WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #1 and WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #1: Yeah, and see, this is where the event starts to fall apart. You see, I can buy (and, for that matter, can enjoy) the whole “Hulk comes back to Earth and tears shit up” idea from what I’ve seen in the core book and the Iron Man and Incredible Hulk crossover issues, because it all ties together relatively well – the Hulk lands back on Earth with his alien buddies, and they’re all pretty pissed. They give the world 24 hours of warning, and then it’s on, including Iron Man getting beaten to crap. Fine. That makes sense.

But the idea that the Hulk has time for a side trip to Xavier’s School for Wacky Mutant Children and Adults, because he wants to ask Xavier whether he would’ve voted with the Illuminati members who sent him off the island… Yeah, that doesn’t really work for me. And it doesn’t work for multiple reasons – When did he decide to do this? How does he know that Xavier was part of the Illuminati in the first place (I thought he just knew that the four characters were responsible for sending him off-planet, not that they were four members of a secret society for which he knew the entire line-up)? Why does it matter whether Xavier would’ve voted with the other members or not (If Xavier says “No,” then is the Hulk going to say “Yeah, okay. Thanks,” and then leave?) – Doesn’t it seem a bit calculated to think of doing this in the first place, therefore cutting down on the “He’s mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!” pitch of the event? That’s really the main problem of the X-Men spin-off; that it feels like an add-on, as opposed to something that’s part of the main event, and an add-on that doesn’t really care about story logic or consistency as much as it cares about shoe-horning another X-Men series into the sales projections for the year. Awful

That said, the Frontline series is even worse. After a reasonably suspenseful opening – I like the paranoia of wondering where the pigeons have gone – the book that loses focus entirely. The aliens are giving people their guns in exchange for beer? Manhattan doesn’t get entirely evacuated after all (Wasn’t that a plot point in both World War Hulk #1 and the Iron Man tie-in, that it was completely evacuated)? Or, weirder still, the police department is working with the alien invaders after someone steals something from one of the invaders? What the Hell is that? And, maybe more to the point, if Paul Jenkins didn’t have anything resembling a coherent plot for this series, then why is he the one writing it? Very, very Crap, and more proof that it never pays to be optimistic about the possibilities of Marvel not managing to run an enjoyable crossover into the ground with unnecessary and badly done spin-off series. Click Here to Read More...

SILENT WAR #6: I admit, I picked this up in the store the other day by mistake. I’d managed to almost entirely forget that this series existed, having been relatively underwhelmed by the first issue’s story – That Frazer Irving art sure was nice, though – so the fact that this final issue was a relatively taut status-quo changer for the characters (while, in a weird way, protecting the overall status quo for the series; the plot ends as it began, with the Inhumans poised to declare war on humanity, albeit a different kind of war) that made me want to check out the earlier issues to see what I’d missed came as a surprise.

Part of what worked for me about the issue was that it’s easily the most beautiful-looking Marvel book in a long time – Irving’s art is, maybe more than any other artist handling the entire package around these days, made by his intelligent and atmospheric color choices, which manage to make the linework seem more detailed and evocative than it arguably is, and his work in this series manages to entirely convey the alien, off-kilter, claustrophobic tone needed for what turns out to be a political and psychological thriller rather than a rock’em sock’em action book. It’s that tone that piqued by interest in terms of the story of the book; not that I was expecting all out punchin’ hawtness in a book with “Silent” in the title, but there’s an expectation for a book that also contains “War” in its title that was reinforced (for me, at least) by the terrorists-exploding angle of the first issue. It came as a pleasant surprise, in that case, to see that the war in the title really was much quieter than my expectations, and on a much smaller scale – Some more familial and intimate, despite the (these days, almost obligatory) “massive changes” that will inevitably result from it.

Something that stuck with me once I’d finished the issue – and something almost separate to the issue itself, as Good as it was – was the way in which the Marvel Universe these days is all about fear. You could, and I’m sure that Joe Quesada and others will if pressed, argue that that’s almost traditional for the publisher and the characters, but right now, any sense of wonder or awe has been replaced by a sense of terror and threat: We have Atlantis launching sleeper cell terrorist attacks, we have the Inhumans declaring war on humanity and wanting to take over the world, we have mutantkind facing extinction and infighting, America becoming a police state because superheroes might accidentally blow up a school full of kids, and by the way, your best friend or anyone you know might be an alien invader undercover. There’s an incredible and depressing lack of openness to “the other” in Marvel’s books, these days; nothing is seen as new or different or unusual in a good sense, because everything that isn’t “us” is a threat (as opposed to even being a potential threat). Whatever happened to the days of The Impossible Man appearing and aliens being goofy nuisances? Or Spider-Man being misunderstood and really a good guy, not a public menace, you know? There used to be a time where it was awesome (in both senses of the world) that there was a race of superhumans living on the moon, instead of it being another band of people who want to kill us. Yes, there are a few exceptions (Iron Fist and Fantastic Four come to mind), but overall: Is it really post-9/11, post-Afghanistan invasion and post-Iraq civil war insularism informing what the Marvel writers are coming up with, or something else? And, either way, is there any way that optimism and, well, good fun could come back to these characters again? Click Here to Read More...

Well! I *finally* got the pre-populated database for MOBY (took nearly a month because I had some fussy requests for them, and I wanted a go at the data without having to use MOBY itself to access it -- MOBY is nice as a POS program, but kinda of mediocre as a let-me-edit-100k+ items; I'm using Excel to manage the data), so this is now my life for the next 2-4 weeks.

The MOBY database goes back something like 5 years, and has something on the order of 140k items in it. Now, of course, AT LEAST 70k of those items aren't things I'd EVER stock in my store of my own volition (like, say, games, or cards, or XENA t-shirts), but it's nice to have them in the database on the off chance that anyone might want them one day.

Of course, 140k items? Yeah, that's a LOT.

So, step #1 was to hack that into more manageable chunks -- I started by sorting out the database by Diamond "category" codes: code "1" is comics, "2" is magazines, "3" is books, and so on. 1, 2, and 3 each have their own files right now, so I don't "cross the streams", while the final 12 or so categories I split into two files. For the most part, I probably will barely touch the final 12 categories (since we're, pretty much, a PURE comics shop), but I'm still going to have to at least look through each and every item to make sure.

Step #2 was to loosely sort the "chunks". Actually, that took all of five minutes per file, if that -- sort the "comics" by publisher, then by title, then by issue #, so that, say, all of the DC books are together, are alphabetical within the "DC" listing, and are in proper alpha numeric order.

This, of course, assume that the data is both accurate and complete, but of course it isn't precisely. Probably 98% looks pretty perfect, but there are definitely holes and problems and miscategorizations. As an example, it appears that every book with a "APR07" code either lost, or never was given its "publisher" field, which means that sorting through data is a two-step process: step a: look at the publisher's bit; step b: look at the "no publisher listed" bit. Oh well, shit happens.

Step #3 is where I am right now: going through those files and looking for things that do or will have. For example, the "comics" file has 36,298 items in it. I'm going to get that down to probably under 2k items, really, since "Back issues" aren't going to be individually tracked through the POS.

So, today I started going through the store with two goals: a) strip some of the "sludge" from the racks, stuff that's been sitting there for (likely) a year or more, almost all of that "indy" or "alternative" books, because, generally, a book comes OFF the rack when the "next issue" is there to replace it. Much of the "indy" stuff never GETS a "next issue", so it tends to accumulate longer. This goal is "pretty much" done (for COMICS) in the 4 hours I was at CE today -- I ended up with a shortbox of "unsalable crap" (estimate: $400, my cost)

Goal b) was to set up a new column in the database that's basically either a "1" or a "0". "1" = "do inventory on this". I almost finished the comics on the right side of the store. I'm going to go in 'round 9am tomorrow to take advantage of 90 minutes or so of no-customers-underfoot, but I'm hoping by, dunno, 3 PM or so I'll be basically finished with the "do we have this in stock/do we anticipate it being in stock soon" marking up of the comics file.

Once that's done, then we move to Step #4 which is going through and editing what needs to be edited in the portion of the comics list I'm "keeping" (we'll keep the data of the OTHER 34k-ish items, but basically trusting "MOBY Defaults" are all correct) -- there I'll be setting reorder points, primary/secondary/tertiary distributor, genre and so on.

There are, by the way, 52 (!!!) columns in each row of the database that I could edit if I wanted/needed to. Though I doubt I'll edit more than 5-10 of them for most items.

There's also Step #5: Look for things that I DON'T have on my rack, but that I WANT to have, and have "slipped through the cracks" over the years. That's a day's work, I think (I'm doing that semi-concurrently, and have finished all of the publishers that begin with an "A")

Then after that, is Step #6: printing a list, organized by rack (genre), and doing a hard physical inventory; followed by Step #7: entering that data into the computer; followed by Step #8: POS goes live (#6 & 7 will happen "concurrently", hopefully in one single day. #8 should be the day after)

I have to do much of those same steps for the "magazine" and "book" files. (much less for the two "everything else" files)

Mags will be pretty simple, actually -- again, don't carry most of that, and I think Books will go smoother as well because I won't have to keep running to the rack to say "Wait, what issue is this on?". Books are largely binary in "do I carry this or not", while periodicals are "I carry this, but not issues six months back" (or whatever), and I have to constantly keep checking, for instance, "what issue is WONDER WOMAN on?"

Based on my progress today, I'm going to tentatively believe that I can accomplish all of this over 3 weeks or less, and my HOPE is I'll be able to "go live" with MOBY on or about 8/1. (I actually *think* I can get it done in around 10 days, and *could* be "live" by 7/15, but I'm still going to settle for 8/1 or later, because "pad" is always better)

So that's what I'm doing, work-wise, for the 11 of you that care. Lots of pain now in exchange for some powerful tools for the future.

I'll try to get in 1 or 2 reviews this week, but don't count on it, given the above.

-B

Labels: POS, retailing

Click Here to Read More...

After reading the Endangered Species one-shot last week and then this week's X-MEN #200, I've come to the following obvious conclusions: Mike Carey writes really good mid-80s Chris Claremont stories. It's up to you whether you feel that that's an insult or a complement, however.

(The interesting thing was reading this after reading Carey's Re-Gifters, and also starting his "The Devil You Know" novel - Carey's clearly a very gifted writer, and looking at the different voices in each project makes it clear that the Claremontisms in his X-Men work are intentional choices, as opposed to just the way he writes in general. The question may be whether it's intentional for them to be so similar to Chris Claremont's work, or whether the way that Carey feels the characters should be written just coincidentally seems so strongly Claremonty.)

Reading Carey's special anniversary take on Marvel's Merry Mutants - and when was the last time they were called that, I wonder - really is very much like stepping back in time to Claremont in his prime. All of the themes are there - the X-Men as a family, the X-Men as outcasts, the X-Men as tortured individuals (Poor Rogue, now more tortured than ever), and interpersonal conflicts and betrayals. It's all in this story, but to such an extent (The X-Men get betrayed by three of their members, and - speaking of conjuring up Claremontisms - all of them are women) that it seems somewhat more ridiculous than you remembered it. Was this really what it was like, back then, or do the plot twists seems more over-the-top because the comic landscape was different (and more melodramatic) in those days? Maybe I was just younger and more forgiving back then.

The thing is, this is a perfectly Good comic, despite it feeling twenty years old. Everything hits all of the right soap operatic points, even down to the dramatic return of fan favorites and unfortunate hook-ups, but moves along fast enough to gloss over the weaknesses in plot or execution. Humberto Ramos and Chris Bachalo prove a good pairing of pencillers, with their individual quirks complimenting each other without there being a massive break in visual continuity. It's weird to think of the X-Men books being old-school nostalgiafests in a sea of otherwise uncomfortable Marvel books, but this issue really gives that impression. Mike Carey, you've got a lot to answer for, if I end up reading this series again on a regular basis... Click Here to Read More...

GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS #1: Wow. Between this and last week's exit for Bart Allen, it's looking as if the stereotypical "Dan Didio must hate characters from [enter fan-favorite era here]" meme is going to be able to add Zero Hour-era DC to its quiver. Poor Kyle, never before has a turn for the worse seemed so random or so much a set-up for being undone at a later date.

For all of the similarities (Double-size oneshot opener for a crossover event set in outer space and all), this book is in many ways the opposite of last week's Annihilation: Conquest Prologue... Where that one was all about starting something from relative scratch and quickly ramping up the tension by hook, by crook or by expositionary dialogue, this issue sets up what's to come as the culmination of long-running and unfinished plots all the way back to, it seems, Green Lantern: Rebirth (adding in threads from the regular Green Lantern book and Infinite Crisis along the way, as well as Crisis on Infinite Earths, if that ending was to be believed). Unlike most DC books recently, however, it doesn't make you feel as if those books were all required reading before you even get to the first page of this one, which is a nice change. For all the shit that gets thrown at Geoff Johns, he can be a good writer at times, and at least he knows that the basics exist, such as reminding your audience who Superboy Prime was before he gets the double-page spread of danger at the end of the book (And, no, that's not me ruining the surprise). He also has the Morrisonesque ability to suggest a scope and danger beyond what's visible on the page, which comes in handy here - Concentrating an attack on the entire Green Lantern Corps by showing us only a few characters watching the rings of dead Lanterns flying past, looking for replacements, for example - in quickly building the idea in your head that something important is happening here and making you want to pick up whatever comes next.

That isn't to say that everything is clear - or even sensible - in the book (How does the whole "feeling fear" thing work, anyway? Why does it take a lot to make Kyle fear anything, when Rebirth seemed to say that he was the greatest Green Lantern EVAR because he knew fear normally?), but at least there's a sense of momentum and of there being a story beyond just continuity rearrangement. Ethan Van Sciver, meanwhile, gets to channel his 1990s mojo in what, surprisingly, seems fitting for the story being told; if you're going to do a story that is, in a way, a shout out to "Emerald Twilight," then why not have the sideways double-page spread at some point? I still think that he over-renders everything and uses that to hide some dodgy anatomy, but it's still more appealing than Michael Turner, Ed Benes or anyone on Countdown.

In the summer of big story burn-out - Marvel feels like Event Central right now, what with World War Hulk, Back In Black, Fallen Son, Initiative/Skrull World, Annihilation Conquest and Endangered Species, but DC is getting there with their Flash storyline/JLA-JSA crossover, Amazons Attack, Countdown and now this - it's a sad thing to admit that even a Good comic like this feels unusual and a happy surprise. Even though this storyline will inevitably not end but just lead into the next big DC Universe-changing miniseries, the goodwill this book has earned by merely not sucking means that I'm almost looking forward to the next installment. And somehow, that still feels like a win. Click Here to Read More...

Because comics are "hot", I guess it isn't any real surprise that there's more and more "proper" books about comics, or by comics people.

Not like I even have enough time to read comics, dang it!

But, I plowed through two books in this spectrum this last week, and here's my report for you:

SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE: is kind of an odd duck -- it's straight prose doing Marvel-style superheroes. Its not that there hasn't been superhero-prose before -- I'm a pretty big fan of the WILD CARDS series of books for instance -- but, usually, those try to set their superheroes in the "real" world. This novel is pretty unapologetically a story set in a "superhero" world, where the logic of the superhero comic is presented at face value.

There's two main threads of story here, one that focuses on the villain, Dr. Impossible (no, not from JLA), as he battles his foes in The Champions (no, not from Marvel.... or Heroic, either for that matter); and one that does the hero team-POV from a new cyborg member, Fatale.

Its reasonably effective at what it does, though one has to question why the reader wouldn't just read CIVIL WAR instead -- there are JLA or Avengers-style analogues on display here, and the prose is zippy enough, but its not like it breaks any new ground, or adds anything to the genre that the actual comics cover. Its a fast read, and highly OK, but there was a pretty large sense of "just do the real ones" to this reader.


THE DEVIL YOU KNOW: is Mike Carey's first novel. It is going to be inevitable to compare the protagonist here to John Constantine, Hellblazer -- and it would be just as inevitable had not Carey had a successful run on HELLBLAZER. There's certainly differences -- Felix Castor isn't a mirthless bastard for instance; and the world-building going on points to a very different world than JC's London -- here the set up is that for some unexplained reason, the dead have been reappearing en masse (as ghosts, or zombies, or loup-garou [explained as animal spirits rewriting the flesh of their hosts]), so there's a whole class of exorcists who are there to put those spirits down -- but, other than that, yeah, this could have easily fit into JCs world just fine.

Carey is a strong writer, and the prose drips with Britishisms like "All Mouth and Trousers", and what I liked the most about the book is that it ends up in a place that JC probably never would have. That is to say: I'd very much like to read a second book with these same characters and to see what it goes from here.

It is solidly GOOD work, but I think you're going to have a really hard time, like I did, separating out FC from JC. If you've never read a JC story before, this might work even better.



SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE is available now; THE DEVIL YOU KNOW I read in galley form -- the front cover says "Hardcover publication July 2007", so I guess it will be out real soon.


Not that you've probably read either of these, but if so, what did YOU think?


-B Click Here to Read More...

Lightning round! Unlike Bart Allen, I'm still alive, and the fastest reviewer from the 31st Century there is! 3X2(9YZ)4A and awaaaaaayyyyyy!

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #4: For some reason, I'd become convinced that this book had dropped off the face of the earth recently - Maybe this issue is late, or maybe my sense of time has just become horribly distorted, but either way, this is worth a wait either real or imaginary. Mark Waid's sense of pacing and characterization, mixed with his ability to juggle tones, continues to make this book a fun and exciting joy each time 'round. Very Good.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #27: Now deeply entrenched in the moral ambiguity that made his Catwoman and Sleeper books so good, Brubaker has managed to make Captain America's series much more interesting without its star. As good as the book used to be, pre-murder, spreading the storylines around the supporting cast has raised the level in a way that I wouldn't have expected. You really don't miss Cap here at all, because his death manages to keep him an active presence, even as everything spirals out of control for everyone involved. Very Good, and enough to make you hope that Cap never comes back...

COUNTDOWN #45: Donna Troy with a machine gun. When you're trying to make that work seriously, as opposed to on a campy level, then that's your problem right there. Awful.

EX MACHINA #29: For all the hints about there being some kind of larger plot point happening behind the scenes, this issue - and all of the current storyline, actually - has felt curious unfocused, and the resolution reads as if working on Lost has given Brian K. Vaughan their inability to resolve a plot without a frustrating question that suggests that he doesn't have a direction. Disappointingly Eh.

THE HIGHWAYMEN #1: Mailed to me by the good folk at DC, for which I'm very grateful... Especially since this opener about some kind of retired special op agents being reactivated by the legacy of now-dead Bill Clinton is a surprising amount of fun. It's not likely to inspire anyone to change the world, but as a summer movie-type romp, it's a high Okay.

MADAME MIRAGE #1: Pretty much a disappointment; while Kenneth Rocafort's art is actually more attractive than the T&A images released may suggest (It's highly stylized, and the men actually get a similar over-the-top treatment - if less sexualized - to the women), it's the lack of clarity in Paul Dini's script that lets the book down hard. Awful, especially to fans of Dini's other work.

THE SPIRIT #7: While Darwyn Cooke's only involvement with this issue is the cute cover, the quality stays pretty high as the fill-in gets split between three different creative teams. Walt Simonson and Chris Sprouse play it the most straight, and to be honest, come off worst as a result, as light and amusing as their story is. Hitting a fine middle-ground is Jimmy Palmiotti, with a story that's very Eisner-esque in scope and humanity and paired with wonderful artwork by Jordi Bernet. Best of all is the Sin City parody by Kyle Baker, another example where he decided to play it broad and it works despite itself. Overall, Very Good.

For old times' sake, I'm going to give PICK OF THE WEEK to Captain America, because I feel as if it's defying the odds by not being bogged down by all of the hype around its central storyline, and that's an extra achievement outside of just being a good book in and of itself. PICK OF THE WEAK is Countdown because it's almost becoming depressing to read it each week at this point. But what did the rest of you think...? Click Here to Read More...

Another big week:

AMAZONS ATTACK #3 (OF 6)
ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #180
BART SIMPSON COMICS #36
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA #11
BETTY #166
BLACK GHOST APPLE FACTORY
BLACK PANTHER #28 CWI
BLUE BEETLE #16 (CD)
BOYS #8 (RES)
CABLE DEADPOOL #42
CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #34
CASTLE WAITING VOL II #7
COUNTDOWN 44
CRIMINAL #7
CROSSING MIDNIGHT #8
DAREDEVIL #98
DEAD AT 17 VOL 2 #4
DEADMAN #11
FALLEN ANGEL IDW #17
FANTASTIC FOUR #547 CWI
FRANK FRAZETTAS DEATH DEALER #3 (OF 6)
GREEN LANTERN SINESTRO CORPS SPECIAL #1
GRIMM FAIRY TALES #15 (RES)
GRIMM FAIRY TALES RETURN TO WONDERLAND #1 (OF 7)
HAUNTED MANSION #6
HELLBOY DARKNESS CALLS #3 (OF 6)
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #6
INVINCIBLE #43
JACK OF FABLES #12
JSA CLASSIFIED #27
JUGHEAD #182
KISS 4K #2
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #128
LEGION OF MONSTERS SATANA
LIVING STATUES
MAGICIAN APPRENTICE #8 (OF 12)
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS #14
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED LAST OF THE MOHICANS #2 (OF 6)
NIGHTLY NEWS #6 (OF 6)
NINJA SCROLL #10
PHANTOM CVR A #17
RED SONJA #23
SHEENA #1 (OF 5)
SHE-HULK 2 #19
SILENT WAR #6 (OF 6)
SILVER SURFER REQUIEM #2 (OF 4)
SNAKEWOMAN VOL 2 TALE OF THE SNAKE CHARMER #1
SPAWN GODSLAYER #2
SPIDER-MAN FAIRY TALES #2 (OF 4)
SUBCULTURE #1 (OF 4)
SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #31
SUPERMAN BATMAN #37
TEEN TITANS #48 (AA)
TEEN TITANS GO #44
THUNDERBOLTS #115 CWI
TRAILER PARK OF TERROR COLOR SP #6 (RES)
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #43
ULTIMATE VISION #4 (OF 5)
ULTIMATE X-MEN #83
WALKING DEAD #38
WETWORKS #10
WITCHBLADE #107
WOLVERINE ORIGINS #15
WONDER WOMAN #10 (AA)
WORLD WAR HULK FRONT LINE #1 (OF 6) WWH
WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #1 (OF 3)
X-FACTOR #20
X-MEN FINCH GATEFOLD VAR #200
X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #1

Book / Mag / Stuff
52 THE NOVEL TP
ANT MAN VOL 1 DIGEST TP
ART OF BONE HC
BLEACH VOL 20 TP
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER OMNIBUS VOL 1 TP
COLLECTED TOUPYDOOPS TP
CONAN HALL O/T DEAD & OTHER STORIES VOL 4 TP
CROSSING MIDNIGHT VOL 1 TP
DISNEY JR VOL 4 PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN GN
DWIGHT T ALBATROSS THE GOON NOIR TP
FLASH BANG GN (A)
FOREVER NUTS THE EARLY YEARS OF MUTT & JEFF HC
FOX BUNNY FUNNY TP
G FAN #80
GEEK MONTHLY #5
HEAVY METAL SUMMER 2007
KODT BUNDLE OF TROUBLE VOL 18 TP
LONE RANGER VOL 1 REG CVR TP
MACEDONIA GN
MAINTENANCE VOL 1 ITS A DIRTY JOB TP
MEGAMANGA VOL 23 SEX WARRIOR ISANE XXX TP (A)
NEIL GAIMAN AND CHARLES VESS STARDUST HC (RES)
PREVIEWS VOL XVII #7
RICHARD MATHESONS I AM LEGEND TP
SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN VOL 2 TP
TO TERRA VOL 3 TP
TRIALS OF SHAZAM VOL 1 TP
ULTIMATES 2 VOL 2 GRAND THEFT AMERICA TP
V FOR VENDETTA 12-IN TALKING AF
WITCHBLADE TAKERU VOL 1 GN
WIZARD MAGAZINE MIGNOLA HELLBOY CVR #190
WOLVERINE BLOOD & SORROW TP


What looks good to YOU?

-B Click Here to Read More...

There are times that I just have to say that I'm wrong. Like, for example, when I said that I didn't really see what that whole Annihilation thing had to offer after reading the Annihilation Saga oneshot. I mean, sure, I wasn't really wrong about that - There was nothing special about that recap that would make you want to read any further into Marvel's particular brand of new space operatics. What I was wrong about was assuming that the whole Annihilation thing in general wasn't worth my time or attention. Thanks, then, to ANNIHILATION: CONQUEST PROLOGUE for showing me the error of my ways.

(And, no, I'm not being sarcastic.)

Interestingly enough, the thrills and spills in the issue come from just plain old solid good work - There're no showboating creators here, no out-of-character quips or overblown splash pages or plot twists that rely on the reader having read about these characters for the last twenty years. Everything that you need to know about the book to get it is in the book itself, and it still manages to be enjoyable. The tension builds because of the events of the book itself (although the old-school writing skills of Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning manage to work in some classic, enjoyably goofy, moments just to underscore moments; when Starlord says "Annihilus and his das't wave was a one-in-a-gazillion situation," it's a wink to the audience, the writers saying "Yeah, we're going to do it again. And bigger"), and the threat is understandable and familiar through pop-cultural memery - It's the Borg but moreso.

Mike Perkins is a strange choice for the book; his down-to-earth style initially at odds with a science-fiction book like this. But it works, because of that discrepancy; the alien eyes seem that much stranger and disturbing, and his ability to sell emotion gives the story the punch that it needs to be sold to the reader. Of course, the novelty aspect helps, as well - because you don't expect to see art like this on a book like this, it's a welcome surprise that endears you to the book that he's here.

It's a strong and intriguing start for (yet another) event book, and the ball could be dropped in the follow-up series. But for now, it's a Good story that makes me curious to see what happens next. Click Here to Read More...

You have to wonder where Marvel's traffic co-ordinators are these days. This week saw the release of five books starring Spider-Man. Now, I know he's got that whole movie thing going on and everything, but that's just ridiculous. I completely ignored Sensational Spider-Man because, well, it's about to be cancelled very soon anyway, but of the remaining four books, one thing became very clear very quickly - the only regular book of the bunch was the one that bore least relation to the Spider-Man I know and love.

There are multiple problems with AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #541, and the whole "Back In Black" storyline in general. One of them is that we already know the ending to one of the main plot threads, because we've been told that this story takes place prior to Brubaker's last Daredevil arc, where the Kingpin was alive and well, and released from prison... which kind of removes any tension over that whole "Will Spider-Man go too far and kill the Kingpin?" thing. Another is that that whole question existing in the first place shows how wrong-headed the storyline is: Of course Spider-Man's not going to kill the Kingpin; that's not who the character is. But then, he's also not the kind of character who says things like "Tell everyone... Tell the people you work with... Tell everyone in the whole wide world... that my family is off-limits. That nobody - - nobody - - touches them. For any reason. Ever. Tell them. Make them understand - - that anyone who tries moves to the bottom of the food chain... and becomes prey. And down here, in this food chain, the rats aren't the predators. The men with guns aren't the predators. I am." without it being a bluff, and yet we get pages of him being the "man pushed too far" here played entirely straight. I get that Peter's been pushed too far here, but I just don't buy his reactions at all. To me, he should get angry and then get over it, quickly, and end up questioning himself and wallowing in self-pity, making references to "The ol' Parker luck" or something.

...Which may be why FALLEN SON: THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA - SPIDER-MAN worked so well for me. Sure, David Finch's art has never been my thing, but Jeph Loeb gets Spider-Man in a way that J. Michael Straczynski doesn't. This Spider-Man gets angry and over-reacts, but does so in character, and realizes it, ending up all doubtful and feeling sorry for himself (and remembering Gwen Stacey, which is something that surprises me about "Back In Black" - Shouldn't he be thinking about Gwen a lot more? You know, the first person who died because he was Spider-Man? And no, I don't count Uncle Ben in that list, before Matt Craig suggests it - I'll get to that next). The character is recognizable as the same one that's been around since the sixties, and because of that, the reader is more involved and invested in what's going on. That's what makes Fallen Son a Good comic, while Amazing is pretty Eh.

MYTHOS: SPIDER-MAN, meanwhile, has Paul Jenkins and Paolo Rivera doing their painted origin thing for Peter Parker, and it works very well. It helps that Spider-Man's origin is so simple (and originally so short) that you can do it all in one issue and still make it work as a story as opposed to a recap, but there's a nice attitude to the writing, and even nicer artwork, behind this Good, if unnecessary, issue that shows that Peter Parker only really became Spider-Man (as opposed to a guy with some powers in a suit) when he started dealing with his responsibilities (Which is, to get back to my earlier thing, why I didn't include Uncle Ben on the list of people killed because of Peter being Spider-Man. To me, Ben died because Peter wasn't Spider-Man yet).

Meanwhile, over in SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR #3, Jeff Parker proves that old math formula (Anything) + Doctor Doom = Fun. The late stage addition of the good Doctor to this miniseries gives it a kick of the familiar that's been missing so far, and even though I'm not so drawn to the overall storyline, this particular issue was Good fun. Parker has a good handle on all of the familiar characters even if his big plot doesn't work for me (I'm secretly hoping that he's one of Steve Wacker's new Spider-writing team for when Amazing gets relaunched as the thrice-monthly Spider-book), and Mike Wieringo is just one of the best superhero artists out there, period. Cautiously recommended, I guess. Click Here to Read More...

Wow, we're in the second week proper (After the odd "one month early" branding of the two prologue books) of World War Hulk, and it really does seem to be shaping up to be the little crossover that could, judging by the two crossovers that I read. Of course, this doesn't mean that the Heroes For Hire issue and Ghost Rider issues aren't crap but, I mean, come on. Ghost Rider's never been that good in the first place.

(And now I wait for the angry comments from Dan Way, even though I'm joking...)

INCREDIBLE HULK #107: Here's something I am slowly coming around to in this crossover - and it's almost entirely down to Greg Pak's writing in both this and the main event book, as opposed to anywhere else: The idea that the Hulk is a monster. Not in the traditional, misunderstood tragic, sense, but in the "He's just a bastard who is going to attack his friends who come in peace just because" sense. I knew that things weren't going to go well when Amadeus Cho (who I'm also warming to very quickly, as well; he's a very Marvel character, if that makes sense - Someone who still has to learn that whole great power = great responsibility thing, but who's extremely likable nonetheless), but for some reason, the way the scene plays out surprised me in the way that the Hulk comes across. The unpleasantness of the central character is offset by the new (and, sadly, probably only temporary) supporting cast, who are so much more enjoyable than they've been in a long time - the Angel is a likable character all of a sudden! Hercules is played for laughs without undermining the character! - that I kind of wish that the new not-Champions series had starred a reunion of the original team and been handled by Greg Pak and his artist of choice. Also managing to both undermine the current status of Hulk as "other" and keep the book interesting is the introduction of those who want to see the Hulk win for their various reasons; Pak's definitely taking the rough concept of the event and moving it into some more interesting areas in this particular book, leaving us with something Very Good, happily enough, and also something that almost makes me want to go back and check out Planet Hulk after all.

But I definitely want an Amadeus Cho series, if he comes out of this alive.

IRON MAN #19: Even though this issue is clearly marking time - allowing for the main World War Hulk series to conclude the "Hey, Tony's been beaten to shit!" cliffhanger from #1 of that book - Christos Gage manages to make lemonade with his first fill-in tie-in, helped substantially by Jackson Guice's artwork (the coloring? Not so much of a help - It seems very murky in places), showing both the events of WWH #1 from another perspective, but also a Tony Stark who comes across as less of a dick than he's been portrayed elsewhere but also less idealized than he normally comes across in this series. It's not enough to make me enjoy where Iron Man is these days, but it's definitely a Good step in the right direction.

(Also, the internal narration in this issue will make it really hard for Marvel to say that Tony's a skrull, if they end up going down that route - Gage clearly is writing this assuming that this is the same Tony Stark we've always known, and perhaps more importantly, manages to make the reader think the same thing. We haven't seen that in quite some time.)

It's still early in the whole thing, of course, and we haven't seen such unpromising series as World War Hulk: Gamma Corps and World War Hulk: Frontline yet, so there's still time for this whole thing to go south, but right now, I'm weirdly optimistic about this... Click Here to Read More...

In lieu of a review today - Writing Onomatopea and another dental visit (I can eat again!) this week has kind of killed any chance for me to write about the various Spider-Man books today like I wanted to - I'm going to point out that Hibbs has a new Tilting At Windmills up at Newsarama today, about this very store:

"I opened Comix Experience in 1989, when I was 21 years old, and I’ve seen the market change a whole lot in the meantime. I still have a copy of my first Diamond order form, all of 32 pages long in 14-point type, while now the order form (not Previews, but the order form) is usually over 130 pages in something like 8-point type.

"There were less in-print graphic novels back then than how many that come out in a typical week today. You could buy an entire month’s output of X-Men or Batman family comics, and still have plenty of change left over from a five-dollar bill.

"So, yeah, a different world.

"There was a time where it was not only easy to keep track of everything by pen and paper, it was actually probably easier that way – there weren’t that many SKUs, most books were ongoing, not minis or one-shots or whatever, so why not have a streamlined data system?

"But, things change.

"I’m going to be making the move to a Point-Of-Sale (POS) system this summer, because we’ve reached the tipping point to where it is no longer practical to have a diverse and wide-ranging stock, and not be computerized. Honestly, I should have made the move a year ago, but I thought I could still handle it."

More in the link, as they say. Click Here to Read More...

X-MEN: ENDANGERED SPECIES is a very, very strange event book, if only because nothing really happens in it, and yet it still feels long overdue. Partially, it's because it feels as if this is really the first time that we've seen the X-Men books actually deal with the "No More Mutants" thing and what that means in a real sense. I mean, yeah, we got "Decimation" for a couple of months after House of M finished, but even that was, it seemed, quickly forgotten, and the X-Books quickly returned to the same old same old that we'd read hundreds of times before; it was as if the loss of so many mutants was less a brand new status quo than it was getting rid of Grant Morrison's brand new status quo. And so, purely for using the idea that there are now less than 200 mutants on Earth, and that number is getting lower all the time, as a springboard for a new story, then this book feels worthwhile in some sense.

It's just that nothing really happens in it. The X-Men go to the funeral of one of the 198, who died in a traffic accident, and then think about their own mortality. There's no story here, as much as there is a collection of scenes roughly about the same thing starring characters from different books in the franchise - Perhaps more worryingly, there's nothing in the book that makes me think that I have to pick up the fourteen-part spin-off back-up strip crossover that's going to thread through the X-Books for the next few months, mostly because I have no idea what it's going to be about. Fourteen short pieces about Cyclops and Wolverine crying on each other? Some more scenes featuring characters from New X-Men who get no introduction whatsoever? A plot that got its start here in such an understated manner that no-one even noticed?

Despite the complete lack of story, I can't say that this is any worse than Eh; it's a reminder of the calm, quiet issues back in the day that followed the big fight issues. Mike Carey does a convincing Claremont-esque scene, and Scot Eaton's art is nice enough. I'm sure that it'll be an entirely galvanizing and exciting book for the X-Faithful; I just wish that there was something here for new readers to consider. Click Here to Read More...

I've just read the worst comic I've read so far this year -- which is kind of saying a lot.

Well, maybe its not as bad as all of that, maybe my reaction is amplified because the book is trading on a glorious reputation, but I really really hated the new Papercutz version of TALES FROM THE CRYPT #1.

EC has a pretty amazing reputation, the kind of line of comics that was loved fairly universally by almost everyone who has read them, but there's certainly a lot about them that can't be replicated today -- in particular the narrative style of incredibly text-heavy captions that (mostly) just describe the action going on in the panels is probably not something that a modern, "Bendis-trained" reader is going to stand for.

But the ECs did a lot right that CAN work in today's world -- short short stories, none (?) clocking in at over 8 pages: get in, make your point, have a twist, and then get out.

EC also had some truly astonishing artists working for them: Ingles, Wood, Kurtzman, Elder, Craig, Williamson, and so on and so forth, most of these cats were amazingly talented.

A lot was made of the "twists" of the ECs, and, yes, most of the best stories (though not all!) had a clever twist. But here's the thing that seems to get missed with both the ECs and the often similar TWILIGHT ZONE: the twist needs to come FROM character and setting and plot, building organically, and ending ironically. So, if for example, you decide to murder the old lighthouse keeper and his wife by throwing them in the ocean, then OF COURSE they're going to return from their watery grave wrapped together in kelp (*gasp* *choke*) because that follows from the story logic.

THe second story in this new TALES FROM THE CRYPT #1 is kind of the prefect example of how NOT to do it -- a toy collector buys a cursed toy, without knowing it, which destroys his other toys. Collector blames his mother, destroys one of her toys (a hummel-style figurine) and she has a heart attack that he didn't plan or intend, then his cursed toy kills HIM. The end.

That might, maybe, could work as a Twilight Zone story, but not as a TFC/EC one -- there's no ironic punishment, the events don't connect to one another, and there's no baser motivation than "I want that toy".

Now, if the guy had MURDERED his mother in some toy-related fashion, and then she came back in the form of a vengeful toy, that'd be a whole lot closer to an EC story (though even that's not quite right, is it?)

The first story, about a couple that steals art, kills the painter, then gets attacked by the dead models of the painter is a little closer to it -- but there's like 16 pages of build-up which spins and spins and spins its wheels, all the while COMPLETELY telegraphing its own ending the second you see the art.

And that's the MAIN problem here -- these stories are ENTIRELY too long. 20 pages? Are you mad? That's not a sustainable length for these kinds of tales. These should be 8 pages, maybe 10 max.

Another issue: the art. It's pretty bad for a book trading on the legacy of the ECs. The first story, drawn by "Mr. Exes" is sorta charming in a mid-80s B&W bust kind of way, but it is wildly inappropriate for a horror story, while the second story, by "Tim Smith 3" (what, no roman numerals?) is plain plain plain.

One HUGE problem is the coloring -- man, I don't want to be looking at an EC-inspired comic that is bright lime green in places. Yikes.

I don't know, maybe there's a huge demand in book stores just for the very TFC name, but I don't see it -- this is going to completely die in the comics market, however, and I can't really imagine it will make it to issue #4, let alone issue #6.

It's really really AWFUL.


What did YOU think?

-B Click Here to Read More...

So, am I the only one who feels that DC has truly fucked up The Flash? Not the character necessarily - although I'll get to that later - but I'm really referring to what was revealed this past weekend, that they're actually cancelling the current book with today's issue, and that the solicitations that they've released for the subsequent two issues (that fans and retailers have, you know, placed orders for and everything) were fake in order to throw fans off the scent, and will instead be replaced by a one-off special and then a relaunch of the previous series for the character complete with numbering that continues from 2006? I'm really rather surprised that there hasn't been more uproar about DC admitting "Hey, we released fake solicits to fuck with the internet! Ha ha, aren't we funny?" because, I don't know, that just seems like a pretty crappy way to run a business and an easy way to piss off your retailer business partners.

(Of course, for all I know, retailers knew about all of this ahead of time and were just playing dumb, in which case, good show to both them and DC. Hibbs, is that the case?)

In the end that kind of thing, and all of the other extra-currricular things, surrounding the cancellation of the book are much more interesting than THE FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #13. It's not that Marc Guggenheim's writing is bad per se (If you want bad Flash stories, you can just go back and look at the first few issues of this series), but because the shocking end that everyone's worked so hard to keep a secret was revealed last weekend at Heroes Con and Wizard World and then online (And again, what the fuck? They couldn't have either kept it secret for another week, or else managed to make the book ship on time?), there's absolutely no tension in the book - You go in knowing that Bart Allen is going to die, and everything before that happens feels like marking time. It's a shame, kind of; Guggenheim did his best to try and genuinely sell the reader on the idea of Bart being a worthy successor to the name, but knowing his ultimate fate only makes scenes like his splash page "I am the Flash!!!" seem pointless and kind of melodramatic; you read them and think, "No, you're not, dude. You couldn't even make it to two years of your own book."

Reading this final issue, which starts in "Bart Allen's virtual reality childhood" in the future before flashing back to now with Bart knowing about his imminent death thanks to his time-travelling grandmother (who, due to the powers of artist Tony Daniel, looks roughly the same age as Bart's girlfriend. Ah, artists who can't quite manage to draw people, how I love you), is a strange experience, considering that I haven't really been keeping up with the series normally. I know that there's definitely meant to be an emotional core here, but I can only see it from a distance due to the insanely convoluted backstory that's there - This particular book, with the generic "what it means to be a hero is tragedy" theme, the characters and situations that don't get introduced but you're supposed to buy into because everyone's crying so obviously it has to be important, Daniel's blocky and static artwork where everyone shares the same face and body, feels more like a mid-90s issue of any X-Men comic than a Flash comic (or, indeed, anything else); it's a comic that would only really have resonance for comic fans, or maybe even fans of this particular comic. It's really pretty Awful, and the needless death of the character - It doesn't work as tragedy, I don't think, because I honestly spent the issue wondering what was going on, and whether or not Mark Waid would be touching on any of this when he returns to the (old) series next month, instead of having any empathy for what was actually happening in the story - just kind of makes the whole thing seem even cheaper, instead of any kind of event.

Maybe even more confusing, in terms of DC's knack of spoiling their own comics online before they're released, is what isn't in this comic - An announcement that fans should probably check out JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10 for the next part of the story. The final part of "The Lightning Saga," you see, ends with the triumphant return of the Flash. And his wife. And his two children, who now seem to be much older than they were when we last saw them. Yes, Wally West is back, which is... great? Maybe?

Here's the thing; I'm glad that Wally's back, ultimately. I didn't understand why he disappeared at the end of Infinite Crisis, because the character fills a role that no-one else in DC's world can fill in the same way: He's the sidekick who grew up not only to replace his mentor, but surpass him, and who is regarded as a peer and equal not only by his Teen Titan buddies but also the peers of his mentor. The closest other character to that is Nightwing, but he didn't replace Batman (well, not for long), so it's not really the same thing. The disappearing of Wally was also clearly not understood by the creators at DC, because his disappearance in Infinite Crisis served no dramatic purpose, and afterwards various creators seemed to duck around the question of what had actually happened to him: Was he dead? Was he in the speed force? In another dimension living happily with his family? In the future? Various answers were given at various times, and it seemed as if no-one had any real idea what was actually going on, or why he had disappeared other than to make Infinite Crisis seem more important and give DC the chance to relaunch the Flash series again. So, in that thinking, I'm glad that he's back.

But.

Justice League of America #10 is an Awful ending to the JLA/JSA crossover. The return of Wally comes out of nowhere - well, kind of nowhere, in that lots of people have been expecting this particular misdirection due to the name of the storyline - and isn't given any attempt at explanation in the story at all. The fact that we're seeing an entirely different Legion of Super-Heroes from the ones who have their own series isn't really given any attempt at explanation (There's one line of dialogue which kind of suggests that they're from Earth-2? Maybe?). Why this alternaretroLegion came back in time to resurrect a character that wasn't definitively dead in the first place is given no attempt at explanation, either; instead, we're given scenes that hint that the Legion had an ulterior motive, but, of course, that's not explained either. It's hard for me to say how truly sloppy this final chapter is, even compared with the earlier parts of this story. It's truly fan-fiction that somehow got published by a real company, with all the entitlement and lack of logic or respect for the reader that that implies. I'm sure that this, as with the Flash and everything else right now, is (ahem) "counting down" towards something that will have glossy cardstock covers and arguably feature superheroes crying as they punch something, but goddamn if they're not making it hard to care with the shitty comics that they're putting out right now. Click Here to Read More...

It's become a common - and arguably meaningless - sight along the top of Marvel's superhero books lately: that black "The Initiative" stripe. And, while I've already covered one of the Initiative books this week, it's time I caught up with everything else that Marvel's telling me is important, don't you?

NOVA #3: Unlike Hibbs, this book seemed especially Eh to me, reading as if it was something that the writers felt as if they had to deal with and get out of the way before writing something that they actually cared about. Every conflict and resolution felt underwhelming and unconvincing, and pretty much a cheap way to explain why Nova stays out in space playing Kyle Rayner instead of going home to his friends and family. Doesn't he know that there's apparently an invasion from aliens going on there under his nose?!? Didn't he read New Avengers this week?

PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #8: I can't believe that it took me this long to realize that Frank Castle is essentially the red state Judge Dredd - A violent, unchangable idiot who you can drop into satirical dark-humor-filled stories pretending to be adventure fiction. I also can't believe that the Punisher seems to be be one of the more interesting characters in the Marvel Universe these days, at least the way that Fraction writes him. The pacing may be off - the issue starts and stops awkwardly, but in such a way that the trade will read wonderfully - but there's still a lot to enjoy in this Okay issue.

SUB-MARINER #1: You know what's awesome? That Namor's armor include little holes for his ankle wings. Sadly, that's about it for this latest "Initiative"-bannered book (Which, really is meaningless, other than announcing "We want to keep this Civil War branding for as long as possible." It's not as if it's got any real currency - New Avengers isn't telling the same story as Punisher War Journal, for example. And why does Captain America have an Initiative banner, when Fallen Son doesn't? And so on...) - The story drags and seems like a cynical attempt to be politically relevant, the art looks like a strange marriage of early Byrne and mid-Pat Broderick, and overall, I'm bored of the supervillainy-as-terrorism meme that Marvel's been aggressively pursuing for the last year or so already. A dull Eh.

Meanwhile, looking at this week's ship list (in Bri's post below), good GOD, that's a lot of books this week... including the not-as-controversial-as-I-expected Flash #13... Click Here to Read More...

The only problem with taking a weekend off to play video games and stuff is I invariably get completely slammed trying to catch up the next few days.

Which is why this list is late.

Still, I had a great birthday, thanks!

BIG week this week:



2000 AD #1539
2000 AD #1540
A G SUPER EROTIC ANTHOLOGY #60 (A)
ALIEN PIG FARM #3 (OF 4)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #541
ANNIHILATION CONQUEST PROLOGUE
AQUAMAN SWORD OF ATLANTIS #53
ARCHIE #576
ARMY @ LOVE #4
BONEYARD #25
BOOKS WITH PICTURES #5
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #4
BREATHE CVR A #3 (OF 4)
CAPTAIN AMERICA #27
CATWOMAN #68
CHECKMATE #15
CONAN #41
COUNTDOWN 45
EX MACHINA #29
FALLEN SON DEATH OF CAPTAIN AMERICA SPIDER-MAN
FINAL GIRL #2 (OF 5)
FLASH THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE #13
FRESHMEN VOL 2 PHIL HESTER & ANDE PARKS CVR A #5 (NOTE PRICE
GAMEKEEPER JOHN CASSADAY COVER #3
GARTH ENNIS CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD #4 (OF 6)
GHOST RIDER #12 WWH
HEDGE KNIGHT 2 SWORN SWORD #1 (OF 6)
HELLBLAZER #233
HEROES FOR HIRE #11 WWH
HICKEE VOL 3 #3
HIGHLANDER #8
HIGHWAYMEN #1 (OF 5)
INCREDIBLE HULK #107 WWH
IRON MAN #19 WWH
IRON MAN HYPERVELOCITY #6 (OF 6)
JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE #259
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #10
KADE SUN OF PERDITION #4 (OF 4)
LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY #3
LOVE AND CAPES #4
MADAME MIRAGE GREG HORN CVR A #1
MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN #2
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT CAPTAIN AMERICA REMEMBERED
METAL GEAR SOLID SONS OF LIBERTY #9 (RES)
MIGHTY AVENGERS MOST WANTED FILES
MOON KNIGHT #11 CWI
MYTHOS SPIDER-MAN
ORSON SCOTT CARDS WYRMS #5 (OF 6)
REPO #1 (OF 5)
REX MUNDI DH ED #6
ROBIN #163
SAVAGE TALES #2
SCOOBY DOO #121
SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN #38
SHADOWPACT #14
SIMPSONS COMICS #131
SPIDER-MAN FANTASTIC FOUR #3 (OF 4)
SPIKE SHADOW PUPPETS #1
SPIRIT #7
STARSHIP TROOPERS ONGOING CVR A #2
STRONGARM #4 (OF 5)
TALES FROM RIVERDALE DIGEST #21
TALES FROM THE CRYPT #1
TICK 20TH ANN SP ED #1
TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD IMAGE ED #6
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #110
WARHAMMER 40K DAMNATION CRUSADE CVR A #5
WARHAMMER FORGE OF WAR CVR A #1
WASTELAND #10 (NOTE PRICE)
WEIRD WORLD OF JACK STAFF KING SIZE SPECIAL #1
WITCHBLADE SHADES OF GRAY #2 (OF 4)
WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA SUMITA CVR A #5
WONDERLAND #4
X-MEN ENDANGERED SPECIES ONE-SHOT

Books / Mags / Stuff
AFTERDEAD COLLECTION COLOR ED VOL 1 TP
ALIENS OMNIBUS VOL 1 TP
ART OF SIMON BISLEY ARTBOOK TP REVISED ED
BALM IN GILEAD VOL 1 GN
BLUE BEETLE VOL 2 ROAD TRIP TP
BODY HEAT 2 TP (A)
COMICS BUYERS GUIDE SUMMER SPECIAL 2007
DEATH NOTE VOL 12 TP
DEVI TP
EC ARCHIVES TALES FROM THE CRYPT VOL 2 HC
GIRL FROM HOPPERS LOCAS VOL 2 TP
GRENDEL ARCHIVE EDITION HC
HELLBOY ANIMATED 2 BLOOD & IRON DVD (NET)
HUMAN DIASTROPHISM PALOMAR VOL 2 TP
INU YASHA VOL 30 TP
JANES WORLD VOL 7 TP
JOHN WOOS SEVEN BROTHERS TP
JSA PRESENTS STARS AND STRIPES VOL 1 TP
JUDGE DREDD ORIGINS GN
KODT BUNDLE OF TROUBLE VOL 18 TP
MARVEL ADVENTURES AVENGERS VOL 3 DIGEST TP
MAXWELL STRANGEWELL GN
NECROMANCER VOL 1 TP
PHONOGRAM VOL 1 RUE BRITANNA TP
SCHULZS YOUTH TP
SNAKEWOMAN TP
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES VOL 4 TP
STRANGE GIRL VOL 3 TP
SUPERMAN BATMAN VOL 5 THE ENEMIES AMONG US HC
TAG VOL 1 TP
THINGS JUST GET AWAY FROM YOU HC
THUNDERBOLTS GUARDIAN PROTOCOLS TP
TOMARTS ACTION FIGURE DIGEST #155
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 8 DEVILS TP
UNCLE SCROOGE ADV LAND PYGMY INDIANS WAR OF WENDIGO TP



That looks good to you?

-B Click Here to Read More...

A surprisingly quick one from me today, as I try to get caught up on everything that's been happening while I've been in the land of "time off after surgery". Hint to everyone: Taking two days off work - Fun at the time, even with the medication, but really shitty when you get back to the office. And talking of fun...

WORLD WAR HULK #1: As much fun as this issue is - Although, isn't this the third opening for the event, following the World War Hulk Prologue oneshot and Incredible Hulk #106? - it feels as if it's yet more proof that we're heading for some kind of cosmic Marvel reboot down the line somehow. I mean, I can't see the Hulk continuing to be an alien overlord waging war on Earth by the time the next movie comes out... It's just too far outside of his iconic status, if that makes sense. Because of that feeling, it's both harder to enjoy this ("It doesn't count!") and much easier; there's a freeing feeling that comes with the idea that nothing really counts in the long run - They can do whatever they want, up to and including have Black Bolt beaten up and destroying the Avengers Tower or even killing Iron Man. It's that uncertainty that stops this issue (otherwise very very enjoyable, and a million miles away from something like Civil War; things actually happen in this comic, for one thing) from getting higher than a Good for me, and I'm sure that's just me being jaded (Pun not intended)... Click Here to Read More...

Oh, irony of ironies (Alanis Morrisette-style, that is); less than a month after Jeff (newly and surprisingly returned below!) told me about his fasting/cleansing ritual and I responded that I couldn't imagine going a week without eating real food, dental surgery lands me in a state where I can't eat real food for a week. Or solid food, at least. Never mind the pain pills - although they're enough to make me wobble when I try to stand up - or the fact that I literally can't remember much about Thursday after they put the eyemask on me and told me to relax, pre-op, this is the legacy of my dental surgery, I think.

All the better to talk about a shitty comic, then.

As soon as I first heard about Marvel's new "Marvel Illustrated" line, my heart sank. It's not because I have a problem with the idea of adapting classic works of literature into comic form, although I kind of do (Because I find cross-media adaptations in general kind of weird; if you like a movie, why do you want to read a novel or a comic that tries to recreate that experience and will, inevitably, fail?), but because of Marvel's formula for the line: Take Roy Thomas and add a relatively untried art team and let them loose on the property. Which isn't to say that it couldn't work, because there are all kinds of wonderful artists out there who haven't had much play from Marvel, but at the same time, there's so much potential for disaster. For an illustration of the latter, all you have to do is pick up TREASURE ISLAND #1.

It's pretty hard to say how much the art of Mario Gully - the artist behind Image's The Ant - and Pat Davidson, and the coloring of A. Crossley completely undermines the book. It's not just that the look of the whole comic doesn't sell the story in the slightest, in terms of action (the scene of the mother fainting towards the end of the book is hilarious in how badly it's executed; literally, she's just suddenly upside down and seemingly floating above the ground) or tone - although in both respects the art and coloring are complete failures - but more that the book looks, more than anything, like one of the Malibu comics from the early '90s. With all overly glossy computer color and linework that is entirely inappropriate for the subject matter or even the timeframe, how the book looks is offputting enough to make reading the book surprisingly difficult, and even if Thomas's script had been better than merely workmanlike, wouldn't have been enough to elevate the book above mediocre. When the visuals for such a classic tale are so incredibly offkey, it'd be unfair to say that the book is anything better than Crap. Click Here to Read More...

The mind is a strange machine. After three (very busy) weeks where my thinking about comics consisted of litte more than "I bet Bill Finger wrote this story" (my reading before bed has been that very enjoyable third volume of Superman Showcase), the brain kicked right in this morning as I ran my quasi-ecstatic hands over JACK KIRBYS FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL 1 HC. And since Brian just had his birthday, and Graeme is (I hope) whacked out on pain pills and watching Gilmore Girls, I figured it might be worth sharing those thoughts with you oh-so-briefly. (I'd like to post the few remaining items on my to-do list too, but that probably won't be happening anytime soon, alas.)

So, the Omnibus. Lemme start by confessing that I own the Marvel Visionaries hardcovers of both Kirby books, the Romita Sr. volume, as well as a slightly beat up Ditko volume that I bought on the cheap, and one of the things that bums me out about them is when I peel off the lovely looking bookjackets and see nothing underneath but a very generic title engraved on the cover. And yet, like some strange version of "peek-a-boo," I've continued to pull aside that jacket in the hopes I was mistaken and some wondrous image will yet appear.

With that in mind, you can imagine my delight when I peeled off the wonderful Omnibus bookjacket and found underneath a gigantic close-up of Orion's face, with the Kirby credit box underneath. For a Kirby fan, the cover and the endpapers--more outsized excerpts of Kirby panels--are perfection. And, interestingly, it's this strain of perfection that led me, the longer I flipped through the version, into a spongy emotional morass.

The book exists, you see, in a very strange state--caught between high and low production values--that seems, unfortunately, fitting for Kirby's Fourth World titles. There's lovely, spongy blue cotton paper separating the cover from the innards that feels pleasingly swank to the fingertips, but the paper on which the stories themselves reside is barely a few steps up from newsprint. Weirdly, that's initially satisfying--reading Grant Morrison's introduction, or the ending essay by Mark Evanier, it seems eerily so, catching the odd tingle one gets from reading Kirby's books now as they manage to be timelessly futuristic and charmingly anachronistic simultaneously--and gives you the feeling that you really are reading (to badly paraphrase Morrison) a pulp gnostic text. But that feeling quickly fades: it works in the beginning- and end-papers because the graphics are carefully crafted to show the tiny dots of the long-abandoned coloring process. But the stories themselves have been carefully recolored so there are no dots to be found anywhere, which would be fine if the paper was as glossy as the coloring but it's not. The effect makes the book into an odd literary design sandwich--two thick slices of design-savvy nostalgia in which a power-point presentation of Kirby's Fourth World stories is only semi-comfortably nestled. If someone at DC had the moxie (and let's face it, the budget--the Jimmy Olsen issues herein are presumably just the innards from the already digitially recolored trades from a year or two ago), they would've had the whole thing done in a loving dot-heavy coloring style of the originals: it would've been thrilling, and, again, a fine tribute to that futurism/anachronism duality in Kirby's work.

Thinking about it, though, this odd sandwich unfortunately--but fittingly--highlights some of the other dualities in Kirby's work. After all, Kirby's Fourth World saga wasn't a success, but a failure: all of Kirby's plans for the Fourth World were destroyed, more or less to the letter, by the machinations of a large comic book company with a commitment to both the bottom line and seeing a return on the sizeable investment it had made in Kirby. So I think the sting I feel when I see (book title aside) Kirby share equal billing with company man and deadline king Vince Coletta everywhere throughout the book (including the inside back bookflap bios) is altogether fitting. Being unable to find the name of the book designer anywhere but being able to easily find the name of DC's VP of Business Development, Jeff Trojan, is entirely fitting in a book reprinting stories where DC hired Al Plastino and Curt Swan to draw over the faces Kirby drew for Superman and Jimmy Olsen. Even in an expensive hardcover devoted to his work, Kirby is just one more cog in the machine, the way he was when DC cancelled his titles and put him on other books that they thought would sell better--a very important cog, to be sure, but a cog nonetheless.

You might think it silly to spend so much time on the trappings of this collection and not on the stories themselves, and I'm inclined to agree. However, the stories themselves were written and drawn long ago; it's only the context that's changed and will continue to change from this point on. And in this context, I found the emergence of Mister Miracle from toward the end of this volume to be both touching and incredibly apt. I think it's Mark Evanier who's pointed out that Mr. Miracle is, of all the Fourth World heroes, the one closest to Kirby himself. Thanks to the help of a strong and devoted partner, his years of training and his own divine heritage, Scott Free escapes again and again from a succession of brutal deathtraps that may or may not represent the threatening straitjacket commercial expectation poses to the creator. Mr. Miracle/Scott Free is Kirby's idealized version of himself--a man raised in the violent war-state of Darkseid's brutal society who is not himself violent or brutal and who supports himself and enlightens others by freeing himself again and again--but Free is, ultimately, just a dream, a fantasy, dreamt by a man who worked for The Man and who had to do, ultimately, what the people signing the checks asked for. Those dreams may not seem as sweetly poignant--may risk, in fact, not speaking to us at all--without that bitter context, a context lurking, like yet another cover, underneath the sumptiousness of JACK KIRBYS FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL 1.

Whether you have or haven't read Kirby's Fourth World material, this is Excellent material and well worth getting. But on the weekend where Kirby's dreams seem at their most successful (what with Silver Surfer premiering on the big screen and this hardcover on the shelves), it's probably prudent to consider that the yoke from which the King dreamt of freedom is not altogether absent.

Labels: Jeff, Kirby

Click Here to Read More...

So, I'm 40 today. Jinkies. (perversely, I was really hoping to make Spurge's birthday list -- but all props to my shared date mates Don McGregor, Brent Anderson... and, uh, PAD's 1000th comic)

I don't really feel any different than I did when I was 20, though I never really thought I'd make my 30th birthday, let alone my 40th.

I promised I wouldn't do anything comics related today (I'm going to play video games all afternoon, damn it -- because I never get to screw around during the afternoon), but I did want to mention the best OGN I've read this year: Minx's second release, RE-GIFTERS

There's a perverse number of perceived barriers in creating fiction and art -- things are aimed at one target demographic or another, and we moan and cry that there's just not enough comics for kids or girls or Alsatians.

Minx is DC's effort to target girls, specifically tween girls, but, to me, great comics are great comics regardless of who they're aimed at. Not even comics, really -- some of my favorite fiction or films are "aimed" at a different audience than me -- WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is in my Top 3 films of all, and THE LITTLE PRINCE is in my Top 10

All of which is a longish and roundabout way of me saying: Tween girls may very well love RE-GIFTERS, I dunno, I'm not a tween girl -- but here's one 40 year old bearded white middle-class male who thought it was a very strong tale, with compelling and vivid characters, dealing with a range of human emotions and human feelings, and still having enough action and drama to entertain virtually any comics reader, regardless of age or sex.

RE-GIFTERS is EXCELLENT work, and is, I think, Eisner-worthy when it comes to next year's awards cycle.

There is just two small problems with it, both of them, I think, editorial more than anything else. The first is the chapter note on page 70 (and, digression: HURRAY for page numbers in books. COmics too often skip them) saying "just skip to page 71", when what I think they mean is page 74. It's probably the 71st page of script, where Carey didn't know with certainty of how many "pre story" pages the book would have.

The second one was the double page sequences on 96/97 and 98/99 where the panels read as two tiers running across both pages. It's the only examples of that technique in the entire book, and they really don't work right because the panel borders are deep within the spine. While you CAN change up the narrative flow from the visual "Z" on a single page, to the wider one on a double page, you have to be super careful about bordering to it is achingly apparent to the reader (POWERS also falls into this trap a lot -- "wait, where is my eye supposed to go?!?"), especially the more "casual" comics reader that Minx is aiming itself at.

But that's all of the complaints I got, and both could probably be pretty easily fixed in later printing.

RE-GIFTERS won't cure cancer, and it isn't anything that you generally haven't read before (there are strains of KARATE KID and BETTY & VERONICA and HEATHERS all in here), but it is done with grace and charm and joy of comics, and even the most minor tertiary character (like, say, Megan's brother Gifford) are really well drawn characters who feel real.

I really really liked this, and I think you'll like it too.


What did YOU think?

-B



(oh, oh, and I forgot to mention: the SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN's "Best of the Bay" readers poll is up on line at this link; if you live in SF, or have visited enough to be familiar with it, go and vote, and consider us for "Best Comics Shop") Click Here to Read More...

I'm just about to head out to the grand old world of oral surgery, where my gum will be cut open so that the remains of a shattered tooth can be chiseled out of my skull, only to be replaced by new bone to be injected in there in some kind of weird liquidized form or something. Not that I've been thinking about this too much or anything. But I tell you this to give you warning that I wouldn't be surprised if I end up happy with pain drugs for the next couple of days, so don't be too shocked if I happen to not have any reviews up until Sunday again. Then again, I may be fine and writing tomorrow. Who knows?

Being a child of the '90s in oh so many ways, I don't think it's exceptionally unexpected of me to admit that TANK GIRL: THE GIFTING #1 has been one of my more long-awaited books of the year to date (Really, it's this, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together and Laika as my holy trinity of books I have been eagerly awaiting since they were announced). Hell, even before I was a child of the '90s, I was a child of the '80s, going to the Glasgow Comic Art Convention and being scared of and in love with the Tank Girl lookalikes staffing the Deadline table at the same time. Not only was the idea of the long-lost Alan Martin coming back to the character that he co-created exciting, but I'm a big fan of Ashley Wood's artwork. So what could go wrong?

That's a pretty good question, as it turns out. The issue was, I think, just Okay, and I'm not entirely sure why. It's not that Alan Martin's writing has become any less irreverent or wrapped-up in its own pop-cultural world (More Monkees references from the man who introduced me to "Circle Sky"! Of course!) than it was in his heyday - It's also, refreshingly, free of the pastoral hippiness that marked the downfall of the character for me around the start of the '90s when she was still in Deadline - and Ash Wood's art is as beautiful and grubby as ever; his linework can be wonderfully cartoony and expressive at times, even if he's a little too fond of the zip-a-tone effects. But, for some reason, it doesn't work in the way that I'd been expecting. Maybe it's a fault of my expectations? I was, I admit, hoping for something that would be as adventurous and original as the character seemed when I first read her, almost twenty years ago, something that would be anarchistic and amusing and as contemporary and immediate as Hewlett and Martin were way back when, and that's possibly something that nothing could live up to.

Not that I'm the only one at fault, though - Martin's (enjoyably) stubborn attempt to keep to the format of the original stories has worked against the book as a whole, as the incredibly short, throwaway stories run up against each other without the tonal counterbalance that the other strips in Deadline used to provide; there's nothing more serious or more fulfilling in the book, and so every story seems even lighter and more throwaway. It's a shame, and something that makes me wish that there was some kind of modern equivalent to Deadline these days to act as the home to these strips, instead. Or maybe that's just nostalgia talking one more time, in the same way that it made me pick up the book in the first place... Click Here to Read More...

A few quick hits:


SUB-MARINER #1: I like the old school logo. I find it funny that he looks like Black Adam on the interior. It opens at the end (I think), and another town full of people is killed, and there's a lot of posturing about Atlantis/Human politics, and have I told you how bored I get by anything involving Atlantis? It also has just about the most boring last page I've ever seen in my life. Thank god it is just a mini. EH.

GREEN ARROW #75: I also dislike "Will you marry me?" cliffhangers that then promise to resolve somewhere else. It worked oh so well for the Dick/Babs thing, didn't it? Other than that, this is basically fine -- the Deus Ex Machina towards the end largely feels organic, and Deathstroke actually feels competent for a change, so, yeah, an easy OK.

NOVA #3: Definitely my favorite "Initiative" crossover yet -- there's well rounded motivations at play, and just the right blend of action and pathos. While I'm not so sure I'll care any more once we get back out into space, these last two issues have been really terrific, and if you're looking for solid superhero action and characterization, this is certainly a book to watch. VERY GOOD.

WORLD WAR HULK #1: I quibble with a few things: a) how is Jen She-Hulk again? Did I miss something? Is it just because SH's own book is about a month off publication schedule? b) We didn't get to see the fight between BB & Hulk (especially after that "I want to hear you scream!" line), just the resolution. But there's no clarity as to what happened after that. Did he kill BB? Throw him in prison? Just walk away laughing "See, told you!", or what? c) I really wanted to see Hulk rip off Stark's head and shit down the stump. Could just be me, however. Despite those quibbles? Yeah, just what I wanted from a big crossover thingy -- punching and shouting and hitting. But I want to see the RESOLUTIONS as well.Still, for the nonce, I'll go with VERY GOOD.

What did YOU think?


-B Click Here to Read More...

So, this was the solicit for NEW AVENGERS #31:

"No hype! No BS! The most important last page of any Marvel comic this year! Do not miss it!"

And this is the last page from that very issue - Wong and Jessica Jones talking about what has just happened to the team:

Jessica: Are they okay? Is my husband okay?
Wong: I think so.
Jessica: You think?
Wong: They're alive.
Jessica: Okay, then.

And then Jessica and Luke's baby opens his eyes in what may be shock and looks a bit green. The end.

Holy crap, that's definitely the most important last page of anything I've read in a long time. I mean, jeez, a baby opens their eyes? I can't stand the excitement!

(To be fair, there's already a lot of speculation as to what the baby's opening their eyes may mean, but a lot of it seems to be grasping at straws in order to make it seem important and meaningful, as opposed to a ridiculous tease. But who knows? It looks like it'll be something down the road...)

Oh, alright; what the solicit is clearly referring to was something that happened a couple of pages earlier, and I'm not really going to spoil that even though I really want to. What that page shows is a "shocking" twist that has been rumored on these comic internets since New Avengers: Illuminati #1 came out, and despite said rumor being around for months, I'm still somewhat stunned that Marvel appears to be going for it purely because it's such a dumb idea. Suffice to say, not only has the countdown to undoing Civil War probably just begun, but it also appears that Marvel has moved on from aping DC's Legends miniseries to aping their Millennium miniseries instead (They apparently remembered the order of the '80s crossovers badly; Invasion came after Millennium, but World War Hulk arrived in stores this week).

Surprisingly, though, the shitness of the most important ending of any Marvel book this year isn't the most shocking thing in this issue, though. I don't know if anyone noticed the anger at Marvel's recent solicitation of a future issue of Captain America that showed a black man (the Falcon, for those who are wondering) on fire for being racially insensitive, but it appears that it's just part of a current meme at the House of Ideas; this issue sees Luke Cage being set on fire by Elektra. Because, you know, Elektra is all about setting people on fire, being a ninja and all. The entire scene sticks out due to its strangeness - it's a page long, and doesn't seem to have any purpose or point within the larger story whatsoever; Elektra fights Luke, says "I'm going to light you on fire," and then she does. Am I missing something here? Is this some kind of metatextual or pop-cultural reference that I'm unfamiliar with, or just tasteless?

Overall, the disconnected, uncertain, sloppiness of that scene feels indicative of the issue as a whole; after a strong run on the book from the Civil War tie-ins onwards, this is the first Eh issue in a while, and a sad signpost for where the Marvel Universe is going next. Click Here to Read More...

A more reasonable looking week, for a change.

AMAZING SPIDER-GIRL #9
AMORY WARS #1 (OF 5)
ARCHIE & FRIENDS #110
ARCHIE DIGEST #235
AVENGERS CLASSIC #1
BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL #6
BATMAN STRIKES #34
BETTY & VERONICA DOUBLE DIGEST #152
BLACK DIAMOND #1 (OF 6)
BLADE #10
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL #126
BPRD GARDEN OF SOULS #4 (OF 5)
CABLE DEADPOOL #41
CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK #14
CONAN & THE MIDNIGHT GOD #4 (OF 5)
COUNTDOWN 46
DELPHINE #2
DMZ #20
DOMINION #2 (OF 5)
DRAIN #4
ELEPHANTMEN PILOT
EXILES #95
FABLES #62
FRANKLIN RICHARDS WORLD BE WARNED #1
FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN #21
GEN 13 #9
GREEN ARROW #75
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #13
GRIFTER MIDNIGHTER #4 (OF 6)
HACK SLASH SERIES SEELEY CVR A #2
HAWKGIRL #65
HERO BY NIGHT #4 (OF 4)
INDIA AUTHENTIC KAALI #2
JLA CLASSIFIED #39
JUSTICE #12 (OF 12)
KABUKI REFLECTIONS #8
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #127
LOVE THE WAY YOU LOVE #4
LOVELESS #18
MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #25
MARVEL ILLUSTRATED TREASURE ISLAND #1 (OF 6)
MYSTIC ARCANA MAGIK
NEW AVENGERS #31 CWI
NEW TALES OF OLD PALOMAR #2
NEW X-MEN #39
NOVA #3 CWI
ONE LAST SONG #1 (OF 6)
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #8 CWI
PVP #34
SAMMY THE MOUSE GN
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #176
STAR WARS LEGACY #13
STAR WARS REBELLION #7
STORMWATCH PHD #8
STRANGERS IN PARADISE #90
SUB-MARINER #1 (OF 6) CWI
SUPERMAN BATMAN #36
TAG CURSED #4 (OF 5)
TANK GIRL THE GIFTING #1
TRIALS OF SHAZAM #7 (OF 12)
WORLD WAR HULK #1 (OF 5) WWH

Books / Mags / Stuff
AGENCY TP
ANGEL AULD LANG SYNE TP
AVIARY
BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL VOL 17 TP PERFECTION OF ANATOMY
CHRONICLES OF CONAN VOL 12 BEAST KING OF ABOMBI TP
CINEFEX #110 JUNE 2007
CONAN HALL O/T DEAD & OTHER STORIES VOL 4 HC
DEATH JR VOL 2 TP
DEVILENGINE GN
DRIFTING CLASSROOM VOL 6 TP
ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO IN ONE VOL 2 TP
FABLES VOL 9 SONS OF EMPIRE TP
FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS VOL 2 HC
FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES JOHN BYRNE VOL 7 TP
GOLGO 13 VOL 9 GN
GOTHAM CENTRAL VOL 5 DEAD ROBIN TP
GRAPHIC CLASSICS VOL 14 GOTHIC CLASSICS
HELLBOY ANIMATED VOL 2 JUDGEMENT BELL TP
HULK PLANET HULK HC
JACK KIRBYS FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS VOL 1 HC
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA VOL 1 HC
MOME VOL 8 GN
NAOKI URASAWAS MONSTER VOL 8 TP
PERHAPANAUTS SECOND CHANCES TP
RE-GIFTERS
SAM NOIR VOL 1 RONIN DETECTIVE TP
SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ATOM VOL 1 TP
SIZZLE #34 (A)
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ARCHIVES VOL 3 TP
STAR WARS CLONE WARS ADVENTURES VOL 8 TP
THUNDERHEAD UNDERGROUND FALLS GN (RES)
TOYFARE TRANSFORMER MOVIE TOYS CVR #120
TREASURY VICTORIAN MURDER VOL 9 THE BLOODY BENDERS HC
VIDEO WATCHDOG #130
VIDEO WATCHDOG #131
WHAT IF EVENT HORIZON TP


What looks good to you?

-B Click Here to Read More...

There was a moment where AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #3 seemed to hint at an interesting direction for the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man was being attacked by War Machine and the new, teenage, Lizard, and for the second time in a month, Dan Slott attempts to address the fans who've been left disturbed by what's going on in Marvel's post-Civil War world:

Spider-Man: "I mean, what's your problem? It's like you care more about taking me in that - - "

War Machine: "Oh, we're not here to take you in, Peter. You see... You've been using your powers irresponsibly. And we're here to take them away from you. That's what our weapons do, Parker. That's their sole purpose. But don't worry. We have no intention of leaving the world without a Spider-Man..."

I read that, and thought: "Wait, that last line is really kind of scary in all the right ways. Are they going to try to clone him, like they did Thor? Or is there some kind of evil master plan that's going to try and recreate the superpowers of all the unregistered heroes in people who toe the party line? That's a really rather bold direction to go in..." Not that it's a direction that I necessarily think that they should go in, nor one that I particularly like, but it's a really interesting idea for the entire line (And compare and contrast that to DC's superhero universe, which right now seems to be especially directionless as a line even as they synch their whole line up with Countdown, and everything feels like the build-up to Infinite Crisis, but less so, again); it's one that clearly and definitively makes those in authority in the Marvel Universe the bad guys, and that seems very classic Marvel, in a way, all about the underdog and the little guy, and on that level it does appeal to me in a "getting Marvel back to its roots" way.

And so, obviously, that's not what was going on there at all. Instead, it was a lead-in to the fact that SHIELD agents are now using the Iron Spidey suits as "Scarlet Spiders" - which again, is an interesting idea, but seems disappointing because it's much less of an interesting idea than what I'd been hoping for. In a way, it crystalizes what's wrong with this series in general for me (and, in many ways, Marvel's current books overall) - Willing to hint at moral questions about its characters in passing, but unable or unwilling to actually try and address them in any meaningful way. Partially, this may be because we're in the "second act" of whatever story Marvel thinks it's telling, and partially because this lack of resolution allows Marvel to please/frustrate/tease both sides of the issue as long as they want. Keeping everyone happy without keeping anyone happy may make much business sense, but in terms of storytelling, it makes for pretty Eh reading. Click Here to Read More...

DAREDEVIL: BATTLIN' JACK MURDOCK #1: Kate doesn't really pay that much attention to what I review, unless it's something that she wants to read herself (See: almost everything that Brian K. Vaughan writes, or Jeff Smith's Shazam!) or something completely objectionable - The last page of Justice League #7, with the Black Canary/Power Girl splash page had her asking me "Why do you read these dumb booby superhero comics anyway?" - but upon seeing the cover of this pointless-flashback-book, she got very concerned at what was apparently going on. "There's a lot of blood there. Why is everyone bleeding so much?" she asked.

Because they're boxing, and in this book, boxing is pain is a metaphor for life. Which is painful and miserable, apparently.

The problem with this book isn't that it's bad, because it isn't, really - There's nothing that you can point to and say definitively that it doesn't work - but because it's a vacuum of pointlessness. Not only was no-one asking for a book based around the history of Daredevil's dad, but there's nothing in the execution of the idea that makes you think that maybe you were wrong and this book should exist after all. It's the comic book equivalent of eating your greens when you're a kid, in a way: Something that you know you should enjoy more, but can't quite bring yourself to do no