This Week In Comics: 12/21/2005 [Archive]

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Clayface

12-20-2005, 09:32 AM

Welcome to This Week in Comics for December 21st, 2005 - December 29th, 2005!

This is the place to discuss the comics you've bought this week, whether it be a brand new title or old back-issues. We also welcome and encourage talk about comics in general - news you've read on comic news sites, the state of the industry in general, upcoming issues you're excited about, etc. All we ask is that you please use spoiler brackets in the event that your comments get too detailed concerning a particular storyline. This way the book won't be ruined for anyone who hasn't read it yet.

For a list of the new items shipping this week, please consult Diamond Comics' Shipping List (http://www.diamondcomics.com/shipping/shipping_122105.txt).

To find a comic book store near you, check out the Comic Shop Locator Service (http://csls.diamondcomics.com/).

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Highlights of the Week!

Ace the Bathound's Picks:

http://www.moonstonebooks.com/images/revisionary2cover72.jpg (http://www.moonstonebooks.com/revisionary.asp)

Revisionary #2

randomguy's Pick:

http://www.imagecomics.com/content/schedule/images/imagefirst_tp01.jpg (http://www.imagecomics.com/schedule.php)

Image First TPB

Clayface's Picks:

http://www.dccomics.com/media/covers/4599_180x270.jpg (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4599)....http://www.moonstonebooks.com/images/revisionary2cover72.jpg (http://www.moonstonebooks.com/revisionary.asp)

Justice #3 (of 12).................................Revisionary #2...........

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James Harvey

12-21-2005, 11:32 AM

Clayface

12-21-2005, 05:07 PM

Looking at the new comics coming out this week, I’m surprised at the lack of holiday-themed issues. Sure, we’ve had a couple one-shots over the past few weeks, but you’d think we’d see some new holiday stories sprinkle the comic book rack. So, in light of this, are there any holiday-themed comics you’ll be revisiting this week? Perhaps The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1? Spawn #39? Last week’s GLX-Mas Special? Superman #165? On top of your new purchases, what new (or classic) holiday comics will you be reading this week?

Hmmm. Good question. It's kinda funny: I've never thought about this before, but with all the holiday traditions I have, revisiting favorite holiday themed comics has never really crossed my mind. I mean, every year I've got to see A Christmas Story and It's A Wonderful Life at least once, or it just isn't Christmas. And despite comics being one of the biggest forms of entertainment in my life, I just never think about holiday themed comics. Perhaps it's time to start a new holiday tradition. I'm going to have to ponder this one a bit....

Anyway, here's my purchases for this week, none of which are particularly holiday themed (unless you count all the horror titles as Halloween themed, but then that's the wrong holiday :p):

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #72 (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4552)

BATMAN: JOURNEY INTO KNIGHT #5 (OF 12) (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4554)

BOOK OF LOST SOULS #3 (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3196&format=comic)

CAPTAIN AMERICA #13 (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3084&format=comic)

CONAN #23 (http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-322) - Click the link to see some preview pages!

FANTASTIC FOUR #533 (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3034&format=comic)

FRIDAY THE 13TH: BLOODBATH #2 (OF 3)

G.I. JOE: SNAKE-EYES DECLASSIFIED #5 (OF 6)

GIRLS #8

GREEN LANTERN #6 (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4327)

HELLBLAZER #215 (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4590)

JASON X SPECIAL #1

JUSTICE #3 (OF 12) (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4599)

LUCIFER #69 (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=4593)

NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST PARANOID #1 (OF 3)

REVISIONARY #2 (http://www.moonstonebooks.com/revisionary.asp)

SPIDER-WOMAN: ORIGIN #1 (OF 5) (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3212&format=comic)

SUPREME POWER HYPERION #3 (OF 5) (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3083)

ULTIMATE WOLVERINE VS HULK #1 (OF 6) (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3227)

ULTIMATE X-MEN FANTASTIC FOUR SPECIAL (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3632&format=comic)

X-MEN: DEADLY GENESIS #2 (OF 6) (http://www.marvel.com/catalog/showcomic.htm?id=3593&format=comic)

Spider-Man

12-21-2005, 05:09 PM

Jor-El - I finally got my copy of Superman: Secret Identity today and I can't wait to crack it open tonight! I quickly skimmed through it as fast as I could to look at the art and it looks amazing. Thanks for recommending this comic to me and I'll definitely let you know what I think of it.

I also picked up a couple of my regular comics like X-Men: Deadly Genesis (discuss here (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=154691)) and the new issue of Batman: Gotham Knights. I can't believe that comic is going to be cancelled in two months.

Clayface

12-21-2005, 05:13 PM

I also picked up a couple of my regular comics like X-Men: Deadly Genesis (discuss here (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=154691)) and the new issue of Batman: Gotham Knights. I can't believe that comic is going to be cancelled in two months.

Neither can I. It's one of the few good Batman titles out there right now, and it bums me out to see it canned. Once the "One Year Later" story starts, it looks like I won't be picking up any DC titles other than stuff from the Vertigo and Wildstorm lines. It's going to be odd not having at least one monthly bat-title on my pull list.

Ed Liu

12-21-2005, 05:27 PM

Howdy,

And despite comics being one of the biggest forms of entertainment in my life, I just never think about holiday themed comics. Perhaps it's time to start a new holiday tradition. I'm going to have to ponder this one a bit....
Well, I can say that the reason why I don't tend to revisit X-Mas/holiday comics is that it's such a pain to find them in my kinda-but-not-really sorted longboxes :p. The only one I think I'd be able to find quickly would be the reprint of the Batman Adv Holiday Special in my Dames and Demons TPB.

However, if I had a decent filing system and wasn't still playing catchup with the monstrous pile of stuff I just got at the start of the month ;), I'd go dig out my Christmas with the Super Heroes #2 from many years ago (which has a sweet Superman story by Paul Chadwick at the beginning, a cool silent Enemy Ace story in the middle, and a beautiful and moving Deadman story at the end, all of which are spoiled here (http://www.supermanhomepage.com/comics/comics.php?topic=special-reports/christmas2)) and my issue of Incredible Hulk #378 (http://www.comics.org/details.lasso?id=49241) (true sign of geekdom -- I remembered the number correctly off the top of my head), which is only tangentially related to the holidays but is really screamingly funny. I suppose there's also the "Solstice" story from Bone. I want to say that there was a Concrete Christmas story somewhere along the line, but I may be hallucinating that one. And, I just remembered that Joe Kelly JLA story where Plastic Man saves Santa from demons or something. Not great, but it's one I can find easily.

Hmm, thinking about that DC special, I may need to go dig it out when I get home...

-- Ed/Ace

Ed Liu

12-21-2005, 10:18 PM

Howdy,

In keeping with the discussion about the holidays earlier, an article in the Boston Globe (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/12/18/offering_holiday_cheer_group_mails_comic_books_to_far_flung_servicemen/) reminds me about Operation Comix Relief (http://operationcomixrelief.freeservers.com/), which sends comics to soldiers serving overseas to alleviate boredom and ensure they know we haven't forgotten them, especially during the holiday season. If you got some good comics that you bought the trade for and/or got some spare cash you don't know how to spend, help 'em out, eh?

As for the links, it was a bad day for indies, Speakeasy Comics and Alias in particular. First up, we have an article about Frank Espinosa's Rocketo (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6353), which was being published (sporadically) by Speakeasy, but is coming from Image starting in February. Espinosa comments on his move to Image, and Speakeasy doesn't come off too well in the end (though, if you want to get some pro-Speakeasy commentary, you won't do much better than Rich Johnston's puff piece about Speakeasy in this week's Lying in the Gutters (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=litg&article=2339)...I'm sure that the Flying Friar OGN that Johnston has in the works with them has nothing at all to do with his stance about the company).

Getting back to Rocketo, though, if I had to point to one thing about it's move to Image that bugs me, it would be this:

When the trade ships in February, readers will find the first six issues collected for the first time. It'll also contain issue #0, which contained a short story that occured before the Hidden Sea adventure. "It will have every Rocketo story that's out there under one cover. Also, there will be some extra pages added to issue #0 to bring it more into the continuity of the Hidden Sea," explained Espinosa.
< S N I P >
Espinosa has big plans for the trade paperback and is filling it with loads of extras, some of which have been included with this article.Now, I like TPB extras as much as the next guy, but it still seems wrong to me somehow to reward the people who liked the comic enough to buy it in single issues by forcing them to double-dip for the trade to get all the goodies. Oh, well.

Meanwhile, Alias has announced their separation from DBPro (a.k.a. the Dabel brothers), firing off some veiled comments about DBPro's professionalism in the press release. Not one to take this lying down, DBPro's Les Dabel lets Alias have it with both barrels in this article at Newsarama.com (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1457616#post1457616). If nothing else, it reveals that the decision to censor all the boobies but none of the violence in European import XIII came from Alias' Mike Miller, and that DBPro plans to release XIII uncensored on their own. So who's up for a betting pool on who's going to go belly up first: Speakeasy or Alias?

It would be interesting to line up the What Have You Learned This Year (http://www.comicfoundry.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=181) feature at Comics Foundry with people who have worked for Speakeasy or Alias, but nobody there seems to have done anything for either one. In consolation, you'll have to get answers from the likes of Marv Wolfman, Andy Diggle, Rags Morales, and Greg Pak.

DC Direct toymaster Georg Brewer gets interviewed at Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53079) about the latest toys on the shelf and the upcoming stuff. I wonder if his business card calls him "The Toymaster," or if he has that weird creepy head (http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/superman/bios/villains/toyman/02.jpg) that doesn't move when he talks.

Courtesy of Tom Spurgeon's Comics Reporter (http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/go_read_persoff_posted_aa_comix/), we have Alcoholics Anonymous comics (http://www.ep.tc/aa-comics/01.html). If I say I like them in principle, can I also say that they're pretty ham-handed comics?

From a reference in Steven Grant's Permanent Damage column this week, I hit Christopher Allen's 60-second take on Watchmen (http://www.comicbookgalaxy.com/breakdowns_423.html) that takes more than 60 seconds to read, but is worth every minute. Posted a while ago, but if you haven't read it, It's New to You, as they'd say on TV.

And now, the Previews. Comic Book Resources posts a bunch of things coming from DC in March (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6359), including the Batman Annual that promises the Real Honest to Goodness origin/explanation of this Red Hood character flying around and the new Sam Kieth Batman mini-series (it also includes pages from Steven Seagle and Becky Cloonan's American Virgin, which includes some pretty frank talk about sex, even if it's mostly couched in terms of abstinence).

Meanwhile, Newsarama.com previews Doll and Creature (http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics/DollCreature/RemenderDC.htm) from Rick Remender, John Heebink, and Mike Manley, and coming from Image in March. This one's rated PG-13 for language, violence, and a curvy woman wrapped up in bandages.

Finally, Buzzscope.com has previews for next week's DC and Marvel releases (http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=1212), and manages to trigger one of my biggest Internet homonym pet peeves by calling them "DC Sneak Peaks."

Who says Politics and Comics don't mix? Apparently not Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) (http://stevens.senate.gov/), who apparently puts on an Incredible Hulk necktie when he's gearing up for a fight on the floor. Here's photographic evidence (http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/7303381p-7215164c.html) of it, and here's an article from 2003 that details his habit and also talks about how he met the Hulk at a party (http://alaskalegislature.com/stories/062203/stevens.shtml), apparently right before the movie release. Yes, Sen. Stevens owns a pair of Hulk Hands. Let's hope he doesn't go all "Ultimate Hulk" on us and start eating his fellow Senators. On the other hand, given some of the Senators we've got in office nowadays, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. It would certainly improve C-SPAN's ratings.

I am vaguely envisioning a TZ News Feature for next year, where I field the same (or mostly similar) questions to Sen. Stevens and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) about comic books, since they're publicly known as comic fans and Leahy did a voice on Batman: The Animated Series. Hmmm...

And finally, your Comic Book Science link for today comes from the Scotsman, which talks about Joe "Laughing Boy" Stalin's mad plan to breed an army of half-man, half-ape hybrids (http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2434192005) to conquer the capitalist pigs. This would make Stalin the predecessor to Marvel's High Evolutionary (http://underworld.fortunecity.com/blood/201/marvel/highevolutionary.html) (who, I hear, is being sued by the Thomas More Law Center (http://www.thomasmore.org/) to make him to call himself the "High Intelligent Designerary" for one minute every school semester (and before you ID proponents get all huffy at me, check the High Evolutionary out and you'll get the embedded joke in there. Even if I do feel like a wuss for feeling compelled to put this addendum here. Like the Joker says, it's not funny if you have to explain the joke. But anyway...)).

To tie in to today's BPoL title, today's reviews are for Rocketo #1-3 from Speakeasy and the new Lullaby #1 from Alias. I have two things to say about Rocketo so far:

1. Man, this is one really cool looking comic.
2. Man, I really wish I knew what was going on.

I thought I was well beyond the point where I'd buy a comic book strictly for the artwork, but considering that this and that Joe Jusko Tomb Raider comic book were recent purchases, I guess I'm not. Mostly, I'm holding out hope that Espinosa's story will start coming together better as it goes on, since he clearly has the comics' concepts thought out pretty deeply and he is definitely heading somewhere. I'm just not sure if my inability to see it is because of his idiosyncratic storytelling or because it's not all that amazing of a story.

But man, this is one really cool looking comic. Cool enough that I'm almost totally cool with double-dipping for the trade from Image. Almost.

As for Lullaby #1, I did love the mini-series from Image enough to double-dip for the trade as well, only to find that it wasn't quite as awesomely cool as I thought it was. It is still pretty cool, though. This first issue essentially serves as a recap for those who are joining the story for the first time, and it does a pretty good job of it at the expense of getting anywhere substantial in this first issue. The crew from the first mini-series encounter a new French-speaking fairy tale heroine who gets in a fight with Alice before teaming up to take on a new opponent. And yeah, that's it for issue #1.

Not that it matters much. I find Alias' business practices more than a little slimy, and the confirmation that Alias' Mike Miller was behind the censorship of XIII while not having much of a problem with Alice of Lullaby's short mini-skirt, giant breasts, and whip for a weapon is just the hypocritical icing on the cake. I'm pre-ordered up to issue #3 for Lullaby, plus a Pied Piper special, but I'm done with them as of now. It's an enjoyable comic, and if it ever goes back to Image without Mike Miller attached to it, I'll be happy to pick it up again, but right now I can't give him my money and feel good about it. At the rate they're going, they may not be around long enough to get that far anyway.

-- Ed/Ace

randomguy

12-22-2005, 01:46 AM

Interesting conversations in here this week...

Looking at the new comics coming out this week, I’m surprised at the lack of holiday-themed issues. Sure, we’ve had a couple one-shots over the past few weeks, but you’d think we’d see some new holiday stories sprinkle the comic book rack.There are a fair number of holiday-themed stories being released right now, although DC has kinda let me down. I don't think they've done any Christmas-themed things, outside of that Justice League Unlimited issue. Of course, they're tangled up in Infinite Crisis right now, but a one-shot or something wouldn't kill them...

That said, Marvel's released three Christmas specials so far: the GLA one, the Marvel Holiday Special, and that Punisher one-shot by Andy Diggle. I haven't read any of them, but I've heard good things about the GLA book, and the Marvel Holiday Special is supposedly rather cute.

Image also put out a pretty decent-sized Christmas-themed trade paperback, with holiday-style stories springing forth from such Image books as The Walking Dead and The Amazing Joy Buzzards. Augie De Blieck has a great review of this special (plus the Marvel one) in his latest Pipeline column for CBR (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=6). Check 'er out.

So, in light of this, are there any holiday-themed comics you’ll be revisiting this week? Perhaps The Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1? Spawn #39? Last week’s GLX-Mas Special? Superman #165? On top of your new purchases, what new (or classic) holiday comics will you be reading this week?It is a holiday tradition of mine to break out my bagged-and-boarded copy of The Batman Adventures Holiday Special every Christmas. It's a wonderful group of stories, and I seem to appreciate it more every year.

Another holiday, though not Christmas, tradition is for me to read Action Comics #810, written by Joe Kelly, on New Year's Day or New Year's Eve. This issue's only a couple of years old, but it's a fantastic story which sees Superman trying to catch the beginning of the new year in every time zone. In each time zone, he also answers a seperate letter, and performs good deeds like helping a man propose to his wife and encouraging a group of US soliders stationed in the Middle East. It's a quiet, understated issue with a good heart and a good message. Track it down, if you get the chance.

Anyhow, I won't be picking up this week's comics, because I'm at home and far from the store where I usually buy my books. But there are a few recent things I haven't gotten around to reviewing yet, so here goes...

Secret War #5: The assembled heroes try to stop a former Latverian monarch from destroying New York City, while the secret behind Nick Fury's actions one year ago finally come to light. There's really no way around it: this is a terrible issue. Secret War started out promisingly, but it was plagued by delays and a plot which got weaker and weaker as time went on. This issue is the worst yet, filled with rushed art, bad dialogue, amazing plot contrivances, and a story that's far more self-important than it is actually interesting. It's Bendis's biggest creative misstep since "Avengers Disassembled", and an embarrassing failure for everyone involved. Grade: F

Jonah Hex #2: Jonah tries to save a small town's valuable gold cross after it's stolen by a gang of thieves. I was really excited by this book in its first issue, and that feeling hasn't diminished at all in #2, which is another fine story in its own right. Luke Ross's art is superlative, the story is dense and done in one issue, the action scenes are great, and the story is a satisfying old-school Western read. This is perhaps the best book being published by DC right now, and it hits all my buttons. Grade: A

Gotham Central #38: Montoya spirals further out of control as Crispus Allen goes after corrupt cop Jim Corrigan, but their partnership begins to buckle under the strain. Now this is more like it. After several issues of treading water, Gotham Central feels like its back on track... right before it gets cancelled. Darnit! Ah well, this is still great comics, with a real shocker of an ending and genuinely excellent characterization. Grade: A

Street Figher 2 #1: UDON's fan-favorite series is back, as Ryu travels to India in search of new teachings that well help him control his dark power. I really enjoy this book, stupid as it may be, for consistently providing high-quality art, great fight scenes, and fidelity to the games, and all those qualities are back in this relaunch. The plot doesn't move much, but that's okay: it's a #1 issue for new readers, so some exposition is permissible. It's good to have this book back, and while I can't recommend it to most, Street Fighter fans will most certainly be satisfied. Grade: B

Unfortunately, my shop ran out of Local #2, so it'll have to wait a couple of weeks. I was interested that me and Ace pretty much flip-flopped on our opinions of the Brian Wood books (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=2009759&postcount=10): I loved Local and was unimpressed by DMZ, and he loved DMZ and was unimpressed by Local. Different strokes, I suppose, although his point about Local's resemblance to Run Lola Run was very valid, and it wasn't until I watched that movie again in a university film class that the similarity hit me like a brick. Good point, Ace!

Still excited about the book, though, and for those around here looking to experiment with something new, it comes highly recommended.

rggkjg1

12-22-2005, 03:17 PM

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #647 - an alright ending i suppose. i missed kerschl in this issue. i was happy with the overall outcome though.

GREEN LANTERN #6 - hmm. wasn't hal supposed to be investigating the humans who evolved into the roswell "grey" aliens?

INFINITE CRISIS #3 - i was hoping for more batman and superman stuff. this issue seems to mark the begininng of bruce's breakdown. which i think is essential for all the stuff that has been going on. i'm sort of confused though, how is dick grayson not a "better person" on earth 2?? i think im gonna have to go and finally read america vs the justice society to get more familar with earth 2.

JUSTICE #3
ROBIN #145
CAPTAIN AMERICA #13
FANTASTIC FOUR #533
X-MEN DEADLY GENESIS #2
STAR WARS X-WING ROGUE LEADER #3

went holiday shopping at my local book stores and found these great books in the "bargain/special value" section:

THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS: 365 DAYS
THE SLINGS AND ARROWS COMIC GUIDE: A CRITICAL ASSESMENT

MARVEL: THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR UNIVERSE - ATTN MARVEL FANS: RUSH TO YOUR NEAREST BARNES AND NOBLE AND PICK THIS UP. it's a nice leather bound coffee table book, and looks like it's worth more than the 24.98 price. click (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=6K8WJ1WCFi&isbn=0760762058&itm=1) for more info and to purchase. this really is an amazing book.

Ed Liu

12-22-2005, 10:48 PM

Howdy,

Another holiday, though not Christmas, tradition is for me to read Action Comics #810, written by Joe Kelly, on New Year's Day or New Year's Eve.This summary reminded me of one other convenient holiday comic book -- Paul Dini & Alex Ross' Superman: Peace on Earth. Great book for any time of year, really.

Today's headline pile of links are brought to you by Easter Eggs -- they're not just for video games any more! First is the latest "Buy My Books" column by Robert Kirkman, where he talks about a super secret message encoded in Invincible #27 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=bmb&article=2343), and how it made him cry. Wuss. No, that's not fair...I mean, I think there's a lot of problems that could be solved if men would just accept their own emotions and not get so stoic about everything all the time.

Or maybe he's just a wuss :p.

I bet Conan never cries. Kirkman should be more like Conan, which segues nicely into Easter Egg #2. It comes courtesy of Tony Harris, who landed a gig doing covers for Conan, including one that was a bit racier than normal. Newsarama has the skinny, if not the skin (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53201) (if they did, I sure as shooting wouldn't link to it here), plus some comments from Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (http://www.cbldf.org/).

And speaking of lawyers and comics, Supernatural Law creator Batton Lash gets a brief interview at Comicon.com's PULSE News (http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004568), talking about the strip's jump to webcomic and how it's different from the comic-to-web transitions for Carla Speed McNeil's Finder and Phil & Kaja Foglio's Girl Genius. Check it out, and the webcomic while you're at it (http://www.webcomicsnation.com/supernaturallaw/). Beware the creatures of the night -- they have LAWYERS. Truly, a combination that's the stuff of nightmares.

Or maybe not, if the contents of the upcoming New Universe Nightmask title is any indication. Writer Fred Van Lente, new to my Most Favored Writer list, talks up his new comic (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6366) and gives us a preview of the cover from Arnold Pander. Gimme some preview pages and I may just pre-order that sucker, despite associating New Universe with some really crappy comics that I blew my teenager's allowance on buying multiple #1's in the belief that they'd be valuable some day. Turns out they were -- they absorbed the water leaking in our basement earlier this year pretty well.

See, that money would have been spent on better comics if I only had access to free previews. Which leads us inevitably to our Hey Kids! Free Comics! link of the day to Elk's Run #3 from Speakeasy Press (http://hoarseandbuggy.com/news/release/38). Combine that with the free #1 courtesy of Newsarama.com (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php%20s=&threadid=41646) and you'll be all set to jump into #4, coming soon (one hopes).

And while we're on the subject of previews, you can also check out the preview for The Grimoire #7 (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6361) from Speakeasy, starring teenaged magic girl and her companion bipedal raccoon. It even comes with an article about new writer Chris Stone, who helpfully gives a nice big exposition dump early in the preview pages. You can also dig the preview for Gunpowder Girl and Outlaw Squaw from writer/artist Don Hudson (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53289) -- not the greatest western comic ever written, but it certainly gets the job done and it's pretty easy on the eyes. And finally, Buzzscope has updated its previews of next week's comics with a lot more from Marvel (http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=1234), including the 100th issue of She-Hulk.

And I'm officially out of segue to tie to the Comic Book Urban Legends post for this week (http://goodcomics.blogspot.com/2005/12/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-30.html), where we learn the utility of writing a fan letter to yourself and the truth behind Mike Deodato's work ethic and the intended ethnicity of Ferro Lad from the Legion of Superheroes.

Finally, your Comic Book Science link for the day comes courtesy of defensetech.org, who takes a long look at laser guns (http://www.defensetech.org/archives/002040.html), a comic book arsenal standby if ever there was one. The real life versions aren't nearly as nifty, with the possible exception of this lovely (and real) specimen called the PHaSR:

http://www.defensetech.org/images/dazzler_maybe.jpg (http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001911.html)

Honest, that's what it's called. And if you can believe it, that sucker's supposed to be non-lethal.

Today's BPoL review requires me to drop a gem of hard-won wisdom from the many years I've had to consider such things. It's something everybody learns sooner or later, one way or another, no matter who you are or where you're from, or what race, creed, religion, gender, or sexual orientation you are. If you must take away any lesson from me at all, let it be this:

Men can be really, really stupid sometimes.

And I don't mean that in the generic, gender-neutral "men," like in "All men are created equal." Nope, I'm talking about those of us bearing that Y chromosome and external reproductive organs. The male of the species. We have a capacity for stupidity that is damn near bottomless.

All of which brings me to the Off Road OGN (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1932664300/qid=1135307645/sr=11-1/ref=sr_11_1/002-0246355-4493615?n=283155) written and drawn by Sean Murphy and published by Oni Press. I'll skip the longer plot summary and just say, "Three guys in a Jeep get stuck off-roading and then the day gets worse." However, this is something like describing Star Wars as, "Two robots get kicked off a spaceship and then the day gets worse."

This book is a real hoot, managing to simultaneously celebrate and mock the kind of grunting, belching, uniquely male stupidity that came up with off-roading as a recreational activity in the first place. When the lead character Trent gets obsessed with the skid plate in the Jeep without even knowing what it is, or when he and his buddies Brad and Greg trade obnoxious insults to challenge each other's manhood until they end up in real, actual trouble, men and observers of men will usually emit at least a knowing chuckle. More often than not, though, it will draw a lot more of a chuckle -- the book whipsaws from comedic lunacy to serious bodily peril to heartbreak before starting all over again. In this, it is also not unlike most men.

Like the work of the Coen brothers and, more recently, My Name is Earl, we quickly grow attached to these lunkheads in spite of (or maybe even because of) their incredibly stupid behavior. But all guys will no doubt see little bits of themselves or their friends and acquaintances in Trent, Greg, and Brad, and that's a testament to Murphy's skill as a writer and as a cartoonist. Like Leonard Kirk's work in Scorpion: Poison Tomorrow, Murhpy opts for a rough-edged, cartoony style for his human characters and a near photo-realistic style for the hardware around them. It's a great effect, which gives him some wonderful opportunities for cartoonish exaggeration (check out the car dealer and Trent's reactions to him in this preview page (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/preview.php?image=previews/offroad/09.jpg) to see what I mean). And he really nails the male bonding ritual of totally messing with someone as a way of showing that you care about them (but, you know, not in a girly way or anything).

The best part is reaching the end of the book and seeing the photo of Murphy with his two friends, Greg and Brad. It makes you realize very quickly that he's not kidding when he says in interviews that this is a mostly true story. There's some events that are so ridiculous that they can't be true, and events that are so ridiculous that they have to be true. Hitting that photo and then flipping back to the dedication to the book firmly places this story in the latter category.

As an extra, the book comes with a collection of strips that show the origins of Off Road, and include a sequence involving Sean, Greg, and a police officer that had me cracking up in public on the train ride home. These strips also shows their age in odd ways, though, since a comedic sequence involving the assassination of a college president is the sort of thing that gets you arrested these days.

Off Road good. You read. It good. There's a whopping 51-page preview at Comic Book Resources (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=5834) if you don't trust me, and it gets way better from where they leave off.

-- Ed/Ace

Anthonynotes

12-23-2005, 01:12 AM

>>
INFINITE CRISIS #3 - i was hoping for more batman and superman stuff. this issue seems to mark the begininng of bruce's breakdown. which i think is essential for all the stuff that has been going on. i'm sort of confused though, how is dick grayson not a "better person" on earth 2?? i think im gonna have to go and finally read america vs the justice society to get more familar with earth 2.<<

A biography on the Earth-2 Dick Grayson's life is here (including a picture of his adult-Robin costume):
http://my.execpc.com/~icicle/ROBIN.html

My comics purchases this week:
Crisis on Multiple Earths: The Teamups TPB

I see "Teen Titans" #30 either was sold out or hasn't been released yet (interested in it only for the Capt. Carrot material, at the risk of contributing actual dollars to DC's Infinite Crisis crossover crud ;-) ).

Also disappointed that the shop didn't get a new issue of "Uncle Scrooge". Granted, all their comics arrived only today (Thursday) instead of yesterday (guessing Christmas related delays are to blame).
-B.

Mad Monkey 7

12-23-2005, 07:21 AM

Anthonynotes

12-23-2005, 07:37 AM

Teen Titans #30 is already released.

Thanks; guess my shop is just out of copies, then. Guess will try finding it elsewhere... really want to see Capt. Carrot again. :-)

-B.

Ed Liu

12-23-2005, 04:14 PM

Howdy,

Combine:

- The Friday afternoon before a long weekend
- No major news from any of the comic book websites
- A strong desire on my part to spend tonight curled up with the wife, a book, Superman: The Animated Series V2 DVDs, or Champions of Norrath (or, if I'm lucky, all of the above, though probably not all at once)

and you get an early and really short BPoL. Go back and read one of the longer ones you skipped during the week if you need more ;).

Mile High Comics has Marvel's comics for next week (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/firstlook122905.html) but not DC's.

Some newspapers will be running Spider-Man comics (http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/ad_circ/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001737184) in their Sunday funnies starting next year. Big deal, you say, Spidey's been in the comics for decades, but these are reprints starting with issues from 1963 and working forwards. I wonder if newspaper strip readers will start complaining about continuity between the two strips.

Tom Spurgeon feels the same way about at least the first two of my list items above, but he's not a slacker so the Comics Reporter (http://www.comicsreporter.com/) has a ton of cool Christmas-and-comic-book related links up today. If you don't already check it on a daily basis, you ought to today (or back up to the entry for Dec 23) and go gawk. I am also greatly amused by his takes on the new Ghost Rider footage and Infinite Crisis.

Finally, anybody who wants to be massively spoiled on the big Black Panther storyline kicking off next year -- click away (http://www.buzzscope.com/pcs/forums/showthread.php?t=10333). It is for such things that I reserve use of :rolleyes:.

And just to keep foolishly consistent, I'll do a quickie BPoL review from memory of Conan #22, where my only real comment is that this (and the whole "Tower of the Elephant" storyline that began in #20) is the usual strong material from Busiek and Nord, but also the third time I've read this same story -- first as Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith's adaptation, then in the Howard original, and now as Busiek/Nord's adaptation. Re-reading it again monthly, I am struck by how much of it really depends on the surprise in the last third of the story, and how frustrating it is to read it split into three monthly installments when you know exactly where it's going. So I found it unsatisfying, but this is absolutely no reflection on anything inherent in the comic itself. It's a perfectly good, faithful adaptation of the original story, which may be why I can't get all that excited about it. I may change my mind when it's collected, though, since I had most of the same feelings towards "The God in the Bowl." In fact, I think the Busiek/Nord adaptation is the first version of that story that I actually liked.

Have a great Christmas/Holiday/whatever weekend, everyone!

-- Ed/Ace

Condiment King

12-23-2005, 11:24 PM

Green Lantern 6 – That's a great Ethan Van Sciver cover, which just reminds me how much I miss both him and Carlos Pacheco (especially Pacheco) on this title. That being said, once I opened up the issue, I was even more sad. I don't know, there were just some shots in this issue that were terrible (like the first shot of Hector Hammond). However, I have to admit that I got used to it as the issue progressed, and I even started to like it, in the sense that it fit the subject matter. This was a pretty crazy issue.

When I first saw Black Hand appear in this issue, I was begging that it wouldn't be another "Oh my God, its Black Hand, I always uh remembered how scared of him I always...was just now"-type reintroduction. It seems to be quite the fad with DC Comics lately. However, it didn't turn out that way. Black Hand surprised Hal, and I think this issue planted him back into Green Lantern's general rogues gallery. He's a really interesting character as well that has the angle of the death motif of Hal Jordan's life.

I gotta say that the only time that the shark worked was being in the background of this issue with everything else going on, so I'm not thrilled that he escaped. Hector Hammond is the center of another ending that peaks my curiosity. A great issue, might've even been worth the Geoff Johns wait. Probably not though. ****

Green Lantern Corps: Recharge 3 – There was a glaring error in this issue: Whenever referring to Sinestro's homeworld of Korugar's sector, it was said as sector 1471, not 1417. Its even more weird as as recently as Recharge 1 was it stated as 1417. Really odd. Did anyone else notice this?

Soranik Natu's storyline seems to have advanced a little too suddenly, but I guess that's fine. Well, at the same time, I'm sad that they didn't flesh it out a little more. I think it could have made a more interesting storyline if it was more three-dimensional. I think that Gibbons is trying too hard to throw Guy Gardner back into the troublemaker fold, which he can't be anymore. He cares about these people and the Corps now, so there's no way that he can go back. So no use trying.

The Rannian and Thanagarian Lanterns' storyline is one-note, but it fits in a comic that doesn't have to rely on it completely. Kilowog is still pretty annoying. I'm not too sure how original that bountyhunters trying to track down two Lanterns (for no said reason) are, but alright. Fatality coming back is a plus. ***

JSA 80 – I'm really thinking about dropping this book. Its been slumping for six months to maybe even a year. I'm just sick of the bland Alex Ross covers with black backgrounds and one or two characters standing in a pose. Its just boring and now overdone. Keith Champagne's three part arc is what the last couple of arcs have been -- unnoteworthy. Nothing really happens in this arc, as in other arcs in the past. The story isn't even that interesting -- a "What if Jakeem was evil?" tale that has a nice, tidy happy ending. Bleh. Its not that its bad persay, its just so boring and mediocre. #81 is a Stargirl issue, which has me intrigued, but I may just drop it now. ***

Runaways 11 – I really like this East Coast/West Coast storyline. Spider-Man is very funny in this issue, as is Gert. In the world of Runaways, you can tell that the Avengers have skewed personalities into something or other negative, whether they technically fit into that persona is up to question. Its pretty entertaining to see it through their eyes. Ending is unintentionally funny. ****

Ed Liu

12-27-2005, 10:26 PM

Howdy,

I stopped reading or linking to the Joe Fridays column at Newsarama.com because I find my enjoyment of Marvel's comics is enhanced if I just ignore almost everything Joe Quesada says. However, he does have a holiday tradition of a song for the fans out there that takes good-natured pokes at the competition, the industry, and the fans. As always, Newsarama has lyrics and a downloadable MP3 file of Joe's song this year (http://www.newsarama.com/JoeFridays/Joechristmas06.htm), along with his usual dog and pony show.

While you're at Newsarama, you may also want to check out their gallery of holiday cards for 2005 (http://www.newsarama.com/Christmas/2005_Gallery.htm), which also includes past years' cards as well.

Over at Buzzscope.com, Ronee Garcia Bourgeois is really mad about something in her latest "What a Girl Wants" column (http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=1238), but unfortunately the summary of "some man in the industry did something bad to some woman in the industry" is only slightly less informative than her article, and there's little to be done other than to get mad over any kind of incident of sexual harrassment (if not worse). However, watch that space: I suspect the dirt's going to start flying any minute now.

In other news, comics come to the iTunes Music Store with Jason Pearson's Body Bags (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53600). Free via Podcast (is there anything Podcasts can't do these days?), but they do earn that "Explicit" label.

As for the other previews on the web so far, we get one interview/preview for DC's Jonah Hex (http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004575) as Comicon.com's PULSE News talks to Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, and another interview/preview as Newsarama.com talks to David Peterson about Mouse Guard (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53620) (which is just provides a link to an older preview (http://www.newsarama.com/ASP/MouseGuard/MouseGuard01_Pre.htm), but that's close enough).

As for the full-fledged previews, we have this one for Doc Frankenstein #4 (http://www.newsarama.com/Burlyman/doc04/docfrankenstein4.htm) from Burlyman Entertainment, which has good, messy, nasty fun with Frankenstein's monster in an Old West showdown with a werewolf. Buzzscope also has previews for this week's comics (http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=1240) (coming on the 29th due to the holiday, remember), including the first issue of IDW's Fallen Angel. And finally, Newsarama.com has previews of Marvel comics coming on January 18 (http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Jan_previews/jan18thpreviews.htm), including Marvel Mangaverse #1.

Today's BPoL review is for The Middleman #1-4 from Viper Comics, which I've talked (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=1900851&postcount=8) up (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=1990348&postcount=9) before. Now that the series is finished, I can say that I feel satisfied with it, if not completely satiated. It's a fine, fun series that doesn't take itself too seriously, but my feeling that it's written by a guy who writes for TV is even stronger by the end of the mini-series. It's essentially an odd-couple sitcom, with the patter between Wendy and the Middleman feeling like it was lifted straight from early seasons of Friends. It's entertaining and all (and I still disagree with Steven Grant and say that chimpanzee mobsters from outer space still rock), but it's like the classic joke about Chinese food: no matter how full you are after the meal, you feel hungry again 30 minutes later. Still, I have a lot of genuine affection for the execution of the whole thing, which I can't even really articulate. Sure, most sitcoms are about as vapid as a room full of underwear models and as predictable as Old Faithful, but if one manages to make you laugh for its 22-minutes-plus-commercials, does it reallly matter all that much? The Middleman may be the comic book equivalent of a sitcom, but it's a GOOD sitcom, so bring on vol. 2.

If you missed the series and can't get your shop to order back issues, there's a trade paperback coming from Viper in January, collecting the entire series and including some neat-sounding extras for all of $9.95. For what it's worth, I liked the series enough that I'm probably going to double-dip for that one to land the extras, and not even complain all that much about it. Even if the full-price TPB will be $2 less than cover for all 4 of the single issues and give you more material in the bargain. Nope. Not gonna complain much about that at all.

-- Ed/Ace

Adam Tyner

12-27-2005, 11:00 PM

Gimme some preview pages and I may just pre-order that sucker, despite associating New Universe with some really crappy comics that I blew my teenager's allowance on buying multiple #1's in the belief that they'd be valuable some day.I haven't dug into my pile of New Universe comics in five or six years, but as awful as many of those books were when they first launched, they really did get good near the end. I really got into Psi-Force, DP7, and Justice, and since they were quarter-bin mainstays, it only cost a few bucks to get mostly-complete runs of the good years.

Ed Liu

12-28-2005, 10:24 PM

Howdy,

Steven Grant's Permanent Damage column this week (http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=pd&article=2347) is noteworthy because it proposes a new potential winner for the first graphic novel ever, and it's not any of the usual suspects. No, this time, he proposes it's the tail-end of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko's run on Dr. Strange:

What follows, beginning in STRANGE TALES #130 and ending with Ditko's last issue, #146, is a long serial that's my new candidate for the first American graphic novel. At 11 pages per issue for 17 issues, it runs 187 pages (253 if you include the pertinent earlier stories) on a single storyline that, for the most part, develops systematically, follows a specific theme, develops its characters, and brings all its threads to a satisfying conclusion.Really cool article about that arc of Dr. Strange that's got me in the mood to bust out my Marvel Masterworks edition and hang with the hoary hosts of Hoggoth again.

And speaking of the magic, Matt Wagner just did a chat at Comic Book Resources (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6379) about Mage, Grendel, Batman and the Monster Men, comics in general, and all manner of other cool stuff. Wagner is teh AW350/\/\3 in my book, and the chat transcript is good and meaty, and not just because Wagner's making a bolognese sauce in the background. I'll spoil the ending and say that he also announces the deal for a Grendel movie, although he frustratingly does not state whether it's animated or not.

Matt Wagner is also the first creator in part 3 of the "What I've Learned" feature at the Comics Foundry (http://www.comicfoundry.com/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=182). J.M. DeMatteis wins the art vs. commerce award, Keith Giffen wins the not-taking-it-seriously award, Brian Michael Bendis wins the profanely funny but I wonder if you really learned that award, Terry Moore wins the ain't-that-sweet award, and Brian Wood wins the short-and-sweet award.

In yet another newsflash from the mainstream media, comics aren't just for kids any more (http://wcbstv.com/entertainment/local_story_362094021.html), though apparently nobody told the reporter that comics are obviously about to die from being too expensive, too obscure, too hard to find, or too inaccessible for kids and/or new readers. The owner of NYC's Midtown Comics (teh awesome as far as comic book shops go), Jim Krueger, and Jim Salicrup get namechecked and quoted, at least.

Apparently, Audrey Puente never read Strikeforce: Morituri, either, which gets a great profile article on Newsarama (http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=53675), even if it spoils just about the entire series. Still, it sounds like pretty tough stuff, and this was in the 80's. And it's also worth pointing out that Entertainment Weekly had 2 comic books on their "Top Fiction of 2005" list (http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/7994.html). This also ties into the common BPoL theme of Brian K. Vaughan love, since one of those comics is Ex Machina (the other being Black Hole by Charles Burns, which I flipped through in the bookstore over the weekend and think I need to get soon).

I've made my affection for Image's Retro Rocket clear (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=2009063&postcount=1) elsewhere (http://forums.toonzone.net/showpost.php?p=2010778&postcount=11), and Newsarama seems determined to fan that affection into a burning flame. First they do an interview with writer Tony Bedard (here (http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics/RetroRocket/Bedard_RR.htm), if you missed it), and now they give me a nice 6-page preview (http://www.newsarama.com/ImageComics/RetroRocket/preview.htm) that's lettered and everything. This also gives me faith that Image will be able to get this series out on time.

Finally, Newsarama also talks to Freddie Williams II, the new artist on Grant Morrison's Mister Miracle comic (http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/7Soldiers/MrMiracle3/FreddieWII.htm) that's part of the whole Seven Soldiers thing. A few preview pages there, too. Not sure how much sense they make, but they sure is pretty.

Since I've got 2 Matt Wagner links already, I might as well give my newly acquired Mage: The Hero Defined 1-volume hardcover the BPoL review spot. Mage: The Hero Discovered was one of the first real indie comics I ever read, and I'd blame that and Grendel as being partially responsible for leading me out of the DC and Marvel Comics box (the other comic that would qualify being Aliens vs. Predator and no I'm not kidding). The Hero Discovered is a marvelous work as a story, as a guide to the development of the artist, and as a guide to comic book storytelling in action.

The Mage series follows one Kevin Matchstick, an otherwise ordinary fellow who discovers that magic is real and that he has a unique destiny to fulfill in the never-ending battle between light and darkness. It may sound like every superhero/fantasy cliche ever, but it is to those stories what Farscape is to sci-fi space opera -- simple on the surface, but hip and modern and utterly believable while it gleefully upends every cliche and preconceived expectation. Unfortunately, there isn't much more I can really say about the plot of the either book without giving away the big surprise at the end of the first one (and trust me, it's one surprise you don't want spoiled). Suffice it to say that this is one of the comics I feel confident handing to just about anybody.

Discovering the autobiographical ties from Wagner's life and that of his Kevin Matchstick only makes the experience richer and more fulfilling. With the second volume of what Wagner promises will be a trilogy, I find that the autobiographical ties are stronger, but in ways that can sometimes detract from the story in the early half of the book. One gets the powerful impression that there's more going on than what the surface story is telling you, but without a guide (like this one (http://www.higherlove.com/mage/autobiof.html)), it's rather hard to realize what's going on, or how all these new characters really fit into the big picture. Ultimately, it turns out they don't, which is a bit off-putting. Still, once the series excises everyone but a core group of 4-5 characters, the plotting tightens up considerably and brings this second volume to a rousing finish. The only complaint one may have is the wait for the next volume, which may well take another 10 years to appear. Still, for Mage, I'm willing to wait.

However, despite my positive reaction to Mage and the pleasant time I had re-reading vol 2, I can't really recommend either of the Image reprint volumes. I pre-ordered the first one and awaited it with anticipation that bordered on mania. Due to the language constraints on this forum, I cannot use many of the words I said at the time when I discovered that the reprint of Mage: The Hero Discovered contained at least 3 misprints, with one line of dialogue mysteriously disappearing, one object vanishing from a character's hand, and half of a conversation gone. It is possible to read the story with these misprints, but it's incredibly frustrating to realize you just spent $37 on a great big hardcover book that has errors in it. Flipping through the cheaper trade paperbacks shows the same errors, whether it's in the one-volume or multi-volume editions.

It was my anger at the misprints (and Image's seeming refusal to acknowledge or correct them) that caused me to delay buying the second one-volume hardcover. Reports that this volume was error free and a 40% off sale led to me blowing $30 on the Mage: The Hero Defined hardcover.

It has errors too.

Pages 78 and 79 are reversed, and page 220 is repeated on page 223. I can live with the uncorrected homonym problems and typos that pop up (including one where the same word is spelled wrong in one balloon and correctly in the next one (http://www.edwick.com/comics/MageGrackleflintTypo.jpg)), since I vaguely remember them in the original single-issue comics. However, if I was ticked at the misprints in the first one, I'm borderline furious over them here. I have now sunk more than $60 of my money for products that are defective. I can't imagine how angry I'd be if I had spent the full $50 a volume on these. At that price, having mistakes in the final product, even minor ones, is almost insulting.

If what I've said makes you interested, seek out the original Warp Graphics reprints of the first Mage series and then get the individual comics for the second one. Until Image gets corrected reprints out there, the trade paperbacks and the hardcovers are a waste of money in my opinion.

UPDATE: OK, I take back part of what I said. While searching Image's website to find a place to send a peeved e-mail, I found this thread on their message board about the misprints in vol. 2 (http://www.imagecomics.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=8415&highlight=mage). Apparently, Image is replacing the defective volumes for corrected ones, although they aren't exactly going out of their way to trumpet this. If they come through, I'll go from Image basher to Image plugger so fast you'll get whiplash.

-- Ed/Ace