tom Sutton & J M De Matteis (Contents Originally appeared in House of Mystery #290, 291, 292, 293, 295, 297, 299, 302, 304-319 & The Brave And The Bold #195 (1981-1983)) DC Comics, $29.99 (2011)

The younger, far more agreeable, me used to buy House of Mystery off the spinner rack in the UK so I didn’t always get to see every issue. The issues I did see I usually bought because they had such damn fine covers. It’s a truism that the covers of DC’s “mystery” line of anthologies were usually the best bit, mostly because it’s true. Oh, they had nice art inside but the stories were mostly pointless things that stopped rather than ended and banked on the fact that some supernatural trappings would distract you from all the other failings. They looked like Twist-In-The-Tale tales but the Twist was usually that there was barely a Tale. I still bought ‘em because they looked good and had werewolves and skeletons in. Look, here’s the big thing about kids and entertainment; they aren’t that picky. Anyway, things picked up content wise for HoM when, in 1981, it started running "I…Vampire!” This was a, rare for these books, continuing series which lasted until 1983.  Of course the downside to continuing episodic serial fiction for filthy foreigners  such as my self was, as I said, that the younger, far more agreeable, me used to buy House of Mystery off the spinner rack in the UK so I didn’t always get to see every issue. But that’s okay because here, in this volume, there is every one of the 24 original chapters of "I…Vampire!” And also, an issue of Brave And The Bold in which "I…Vampire!" teams up with Smilin' Batman! Remember when Batman smiled? Good times.

Upholding the “mystery” line tradition the covers are the best bit here, but in a welcome break from tradition the actual comics are pretty neat too. It’s just that the covers are by Joe Kubert and Michael William Kaluta. I mean, come on now. Mind the carpet; I believe your cup just did runneth over! Both artists provide fantastically atmospheric and alluring covers despite their conspicuously different styles. Kubert’s usual superficially wild lashings of ink retain their timeless impulsive energy and his signature imprecision creates a sense of instability, of flux; one wholly apt for the gaudy transformative horror of the strip. Kaluta, naturally, is far more precise with a far lighter line producing a far more ethereal and desiccated effect which, unlike Kubert, serves to underscore the melodramatic pathos at the heart of the lead character. Because "I…Vampire!" one Andrew Bennett by name, is a right whining  mimsy and no mistake.

Mind you, he’s every reason to be moody what with his wedding preparations being interrupted by his sudden initiation into vampirism via a passing manky monk. Even in 1591 I imagine weddings were fraught enough affairs, as the mobile disco had yet to be invented, without being turned into an undead leech on humanity. A vampire I’m talking about there, not a lobbyist. Somewhat rashly Bennett shares his curse with his betrothed, Mary, only to find that she takes to it with somewhat more alacrity. Rebranding herself as Mary, Queen of Blood she organises her fellow nosferatu into The Blood Red Moon and embarks on a crusade to enslave humanity. When we first join him in 1981 Bennett is busy trying to kill the woman he loves and foil her evil schemes. Hobbies are important to men, after all. Luckily he isn’t alone. There’s Dmitri Mishkin who throughout the series will provide creepy oedipal fun aplenty as he tries to kill his vampiric mother. Sadly Dmitri probably isn’t related to Dan Mishkin one of the series’ later writers as that would be really weird and suggest a serious reappraisal of all our realities. Now as alluring as matricidal elderly Russian men are DeMatteis chooses to provide Bennett with a more traditional love interest in the form of Deborah Dancer. Yes, her name was Deborah. Deborah. But whether she had woodchip on the wall or, indeed, her house was very small remains unrecorded. That’s the basic set up then for the series with a bit of an alcoholism subtext as Andrew struggles to survive without taking a human life. This setup takes a whole ten pages, and stands De Matteis in good stead freeing him up to dash off in a number of unfeasible but entertaining directions. After five issues he runs out of puff and passes the baton to Bruce Jones.

Jones barges right on in and starts marking his territory in no uncertain times. Initially he resets the series to the TV Hulk template. Now Bennett will be meandering down the lonely road to intersect episodically with different people with terrible consequences. Mostly for them. There’s an absolute cracker of an episode where Bennett takes up with the wife and child of a man whose death he has caused. Now, obviously lessons will be learned, closure achieved and there’ll be a sad departure leaving everyone wiser and richer. I don’t want to spoil anything but let’s just say that Bruce Jones sets about your expectations with a ball peen hammer and doesn’t let up until they are unrecognisable. Bruce Jones’ is really good at undercutting expectations is what I’m saying there.  This is aided and abetted by this disdain for logic, but I’m guessing entertainment is  a greater consideration for Bruce Jones than sense. I say that with some confidence because quicker than Threshold got cancelled he remembers he likes time travel and things get entertainingly insane fast as the series becomes a chronally unstable race between Bennett and Mary to save/kill the ancestors of the inventor of the cancer cure which is, in the 1980s, killing all the vampires. You hardly need the gift of Second Sight to know that Jack The Ripper turns up, Gaw Blimey! He’s near sawed ‘er head clean orf!

In comparison to Jones' satisfyingly eventful irrationality Mishkin and Cohn serve up altogether more sedate fare which favours the adventure elements largely to the detriment of the horror and occasionally steps straight into the puddle of preachiness. Don't mistake me, they aren't terrible, but it just takes them time to fling off their inhibitions and skinny dip in the straight faced silliness the strip requires.  Also, in "By The Time We Got To Woodstock..." a vampiric threat is destroyed by a combination of Jimi Hendrix playing live and the combined Love emanating from a field full of self obsessed drug addled Hippies. Which is terrible on an almost cellular level. But it is still amazing; I’ll give them that much. By the time the strip climaxes they have, fair’s fair, rallied their talents enough to provide Andrew Bennett with a finale as fittingly inventive, daft, moving, horrific and optimistic as he deserves. And then there's Tom Sutton. Tom Sutton who provides the bulk of the art on these pages and proves himself a showstopper and no mistake.

TOM SUTTON (d.2002)! If this book is worth a place on anyone's shelf (and it is. Mine!) it is because of Tom Sutton. Tom Sutton makes this series work. It’s difficult to believe that Sutton's art ever found a more suitable vehicle than "I...Vampire!" Maybe it did, let me know. I assure you, I'm all ears. Look, Tom Sutton is a maniac on these pages. Forever throwing in one nifty bit of business after another; if it's not innovatively having the contents of a panel bleed across the gutters into another, it's a series of panels showing motion or physical transformation in a manner reminiscent of psychedelic wig out movies. Tom Sutton is clearly enjoying himself here and his enthusiasm is as infectious as the vampirism he’s called upon to illustrate.

Sutton's stuff isn't pretty, elegant or, in panel to panel continuity terms, particularly consistent but it doesn't need to be. In fact I'd say it spits on such stuff. Because while energy isn't unusual (although it could do with being more usual) in comic art, Sutton's energy has a definite edge of anger to it. Fitting the strip to a tee there's a sense of dissolution permeating every one of Sutton's panels. An unsettlingly organic feel, as of fruit past its best and sliding into sweet rot. Sutton's work lifts the series out of melodrama into debauched melodrama, spectacularly flamboyantly debauched melodrama at that. Sutton's art looks like it actually has an odour. And it looks like you should thank your luck stars you can't smell it, as it would be a rank and vinegary one I'm guessing. It’s not all bug eyed hell for leather ostentation though.  Sutton’s smart enough to vary the intensity of his art so that although the whole thing looks like you're viewing it through eyes hot and misted with fever, at times it goes beyond even that; Sutton’s images become deliriously inflamed and pass seamlessly into the realm of the rawly hallucinatory.

I single Tom Sutton out because while everyone else here does good work they all did better work elsewhere, but I'm not Sure Tom Sutton did. His garish, visually mushy sensibility lines up with "I...Vampire!" so well he effectively makes it what it is. And thanks, primarily, to Tom Sutton "I...Vampire!" is like Liberace wrote Interview With A Vampire but in COMICS!!!!

Now, how can that not be GOOD!

Wait, What? Ep. 129: Idol Speculation

A nifty piece of fan art from the crazily talented Adam P. Knave. Thank you, Adam!

We are back!  To do that thing to your ears that you insist you like!  (Really, you like it? Really?)

After the jump -- show notes!  That thing I do to your eyes that...maybe is helpful?  Even the way I do it, maybe?  Join us!

(Ugh, I'm so old: looking at photoshopped me with those shoes, I'm all, "Man, I look like Bob Fosse!"  Sad, sad, sad.)

0:00-18:54: Greetings! Apologies! Alternate theme songs! Prepping from SDCC!  Graeme tells us what kind of stuff he's looking forward to -- and, equally as important, dreading -- at this year's Con.  Also covered: the upcoming geek lifestyle program brought to you from a somewhat unlikely source; Blair Butler and more. 18:54-29:34: Is Marvelman coming back at this Con?  Will anyone care? Will Jeff be able to get halfway decent prices for his copies, or has he entered the greedy speculator phase of his comic reading career far, far too late?  Also, Jeff unburdens himself about his shady contribution to Internet discourse.  And that leads, in its odd way, to discussion of the latest Marvel event and the new Inhumans series. 29:34-41:34:  And that leads to us talking about Gaiman's changing credits on Guardians of the Galaxy, DC being less bitchy in public than Marvel, but still doing stuff like cutting Ales Kot loose from Suicide Squad. Is DC trying to bring back its Silver Age in the worst way possible?  Or do they just not know how to grow creators? 41:34-50:14:  Compare and contrast:  Graeme has read the two collections of Nick Spencer's Ultimate X-Men and has some things to report back on that experience.  He also read the Superior Foes of Spider-Man, also written by Nick Spencer.  Since Jeff hasn't read Morning Glories and Graeme has, Jeff grills Graeme about the A-B-Cs of N-I-C(k). 50:14-57:49:  Whoever had 49:10 in the holiday pool for when Jeff would want to start talking about 2000AD, pick up your winnings at Window No. 2!  We talk about Laura Sneddon's excellent article about Zenith, Hillary Robinson and Chronos Carnival, and giving Jeff a chance to vent about his obsession with the Leonard Zelig of the comics industry, Michael Fleisher.  And just as we talk about one of the best pieces to happen to comics in the last two weeks, things go a bit pear-shaped, leading us into… 57:49-58:10:   Intermission One! 58:10-1:04:54: Where we were?  Oh, right.  One of the best things to happen to comics in the last two weeks?  That would be Jim Steranko joining Twitter.  Are you following @IamSteranko?  You really, really should. 1:04:54-1:11:01:  Neither Graeme nor Jeff attended the Image Expo. Did that keep Jeff and Graeme from talking about it? Oh my, no. 1:11:01-1:17:53: What do Game of Thrones, Dead Snow, and The Fantastic Four have in common?  And what does all of that have to do with The Boys?  Jeff has a hurried, stammery story that will connect the dots for you! 1:17:53-1:30:14:  And to continue from that last talking point, Jeff (a.k.a., Mr. Up-To-Date) finally finished reading all of The Boys by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, John McCrea, and Russ Braun (who Jeff, because he is daft, refers to as Dan Braun at least once, much to his shame now). Spoilers ahoy! 1:30:14-1:52:01:  Batman, Inc. #12!  What'd we think? JLA: Tower of Babel! Which one of us has only now just read it? The second Prophet collection!  Which other one finally read that and what'd they think?  Bandette and Batman '66! Did one of us read them and love them, or did both of us read them and love them? The Private Eye!  Who's going to sound like a douchebag talking about the new they discovered to read the latest issue by Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin?  Pick up your pencils and begin.  You will have slightly less than twenty-two minutes to complete this part of the exam. 1:52:01-end:  Closing comments! Promises to return that hopefully will not sound hollow to thy ears! And, of course, Exclamation points! Exclamation points for everyone!!

Um, what else?  I just saw Pacific Rim today.   I wasn't the only one  weirded out by how much that Australian dude looked like Geoff Johns when he put his baseball cap on, was I? No?  Just me?

Anyway, it was far from a great movie (like I don't even think there's bus service between where Pacific Rim ended up and a great movie) but it worked for me.  I had an okay time with a few minutes of genuine nerd joy.  Weirdly, it reminded me of Battleship, another so-very-far-from-great movie, that also spent most of its running time trying to justify its own premise and really was entertaining when it wasn't being terrible...the difference being that Peter Berg is just a tourist in nerd town and Guillermo Del Toro owns, like, a third of the shops there.

I mean there weren't enough fights in the city for my tastes, and I don't know how you can put Charlie Day in a movie and make him yell all the time and have it still be dull (because I think Charlie Day yelling is like one of the funniest things in the world). But, you know. As a bargain matinee on the big screen? Enjoyable.

Oh, right!  The podcast!!  I knew I almost forgot something!  It'll be on iTunes soon, it's in our RSS feed, and it's right below.  We hope you listen and enjoy!

Wait, What? Ep. 129: Idol Speculation

Arriving 7/17/13

Whole bunch of new comics to be excited for, check em out after the jump! 100 BULLETS BROTHER LONO #2 (OF 8) A PLUS X #10 NOW ADVENTURE TIME #18 ALL NEW X-MEN #14 NOW ANIMAL MAN #22 APHRODITE IX #3 ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (VU) #11 ARTIFACTS #29 AVENGERS #16 INF AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #17 NOW B & V FRIENDS DOUBLE DIGEST #235 BATMAN 66 #1 BATMAN AND CATWOMAN #22 BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #18 BATWOMAN #22 BIRDS OF PREY #22 BLOOD BROTHERS #1 (OF 3) BPRD HELL ON EARTH #109 WASTELAND #3 (OF 3) BRAVEST WARRIORS #10 CABLE AND X-FORCE #11 NOW COLONIZED #4 (OF 4) CONAN THE BARBARIAN #18 DAMSELS #8 DAY MEN #1 DEADPOOL #13 NOW DEATH OF HAGGARD WEST ONE SHOT DINOSAURS ATTACK #1 (OF 5) DREAM THIEF #3 (OF 5) ELEPHANTMEN #50 CVR A QUITELY FABLES #131 FANTASTIC FOUR #10 NOW FF #9 NOW FIVE COLOR COMICS #1 GREEN HORNET LEGACY #39 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #22 HALF PAST DANGER #3 (OF 6) HARBINGER WARS (VU) #4 (OF 4) HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #4 HELLRAISER DARK WATCH #6 HIGHER EARTH #8 MAIN CVRS INVINCIBLE #104 IRON MAN #13 NOW JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #6 (TRINITY) JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICAS VIBE #6 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #22 MORBIUS LIVING VAMPIRE #7 NOW MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS #1 MYSTERIOUS STRANGERS #2 NON HUMANS #4 (OF 4) NOVA #6 NOW NUMBERCRUNCHER #1 (OF 4) POWERS BUREAU #6 PROPHET #37 RED SONJA #1 REVIVAL #12 ROGUES #3 SAVAGE WOLVERINE #7 NOW SCARLET #7 SHADOW YEAR ONE #4 (OF 8) CVR A WAGNER SIMPSONS COMICS #204 SONIC UNIVERSE #54 REG CVR STAR WARS DARK TIMES SPARK REMAINS #1 (OF 5) STAR WARS DARTH VADER & NINTH ASSASSIN #4 (OF 5) STRAIN THE FALL #1 SUPERGIRL #22 SUPERIOR CARNAGE #1 (OF 5) NOW THANOS RISING #4 (OF 5) INF THE SPIDER #13 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #10 NOW THUNDERBOLTS #13 NOW TMNT VILLAIN MICROSERIES #4 ALOPEX TO HELL YOU RIDE #5 (OF 5) ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #25 UNCANNY X-FORCE #8 NOW WARLORD OF MARS #26 WHAT IF AVX #2 (OF 4) WOLVERINE MAX #9 WONDER WOMAN #22 X-FACTOR #259 X-FILES SEASON 10 #2

Books/Mags/Stuff ADVENTURES OF DR MCNINJA OMNIBUS TP ALEXANDRO JODOROWSKY SCREAMING PLANET HC NEW PTG AMAZING ENLIGHTENING TRUE ADV KATHERINE WHALEY HC ARSENIC LULLABY BIG STALL ONE SHOT AVENGERS ASSEMBLE BY BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS TP BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT HC CYCLE OF VIOLENCE (N52) BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT TP VOL 01 KNIGHT TERRORS (N52) BEIRUT 1990 SNAPSHOTS OF A CIVIL WAR HC BLACK KISS II TP (A) BLACK ORCHID TP BPRD HELL ON EARTH TP VOL 05 PICKENS COUNTY HORROR CONAN HC VOL 14 THE DEATH DEADPOOL BY DANIEL WAY COMPLETE COLL TP VOL 01 ELDRITCH TP VOL 01 EYE O/T MAJESTIC CREATURE GN VOL 02 GODDAMN THIS WAR HC JUDGE DREDD CAM KENNEDY COLLECTION HC VOL 01 KAFKA HC KILLER OMNIBUS TP VOL 01 LOVE HAIR GN MARVEL SUPER HEROES #10 MELANCHOLY OF MECHAGIRL NOVEL MIGHTY THOR AND JIM TP EVERYTHING BURNS OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG SC VOL 43 SUPERMAN OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG SC VOL 43 X-MEN REVIVAL TP VOL 02 LIVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT ROCKETEER HOLLYWOOD HORROR HC STORYTELLER GN STRANGE WORLD OF YOUR DREAMS COMICS MEET FREUD & DALI HC SUPERMAN PHANTOM ZONE TP TALES OF BATMAN ARCHIE GOODWIN HC THINK TANK TP VOL 02 ULT COMICS SPIDER-MAN BY BENDIS PREM HC VOL 04 UNCANNY X-FORCE TP VOL 07 FINAL EXECUTION BOOK 2 WOLVERINE MAX TP VOL 01 PERMANENT RAGE

As always, what do YOU think?

"I'm Regarding This As My First Major Adult Work. Period." COMICS! Sometimes We All Salute The Same Flagg!

In 1983 Howard Victor Chaykin unleashed American Flagg! on the world. For the first 30 issues it was pretty much the best genre comic I was reading. VERY GOOD! it was. Then Howard Victor Chaykin wandered off and...well, er, the second volume was pretty entertaining. Here's a visual celebration of the magic of the man known only as Howard Victor Chaykin.  This one's all about the visuals. The quicker studies amongst you will note that there's a couple of issues missing. Hey, I'm 3,000 miles away! I did my best! Anyway, this...

AMERICAN FLAGG! (1983 - 1988) I have provided credits for the AF! strips inside each issue, since  as a rule of thumb the more HVC there is in 'em the more pleasure they deliver! There are acouple of backups but the only one of note is by The Alan Moore. This is quite a lewd and smutty back up strip which starts in issue 21 and, er, climaxes in issue 27. I know people love it when Amorous Alan Moore gets the horn! So, if you were gonna scour the bargain boxes for 'em...well, there you go. I can only hold your hand so far and then you must fly alone!

AMERICAN FLAGG! #1 (1983) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Lynn Varley First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #2 (1983) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Lynn Varley First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #4 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #5 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #7 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #8 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #9 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #10 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #11 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #12 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #13 (1984) Art by James Sherman & Rick Burchett Written by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #14 (1984) Art by Pat Broderick & Rick Burchett Written by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #15 (1984) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #16 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #17 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #18 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #20 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #21 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #22 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Leslie Zahler First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #23 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Alex Wald First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #24 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Alex Wald First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #25 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Alex Wald First Comics, Inc.

AMERICAN FLAGG! #26 (1985) Story & Art by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Alex Wald First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #27 (1985) Art by Don Lomax Written by Alan Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Les Dorscheid First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #28 (1985) Art by Joe Staton & Hilary Barta Written by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #29 (1986) Art by Joe Staton & Hilary Barta Written by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #30 (1986) Art by Joe Staton & Hilary Barta Written by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #31 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Howard Victor Chaykin & Steven Grant Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #32 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Howard Victor Chaykin & Steven Grant Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #33 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Steven Grant Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc.

AMERICAN FLAGG! #34 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Steven Grant Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #35 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Steven Grant Lettering by Willie Schubert Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #36 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Steven Grant Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Ken Feduniewicz First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #37 (1986) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by Steven Grant Lettering by L Lois Buhalis Colouring by Ken Feduniewicz First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #38 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Ken Holewczynski Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #39 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Willie Schubert Colouring by Linda Lessman First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #40 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Willie Schubert Colouring by Ken Feduniewicz First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #41 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Willie Schubert Colouring by Janice Cohen First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #42 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Willie Schubert Colouring by Janice Cohen First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #43 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by L Lois Buhalis & Clif Jackson Colouring by Janice Cohen First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #44 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Ken Holewczynski Colouring by Janice Cohen First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #45 (1987) Art by Mark Badger & Randy Emberlin Written by J M De Matteis Lettering by Ken Holewczynski Colouring by Janice Cohen First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #46 (1987) Art from the series thus far repurposed to provide a recap while First decided how to salvage a flailing title. Written by Mike Gold? I don't know. It's a weirdy this one. Nice cover though. First Comics, Inc.

AMERICAN FLAGG! #48 (1988) Art by Paul Smith Written by Howard Victor Chaykin & Mindy Newell Lettering by Ken Holewczynski Colouring by John Moore First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #49 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg Written by Howard Victor Chaykin & Mindy Newell Lettering by Ken Holewczynski Colouring by John Moore First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

AMERICAN FLAGG! #50 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg Written by Howard Victor Chaykin Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by John Moore First Comics, Inc. American Flagg! created by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD VICTOR CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG!

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #1 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by Mindy Newell Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin First Comics, Inc.

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #2 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #3 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #4 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #5 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #6 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #7 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #8 (1988) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle & John Moore Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #9 (1989) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #10 (1989) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #11 (1989) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

HOWARD CHAYKIN'S AMERICAN FLAGG! #12 (1989) Art by Mike Vosburg & Richard Ory Written by John Moore Lettering by Ken Bruzenak Colouring by Tony Van de Walle Story, editing and art direction by Howard Victor Chaykin

COLLECTIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS

Writer/Artist/Creator - Howard Victor Chaykin Lettered by Ken Bruzenak Coloured by Linda Lessman

Yeah, those were COMICS!!!

"...FLYING Bicycles Don't LEAVE Treadmarks!" COMICS! Sometimes Justice Wears A Unitard!

Look, I'll level with you. Here in the UK it's far  too hot to write intros. It's so hot I just stepped in my own face. So this is your lot. Ho! Ho! It am Bizarro Gary Groth! Or is it? Read on to find out as we explore the magical world of old super hero comics!

GREEN LANTERN: SECTOR 2814 Volume One Art By Dave Gibbons Inked by Dick Giordano and Mike DeCarlo Written by Len Wein Coloured by Anthony Tollin Letterd by Dave Gibbons and Ben Oda Collection and series covers by Dave Gibbons Collects Green Lantern #172-176,178 - 181 (1984) Green Lantern created by Gil Kane and John Broome DC Comics, $16.99 (2012)

For me, and never forget it’s me that matters the mostest, the most successful Green Lantern comics are those which don’t stray too far from the original concept. That of a none too bright man clad in a domino mask and a swim suit who, armed with a magic wishing ring, polices space on the behalf of some blue dudes whose lack of vertical stature is compensated for by the girth of their craniums. These issues I’m telling you about hew pretty closely to that but have a definite Earth based bent. Which is fair enough, so did the old stuff. Particularly when Hal Jordan became an insurance investigator which is the kind of sexy shit kids love. What we have here is that strange pre-Watchmen style where the old timey thrills are wrassling with new wavey soap operatics to queasy but not unentertaining effect.

Carol looks really, er, into that doesn't she? In a "private moments" kind of way?

Most of the soapy suds are provided by Hal Jordan splashing about in a big bath of ultimatums pouring ceaselessly out of the fleshy faucet of Carol Ferris’ face. Herein Ms Ferris is enjoyably portrayed as capable and independent and yet psychotically needy and emotionally demanding. It’s an endearing mix; one unlikely to cause ructions in the gender politicised readers of today. Look, Len Wein’s , and indeed that of contemporaneous Comics, portrayal of women is excusable, or at least understandable, since at this point in history men and women were ruthlessly segregated on separate landmasses, replicating by binary fission. Or maybe, and I’m just throwing this out there, characterisation in genre comics has always been a bit weird with plot tending to dictate the personality of a character at any given moment. Which tendency unfortunately flares bright with an unpleasant light in the case of ladies because there isn’t usually much more to them than the surface. The blokes have all the powers and action for the most part and as a consequence the behavioural inconsistencies pass mostly unnoticed in the case of the testicularly endowed. Men, I’m talking about men there. Of course I will say that characterisation is much better in modern genre comics because I should never underestimate the appeal of wishful thinking.

But sometimes a mere newspaper can tip the balance of WAR!

Fret not, capes and scrapes fans! There’s plenty of goofy nonsense going on when people aren’t talking about their feelings or shouting in boardrooms. Everything in the book feels like it takes part in the context of the wider DCU. There's even a touching sequence where Hal seeks advice from all of his super hero pals about whether to remain an emerald avenger or to chuck it in for the sake of his love, Carol. Naturally Superman offers to solve his chum’s problem by snapping Carol’s neck like a dry twig.  The pivot around which a lot of this more colourful stuff spins turns out to be The Monitor. Isn’t he the guy from Crisis On Infinite Earths? Shockingly I have never read COIE, so was under the impression that The Monitor was some Darkseid level dude, but here he’s just floating about space in his satellite HQ facilitating meetings between criminals, by telephone! Just a glorified switchboard operator with a knack for obscuring his features behind scenery. (Why? Would I recognise him? “OMG! It’s Terry from two doors down!”) Despite his reduced circumstances Monny has, apparently, the sense to equip his satellite lair with Sybil Danning in a pink pantsuit.

Other villains include The Javelin, who is hilariously bad, his one saving grace being that his presence causes the Worst Pun In The World to be unleashed on a cover. It’s “Beware The Javelin, My Son!” Give it a second…Oh, he’s also German with an accent so he is intendink to be havink der last laff. Bad accents I’m talking about there. But the bad accents get better, or worse, because there’s also a russet maned lassie whose cadences are pure County Claremount, so they are, to be sure, to be sure, BEJABBERS! And then there’s The Demolition Team who are just brazenly daft in concept. Others crop up but ,you know ,you might want some surprises suffice to say they are all outlandishly entertaining and absurd. Now, I don’t mind that myself as all this is the kind of ludicrous stuff I class as “fun” (Eeew!), but I am aware that certain sectors of today’s readership demand rather more seriousness and maturity which is why Geoff Johns exists. That’s sarcasm there. Cheap, but effective I find.

What does Dave Gibbons never do? Short change ya! Look at all that hectic business going on!

But what of the reason I bought this book in the first place? What of dashing Dave Gibbons? Well, he’s Dave Gibbons so that’s pretty much perfect for the needs of my eyes. He’s got that lovely Wallace wood by way of C C Beck thing going on. He discretely balances realism and cartooning basically, and you may think his work errs toward s the generic. Then you may realise just how many blonde Caucasian men in their early thirties he has to draw here and you may reconsider and instead may marvel at the fact that he makes each one distinct. Sure, Gibbons’ ladies can be a bit frumpy tending towards the matronly both in width of hip and wadrobe choice, but they do look like people rather than tit support systems. There’s plenty of slobberknockery in here and Gibbons' action is never unclear and his storytelling is efficient and engaging even when confined to the boardroom; the charnel house of my attention. However, reading this book it becomes apparent that grace isn’t really in Gibbons’ artistic arsenal. Usually this is not really an issue but any Green Lantern artist is up against The Gil Kane. Which is probably a bit unfair, because anyone suffers against that. Kane could make a man straining at stool appear elegant and lithe never mind a masked idiot soaring through the air like it were water. Nevertheless there is always something stilted about the body language in Gibbons’ characters . There isn’t so much a sense of motion occurring but of motion being captured. But it’s catching that motion, or seeming to, that makes you Gil Kane. Dave Gibbons may not be Gil Kane but he is Dave Gibbons and that’s a whole lot more than most other artists.

I enjoyed this book but then I have a high tolerance for daft action hi-jinks layered in with endearingly clumsy interpersonal conflicts. Particularly if they are illustrated by a well-honed machine like Dave Gibbons. Which is why I thought this was GOOD! I'll fight any man jack who denies that Green Lantern by Dave Gibbons is - COMICS!!!

Them's Fightin' Words, Joe Casey.

In the absence of the dulcet tones of Mssrs. Jeff and Graeme... It should go without saying that all that follows is my opinion.

So, quietly and without much advance hullabaloo Dark Horse Comics made its entry…or rather its re-entry…into the world of Superheroics with Catalyst Comix #1

There’s a lot to recommend this book.  There’s a lot to recommend this series, really.   But, as with all things...a caveat.

First, if you’re a fan of offbeat capes and unique delivery systems this book may be for you.  The story starts by spinning out the various circumstances of the principal characters at the time of a major crisis.  It’s a cool set-up.

Second, if you’re in the mood for that trademark Casey dialogue (Snappy, knowing, and biting all the right brassy reference points) this book may be to your taste.

Third, all the art here makes some really bold style choices.  The list of influences is long enough to go up one arm and down the other.  Scioli / Kirby is all over Frank Wells.  Er, FRANK WELLS!  I see a fair amount Ross Campbell waiting in the wings of Amazing Grace.  The Change Agents benefit from an odd marriage of Sylvan Migdal’s Curvy and Geoff Darrow of all things.  Also, it should be noted there may be many - MANY - more influences here.  I am a stupid neophyte, not Frank Santoro.

A quick aside:  As all contributors are given credits as ART it’s hard to tell whether Brad Simpson colors the whole thing.  He is the sole credited colorist and could be the standout player for bringing such a diverse sensibility and individuality to all three chapters.  But, since it’s a little unclear, I hesitate to take credit for the color choices away from the individual artists.  It’s a really nice component of the book.  Especially worthy of note is the Change Agents chapter.  The colors there really set that section apart.

But then…there’s this.  And, from this point, for me, what was a nice exercise in genre bending becomes something else.

Whoa.  As the title says, Them’s Fightin’ Words.

So, by this, you’re led to believe that Casey’s taking some bold stance.  Some US VS. THEM classic bully wrestling storyline.  DAMN THE MAN and all that shit.

Except he’s using existing IP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comics%27_Greatest_World

And, really, the US VS THEM manifesto should be retired.  If I could give this venture one bit of advice it would be to ditch the shrill “NO!  WE’RE DIFFERENT!  WE’RE RUSHING THE GATES!” mentality.  It’s passé in 2013.  We’ve played that game out.  Walking Dead, The Image re-emergence, SAGA, Vaughn and Martin’s Private Eye…

That game’s over.

There is no US VS THEM.

There’s only US.  Start pitching this series as what “WE” do at Dark Horse.  This is how “WE” chart the course.  As long as you’re hung up on showing “The Mainstream” they’re outdated you’re playing by their rules.

But, therein lies the problem.  You’re using THEIR methods.

This comic is riding generic names like Titan and Amazing Grace because it’s easier to do that than create your own thing.  DH Publisher Mike Richardson said yes to this because Dark Horse OWNS THE COPYRIGHTS.  He was one of the original creators!  So, you know, go ahead and show me how not mainstream you are by doing the ONE THING mainstream comics are reviled for more than any other ONE THING amongst the comics going Secret Society.   Don’t blame me when I ask if Barbara Kesel, Randy Stradley, Jerry Prosser, and Chris Warner are getting their royalty checks off of this “bold new line in the sand.”  When people ask Brandon Graham what he’s doing working on Prophet when he doesn’t own it he smiles because he’s in on the joke.  He’s taking money for work and not trying to pass it off as anything more than that.  It’s a check and he’s never pretended anything different.  NEVER.

Dark Horse and Joe Casey in particular are pretending to kick down the door of Superhero books but decades on from the ownership disasters of Miracleman and Zenith no lessons have been learned.  Kirby, who Casey so openly apes in the Frank Wells chapter, might SPIN knowing that this is being put forward as CHANGE and DIFFERENT.

A talented car crash of artists is pouring their work into a corporate funnel and this is the new version of “line drawing?”  This is the bold new stance?

It’s a good comic with lots to recommend it but please…don’t tell me it’s one thing – pretend to me it’s new ground – when it’s plainly more of the same.  Let it be what it actually is, the Dark Horse Corporate Super Hero Line.

Don’t tell me you’re re-inventing the wheel when it's the same old grist stone that's made a fine powder out of creators for the length, breadth, and depth of the industry.