Grotesque Anatomy

Made Ya Look

2006-09-01T09:05:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no actual updated content here, just a pointer to my new blog, Sporadic Sequential. Please visit, won't you?

(I feel a bit silly updating here Two Years Later just to promote the new blog via this crude redirect, but I can't manage to get it listed on the Comic Weblog Updates page. I'm pinging blo.gs, so I'm not sure what's wrong. Perhaps the owners of the Updates page are on vacation? Or they decided to cap the list at 460 blogs? (Holy crap, that's a lot of comic blogs.))

Goodbye, Cruel Blogosphere

2004-09-01T23:27:00.000-05:00

Or: "In This Issue, A Blog DIES!"

As you can probably guess from the melodramatic titles, this entry marks the end of the blog known as Grotesque Anatomy. Recently several events (most notably a new job with much more responsibility) have converged to suck away the free time I used to spend on this blog. I toyed with the idea of keeping the blog going at a much more sporadic pace, but there's something inherently wrong with a blog that only updates irregularly and infrequently (unless the sporadic schedule is in your blog's name, of course). So I've decided to pull the plug on the blog rather than let it limp along. I would have liked to have made it to my one year anniversary, but at least I made over a year's worth of posts, according to Blogger's stats.

And just so this isn't a boring "farewell" post if you've come over here from the Comic Weblog Updates page, here are some scattered comic-related items of note:

Got my first shipment of comics from DCBS and I'm very impressed: The packaging was very good (all books still in NM/M condition!) and the packing slip not only showed items in the current shipment but also all upcoming/outstanding items from future orders. As someone who's a bit anal about tracking his orders, I really appreciated this information.
Included in the shipment were a host of goodies, including We3 #1 (I'm already hooked); Bone, The One Volume Edition (woo-hoo!); New X-Men Volume 3 hardcover (don't spoil it for me! I still haven't read these issues and I'm really looking forward to Xorn becoming a full-fledged member of the team); the spiffy new Comics Journal (ooo, color ads!); and three, count 'em, three big fat Marvel Essentials (Iron Fist, Daredevil Vol. 2, and Spider-Man Vol. 6), which I think goes to show that one should never preorder when drunk or excessively nostalgic. (I kid -- I'm really looking forward to these Essentials, especially the Iron Fist one, but also the Spider-Man one, which features art by Ross Andru, who will always be one of my favorite Spider-artists due to my imprinting on him at a very early age).
Another comics blogger has hung up his hat. You'll be missed, Sean. Best of luck at the new gig.
As one blogger falls, several dozen rise up to take his place. Welcome to Ed Cunard and his tantalizingly titled "The Low Road" blog. I expect great, petty things from you, Ed. Don't let me down.
Johanna is running a contest to promote Fallen Angel. If you've been curious about this critically-acclaimed but underordered series, here's your chance to check out the series for FREE. And in an interesting twist, Johanna has apparently decided to make this contest squid-free.
Graeme tracks the unorthodox thought processes of Green Lantern fans, as well as the interesting intersections between critic and creator.
Matt Maxwell spotted a preview of JLA: Classified over on DC' s site. I'd have to agree with Matt: Along with Arthur Adams and Frank Cho, Ed McGuniness does a damn fine gorilla.
Marc Singer is on a roll with two fine posts examining Ron Marz's work on Green Lantern and Brian Michael Bendis' rigorous storytelling tics.
Jog deserves some sort of medal of comic genius for this riff on Marvel's What If...? series: "What If The Punisher Became Captain America and Traveled Back in Time to Invent the Printing Press?"
Otto discovers The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide in a recent trip to Half-Price Books and reviews the collection of reviews. (I found an earlier version of the book a couple years ago and greatly enjoyed it despite the flaws Otto points out.)
Steve Pheley just doesn't care, gosh darn it.
Scott at Polite Dissent reviews the latest issue of She-Hulk, a series I'm greatly looking forward to catching up with in trade paperback.
Dorian discovers one of the Bat-villains unfortunately left out of "Hush." Dorian also explains why it's tough to be a Wildcat fan, and in the process reminds me that this was one of my favorite comics growing up:

(I'll let the psychology majors in the audience analyze that revelation.)
David Welsh finds joy in the form of a frog in this week's releases. (I still have to track down volume 3, dang it.)
Mike Sterling continues to work his magic. I don't think I ever had this comic as a kid, but it still brought back pleasant memories of similarly-themed silliness.
James Schee reviews Rachel Nabors' 18 Revolutions and Will Pfeifer and Jill Thompson's Finals.
Ken Lowery implements a new family-friendly design for his Ringwood blog.
Kevin Melrose continues to be the best there is at what he does, even if what he does isn't very pretty, bub. (Apologies to Chris Claremont.) Incidentally, Kevin is interviewed by the fabulous Ed Cunard over at Comic World News.

Finally, in a move that inspires more hope in me for the future of comics as an art form than a hundred blog entries by a hundred of the finest bloggers, I just found out that my wife's book club will next be reading Marjane Satrapi's wonderful Persepolis. I think this is one book club meeting that I'll actually end up attending. If I have anything to report, I'll post it to the Grotesque Rampage forum, which will continue even though the blog is being shut down.

Finally finally, thanks to everyone who took the time to read this blog over the near-year I wrote it. I appreciate your comments, criticism, and feedback. Now go and explore the fresh new blogs populating the comics blogosphere. Excelsior!

The Aptly Named Castle Waiting

2004-08-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

Whatever happened to CASTLE WAITING: THE LUCKY ROAD? Dark Horse solicited it back in January but it never came out. Not only that, but it no longer appears on Dark Horse's website. I did a cursory Google search but I didn't see anything about it being cancelled. And I know I'm not imagining the book being solicited because Johanna Draper Carlson mentioned it in her Previews Review for that month, too. This isn't the first book I've pre-ordered from Dark Horse that never showed up, either. I was looking forward to Club 9 Volume 3 (listed on Amazon as "CURRENTLY NOT AVAILABLE") but that book has vanished from Dark Horse's website as well. With Club 9 (which is still being serialized in Super Manga Blast!) I'd guessed that Dark Horse -- after their purchase of Studio Proteus -- was planning on retooling the series in an unflipped format, but I have no idea why Castle Waiting has been delayed/removed from the schedule. Anyone heard anything? And what does this mean for the "new, ongoing Castle Waiting series" that the Dark Horse trade supposedly heralded?

Help Prevent Linkrot

2004-08-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

Here's an oldie but a goodie. (Originally posted on the Comic Book Galaxy Forum but since deleted. For other sites -- such as Fanboy Rampage and The Beat! -- that linked to the original version of this thread, feel free to point those links to this entry now.)

John Jakala

Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 8

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 9:04 pm Post subject: Geoff Johns: Threat or Menace?

Alan - I've been discussing this a bit with Chris Allen over on my blog, but I thought I'd stop over here and ask you directly: So what's your beef with Geoff Johns? I get that you don't like his work, that you think it's mediocre and perhaps too highly valued by many fans, but I'm confused by your desire to see him removed from the industry "by any means necessary." Am I taking your statements too literally here? Are you exaggerating for hyperbolic effect? If not, I guess I just don't understand the wish for someone to be booted from the industry. _________________ John Jakala Grotesque Anatomy: • The Blog • The Forum

ADD

Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 37

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 10:01 pm Post subject: Re: Geoff Johns: Threat or Menace?

John, There are plenty of people that should be booted from the industry, it's just that Johns should be the first to go. More than any other mediocre writer, he has been given free reign to misguide the fates of a number of icons like The Flash, JSA and Avengers, making them unreadable for anyone who wants more than just shambling avatars stumbling through their superhero comics. He writes characters that, at their best, I have enjoyed a great deal over the years, and currently none of them are any goddamned good at all. Believe me, I would LOVE to have good Flash comics to read. I'd love me SON, who loves the character from the JLA cartoon, to be able to read his adventures in comics. But with Johns's one-note sadism holding the title hostage, there's nothing to be done but to try to point out that this particular fucking emporer has no goddamned clothes. Christ, at least Chuck Austen sucks in interesting ways. ADD

John Jakala

Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 8

Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2004 10:59 pm Post subject:

Alan, How is your attitude any different from those fanboys who bemoaned that Morrison was "ruining" the X-Men with his weird, trippy ideas? If you're not enjoying what so-and-so is doing on a certain title, isn't the best course of action to find another comic that does give you the buzz you're looking for? Why does it have to be The Flash that delivers the thrills? You're pretty plugged in to the comics scene: Couldn't the fact that Flash has become unreadable for you free up time and money to devote to other books? And what about all the people who are enjoying what Johns is doing on Flash, JSA, etc.? Doesn't their enjoyment factor into the equation at all? I hope you don't mind my pressing this issue, but I'm genuinely perplexed by your take on this. _________________ John Jakala Grotesque Anatomy: • The Blog • The Forum

ADD

Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 37

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2004 5:38 am Post subject:

John, If you honestly can't detect a qualitative difference between the work of Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns, then there's no point whatsoever in discussing this. But if it makes you feel better, sure, there's no difference, Morrison and Johns are creative equals and JSA is every bit as nuanced, intelligent and compelling as THE FILTH, THE INVISIBLES, ANIMAL MAN, KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND, SEBASTIAN O, ST. SWITHIN'S DAY and of course NEW X-MEN. Silly, ain't it? I hadn't pegged you as one of those people who gets nervous and defensive when someone like me states the truth passionately, John, and I hope I'm wrong, because I like what you do. ADD

ADD

Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 37

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2004 9:57 am Post subject: Re: Geoff Johns: Threat or Menace?

Here you go, John, my final thought on this topic for the time being: http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/blog/2004/08/persistent-sucking-of- geoff-Johns-john.html Thanks. ADD

John Jakala

Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 8

Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2004 7:26 pm Post subject:

Alan - My point wasn't that the works of Morrison and Johns are on equal footing but that your reaction to Johns' mediocrity on FLASH struck me as similar to rabid fanboys' defensive reaction to Morrison's "weirdness" on NXM. If you're not digging Morrison on NXM, seek out something else you do dig. If you're not enjoying Johns on FLASH, go read something else that does tickle your superhero funny bone. (And if you're really upset that The Flash as a particular character is unreadable in his monthly title, search out some back issues on eBay that are more to your liking. Heck, I'll send you my copy of THE FLASH ARCHIVES if you'd like it.) I'll grant you for the sake of argument that Johns is a hack, and that his mere competency is somehow the Biggest Threat Facing Comics. I still don't understand why anyone should expend any energy toward removing him from comics. Yes, write about his work from time to time; point out all the ways he offends the more developed and refined critical faculties; recommend other works that are better worth readers' time and money. But don't pretend (1) that repeated ranting about Johns will get others who have reflected upon his work and legitimately enjoy it (for whatever reason) to stop buying his work; or (2) that removing Johns (and everyone else somehow determined to be substandard) will magically elevate comics to a medium where Only Good Works grace the shelves. Non-genius, mindless entertainment will still find its way into the marketplace, Johns or no Johns. I find it interesting that Mark Millar makes your list of approved superhero comic book writers. I haven't read Johns' FLASH, so I'm not sure how sadomasochistic it is, but I have read parts of Millar's ULTIMATES and ULTIMATE X-MEN and SPIDER-MAN and those all seem pretty sadistic and brutal to me. Isn't Millar's approach on books meant to serve as entry-level titles totally inappropriate given that the featured characters appear in movies and other media geared toward children? And I apologize for my being nervous and defensive: It's not so much that the truth scares me, even when passionately expressed; it's all the Comic Book Orange Alerts and other hysterical tactics that unnerve me. _________________ John Jakala Grotesque Anatomy: • The Blog • The Forum

ADD

Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 37

Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2004 8:30 am Post subject:

"If you're not enjoying Johns on FLASH, go read something else that does tickle your superhero funny bone." John, I agree that this is a good policy for the average comic book reader. My opinion of Johns comes almost entirely by way of review copies I've been sent or the occasional issue I've bought because I was interested in an art change (Porter on Flash) or to investigate the buzz (JSA and Hawkman, gak). I'd also note that, as someone who runs a website about comic books (oh, my mum woulda been so proud), I feel some responsibility to stay aware of what is going on in the varioous segments of the industry. "(And if you're really upset that The Flash as a particular character is unreadable in his monthly title, search out some back issues on eBay that are more to your liking. Heck, I'll send you my copy of THE FLASH ARCHIVES if you'd like it.)" As I have mentioned more than once, I'm most interested in the Flash as an entry-level superhero for all ages, which is what he has been for 95 percent of his history. And mostly for my son, who would seriously love some Flash comics that are fun and exciting and inventive and don't have people peeling the flesh off their own faces and sewing their lips closed. So if you'd like to send the Flash Archives volume for him, John, I'm not gonna say no. "I'll grant you for the sake of argument that Johns is a hack, and that his mere competency is somehow the Biggest Threat Facing Comics." The biggest threat facing comics is not Geoff Johns. He isn't even in the top 100 biggest threats facing comics. He is just the Biggest Bore in the Wizard Top Ten, which is generally PACKED with bores, so it's really quite an accomplishment. "I still don't understand why anyone should expend any energy toward removing him from comics." Honestly, John, how much energy do you think I've expended? Do you envision me organizing pickets and benefit concerts and going door to door to decry him to the hoi polloi? While it's funny to imagine, in truth I have mentioned it a time or two in the context of writing about what IS good in comics, and frankly, it didn't take that much energy at all. And I personally find it worthwhile, when pointing out what IS good in superhero comics (Brubaker, Moore, Cooke, Morrison, often Bendis, Ellis, Millar, occasionally even Joe Casey), I find it helps to also discuss what is mediocre and lifeless, especially when something that is as, yes, soporific as the majority of Johns's comics are still manage to sell in the tens of thousands, while better and more creative and more engaging comics languish in obscurity. It's grating, I admit it. But talking about the dichotomy allows a writer to compare and contrast, which you may have heard is a valid technique in discussing two elements that share similar properties (Johns and Morisson are both men who write comics after all, even if the comparison crashes to the ground immediately thereafter). "Don't pretend (1) that repeated ranting about Johns will get others who have reflected upon his work and legitimately enjoy it (for whatever reason) to stop buying his work; or (2) that removing Johns (and everyone else somehow determined to be substandard) will magically elevate comics to a medium where Only Good Works grace the shelves." Actually, John, having been doing this for about a half-decade now, I HAVE had readers write to me to tell me that my writing finally got them to take a look at their pull list and more honestly evaluate how much they aren't enjoying marginal works. You may not care for my technique, and that's fine; as you suggest to me, if you're not enjoying it, move on. There's plenty of other stuff about comics to read on "This, the comics internet." "I find it interesting that Mark Millar makes your list of approved superhero comic book writers." Thanks for the condescension. I'm trying to keep this civil, because as I've said, John, I like what you do, and more to the point, to the degree that we've interacted over "This, the comics internet," I like you personally. That said, if you can find a place where I have posted my "List of Approved Superhero Writers," I'll gladly pay you $1000.00. Just because I have a list in my head of writers whose superhero work I enjoy more than others, and just because I share that list with my readers in an informal manner (NOT as the List of Approved Superhero Writers you speak of), does not mean that this is received wisdom that I assume All Right Thinking Mammals Share. Here's a big revelation, John: EVERYTHING I WRITE IS MY OPINION. Feel free to dismiss or embrace it as you like, as long as you are able to understand it. If you disagree with it, that's great. If you feel it's really important that Geoff Johns Stay in Comics, tell me why. Tell me why the industry wouldn't be better if marginal hacks like him got the fuck out of the way for people with an actual creative spark in their psyches. "I haven't read Johns' FLASH, so I'm not sure how sadomasochistic it is..." Well, it's less nausea-inducing than Frank Tieri's nipple-and-eyeball-eating early years (and you BETTER not think I'm making THAT up), but it's altogether inappropriate for any reader under the age of 14, and I think that's wrong, when as I have mentioned, The Flash is deliberately marketed to kids as part of an animated cartoon series and accompanying line of action figures which are 100 percent kids' stuff. "I have read parts of Millar's ULTIMATES and ULTIMATE X-MEN and SPIDER-MAN and those all seem pretty sadistic and brutal to me." I don't disagree. However in the case of THE ULTIMATES A) They are also done with occasional wit, creativity and genuine entertainment value and B) The Ultimates is aimed primarily at adult readers through trade dress and artistic style. I have children, John, and they're not int he least bit engaged by the look of The Ultimates. They don't want to read it and the art is too complex to intrigue them. The Flash on Cartoon Network is just the opposite. And I'm not going to address Millar's Spider-Man or Ultimate X-Men because in the case of the first I've never read it and in the case of the second, I didn't care for it very much. I don't remember anyone ever peeling the flesh off their faces in it, though the modest sexual overtones (Jean sleeping with Logan) would mark it as a title for strictly 12 and up, I guess. "Isn't Millar's approach on books meant to serve as entry-level titles totally inappropriate given that the featured characters appear in movies and other media geared toward children?" The only purely entry-level Millar book I am aware of is Superman Adventures, which is generally lauded for its all-ages appeal. One final note, John. I've seen this ongoing, blog-and-message-board-spanning discussion of ours described as a "tiff," and again, I hope I'm not coming off as uncivil. I have no desire to insult you or do battle with you. I've tried to respond to your questions because I think it will provide more insight for both of us (and perhaps one or two others) about just why Johns's work is just so damned aggravating. ADD

John Jakala

Joined: 05 Aug 2004
Posts: 8

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:26 pm Post subject:

Alan -

I understand that as a critic who tries to keep his pulse on all aspects of the comic book industry, you feel an obligation to be familiar with writers such as Johns. That's why I said in my earlier post that you should write about Johns' work from time to time. What I don't understand is the desire to remove Johns (or anyone else) from the comic book industry. I don't picture you organizing grass-roots campaigns to remove Johns from comic book office, but I do recall your disparaging Johns repeatedly, most recently in your discussion about Moore and Morrison and in your review of EIGHTBALL #23 ("the majority of people who buy comics and support their local comics shops, want nothing more than to be comforted by the type of shit Geoff Johns can squeeze out in his deep and dreamless sleep"). Your devoting all that space to deriding Johns is what I meant by "expending energy." I know it's not much, but that's kind of my point: Even that infinitesimal bit of energy seems wasted to me, for the two reasons I've already mentioned. I'm sure there are readers whom you've managed to sway by pointing out something they hadn't considered before. But I was referring to readers "who have reflected upon his work and legitimately enjoy it" such as Shane Bailey. Unless you're going to start arguing that such readers have deluded themselves into a state of False Consciousness, I think it's best simply to let those readers have the books they enjoy while you stump for books you feel are better worth their time. And even if you believe that Johns' work is so egregious that it's Harming Comics, I don't think that removing Johns and everyone else who will fit in the U-Haul of Shame will Save Comics: other mediocre writers will rise to take their place. That's why I believe it's a better use of your time to promote good works if your goal is to elevate the medium. (Although even then I think a critic's impact will be small, not sweeping, but I think the positive approach will work better than the negative one.)

Again, not saying you shouldn't do reviews of stuff you don't like. On the contrary, I think you should, as it provides your readers with a (negative) baseline by which they can determine your tastes. I'm just saying that I find the effort (or desire) to Improve Comics by removing creators below a certain talent threshold misguided. You may disagree with me (which is fine; in fact, it could lead to an interesting discussion about the role and reach of criticism in any field) but I just want to make sure we're talking about the same thing here.

ADD wrote:

I've seen this ongoing, blog-and-message-board-spanning discussion of ours described as a "tiff," and again, I hope I'm not coming off as uncivil. I have no desire to insult you or do battle with you.

Well, our discussion appeared on Fanboy Rampage, so it must be a tiff!

Seriously, I don't much mind if you take jabs at me. For one thing, I think everyone knows that if you get into a disagreement with Alan David Doane, you can expect some cutting remarks coming your way, so I can't say that I didn't know the risks going in. For another thing, a certain amount of conflict can make an otherwise dull debate lively and engaging for other readers. (Plus, it gives me an excuse to indulge in my own rhetorical flourishes.)

The only thing that does irk me is when you write things such as:

Quote:

"If you honestly can't detect a qualitative difference between the work of Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns, then there's no point whatsoever in discussing this."

"I hadn't pegged you as one of those people who gets nervous and defensive when someone like me states the truth passionately, John, and I hope I'm wrong, because I like what you do."

"talking about the dichotomy allows a writer to compare and contrast, which you may have heard is a valid technique in discussing two elements that share similar properties"

"Here's a big revelation, John: EVERYTHING I WRITE IS MY OPINION. Feel free to dismiss or embrace it as you like, as long as you are able to understand it."

and then claim you've been nothing but civil all along. Again, I don't mind you getting some barbs in, but at least be honest about it. Your trying to play the wounded martyr in all this is the only thing that does insult me.

Now on to the ways in which I've offended. I'm not sure how my statement "I find it interesting that Mark Millar makes your list of approved superhero comic book writers" was condescending. (A bit sarcastic, yes, but condescending, no.) I thought the list of comic book creators you mentioned positively was in contrast to those writers whose work on superhero comics you disapprove of, so I referred to it as "your list of approved superhero comic book writers."

You may say that you were only offering the list in an "informal manner" but when you're contrasting that list with writers whose "true destiny" is to work at Wendy's, writers whom you're eager to kick out of the comic book industry, I think it's easy to see where readers might get the impression that you view your personal list as more than just some humble suggestion. No, you didn't refer to it as your list of Officially Sanctioned Superhero Writers, but I thought the overall tone of your post was going in that direction, so using the term "approved" (which can mean either "thought of favorably" or, more strongly, "given authoritative endorsement") struck me as an appropriate way to take issue with the elitism I perceived in your post. Again, I don't mind your rhetoric, but I do mind when you use it and later attempt to disown it. And if I can't poke fun at your excesses, where's the sport in that?

I know it's your opinion -- even when stated in such a grandiose manner ("anyone looking for actual creative energy to be expended in the creation of these sooperhero funnybook entertainments" will likewise be bored by Johns' soporific work, just as you were, otherwise they're obviously not concerned with "actual creative energy") -- that's why I referred to it as your list (not Wizard's or The One True List). I just thought Mark Millar's inclusion on that list was odd given your stated reasons for feeling Johns was inappropriate for working on superhero comics. (It's also interesting that one of the other creators on your list -- Darwyn Cooke -- has expressed similar misgivings about Millar's superhero work.)

So here's where you mentioned your list of approved superhero writers. Do I get the thousand bucks in one lump sum or in installments? ;)

ADD wrote:

The only purely entry-level Millar book I am aware of is Superman Adventures, which is generally lauded for its all-ages appeal.

Well, I'm not sure how a book is determined to be "purely entry-level," but let's stipulate for the moment that it has something to do with its content and presentation. If that's the case, then isn't Johns' FLASH just as demarcated as non-entry-level as Millar's ULTIMATES and other books are? (Just as Jean's sleeping with Logan marked Millar's ULTIMATE X-MEN as a title geared toward ages 12+, doesn't the peeling of flesh and sewing of lips in FLASH signal to you that that book is meant for a certain age-level?) And doesn't The Flash appear in DC's Justice League tie-in comic, with an artistic style closely matching that of the cartoon, so that you do have an entry-level comic featuring The Flash for your son? (And I know you said you haven't read Millar's SPIDER-MAN, but a recent issue I flipped through had the Vulture's face being brutally disfigured by the Black Cat. But perhaps the Dodsons' artistic style doesn't appeal to younger children; I don't know.)

ADD wrote:

You may not care for my technique, and that's fine; as you suggest to me, if you're not enjoying it, move on. There's plenty of other stuff about comics to read on "This, the comics internet."

But you're one of those most widely-read online comics pundits! I have to react to you! ;)

And even if I didn't enjoy reading your work, I would never suggest that you should be removed from the comics opinionosphere. I might cry into my beer, pitifully bemoaning the fact that I don't have anywhere near the audience or influence you do, but I'd never wish for your removal. How could I? When I disagree with you, it spawns fun monster threads like this one!

ADD wrote:

If you disagree with it, that's great. If you feel it's really important that Geoff Johns Stay in Comics, tell me why. Tell me why the industry wouldn't be better if marginal hacks like him got the fuck out of the way for people with an actual creative spark in their psyches.

I don't think it's really important that Geoff Johns Stay in Comics, just as I don't think it's really important that Geoff Johns Be Forcibly Removed from Comics, or that everyone be as clever and innovative as Moore and Morrison. Perhaps it's a bit pessimistic of me (I prefer to view it as pragmatic), but I don't think the comics medium -- or any medium -- will ever be made artistically ideal (whatever that would mean). Furthermore, I don't even know if that's a healthy goal, thinking mainly in economic terms. Looking at other industries, crap sells. Furthermore, one person's crap is another person's -- well, not treasure, but enjoyable fluff at the very least. I know I'd much rather read Johns' JSA than anything by Bendis or Millar, but I don't think Bendis or Millar should be banished from comics because of that. And even if we could banish all the creators we disliked, I'm guessing they'd mostly be replaced by other creators we disliked, not creators who resonated with us 100% of the time.

Really, shouldn't you be happier that the market more closely reflects your tastes than mine? After all, Bendis and Millar both write books that outsell Johns's work by a wide margin each month. You should be celebrating! I'm the one who should be getting the U-Haul ready!

ADD wrote:

The biggest threat facing comics is not Geoff Johns. He isn't even in the top 100 biggest threats facing comics.

I'm sensing a fun new list for The Comics Journal to work on. ;)

ADD wrote:

I like what you do, and more to the point, to the degree that we've interacted over "This, the comics internet," I like you personally.

Aw, shucks, ya big lug. You had to go and get all mushy on me, dincha?

And I've enjoyed our interaction, too. Just because things may be getting a little more heated between us than they have in the past doesn't mean I'm getting ready to delete you from my blogroll or anything. Heck, if impassioned arguments led to denouncing one's sparring partners, then Chris Hunter and I would have parted ways long ago. (HA HA HA! I love working in gratuitous jabs at Hunter!)

ADD wrote:

So if you'd like to send the Flash Archives volume for him, John, I'm not gonna say no.

Will do! I'll email you off-forum to make sure I still have your current address. I haven't read all the stories yet, so I can't guarantee there are no scenes of people peeling the flesh off their own faces or sewing their lips closed, but it's the Silver Age, so if there are, I'm sure they're pretty tame by today's standards.
_________________
John Jakala
Grotesque Anatomy: • The Blog • The Forum

Graeme McMillan
Guest

Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 10:45 pm Post subject:

John Jakala wrote:

Well, our discussion appeared on Fanboy Rampage, so it must be a tiff!

It's a clash, goddammit.

And, ADD? You owe John some money, if you ask me. Because, saying this:

ADD wrote:

...when pointing out what IS good in superhero comics (Brubaker, Moore, Cooke, Morrison, often Bendis, Ellis, Millar, occasionally even Joe Casey)...

and naming names like you did looks suspiciously like that list of your Approved Superhero Writers that you promised to pay John $1000.00 for, if he pointed one out to you later in the same post. But if John doesn't want the money, I'll happily take it. Hell, you could even donate it to the CBLDF and I'll be happy.

Chris Hunter

Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 12

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 3:37 am Post subject:

That Scumbag, Fight-Startin' Jakala wrote:

Heck, if impassioned arguments led to denouncing one's sparring partners, then Chris Hunter and I would have parted ways long ago. (HA HA HA! I love working in gratuitous jabs at Hunter!)

Bastard.
_________________
http://panoramically.blogspot.com/

Chris Hunter

Joined: 29 Jul 2004
Posts: 12

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 8:34 pm Post subject:

ADD wrote:

As I have mentioned more than once, I'm most interested in the Flash as an entry-level superhero for all ages, which is what he has been for 95 percent of his history. And mostly for my son, who would seriously love some Flash comics that are fun and exciting and inventive and don't have people peeling the flesh off their own faces and sewing their lips closed.

I have an honest question about this for you, Alan. I completely understand your point about The Flash being entry level/all ages fun and that the way that it's currently written, it's not that at all.

My question is this: do you feel that all of the blame for that should rest on Johns? I ask because, ultimately, The Flash is editorially mandated and I feel that Johns isn't completely to blame for the direction of the book. I think that partial blame should rest on the shoulders of the editors as well.

What are your thoughts about that?
_________________
http://panoramically.blogspot.com/

(Thread found thanks to Google's caching system.)

In Book One, Mega-Corporation Tokyopop Crushes Puny Company Named 'Marvel'

2004-08-18T17:24:00.000-05:00

This looks pretty interesting, and not only because it demonstrates Tokyopop's continued desire to expand into original content. Perhaps I'm a cynical bastard, but the idea of megacorporations financing wars as profitable entertainment sounds like an intriguing and not-too-far-removed extrapolation of current geopolitics.

Plus, the art by Rising Stars of Manga winner Shane Granger looks pretty good. Reminds me of a cross between Akimi Yoshida and Katsuhiro Otomo:

For more info on Psy-Comm, check out CBR's Jonah Weiland's interview with series creators Tony Salvaggio and Jason Henderson.

The Next Olympic Sport

2004-08-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

Underwater Ninja Sparring:

I'm guessing this will be the issue featuring the shark attack as well? (Silly Millar: Everyone knows sharks aren't as cool as Giant Squids...)

Fun With Word Balloons

2004-08-16T08:41:00.000-05:00

Check out Tim O'Neil's hilarious comic-review-as-comic of Identity Crisis #3. I think this is how all comic books should be reviewed from now on. Apparently Tim was really proud of this one, as he posted it twelve times.

Also, in a similar vein, check out the twisted Watchmen Funnies over at Something Awful.

Oh Glorious Day

2004-08-13T17:33:00.000-05:00

Bendis made his surprise announcement at Wizard World Chicago, and it turns out it actually was pretty surprising: all the Marvel and DC characters have suddenly entered the public domain. Here, I'll let Bendis explain it:

“I think the one mistake that’s being made here is that these are all of our characters – they ‘belong’ to all of us, and if there’s something that we all want to see, you kind of have to say yes."

Sweet! Well, there is something I know we all want to see, so I say, "Yes!" A rounding "yes" to my brilliant crossover idea pairing not just two characters but two pairs of characters. Yes, I'm talking about my long-awaited Power Man/Iron Fist/Blue Beetle/Booster Gold mega-crossover. It'll be genius!

I expect calls from Marvel and DC representatives shortly to work out the details.

UPDATE: Alf vs. Black Panther crossover also announced.

UPDATE/ADDENDUM: Apparently my interpretation of Bendis' shocking announcement was too narrow, as I thought only Marvel and DC characters had entered the public domain. But as recent news about such projects as Jimmy Corrigan/Jim Corrigan and Dracula/John Constantine/Archie makes clear, in fact all comic book characters are now up for grabs, regardless of publisher. With that in mind, I can finally move forward on my ambitious Goon/Goom/Goofy/Geek coloso-crossover. Truly, we have entered a new Golden Age of Comics this day. Huzzah!

"For Fear, Greed, And The Curtailment Of Civil Liberties!"

2004-08-13T11:12:00.000-05:00

Here's something interesting: TEX!, a political satire comic portraying George W. Bush as a fumbling super-hero. Based on the interview with TEX!'s creator Joshua Dysart over at Newsarama, I'm not sure what the tone of this comic is going to be like. Dysart claims the book isn't a mean-spirited partisan attack, but he also refers to the Bush administration as "dumb asses," and over on the TEX! site, Dysart calls Bush a "jerk." As much as I share Dysart's desire to oust Bush from office, I worry that the satire in TEX! won't exactly be subtle.

Anyway, at least TEX!'s creators are making an effort to appeal to old-school superhero fans, as demonstrated by the cover's riff on the classic "Superman busting out of chains" image:

And I love the idea of Dick Cheney in one of Tony Stark's life-sustaining chest plates:

"The Iron Dick has risen!" Heh.

With A Name Like "Super F*uckers" It Has To Be Good

2004-08-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

(Thanks to Graeme for pointing this out.)

ICk

2004-08-12T19:22:00.000-05:00

I bought Identity Crisis #3 out of morbid curiosity (I'd heard that another long-time female character is killed off, and, sure enough, one is) only to regret it. Well, I regret paying four bucks for it and reading it. But at least it gives me plenty of ammunition to fill up a blog entry. (And it should be obvious, but SPOILERS, OK?)

Anyway, on to the snark (and remember -- SPOILERS):

I still don't understand why Sue's not dying from carbon monoxide poisoning clears Dr. Light as a suspect. If Light raped Sue in the past, isn't he capable of killing her however she was actually killed? (Based on #1, it looks as though she was killed by physical violence, something a rapist would surely be capable of.)

Why, when Dr. Light remembers the JLA piling on him all those years ago, does his memory include Batman? I was thinking maybe Light was remembering some other battle, but the panel in #3 is identical to the one from #2 aside from the addition of Batman and the mood lighting:

Remember: When hogpiling on a super-villain...

...be sure to leave a little room in case Batman decides he wants to join in.

I'm assuming this will be an Important Plot Point, although I honestly have no idea what it means. Light's memory has been distorted due to the heroes' reprogramming? Or someone else (perhaps Phobia and Dr. Moon) added that detail somehow? (I still think the image of a half-dozen heroes piling on a lone villain is hilarious. Apparently when Ollie says the JLA teaches you to fight, he means the JLA teaches you to hogpile the bad guy with all your superhero buddies.)

I don't understand the dynamics of the fight with Deathstroke. (Nerd nitpicking in 1..2..) Why couldn't GL use his power ring to stop Deathstroke right away?

So Supes has selective super-hearing, huh?

Not sure what's going on with Captain Boomerang, or, as he's known in this issue, Captain Red Herring.

God, I hate that cover. Why Michael Turner gets high-profile assignments like this continues to baffle me. Look at Ollie's right arm: It looks as though Ollie suddenly has Puck's dwarfism on that side of his body:

"Stay back, Slade, or the kid gets an arrow in his chest!"

The sad part is I'll know I'll be checking out the next issue, if only to see if **** ****** had just found out she was pregnant before she was killed.

Things You Don't Want To Read In A Silver Age Comic

2004-08-11T09:11:00.000-05:00

(Posted in honor of Identity Crisis, whose third issue goes on sale today!)

NARRATIVE CAPTION: "Then, as Flash's fingers go into titillating action..."

FLASH: "He's doing it! He's stretching up -- like only the Elongated Man could!"

[A couple pages later] FLASH: "Yank it, Ralph! Yank it hard!"

- From The Flash #119 (reprinted in The Flash Archives Volume 3)

Like Unto A Thing Of Intermittency

2004-08-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

Quote of the Day, from Dave Intermittent:

"Iron Fist is one of the few characters I can think of that can pull off the badass-in-slippers look"

No, wait, I meant to quote another bit (although I do agree with the above sentiment wholeheartedly):

"The choice isn't between reading classics or reading trash; the choice is between reading trash or reading mostly nothing. Get rid of the Flash and you will create not thousands of new readers of the Filth but thousands of people who spend more time playing video games, or watching Friends reruns on TV. Iron Fist gets it; do you?"

I smell a new catchphase / slogan / bumper sticker: "What Would Iron Fist Do?" (Of course, Dave is reacting to the conversation (as transcribed by Graeme McMillan) between Power Man and Iron Fist (not a permalink) that's already made its way through the comics blogosphere, so I don't know why I feel as though I have to link to it myself.)

Extremely Tardy Reviews: 18 Revolutions

2004-08-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

One of the more interesting side effects of manga's ever-increasing popularity has been the rise in home-grown manga. One of the better-known examples of this has been Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga contest, where American manga fans compete to have their manga-influenced comics published in Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga anthology book. Winners of that contest have even gone on to be offered book deals by Tokyopop. But not everyone waits for an established publisher to select her work from multiple contestants. Some decide to bypass that route and self-publish instead.

One such creator is Rachel Nabors, who has released her collection of manga-style comic shorts, 18 Revolutions (80 B&W Pages • $7 + $3 shipping), under her imprint Manga Punk. Most of the strips center around Rachel the Great, presumably a not-too-far-removed stand-in for Nabors herself. How much of the book is straight autobiography is unclear, but Nabors definitely seems to be drawing inspiration from her own life, and the strips take on a welcome authenticity because of it. For example, early on we are told that Tuna, Rachel the Great's feline companion throughout the book, is based on Nabors' own pet cat, also named Tuna, who died when Nabors was sixteen:

Anyone who's lost a beloved pet can empathize with the emotions expressed on this page, and the emotional honesty expressed imbues later gags (such as a throwaway reference to Tuna as "The Incredible Living Dead Cat") with an unexpected poignancy. Even the commonplace device of a talking pet takes on added significance, as those who have been close to animals can identify with the notion of attributing thoughts and personality to a pet.

Similarly rooted in reality, the final story "Vive la Revolution!" (by far my favorite) details Rachel's decision to create and publish her own comics. It's almost an adaptation of The Pulse's interview with Nabors in comic book form, only with even more charm and humor. Perhaps it's because I'm already one of the Manga Converted, but I found Nabors' story of how shoujo manga inspired her to create comics for girls in the North American market to be a real testament to the powerful diversity provided by manga. And as a manga reader, I found Nabors' goal of becoming "one of the greatest publishers of girls' comics that the world has ever seen!" suitably shonen in scope.

Between these bookending bits is a range of other stories, most humorous, some maudlin and morose. My preference was for the lighter stories, where I think Nabors' talent truly shines, but I'll admit I'm probably not the intended audience for the more angst-ridden tales. In a note preceding one such melodramatic piece, Nabors notes that when the two-pager "Fifteen Revolutions" ran on gURL.com, she received many emails from girls going through similar experiences. Still, the commonality of an experience doesn't guarantee that it's handled well when it's transformed into art, and the piece came across as a trite example of bad teen poetry for me. That said, a later exploration of isolation and alienation ("Atrophy") is much stronger, and any embarrassing moments are undercut by the self-deprecating ending.

The weakest part of the book is the art, which is often rough and inconsistent. Much of the inconsistency can be explained by the fact that Nabors drew these strips over a four-year period between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, so Nabors obviously has plenty of time to improve her craft. However, when one reads 18 Revolutions as a finished, published work competing for one's comic book dollar, it's hard not to be critical of the work as it appears on the page. One especially distracting problem is the lack of anatomical understanding underlying the figures. I know Nabors' style is more expressive and cartoony, but a simple technique can't be used to cover up deficiencies in one's art. (If anything, such a stripped-down style makes any weaknesses that much more pronounced.) Even allowing for the manga convention of superdeformed (SD) characters, Nabors' figures often appear twisted and misproportioned, with necks that don't quite fit and arms that appear to bend in any direction.

Criticism about the art aside, 18 Revolutions is an engaging initial effort from a young creator. Although some technical aspects of her work could use more polish, Nabors' storytelling instincts are impressively mature. Her sense of humor and playfulness (both very important in manga) are well-developed and on full display here. Frankly, I'd be more concerned if these "intangibles" didn't work, but they do. Anatomy can be learned, but a unique voice can't. Based on this debut work, I'm optimistic that Nabors' future work will deliver on the promise contained in these pages.

Drunk On Mad Ideas

2004-08-04T22:42:00.000-05:00

The V invent the Warren Ellis Drinking Game:

After just reading PLANETARY 20 and ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR 9, I think a drinking game is long overdue. SO! When you read a Warren Ellis comic, take a drink every time:

* One of Warren's friends is mentioned. Two if it's a goth fetish model.
* Futurephone technology is mentioned. Two if it saves the day somehow.
* Someone mentions how going into space is Extremely Important.

*Female character makes reference to her love of rough/kinky sex.
*Male character makes reference to female character's love of rough/kinky sex.
*Someone mentions how the villain(s) have fucked with the population. Twice if the character actually says "fucked with us."

The BAD SIGNAL drinking game.

"Today, I was contacted by an old
acquaintance to briefly consult on
a possible comics magazine that'd
be released and sold online as a PDF."

Take a walk to your nearest whisky specialist shop (or supermarket if you must), open a bottle of their finest and start to drink, saying "FUGGOFFYERBASTID. AHMWORRINNELLZ!" and pointing to your genital area, whenever WE comes up with a brilliant idea that someone else thought of first.

Offer the security guard a share of your bottle if WE fails to mention the earlier manifestation of this idea.

Drop your trousers, lie face down and insert the bottle if he mentions that he was kneejerkingly dismissive of this idea when that someone else raised the issue a few years ago.

The thread also contains a discussion about Garth Ennis' tendency to use sexual perversion as a shorthand for evil, as well as a hilarious idea for a DC Fifth Week Event:

Ra's al-Ghul steals the Batphone and begins crank calling every hero in the DCU. Fifth Week Event! "My Enemy, My Phone..."

"Is this Wally West? You know where Gorilla Grodd sits? WHEREVER HE WANTS! Har har!" -click- "Is this Bruce Wayne? Do you like bats? WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD BE A BASEBALL PLAYER THEN! Har har!" -click- "Hello, Clark Kent...?"

I can't be the only one who would buy that, can I?

Geoff Johns, Arctic Shit-Knife Peddler

2004-08-04T12:33:00.000-05:00

So I finally read Comic Book Galaxy's latest feature, The Conversation (pretty much what it says: a conversation between Chris Allen and Alan David Doane about comics) and early on I was distracted by this question: What is it with ADD and Geoff Johns?

"Mediocre hacks like Geoff Johns [later referred to as an 'industry leech' and 'shit-peddler'] ...really ought to be thrown out of comics by any means necessary"

Isn't it enough that if you don't like someone like Johns, you don't read his work? Personally, I liked Johns' JSA, up until it became one big "arc" after another. I liked the series more when it was focusing on the dynamics between the characters, rather than on the next Big Threat. But when I stopped enjoying JSA, I simply dropped it. I didn't call for Johns' head on a platter.

I guess ADD should be given points for coming up with a figure emblematic of All That Is Wrong With Comics other than Chuck Austen, at least.

(I also find it ironic that Johns is crucified in the column while a lousy, incoherent comic like Terra Obscura gets a pass simply because it's part of the Alan Moore ABC imprint, even though Moore himself didn't have much to do with it. Hmm. Makes me wonder what ADD thought of Geoff Johns' issue of Tom Strong? I know he was dreading it before it came out, but I wonder if he hated it as much as he expected to.)

Please, Won't Someone Think Of The Children?

2004-08-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

In a sure sign of the Apocalypse, I'm now blogging about the comments on Graeme's blog. This thread has taken on a life of its own, passing 100 comments with no sign of slowing down. It stems from some pros' reactions to Michael Chabon's Eisner keynote speech but it's spiraled into a big debate on Kids and Comics (sample topics: Do kids read comics? Should kids read comics? Are there enough comics for kids? If not, whose fault is it?). Anyway, what I love most about the thread is how angry everyone is:

"that's fucking stupid."

"This entire thread makes me want to rip the pulsing hearts from the chests of half of you."

"wow, talk about your wretched hive of scum and villainy, huh?"

"It's not helpful. It's reactionary and makes you sound like a moron."

Why are comic fans so hostile? It's like we learned social interaction from Marvel comics: When two characters meet, they must fight. (No, I don't have anything substantive to add. This was all just a set-up for a joke about comic book fans emulating their beloved childhood heroes. And besides, I think Jeff Parker already summed up my feelings on the debate with this line: "This subject seems to be a rorschach for the comics industry-- you either agree that kids should have a few comics to read, or you kneejerk that someone's going to take your precious super-rape away.")

Wow, Who Would Have Guessed?

2004-08-03T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hey, here's a surprise: The first issue of the latest iteration of Marvel Team-Up will star Spider-Man and Wolverine. I guess it's the furry mutant's anniversary or something, so every comic feels like they have to invite him over.

August Prognosis: Comics Overdose

2004-08-02T18:36:00.000-05:00

Holy cow. DCBS, like all good pushers/dealers, really knows how to work its clientele. I try to maintain what I laughably call a comics "budget" each month, doing my best to stay within $100. But DCBS is running so many tempting specials, I have a feeling I'm going to be casting aside all restraint this month.

For example, I was thinking I'd try out one of the new manga in DC's CMX line, but DCBS is offering all three debut titles at 65% off, so I'll probably check them all out at $3.48 apiece. And I already knew I was going to get the Superman: Man Of Tomorrow Archives, so DCBS offering it at 45% off only sweetens the deal...and leaves me with enough money left over that I start thinking that maybe I'll check out that DC Comics Rarities Archives Vol. 1, also offered at 45% off. Titles that I was on the fence about (such as Kurt Busiek's JLA or Ed Brubaker's Authority) start to look a lot more appealing at 50% and 75% off, respectively. Heck, DCBS's discounts are so good that I'm even considering buying a comic written by Mark Millar. (Well, maybe not. On second thought, that money would probably be better spent on the Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby hardcover, or any of the various manga titles such as Boys Be or Hyper Rune, all at 50% off. Just because things are a good deal doesn't mean one should abandon all taste, after all.)

Lots of other great specials at the site (including the first wave of DC/Rebellion trades, the Little Lulu reprint digest, the second Walking Dead trade, and much, much more), so check it out. Why should I be the only one brought down by irresistible bargains?

Gone Fishin'

2004-07-29T17:58:00.000-05:00

Jesus Christ! I knew there were a lot of new comic-related blogs popping up lately, but the Comic Weblog Updates page now lists over 130 of them! Granted, a good number of them at the very bottom are now inactive, and many of them aren't exclusively (or even primarily) comic-related, but that still leaves a lot of comic blogs out there. Plus, I'm sure there are a lot of them that aren't showing up on the site for whatever reason, such as Matt Maxwell's new comics blog, Highway 62. (Wow, two plugs in as many days. Those bribes really do work.)

Anyway, this is all a long, rambling lead-in to my announcement that I'll be out of town this weekend starting early (oh god, so early) tomorrow, so no blogging until sometime next week. So why not try out a new blog if you're missing the Grotesque experience? Here's a sample from a new blog I've been enjoying (and just added to the blogroll) this week, Jog The Blog:

What else came out today… a “Venom v. Carnage” mini (why don‘t they just start putting random years from the 1990s in the copyrights too while they‘re at it?), a new “Rogue” ongoing (I’ll just have to catch up around the anniversary issue #50 that it will no doubt reach) and some huge “Avengers” thing. They are now Disassembled, which is a bad sign because they will need organization to compete in today’s fast-paced superhero world, and messiness is a killer. Captain America should make a flowchart or something. Maybe they’re saving that for the climax of the story: a lacerating Powerpoint presentation. That would be really cool, and it would beat the pants off of whatever is planned for the end of "Identity Crisis" like putting Ace the Bathound to sleep or Dr. Light reuniting with Dr. Wiley and getting Gutsman to bugger The Flash.

Given Marvel's Disassembled Deathwatch Chart, the idea of an Avengers PowerPoint tie-in doesn't seem too far-fetched. Hmm. Just imagine...Marvel and Microsoft, two of the world's most market-share-obsessed companies, coming together on a joint project of unspeakable evil that just had to be called...Excel-sior! (And with that horrible pun, I am outta here. Have a great weekend, everyone!)

Big Brain Hits Big Time

2004-07-29T15:56:00.000-05:00

Speedy blogger Kevin Melrose has already linked to this, but I wanted to give a shout-out to local comic shop owner Michael Drivas, who gets a nice write-up today in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The article does a good job describing what sets Michael's shop Big Brain Comics apart from the stereotype most non-comic-readers probably envision when they think "comic book store." For one thing, Michael's not afraid of the "Geek" label; in fact, he embraces it, stamping bags and T-shirts with the reclaimed insult in big red letters. (I have one of the "GEEK" T-shirts and I always get a lot of curious looks when I wear it out in public.) I have yet to visit the new store (it just recently relocated from one side of Downtown Minneapolis to the other), but the description in the Strib sounds appealing: "Giant wooden bookshelves outline Big Brain's exposed brick interior, while metallic air ducts and a mix of sophisticated and retro lighting fixtures hang overhead." Furniture isn't mentioned, but I'm sure Michael will have some comfy chairs for customers to plop down into at the new shop. That was one of the things that most impressed me about the old Big Brain: Who'd ever heard of a comic shop owner encouraging customers to lounge around and read comics? What did he think his shop was -- a library??

Anyway, congrats to Michael on getting such positive coverage in the local media -- complete with a sequential art story featuring him as the lead character, no less! (Unfortunately, the short comic isn't included in the online version of the story, but maybe I'll try to scan it in later if I have time.) And I look forward to visiting the new shop soon. The article said Big Brain doesn't deal in back issues, but I'm sure Michael will want to look through my collection of old Spider-Man comics. I have a feeling this one comic titled "Maximum Clonage Alpha" is really going to be worth something someday.

The Tortured Manga/Western Comics Connection

2004-07-28T16:28:00.000-05:00

Many others have already picked out their favorite lines from Grant Morrison's latest interview, but for me the money quote was this [emphasis mine]:

The threat is multi-fold in “Island of the Mighty,” using the supercompressed Western manga style I’m trying to develop - mad flesh-eating Gorilla Grodd has hijacked Superbia, the floating city of the Ultramarine corps and plans on using the captured heroes as unstoppable terror weapons in a war against civilization. To do this he enlists the aid of a cosmic monster - a killer of superheroes named Neh-Buh-Loh the Hunter, who ties directly into the upcoming Seven Soldiers stuff...and finally there's Black Hand, the old Green Lantern villain, who's invaded an experimental micro universe very much like our own, where superheroes don't exist and he's the only supervillain. It all happens very fast and very hard and leaves lots of damage.

Grant Morrison Gets It.

In other manga/Western comics crossover news, "Your Manga Minute" columnist Troy Brownfield apparently Doesn't Get It when he considers why some fans might not like Identity Crisis. Now in fairness to Troy, I should note that the closest he gets to naming any specific source he's responding to is when he refers to "several ill-conceived posts on the DC message boards," so perhaps Troy's weak rejoinders are a result of only considering weak arguments. That said, I think Troy's column would have been much stronger had he attempted to address more sophisticated criticisms of Identity Crisis. (For additional criticism of Troy's piece, see David Welsh's thoughts here.)

Finally, in news that's difficult to fit into this post's manga/Western comics rubric, Broken Frontier columnist Matt Maxwell has joined the comics blogosphere with Highway 62! I think the fact that comic columnists are taking on blogs in addition to their regular writing responsibilities is a sure sign that the comics blogosphere is reaching critical mass. When Augie De Blieck starts his own comic blog, I'll really be worried. Anyway, Matt's wondering what he'll write about without cannibalizing column topics for "Full Bleed," so I'll offer a suggestion: Once I send you the second volume of GYO, blog your thoughts on how the story would have different if Ito had used birds instead of fish, had set the whole story in a quiet American coastal town, and had cast Tippi Hedren as the lead. Discuss!

Make Mine Burlyman!

2004-07-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it. I'm really looking forward to the Burlyman books. That sample page from Doc Frankenstein by Steve Skroce is amazing. And the slaughter scene from Shaolin Cowboy by Geoff Darrow is very...Geoff Darrow. I'll be checking these out. The concepts sound so gleefully over-the-top that I've already started to think of these as "American manga," if that makes any sense. The Burlyman books certainly seem packed with more head-exploding insanity and innovation than this, at any rate.

Put A Shirt On, Fer Crissakes

2004-07-26T23:31:00.000-05:00

Spotted in Marvel's October solicitations:

It's Fat Elvis Doc Ock versus Sixties Animated Spider-Man.

UPDATE: Thanks to Dave Lartigue, we've managed to obtain a special sneak peak at the variant cover for SPIDER-MAN/DOCTOR OCTOPUS: YEAR ONE #5:

I believe Marvel is referring to this version of the cover as the "Subtle But Sexy" variant.

Here's Something More Cheerful

2004-07-23T16:45:00.000-05:00

To counter the last post, here's a lovely manga-esque image courtesy of Jill Thompson:

For more info on upcoming Vertigo projects, check out The Pulse's SDCC coverage.

WARNING: This Post Contains 3000% Of Your Daily Offensive Humor Limit

2004-07-23T11:32:00.000-05:00

Sean Collins considered what would happen if the Marvel Universe went rape-crazy, and now the V handle the DCU in a thread that had to be called DCU: CRISIS ON INFINITE RAPES [WARNING: Humor in extremely questionable taste follows]

Each time a DCU character is raped, they consume their assailant via the orifice in which they were receiving unwanted congress.
They then go on to rape another DCU character and a similar process continues until the only three superheroes remaining in the DCU are Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in a Good, Bad & Ugly stand off.
Or spitroast (Batman and Wonder Woman either end of Superman obviously.) This will be written by Chuck Austen and Kurt Busiek.

Meanwhile in the Vertigo universe, John Constantine is leading Swamp Thing around the USA and getting him to change into a series of increasingly uncomfortable vegetables to be inserted into unwilling members of the DCU magick (sic) community. This will be written by Alan Moore and Rick Veitch.

Throughout this massive crossover series, Constantine tells Swampy the "Death by Mau Mau" joke. This will be written by Grant Morrison.
In the end, huh uh-huh huh, Constantine tells Swampy and Batman that the only way they can save the world is for them to insert a hand each into his behind and shake hands like at the end of the American Gothic arc, but with anal sex. This will be written by Brian Azzarello.

Ads in the crossover will also be rape-themed:

New Hostess pie adverts with the crooks schemes being foiled after being raped by the heroes with delicious apple, cherry, and blueberry Hostess pies.

The V also consider what the porn version of Identity Crisis #2 might read like:

I think the scene in ID Crisis #2 should have been written as thus:
DOC: I am going to rape you.

SUE: With what? There's a reason we call you Dr. 40 Watt Light Bulb behind your back.

DOC: Turn around and bend over. Bitch.

SUE: Puhleeze. I'm married to the Elongated Man. Eeeeloooongaaaated Man. He has a schlong the size of the Empire State Building.

DOC: SHUT UP! Unngh.

SUE: Are you in yet? I don't feel a thing.

DOC: I'll show you. I'll whip up a light dildo the size of the WTC. Bitch.

SUE: Now we're talking.

DOC: My god, you're like the Grand Canyon down there.

SUE: Ooh, dirty talk.

FZZZPT
SUE: Awww, your light blew prematurely. Now I'm all hot and bothered. I wonder if Plastic Man is still around.

I was going to ask who would cover the Image Universe's mega-rape crossover, but then I remembered that Mark Millar and Rob Liefeld still have a couple issues to go on Youngblood: Bloodsport.

Finally, in another thread, the V construct a joke guaranteed to offend everyone (well, except perhaps Milo George and his pal Gojira). Countering the suggestion that rape has become writers' new choice for Worst Crime Imaginable since "terrorism is off limits and no-one can top the real-life horror of 9/11," John Fellows lets slip news of DC's next big project:: "So you haven't read the solicits for TOWER CRISIS which lovingly depicts the twin towers being destroyed in issue one, but flashes back to years earlier in issue two where Godzilla raped them both?"

Doing My Part To Keep The Identity Crisis Controversy Raging

2004-07-23T10:50:00.000-05:00

In case anyone cares, here are my thoughts on Identity Crisis #1 and #2 (reprinted from this monster thread on the Grotesque Rampage forum):

Identity Crisis #1

Thanks to David Welsh, I was finally able to read IDENTITY CRISIS #1 last night. (Thanks, David!)

First reaction: Well, I'm sure glad I didn't blow four bucks on that.

Second thought: Perhaps my perception is tainted by the fact that I've heard all the discussion already, but Jesus Christ was this the most heavy-handed writing job ever in comics? How much more obvious could you have made things? "Let's all reflect on all the death and misery we heroes have suffered, conveniently timed within minutes of Sue Dibny's brutal murder."

Third thought: Good god that Turner cover is ugly. And it doesn't even appear to be properly finished. It looks like the cover to an ashcan edition or something.

Identity Crisis #2

Thanks to Johanna, I was finally able to read Identity Crisis #2. Perhaps because everything was so much worse in my imagination, the actual comic wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Don't get me wrong, it was still pretty bad, but it wasn't the atrocity I'd pictured.

Some of the still bad stuff:

The way the rape scene is depicted, it looks like a first-person video game where your eyes are the camera so everything's seen from your perspective. Think of shooter games where you see your character's arms holding the gun at the bottom of the screen. That's what the rape scene in IC #2 reminded me of. Unfortunately, the disembodied arms we're seeing belong to Dr. Light (see the pages Tim O'Neil scanned in, especially panels 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8) so the effect is we're seeing things as Dr. Light. Now, I doubt the creators intended for the readers to identify with a rapist, but the presentation is still extremely poor.
I generally like Rags Morales' art, so I was surprised how much the art didn't work for me in this issue. The scene of all the heroes hanging on to an enraged Dr. Light was just goofy beyond words. It might have worked in a Silver Age story (in fact, now I'm wondering if this wasn't a riff on some old JLA cover) but it doesn't fit the tone of this story at all. And having Dr. Light perform his Gene Simmons impersonation was too over-the-top and actually trivialized the violence of the rape a bit in my eyes: Yes, because only raving psychos commit rape.
So Ray Palmer goes through all this trouble to give Jean Loring a crossbow with which to protect herself (let's leave aside what good a crossbow would do to the villain presumed to be the murderer at that point, given that he was shown as fighting several super-powered heroes despite having been shot with multiple arrows), but he doesn't even check to make sure it still works after all that time in storage in the basement? Sloppy.
The ending with Dr. Mid-Nite making his bizarre leap of (il)logic. But others have already commented on this.

Some of the stuff that's mainly troubling from a geeky fanboy perspective:

Wasn't Dr. Light already a bit of a joke before the era depicted in flashback? I'll have to go back and check my trusty Justice League Archives, but I thought all DC villains were silly long before the Satellite Era JLA.
How did the JLA members who were in on Dr. Light's "reprogramming" manage to keep the deed secret from a telepath, the world's greatest detective (and biggest stickler for moral absolutes), and any number of mystical agents?
Batman should be better at bugging a place than that. And how would the villains have time to get away? Couldn't Supes be there in a flash?
Extreme nitpick: Ralph's present-day costume has changed from #1 to #2. In #1 the neck had a slit in the middle, so it was more of a collar. In #2 the neck is solid, like a turtleneck.

Some of the not-so-bad stuff:

I can actually buy that the heroes would have been tempted to try something like this given the intensity of the situation. I'm still not sure how it fits in continuity, but I'll grant that DC continuity is pretty much whatever the most recent event determines it is. (It's still a bit odd that the heroes who were against the reprogramming wouldn't have tried to stop the others from going through with it, but that might just be years of reading comics where heroes fight over the littlest thing talking.)
Liked the bit with Hawkman able to see Wally vibrating at super-speed, as well as Ollie's bluff with Kyle.

In all, I thought it was pretty bleh but not as bad as I had built it up to be in my mind. Still glad I didn't blow four bucks on this (esp. considering it's only a couple pages longer than a standard comic).

CMX: "We Will Sell No Manga Before Its Time"

2004-07-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

Don't know if this is already common knowledge or not, but there's a CMX mini-site over at DC now. It's pretty sparse at the moment, consisting mainly of descriptions of the three previously-announced titles (complete with interior preview art), but there's also a little more info on some of the upcoming books, such as Swan, Musashi Number Nine, The Devil Does Exist, Gals!, and Phantom Thief Jeanne. There's also the standard comic company hype:

CMX is putting the extra time and energy into getting it right. We're working with the best translators, some them hand-picked by the creators themselves! We're using the latest hi-tech digital production techniques and putting it all in a great package, because we care as much about these books as you do.

In fact, some top manga creators — ones who haven't let anyone near their work before — trust our dedication to their vision so much they they picked US to bring you the first-ever authorized editions of their work anywhere outside of Japan. Now, that's cool.

Whether you're a die-hard manga fan, a casual reader, or a first-timer wondering what the heck you've got in your hands, we think you'll see the difference.

Not only that, but CMX manga is so fine, so pure, so sublime -- we think you'll be able to taste the difference as well. So EAT IT, Tokyopop, Viz, and all you other inferior manga publishers! CMX is like a well-aged sake that delights the palate, while your manga dishonors not only you but your ancestors as well.

Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Cares?

2004-07-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

Brilliant or crass? Marvel, ever mindful of the confusion their mega-crossovers generate, has created a little chart to help fans track which hero bites it next in the upcoming "Avengers Disassembled!" event:

Keep track of who lives, who’s hurt, and who gets the one-way ticket to that Avengers mansion in the sky with our handy Disassembled watch list.

Remember, it's all story motivated. It's not just shock for shock's sake. It is about the characters.

That said, I do love some of the descriptions of the fates suffered by various characters: "Valkyrie - FELL OUT OF THE SKY"; "Warrior's Three: Fandral - SHREDDED - WHERE'S HIS FACE"; "Warrior's Three: Volstagg - MISSED A FEW MEALS, FOUND STARVED IN CAVE" I'm already trying to guess how the Marvel staff will describe Ant Man's demise once Avengers #500 hits the stands: "Ant Man - HUGGED CORPSE OF FELLOW MALE AVENGER, OBLITERATED BEFORE NERVOUS FANBOYS COMPLAINED ABOUT POSSIBLE HOMOEROTIC/NECROPHILIC OVERTONES"

Now we just need DC to set up a similar checklist for all the indignities heaped upon Sue Dibny in Identity Crisis.

Eat It, Jakala!

2004-07-19T11:15:00.000-05:00

Well, the artwork isn't exclusive anymore. Go check out Newsarama for lots 'n' lots of preview art from AiT's upcoming books.

This Old House: Special Liebermania Edition!

2004-07-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

I've got a lot of house improvement projects that have to be finished by the weekend, so I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be doing this week. I'm tempted to say that I'll be taking the week off, but every time I announce something like that I immediately contradict it. So...I may or may not be blogging this week. How's that for helpful? (If I do end up not blogging, this is probably a good week to do it, since I haven't read the comics generating all the discussion / controversy / "backlash" in the blogosphere right now. (But I will be reading them eventually, although Eightball #23 won't arrive until early August.))

But before I go, here are some quick mini-reviews for two great mini-comics, both illustrated by the underrated Steve Lieber:

Me and Edith Head (Cold Water Press • 16 B&W Pages • $2.00 postpaid) is a story about an awkward teen learning to feel comfortable in her own skin. Katrina Lansdale yearns to snag a starring role in her high school's production of A Midsummer's Night Dream, but instead she's stuck with the unglamorous job of costume design. This story could have easily veered into schmaltzy "After School Special" territory, but thankfully writer Sara Ryan crafts a story that's subtle and understated, while artist Steve Lieber keeps things grounded in a simple but satisfying style that reminds me of a cross between David Lapham and Carla Speed McNeil. My only quibble would be that Katrina looks much older than her classmates, so at first I was a bit distracted wondering what her age was supposed to be. But then I remembered that I'm a horrible judge of how old people are in real life, so my being unable to tell Katrina's age shouldn't count against the book. Plus, it's nice to see a female high school student who doesn't look like all the usual clichés.

Family Reunion (Small Beer Press • 8 B&W Pages • $1.00 postpaid) is a short interlude in the life of William "Dead" Kennedy, a down-on-his-luck thirtysomething Texan who can see dead people. While attending a family reunion, DK has to try to figure out what's bothering a dead relative. If it sounds a little too "Sixth Sense," don't worry: Instead of simply going for shock or surprise, Sean Stewart's story deals with less fantastic elements, such as the tendency of families to gloss over, distort, or entirely rewrite unpleasant incidents from the past. And it's all rendered in a wonderfully appealing style by Lieber. I'm not quite sure how to describe the style, but it's very different from his work in Edith Head (aside from the completely believable "real people" characters in both books): It's much softer and more shaded -- as though it were done in charcoal. The faces of characters are more modeled and three-dimensional; I was reminded of the depth Kevin Nowlan's inks often add to other pencillers, but even that doesn't quite get at the look Lieber delivers here. I guess the only way to see what I'm talking about is to buy the mini-comic. (How's that for a subtle pitch?)

Finally, I should also point out that Steve Lieber is offering both mini-comics together for only two bucks. Why not skip one of the double-shipping Marvel comics and spend the money on something different this month? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with these charming short stories.

Overdue One-Line Reviews

2004-07-16T10:38:00.000-05:00

For Graeme: "Skidmarks is...a cute slice-of-life tale of actual ethical dilemma...told with charmingly loose art."

"Are Puny Humans Laughing With Hulk Or At Hulk?"

2004-07-15T23:12:00.000-05:00

So everyone's reading the Hulk's diary, but I haven't seen ol' Jade Jaws address this embarrassing moment from his past.

Eat It, CWN!

2004-07-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

That Larry Young is such a sweetie to us bloggers. Not only does he shower us with lots of comics to review (even when some of us aren't exactly quick at turning around reviews -- Jakala, I'm looking at you!!) but he also sends us other goodies as well, such as this EXCLUSIVE preview artwork from Brian Wood and Toby Cypress's upcoming work THE TOURIST:

Check out the rest of AiT/PlanetLar's 2004-05 publishing schedule for more info on THE TOURIST and other books.

Identity Crisis Crisis

2004-07-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

Given the controversy that's sprung up around Identity Crisis (especially the second issue), I'm interested in reading it, mainly so that I can be better informed when I wade into discussions about how the series might alter underlying assumptions about the DCU and its heroes. The thing is, I really don't want to shell out $3.95 an issue ($3.95 an issue??? Didn't DC say that after #1 "Subsequent issues are 40 pages at $3.50"? Guess they wanted to squeeze a little more money from hardcore fans) just to research the latest corporate comic crossover gimmick. So I'm wondering if there's anyone out there who's willing to work out some kind of arrangement whereby I can read the first two issues. Obviously, I'm hoping to get these as cheaply as possible, but I'm willing to swap for them or pay up to half cover price. I am not interested in the collectible value of these comics (which, let's face it, will be nil) so please don't offer to sell me a lot of 100 copies. Please contact me via email or in the comments thread below if you can bear to part with these comics. Thanks!

UPDATE: David Welsh has kindly offered to send me his copy of Identity Crisis #1, so now I'm just looking for #2 if anyone who really hated it is looking to get it out of their house.

UPDATE ONCE AGAIN: Johanna is sending me a copy of Identity Crisis #2, so soon I'll be able to join in the outrage and be informed while doing so! (Thanks, David and Johanna.)

"And In This Corner, Weighing In At Approximately 7.35 x 10^22 Kilograms..."

2004-07-14T19:23:00.000-05:00

My favorite part of this image is the implication that the moon is somehow a dark version of the Martian Manhunter:

And how do you pick a winner in that match-up? What are the moon's powers, other than its size and gravitational pull? If it can burst into flames, I might just have to go with the moon over J'onn J'onnz..

Marvel Solicitations On Crack

2004-07-14T18:03:00.000-05:00

The Marvel solicits are incredibly bizarre this month. Graeme has already caught many of the most outlandish ones on his blog, but here are some other snippets that amused me:

ASTONISHING X-MEN #6: "After the events of issue #5 – and its shocking return of a classic character – you MUST not miss another issue!" (I have to buy it -- the solicitation ordered me to do it!!)
CABLE/DEADPOOL #8: "Can Deadpool find a way to stop Cable from saving the world before Earth's Mightiest Heroes take a shot at it? Probably not..." (I just love the resigned way it peters out at the end.)
EXILES #53: "It’s up to the Exiles, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four to keep the Earth from becoming Ego Junior!" (Simply because the idea of Ego Junior is almost as good as Beyonder Jr.)
ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE #3: "There’s something under the Tunguska Wasteland, where a comet crashed a century ago. The Ultimates and the X-Men have entered it from different sides, unaware of each other—and unaware of what’s waiting for them. There’s something under the Tunguska Wasteland, where a comet crashed a century ago." (But is there something under the Tunguska Wasteland, where a comet crashed a century ago?)
SHE-HULK #8: "A titanic tale of foxy boxing in outer space! Yes, FOXY BOXING!" (Sigh - why hasn't Marvel released a trade for this series yet? I'm being punished for assuming that Marvel will simply release everything in trade, aren't I?)
PUNISHER #12: "The bloodcurdling, bloodthirsty, bloody ending to Kitchen Irish!" (They forgot bloodbath, bloodshed, bloodsport, bloodstained, and bloodhound!)

And in general I just love how everything's suddenly an anniversary: WOLVERINE'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY, MARVEL’S 65th ANNIVERSARY, MARVEL KNIGHTS 5th ANNIVERSARY. What, no celebration for ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR's 1st ANNIVERSARY???

And There Was Much Ambivalence

2004-07-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

Kurt Busiek and Ron Garney are the new regular team on JLA. Or they will be, once another rotating creative team's arc is over (following Busiek and Garney's own upcoming arc featuring the Crime Syndicate of Amerika). I'll admit I have mixed feelings about the news. I'm generally a fan of Busiek's work, but some of his stuff leaves me cold, including his Avengers run, as well as his JLA/Avengers mini, which the Crime Syndicate of Amerika storyline is ~~spinning~~ exploding out of. (And before you suggest that I should just avoid Busiek on superhero team comics, I liked his Power Company and Thunderbolts.) I'm also skeptical that Busiek can do a proper Morrisonesque take on the CSA, even if Busiek is working from a pile of character notes from Morrison himself. Finally, has Garney been able to maintain a regular schedule on a monthly book recently?

So while I can imagine half a dozen ways this could go wrong, I'm still curious enough to check it out. Plus, I can always hope that Kurt will have some of his Power Company cast join or interact with his JLA. (Between this and the upcoming Manhunter series, I figure there's a pretty good chance of seeing the Kirk DePaul character again.)

(I am wondering what will become of the JLA arc by Gail Simone and José Luis Garcia-Lopez, but it sounds as though there might be a "Legends"-type spin-off for JLA in the works, so presumably that's where the arc would see print.)

"Watch Out, Boy - She'll Chew You Up"

2004-07-14T11:21:00.000-05:00

CBR has an interview with Marc Andreyko, writer on DC's upcoming Manhunter series. It sounds as though Andreyko has some interesting plans for this series, including a focus on different conceptions of justice. (Jim Henley alert!) I realize that Manhunter is still going to be a mainstream superhero book, so I'm not going to get my hopes up for a nuanced examination of Rawls' Theory of Justice, but quotes like this still sound promising:

One of the predominant themes in the series is a discussion of "real" justice, something not seen in most superhero comic books and Andreyko says the issues is one close to his heart. "It's important to me to explore the concepts of justice, punishment and retribution because we all feel the need for these things whether it is on the terrorists who felled the WTC, the bully from grade school, or someone like Jeffrey Dahmer or Manson.

"Why hasn't this issue been explored in more comics? Well, it's not a black and white issue. It is incredibly complex and, even within my own opinions, I find myself torn between being pro-capital punishment in theory, but against it in its actual... Ahem.... execution. So, exploring the moral ambiguities and nuances of justice, along with the hypocrisies and inconsistencies, is a challenging and, I think, exciting journey."

I also liked Andreyko's remarks regarding the problems of costuming female superheroes:

Female protagonists are generally hard sells for comic fans, unless there's an instant visual sex appeal or a long-standing history, but "Manhunter" is a series in which Andreyko hopes to buck the trend. Kate's costume is practical, not sexual; realistic not titillating and there's a good reason for that. "Not having Manhunter in some chain-mail, T&A costume was something that was agreed upon during the conception of the series. I wanted to write a complex female lead and was wholly supported, and advised/guided, by both Dan DiDio and Joan Hilty.

"That, and being a gay man, I tend not to ogle women in thongs and push-up spandex costumes [laughs]."

Maybe we need more gay men writing female comic book characters so we're not subjected to idiotic costumes like this:

(And I know Gail Simone has said she's planning on changing the costume at some point, but it still boggles the mind that Jim Lee thought this was a good design for a non-powered urban crimefighter.)

Pessimistic Previews: Street Angel #3

2004-07-14T09:20:00.000-05:00

Well, that was...different.

Fans of Street Angel might be a little let down by the third issue, due out in September. The story marks a departure from the manic, madcap tone of the earlier issues, and while the experiment is daring, it's ultimately disappointing. In place of the goofy ninjas and pirates that served as Street Angel's opponents in the past, this issue sees Jesse battling Satanic cultists who kill their victims in gruesome fashion. (One panel showing a priest's throat being torn out is especially ghastly.) There are still some humorous moments (such as a scene where Jesse throws the cult leader off balance by preemptively refusing his marriage advances) but overall the mood is decidedly darker.

Which raises an interesting question: Is it a flaw in a work if it doesn't deliver what its audience has come to expect from it? I'm not sure there's an easy answer. The first example that comes to mind is the old truism that Spider-Man comics work best when he's fighting street-level bad guys rather than cosmic-level or mystical threats. (Give me a break: I've been reading the surprisingly intriguing "Life of Reilly" series about the fiasco that was "The Clone Saga" so the example is still fresh in my mind.) I've seen this criticism leveled a lot against Straczynski's run on Amazing, which is probably fair. Spider-Man doesn't really work when it's all-mysticism, all the time. But I always liked the occasional story where Spidey would team up with Dr. Strange, if only because it was fun to see Spidey so out of his element.

So how does this apply to Street Angel? Well, part of the problem might simply be that it's too early in the series' run to change gears so drastically. The audience hasn't settled in enough to be ready for a study in contrasts. (To follow the Spider-Man example, Spidey didn't meet Dr. Strange until the second annual.) Plus, much of Street Angel's appeal was that it was designed to make comics fun again, so readers may feel somewhat misled by the sudden shift in tone. In fact, bringing back a sense of fun was practically trumpeted as a mission statement of sorts by creators Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca in an early interview. Yet with the third issue things have already become more "grim 'n' gritty": Jesse has been thrown out of a window and lies battered and bandaged as the Satanists attack. (To return to the Spider-Man comparison, the sight of Jesse bruised and bloodied reminded me of Mark Millar's "hyper-realistic" take on Spidey, a take that's very far from being fun.) True, in the same interview Rugg and Maruca indicated their desire to experiment from time to time, and I certainly don't want to pigeonhole them or the book. But just because something's different doesn't mean it's successful, either.

Perhaps it comes back to something David Welsh touched on in one of his reviews: Mastery of tone. In previous issues, everything "fit" no matter how odd or insane it seemed. In this issue, however, the humor feels out of place given the horrific elements that permeate the tale. In addition, there are other, more specific flaws that keep this issue from being as strong as what's come before: Narrative captions introduce a new character when that character remains off-panel for another page. The opening scene of Street Angel crashing through a window is never fully explained. (Who threw Jesse through that window? We can make an educated guess, but the writers could do more to integrate this isolated scene with the rest of the story.) Finally, the ending (which I won't spoil) is frustratingly ambiguous.

If it seems like I hated this issue, then I should clarify that I'm only being hard on it because I've come to expect so much from the series. If I gave out scores with my reviews, this would probably rate a solid 7 out of 10. (Heck, taking into account this issue's inside cover squid battle -- easily my favorite so far -- I might even be tempted to bump it up a notch.) Street Angel -- even when it's not up to its usual standards -- is still better than 90% of the comics out there.

DC in October

2004-07-12T18:12:00.000-05:00

Kevin Melrose has spotted DC's solicits for October. Some items that caught my eye:

Solo sounds like an interesting concept -- an entire issue devoted to a single artist illustrating stories involving multiple characters by multiple writers. The blurb says that artists are free to work "in a variety of genres" but the first issue (which focuses on Tim Sale) is 100% superheroes. Is that the way Solo will always work, or was that just what Sale wanted to do?
The first Focus collection is released, a 144-page, $9.95 TPB for Hard Time. Could it be manga-sized?
The CMX manga books are all running around 200 pages for $9.95.
I am very excited for this.
You knew it was coming once the writers of The Monolith took over on Hawkman: Guess who's guest-starring in Hawkman #33?
The next JLA arc is by Kurt Busiek and Ron Garney and ~~spins out of~~ I'm sorry--"explodes from the pages of Busiek's JLA/AVENGERS!" I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. But the return of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika might be enough to sucker me into checking this out.
Huh? John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" guest-stars in Outsiders #17. Is this another one of those hokey media tie-ins to get lots of free press? Well, it is written by Judd Winick...
Those kinky superheroes!:

Finally, Ed Brubaker is writing a two-part arc on Tom Strong, which might just be enough to get me to pick up this series again. (The fact that the two-parter is illustrated by Duncan Fegredo certainly doesn't hurt.) But I'm afraid even Brubaker isn't enough to make me interested in The Authority again.

Oh My

2004-07-12T11:34:00.000-05:00

I don't think I've seen this announced anywhere else yet, but it looks as though Mike Bullock (whom I know from the time I was a staff member at Broken Frontier) has not only launched his own site-slash-company but also written and created his very own comic. It's called "Lions, Tigers & Bears" and it reveals that Disney's Scar and Shere Khan were actually mutants with spooky glowing eyes:

Just kidding. Actually, the premise sounds pretty interesting. Here's how it's described on the Runemaster site:

A child’s instinctual need for the comfort of a stuffed animal is rooted in a reality long forgotten by the adult world. The hidden truth is that these companions have been defending children since the dawn of time. Follow young Joey on the adventure of a lifetime as he travels through the Stuffed Animal Kingdom, a journey that puts the fate of all the world's children in his hands and brings him face to face with his destiny.

Sounds reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh, The Velveteen Rabbit, and The Chronicles of Narnia, but with a darker twist à la CrossGen's Abadazad. It also sounds like a concept that would work well as a manga, so I'm interested to see how this is formatted. Will it be released as traditional floppy single issues, a thicker OGN, or smaller manga-sized digests? Is it being self-published, or will it be released through Dabel Brothers Production, where Mike is PR Director as well as a staff writer and editor? If it's the latter, how will DBPro's recent disputes with Devil's Due impact the series? Guess I'll just have to wait until more info is released.

Anyway, best of luck to Mike and everyone else involved in this project. It's certainly interesting to see smaller publishers step in to fill the gaps left by the Big Two when it comes to children's comics.

Marred Manga

2004-07-09T18:00:00.000-05:00

Wounded Man Volumes 1 & 2 - Wounded Man is a manga with a lot of potential, but that potential is marred by an ugly incident that occurs early in the first volume: Reporter (or "pure-as-white reporter" as ComicsOne's summary puts it) Yuko Kusaka, who has traveled to Brazil in search of a big story, is raped by Keisuke Ibaraki. Keisuke stops raping Yuko only when he discovers that she is (well, was) a virgin (a recurring element in manga illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegame; cf. Sanctuary and Offered). Keisuke is surprised by this discovery because Yuko didn't strike him as the virginal type with her determined, driven attitude. Nice. So not only does Keisuke rape Yuko, but he then goes on to insult her with a variation of the "you were asking for it" line of thought. ("If you had carried yourself demurely like a proper Japanese woman, I never would have raped you.")

Keisuke then attempts to apologize to Yuko, explaining that he only raped her so that she would go back to Japan and leave him alone. You see, Yuko is in Brazil to investigate reports that Japanese expatriates are mining for gold. And as it turns out, Keisuke is not only one of those gold diggers, he just so happens to be the most successful miner of them all--the rumored White-Haired Demon. Keisuke is stockpiling as much gold as he can find so that he has enough money to take on his dreaded nemesis, the all-powerful pornography company, GPX. (Incidentally, GPX stands for God's Pornographic X-rated Film. Not the pornographic films God watches, but pornographic films so pornographic they may as well have been made by God.) So why does Keisuke have such a hard-on for GPX? Well, it seems that GPX attempted to recruit Keisuke to star in their films, but he refused because of his devotion to then true love Natsuko, who died while she and Keisuke were captives of GPX. Now Keisuke has vowed to destroy GPX, but he needs lots of moolah to bring them down since they're so influential in the worlds of politics and business. (Apparently porn really does make the world go round.) And what does any of this have to do with Yuko? Who knows. The story never makes it clear. Perhaps Keisuke feared that her investigation would draw attention to himself. But if Keisuke is trying to avoid attention, then committing a violent crime seems incredibly stupid. What if Yuko had reported the rape to the local authorities? Then he'd be the subject of a police investigation in addition to Yuko's journalistic investigation.

It's too bad that the series is tainted by Keisuke's rape of Yuko, as it otherwise has a lot to recommend it. There are many themes worth exploring in Wounded Man: Can one sustain one's drive for revenge if one finds happiness later in life? Can one be faithful to the memory of a departed lover when one finds new love? Is it unfair to a new partner to remain too attached to an old love? Do puritanical societal attitudes toward sex create a harmful black market for pornography? Even without such meaty topics underlying the narrative, Wounded Man would still be a entertaining read because of its charismatic characters and the over-the-top scenarios they find themselves in. The interplay between Keisuke and Yuko is fun, playful, and believable. In fact, if we ignore the rape, Keisuke and Yuko actually have an enviable relationship. But we can't forget the rape. It looms over the entire book, since that's how Keisuke and Yuko met. Every time you get caught up in the story, it's there nagging at the back of your mind: Keisuke raped Yuko. How can you give yourself over to the series after that?

Perhaps that's another theme the creators intended to deal with in the series: To what extent does a horrible past event color everything after it? However, the fact that Yuko's rape is quickly forgotten within the story argues against such a charitable interpretation. True, at first Yuko tries to enact "revenge" on Keisuke by getting him aroused but denying him the opportunity to satisfy his urges, but that quickly ends after the two engage in an act of consensual love-making midway through the first volume. After that, Yuko can't proclaim her devotion to Keisuke often enough, insisting that she would gladly die for him. I certainly don't mean to suggest that life and happiness end after rape, but I simply can't wrap my mind around the notion of someone falling in love with her rapist. It might have been interesting to show how Yuko carried on with her life after being raped, but having her fall so quickly and completely for her rapist trivializes the impact of the violence committed against her. She treats her rape as some insignificant slight, something no more meaningful that Keisuke forgetting her birthday.

Even worse, the creators attempt to portray Keisuke as some noble soul who deserves Yuko's deep and utter adoration. After all, wasn't Keisuke willing to die for True Love? Perhaps, although it should be noted that this account comes from Keisuke himself, who doesn't exactly seem to be the most modest individual around. Perhaps he's engaging in a little self-serving revisionist storytelling? At any rate, even if Keisuke was once as high-minded as he says he was, his actions in the present call into question his current character. This is a man who is willing to leave Yuko tied up to a tree to serve as bait for his enemies. This is a man who tells Yuko to satisfy herself with a corpse's artificially-induced erection. And, of course, this is a man who raped a woman in order to scare her off his trail. Any man who could contemplate that as a proportionate course of action is permanent damaged goods in my book.

The disturbing thing is, as much as I actively dislike Keisuke, I still want to continue reading the rest of this series. Not because I care about Keisuke and his self-indulgent quest, but because I've grown to care about Yuko (despite her abominable taste in men--"Smart Women, Foolish Choices" is an incredible understatement in her situation) and want to see what happens to her. Perhaps this is the greatest trick writer Kazuo Koike (yes, that Kazuo Koike) pulls off: He crafts both a character so engaging and a character so repulsive that readers stick around to see if the former will ever escape the latter. With any luck, Keisuke will reach his demise and Yuko will be free of his loutish charms.

UPDATE, Sunday 7/11: $#%@! Talk about jinxing things...

Sequent And It Looks Like Art

2004-07-09T10:21:00.000-05:00

While I wasn't looking, the site Continuity Pages revamped itself as Sequart. The site's design leaves much to be desired, especially that ghastly front page, but what the site lacks in aesthetic appeal it more than makes up for in quality content. One of the best columnists so far is Jeff Chon (and I'm not simply saying that because Jeff just emailed me to ask if he could quote one of my brilliant insights on manga in a future column; really, I'm not), whose column "Arbiter Of Good Taste" is a snarky delight. Some sample segments:

On superhero comics' continued move from goofy silliness to grim 'n' gritty seriousness:

Green Arrow used to be a guy who shot plungers and boxing gloves from a bow. Now he’s an earnest tough guy with an acute social conscience who no longer shoots arrows with whoopee cushions and chattering teeth attached to them. Why forsake one for the other? Why suck out all the charm and the one thing that distinguishes him from Hawkeye? Why can’t Green Arrow be an earnest social crusader who shoots arrows with wax lips as tips?

On the similarities between recently departed former president Ronald Reagan and now-inactive comic book activism site Savant:

I wrote for a site that was like Reagan in many ways -- it polarized the public, certain people wanted it to die, and it also was involved in an arms for hostages deal.

On the behemoth that is Previews:

As you may or may not know, a gigantic mountain of crap is released every month and there are a lot of great comics you may have missed in Diamond Previews while reading about the lunchboxes and Zippo lighters.

Jeff, in a long aside leading up to his review of Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind, also has skeptical thoughts on the effectiveness of American comic publishers repackaging their works to resemble manga:

Some people view manga as the new “starter comics,” in that kids will read Dragonball Z or Inu Yasha and then graduate to something more sophisticated like Micronauts ... in theory. Manga will save the mainstream comics industry in less than two generations because of the new readers it will bring on board ... in theory. So, since manga is so popular, what American comics need to do is repackage their comics to look more like manga ... iiiiinn theory.

From the context, it appears that Jeff is mainly addressing attempts to draw characters such as Superman and Spider-Man with "big eyes, speed-lines, and spiky hair," but I wonder what he thinks about efforts to reformat existing Western works in the more bookstore-friendly manga digest size? I know Sean Collins has been a big advocate for this move, but Jeff's comments make me wonder if it'll really make any difference to fans of Detective Conan that Sin City is now going to be manga-sized.

I also loved Jeff's description of Nausicaä's elite pedigree:

I could be wrong, but this is the only comic in the marketplace written and drawn by an Academy Award winner. OK, fine -- two-time winner Diane Wiest (Best Supporting Actress: Hannah and Her Sisters, Bullets over Broadway) wrote something called Badrock Vs. the Bride of Robotjox, but until Rob Liefeld finishes drawing it, it’s merely a comic solicited by an Academy Award winner and nothing more.

And for those of us who weren't ga-ga over Spider-Man 2, we've found another like-minded soul in Matt Martin:

Apparently Spider-Man is basically just a super-powered firefighter. 2 for 2, Spidey!

Glad to see Doc Ock hit Magneto’s garage sale when he went looking for a fusion reactor…

Doc Ock is apparently either a master detective or an utter fuck-up. Harry sends him to convince Peter to give up Spider-Man’s identity. How does Octopus get Peter’s attention? By throwing a car at him when his back’s turned. So either Octopus knows that Peter is Spider-Man (and hence, his Spider Sense will save him) or he’s trying to kill him. And neither choice makes any damned sense at all.

Was there anyone in that movie that Peter DIDN’T take his mask off for?

Like lifting scenes (and sets) from the first movie for the second wasn’t bad enough, it looks like the third flick is setting up to be a straight remake. If you didn’t know it was a Marvel production beforehand, you sure as hell do now.

OK, that's probably enough shameless shilling for the site, right? So you'll make me look good when you quote me, right, Jeff? Jeff??

Last Month's Comics...Today!!

2004-07-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Slowly making my way through the big box of last month's comics that arrived yesterday:

Spectacular Spider-Man 15-16: I ordered this "two-parter" for all the wrong reasons: Because I liked the Steve Epting covers. Because I always enjoyed the old Marvel Team-Up series. Because I always thought Spidey and Cap were a funny match up. Well, at least the Steve Epting covers were nice. Other than that, these two issues were dismal. The chemistry between Spidey and Cap was off; Spidey's humor felt forced; and Spidey acted very out-of-character. (Having Spidey refer to a woman--even a villain--as a "skank" is just wrong.) Even worse, although this was billed as a two-part story, nothing is resolved by the end of issue #16. There's even a little "Continued..." caption at the end of "part two." (I think I'd like to suggest an addendum to Scott's S.C.R.U.B.S. system: +5 if a multiple-part storyline does not conclude with part X of X.)

Adventures of Superman #629: Not much to write about either way. Lt. Leocadio's attempts to seduce Superman (and his continued rebuffs) were somewhat interesting, but otherwise there was nothing that made me want to return next month.

Wonder Woman #205: Yes, Circe is still resurrecting Medousa. I think this sub-plot has been going on for the past half-year. I'm glad this was the final issue I pre-ordered.

After being so disappointed in the super-powered spandex comics offered by the "Big Two," I turned to Sgt. Frog Vol. 2 as an antidote. As the flowchart in the front (or back, depending on how natural the right-to-left formatting of unflipped manga feels to you) of the book indicates, this series has become an amusingly complicated soap opera featuring unconventional attractions: A hard-boiled alien male frog falls for a human teenage girl; a male soldier longs for his male superior; and a young boy feels his heart race every time an androgynous boy with wings and magical powers is nearby. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but Sgt. Frog continues to delight me.

Duds and Discounts

2004-07-06T16:12:00.000-05:00

Yipes! So that's what things look like when I don't turn on my PC for three days -- my Hotmail account is nearly full, and there's way too much to read throughout the comics blogosphere. Much of the blogging seems to revolve around a little movie called Spider-Man 2, which I did manage to see yesterday. So far Sean's take probably best sums up my own feelings, but I've still enjoyed reading Jim Henley's thoughts on the movie. I agree with Jim that the themes he discusses are in the movie, but that's part of my problem with SM2: The themes are in, around, under, and on top of this movie in such a painfully hammered-home way that it's impossible to get lost in the story. Everyone's speechifying their laughably inane thoughts in the most stilted manner possible. Perhaps this is the Ditko influence by way of Ayn Rand? We can't have moments that are subtle or nuanced; everything must be made obvious and tedious, preferably by having the characters pontificate philosophies at the audience via long-winded soliloquies.

I did think the filmmakers managed to make Doc Ock a much cooler villain than he ever was in the comics. Loved the idea of the arms controlling him, especially with the visual of the pincers as a dinosaur head whispering in his ear. The sound effects also went a long way toward establishing the alien-ness of Ock's tentacles without overdoing it. (Perhaps the movie would have been better if the special effects crew had also been responsible for reining in Maguire's and Dunst's performances.)

Back in the realm of actual comic books, I've been reading a lot of trashy, pulpy manga lately. My local Half Price Books has stacks of what look like remaindered books from ComicsOne, all reduced to the low, low clearance price of two bucks apiece. So I picked up full sets of Offered, Goku: Midnight Eye, and Kabuto, as well as the first two volumes of Wounded Man. (As further evidence that these books were remaindered, ComicsOne is unloading sets of these and other series at half-off on their website.)

Finally, DCBS has this month's specials up. Fans of Mark Millar should be happy, as both the Ultimates hardcover and the first MK Spider-Man collection are offered at 50% off. Myself, I'm more excited about the Russ Manning Magnus Robot Fighter HC (50% off), Andy Diggle and Pascual Ferry's Adam Strange #1 (75% off), and the first two volumes of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol (both 50% off).

Fanboy Associations

2004-07-02T14:50:00.000-05:00

"This guy starts thinking about superheroes at a level where most writers leave off."

- Sean Collins, on the genius of Brian Bendis coming up with the novel idea of killing off characters and having things blow up in "Avengers Disassembled"

For some reason, Sean's quote made me imagine Bendis referring to himself in the third person like Dr. Doom: "Who but Bendis would have the vision to slip a tamer version of 'Fuck, Marry, Kill' into an Avengers script? WHO BUT BENDIS WOULD DARE?! Other men would leave off with the Avengers fighting three, maybe four Ultrons, but such paltry threats are for lesser writers. For Bendis is BENDIS, and only HE could conceive of a level where the Avengers fight five Ultron robots!!!!"

To All The Links I've Loved Before

2004-07-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Eve Tushnet reads more manga. She enjoys "so-good-you-won't-believe-it's-manga" Planetes but is less enthused about Gyo.

Johanna links to the Grotesque Rampage Forum's discussion of the "Avengers Disassembled" preview at Newsarama, thereby saving me the trouble of reworking my snark into a blog entry.

ADLO! is at it again, dissecting the hidden meaning behind two recent covers. And they've even provided helpful English translations of everything, including the annotated cover art! (Love the "creative origami" newspaper shield.)

Graeme (the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn't very pretty) links to two especially disturbing threads.

Johanna and Laura Gjovaag have gone crazy and are reviewing every single free comic coming out for FCBD. Start at the linked threads and work your way up.

Everyone else has already seen Spider-Man 2, but I probably won't get to it til this weekend.

H at the Comic Treadmill has a looooooooong look at The Golden Age Spectre Archives. I thought the collection was frightfully dull, but H gets a lot of mileage out of it. I particularly liked his "Wrath Watch" feature, where H tracks whom the Spectre killed and how. (And the crack about each 10-page tale in the Archive being equivalent to a trade paperback collection today was funny, but I'd still rather read most stretched-out modern storylines than the tightly-packed but painfully written comics of yesteryear.)

David Welsh's description of a single throwaway gag in Sgt. Frog Vol. 2 convinced me to break down and order the book online since I couldn't find it anywhere locally. I can picture the “Please… keep horseplay to a minimum” sign David describes and I'm already laughing, which I think is a testament to creator Mine Yoshizaki's strong, distinctive style.

J.W. Hastings has a very nice discussion of the Intentional Fallacy Fallacy. After reading this essay, I realized there's really no point in my ever trying to write that follow-up piece on reviewing I once promised.

Barbar compares Dark Knight Strikes Again and Planet of the Capes. Personally, I think he's giving DKSA too much credit, but the two-in-one review is still an interesting read.

And in case I don't blog again before then, here's wishing everyone a Happy Fourth of July and Free Comic Book Day!

Wallowing in Marvelous Nostalgia

2004-06-29T16:41:00.000-05:00

As a follow-up to the previous entry, here's a site that offers a summary of every single issue of Marvel Two-In-One, including #58 (although the overview probably still doesn't offer enough context to make sense of that scene). I like that the site tracks whether or not each issue makes reference to "Clobberin' Time!" or the Thing's Aunt Petunia. Be sure to check out the cover galleries. And add MTIO to the list of Essentials I'd like to see in the future. I love that the Thing was generally stuck with B- and C-list heroes as guest-stars in his book, while Spidey got all the "big name" heroes over in Marvel Team-Up. In my mind, that only increases the appeal of MTIO.

The MTIO site led me to another fun distraction, The Unofficial Marvel Value Stamps Index. Those who read Marvel comics in the mid-Seventies will undoubtedly remember these goofy stamps. Whether or not you look back on these stamps fondly probably depends on how much financial damage you did to your collection by cutting up your comics.

Finally, this site has more (much, much more) than Marvel-related characters, but I particularly love the Micro-Hero versions of the Heroes for Hire characters, the Earth X interpretations, and all the What If variations. I also like the page dedicated to Amalgam characters, but that's mainly due to my unclean love of the Amalgam concept. (I'm probably the only comic fan out there who'd like to see a yearly Amalgam anthology. Wasn't that an idea that was tossed around at one point, or am I just completely allowing my strange desires to distort my memories again?).

Out-Of-Context Comic Book Theatre

2004-06-29T09:05:00.000-05:00

From Marvel Two-In-One #58

(Special thanks to Ed Cunard.)

Street Angel Contest Winners

2004-06-28T09:10:00.000-05:00

Here are the winners in the Street Angel Squid Contest:

First Place (new to Street Angel division) - Scott from Polite Dissent:

Untrue Tales of Medical School: The Squid

It was late in my fourth year of medical school, and I was three days into my mandatory cephalopod rotation. As usual, I had drawn the short straw, so instead of working at the new hospital on the waterfront, I was stuck downtown at Captain Larry's Animal Hospital and Discount Seafood Shoppe.

There were two students on the rotation: Jesse and me. I hadn't seen her around much before, but she seemed to know her stuff. There was also one third-year resident and a variety of senior physicians.

Sitting in staff lounge drinking coffee, Jesse and I looked at each other and smiled. It was shaping up to be an easy day. We had discharged most of our patients yesterday, and only four remained in the entire hospital. Rounds would be quick, and we might actually have an afternoon off.

The morning started simply. We had sent the last cuttlefish home the day before, so there were no patients in the cuttlefish ward. We moved on to the octopus ward. There were two patients there. The first was an unfortunate fellow who had tried to impress his girlfriend by line-dancing, tripped, and managed to tie all of his eight legs into a series of knots. Working with a surgeon, we had managed to untie six of the legs so far. Later this morning, we were going to work on the last two. The surgeon was concerned as it was a complex knot consisting of a sheetbend, bowline, and taut line, with a little bit of clove hitch mixed in as well. We had to call in the local scoutmaster for assistance. The surgeon just kept walking around mumbling something about bowlines, and the rabbit going through the hole and around the tree then back down the hole. I'll never understand surgeons.

The second patient was a septopus. He was born with seven legs instead of the normal eight. He was here for the placement of an artificial leg, as well as some much needed counseling. He had a bad case of tentacle envy.

After the octopus ward, we moved on to the squid ward. The first patient there was sulking in his aquarium. He had been admitted for some scratches he had obtained in a bar fight. He claimed his name was Topo, and that he was a famous squid with famous friends. He kept telling us, “Just wait ‘til Aquaman gets here! He'll bust a cap in your ass!” The resident just smiled, nodded and upped his antipsychotic medications. I unwrapped his bandages and looked at his wounds. They were healing well with no signs of infection, so I expected we'd discharge him home (or to his so-called “Aquacave”) the next day.

The final patient was a new admission. The Coast Guard had brought him in the previous night. They claimed that he was SWI (Swimming While Intoxicated), or as they put it “marinated.” He was a big squid, with a mean look in his eyes. As soon as we walked in the room, he started gnashing his beak and thrashing his tentacles. The resident ignored his posturing, and grabbed the chart from the side of the aquarium. “Vitals are looking good, and labs look good, though his blood alcohol content is still off the charts. Nothing much to do but wait.” He turned to us, and handed the clipboard to Jesse. “He still needs his admission work-up, so why don't you two get started, then give me a call when you're done.”

Jesse handed me the clipboard, and stood back against the wall. She had this thing about squids. I moved up next to the aquarium. One of his saucer-shaped eyes glared at me as I began asking questions. He answered quickly, but tersely. There was clearly some underlying anger there.

I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a crashing sound behind me and I spun around to see two tentacles wrapped around Jesse. She had grabbed an IV stand and was bashing the tentacles.

“Hose it down with some IV fluid,” she yelled at me. I grabbed the nearest IV bag, ripped open the bag, and began spraying it on the tentacles.

“No you idiot!” she yelled at me. “That's saline, and squids like salt water – use fresh water!”

Frantically, I looked around the room as Jesse was being pulled closer and closer to the squid. She was fighting valiantly, lacerating the tentacles with a scalpel she had picked up.

I found some bottles of sterile water in one of the cabinets, opened them up, and began pouring it on the tentacles. Slowly, one of the tentacles let go of Jesse. Relieved, I didn't see another tentacle come up behind me until I was knocked sprawling across the room. Two more tentacles grabbed Jesse, and dragged her nearer and nearer to the tank.

As she was being dragged across the floor, Jesse managed to grab the defibrillator from the Code Blue cart and switch it on. A high-pitched whine could be heard as the paddles charged.

“Clear!” she yelled and pressed the paddles against a tentacle. A smell of ozone and burnt flesh filled the room as the squid yanked his still smoldering tentacle back into the tank.

“Clear!” she yelled again, and shocked a second tentacle. The squid pulled all his remaining tentacles back to the tank. He glared at Jesse, and then began to pull himself out of the tank toward her.

There was a sickening thud as a heavy oxygen canister landed firmly on the squid's head. Slowly, he settled back down into the tank. Standing behind him, with an irritated look on his face was Captain Larry, the owner of the hospital and seafood shop.

“If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: don't piss off the squids,” he said, then stomped off to the front of his shop, his peg leg beating a staccato rhythm against the tile floor.

I never saw Jesse again after that day; I'm told she dropped out of school. For me, the rest of the rotation went smoothly, but I was certainly glad to return to a normal hospital. As for that giant squid, he never bothered us again. The sign on the front of the shop the next day said it all: Calamari, $1.99/pound.

First Place (current reader of Street Angel division) - Steve Mohundro:

First Place (employee of Slave Labor Graphics division) - Jennifer de Guzman (click for larger, easier-to-read version):

First Runner-Up - Matt Cash (click for slightly larger version in color):

Second Runner-Up - Libby:

Congratulations to all the winners, and thanks to everyone who participated, especially those who already owned the issues but were inspired to contribute anyway. Winners, please email me your addresses so I can send you your prizes, and everyone else - buy Street Angel!

Re-examining The Classics

2004-06-25T11:46:00.000-05:00

The V reconsider some of the supposed comic book classics:

Animal Man, what a load of rubbish. "Look, a picture of a hand holding a paintbrush! SIGNIFICANT!"

What fucks me off is MIRACLEMAN! "Oooh, look at me, I'm Superman, but I'm God, too!" - oh, how fucking clever. And oo, a Nietzsche quote, fucking get you, Alan Moore.

Don't forget Sandman! What a load of old tripe! "Have you read any books? Not as many as me! Where're my Sisters of Mercy albums?"

FROM HELL - "Whhoooaaaaaaaah, BUILDINGS ARE INTERESTING! And look as I TELL YOU A STORY YOU ALREADY KNOW!" YAWN.

FLEX MENTALLO - "Ooo, look at my gay knickers! And now some shit about a rock star for completely no reason!" And all the superheroes were shit! I don't want to read about Morrison's wank-fantasies!

Look at Jimmy Corrigan - "Oh, woe, I'm a fat depressed bloke, isn't my life terribly meaningful?" No, and your comic's rubbish! It's all tiny boxes! If I wanted tiny boxes, I'd buy a Kellogg's Variety Pack!

The Dark Knight Returns? Ooooh - it's a guy dressed up as a fucking bat. I'm sure we're all petrified.

It's all such complete crap! "I'm Akira, look at me! I'm so fucking Japanese!" Putting a million explosions in your story instead of a story that makes sense should be illegal!

The only book that seems to hold up is that unassailable classic, ZERO HOUR: "Comics were gash before ZERO HOUR!"

Street Angel Squid Contest: Final Day!

2004-06-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the last day to enter the Street Angel Squid Contest. Entries must be submitted to me at grotesqueanatomy@earthlink.net by midnight Central time. And to sweeten the deal, SLG's Jennifer de Guzman has graciously added a copy of Street Angel #3 (due out in September) to the prize package! So you could win not one, not two, but three issues of the series Paul O'Brien referred to as "gloriously insane," "unmissable," and "even better [than] fantastic"!

Today's sample squid story comes from Rick Geerling:

I think this must be a screenshot from the upcoming Street Angel video game. And as Ken Lowrey pointed out, Rick managed to misspell 'luscious,' but that just makes it funnier.

Also be sure to check out Dave Lartigue's four-line tale of battle in the modern online age. (This could be the first story that makes me feel bad for the giant squid.)

Finally, don't forget to enter! And remember that Rick and Dave, as current readers of Street Angel, are ineligible to win, so you're not competing against them. Now send me more squid stories, dang it!

A Look Back At Bargains

2004-06-24T15:10:00.000-05:00

Reporting back on some of the bargains I mentioned two weeks ago:

Crying Freeman Perfect Collection: Portrait of a Killer - Yep. I thought this looked like "a gonzo mix of sex and violence, all gorgeously illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami," and I was right. The gimmick of having Hinomura Yo cry every time he assassinates someone was a bit odd, though. Was this meant as a way of making an otherwise unlikable character sympathetic? ("Yeah, he kills all kinds of people, but he feels really bad about it.")

Gon - Short, silly, silent strips detailing a tiny but powerful dinosaur's run-ins with other wildlife. The stories are cute but a bit too quick, even taking into account the time that one can spend admiring Masashi Tanaka's lavish artwork. I'm wondering how this book would go over with young children. On the one hand, the stories are easy to follow and full of broad humor. But on the other hand, kids might be put off by the detailed artwork, which almost seems like the antithesis of what one generally considers cartooning due to its intricate linework.

Club 9 Volume 2 - I generally think of this as a fun, lighthearted series, so re-reading the chapters collected in this volume came as somewhat of a shock: I'd forgotten how tense the scenes dealing with a customer who attempts to force himself on Haruo are. The book is still an upbeat one overall, but that opening sequence is as dark and suspenseful as anything Hitchcock came up with.

Chobits Volume 1 - I can see what Johanna likes about this manga, but I still think it's all dressed up in a manner too geared towards titillation. For example, Chi, a persocom (a humanoid computer companion), is "turned on" when Hideki sticks his finger up her vagina. Chi's arousal/activation is visually reinforced by having all her tattered garments fly off before she throws her naked body at Hideki. Hideki lusts after Chi, which is a bit disturbing since the art and plot cast her as a young child relying on Hideki as her guardian. Later, Hideki meets up with a little boy who surrounds himself with persocoms dressed as (and presumably serving as) personal sex slaves. In the end, the interesting themes this book touches on are undercut by the art's pervasive pandering.

Sanctuary Volume 6 - Less annoying misogyny in this volume compared to earlier ones, although perhaps that's only because the general presence of women is almost nil: Ishihara hardly has any scenes in this volume, and when she does appear, it's basically to fawn over Hojo. A nice twist involving the primary antagonist of the series and the standard lovely art from Ikegami make this an enjoyable installment in this pulpy, political manga.

Berserk Volume 2 - Well, the villain in this volume was imaginatively grotesque (I was reminded of the oversized morphing flesh-babies from AKIRA combined with the slug-people from UZUMAKI) but the story still fell flat for me. I can see how the over-the-top action is exciting in a visceral sort of way, but there's really nothing to ground the spectacle. Yes, I know that Kenturo Miura is slowly planting the seeds for the eventual reveal of Guts' tragic past, but it's already two volumes in and I simply don't care.

Benkei in New York - The character of Benkei is definitely the best part of this book. Pudgy and principled (he won't use a gun, because it distances one too much from the intimacy of the kill), he's definitely not your average hired killer. But the stories themselves are somewhat unsatisfying. I'm not exactly sure why. Perhaps I'm having trouble reconciling the realistic art with the implausible plots. It's not a bad book by any means, but I found it disappointing somehow. Perhaps my expectations were just too high going in.

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! - A fun but forgettable collection of strange cases wrapped up in three separate tales. Reminded me somewhat of Paradox Press' "Big Book" series, but those were probably more successful in the end because they didn't try to force unrelated events into one narrative.

Batman: Gotham Noir - Probably one of the best Elseworlds I've read, in part because it focuses on a different character than usual (Jim Gordon instead of Batman) and does such a good job of evoking the style it's emulating. This really did feel like a noir thriller, complete with the down-on-his-luck P.I., the dangerous dames, and the rotten underbelly of polite society. Writer Ed Brubaker turns in some great hard-boiled dialogue, while artist Sean Phillips and colorist Dave Stewart do an outstanding job on the artistic duties. I also thought the twist at the end worked very well.

Batman: Reign of Terror - What can I say? It was a Batman Elseworlds. It hit all the familiar notes, although surprisingly the Joker was not present (unless I missed him). Instead, the villain of the piece was Harvey Dent, here playing the role of the Phantom of the Opera. I'm not up on my French literature, so I'm sure there were references that slipped past me, but it was still a mildly fun diversion with nice José Luis García-López art.

Reaper - Yeesh, this was awful. Reading this I was reminded of the guy in your high school art class who spent all his time drawing muscle-bound barbarians chopping up each other, with the carnage rendered in excruciating detail. I imagine this is the kind of comic that guy would go on to create. Plus, it really was an amalgamation of almost every CrossGen comic ever published. You had a brash young warrior (Ethan from SCION) who was preternaturally skilled in combat (Arwyn from SOJOURN); a viciously sadistic and seemingly unbeatable foe (Mordath from SOJOURN; Charon from NEGATION; Bron from SCION; come to think of it, pretty much any CG bad guy); a mysterious floating lady who went through all the trouble of putting on clothes, only to have her nipples perpetually showing anyway (kind of a combination of CG's "mentor" concept with the revealing wardrobe of THE FIRST); a grotesque henchmen created by the very villain he was sworn to destroy (Javi from MARK OF CHARON or any of the Negation from CRUX); a nebulously Asian setting (WAY OF THE RAT, THE PATH); horribly bloody and violent swordplay (THE PATH); and a magical MacGuffin everyone's fighting over (WAY OF THE RAT, SOJOURN).

Only Two Days Left!

2004-06-24T09:43:00.000-05:00

Well, two days to go in the Street Angel Squid Contest and stories continue to pour in from fans who have already read Street Angel, but so far participation is light from those yet to experience the delights of this comic. Aren't you curious to sample a series that can inspire such creativity in its fans? First up is a two-page mini-comic by Shawn Hoke (click for slightly larger images):

Next up is an interesting little story from Shane Bailey that adds a bit of continuity to the previously-viewed squid battles:

It began with blackness. Dark, dank blackness that spread as far as the eye can see in all directions across the sky. The giant squid Chktlla'thukla eclipsed the sun's rays as it spread its inky fluids across the once blue sky. Millions panicked as the end drew near. Chktlla'thukla laughed mightily with his giant pincers and waved a tentacle at the biggest building it could see. Just then it felt something; it felt fear. Chktlla'thukla had never felt this emotion before. It floated in the atmosphere looking at this one solitary girl on a skateboard and it was scared...terrified. It swatted missiles away and turned to run, but it couldn't take its eye off the girl for fear that she would strike when it was exposed. A missile made it through and almost hit its eye due to his concentration on the girl and as he blinked it away he lost sight of her. Chktlla'thukla screamed in panic writhing across the sky looking around buildings and in windows. It could find the girl nowhere. This fear was too much...it could take no more and turned to leave and head back to its home out in space, but it caught a flash out of the corner of its eye as it turned. Oh No. The girl rode toward a makeshift ramp on the rooftop closest to Chktlla'thukla. She gained more and more speed as Chktlla'thukla swung its mighty tentacles wildly, hoping to stop what it knew was destined to happen. The girl knew the one spot to hit to bring down the mighty god of the spaceways. She was destined to always stop Chktlla'thukla in all of his forms. She had already defeated his servants both in the ocean and on land in what the humans call a "wrestling match." The girl jumped from the building on her skateboard, losing the board as she flew through the air with a mighty kick straight at Chktlla'thukla's eye. She connected with a sickening squish as her foot entered his eye and the last thought that entered into its mind was..."Where's Wertham when you need him."

Since both Shawn and Shane have already read Street Angel, they're not eligible for the prize. Which means less competition for you. So don't delay! Enter today!!

WorldWatchMen

2004-06-23T18:31:00.000-05:00

Over at The V, Matt Craig deciphers what Tom Derenick was getting at when he said, "I received the script for issues #5 and #6 and you'd swear to God he was channeling Alan Moore at some points."

Which means that the description for Panel One was three pages of detailed instructions on how big to draw the breasts, and how proud the nipples stood.

"IN THIS PANEL, THE THERMOSTAT ON THE WORLDWATCH ORBITING MONITOR BAY HAS BEEN SET TO 13 DEGREES CELSIUS, OR TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-SIX KELVIN. CONSEQUENTLY, THERE'S A BIT OF A NIP IN THE AIR, HA HA HA.

HA.

MISSUS ROBOTSON'S BREASTS ARE PENDULOUS AND FIRM, LIKE THOSE OF A YOUNG MADELINE ALBRIGHT. SHE'S ABOUT A 42"-E. LEFTY IS MARGINALLY BIGGER THAN RIGHTY, AND THEY LOOK AS IF THEY AREN'T ON SPEAKING TERMS.

HER SKIN IS PALE AND SLIGHTLY TRANSLUCENT, LIKE SOFT MILK CHOCOLATE, AND IT'S CLEAR THAT SHE HASN'T WORN A BRA FOR A WHILE. NO NASTY STRAPMARKS, HERE.

HER NIPPLES ARE PINK, AND HARD IN THE COLD. HER AUREOLES, WHICH ARE ABOUT THE SIZE OF A SILVER DOLLAR (AGAIN, LEFTY>RIGHTY) ARE A BIT BOBBLY.

IN THIS PANEL, MISSUS ROBOTSON IS BEHIND A CLOSED CELL DOOR. AND WE CAN'T SEE HER."

With scripts like this, The Absolute WorldWatch would certainly be an interesting prospect.

"If This Be My Destiny!"

2004-06-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

Only three days left in the Street Angel Squid Contest. If you've heard about this great comic and are interested in a chance to win the first two issues, all you have to do is submit a story involving some sort of battle between Jesse and The Giant Squid. (Sounds like a bizarre children's book, doesn't it?) Here are two sample entries (non-eligible, by the way, so don't worry about having to compete against them) to inspire you:

Cosmic Sky-Skating Street Angel vs. The Space Squid, by Graeme McMillan
(click for larger image)

Next up is a bit of poetry from Ed Cunard:

STREET ANGEL VS. SQUID: THE FINAL BATTLE

The final battle for supremacy will not be fought with fists and tentacles, but with words. The scene: the Lyricists Lounge. A crowd hype for blood, aching for confrontation. The rules are set – each gets two chances to show the world who’s the greatest. The Giant Squid takes the coin toss, and proceeds to tear into Street Angel with some battle rhymes.

GIANT SQUID

Oh, snap – what the hell is this I see?
Some scrawny street kid tryin’ to step to me?
I took you under the ocean and schooled you in the ring.
Now you’re hittin’ me up, tryin’ to bring
The battle rhymes? I own the ocean,
And I’m gonna own the streets
Check out my tentacles’ motion –
I’mma knock you right off your feets.
You’ll be needing a prosthesis
When I’m done spittin’ my thesis:
Watch your mouth, don't ever step out of line -
The Giant Squid, greatest of all time.

The crowd roars – the Squid owned. Street Angel keeps nodding her head, waits for the DJ to cue up the next beat, and just smiles.

STREET ANGEL

You’re a rhyme-biter, squid – you ain’t keepin’ it real
Scouring the ocean looking for lines to steal.
I wouldn’t put it past a crustacean
To engage in a little plagiarization.
LL Cool J dropped that line in ’97,
Your tentacled ass needs to call nine-eleven
To help you come up with some rhymes of your own,
And you still won’t hit the depths of an old Zen koan.
Stick to what you know, kid, don’t bother dissin’
The one comic character to whom everyone’s listenin’ –
Reviews from Jakala, Cunard, Doane and Hoke,
And each of them know your skills are a joke.

Everyone was feeling STREET ANGEL – she’s got the home court advantage. The squid smiles as best a squid can with its funky squid mouth, because he knows she’s slipped up. From the look on Street Angel’s face, she knows it too…

GIANT SQUID

Street kid, your knowledge is whack.
You best get your homeless ass back
To school, or maybe the library
To learn some knowledge contrary
To your train of thought – I ain’t no crustacean,
I’m a proud member of the United Nation
Of Cephalopods, and you only wish
You could run with my crew of Octopuses and scuttlefish.
But you wouldn’t know that, you’s a dummy,
And those dirty clothes are smellin’ real scummy.
Get back on that board, go fight some ninjas –
You won’t gain knowledge from injections from syringes.

It’s looking close – half the crowd is favoring the Squid at this point, the other backing Street Angel.

STREET ANGEL

Argue definitions all you want, and you’re right -
You’re not a crustacean at the end of the night.
Crab legs are top shelf, and you’re generic –
Red Lobster Calamari ain’t very esoteric.
STREET ANGEL’s gourmet, which is why
To take from the cliché, the end is nigh.
I’d be guaranteed a win even if your style wasn’t weak.
I’ve got the title – you’re just some mutant freak.
I schooled the Incas, I rocked the ninjas of Pangea
And now I took care of you like Imodium does diarrhea.
There could be only one victor – I remain autonomic
‘Cause in the end, bro, it’s my name on the comic.

…

After that, the crowd realized the point is moot.

"It’s her book, man. She had to win that shit. I mean, crap, look at SPIDER-MAN – everyone that cat knows ends up dying, but he’s still always crackin’ jokes and shit. Status quo and all that."

"It wasn’t totally a foregone conclusion – we’re talking Slave Labor, not Marvel Comics. I mean, yeah, if it was Marvel, they’d try to forget about it. Clone who? Battle what?"

"True. But, damn, I got to give that squid props. I mean, for a sea creature, he rocked."

"Shit, that cat was recycling more lines than Chuck Austen. I was all ready for him to break into a line from Two Gentlemen of Verona and shit."

Street Angel gets down of the stage to throw her own two cents in.

"Kids, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who said what, who you thought was best, and how much that Squid sucks. It’s comics, guys. Arguing back and forth about it isn’t going to do a damn thing – you aren’t changing anything. I rocked the mic. I won. The end. Go home."

And at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.

See how easy--and fun--that is? Now c'mon, don't you want to take a stab at this?

Details on DC's CMX Manga Imprint

2004-06-22T19:11:00.000-05:00

UPDATE 6/23: Well, Newsarama is now running the same press release (although interestingly they only refer to the lower "ABOUT THE LEAD TITLES AND TALENT" section as being from the press release, perhaps to give the impression that Newsarama actually interviewed individuals at DC about this?), so I guess it's safe to say this is official.

~~Got this in my inbox. No idea if it's legit or not, but I figure this blog has no policy on running unsubstantiated press releases or not, so if it's a prank, it's no biggie. If it is true,~~ Congrats to Jake Tarbox, whom I remember fondly from his stint at Gutsoon!

DC COMICS LAUNCHES CMX,

A NEW MANGA IMPRINT IN OCTOBER

forthcoming titles include THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERs Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne AND TENJO TENGE, AS WELL AS TITLES by Tajima Sho-u (who created the character designs for the anime sequences in the FILM Kill Bill: VOLUME 1) and FUJII MIHONA’s GALS! (THE BASIS for the popular anime series SuperGals!)

Paul Levitz, President and Publisher of DC Comics (a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company) announced today that DC Comics will launch CMX, a new imprint of manga graphic novels, with the publication of three titles in October, 2004. The first three to be released are the initial volumes of MADARA (art by Tajima Sho-u and written by Otsuka Eiji from Kadokawa), Mekakushi no Kuni (illustrated and written by Tsukuba Sakura from Hakusensha), and EROIKA YORI AI WO KOMETE (illustrated and written by Aoike Yasuko from Akita Shoten.)

“There’s tremendous enthusiasm for manga in the States,” said Levitz. “New readers, particularly girls and women, have rushed to embrace new talent from abroad, which we’re excited to bring to American audiences as part of DC Comics’ commitment to publishing diverse and exciting works from around the world.”

Each of the CMX titles are Japanese manga, which are being released for the first time in the United States, and will be published in the traditional manga format—sized at 5 X 7 3/8”, with black and white interiors. Subsequent volumes of each series will be released on a quarterly schedule.

Upcoming titles include Fujii Mihona’s Gals ((GALS has been adapted as the popular anime series SuperGals!) from Shueisha), TENJO TENGE (by Oh! Great from Shueisha), 9 Banme no Musashi (by Takahashi Miyuki from Akita Shoten), Swan (by Ariyoshi Kyoko from Akita Shoten), MONSTER COLLECTION (by Sei Ito from Kadokawa Shoten), Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne by Tanemura Arina (from Shueisha), and AKUMA DE SORO (by Takanashi Mitsuba from Shueisha).

"We believe that manga readership is going to continue its rapid growth and also evolve in the US," said John Nee, Vice President of Business Development at DC Comics. "CMX is committed to publishing all genre of manga including horror, fantasy, science fiction and adventure titles and the line will be as diverse, and as author friendly, as that of DC Comics, Vertigo, and WildStorm."

Nee also announced today that DC Comics has hired Jake Tarbox as the Group Editor of the CMX imprint. Tarbox has spent the last 14 year living in Tokyo, Japan where he worked at Coamix, Inc. as the International Affairs Manager and Vice-Editor-Chief of Raijin Comics, administered the creation of the American subsidiary company Gutsoon! Entertainment, and edited the manga magazine, RAIJIN COMICS. Tarbox will handle the editorial responsibilities for the CMX imprint including overseeing the translation and printing of manga titles into English.

ABOUT THE LEAD TITLES AND TALENT:

MADARA Volume 1 (originally serialized in MARUKATSU FAMICOM magazine) represents the first work done together by the creators of the hit series MPD Psycho, artist Tajima Sho-u (who created the character designs for the anime sequences in the movie “Kill Bill”) and writer Otsuka Eiji. When his village is attacked by demons, Madara, a blacksmith’s apprentice, discovers that he possesses fantastic powers.

Artist Tajima Sho-u debuted as a manga artist in 1987 with the publication of Madara. He has worked on illustration and character design for computer games (including Galerians) and animation. He has illustrated MPD Psycho, Brothers Baby Baby, Madara Colors, and his current hit series Gorilla Kick.

In addition to his work with manga, writer Otsuka Eiji is a critic, essayist, and author of several successful non-fiction books on Japanese popular and “otaku” sub-cultures. In the 80s, Otsuka was editor-in-chief of MANGA BURIKKO, a leading women’s manga magazine where he pioneered research on the “otaku” sub-culture in modern Japan.

Mekakushi no Kuni Volume 1 was originally serialized in LaLa DX magazine from 1998 to 2004. In this nine volume series, creator Tsukuba Sakura tells the story of Otsuka Kanade, a high school girl who can see visions of the future. Should she act to change their fate, or sit back and wait for events to unfold?

A rising young author in the shojo manga world, Tsukuba Sakura decided to become a manga artist in high school. As she was about to graduate college, she furiously distributed her work to publishers. Her first published work was A Bright Spring Day, in LaLa magazine. She has also written and drawn Invisible World: a Dog’s Story (published in LaLa magazine) and Past Day Present (published in LaLa magazine).

Eroika yori Ai wo Komete Volume 1 was originally serialized in PRINCESS magazine from 1977 to the present. Eroika yori Ai wo Komete follows the adventures of a British aristocrat and international art thief who taunts his nemesis, Major Klaus Heinz von dem Eberbach, by leaving notes behind at the scene of his crimes, signed “From Eroica with Love.”

Aoike Yasuko’s first manga, Sayonara Nanette, was published in RIBBON magazine when she was fifteen years old. Afterwards, she garnered attention by publishing several hit stories in rapid succession, including Shojo Blend, When Roses Cry, Oh Carol, “I love you, Tetsu-sensei,” and “Hey, Young Guy.” In 1976 her sci-fi comedy Sons of Eve in PRINCESS magazine, represented a switch from pure shojo stories to a new kind of storytelling.

Debuting in 1977, Eroika yori Ai wo Komete became a huge best seller, and its sequel series is still being serialized today. The series is built on a great deal of research about European art history, and has helped to popularize many European painters in Japan as well as Japanese tours of European art museums.

Aoike Yasuko has continued a long and productive career in the pages of PRINCESS, a highly popular girl’s manga anthology magazine. But her work is so popular that she is at present concurrently publishing stories in several magazines. She is the creator of Miriam Blue's Lake, Sons of Eve, Seven Seas, Seven Skies, The Castle, Ivy Navy, Trafalgar, Z, Der Freischutz, Alcasar, The Tale of a Priest and a Doctor, The Day of Saladin, Richard, the Lion-Hearted, Brother Falco, The Temptation of Scarlet, The Carthaginian Fantasy, The Melancholy of Her Majesty, The Knight of Drachen, and Plus Ultra.

"Lo, There Shall Come...A Manhunter!!"

2004-06-22T15:30:00.000-05:00

Milo George wonders: "supercomics has inspired what first-rate writer[s] to create a similarly substantial body[ies] of criticism/critical journalism?"

Clearly, then, Milo is unfamiliar with the works of one Mr. John Jones, writer of the esteemed and erudite "Martian Vision" essays. Jones (brilliantly taking his pen name from an obscure 1950s character believed by some to be the first "true" Silver Age superhero) writes at length on such refined and rarefied topics as "Superhuman Sensuality," "Metahuman Metaphysics," and "Asexual Androids." He has also written exhaustive critical retrospectives examining specific creators' bodies of works. Finally, Jones has even provided his readers with transcripts detailing his correspondence with fellow students of the supercomic form.

If Milo is aware of Mr. Jones' writings but believes Jones does not fit the bill, then whom would Milo accept as a "first-rate writer" with a "substantial body of [supercomic] criticism"? Or perhaps Milo believes that Jones' occasional forays into other topics dilutes Jones' classification as a pure supercomic critic. Or could Milo and Jones have had a falling-out, inspiring a grudge similar to the one Jones holds toward writer Kurt Busiek? Whatever the case, it is my hope that after reading some of the afore-linked articles, others will acknowledge the unsung genius of John Jones (AKA, "Doc Nebula") even if Milo George will not.

Howling Over Howling Curmudgeons

2004-06-21T23:56:00.000-05:00

The comments thread for The Top Nine Comic Book Supervillains just makes my day:

Super-Gorilla Grodd.... Plus, and I can't emphasize this enough, he's a talking gorilla.

The Shark, for using an "invisible yellow force field" for protection against Green Lantern. Because Green Lantern's ring can't penetrate anything yellow, even if it's invisible. That's just plain good comics.

[On Thanos and his motivations:] That kind of psychosexual shenanigan is just plain good comics.

Kang the Conqueror is a yutz, who has yutz written all over him, and whose DNA coils up into chromosomes that remarkably resemble the word "yutz". ...As for Yutz the Conqueror, the fact that he also wants to show up on the list in four different kinds of drag contributes to his yutzian nature.

[On why The Anti-Monitor shouldn't make the list:] he's only great by fiat, which is to say about as great as Doomsday or Bane (albeit much better drawn), and he's got one of the worst names in comics. (Shouldn't the Anti-Monitor just... I don't know, not watch people?)

the Red Skull is just coasting on that whole Nazi thing. It's like he doesn't even try any more.

[On why Shazam villain Mr. Mind is cool, despite literally being a tiny little worm:] Besides, you have to give it up for a worm so evil, the state electrocutes him.

(There's also a spinoff thread where various people try to work out the parameters for what makes a Great Villain, but for my money the first thread is much more fun.)

Monday Miscellany

2004-06-21T23:12:00.000-05:00

Over at Broken Frontier, Shawn Hoke is running a mini-comics contest in conjunction with online mini-comics distribution Bowzizzer: Create your own mini-comic for a chance to win mini-comics!

Added two new bloggers to the blogroll today: Erin M. Schadt (otherwise known as the Comic Queen; thanks to Laura Gjovaag for the link) and David from Precocious Curmudgeon. Both are relatively new, but I'm already enjoying their snark. Here Erin offers some advice to the the artist on Birds of Prey: "Yep, women have boobs – get over it Bennett." David also noticed Bennett's boob fixation and how it undermined writer Gail Simone's emphasis on characterization and humor: "Unfortunately, guest artist Joe Bennett didn’t seem to get the memo. Tits ahoy!" (David has also discovered the joys of Sgt. Frog and is looking for other manga recommendations. Gero gero gero!!)

Hmm. When we were catsitting a couple months ago, Olive never seemed to show much interest in my comics. Maybe she just waited until I went to sleep and snuck into my office to read them.

I think I'm going to recommend this for ADLO's next round of critical analysis. If there's any undiscovered genius in Austen's work, I'm sure ADLO can find it. (I wonder if a publisher or creator would ever send someone a comic for mocking? "No, I don't want to review your comic. I just want to mock it mercilessly.") Thanks to Graeme for spotting this.

Got some more comic bargains yesterday, including the Dark Knight Strikes Again hardcover for only $6. After reading it, I wish I'd spent that money on something trashy and fun, like the first three volumes of Wounded Man, which were on clearance for $2 apiece. I was thinking of writing more about my reactions to DKSA, but I really don't want to set off another round of You Just Don't Get The Joke. Besides, I think ADD addressed pretty much everything I would have tried to cover. And Chris Allen summed up my feelings about the "But Miller Was Doing Something Different and Non-Reverential" defense with this line about Miller's art in DKSA: "[No] matter how admirable it is that he chose not to repeat himself, the art here is just flat-out ugly a lot of the time." Add plot, pacing, characterization, dialogue, attempts at humor and political satire, and everything else to that assessment and I think that about does it.

Finally, to end on a positive note, Newsarama has a blurb that Dark Horse will be reprinting Mike Baron and Steve Rude's Nexus as a series of trade paperbacks. No news on what exactly will be reprinted, but I'd love to have any of this classic series collected and sitting on my bookshelf.

Fantastic and Fascistic!

All Naked Rob Liefeld Captain America, All The Time

2004-06-21T14:14:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of Elena Berges, those of us unable to read Spanish can finally enjoy ADLO's analysis (warning: progressively work-unsafe) of Rob Liefeld's unique take on Captain America:

(Page 1)
(Image: Rob Liefeld's Captain America)

Greetings, true believers! Before you, *ADLO*! sets itself to distill the true essence of *genius*, the *peak* to which few artists (*Leonardo da Vinci* and *Mr Bean*, to quote two examples) have achieved thanks to the tip of their... *fingers*, and in which our spiritual leader *ROB!* moves like rice paper on the light table.

We all know this *great work* in which the artist par excellence presents the American symbol par excellence, *Coca Cola*.. erm, sorry, *Captain America!* in a version that not only took the best from the creations of *Joe Simon*, *Jack Kirby* and *Ana Rosa Quintana*[1], but raised it to the altar of geniality.

But *Genius* does not only come from innate *talent*. True *genius* digs below the mere drawing to reach the *essence* of the character. Just like *Picasso* rejected 50 sketches of the *Demoiselles d'Avignon*, to tell something about some chicks I haven't really understood, the great artist *ROB!*, who doesn't need so much sketching, dived into the character of *Captain America* to show us a deep portrait of American society.

Before all of us, *ROB!* shows the ideal American, multiracial, who speaks with an universal language to mankind; the shield, ready to protect, the chin mighty, firm chest, offering it to the enemy like a brave man, and a stance that makes us think not only of two pectorals, but of four.

NOTES:
[1] Ana Rosa Quintana is the Spanish Oprah, and famous for a case of plagiarism. This is why she's the muse of ADLO!

*******************************************************
(Page 2)
(Image: Same drawing, but without the shield)

However, behind that apparent invulnerability, the great artist reflects a more complex reality, and a hidden message only for intelligent eyes. But, *Alas!*, the genius of the artist's mind is far above ours, mere talentless mortals.

Be grateful that I, after a *revelation*, in which I saw Babylon burn, a goat with twelve horns and in each horn a name, and in each name a city, and in each city a... ehem, sorry, I mean, we've accessed the *Hidden Files* of *ROB!* to show us, readers, what hides *ROB!'s Captain America*.

Analyzing with spectrographies, chromatographies and X rays generously handed over by a *Kryptonian* we observe that divesting Captain America of his shield, the likeness, the strength of the character remain plain to see, but it's also made patent by the shape of his buttocks, his pressed abdominals (maybe a *girdle*?) and his swollen mammaries, that we are not only in front of a watchful *fatherly* figure, but also a *motherly* one, who waits lovingly for her children.

With this simple picture, we are offered a likeness of *America* as father - mother of her inhabitants. But, in the manner of *Chinese boxes*, where one revelation leads to another, lie in this work more *hidden messages*, that only with a risky communion of hi-tech and mystical expectation can we guess.

*******************************************************
(Page 3)
(Image: Captain America has been stripped off his clothes below the neckline and has a tiny tiny penis)

The *Father - Mother* duality of the symbolism inherent in the character, true believers, is strengthened in a deeper inspection.

Stripping *Captain America* of his clothes the *hermaphroditism* fades away. Despite the Captain's testicular ostentation, his *member* does not correlate to his mammary capacity.

What do we have here, then? He's no longer a *perfect* hermaphrodite, no longer the ideal *father - mother*. Now he is a father that tries to be a mother, because his authority, his *virile potency*, is reduced.

In a few lines, the *supreme artist* gives us an acute and critical reflection about the North-American society *Captain America* represents. From a father watchful for his children (the Army) to a loving mother (the Motherland) to a being of mere appearance. The sociologic criticism in a work of such symbolism, hidden to the majority, could only be made by a peerless genius.

*******************************************************
(Page 4)
(Image: Same as above, but the tiny tiny penis is erect)

But the surprises and the *message* that this *genius* has offered the world don't end in a mere criticism. If we *investigate* even further, if we *observe* more with the heart than the eyes, we will be witnesses of a *revelation*.

YES! Although we all could think that the *member* of the character was dead weight, *ROB!* shows us that it's *operational*. Ready to *penetrate*, to *conquer*, to face the adversities.

This is what makes a *hero*, rising above his *defects* to achieve what others do effortlessly and yet, surpassing them. *ROB!* hasn't made a mere portrait of a *superhero*, or a mere critic of a *nation*; no, true believers. *ROB!* has portrayed the whole of *mankind*. A portrait full of tenderness and love for humankind, which sees us as *heroes* fighting against ourselves.

We must be aware of the *messages* hidden in the work of the artist. And neither can we dwell on mere superficial analysis. The simple act of brushing the *work* of this author, of this *genius*, draws us to inspect ourselves, to peel off our layers of knowledge like the peels of an onion. We must *unlearn* our patterns of thinking. Only this way will we be able, if anything, to take a peek at what happens in the mind of a *genius*.

Truly thought-provoking stuff, but I'm still trying to work out how it all fits in with the ongoing "Are superheroes fascistic?" debate. (So Cap's tiny penis means he's not a fascist? Or does it make him [and, by analogy, the U.S.] more fascistic as he tries to overcompensate for his, ahem, shortcomings?) In the meantime, be sure to browse the rest of ADLO's site for further critical commentary, such as a page-by-page analysis of Liefeld's "Heroes Reborn" version of Captain America; an appreciation of the perfect Liefeldian female form; an examination of the symbolism behind Cap's size-changing shield; a comparative study of the many cases of plagiarism supposedly committed by Liefeld; and much, much more.

Sundry Sunday Linkblogging

2004-06-20T12:33:00.000-05:00

More updates to Friday's Rob Liefeld Captain America entry. I'm still waiting for the English language edition of ADLO's analysis of Rob's Cap, but in the meantime, Elena has a nice summary of the whole lost-in-translation spectacle so far.

CrossGen files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Comic World News originally broke the story, but their site's been down all morning.)

Matt Maxwell (not a permalink) covers covers. And while he may just be kidding about wanting to know what's going on with the cover to IRON FIST #1, I'm being completely sincere when I say that I'm looking forward to finding out why Iron Man and Iron Fist got into a fight with each other. Perhaps Tony Stark felt a hero with the name "Iron Fist" would weaken the strength of his own superheroic brand?

Johanna, responding to Carl Henderson's complaints, explains why she digs manga and why she thinks detractors are missing the point.

Johanna also reviews the new manga version of Sabrina. (I pre-ordered this and am looking forward to reading it before I pass it along to my niece.)

Speaking of Archie comics, I find this interesting because (for me at least) it demonstrates how a creator's later work (or the work you're most familiar with) can forever color your perceptions of his other work. I simply can't look at these earlier girlie pin-ups by Dan DeCarlo without thinking of Betty, Veronica, or any of the other "wholesome" gals from Riverdale. Which results in a weird case of cognitive dissonance for me, since I'm a fan of vintage pin-up art, but I'm creeped out by what my brain perceives as "dirty Archie comics."

I know this is an old one, but I just got around to reading it finally: Jason Kimble provides an interesting analysis of the divide between the extraordinary and the gentlemanly in League of Extraordinary Gentleman. His thesis inspires thoughtful responses from Marc Singer and Jess Nevins.

Finally, don't forget to enter the Street Angel Squid Contest, which ends Friday, June 25th!

Because Fans Forget What A Rack Romita's MJ Had

2004-06-18T17:31:00.000-05:00

In a vein similar to the snippets of the Paul Galacy interview Fanboy Rampage excerpted today, here's a choice quote from Newsarama's interview with Frank Cho:

NRAMA: While artistic renditions of Spider-Man stay fairly consistent, over the years different artists have depicted Mary Jane in a number of different ways… and this clearly makes sense. After all, she's a fashion model and should reflect the fashion of the times. So, considering this, what should fans expect from your stylistic rendering of Peter Parker's main-squeeze?

FC: A big rack.

(Cho goes on to say that he's only kidding, but looking at his sample art for Spider-Man so far it doesn't seem as though he's kidding. And I say that as someone who likes Cho's art, even his same-woman-every-time women.)

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

2004-06-18T15:53:00.000-05:00

Just when you thought you'd finally purged all traces of NAKED ROB LIEFELD CAPTAIN AMERICA from your brain, along comes this (translation via Babel Fish):

Days ago, one of my contacts warned to me that in one of the posteos of weblog call Grotesque Anatomy it was being spoken of Captain America de Rob Liefeld . Author, John Jakala, is not indeed fan of ROB! , but not even the greater detractors of the Teacher can escape to the influence of their magic: the dream of John was to see America Captain of ROB! so and as Diso it brought it to the world. But their searches in Google ("ROB LIEFELD CAPTAIN AMERICA NAKED") were unfruitful... how it was going to know he who that single material was available in Spanish, ADLO courtesy!

The case is that I have never resisted to make a boy happy, so I connected the page at issue in comments of his weblog (for general rejoicing of its visitors). And he is peculiar to verify how, once last the initial impact, to the Americans gave them to do one of the things that better know to do...

... to censure the image

Even more interesting were some of the remarks in the comments thread about this "censored" image:

"I believe that they have taken a step further on in search of gallant sex: the Captain practicing zoofilia with a starfish." (Again, translation courtesy Babel Fish.)

Dear lord. Dave Lartigue has unintentionally added to Cap's humiliation by depicting him as a...lover of starfish. (I'm reminded of that Simpsons episode with Troy McClure's "fish fetish": "What I have is a romantic abnormality--one so unbelievable that it must be hidden from the public at all costs.") I don't even want to know what, by extension, that logic implies about this picture:

(There's more of interest at the Adlo blog, including this entry about the weird disconnect between Marvel's different imprints and the level of sexualization in the covers for each respective imprint. Or at least that's what I get out of the post as rendered by Babel Fish, but I admit that lines such as "Gentlemen of Marvel: Adult line = cover sow. Asexual classic line = carried." make me question the quality of the translation.)

UPDATE: As expected, ADLO noticed that I'd spotted their entry, so the original comments thread is growing. (Click here for the garbled English translation via Babel Fish.) Only problem is, Babel Fish is choking on some of the words, so I'm missing part of what's being said. Any readers who are fluent in Spanish want to help me out here?

In the meantime, I liked this as an alternate theory of why we Yanks covered up Cap's naughty bits:

What happens is that yankis has discovered the GREAT secret of the Captain. And sure something so humiliating is a slap for its patriotism. For that reason they try to hide the reality, but they do not count whereupon for ADLO! xDDDDD does not exist the censorship

Why do I feel as though my very country has just been shamefully emasculated?

MORE: Elena has a nice recap of "The Story So Far..."

Street Angel: Squid Contest*

2004-06-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

Following up on Wednesday's love letter to Street Angel #2, I've decided (with the permission of creator Jim Rugg) to post the squid battle scenes from the first two issues of Street Angel. Behold and enjoy!

Squid Battle #1 (Scuba-Gear Street Angel sold separately)

Squid Battle #2 (Wrestling-Action Street Angel comes with devastating Overhead Hammer Blow!)

I wasn't going to post these images, partly because I thought that if anyone wanted to see them they should buy the books, but I worried that people might not know what I was talking about. Anyway, the images are scaled down considerably, so if you want the full effect you should buy the comics--or enter the first ever Street Angel Squid Contest*. Since I'm going through squid fight withdrawal (and Rugg only made it worse by taunting me with this enigmatic teaser: "rest assured, you will be surprised by issue 3's, ahem, competition") I figured you readers could help me out by chronicling some of Jesse's undocumented battles against the giant squid. The person who composes the best "untold tale" will win the first two issues of Street Angel--FREE! I'll even cover shipping (in the U.S. only; but if you're outside the U.S. and don't mind paying international shipping, feel free to enter the contest).

To enter, simply send me your squid story at grotesqueanatomy@earthlink.net with the header "Street Angel Squid Contest." I'll pick my favorite entry and you'll win the comics! You'll finally be able to see what all the hoopla for this great comic is about, and I'll be able to satisfy my squid skirmish jones. It's a win-win situation!! (Well, except for those participants who don't win anything, but at least I'll get to read your squid stories.) Deadline is Friday, June 25, midnight Central time. I'll post the winning story (and some of the better runner-ups) sometime the following week. (I'd let the contest run longer than a week, but I need those stories, man!)

UPDATE: To encourage the submission of as many squid stories as possible, I'll also throw in a special to-be-determined BONUS PRIZE in the event that someone sends in a stunningly brilliant squid story but they already happen to own the first two issues of Street Angel. I want the Street Angel comics to go to someone who hasn't yet read them, but I also want as many squid stories as I can get my hands on, so hopefully this will encourage participation from everyone. So if you already have the Street Angel comics, please let me know in your entry. (Special ADDITIONAL BONUS PRIZE to Ed Cunard for inspiring this addendum to the context.)

* Contest not affiliated in any way with The Squiddies, The Squiddy Awards, or Suicide Squid.

But Superman Is So Powerful!

2004-06-17T16:40:00.000-05:00

The Superhero Question of the Day is: Are superheroes an essentially fascistic idea?

As usual, the answer is: it depends. What do we mean by "fascistic" anyway? If by that we simply mean "violent," then, yes, I can see how superheroes are supposed to be fascistic since most of them solve problems by beating up bad guys. If, however, by "fascistic" we mean (as Tim O'Neil apparently does) "characteristic of a system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism," then, no, I don't think superheroes are essentially fascistic. Yeah, I know there have been superhero stories that explicitly play up the superheroes as (political) fascists angle (Squadron Supreme, Miracleman, the upcoming Superman/Batman arc), but isn't a more common complaint about corporate superhero comics that the heroes almost never intervene in the political affairs of humanity? (I'm thinking of the Dini/Ross oversized tabloid books especially.)

Furthermore, many superheroes (especially those in the 60s Marvel mold) seem to struggle regularly with doubts about the rightness of their actions. Spider-Man in particular strikes me as a character who wrestled frequently with bouts of self-doubt or second-guessing himself. Of course one could point out that the quality of such self-examination was often more indulgent than illuminating, but at least the characters were shown engaging in something approximating critical reflection. Such tendencies toward checking one's behavior and beliefs seem foreign to the mindset of the fascist. For the fascist, isn't everything permitted in the pursuit of one's goals?

I guess I've never thought that superhero comics were about "[u]ncritical acceptance of powerful authority figures." In fact, superhero comics were never about my perspective toward heroes, but about trying to understand the perspective of the heroes. So for me, superhero comics were generally about certain morals: Try to do the right thing even when it's inconvenient or costly for oneself. Use one's abilities to help others. When you meet another hero, attempt to resolve any misunderstanding that might spring up by punching first and asking questions later. (Just kidding about that last one, but it did seem to be a common theme in many superhero comics from my childhood. I think the important point was that the heroes always resolved their misunderstandings before anyone was seriously injured. Perhaps the whole cliché of heroes mistaking each other for villains was meant as a metaphor for how in life there will be people you butt heads with at first but come to regard amicably in the end, but I admit I may be stretching here.) Then again, I was only a little kid when I thought I'd figured this stuff out, so maybe I was just being a simplistic moron.

Getting What You Wish For

2004-06-17T00:22:00.000-05:00

Howdya like that for gratitude? I complain about having to wait an extra month to read Demo #6, Larry Young hears my plight and graciously sends me a copy, and then I never write about it. Really, it just goes to show how easily I get distracted. I meant to write about the issue much earlier--I even took notes on my immediate reactions as I read the story through the first time (notes I can no longer find, natch, and the only thing I recall from memory was that the opening page reminded me of Alec Stevens)--but I got caught up in reading everyone else's thoughts on the story and surrounding topics, and then lost my motivation to jot down my own thoughts.

So what are my thoughts on "What You Wish For"? Well, one of the nice things about coming into the conversation so late in the game is that I can simply piggyback off what others have already said, taking a little from Column A, a little from Column B. Several people have complained about the gap between events in the framing sequence and Ken's past, wondering how Ken got from point A (child with supernatural powers and repressed anger) to point B (seemingly well-adjusted adult groom). That didn't bother me much. For one thing (as I think others noted) we have no guarantees that Ken really is well-adjusted as a grown-up. Presumably he could snap again at any moment, especially if something were to happen to his lovely bride or his beloved dog (again). And I didn't have a problem with Ken's supposed passivity, or his lashing out, or his "getting away with it." (I mean, other than the sense that I'd have a problem with these events were they to happen in real life.) As Sean Collins remarked, "a one-two punch of institutional racism and animal abuse" seems like an understandable motivation for mass murder, even if it's still not excusable.

The part I did have a problem with was the scene where Ken suddenly reined in his end-of-the-world, dogs-and-cats-living-together wrath with a meek "OK." I'm not sure why, but that scene made me laugh (in much the same way that most of The Day After Tomorrow made me laugh), which I doubt was the intent of Wood or Cloonan. I think it was the abrupt shift in tone. Or perhaps it was the feeling I got that Ken so looked up to this nameless Asian (?) gardener, simply because they physically resembled each other in some way, that Ken would have done anything the gardener demanded. "Hey, kid, what can you do about raising my wife from the dead? No, wait--scratch that. Bring me the animated remains of...Linda Lin Dai!"

Another part that bugged me was that Ken somehow got his dog back. It's bad enough that this simply happens with no explanation or internal logic (if Ken's powers allow him not only to reanimate the dead but also to bring them back to life, why doesn't he resurrect all the people he's just killed?), but it also undermines the very lesson Ken's supposedly learned. At the end Ken implies that the sight of his dog keeps him from going over the edge again because there's a constant reminder of what happened "staring [him] right in the face." Actually, isn't what's staring him right in the face a reminder that he gets what he wants when he loses his temper?

In general, I didn't really feel frightened or unnerved or even grabbed by this story. (I blame Junji Ito for spoiling all other horror comics for me.) Plus, the art seemed more uneven than in previous issues. Check out the dad on page...wait, that's right--there are no page numbers. Well, that's OK because the dad looks off in pretty much every scene in which he appears. (On a positive note, I agree with Sean Collins that Cloonan makes Ken's bride both attractive and authentic: "the protagonist's bonnie new bride, for example, is refreshingly human and real, a woman you could quite conceivably fall in love with as opposed to the usual Brechtian device connoting 'PRETTINESS.'")

As for the debate about what's missing from the story (and the series overall), I'm still not sure I understand Johnny B's specific complaint (the complaint that launched a thousand blog entries). Perhaps, as he suggests, part of it is due to being conditioned by years of reading mainstream superhero comics to expect some grand scheme (retroactively inserted by John Byrne, no less) that will tie everything together. Would he (and by "he" I mean anyone who feels this way about Demo) have the same expectation if he were reading a collection/series/anthology of short stories about everyday non-super-powered individuals? Would he dismiss stand-alone short stories by the same author as "trivial and inconsequential somehow" if they didn't all hang together?

And on that note, we now return you to your regularly-scheduled discussion of Demo #7 (which will take place on this blog approximately one to two weeks after everyone else has started analyzing Demo #8).

Lovestruck Ramblings: Street Angel #2

2004-06-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

Street Angel #2 (Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics • 24 B&W Pages • $2.95) - Lord, I love this comic. Imagine my surprise when I opened the front cover (which Ray Tate referred to as "ghastly," although I'm not sure why; then again my blog is named "Grotesque Anatomy") and found that what I had assumed was a throwaway image in issue #1 was in fact an ongoing story continued in this issue's inside front cover. Yes, Jesse's war with the giant squid rages on. Whereas last issue the squid seemed to have the upper hand(s) -- after all, they were fighting in his element -- somehow Jesse survived to fight another day. This time, the setting seems to favor Jesse, although perhaps some clarification regarding the venue is required. It's definitely on land this time, but Jesse seems to think it's a wrestling ring while the squid came prepared for a boxing match. Perhaps Jesse purposely misled the squid so that he'd be at a disadvantage. Still, how will Jesse prevail? She's shown in mid-leap, descending upon the squid in a wrestling move of questionable validity, but the squid already has four arms up ready to pummel our heroine!

After a cliffhanger thrill like that, it was hard to focus on the "main" story. Thankfully Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca packed a whole lot of entertaining distractions into the following twenty-four pages: hip-hop Incan sun gods; time-travelling Conquistador pirates; Australian-accented, rocket-propelled Irish astronauts; slacker ninjas; and, of course, the titular Street Angel herself. After a while, I began to lose myself in the humorous tale and the wonderful artwork. I even thought I detected a subtle improvement over last issue's already excellent art, as the line weight seemed more confident and varied this time around.

Alas, all too soon the engaging diversion was over and my thoughts returned to the eternal struggle between Jesse and her arch-nemesis, the giant squid. Somehow I knew that the battle had ended without a clear victor. Both combatants probably got in some good blows, yet both probably took some serious licks as well. Where, I wondered, would their next encounter take place? Some volcanic wasteland? The snow-capped Himalayas? The deepest, darkest jungles of the Amazon rainforest? A deserted parking ramp? Some alien planet, with strange and possibly dangerous animal and plant life covering the landscape? Whatever the setting, one thing is certain: I'll be there, eager for more.

Stooge Reviews: Hench

2004-06-15T18:50:00.000-05:00

Hench (AiT/Planet Lar • 80 B&W Pages • $12.95) tells the tale of, well, a henchman. You know, one of the nameless grunts employed as cannon fodder by the big supervillains. Only in this book we get a name as well as a story to go along with the muscle. Mike Fulton is a down-on-his-luck ex-football player trying to make enough money to support his family, and trying to find a substitute for the thrills of the game. He thinks he's found an answer to both of his needs when an old friend approaches him with an offer: Henching.

Of course, as anyone who's read superhero comics knows, henching isn't a very glamorous gig. More often than not, it's a path to prison or the infirmary, not easy street. Still, unsure of what else to do, Fulton continues to take his lumps, which gives us a chance to see the varied villains writer Adam Beechen and artist Manny Bello have come up with. But beyond the riffs on classic bad guys, Beechen and Bello have crafted an engaging character in Fulton: He's not always likable--heck, midway through the story he's downright despicable--but he still manages to hold our sympathy for the most part.

The obvious comparison for such a character-driven examination of the superhero genre is Kurt Busiek's Astro City. And although Hench is a bit darker in content and tone than Astro City, the story of Mike Fulton is one I could easily imagine Busiek working into his series. Not because Hench is derivative of Astro City or any other comic, but because Hench shares a certain approach--a certain spirit--with that series. Reading Hench, you get the sense that Beechen has a genuine love for superhero comics, as well as an overactive imagination that couldn't stop wondering about the parts of the story we never got to see.

There were a lot of little details that I loved about this book: the full-page homages to classic comic book covers (and the little arrows pointing out Mike in each of them); the discussions about the different villains and why you did or didn't want to work for them; the story structure, which shifts back and forth between present and past very effectively, thereby heightening the tension of the situation Fulton finds himself in. Only one story element didn't ring true for me--the scene where a hero loses control and everything is covered up by the media. Given the way that the press goes after celebrities and politicians, I find it hard to believe that a superhero causing so much destruction would be given a free pass.

As for the art, it's definitely the weakest part of Hench. Bello's work is unpolished and, in many cases, seems unfinished. Many panels look like rough layouts rather than finished pencils, and there's much too much empty space throughout the book. There are moments where you get a sense of the promise Beechen and publisher Larry Young refer to in this CBR interview ("'the bastard child of Brian Bolland and Paul Grist"? I don't see it, although I would like to see Bello on Man-Thing based on this sample page), but most of the time the artwork feels sloppy and rushed. (And perhaps much of the artwork was rushed: According to this Comic Pimp column, Bello was hurrying to meet his deadline.) Here's an example of a page that felt particularly slapdash (taken from CBR; the narrative captions are missing, but otherwise this art looks exactly the same as what appears in the printed graphic novel):

Notice how the structure of the pavilion changes from the first to the last panel (where did that extra level of columns come from?) Notice the crude, half-rendered outlines meant to suggest security guards in the third panel. Notice the bizarre, amateurish anatomy throughout. This is not the work of an accomplished professional. There are occasional instances where Bello rises above such clumsy, inconsistent art (mainly in the detailed texturing he lavishes on the Batman analogue the Still of the Night), but the overall effort is one that mars the book.

Complaints about the quality of the art aside, Hench is still a worthwhile, enjoyable book. I'd recommend it based on the strength of the story alone, but be sure to click through some of the links above to see if the art is a deal-breaker for you or not.

Who'd Win?

2004-06-15T14:14:00.000-05:00

The V are at it again:

Ogami Itto vs. Akira:

SFX: gara gara gara gara
Akira: ...

Ogami Itto: Hrrng!

SFX: KA-FUCKING-BOOOOOOOOM!

Kaneda: TETSUOOOO!

Tetsuo: KANEDAAAA!

Peasants: Lordy!

Ogami Itto vs. Batman:

WRONG! Your logic is based on a flawed premise. Ogami Itto is not Japanese 19th Century Batman, he's LONE WOLF. He's SIMILAR to Batman, but he's not Batman. Easily shown via this simple logical conundrum:

Who wins out of Ogami Itto and Batman? Answer: DINNA DINNA DINNA DINNA DINNA DINNA DINNA DINNA BATMAN!

...

Ogami Itto is Batman's great great great great great grandfather, according to V Super-Continuity:
"To avenge you, my wife... I shall become.... a wolf"

"Ninjas are a cowardly and superstitious lot... "

Batman vs. Batman from THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS:

Old Batman also has his own private army, and prepubescent totty to distract Young Batman: 'Quick, Robin! Flash him your knickers! Good soldier."

Now I want to know how Batman from THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS would be able to defeat Akira. ~~(Really, Kaneda since Kaneda "defeats" Akira at the end of AKIRA.)~~ (Or how TDKR Batman would be able to defeat Kaneda, since Kaneda survives every outlandish threat that's thrown at him through sheer stubbornness.)

Fun With Marvel's Solicits

2004-06-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

Graeme's found an early copy of Marvel's September solicits over on Millarworld. I, for one, was disappointed to see that they've splintered the awesome GENERATION X-PACK concept into solo titles such as MADROX, JUBILEE, and WARLOCK, but there's still plenty to pick on in the remaining solicits:

HULK & THING: HARD KNOCKS #1 (OF 4)
Written by Bruce Jones
Cardstock Cover & Pencils by Jae Lee
"HARD KNOCKS" PART 1 (of 4)
Bruce Jones and superstar artist Jae Lee bring you the ultimate Hulk/Thing battle! Think you know everything about the unique relationship between Marvel’s two most powerful sluggers? Guess again.

What "unique relationship"? They just pound on each other. This isn't rocket science, folks.

DAREDEVIL #65 - THE DAREDEVIL ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by Alex Maleev & Friends
Cover by Greg land
Daredevil headlines this special, oversized issue celebrating both the 40th anniversary of the character AND the 5th anniversary of the groundbreaking Marvel Knights imprint! The Eisner-winning team of Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev invite some of the greatest comic artists who have never before drawn Daredevil to answer the question: How has the public revelation of Daredevil’s secret identity affected the rest of the Marvel Universe? This once-in-a-lifetime gathering of super heroes and superstar talent includes Spider-Man, Captain America, The Punisher, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, Elektra, and many more. Artists include Maleev and a band of stars including Chris Bachalo, Michael Golden, Greg Horn, Jae Lee, Mike Mayhew, Frank Quitely, and P. Craig Russell (at least)!

Does that "at least" qualifier read as "we don't want to risk making this returnable by naming too many specific artists" to anyone else?

Q: WHAT IS MARVEL KNIGHTS 2099?

A: The surest evidence yet that Robert Kirkman has some damn good dirt on someone at Marvel.

NYX #6
Written by Joe Quesada
Penciled by Robert Teranishi
Cover by Joshua Middleton
What if you could become anyone in the world for a day? What would you do? Who would you be? Captain America fighting alongside the Avengers? Bono during a concert in Wembley Stadium? Meet a young mutant who doesn't have to wonder. His powers let him be anyone he wants, and he isn't shy about using them.
RESOLICITED – ALL PREVIOUS ORDERS ARE CANCELLED.

What is this? Like the sixth or seventh time this has been cancelled and resolicited?

ULTIMATE ELEKTRA #2 (of 5)
Written by mike carey
Cover & Pencils by Salvador Larroca
"DEVIL’S DUE" Part 2 (of 5)
A slam-bang second issue! Ultimate Kingpin enters the life of the young warrior, Elektra, and he’s joined by a mystery killer who’s right on target! What does that mean for Matt Murdock?

Why stop at appending "Ultimate" in front of "Kingpin"? Wouldn't this solicit read much better if it were: "Ultimate Kingpin enters the life of the ultimate young warrior, Ultimate Elektra, and he’s joined by an ultimate mystery killer who’s right on ultimate target! What does that mean for Ultimate Matt Murdock?"?

X-MEN #161 & #162
Written by Chuck Austen
Cover & Pencils by Salvador Larroca
"HEROES AND VILLIANS" Parts 1 & 2 (OF 4)
Brand-new story arc! The Brotherhood of Mutants is back with Nocturne from the Exiles, and a surprise shocker of a member!

Wow, that is quite a member! (Sorry, but I am the blogosphere's Unintentional Porn Spotter after all.)

EXILES #52
Written by Tony Bedard
Penciled by James Calafiore
Cover by Mizuki Sakakibara
"LIVING PLANET" 1 (OF 2)
The Exiles must stop the Avengers and Doctor Doom before they destroy the Earth! And did someone say Ego, The Living Planet? You bet they did!

My doctor said, "Ego, The Living Planet."

FANTASTIC FOUR #518
Written by Mark Waid
Pencils & Cover by MiKE Wieringo
AVENGERS DISASSEMBLED TIE-IN!
"FOURTITUDE" Part 2 (of 3)
With public opinion of the FF at an all-time low and with all of Manhattan endangered by a mysterious alien overlord, which member of the team will make a decision that will radically change the Fantastic Four for some time to come?

At least they've given up trying to pretend that someone "will make a decision that will radically change the Fantastic Four...forever!!"

POWERLESS #4 (OF 6)
Written by Matt Cherniss & Peter Johnson
Penciled by Michael Gaydos
Cover by ANDY BRASE
With great power must come great responsibility… but when the entire Marvel Universe is recast as a world that is powerless… are our heroes still noble? Was it the radioactive spider bite that made Peter Parker a hero and Norman Osborn a villain? Or was it destiny?

I've lost track due to all the rejiggering Marvel does with its characters' origin stories: So now one spider bite created both Spider-Man and the Green Goblin? Was John Byrne and his sense of "streamlining coincidences" responsible for this?

And just to show that it's not all about mockery, I am looking forward to this:

ESSENTIAL SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP TPB
Written by STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS, LEN WEIN, TONY ISABELLA, GERRY CONWAY, JIM SHOOTER, MARV WOLFMAN, STEVE ENGLEHART, BILL MANTLO, ARCHIE GOODWIN & LARRY LIEBER
Pencils by BILL EVERETT, GEORGE EVANS, WALLY WOOD, JOHN BUSCEMA, SAL BUSCEMA, GENE COLAN, BOB HALL, MIKE SEKOWSKY, GEORGE PEREZ, JIM SHOOTER, SAL TRAPANI, GEORGE TUSKA, GEORGE EVANS, HERB TRIMPE & KEITH GIFFEN
Cover by GIL KANE
The line between hero and villain can be very thin, but rarely as thin as in a book this big! The giants of the field collaborate on a war epic stretching from the towers of Doctor Doom's Latveria to the depths of Namor's Atlantis – with the Fantastic Four, the Avengers and the Champions caught in the middle! Attuma! The Red Skull! Magneto! The world is at stake, and you are there!
Collects GIANT-SIZE SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #1-2, SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #1-14 and #16-17, AVENGERS #154-156, CHAMPIONS #16, and ASTONISHING TALES #1-8.

Hee hee hee! Good lord, that sounds wonderfully goofy!! But what's up with the missing SUPER-VILLAIN TEAM-UP #15? (OK, wait, just answered my own question: It looks like SVTU #15 reprinted bits from ASTONISHING TALES #4 & #5, which are already included in the Essential.)

DC for September

2004-06-14T23:25:00.000-05:00

DC's solicits for September 2004 are up at a number of sites, including Toon Zone, CBR, and Comics Continuum. Kevin Melrose has already run through most of the high points. There's actually very little that interests me in these solicits. I'll be checking out Adam Strange by Andy Diggle and Pascal Ferry. Superman/Batman tempts me due to the Carlos Pacheco artwork (and the line about ruling with an "iron fist"--how did DC's solicitation writers know my weakness?) Plus I suppose it'd be cheaper to buy this arc in singles than in the hardcover format DC seems to favor for this series. And I know I should be excited about the new Doom Patrol trades collecting the rest of Grant Morrison's run, but I've already read all of those stories, even if I don't own the issues anymore.

Meanwhile, the covers for Birds of Prey continue to provide amusement:

"Damn you, Mordath! You killed my family--now I'll kill you!!"

"ALL YOUR KUNG FU TRICKS CAN'T SAVE YOU THIS TIME!"

2004-06-14T17:29:00.000-05:00

In anticipation of Essential Iron Fist (and because James Schee didn't know who Iron Fist was (I know, I was shocked too, but I try to be tolerant and accepting)), I've been browsing through a lot of old Iron Fist covers. Man, these are classic. And hilarious.

It's like that O. Henry story "The Gift of the Magi," only with repulsor rays and kung fu blows.

Yeah, too bad martial arts don't train you about anything useful, like using leverage to defeat your enemy.

Let's see: If you're able to BREAK CHAINS with your bare fists, don't you think it might be a good idea to break the chain wrapped around your neck?

Because Luke Cage's policy has always been: "You break a hero's life, you pay for a hero's life."

EW's Comic Coverage

2004-06-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

Four new comics are reviewed in the subscription-only supplement "Listen2This" of Entertainment Weekly #770 (June 18, 2004):

Identity Crisis #1: B
Age of Bronze Volume 2: Sacrifice: A
Hench: A-
The Grey Area: B-

Upcoming comics listed are: Powerless, Samurai Executioner, Warren Ellis' Strange Killings, and Metal Gear Solid.

Back in the regular magazine, McSweeney's #13 makes this week's "Must List."

Bargains and Betrayal

2004-06-10T01:00:00.000-05:00

I am such a fool for bargains. Often I buy things that I don't need -- things that I don't even much want -- just because they were such good deals. Last weekend I was at a local Barnes & Noble that has a fairly large used book annex. I'd gone there in the past to browse though their selection of used comics (which often weren't used at all, but were marked half-off anyway) but this trip was different for two reasons: First, the size of the comics section had doubled, from one bookcase to two. Second, there was now manga available in the used section. (Still nowhere near the number of books from DC and Marvel, but enough to fill a shelf or two.) If my better half hadn't been there to play the role of externalized impulse control, I'm sure I would have ended up doing much more damage to my wallet, but as it was, I snagged quite a bit of sequential art loot (listed below with comments):

Crying Freeman Perfect Collection: Portrait of a Killer - Looks like a gonzo mix of sex and violence, all gorgeously illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami.

Gon (compilation of Gon and Gon Again) - I've heard a lot about this series but never read it. Skimming though it, it looks like it'll be a quick read in one sense (the stories contain no words whatsoever) but on the other hand Masashi Tanaka's detailed cartoon-style art could definitely take some time to appreciate fully.

Club 9 Volume 2 - I read the chapters collected here when they were originally serialized in Super Manga Blast, but I so adore Makoto Kobayashi's charming tale of a country girl making her way in the big city that I've always planned on getting the trades. Getting one at half-price was just an added bonus.

Chobits Volume 1 - A couple people whose opinion on manga I trust have recommended this series (which always struck me as thinly-veiled Lolita porn) so I'm curious to see if I can get past my preconceived notions about this book. Flipping though it, I'm not optimistic.

Sanctuary Volume 6 - I know, I know, I wrote off this series after the pervasive misogyny in volumes 2-4 turned me off. But for the incredibly low price of only three dollars I was powerless to pass up an opportunity to sample more Ryoichi Ikegami artwork. See? See what great bargains are capable of reducing me to?

Berserk Volume 2 - I know, I know, I wrote off this series as well but I've been told it improves as it goes on, so I figured for $7 I could afford to give Berserk a second chance.

Benkei in New York - Christopher Butcher has praised this manga, and I like what I've seen of Jiro Taniguchi's artwork online, so this was a given. Heck, even Warren Ellis loves this manga, so it must be good!

Ripley's Believe It Or Not! - A collection of a Dark Horse mini-series I didn't even know existed. But I was won over by the Cary Nord artwork and the fact that this comic has endnotes. I love endnotes!

Batman: Gotham Noir - Yes, it's a Batman Elseworlds, but it's a noir Batman Elseworlds by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.

Batman: Reign of Terror - Yes, it's a Batman Elseworlds, and oh god it's a Batman Elseworlds set during the French Revolution, but it's a Batman Elseworlds with art by José Luis García-López.

Reaper - I, uh, I don't know how this got on here. (Just kidding: I thought the art by Cliff Rathburn -- who has kind of a Kevin Nowlan thing going on -- looked interesting, but upon closer inspection this seems like something CrossGen might have published (or a hybrid of several things CrossGen did publish, plus more violence and gore).)

And all for forty bucks! Now I just have to make time to read all these books, in addition to all the other unread comics sitting around my office. Yes, bargains can cause me to lose sight of how backlogged I am.

Bargains can also make me disloyal. For over two years, I've been a faithful customer of my online retailer, Mailordercomics. But today, wooed away by bigger discounts from a competitor, I placed my first order with Discount Comic Book Service. How I could I resist? Look at some of these deals!

WE 3 #1 - 75% off! ($0.74)
NEW X-MEN VOL 3 HC - 50% off!! ($14.99)
BONE ONE VOL ED SC - 50% off!! ($19.97)
LOCAS A LOVE & ROCKETS BOOK HC - 45% off!!! ($27.47)

I saved almost sixty bucks on those four items alone! (A savings of $23 compared to MOC's prices.) For that kind of money, I'd sell out my own mother. (Well, not really. But I figure there's less of a chance that my mother is reading this than my wife is, whom I would never sell out either, but I'm guessing that the whole "sell out" exaggeration really only works if it references someone along the magnitude of parent or spouse.)

Did I mention I like bargains?

Thanks

2004-06-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jerome Gaynor for shipping out Bogus Dead and Flying Saucer Attack so fast: ordered on Friday, delivered on Monday. With a bonus poster to boot!

Thanks to Larry Young, the sweetest sugar daddy the comics blogosphere ever had, for feeling my pain and sending me a copy of Demo #6 so I could join in all the discussion fun. With a bonus DEMO patch to boot!

Thanks to Johanna Draper Carlson for pointing out a line-by-line criticism of Bendis' Daredevil. There have been many times when I've felt alone in my non-love of Bendis superhero comics, so it was heartening to learn there are others like me.

Thanks to Marc Singer for taking the non-Bendis-love and running with it.

And thanks to you, dear reader, for allowing me to re-run an old review of Daredevil #41 in lieu of writing up anything new.

DAREDEVIL #41
By Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Matt Hollingsworth, and Richard Starkings & Wes Abbott

At times I feel like the only comic book fan who doesn't worship at the altar of Bendis. Based on my admittedly questionable memory, I can't recall any negative opinions or reviews regarding Bendis' current comic book output. (And here I'm discounting any cranks from the John Byrne Message Board.) Most critics, pros, and fans seem to hold Bendis' work in high regard. And his work isn't only critically-acclaimed - it's also staggeringly popular: His ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN is a perennial best-seller, and his other books (ALIAS, DAREDEVIL, and POWERS) all seem to do fairly well. In the face of such seemingly universal acclaim, my own disinterest in his work sometimes causes me to doubt my own taste: I worry that I'm missing something that everyone else is seeing, kind of like those Magic Eye puzzles that I could never "get" but that everyone else around me could see immediately.

My exposure to Bendis' work is by no means complete. Finding the first eight issues of USM in a half-price book store, I picked them up to see how the Spidey mythos had been updated for the 21st century. Not bad, but it also didn't compel me to add the series to my pull-list. Next I found the entire run of ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP in a dollar bin shortly after the series had been canceled. I picked it up mainly due to the great cast of artists assembled for the series, but I found most of the stories unsatisfying. I also read the first issue of ALIAS, the Warren Ellis issue of POWERS, and scattered DotComic versions of USM and DD back when Marvel still ran full issues on their site. Nada. The only thing I've read by Bendis that really appealed to me was FORTUNE AND GLORY, so maybe his sensibilities just don't work for me when it comes to superheroes.

I lay all of this out simply to let readers know my background (or bias, if you prefer) with respect to Bendis' work.

Which brings us to DAREDEVIL #41, the 25-cent comic designed to draw in new readers. Having read various online interviews with Bendis, I was curious about what he was doing with Daredevil, especially the whole secret identity thing. So what better opportunity to sample the series? So...book sampled, but I'm still not interested. In fact, I found the book more annoying than amusing or enjoyable. It started when, once again, I noticed that Bendis was apparently raised in a community that frowned on the use of contractions:

"There's this book I am listening to..."

"All he is saying is--"

"That's all I am saying--"

"I am sorry about this terrible landing..."

"What I am going to do is--"

"I am going to pull out the glass..."

That was all within the first five pages, and one page had no dialogue whatsoever. I was beginning to think that Bendis didn't know you could contract "I am" into "I'm" but then he had Daredevil say "Again, I'm sorry for the jarring break in your day," so I'm not sure what was going on in those early bits of dialogue. I know this might seem overly nitpicky, and perhaps the Data-speak doesn't bother others quite as much as it bugs me, but I find it incredibly irritating.

After the opening sequence of DD saving a blind woman from being hit by a runaway truck (which was a nice homage to DD's origin), Bendis treats us to an extended comedy bit involving Wilbur Day, the Stilt-Man. Reading this scene, my first thought was that Tarantinoesque riffs seem a bit tired (but then again, maybe it's so old that it now qualifies for 80's nostalgia, which is itself either hip or outdated; I've lost track). And while Stilt-Man is certainly a character that lends himself to ridicule, the humor here didn't ring true for me. I have trouble believing that even Stilt-Man is that dense. Plus, in this scene, Stilt-Man utters the following line: "I am giving it to you! I am leaving town and I am never coming back!" Three glaring non-contractions in a row! It must be some kind of record!! (Which, strangely enough, is followed up by: "You've won. You've all won!" Why is Bendis comfortable with certain contractions, but so averse to others?)

Next we move into a two-page sequence of Daredevil shaking down various lowlife for info on the Owl's whereabouts. This sequence depicts DD pulling a woman's hair (huh?) and DD dangling a man (apparently still in his pajamas) out a window and shouting "Where's the $#%#@ing Owl?" (double huh??) Hey, DD - keep it down. Some of us have to work in the morning. (Is there an online translation manual for comic book curse symbols, kind of like how people posted conversions for Doop-speak or the alien alphabet in ASTRO CITY? I can't figure out what $#%#@ would translate into in the real world. Is it a character-for-character replacement scheme? I can't think of a five-letter swear word.)

Cut to the Owl, who is hearing from one of his operatives that they were attacked by Daredevil. At this point I was expecting the operative to begin his tale by stroking his chin and saying something along the lines of: "I remember it as though it happened earlier this evening..." He doesn't, but we do get a flashback to three thugs walking down an alley, with two of them discussing their favorite kung fu DVDs. Suddenly, in swoops Daredevil, who apparently was as annoyed with their mock-Tarantino conversation as I was. After demonstrating some of his favorite kung fu moves on the thugs, he burns their duffel bag of money and tells the miscreants to deliver a chilling message to the Owl. That message? "Gotcha last." Seriously. The Owl, angry that Daredevil has once again bested him in their long-standing game of tag, strikes out at his goon, apparently disemboweling him. Unfortunately, the hapless bad guy was on his team, so the Owl gets no points for the tag.

Finally, we end with a one-page visit to the blind woman Daredevil saved in the beginning. What, is she going to be a recurring character? I'm not sure why Bendis chose to end the issue by returning to this character (Milla). In an interview at CBR, Bendis said: "When you get to the end of the issue, you have to be dying to see what happens next and that's my job." I'm not sure how this ending acts as a suspenseful cliffhanger, unless the reader is supposed to be wondering, "Will Daredevil be able to de-gay the blind lesbian, now that she appears to be smitten with him?"

As you can probably tell, I wasn't very impressed with this issue of DAREDEVIL. I just didn't feel as though the story flowed well. In fact, the issue was more a series of distractions than a continuous narrative: From the strange aversion to contractions to the abrupt jumps in setting (I had to look back to make sure I hadn't missed some pages in between the scene in Murdock's office and the sequence with Daredevil on the prowl - the transition did not seem natural), everything seemed a bit awkward to me. Even the artwork by Maleev proved distracting: After noticing that background after background was in fact a photograph, I began to play "Spot The Photo-Reference." I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with the fumetti approach to comic book art, but it can detract from the storytelling when the hand-drawn characters stand out so dramatically from the photocopied backgrounds.

I'll be curious to see if this low-cost promotional issue of DAREDEVIL leads to increased sales on the series. I'm certainly glad that Marvel provided me the opportunity to sample this series with essentially no risk, but I won't be coming back for future installments. Given Bendis' general popularity, however, I would imagine that most existing comic fans who sample this book will continue to read the series. It'll also be interesting to see if comic shop retailers will be able to use this issue to 'convert' the casual shopper who stops in after seeing the Daredevil movie. Will the average person who just saw the big-screen version of Ol' Hornhead be interested in reading a story where the villain is not Elektra, or Bullseye, or the Kingpin, but...the Owl? Or will the average person on the street look at the comic and wonder why Wolverine got so fat?

Rating: 4/10 (but Your Mileage May Very Well Vary if you are generally a fan of Bendis' work)

(I can't figure out what I meant by the "blind lesbian" remark either. Additional thanks to anyone who knows what I might have been getting at.)

Friday Free-For-All

2004-06-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know everyone else linked to this Fortune magazine profile on Tokyopop's Stuart Levy long ago, but this part really jumped out at me:

During production, every piece of information about the books is on an online database that allows employees in Tokyo and the U.S. to get instantaneously updated information about anything, from how far along the translation is to whether the graphics have been scanned.

As someone who works in QA, I found this fascinating. I wonder if other comic publishers have anything similar to this? For some reason, I highly doubt it. Sounds like Tokyopop is running a really smart, streamlined operation.

Zombies!! Finally got around to reading The Walking Dead, thanks to Image's smart decision to collect the first six issues quickly in an inexpensive trade. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There were a couple spots where characterization or dialogue didn't ring true for me (mostly with Shane, Rick's fellow cop buddy), but then again I've never been involved in a massive zombie infestation, so who knows how people would really react in such a situation. (I probably also tend to over-estimate how rational people are. I blame my years as a philosophy major where we were directed again and again to consider what "an ideally rational agent" would do.) Reflecting on the Grotesque Rampage "What is Horror?" thread, I would definitely consider Walking Dead an example of the genre. I guess my definition of horror would tend to be results-oriented, much like Mr. Maxwell's: Horror is that which which attempts to elicit fear or dread in its audience. Reading Walking Dead definitely caused sensations of dread, but most of my apprehension centered around the human cast and what they might do to each other when stressed and strained to their limits. (I wonder if Battle Royale should be considered a horror book for similar reasons?)

More zombies!! Following Shawn Hoke's recommendation (not a permalink), I've ordered Bogus Dead, an alt-comix anthology focusing on zombies. Shawn's descriptions of the stories make them sound very entertaining, so I plunked down $10 via PayPal on the website of Jerome Gaynor, publisher and editor of the book. And that ten bucks covered everything, including shipping. Quite a bargain for a 144-page book. (I also picked up Flying Saucer Attack, an 80-page sci-fi anthology, for just six bucks, shipping included.)

Mercenary Musings

2004-06-03T17:01:00.000-05:00

Marvel's launching a new Black Widow series. Ordinarily this would be occasion for gleeful snark, but Bill Seinkiewicz is going to be the artist. Bill Seinkiewicz!! I have no idea who the writer is (Richard K. Morgan, described by Newsarama as "a successful novelist primarily in the 'future noir' genre," whatever that is), but I might just check this out (assuming it's reasonably priced) for Seinkiewicz's art alone. (I really am becoming one of "those" comic fans: First I continue to buy The Moth even though the stories are pretty painful, now this.) My only complaint is that Seinkiewicz isn't handling the covers for this series. That honor goes to Greg Land. Yeah, I realize Land is probably more of a draw than Seinkiewicz, especially with fanboys who like traced images from the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, but I'm guessing Seinkiewicz's covers would have been much more interesting than Land's bland girlie pinups.

I would love to join in the discussion/debate raging over Demo #6 but my online retailer forgot to include it in this month's shipment. Which means I'll either have to track it down locally or wait til next month's shipment to read it. Grrr! But I'm sure everyone will still be interested in discussing this issue come July, right? Right??

Speaking of my monthly shipment, so far my favorite book has been the Hsu and Chan TPB, a comedy series featuring two video game designers who spend more time fighting the demon hordes of Hell and other assorted enemies than designing actual video games. I don't have the book with me, so I can't quote some of the best lines, but this is a damned funny book. Recommended for fans of Street Angel, Goon, and anything from Evan Dorkin. Maybe I'll write more about it later, but for now go here and here to sample some of the madcap humor.

My preorder for June is already looking huge. There are several collections I'm looking forward to, such as the giant Bone trade, Essential Iron Fist, the second Jack Staff trade, Locas: A Love & Rockets Book, and the final New X-Men hardcover. It's going to be an expensive month. Time to get cracking on those eBay auctions once again!

The Pulse has the press release announcing DC's collected editions for the rest of the year. The item I'm most excited about? SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW ARCHIVES. Why? Just look at those creator credits! Writers: Otto Binder, Jerry Coleman; Artists: Wayne Boring, Al Plastino, Kurt Schaffenberger. More Silver Age madness, baby!! (I'm also glad I waited for the trade on the Alan Davis Another Nail mini: The individual issues would have set me back $18 but the trade only costs $12.95. If only I'd had confidence that DC would collect My Faith In Frankie: I could have saved another five bucks!!)

Miscellaneous Manga Musings

2004-06-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

Looks like a couple of my favorite comic pundits have manga on the brain. Sean Collins (by the way, happy belated blogoversary, Sean!) is blogging about Battle Royale again, and links to me several times in the process. I can't remember what I told Sean about fanservice, but I don't think I'd ever dismiss the scene he describes as just fanservice. (I can't remember if I've read that scene or not; I gave up on the BR manga after I read the translated prose novel from Viz. After that, the manga seemed much too exaggerated and silly for me to take seriously. And I haven't watched the movie yet, but I suspect the novel would still come out winning the Battle Royale battle royale.) I'm fairly sensitive to fanservice (some would say too sensitive) whether it occurs in Japanese or American comics. In my mind, fanservice is base pandering, and it's distracting whether it occurs in Battle Royale, Bloodstream, or Birds of Prey.

EDIT: I went back and checked the scene Sean was referring to (it's in BR vol. 5, the last I bought). Sean, that's not Shuuya's mom's bare ass! She's wearing pants!! (Check the pages before and after that double-page spread to confirm.) Yeah, the pants are awfully form-fitting, but that shot hardly seems that bad. For one thing, the scene uses a downward camera angle (instead of the upward angle artists like Ed Benes prefer); also, the mom's top partly covers her, um, ass. If you think this is fanservice...whoo boy. I've got a copy of Love Hina I could send to really toughen you up.

Meanwhile, over in the Grotesque Rampage forum, Matt Maxwell reads Gyo vol. 1 and reports back with his thoughts, which leads to an interesting discussion about the conventions of (and assumptions about) manga. It also spawns a separate thread in which Johanna Draper Carlson asks, "What is Horror?" (Hmm. If only there were a comics blogger knowledgeable about the horror genre who could stop by and help us out.)

Finally, Dave Intermittent is intrigued by the ape-shit insane premise of Apocalypse Meow, a manga which "recasts the Vietnam War as a conflict between bunnies and cats." He links to the online Japanese language version of the strip (which Shawn Fumo first found) and it does look nice. Reminds me of a European painted graphic novel more than your usual manga series. Unfortunately, ADV Manga is publishing the book in black-and-white, so it'll lose some of its distinctive appeal. Still, if the reviews are good, I may have to check this out.

Rainy Day Diversions

2004-06-01T17:33:00.000-05:00

So what to do when it rains all Memorial Day weekend? Read manga and watch movies, of course.

First off, my wife and I made a stop at Half Price Books, where I picked up the first volumes in two manga series I had heard a lot about but never read before:

Love Hina: I remember seeing this title mentioned again and again whenever ICv2 discussed Bookscan's graphic novel bestseller lists. I suppose I can see why this PG-13 sexual innuendo sitcom is popular with young boys (hey, I thought Three's Company and Zapped! were great when I was in grade school) but I found Love Hina extremely tedious. How many times can we watch the klutzy Keitaro bumble his way into yet another awkward misunderstanding? I'm glad I decided to wait until I'd read the first volume before buying the second book, which was also available, since this is a series I have no interest continuing with.

Blade of the Immortal: Blood of a Thousand: Not sure how I feel about this manga series yet. I loved the art, especially the softer-looking scenes rendered in pencil. But the narrative flow seemed choppy (insert joke about cut-and-paste job done to reformat the manga into left-to-right format here) and the anachronistic slang dialogue kept throwing me out of the story. I know these were both creative decisions made by the creator himself, but I'm thinking they may have been bad decisions. Still, the premise is interesting (Manji, a ronin warrior in feudal Japan, must kill one thousand evil men in order to have his curse of immortality lifted) and the details are inventive (Manji's immortality, for example, does not mean he is invulnerable to harm), so I'll probably give the series one more chance to win me over.

As for movies:

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: I know, I know: I only have myself to blame for renting this abomination, which was loud, dumb, and dull. My wife was the one who pushed for this movie, despite my objections that it wouldn't be faithful to the source material(s). She fell asleep midway through while I endured the whole thing. I'll be using that against her the next time we go to pick out movies.

The Day After Tomorrow: Ignore all the critics panning this cheesy disaster movie. They simply didn't get that it's a comedy. Granted, it's a comedy that looks a lot like a high-budget, special-effects-laden summer blockbuster, but that's just to trick the audiences who have been conditioned to expect that sort of thing around this time of year. Trust me, this movie is hilarious. It's a brilliant send-up of the typical over-the-top action movie. How else to explain a film where nerds yell at each other about "CRITICAL DESALINIZATION LEVELS!" and argue about whether Nietzsche was a misogynist or not (because if he was it's okay to burn his books to stay warm, but the Bible can't be burned no matter what)? I was laughing out loud throughout this movie and the final line (I won't spoil it here) had me on the floor. I think in a few years Day After Tomorrow will be recognized as the comedy cult classic it is. There'll be Rocky Horror type midnight screenings where devoted fans come dressed in arctic gear and throw fake snow every time a character mentions the Atlantic current.

And not technically a movie or manga but:

Alias - Season Two: I came to this series late (my wife watches it regularly but I only caught up with it on DVD) but I enjoyed the first season enough to seek out more. I imagine this is a series that would resonate with superhero fans, given all the play that occurs around the concept of secret identities. (For those unfamiliar with the show's premise, Jennifer Garner plays Sydney Bristow, a double agent who works for both the CIA and one of the CIA's primary targets, SD-6.) Alias takes the convoluted scenarios common in superhero comics to a new level: Not only does Sydney have to lie to her friends about her double (triple?) life, but she also has to track who knows what lie as she shifts from one spy organization to the other. In a break from superhero comics, Sydney's parents are not only aware of her secret but they're also spies themselves -- spies who may know more about the truth behind Sydney's past than she does. It's a fun twist on the spy genre and Jennifer Garner generally does a good job in the role (although there are many times when Sydney comes across as much too gullible for a top spy).

But I Can't Be The Only One Who Sees It, Can I?

2004-05-30T10:11:00.000-05:00

I guess I really have become the blogo-mart's Unintentional Porn Spotter, haven't I?

(Link via Franklin Harris.)

Just To Show That I'm Not Obsessed With The Sex Lives Of Marvel Characters...

2004-05-28T15:28:00.000-05:00

Newsarama has an interview with Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá about their upcoming graphic novel Ursula from AiT/PlanetLar. The sample images look really nice. Looking forward to reading this one.

In other anticipation news, Matt Maxwell (not a permalink) has posted a teaser image from his upcoming comic Strangeways:

Man, I'm sold based on that image alone. Matt also has some good thoughts on how different (and difficult) writing comics is compared to writing for other media.

Finally, Steven Grant weighs in with what he sees as the three most important aspects of comic book art: proportion, storytelling, and immediacy. If I understand him correctly, what he refers to as "immediacy" I usually think of as staging or choreography. Or maybe those would all be subsets of what Grant means by "immediacy." Maybe another way of stating what Grant is getting at would be: good comic art is transparent; the reader doesn't have to make a conscious effort to "read" the art but instead is sucked in to the story.

That's probably it for now (unless I find some other disturbing Marvel images). Have a good Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

More Creepy Sexual Situations Starring Marvel Characters

2004-05-28T11:03:00.000-05:00

Steve Rogers picks up a hooker:

"Let me just dim the lights...Damn! My work pager is going off!!"

(And before I start getting angry emails, yes, I know who that female character is supposed to be.)

Now That's Grotesque Anatomy

2004-05-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I mentioned some of the anatomy-related search queries that show up in my referrer logs. Today I intended to share some of the queries centered around the "grotesque" part of this blog's title, but fate had other plans, apparently. For there in the referrer logs was a single search query that so perfectly encapsulated the essence of Grotesque Anatomy that no further examples were necessary:

ROB LIEFELD CAPTAIN AMERICA NAKED

Unfortunately, plugging "ROB LIEFELD CAPTAIN AMERICA NAKED" into Google's image search produces zero results. So for now all we can do is dream of what a naked Captain America drawn by Rob Liefeld would look like:

I know I can't look at that picture without starting to mentally undress Cap.

UPDATE: Thanks to a helpful reader, we no longer simply have to dream of a naked Rob Liefeld Captain America. BEHOLD! (Warning: Most definitely not work safe.)

MORE: More fun with search queries over at Progressive Ruin and Peiratikos. Some of my favorites: "help+i'm+trapped+in+my+sister's+body" (I think we've all been there); "comics with metaphors in them" (there've gotta be some, right?); and the juxtaposition of "freudian comics" above "ethics for kids." ("You can learn a lot from your dreams, Timmy...")

UPDATE ONCE MORE: Dave (Legomancer) Lartigue kindly provided these work safe (more or less) versions of ROB LIEFELD CAPTAIN AMERICA NAKED:

Enjoy!

Pondering Personal Preorders

2004-05-27T11:17:00.000-05:00

First of all, if you're looking for the Vaguely Creepy Marvel Covers, click the link or scroll down (or just go here).

Secondly, it's that time of month again: time to submit my monthly preorder for comics I think I'll be interested in reading three months from now. I've been trying to cut down on the number of books I order, due to considerations of both time and money. Each month I try not to exceed 20 items (because going over that shifts me into the next tier of shipping rates) or $100 (because, well because $100 a month is a lot to spend on anything, really). Here's my list for this month:

24 HOUR COMICS DAY HIGHLIGHTS 2004 TP
BOMBABY SCREEN GODDESS #4
CARNET DE VOYAGE
DC COMIC PRESENTS HAWKMAN #1
DC COMIC PRESENTS MYSTERY IN SPACE #1
DEMO #8
DIGITAL WEBBING PRESENTS #16
EIGHTBALL #23
EX MACHINA #2
FINDER VOL 6 TP MYSTERY DATE
FLIGHT GN
~~GOTHAM CENTRAL #21~~
HERO #18
NAUSICAA OF VALLEY OF WIND VOL 6 TP 2ND ED
PERVERSO ONE SHOT
RIDE #2
SEAGUY #3
SLEEPER SEASON TWO #2
STEVE RUDE THE MOTH #4
TOP SHELF CONVERSATIONS #1
URSULA GN

Looking over the list, here are some thoughts that occurred to me:

10 different publishers are represented across those 20 comics.
DC is the most represented publisher, accounting for 6 items (30%).
Image, Top Shelf, and AiT/PlanetLar are the publishers with the next highest representation at 2 items each. (2 comics apiece might not seem like much, but it is significant when you consider (a) the total output from some smaller publishers and (b) my past purchasing patterns for each publisher. In the case of AiT/PlanetLar, for example, I had only ordered one item from them before the big blogosphere push made the company stand out more in my mind. (That item was the Astronauts in Trouble: Master Flight Plan HC, in case you were wondering, which I ordered almost a year ago and still haven't read.) Lesson? Promotion does work!)
The remaining 8 items account for 8 additional publishers (About Comics, Alternative Comics, Dark Horse, Digital Webbing, Fantagraphics, Lightspeed Press, Slave Labor Graphics, and Viz).
There were many other comics that looked interesting to me (such as The Walking Man) but I had to draw a line somewhere. (One of the deciding factors ended up being how big a discount I could get through Mailordercomics. Since The Walking Man was only offered at 15% off, I figured I could wait for the book to show up on Amazon with its larger discounts.)

Finally, Christopher Butcher, what happened? I thought you were going to do this month's Previews Review early, yet it never appeared! (I know, I know: You were busy selling manga hand over fist. And I only kid because I love.)

EDIT: I completely forgot about NAUSICAA OF VALLEY OF WIND VOL 6 TP 2ND ED. I'm going to have to make an adjustment to my order to fit NAUSICAA in without going over 20 items, so the stats I discussed above will change. (I'm leaning towards cutting GOTHAM CENTRAL since I was thinking of dropping the series anyway once the current arc was over. In fact, yes, I am dropping GOTHAM CENTRAL. The stats have been updated to reflect this change.)

Yesterday's Blog Of The Day

2004-05-26T22:18:00.000-05:00

My thanks to Tony Isabella for naming Grotesque Anatomy "Blog of the Day" for Tuesday, May 25, 2004. If you've come here from Tony's column looking for the Vaguely Creepy Marvel Covers, just scroll down a bit (or click the link). If you came here looking for "Anatomy Comics," "anatomy video games," "making anatomy fun," "anatomy of a wolverine," or any of the other anatomy-related topics that have been showing up in the referrer logs lately, I apologize for this blog's deceptive title.

Manga, Manga, Manga!

2004-05-26T16:22:00.000-05:00

As usual, lots of manga news floating around. Here's some of the stuff that caught my eye:

Christopher Butcher reports on the overwhelming popularity of manga at Anime North, an anime fan convention in Toronto. It's interesting reading how the table Chris was working was so swamped that Chris was literally turning people away so that he could re-stock sold out merchandise. As Chris points out, 2004 is surely a time to stay in the manga business, not get out as some people have suggested.

In other con news, Augie De Blieck Jr. reports on Tokyopop's presence at Wizard World East. I'm just going to reproduce the relevant sections verbatim:

TokyoPop set up a little reading library with bean bags, chairs, and sample issues to read through.

The few times I passed by the TokyoPop booth, it [the male/female ratio] seems to be about 80/20 in favor of the women hanging around.

In my mind, this reinforces that Tokyopop is aggressively courting (1) actual readers and (2) non-traditional comic readers. Good to hear.

Also reporting from Wizard World East, Heidi MacDonald mentions that Tokyopop (who took over CrossGen's old booth) was doing portfolio reviews and handing out samplers to "an enthusiastic but not overwhelming crowd."

Finally, Kevin Melrose points out that two of my hometown papers, the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press, have both profiled Twin Citian Tania del Rio, who is handling the manga-esque revamp of Archie Comics' Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I preordered the issue where the new direction starts and I'm looking forward to reading it. Afterwards, I'll probably pass it along to my niece, who enjoys Shonen Jump and Alison Dare. I'll be curious to see what she thinks of it.

Marvel, Manga, and Moore

2004-05-24T12:00:00.000-05:00

I loved this: Marc Singer's hilarious (and very thorough) takedown of the bad philosophy underpinning John Byrne's old FF story, "The Trial of Reed Richards." Some might call it overkill, but I think poor reasoning needs to be soundly trounced wherever it occurs, even if it's in "just a comic book." In fact, allowing it to go unchallenged in popular/low culture might be particularly insidious, since the philosophical underpinnings of a story may be subconsciously accepted so long as the surface level is entertaining.

Jeff Chatlos found some Amazon listings for upcoming Essentials of 70s Marvel comics. In addition to Essential Iron Fist, which is available for pre-order next month, it looks as though Marvel plans to release Essential Super-Villain Team-Up and Essential Defenders. Jeff lists some other Essential series he'd like to see and I'm right on board with him: For some reason, I like the obscure, goofy characters and comics more than the established, popular ones.

Comic Readers has its "Hundreds of Pages of Huh" features up, which offer pre-ordering recommendations for mainstream comics, manga, small press, and collectibles. They point out several books I'd overlooked (such as Jim Woodring's Pupshaw & Pushpaw #1) but I'm trying to buy fewer comics, not more, dammit.

Also at Comic Readers: Interviews with several winners from Tokyopop's most recent Rising Stars of Manga competition.

I thought for sure Augie De Blieck Jr. would comment on the incestuous relationship between Jeff and his sister Rexa in Smax, especially since Alan Moore has Rexa voice complaints about laws prohibiting what only comes naturally to animals. Heck, I'm surprised I haven't seen any liberal commentators complaining that Moore's apparent defense of incest could undermine similar arguments for homosexuality. Perhaps the lack of outrage on either side of the political spectrum simply means that not many people read this series. Myself, I thought it was an interesting thought experiment, but I strongly doubt incest occurs as neatly in our world as it did in Jeff and Rexa's situation.

Vaguely Creepy Marvel Covers

2004-05-23T14:07:00.000-05:00

I realize that these thoughts probably say more about me than the actual covers, but Marvel's latest batch of solicitations included several images that seemed strangely sexual.

I suppose if DD gets caught staring at her breasts, he can just tell her he's blind.

I've heard of guns being phallic substitutes before, but giant cigarette lighters?

Meanwhile, I'm wondering if the fact that Marvel's covers no longer tell stories is causing me to read stories into them. For example, this team shot makes me think that if the FF is a family, it's a disturbingly incestuous one:

For shame, Ben: She's your best friend's wife and you try to cop a feel.

And I think Reed noticed:

Maybe this will lead to a very special issue of Fantastic Four where Sue files a sexual harassment claim against Ben: "This Man...This Monster!"

Demonstratively Good

2004-05-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

The winners of the Great Demo Giveaway have been announced. Congratulations to everyone who won. You are all some sick, sick people and I want to know why you're not writing superhero comics.

In other Demo news, Tony Isabella is the latest reviewer to read and fall in love with the series. I think I had an experience similar to Tony's: After my first pass, I thought, "These are some pretty good comics." After my second and third reads, I realized, "Wow, these are some great comics!" Loved Tony's description of Becky Cloonan's art style as "grunge manga."

Finally, here's one more Demo review I found -- a review (in the loose sense of the word) of Demo #5 from Sequential Tart's Adrienne Rappaport. I wasn't going to link to it at first because it doesn't really add much to discussion of the story. But it does serve as a nice illustration of the "reaction vs. review" distinction (I'd say this piece falls strongly on the side of reaction) and it sets the stage for some of the issues I want to address in my next "Review Reaction Reflection" installment, so I'm including it as an example I might refer back to later.

Waiting So Long

2004-05-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

It's finally here!

SPOT JUN04 1647 ESSENTIAL IRON FIST VOL 1 TP $16.99 = $

Damn right it's a spotlight item!

I'm also looking forward to the third and final New X-Men hardcover. I've actually managed to avoid spoilers for most of the issues contained in this collection, so I'm looking forward to reading it. (If there were an X-Statix hardcover on that list, I'd probably be feeling enough love towards Marvel to qualify temporarily as a genuine Marvel fanboy.) (Thanks to Marc-Oliver Frisch for the link.)

Meanwhile, nothing much excites me from DC's August solicitations. The superhero titles look especially grim, what with the 25-part crossovers and multiple covers from "hot" artists. Suddenly DC seems more Marvel than Marvel itself.

EDIT: I take it back. No one can out-Marvel Marvel. They've seen DC's bid and upped the ante considerably with a "special foil-enhanced cover"; a "re-scripted" version of Ultimate Spider-Man (am I the only one who thought of What's Up, Tiger Lily?); and Rob Liefeld on interior art for a brand-new X-FORCE #1. (Link via Graeme.)

Finally, I am still planning on writing more about reviewing. I just want to make sure my thoughts are a little less scattered first. (And if I never do deliver as promised, I'm going to claim it was all just a brilliant homage to Mother, Come Home.)

Review Reaction Reflection (Part 1)

2004-05-17T22:51:00.000-05:00

[WARNING! Boring semantic argument hinging on suspect distinction ahead. Don't say you weren't warned.]

Reflecting on the recent disagreement that erupted between Johanna Draper Carlson and Laura Gjovaag (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, I think pretty much in that order), James Schee wonders, "Review or Commentary?" At issue is whether Johanna's short remarks regarding Aquaman #18 constitute an actual review. Laura thinks they do (and that they form a bad one on top of that); Johanna thinks they don't. My take is that it all depends on what you mean by "review." I think the term is generally used in two ways, narrowly and broadly. In the narrow sense, a review is a longer, more thorough examination of a work. As The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, puts it, a review is "a report or essay giving a critical estimate of a work or performance." Since one paragraph is hardly an essay, Johanna's comments do not constitute a review in the strict sense.

However, many people use "review" more loosely to refer to any evaluative commentary. Consider Christopher Butcher's description of my comments on Nausicaä:

Just this week I read a good review of Nausicaa (amongst some other great books) by John Jakala at his blog. Go check it out, it’s a great review and sums up some of the elements I enjoy about the series.

Going by the strict definition of "review," my short paragraph on Nausicaä hardly passes muster: Basically all I did was ramble on about how I was unable to pinpoint what it was I liked about Nausicaä, and when I couldn't figure out how to tie up my digressions, I cheated and tried to distract everyone with a pretty picture. But in thanking Chris for his kind words, I myself referred to my scattered thoughts as a review. Why? Well, part of it probably stems from my personal philosophy of reviewing. I think the most important function of a review is to stimulate discussion about a work. So in that sense, if my short remarks (or Johanna's) inspire thought, then they strike me as a review. (I'm not saying everything that provokes a reaction counts as a review. I see it as a necessary condition but not sufficient. Hopefully I'll be able to delineate exactly what I see as the boundaries of a review when I get around to writing my own philosophy of reviewing.) Another part of it is, well, that's just the way people often seem to use the word.

I've been mindful of the distinction before, even if I've never written about it explicitly til now. In trying to come up with titles for entries about my reactions to comics, I often skirt the issue by avoiding the term altogether. Last week's entry, for example, only referred to "Spring Reading" not "Spring Reviewing." And for posts where I quickly run down a bunch of books, I usually use some variation of the title "Quick Cuts." (Earlier this month I slipped with the DC books and used "DCU Quick Reviews," mainly because I liked the small rhyme in the title.) Rigorous reviews take more effort than I'm generally willing to put into my writing (plus I'm never happy with any one format for very long) so I usually take the easy way out and write less formal reactions in whatever style happens to appeal to me at the moment. I don't mind if anyone refers to such informal writings as reviews, but I'll also understand if people think of them as hastily assembled opinions from someone too lazy to do proper reviews.

Next: To What Should That Attribute Be Attributed?

Spring Cleaning, Spring Reading

2004-05-14T09:25:00.000-05:00

Another thing that spring means is spring cleaning. Last weekend I was attempting to restore order to my office when I discovered stacks of comics that I had never gotten around to reading. Well, as you can probably guess, cleaning the office was put on hold so that I could attend to more important matters. So here are some of the comics I've been enjoying this week. (Not all the comics I uncovered were treasures, but I'm feeling positive, so let's focus on the good ones for now.)

Absent Friends: A nice collection of quiet, everyday reflections on relationships of various sorts (friends, roommates, lovers, and business associates). Paul Grist's sparse, simple artwork perfectly complements Phil Elliott's short, simple stories, resulting in a deceptively simple book that highlights the complexities of human entanglements.

The Complete D.R. & Quinch: Sci-fi humor from Alan Moore and Alan Davis. The basic setup is a bit repetitive (alien teenage delinquents go to great lengths to exact revenge on anyone who looks at them the wrong way) but it's amazing how much mileage the two Alans manage to squeeze from the premise. Davis' art is a delight in black and white -- check out some sample scans at this site.

Jack Staff: Everything Used To Be Black And White: A wonderfully fun superhero comic set in Britain by Paul Grist. The trade paperback is a great bargain as well, collecting 12 issues and totaling just over 350 pages for only $20. Johanna Draper Carlson has already done a fantastic job describing everything I loved about this book so I won't waste time repeating everything she's already addressed (that's her Jack Staff page I linked to above; strangely, Image's website doesn't have a page devoted to the TPB or the series, although they do have a couple previews of various issues), but I did want to reiterate how surprisingly great the book's structure is: Although the book is titled "Jack Staff," the stories often ignore him and instead wander off to focus on other colorful characters. It shouldn't work--the book should be frustratingly disjointed--but it does. Somehow all the threads come together in a fitting manner. (Well, except perhaps for the mysterious character known as the Shadow, but it looks as though that plot line is being addressed in the new color series from Image.) Johanna cleverly describes this structure as being akin to what "channel-surfing would be if all the pieces worked synergistically to make one big show." (Johanna's review also contains the brilliant description of Grist's non-repetitive plot recaps as "a spiral staircase, winding back over the familiar but with the reader advanced through the circuit.") In a time when Marvel and DC are having trouble straddling the demands of conflicting audiences it's amusing to find that a creator-owned title is able to rise above the continuity quagmire and deliver such a satisfying, self-contained superhero series.

Mother, Come Home: I didn't love this book as much as others did*, but perhaps part of my reaction was due to expectations having been set unrealistically high. Still, I can certainly see why this book has garnered the praise that it has: In addition to doing interesting things with the formal aspects of the medium, it's also a captivating story about a boy and a father who have lost their mother/wife. As Time's Andrew Arnold points out in his review, Mother, Come Home is a work that rewards multiple readings due to the details one notices on subsequent passes.** It's not a perfect work by any means--as Arnold also notes, the tone is perhaps too humorless and pretentious at times--but it's a challenging work I found myself reconsidering and reflecting on again and again, so the book merits a recommendation from me on those grounds alone.

Nausicaä of The Valley of The Wind: Nausicaä is a difficult book for me to get a grip on. Even after reading the first three volumes, I'm having trouble spelling out just what it is that I like about it. The first thing that comes to mind is the art: The art is just gorgeous--it's incredibly intricate yet it never feels over-rendered. And the sepia tones the book is printed in (for the second edition, at least) only heighten the art's appeal, giving it an ancient, timeless look. But I feel funny recommending a book based solely on the art (What is this? Jim Lee's Batman??), especially since that's certainly not the only reason I like Nausicaä. I know many have focused on the environmental themes in this title (which makes sense, especially considering how creator Hiyao Miyazaki returned to those themes in films such as Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke) but that's not what really resonates with me. I think what appeals to me most are the characters. Even when the plot or themes don't grab me, I'm always interested in the characters and what they do. Even the "villains" of the tale are interesting and authentic. So that's my answer, then: Read Nausicaä for the engaging characters. And the art. The art is simply amazing:

Planetes: I'll always think of this as the comic beloved by both Alan David Doane and Augie De Blieck Jr. Of course, many others have praised the manga besides these two. Most recently, Johanna reviewed Planetes over at Comics Unlimited. Johanna points out how much of the book's appeal is due to the gritty everyday feel of the stories despite the futuristic sci-fi setting. (The book deals with garbage collectors who must round up space debris before it damages other ships.) Another thing that makes the book stand out is its ability to juggle various moods without ever coming across as either indulgent or superficial. It can be difficult to balance comedy with pathos, but Planetes does so without feeling jarring or schizophrenic. Be forewarned, though: Planetes is so good that, for some readers, it makes all other manga pale in comparison.

Hmm. I'd meant to cover more comics, but this post has already become much longer than I had intended. I guess I'll save some comics for next week.

* I was thinking mainly of Alan David Doane (the blog's gone but his review of Forlorn Funnies #2 can be found at Simply Comics) and Sean Collins here. And with Sean I'm thinking specifically of his review in The Comics Journal #259, not his remarks online. On his blog, Sean actually took ADD to task for "overselling" Mother, Come Home and complained on more than one occasion about the book's ending ("I think that towards the end Hornschemeier's desire to deliver an emotional knock-out punch forces the story off the tracks of believability a bit"; "I think it becomes a little too neat in the profundity of its tragedy by the end"). Sean was much more enthusiastic about the book and its ending in the TCJ review ("The climax that by all rights should seem ham-fisted and forced, and yet works, emerging as it does from intensely intimate (and therefore immediately understandable) details of touch and sight and (not) taste -- tiny, sensate building blocks of calamitous inevitability. What hints of too-neat tragedy remain are torn to pieces by the book's final words, and the forward-looking eeriness of the image that accompanies them.")

** One of the things that gets richer and richer the more I think about it is the ending. [OBVIOUSLY, SPOILERS AHEAD, AS I'M ABOUT TO DISCUSS THE ENDING] By never showing us the father's body, Hornschemeier forces us to imagine the grisly scene ourselves. In place of the actual body, Hornschemeier provides us with the symbol of the sandwich, which Thomas tells us resembles his father's broken body (although Thomas must likewise be using his imagination, for he earlier told us that he did not watch his father hit). Finally, Thomas does not eat the remains of his father's sandwich, perhaps signifying that Thomas will not adopt the sins of the father. (This would fit with the forward-looking title to Chapter One, "We Are All Released." (I'm guessing David Fiore would appreciate a book that ends with such an open-ended beginning.))

Blogger Ate The Issue of Night Nurse I'd Written, So You Get This Instead

2004-05-12T21:31:00.000-05:00

It seems the esteemed Heidi MacDonald has written some things that have ruffled some feathers throughout the blogosphere. Myself, I can't get too upset about Heidi's remarks for several reasons:

I haven't actually read the article in question, so I don't want to jump to conclusions based on the few excerpts I've seen.
Are we sure that wasn't a typo in that one quote? Perhaps Heidi meant to say "a lot of [comic blogs] are really dope."
Even if that wasn't a typo, obviously Heidi doesn't dislike all blogs since she still has one herself. (Although, as a blogger whose stamina was once publicly questioned, I do have to point out that her blog hasn't been updated since April 29th.)

Besides, in a long comments thread over on Thought Balloons, Heidi clarifies her position somewhat and promises that she'll be addressing people's reactions to her CBG piece in "another venue." So I'll wait until then to denounce her harshly. (Kidding!)

(And speaking of stamina, this is probably a good time to warn whatever readers this blog may have that blogging will be light for the foreseeable future. With the arrival of spring, my thoughts are turning to other hobbies, such as lawn care and ruining perfectly good meat on the grill. I'm sure I'll continue to post every now and then, but I doubt it'll be daily. As always, check the Totally Dope & Fly Comic Weblogs Funk-A-Tron 3000 for updates.)

UPDATE: Heidi has updated her blog with the promised response to the blogosphere. And I win a prize. (But no link under the "Favorite Sites" section? [Sob!] I guess I'll have to settle for being included on her laundry list of love.)

Who Knew It Was So Easy To Cheat Death?

2004-05-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

Mile High Comics has a four-page preview of Seaguy #1 by Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart. For some reason, I love the idea of Death as a colorblind gondolier.

Entertainment Weekly Loves Comics

2004-05-08T14:58:00.000-05:00

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly (#765; May 14, 2004), is crammed with comic book coverage. The subscribers-only supplement "Listen2This" has four reviews:

The Astonishing X-Men #1: A- (reviewed by Jeff Jensen, who wrote the 2002 X-Factor mini-series for Marvel)
Blacksad: A
Queen & Country - Operation: Storm Front: A (no mention of Carla Speed McNeil's art)
30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow: A-

"Listen2This" also lists four upcoming comics: Heaven, LLC; Grendel: Devil's Reign; Transmetropolitan: One More Time; and Hench.

Comics are also mentioned in several spots throughout the regular magazine:

"News + Notes" discusses the progress (or lack thereof) on a movie version of Watchmen (which is described as "the Citizen Kane of the comic-book world")
"The Must List" includes two comics: Marvel's Daredevil, described as "Michael Corleone in spandex"; and The Complete Peanuts (positively reviewed by EW a couple weeks ago), praised as "pure happiness, like a warm puppy"
Finally, DC's It's a Bird is reviewed in the "Books" section and not only receives an A- but is also named "Editor's Choice"

All this comic book coverage is great, but I want to know when EW is going to feature comic books on the cover. I want to see an issue devoted to EW's picks for the "100 Greatest Comics of All Time!" (Yeah, list issues are kind of silly, but they always seem to sell well and generate a lot of reader response: "How could you forget _______?"; "How could you include _______?"; and so on.)

A Marvel U Review: Fantastic Four #512

2004-05-07T15:31:00.000-05:00

Rounding out my review theme for the week (What? You didn't notice I was reviewing something from a different Premier publisher every day?), we come to Marvel. I don't buy much from Marvel these days, but I was tempted to try out Fantastic Four #512 due to the guest appearance of Spider-Man. Not because I'm a Spider-Man completist (I think the last Spider-Man comic I purchased was ASM #500) but because I've always been a sucker for Spidey & FF team-ups. (I still have fond memories of such comics as MTU #100, the PPSSM #42 - FF #218 crossover, WHAT IF? #1, and the inspired UTOS 1996 Annual.) I think part of the reason why these team-ups work is because each member of the FF parallels a certain aspect of Spidey's personality: Reed, the dazzling scientific intellect; Ben, the irrepressible sense of humor in the face of overwhelming odds (with occasional lapses into self-pity); Johnny, the hotheaded, youthful impulsiveness; and Sue, the moral center, especially when it comes to matters of family.

So far in the first half of this two-part arc we only see Spider-Man interact with the Torch, so that's the aspect of Spider-Man's character that's played up the most (although there's an obvious touch of the Thing in Spidey's portrayal here considering he bickers lightheartedly with the Torch and wears one of Ben's oversized trenchcoats). Your enjoyment of this issue will therefore depend on how entertaining you find the antagonistic friendship-slash-rivalry that exists between the two heroes. Personally, I thought Waid had a pretty good handle on Spidey, whose jokes have always been somewhat self-consciously corny, but his take on the Torch seemed a bit off: Yes, Johnny often acts arrogant (especially around Spidey), but I don't think he's really that self-absorbed or oblivious. Waid's characterization of Johnny feels forced, as though it's all engineered to set-up a couple cheap gags.

The fight scene at the end was pure nostalgia: Spider-Man and the Torch fight Hydro-Man (an obvious Sandman stand-in, thereby calling to mind MTU #1) while a certain wingless villain mastermind lurks in the shadows. Why do I have a feeling at least two more villains will be showing up next issue?

As a surprise bonus, this issue also features a short back-up story illustrated by Paul Smith. The story (also part one of two?) focuses on Sue's efforts to make Reed jealous so that he'll spend time with her. It's pretty lightweight but I found it cute and charming nonetheless, especially since the couple are shown diffusing any resentment or ill will towards each other through a shared laugh. Nice to see an optimistic depiction of marriage that isn't based on some unrealistic "happily ever after" sentiment.

Gumshoe Reviews: Dodge's Bullets

2004-05-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

DODGE'S BULLETS (Image Comics • 80 B&W Pages • $9.95) Writer Jay Faerber serves up a nice little slice of crime fiction involving a rough-around-the-edges private investigator who (in typical P.I. fashion) takes on a case that's more than he bargained for. There are some really nice touches in this OGN that distinguish it from standard crime comics:

The lead, Webster Dodge, moonlights as a musician, but there aren't any awkward concert scenes shoehorned in; it's just an element that fleshes out the character in an understated, natural fashion.
There's a generational conflict between Dodge and his father, but it never veers into the direction of grating melodrama.
The ethnically diverse supporting cast is immediately engaging (I'd love to see more of these characters should there be future adventures featuring Dodge).

Even when it comes to familiar trappings of the genre (the P.I. meeting the client in his office; the tense rivalry between the P.I. and the police force; etc.), Faerber keeps things fresh by approaching those elements from a new angle. For example, Dodge's "office" is a cyber-cafe -- for reasons that actually make sense, not just to make the story seem hip and modern. I especially liked the twist Faerber took on another fixture of the P.I. genre: the beautiful woman who suddenly shows up at the P.I.'s place.

The art by James Francis is really quite pleasing. There are times when figures look a bit off, but overall Francis' art is very strong. When I first saw the sample artwork on Image's site, I was reminded of Jill Thompson's style. While reading the whole story, I saw a number of other influences in Francis' work as well: Guy Davis, John Buscema, David Mazzucchelli, David Lapham, even Gene Colan at times. (More preview artwork from the book is available at James Francis' website.)

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. If you're looking for a fun, modern take on the private investigator genre, I highly recommend Dodge's Bullets.