Trade Post: Brave & The Bold 1 and 2, Silverfish

2009-01-28 5:27:33 pm

Hey gang, still having trouble getting more than one post up per week, but hopefully they're worth your while when they do pop up. I've been reading a lot of trades lately, even started fully going through the Wizard comic library again, so hopefully I'll get more than the aforementioned one post per week. So, let's jump in shall we?

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD VOL. 1: THE LORDS OF LUCK (DC)
Written by Mark Waid, drawn by George Perez
When this book first came out I was pretty excited, but it wasn't the kind of book I wanted when it actually came out. I was looking for simple one-off stories featuring two great heroes put together in a strange situation drawn by one of the few, great living comic book artist legends who actually keeps upping his artistic quality in my opinion. So, when I found out it was actually an ongoing story I wasn't really interested. Later on, I heard good things about the book and decided to give it another shot in trade form. Enter the trades.

I really enjoyed this book and am glad I read it in trade form actually because there's a lot going on and I'm not sure if it came out on time, which would have meant I'd have an even harder time keeping track of everything. Waid really nails all of the characters, which include Batman, Hal Jordan, the current Blue Beetle, Supergirl, Lobo and others. It's great to see a writer who I loved growing up still having the chops to write intricate, fun stories that both play off of and add to the rich DCU, especially when others don't seem to be able to keep up as well anymore.

And speaking of keeping up, Perez kicks ass. This guy continues to blow me away with each new issue that comes out. I can't be certain, but I think I first saw his art in Avengers when he relaunched it post-Heroes Return with Kurt Busiek. And even now I'm enjoying Legion of Three Worlds when it comes out. So, yeah, Perez kills it in the first six issues of B&TB. You get everything from great covers to gorgeous splash pages and even great faces. The man's a master and he's the perfect match with Waid for this book.

The story itself follows the heroes trying to get a hold of the Book of Destiny on multiple fronts at various times throughout the DCU. It's the kind of story I want to read in my Justice League comics, not weird Tangent and Milestone stories forced upon the writer.

Oh also, bonus points for the annotations section in the back in which Waid lets the reader know where/when each of the characters appeared for the first time and a few other little tidbits, like the fact that Perez didn't actually know how to play blackjack before drawing a scene involving the game. I love extras like this and it seems like a pretty simple and easy addition that only takes up a few extra pages.

THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD VOL. 2: THE BOOK OF DESTINY (DC)
Written by Mark Waid, drawn by George Perez and Jerry Ordway
As much as I loved the first volume, I can't quite say all the same great things about Volume 2, which takes an opportunity to tell great silver age-type stories by having the Challengers of the Unknown reading through the Book of Destiny. I really like these stories, which feature the Silent Night, Hawkman, the new Atom, the original Teen Titans as kids, the Metal Men and others. But they're not just random stories, they all have to do with the big villain of the story Megistus a new villain who could be pretty cool in the future.

My main problem with this volume is that Waid uses the old "two heroes team up, have different ways of doing things and then learn from each other by the end" storyline a time or two, which, normally wouldn't be so bad, but in a collection like this it gets a little tired. The other problem is that Perez doesn't do all six issues. I've got no problem with Jerry Ordway and he even does a great job on his issues, but I love me some Perez and it would have been awesome to see him draw the 12 or so character battle against Megistus in the last issue. Also, on the subject of Megistus, I felt like his character wasn't really explained well.

Also, this collection earns no bonus points for extras because there are absolutely none. I'm guessing it's because Waid had moved over to Boom by the time the book came out, but an editor could have done the exact same thing. Oh well, I'm still keeping this one in my collection, at least until I have a few beers and clean out my bookshelf again (it cuts down on the sentimentality).

SILVERFISH (Vertigo)
Written and drawn by David Lapham
I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to think about David Lapham's Silverfish, mostly because I could not stand his City of Crime story in Detective Comics from a few years back. But, I've heard great things about his other work, so I wanted to give something else he wrote a shot and Silverfish is pretty short, so it worked out pretty well.

And, I really liked it. It's got a thriller/horror vibe to it as some kids in the 80s dig into the main girl's new step mom's past and find out she was into some pretty heavy stuff. I don't want to get into the story too much for fear of spoilers, but Lapham keeps a really good pace up throughout the whole story and I read it in one sitting. I like that.

My one problem with the book is the whole idea of the silverfish. They pop up from time to time, but are never really referred to or mentioned by anyone. I've got no problem with certain things not getting explained in stories, but this seems like a pretty big element to not get at least a mention. Oh well, like I said, I dug this book and would actually like to see it made (well) into a movie. I assume one of you is a big Hollywood person and can make that happen (if it's not already in the works).

Trade Post: Abe Sapien The Drowning & Nightwing Freefall

2008-12-19 8:02:27 pm

A few more trade reviews for your reading pleasure, BAM:

ABE SAPIEN: THE DROWNING VOL. 1 (Dark Horse)
Written by Mike Mignola
Drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander
Like I said the other day, I love the Hellboy-verse and a big part of the world is Abe Sapien. This trade collects the very first Abe mini which also recounts his first Hellboy-less mission back in 1981. Remember how I said that even stories like this that take place in the past refer back to other stories? Well, there's a quick look at Abe's origin, but again, you don't need to know anything about that to enjoy this story. It's really fun trying to work everything out because, while this story came out after the B.P.R.D. trade which explained Abe's past, The Drowning, chronologically speaking, comes before that. I'd like to see a huge Hellboy timeline laying everything out (maybe even with the order you're supposed to read them in).

I've got the same complaint about this trade as the B.P.R.D. Vol. 9, though, in that we don't get treated to a Mignola intro (though there still is the requisite sketchbook). And speaking of the art, Jason Shawn Alexander is awesome. I have no idea what else he's done, but the way he draws the creepy little ghost things with the writing all over them is pretty damn creepy. Well done Jason, someday I'd like to have you contribute to my Green Lantern or eventual horror movie themed sketchbook.

I guess I haven't really talked about the story, so here goes. Abe's on an island looking for a magic spike in a demon, but soon enough these short demon dudes show up and everyone on the island dies! So, it's up to Abe to save the day. I don't want to get too much more into it without giving stuff away, but it's another great Hellboy-verse story that any fan or novice can pick up and love.

NIGHTWING: FREEFALL (DC)
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Drawn by Rags Morales & Don Kramer
I'm not the biggest Nightwing fan in the world, though I did enjoy most of the Devin Grayson and Chuck Dixon issues I read back in the day. Of course, things haven't been so great in recent memory. But no more! I've been loving former editor Tomasi's run on the book. Tomasi has boiled the character down to his essence, added his own spin and really cemented him in his post-One Year Later setting of New York City. In this book we get to see Dick taking up skydiving, getting a new job and home and trying to track down a villain who's stealing super-corpses. What Tomasi does that I love is, he shows how much a part of the DCU Nightwing really is (remember, he lead the JLA at one point when they were stuck in the past). Not only does Flash (Wally) stop by for a beer, interact with Batman and Robin and confab with Superman on a case, but he also ha the JSA help set up his new pad (they're not too far away, also being located in NYC).

I also have to admit I'm fond of Peter's use of the New York area. I'm not as familiar with the city itself, but I totally geeked out when Nightwing flew under the Bear Mountain Bridge, which I pass every day on my way to work. There's also a few other locations that I think I recognized (hey, I'm still learning). Aside from the locations, I appreciate the writer's creativity and logic when dealing with the superhero world. Nightwing flies around on a 'Wing wing (a kind of jetpack with wings), but he also asked Bruce Wayne to purchase various buildings placed strategically throughout NYC to give him plenty of places to get to if he needs to hid out. Brilliant! Does Batman even do that?

There are a few downsides though. There's a bit of wordiness int he first few pages of the trade explaining how much Dick loves skydiving. It's not poorly written by any means, but it's a little bit dense and I know it turned a few guys at the lunch table off from reading the book (though I convinced them too soon enough). I'm also not sure what's up with Rags' art. I much prefer Don Kramer's work in the book. It's a lot cleaner and crisper and I kind of hope he becomes the regular artist.

So, if you're even a cursory fan of Nightwing or Batman, you should definitely check this trade out as it, in my opinion, greatly represents the character as well as the logical standing he has in the DCU as one of the very first sidekicks who has literally grown up in the superhero world.

Trade Post: B.P.R.D. 1946 & Catwoman Crime Pays

2008-12-17 1:37:54 am

Okay, time for another installment of trade post:

B.P.R.D. 1946 Volume 9 (Dark Horse)
Written by Mike Mignola & Joshua Dysart
Drawn by Paul Azaceta
I love me some Hellboy, you guys and, of course, that includes B.P.R.D. I didn't get into the Hellboy-verse until a few years ago, which was pretty good timing because I was able to read all the trades at Wizard and I was able to hop over the long gap when there weren't any new books and Hellboy was spending a few years under the ocean. I'm a big fan of how intricate the history is. There's elements in 1946 that resonate later on, though I can't point all of them out, because it's really hard to keep everything straight in my head. I do like to re-read the books every year or so, but I haven't done that in a while and even right after I do it's hard to remember.

This story follows Hellboy's adoptive pops Trevor Bruttenholm in one of his post-WWII adventures with a group of soldiers in a bombed out Germany. This one's got everything from vampires and werewolves to little girls in white dresses leading the Russian version of the B.P.R.D.

One of the great things about Dark Horse's Hellboy and B.P.R.D. trades is that you can pretty much pick any of them up, understand what's going on and enjoy a great story with a beginning, middle and end. Sure there are smaller elements that you might not pick up on, but might also drive you to check out other books. The other thing I love about these books is that they almost always have extras. Usually that includes an intro by Mignola along with a sketchbook with commentary in the back by Mike and whoever else is drawing the book. Unfortunately, this volume lacks the intro, which usually has Mignola explaining the genesis of the idea (where the mythology came from, that kind of thing). I really like those and was bummed to see there wasn't one. There was, however an Afterward by Dysart explaining his first 1946 meeting with Mignola and the sketchbook.

Oh, one more thing, I really dug Paul Azaceta's art. Like a lot of the non-Mignola or Dan Davis Hellboy/B.P.R.D. it took me a while to get used to his style (what can I say? I'm used to my superhero artists), but Azaceta seems like the perfect artist for this project. I look forward to seeing him on future B.P.R.D. projects almost as much as I'm looking forward to all the other Hellboy-verse books.

CATWOMAN: CRIME PAYS (DC)
Written by Will Pfeifer
Drawn by David Lopez
Catwoman's one of those characters that I have an on-again off-again relationship with. I actually had a subscription to the Jim Balent-drawn version for a year which I dug. I'd also grab whatever crossover issues came out. I completely missed out on Brubaker's relaunch and still want to go back and read it, but I have read a few of Pfeifer's trades, this being, I believe, the second to last of the current run (it's getting canceled right? I'm super behind).

Anyway, this story follows Selina's attempt to start a new life with her baby, then get rid of the baby and finally waking up in her empty apartment which then explodes, leaving Cats on the run in Gotham without her mask or whip. There's a character called The Thief who disappears due to Catwoman's involvement in the Salvation Run storyline which feature supervillains being sent to a crazy planet far far away.

I was actually pretty interested in the Thief storyline and seeing Catwoman stripped of everything and on her own, but it got cut off by the Suicide Squad getting the jump on her and sending her to the prison planet. I wasn't a big fan of the whole Salvation Run storyline, partly because it seemed a bit too close the Marvel's Negative Zone prison (did they even really flesh that out? All things Civil War are a blur thanks to the Civil War Room column), even though it's a pretty sound idea in theory. I don't even know how that mini-series ended and this trade doesn't offer up much insight. You get an issue of Cats wandering around from faction to faction only to end up with Luthor's crew, but then she ends up in this weird world where's practically SuperCat and runs everything. Once she's out, she presumably rejoins the Salvation Run storyline. I feel bad for Pfeifer because it doesn't feel like the Salvation Run stuff was very organic, probably more dropped on his plate. But he handled it well, though the story itself doesn't hold much consequence (even though it's pretty cool).

I've liked Pfeifer's writing in the past, his Aquaman Sub Diego stuff was rad and HERO is one of the coolest books from the past five or six years not yet collected (seriously, what's the deal with that? come on DC, where's my omnibus?!), but for whatever reason Catwoman hasn't really absorbed me yet, though I'll probably grab the next trade when it makes its way into the Wizard office. I also like David Lopez, he's a solid artist with a distinct style that makes him stand out. He seems equally adept at drawing grim and gritty street-level stuff as huge superhero group shots, which he also gets to do in this book.

I can't really recommend Crime Pays to non Catwoman readers. There's a lot going on in this book that's not only connected to past Catwoman continuity, but also a part of DC's last year that seems generally ignored (seriously, I read a ton of DC books, how did the villains get back?). Hopefully the next volume will wrap things up with The Thief (I'm seriously interested in that storyline, as well as what the heck Catwoman's supposed to do with all her stuff gone).

Trade Post: Swamp Thing, Fourth World, Scalped and Wonder Woman

2008-12-11 5:32:55 am

Doesn't look like things will be letting up any time soon and seeing as I've been falling asleep pretty early these days, I haven't been able to watch many movies. I will get around to the second part of that Thanksgiving weekend round-up though, because I want to get to my Squirm and Return to Sleepaway Camp (love that movie!). But, I've got some time now and I've been doing some trade reading so here we go.

SCALPED: DEAD MOTHERS (VOL. 3) (Vertigo/DC)
Written by Jason Aaron, Drawn by John Paul Leon, R.M. Guera & Davide Furno
Scalped is one of those books that I got to late in the game and have yet to actually catch up to the monthly issues, so I'm mostly grabbing the trades from the library as they come out. I dig the story for the most part, especially because it takes me to a world that I'm otherwise unfamiliar with in the form of an Native American reservation. Plus, there's all kinds of action and intrigue and some great names (I especially like our main character's Dashiell Bad Horse).

This particular trade focuses mainly on Dashiell working on a dead hooker case because he promised her son that he would while others investigate his own mother's death. There's obviously a lot of history between Dash and pretty much everyone else on the reservation and Aaron does a good job of giving just enough details as we read to keep us from getting completely lost but also not overwhelming the reader with needles detail. It's a harder balance to achieve than you might think. I also like how the villain of the story, Lincoln Red Crow (the guy that Dash, an undercover agent is trying to pin a murder on) is more interested in finding his mother's killer (they used to be lovers) than Dash himself. But even he's got problems of his own as various outside forces are trying to push and pull him and the casino he runs.

Really, that's what I like about the series as a whole: there's a lot going on, but not too much. Aaron's got a great sense of pacing and knows when to throw in some kick ass action scenes to balance all the other personal aspects of the book. I'm really curious to see where the series goes (they introduced a new character in the form of honest reservation cop Franklin Falls Down who seems like he'll have a lot of potential). I'm also looking forward to seeing how Aaron writes a long form story like this one. I'm not sure if there's an end point in mind that he's working towards, but I've only read a handful of his other books, some I liked, some I didn't, so I hope he ends this one with a bang.

SWAMP THING: LOVE AND DEATH (DC)
Written by Alan Moore, Drawn by Stephen Bissette, John Totleben & Shawn McManus
This is the second Swamp Thing trade collecting Alan Moore's run on the book that helped launch his career and shoot comics to whole new levels. To me, it's one of the last few epic comic runs that I haven't read yet, so I'm glad to finally get to it (though I don't have any more of the trades, so we'll see how that goes), which is too bad because I really dug this book and am curious to see where it goes.

Most of the trade follows the developing relationship between Swamp Thing and Abigale including her short-lived death. There are all kinds of horror elements bouncing around these pages, including Swamp Thing's visit to the afterlife which boasts guest spots by Etrigan, Phantom Stranger, Deadman and the Spectre. I really like how firmly Swamp Thing takes place in the DCU, proving that you can do Vertigo type stories in the same world that Superman flies around in (Sandman also did this on a few occasions).

I've also got to mention the semi sex scene between Swamp Thing and Abigale at the end of the last issue. It's not as gross as it might sound as Abby eats a fruit that Swamp Thing grows from his chest and then they go on a super-trippy ride that we become voyeurs to.

But I didn't like everything about this collection. There's a story called "Pog" which featured some tiny cartoon-like aliens landing on Earth hoping to find a new home to call their own. The story itself is interesting, but the problem is the dialogue. These aliens talk different, making up words that seem and sound an awful lot like English, but took me way too long to read as my brain kept trying to read the words I'm used to. Props to Alan for coming up with this new language, but it drove me a little crazy. Oh well. I'm probably going to ditch these trades in favor of the hardcovers they're putting out shortly (or is it out yet? I dunno).

DIANA PRINCE WONDER WOMAN VOL. 2 (DC)
Written & drawn by Mike Sekowsky
Man, I love these swinging Wonder Woman issues, each one is like a Roger Corman movie starring my favorite Star Spangled Amazon (missing her stars of course). For those of you who may not know, these Diana Prince tales follow Wonder Woman around after losing her powers and becoming a kung-fu boutique owner hanging out with blind martial arts master I Ching.

This volume not only collects Wonder Woman issues, but also a Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane issue in which the constantly swooning Lois gets jealous of Superman spending so much time with Wonder Woman who appears to have regained her powers. There's even this hilarious scene where Wonder Woman takes Superman to a club and he starts dancing so intensely that he almost sets the floor on fire, after which he thinks to himself: "Did I goof! I can't forget myself for an instant! That's the trouble with being super! I can't relax like ordinary people!" I don't want to ruin the ending, but it's your average cheesy silver age stuff (which is pretty different than the rest of the trade, because this particular story was written by Robert Kanigher).

There's also an issue of Brave and the Bold with Wonder Woman and I Ching in another country (though I don't think they ever say which one) in which a big car race is happening. It just so happens that Bruce Wayne is also there racing along with some bad dude (his name's not really important). Well, the bad dude tries to kill Bruce because he's such a good driver so Bruce calls Gotham and gets his buddy Batman to come race for him. There's actual panels with Batman driving and his cape shooting out behind him flapping in the wind. I had literally just watched a Roger Corman movie with similar themes that I had just watched (Young Racers). Man, that movie was boring (hey, look, a movie review!), but this comic is great.

The rest of the trade involves the return of Dr. Cyber along with an adventure to Hong Kong and the addition of a new young lady who Diana saves from THEM (always written in big red block letters) and then gives a job in her boutique. I really love how the series bounces around from somewhat typical superhero stuff to all kinds of other genres without missing a beat. There's also something fun about seeing Wonder Woman mingling with Superman and Batman even back in the late 60s/early 70s. These are great books for anyone even remotely interested in Wonder Woman or movies and TV from that time period, these are the books for you.

JACK KIRBY'S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS (VOL. 4)
Written & drawn by Jack Kirby
I've had a very on again off again relationship with these New Gods Omnibi (Ominbuses?). Sometimes I'll get really into them but then I'll put the book down for weeks or even months at a time, which was the case with this, the last in series. The main reason is that, for reasons that are probably explained in the intro by Mark Evanier that I haven't read yet, Jack's books weren't doing so well and were canned, which means this book collects the last issues of The Forever People (which I liked a lot more than I thought I would), New Gods (my personal favorite of the ongoings) and then a bunch of Mr. Miracle issues (it lasted longer than the others), the new stories Jack created for the reprints and finally the Hunger Dogs graphic novel. The problem is that it's like watching a TV show that you know doesn't have a real ending, one that got canceled before it's time; all the pieces are good, but you're not sure about the pay off.

I read the FP and NG issues completely but ended up skimming the Mr. Miracle stuff as it wasn't really my favorite of the books. I did enjoy the final two stories though, because it felt like Jack was finally able to tell the story that he intended to tell years before. But, man, just think of how cool it would have been to see Jack get to do his thing for real. It's too bad because it feels like that's a huge missed opportunity, a story only preserved in the library of unwritten books. Oh well, I really like Hunger Dogs, especially the big huge collage spread that Jack did in the middle of it. Check it out and see how many Star Wars pictures you can find (I spotted the rear end of a Star Destroyer first).

Anyway, there's a pretty interested ending to Hunger Dogs that I'm not really sure how it was resolved later on when the New Gods re-entered the DCU. I did have a basic history explained to me by Rickey. He said that, basically, Jack created the New Gods, but after he left they just kind of sat around and no one used them until the Super Powers cartoon came along and was looking for a villain. They dug up Darkseid and he's been a dominating force of evil in the DCU ever since. For someone who's been reading comics since the early 90s, it's pretty crazy to think that there was a time when Darkseid and the rest of the New Gods weren't a big deal.

And finally, if you're like I was when I first started reading these books and think that these older stories don't really offer up much to a modern, more sophisticated reader, give them a try. Sean Collins helped me realize what I liked about these stories even when I wasn't quite sure if I actually liked them. The true art isn't in the words (the dialogue boxes are pretty easily skipped for the most part in my opinion), but in the art and the emotions and gut punches that Kirby is able to convey with his trademark pencils. Plus, if you can't find a certain amount of giddy joy in tracing the lines of a Kirby machine, I feel bad for you.

Okay, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll get another post in this week, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you (seriously, that'd be crazy).

Society Pages: Mr. Terrific

2008-10-24 1:32:46 am

Okay, I was going to show off my Dr. Mid-Nite sketch first, but Mr. Terrific here didn't turn out so well, so I kind of want to get him out of the way. Wow, this one went wrong. I re-drew almost everything except for the torso a number of times and I probably should have re-drawn that as well. He's kind of lopsided and one hand is bigger than the other. Ugh.

Here's the awesome Johnson original:

Then my lumpy, lopsided pre-colored verision:

And the final, colored piece, yeesh:

Haha, the finished product definitely looks like the kind of thing I would have drawn when I was about 10. Oh man...

Society Pages: Dr. Fate

2008-10-22 3:59:15 am

I was talking to my buddies Ben
and Rickey about one of their many train rides in to their big time city jobs. They had been talking about picking a superhero team and drawing that team's members one by one. They told me about the idea, so I piped up that I wanted to draw my favorite team, the JSA. For more on their sketches, keep an eye out on their respective blogs.

Seeing as how I'm not much of an artist, I must resort to looking at an existing image and drawing it out. Basically copying it, but not tracing. I actually started on a Dr. Mid-Nite that I'm pretty happy with, but I left it at work and haven't had a chance to finish coloring it. Well, tonight Em and I were at Target and I picked up a 50 pack of Crayola Super Tip Washable Markers so I could really show off the JSA's vibrant costumes (there's even 12 Silly Scents markers!). Well, I was pretty excited about my new markers (like I used to get as a kid when I got a brand new box of crayons) so I decided to give another JSAer the Dietsch treatment. Dr. Fate won the spot and here it is, first the image I copied, then the black and white and finally the colored version.

For what it's worth, I start off with a pencil, sketching out the details and even where the shadows fall. Then I go over and outline things with a thin Sharpie. After that I fill in the shadows with a thicker black Sharpie.

After finishing the outlines and erasing any leftover pencil marks, it's time to color. Crayola markers are a bit light and don't saturate the paper as well, but they're cheap and I really like seeing the drawings in color. Black and white is cool, but I love seeing those basic colors come to life. If Sharpie made a full line of cheaper markers, I'd be all over that. Of course, the problem would be the headaches. At least with the Crayola's I'm guaranteed not to get a headache.

With the drawing over all, I skipped the cool hand effect which removes the light source. Even so, I still kept the shadows, but ditched the light spots in the original. I think this one came out pretty well. Em helped give me a second pair of eyes which helped. I've still got no idea what I'm doing and should definitely study anatomy or at least get a super poseable action figure that I can use as an artist model. Heck I could even use one of those How To Draw books, wonder where I could get one of those...

Halloween Scene: Batman Comics

2008-10-05 3:49:45 pm

A year or two ago the folks at Wizard decided to do a story of the 25 scariest moments in comics. I kind of had a problem with this because I've never really been scared by a comic, I'm not sure if it has to do with the format or what, but it's never happened. But that doesn't mean I haven't read some generally creepy stories in comic book form. Recently I've read some pretty cool Batman-related stories that had a good horror elements. For the ongoing series' I'm probably still an issue or two behind, so take that into account, but here we go.

BATMAN: GOTHAM AFTER MIDNIGHT

This is a 12-issue series written by Steve Niles and drawn by Kelley Jones. I'm not a big fan of Niles, so Jones was the big draw for me here. His art on Batman around Knightfall was the first time I realized that artists had different styles. No one draws a more over-the-top, creepy Batman then him in my book. And that's basically what this book is, crazy and over the top. #3 was the last one I read in which the creepy zombie-looking villain convinces Clayface that, if he actually consumes people, he can grow to giant size. It's a pretty cool concept that I haven't seen done before but really makes sense. There are all kinds of over-the-top moments in the first three issues (Jones' Batcave looks like a smelting factory, Batman's building a giant robot suit just in case). Some people find it ridiculous, but to me that's part of the fun.

JOKER'S ASYLUM

A little while ago DC put out these one-shots under the Joker's Asylum banner showcasing Batman's biggest villains, probably to tie into the movie because they came out so far ahead of Halloween. I read all of them, but I particularly liked the Scarecrow and Penguin issues.

Scarecrow was written by Joe Harris and drawn by super awesome fantastic artist Juan Doe. With Joker taking on the Crypt Keeper role in all these books, we get presented with a slasher-like tale of a young, nerdy girl getting invited to the popular girl's sleepover with nefarious intent. It turns out that the girl's shrink is actually the Scarecrow, who convinces the nerdy girl to go to the party. While she's there, Scarecrow hunts down the teenagers and poisons them with his fear toxin. It's probably the best slasher-movie-in-comic-form story I've ever read and it's all done concisely in one issue. And boy oh boy is Juan Doe's art fantastic. It's a kind of angular cartoony style that still captures the eeriness of the scene. He also does some really cool little things like taking the old Joker face from his early appearances and using them as decorations on the Joker's pajamas in the opening scene. Harris also sets up a possible future villain in the form of Lindsay, the nerdy girl. And one last thing, bonus points to Harris for referencing Mean Girls and Heathers (Heather's the mean girl and Lindsay is the nerdy girl, after Lohan I assume). Well done all around.

The other Joker's Asylum story I really dug is the Jason Aaron written and Jason Pearson drawn Penguin one-shot. It's more of an EC revenge tale than a horror story, but it offers probably the best representation of the Penguin I've ever seen. If you think that he's too ridiculous of a character to be a good villain in the next Batman movie, just read this issue and you'll see what I mean. Instead of being an active threat to people we find that Penguin is much more behind-the-scenes in how his revenge plays out. There's also a fun nod to one of the most over-done elements in Batman comics that I loved. Penguin's day dreaming about his new lady friend while Batman's beating up on his bodyguards. When he's done Batman says "Just remember that I'll be watching" to which Penguin responds "Yes, yes...see you next week." As anyone who's been reading Batman comics for a while, Penguin currently owns the Ice Berg Lounge where he's considered a legitimate business man, but Batman still routinely comes there, knocks his guys around and tell Penguin he's watching him. It's gotten old fast for us Batman fans and this was, to me at least, a way of poking a little fun at that.

SIMON DARK VOL. 1 TPB

Like I said above, I'm not a big Steve Niles fan, but lately he's been writing some pretty good comics, so maybe my tune is changing. What I first thought was a retelling of the Frankenstein tale has kind of morphed into something much more involving dark magic and other craziness all set in the backdrop of Gotham City. But don't expect Batman to pop up every issue, in fact, I don't think he shows up in this trade at all. I've read most of the issues after this one and still dig the story, even if it does drag out a little. A big, big part ambiance of the story definitely comes from artist Scott Hampton. Looking at it actually makes me feel cold. That's really the best way I can describe it. Crisp. I think Simon may be my favorite new, non-legacy character from last year, especially as he finds more and more out about his weird past.

BATMAN FACES TPB

Really the only reason I even picked this book up is because of Matt Wagner. I'm a big big fan of Mage and really hopes he does the third and final miniseries. So, while waiting for that I decided to give this Batman/Two-Face story a while and I really enjoyed it. Basically Two-Face is trying to take over an island that Bruce Wayne wants to buy and start a new country with a bunch of European sideshow freaks. I laughed as soon as I saw them because I had JUST watched Freaks. It's another one of those great coincidences like when you're flipping through channels, stop on a History Channel or Discovery show about something you've never really heard of and then it comes up in conversation the next day. I love when that happens. The story itself isn't all that surprising, but Wagner does some great thing with his art (like a Family Circus-style dotted line splash or the page consisting of a track). The big draw is Wagner's art, especially his interpretation of classics like Batman and Two-Face and the freak characters. It's more about the smaller moments, like how the freaks react at the very end of the story than the big plot stuff, but all in all it's a really enjoyable story.

Calendars, Man

2008-09-23 1:10:24 am

The rad folks over at Asgard Press dropped me an E-mail last week and asked if I wanted to check out their Vintage DC and MAD Magazine 2009, so OF COURSE I said yes (thanks again by the way). So here's the deets. These 11x30 calendars go from September of this year through December of 2009. Each picture can be removed (the edges are perforated) so you could hang them up in your room or frame them if you're classy and feature either classic DC or MAD covers from the old school. They cost $18.95 and get a super added bonus in my book for being printed on 100% recycled paper with soy based inks. I don't know exactly what that means, but it's good for the Earth right?

I'm definitely not as familiar with MAD as I am with golden and silver age DC comics, but I can definitely see why this calendar would be a treat for any fans of MAD. My personal favorite in the bunch is actually from this month originally printed as the cover to MAD #105 from September 1966. It features a painting by Norman Mingo of an Adam West Batman and Alfred E. Newman as Robin. Good stuff.

Each month, in addition to the huge piece of art you also get thumbnail sized reprints of various pages from the feature issue as well as the back covers and the name of each artist.

Okay, so on to the big whammy, the Vintage DC Super Heroes 2009 Calendar which feature 16 rad reproductions of the first appearances of Barry Allen as the Flash, the Justice League, Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman and the JLA/JSA crossover. There's also some surprise picks like Captain Marvel #6, a cover I'm not sure if I've ever seen before and some great, campy holiday-related covers, my favorite being Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane #1 with Lois Flying around on a broom and Superman wondering "Great guns! Lois has supernatural powers--and they may prove mightier than mine!" Great stuff. Each month also gives a brief description of the contents of the issue along with general info. This calendar is perfect for any fan of DC comics who wants to keep all his dates in order, maybe even as an early holiday gift .

The Book of Oa: Sinestro Corps War

2008-09-19 2:22:10 am

Wow, I completely suck for not posting in so long, hopefully this long-ish post will make up for it. This one's for you Farooq.

I recently reread the entire Sinestro Corps War saga in the three hardcovers that DC has put out (Vol. 1, 2 and Tales of the Sinestro Corps) and dammit all if this isn't one of the best comic book stories of all time. Geoff Johns helmed this epic with the help of fellow GL writers Dave Gibbons, Pete Tomasi and Ron Marz while artists like Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason and others drew the heck out of it.

GREEN LANTERN: THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR VOL. ONE

Johns and Gibbons both seeded elements of this tale in both Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, but this is where all that craziness goes on, starting with one of my favorite one shots of all time the Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War one-shot which shows the Sinestro Corps waging war on the Green Lantern home world of Oa. There's even a super patient Yellow Lantern who hid in an asteroid field just so that he could bust out and snipe the crap out of some GLs. There's a real sense of "how the heck are the going to get out of this?" But before all that, the GL that will always have a soft place in my heart, Kyle Rayner, gets sucked the Qward where he gets infected with Parallax, the embodiment of fear (oh yeah, whereas the GLs represent willpower, the YLs represent fear on the emotional spectrum).

But the craziness doesn't stop there (and neither does the issue). As the Sinestros slaughter the GLs (who can't kill anyone with their rings) we find out that Superboy Prime (yeah, I called him SuperBOY Prime and I'm not gonna stop) and Cyborg Superman are on Sinestro's side. And, as readers of GL will remember, Cyborg's actually in charge of the Manhunters, the Guardians' first crack at a police force (though robotic instead of "human"). But that's not the biggest kicker. That boot belongs to the fact that their guardian is actually the Anti-Monitor. Now, they don't really get into an explanation as to how the heck AM is still alive after Crisis on Infinite Earths, but they do mention something like "When the universe redid itself, we found him." Hey, it's good enough for me.

Okay, that's the end of the first issue. Personally, I think the set up for all of this, which was inspired by Alan Moore's BRILLIANT "Darkest Night" story which you can find in one of my favorite trades of all time: DC Universe:The Stories of Alan Moore. Bringing back Cyborg as leader of the Manhunters and incorporating Superboy Prime (who was involved with Countdown, but seriously, who was reading that?) just made so much sense. I love when creators actually do something with older characters that have been forgotten that were important at one time (like Prime was prior to Infinite Crisis).

And Ethan Van Sciver's can't be ignored. Like with Green Lantern: Rebirth, Ethan just kills it. He also continues one of my favorite elements of Geoff and Ethan's reboot: the different ways the the GLs use their rings. Kilowog and Guy are like forces of nature, Kyle's very artistic and John Stewart, the engineer that he is, designs all of his constructs from all their parts. Additionally, you've got nine splash pages and spreads that blow my mind, especially the spread of the Yellow Lanterns on Qward. Just sick.

Okay, so it's not all one issue. After fending off the SC's first attack, the Guardians decide to destroy the Blackest Night chapter of the Book of Oa which carries the prophecy of how the Corps will fall, causing a rift between Ganthet and Sayd and the other Guardians. Ganthet and Sayd appear to Hal Jordan via his ring and tell him he needs to be the leader of the Corps again, Hal doesn't know how the others will take that, but he doesn't really have time to think about it as the Parallax being (who was reinserted into the main battery) grabs Hal, Guy (my second favorite GL) and John Stewart to Qward where Hal rumbles with the Parallax-possessed Kyle.

There's also a quick aside in the GLC book where Sinestro visits his homeworld of Korugar, the planet that he ruled with an iron fist when he was a GL (which is exactly what he got banished for) to meet Soranik Natu, the current GL from Korugar. Though it seems like kind of a throwaway issue, it's not because we get more insight into Sinestro's motives. He's actually challenging the GLs with his Corps in order to make the GLs more effective. The big storypoint in this issue is that GL partners-but-not-really Stel (a robot) and Green Man realize that the Sinestro Corps is leading an attack against Mogo, the living planet GL. Holy crap!

From here on out the story is split between Hal fighting Kyle, trying to free him from Parallax, the Lost Lanterns joining in and the other GLs fighting on Mogo. But we also find out why Cyborg's involved in all this: he wants to die and the Anti Monitor claims he can make it happen. We also get a creepy page of Superboy Prime sitting on the moon just waiting and watchign Earth. More on that later. The moments where Hal's trying to help Kyle are really great to me because I actually started reading GL when Hal went crazy and destroyed the Corps and Kyle was the one and only. There's something really cool about the two characters that a lot of fans never thought they'd see together (and definitely not on the same side) in reversed roles: Kyle's the bad guy and Hal's trying to help him. I also really like the Lost Lanterns because I really liked those guys and it makes me feel better about watching Hal's exploits when I know that he didn't really kill the only other GLs I knew about.

Of course, the Lost Lanterns don't really see it that way as most of them still hold a grudge against Hal who they're now forced to work with as they run for their lives on Qward as their batteries run out of juice and they try to find Guy and John.

Now we move on to the crazy fight on Mogo as the GLs defend him against an evil living city with a mad on for Guy (even though he's nowhere near Mogo) full of 100 Yellow Lanterns which starts off with just Stel and Green Man standing between Mogo and the Sinestro Corps. Of course, Kilowog and company join up with them and put up a heck of a fight. The living city is actually pretty hilarious as it continues to whine about Guy Gardner, demanding his presence and death. There's a whole lot of craziness going on, most of which I don't want to get into, but the Sinestro Corps is basically trying to kill Mogo because he figures out where the rings go to after a Lantern dies. He's also the soul of the GLC and, of course, the biggest member.

Another subplot I forgot to mention is that the Guardians tasked Arisia with keeping Sodom Yat safe. They're not sure why he's important, but anyone who read Alan Moore's story knows that Sodom will be the savior of the GLC. Awesome! There's also a big fight between Kilowog and his opposite member in the SC Arkillo, a weird toothy monster. They duke it out pretty bad, but they don't finish until later.

The last issue of the first hardcover ends with Guy and John free, Hal sucking energy out of yellow lanterns, Ganthet and Sayd getting banished from the Guardians, the Anti-Monitor killing Lost Lantern Ke'Haan (Jack Chance got killed in an earlier issue) and the kicker of the Guardians telling the GLC about the first of the new ten laws: they can kill memebrs of the Sinestro Corps. There's a lot I like about this issue. Of course, John and Guy getting back in the game is awesome. Also, Hal conquering the yellow lanterns is rad because it proves that he's over the fear that poisoned him. The deaths of these characters also really got me. I'm not sure if it's because of the older GL stories I've read or because Geoff had made them such interesting characters or if I just freaking love Green Lanterns so much that the death of any recognizable one gets me. I'm a softy that way. Finally, the first new rule makes a lot of sense. I mean, the Green Lanterns are cops, they should be able to ice the bad guys when necessary. Of course, there's more to it than that as we'll find out later on.

GREEN LANTERN: THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR VOL. TWO

So this book starts with the Green Lanterns saving Mogo in a cool way that, again, would take a while to explain and seeing as how this is already a pretty long post, I'll skip it, but add that it was really cool (living planets who are GLs are always cool). From there we find out that the Yellow Lanterns actual target is Earth, the base of them multiverse. I've probably used the word "craziness" more than I should, but this is when the sh!t really hits the fan (it's all kinds of craziness).

Oh man, I haven't mentioned the other artists. Ivan Reis and Patrick Gleason do amazing jobs with the big splash pages and smaller moments. My facorite Reis spread in the whole series is the one in GL #24 as Superboy Prime leads Sinestro, Cyborg and a legion of Yellow Lanterns over the moon with a huge yellow Warworld behind them. I get chills. You could do a whole poster book out of Sinestro Corps War and I would cover my walls with it.

Okay, so the war has hit Earth in full force which means the superheroes we (at least I) all know and love get involved in the war. But before he can get into it, Hal's got to save his brother's family from Kyle-Parallax who actually switches to a crazy yellow version of his costume (this story has great costumes). But you just can't keep my favorite lantern dawn as he finally fights his way out of Parallax's grasp and shirks the fear-thing.

Then, BAM, Ganthet and Sayd are there and trap Parallax in Kyle, Hal, John and Guy's lanterns. There's a great moment where all four Earth Lanterns light themselves up and they're ready to rumble. The GLs who were fighting on Mogo finally get to Earth as lead by Kilowog Salaak who has a great bit of business where he tells everyone to fix the damage done to their uniforms. "Use the time to regenerate your uniforms. We're CORPS. Be PROUD." After reading that I pumped my fist and shout "[EXPLETIVE] YEAH!"

And it wasn't the last time as Arkill and Kilowog face off AGAIN, this time it's even more brutal. Oh, this is a great time to mention this, even though the GLs can now kill the YLs, it doesn't mean that they all do. Some go crazy Rambo-style, which is all well and good, but others, like Kilowog, choose not to, using their rings in other ways to incapacitate their enemies.

Oh, remember that Sodom Yat guy I mentioned? Well, he became the new Ion, which is a Lantern that doesn't need to wear a ring. He's also extra powerful. Plus he's from the planet Daxam which means he's got Superman-level abilities. Well, he's the dude that throws down with Prime. We get some history about Yat while Superboy pummels him, but our hero doesn't give up, he keeps fighting until Prime almost kills him.

Which brings us to the last issue. Damn, it's another beauty. In the middle of this huge war, we get a look at the other colors of the emotional spectrum and what they represent, drawn by Ethan while Ivan handles the rest of the art chores.

As far as conclusions go, this is one of the best as it keeps the insanity going to the very end as the insanity ramps up continuously. You've got the Anti Monitor and Prime wreaking havoc on Earth's heroes and the GLs, Guy getting sick with Despotellis the living virus whose killed entire planets, the Guardians jumping in and fighting the Anti-Monitor, dozens and dozens of Yellow and Green Lantern deaths, Hal and Kyle throwing down with Sinestro, using Warworld to destroy Cyborg and Anti-Monitor, Anti-Monitor coming back only to get supposedly killed by Prime (he's still pissed about AM killing his home world, go figure), one Guardian giving his life to destroy Prime and finally Hal and Kyle defeating Sinestro in a fair, no-ring fist fight. Whew, it's crazy awesome and I'm tired just explaining it all.

But even THAT'S not the end as we got some more Van Sciver-drawn bits. We see Superboy waking up somewhere saying "Oh my gosh. It's really back." Sinestro in GL jail, proud of the changes he caused in the Corps. His goal was to get the GLs to actually instill fear and thus be all the more effective against the evils of the universe. THEN, we see Ganthet and Sayd become the Guardians or something for the Blue Lanterns which represent hope and they create the first blue ring. After that those damn Manhunters find Cyborg's dead body and reboot it, resulting in a heartbreaking tear trickling down his face. And FINALLY, we see the Anti Monitor's corpse landing somewhere and getting trapped inside the black lantern.

Jeez, I forgot there's a-whole-nother GLC issue that acts as a prologue. This is mostly a clean up issue that stars the featured players of the GLC book, which you should definitely check out. I'm especially partial to the scene where Rannian GL Vath takes a shot for each of his fallen comrades which number more than 432. It's a touching moment that shows how one warrior deals with the loss of so many of his friends and fellow soldiers.

As if that weren't all there's also an interview with the creators in the back accompanied by sketches from the artists. I haven't read it yet, but I'm always in support of beefing up trades with extra stuff you couldn't get in the single issues. Otherwise, what's the point?

Oh jeez, I completely forgot a few things. First of all, Natu used a sentient smallpox GL to defeat the evil virus Sinestro Corpsman inside of Guy. I was actually pretty nervous during this whole scene because it wouldn't have surprised me if Geoff killed off one of the big GLs (I'm really glad he didn't).

Now, like I said in the very beginning I love this story. Some people say that Geoff doesn't end stories well and I can't agree with that, especially when it comes to TSCW. The War definitely ends, for now at least, while still leaving the threat out there. It's like in Star Wars, just because Vader and Palpatine are dead, doesn't mean the Empire just crumbles. You also get to see Sinestro in prison again, which seems to be exactly where he wants to be. There's all kinds of other lead-ins to future stories as well. I know that Geoff has said the he considers Rebirth the first chapter of his GL epic, this is the middle and then there will be Blackest Night when that hits next year (I think). But that doesn't mean the regular series post-TSCW is boring. Geoff and Co. have gone into further development of the characters as well as the emotional spectrum and the new lanterns. Personally, I can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes and what happens with the Blackest Night.

Finally, I know there's also a Tales of the Sinestro Corps book, which I also read, but that with be another review because I'm tired.

Whew.

An Alan Moore Kind Of Day (Kinda)

2008-08-31 4:44:44 am

Like every other comic fan (and apparently a lot of normal people, considering how many copies have sold on Amazon) I started re-reading Watchmen after watching the trailer. I wasn't a huge fan of Watchmen when I first read it back in grade school or high school (can't remember which). I do remember buying it at a Barnes and Noble after continuously reading about how awesome it was in Wizard. I think I basically didn't get it back then. I've read it a few more times and enjoy it more and more with each read, especially after reading some more of Moore's work. I'm only four issues in, but damn, this is an enjoyable read.

Back in college, I made a deal with Em where I'd read the first Harry Potter book if she read a trade. I made the mistake of giving her Watchmen. The problem with giving someone with limited comic book experience Watchmen is that it's just so damn dense that it's hard to get through. I've also discovered by giving non comic book fans different books, that there is a mechanic to reading comics that fans take for granted that new readers don't necessarily know. The most difficult thing tends to be which order to read the word balloons in (something I still have trouble with). It seems like it should be something uniform like top left, then below that and over or everything in the top row and then the bottom (like a typewriter). I'm definitely off on a tangent here, but I'm curious to see what people who bought the new edition based on the coolness of the trailer think and whether they'll move on to other Alan Moore comics or other trades in general.

Speaking of Alan Moore movies and trades, Em and I watched League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tonight (a.k.a. LXG, hehe). I actually like this flick. It's very obviously a huge departure from the first LOEG volume (one of my all time favorite comics, I even wrote a 17 page paper on it in college) but it does have some fun elements. Also fun was trying to explain how much I liked the comic book and how different the movie is and also how much I like the movie. She just started laughing at me and said I sounded like her trying to convince me to watch a chick flick.

In the end she enjoyed (didn't love) the movie, which is pretty much how I feel. Now I've just got to try and get her to read the trade. She's also looking to re-read Watchmen along with me, maybe I'll get her thoughts on the book after we're done.

Theatre Hopping

2008-07-19 4:17:52 am

Hey Gang, sorry about not posting recently. I've been falling asleep pretty early (cause I'm getting old) which cuts my viewing and reading time sufficiently. But, I have been reading a few things here and there. I've had a copy of Sandman Mystery Theatre Vol. 3 in my "to read" pile for a while now. I was hoping I'd get Vol. 2 (I'd already read 1 and 4) so things would make a little more sense, but I decided "what the heck" and jumped in anyway. I had actually forgotten I had 4 on my shelf, so it was fun to go back and re-read that after 3.

Okay, so here's the deal with Sandman for anyone who doesn't know. In the way-late '30s Wesley Dodds comes back from a trip to "the Orient," he's having these crazy, prophetic dreams and decides to become a Mystery Man called The Sandman. Armed with a gas gun and a gas mask, he helps solve crimes in a pre-WWII New York City. The book was co-written by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle and drawn by Guy Davis and launched from the Vertigo imprint in 1993.

Volume 3 is entitled "The Vamp." Basically, the members of a gentlemen's social club are getting aced and it all comes back to a pretty nasty fraternity "prank" they played back in the day. Interestingly enough, the mystery isn't what really draws me into this Sandman story. I had a pretty good idea of who the killer was part way through the book and that was fine because I was really swept up in the world of the late-'30s NYC. Like I mentioned in the Batman: Thrillkillers review, I'm a sucker for certain time periods and this is definitely one of them. There's this really interesting mix of British upperclassness, but with a very American twist to it. Plus you've got the building tension about what will be called World War II and on top of all that you've got the dawning of the Mystery Men in the DCU. This was back when Vertigo books could still have ties to the DCU. Wagner and Seagle also tackle some bigger issues like racism and homosexuality in ways that seem familiar even today.

The great thing about this volume is that it's told completely from the perspective of Dian Belmont, Wesley Dodds' girlfriend (and future wife). She's a real smart cookie who fancies herself an amateur detective (here dad's the DA). The story really follows her more than anyone else and we get to see why she's one of the coolest unsung characters in comics as she navigates the worlds of jazz clubs and high society functions all the while trying to figure out how her friend from college is related to the killers.

"The Scorpion" follows a killer who uses a whip as he goes after the members of a particular oil company. Again, the killer's identity is pretty obvious right off the bat. If you're paying attention, you'll be able to figure out who it is pretty quickly. But that's kind of how some TV procedurals work too right? You get a pretty good idea of who did what, but it's the process of watching Wesley figure out for himself while trying to keep Dian in the dark about his dual identity and really get a hang of this whole superhero game. What's more interesting here is the why.

I've talked to some of my friends about this book and while some have read it, others couldn't get into it because of the art. Davis' art does come off as sketchy at times, but I highly encourage you guys to give it a shot. Once you get used to it, it's like you don't even notice anymore (like watching a movie in black and white nowadays). Davis does an amazing job of putting you in this, most likely, unfamiliar world and grounding you and the characters in it. And then he'll throw some pretty wild dream sequences at you that look completely different, but really capture that dream quality that's so hard to put on the page.

So, if you're solely looking for a mystery book, I don't think this would be the best pick. But if you're looking for a great look at a group of highly complex and interesting characters in the unique setting of the 1930s DCU, I can't make a higher recommendation. Let's just hope DC keeps putting out the volumes. They're up to 6 now, which I have, but I still need to get my hands on 2 and 5.

Making a (Thrill)Killing

2008-07-11 7:36:26 pm

So, every few months I have a few beers and start clearing off my trade shelf to make room for new stuff. But I don't just automatically get rid of things. Sure there's a pile of books I'm going to throw up on Swap or see if any of my buddies need, but I also make another stack of books that I want to re-read to see if they deserve that place on my shelf. Batman: Thrillkiller was one of the books on the chopping block. What did I think? Read on...

Batman: Thrillkiller (1997)

Written by Howard Chaykin
Art by Dan Brereton

I'll put it this way, Thrillkiller is heading back to my shelf.

Here's the deal, Thrillkiller is an Elseworlds book, which was a stamp that DC put on out of continuity books that took familiar concepts and put a different spin on them. This one obviously focuses on Batman, but it doesn't start with Batman, instead, we get a load of Batgirl and Robin in the early '60s. Batgirl is still the daughter of James Gordon and Robin is still acrobat Dick Grayson (though his real family name is different), but instead of Bruce Wayne living in Wayne Manor, Barbara lives there and has created her own batcave below. I'm not really sure where she got her money, but I assume it's from her mother who got murdered. Little Barbara found her with a bat-shaped blood pool around her (hence Batgirl). Also, Chaykin calls her a madcap heiress way too many times.

Batgirl and Robin walk the mean streets of Gotham standing up for the little guy, but not against your average supervillains. They're butting heads with the corrupt cops of Gotham. But not all the cops are bad guys, take Bruce Wayne for instance. His parents lost their fortune in the depression and went on to get murdered by their servants. He's been tasked by Jim Gordon (another good cop) to both stop the corruption and bring Batgirl and Robin to justice.

I actually don't want to get too into the story in case you want to check it out and see for yourself, which I highly recommend. I will say one thing about the trade, though, that confused me. I thought the book was made up of a four-issue series when it's actually a three-issue series and a one-shot put out later. Which explains why the last chapter of the book seems separate but equal to the previous ones.

Okay, here's what I like about the book. First up, the art. Dan Brereton has an somewhat exaggerated yet super-sexy style that really appeals to me. Back in my younger con-going days (1999 to be exact) I met Dan at either the Mid Ohio Con in Columbus or the convention in Novi, MI. He drew me this rad Harley Quinn sketch for free and also gave me the great suggestion of getting two sketchbooks in order to maximize your sketch-getting potential.

So, yeah there's a little nastalgia for the first creator that ever talked to me like a real person and did something cool for me, but I also really like Dan's style. You should check out Nocturnals sometime.

Anyway, I'm also a big fan of this time period. As Chaykin says in the first issue, this is a pre-JFK assassination '60s. Things are going crazy, the cops are corrupt, but the country still has the spirit that seemed get squeezed out when JFK got killed. Chaykin really captures the mood of the times and even uses what seems like language of fiction from the time in his narration.

But what I really like about this Elseworlds tale is that the relationships aren't just assumed. In a lot of Superman EW tales, Superman always falls in love with Lois. In this case, Bruce Wayne isn't rich, he doesn't even start off as Batman. And even though Barbara Gordon and Dick Grayson are together, it's a whole different dynamic than what you're used to in the comics. Also, the villains were changed, some more drastically than others. Joker is a woman, there's a dirty cop called Duell that looks like Two-Face, but then there's also Harvey Dent the DA. You've even got Black Canary and Roy Harper showing up in the one-shot. Oh and Catwoman is a stripper. But even though the characters' circumstances are different, you still feel like you know Bruce Wayne because he's a tough guy who's out for justice and doesn't mind busting a few skulls to get it.

The Joke's on Them

2008-07-02 3:51:10 pm

Sometimes books get a bad wrap. Joker's Last Laugh is definitely one of those. Frankly, the mandatory tie-ins did become way to0 much, but I just finished reading the main mini-series for the first time and actually liked it. So here goes the review of

Batman: The Joker's Last Laugh (2001)

Written by Chuck Dixon & Scott Beatty
Drawn by Pete Woods, Marcos Martin, Walter McDaniel, Andy Kuhn, Ron Randall & Rick Burchett
Starring The Joker, Nightwing, Batman, Oracle, Black Canary, a legion of Joker-ized super-villains and Shilo Norman, the dude who used to be and now is Mr. Miracle (kinda/maybe)

So, here's the basic plot of the story: Joker finds out he's dying, so he sets this elaborate plan in motion to poison a huge number of villains in the DCU with a gas that makes them go crazy Joker-style. There's a lot of twists and turns along the way, including (SPOILER) the fact that the Joker's not really dying (it was a prank pulled on him by a doctor in the Slab) and that Nightwing beats the Joker to death. Yup, it's true. But someone else (Batman, Spoiler, Robin, Nightwing or Huntress, we're not sure) actually brings him back. Crazy right?

What really interests me about this story is that it doesn't really feel like a big crossover. It doesn't star a big character, except for Joker himself I guess (Batman's hardly in it). Nightwing, Oracle and Shilo Norman, who was in charge of security for The Slab at the time, and, obviously Joker, all take center stage at times. But Joker gets the most face time, making him the real star. And a villain as the star of a big crossover like this is really interesting.

As the star, Joker shines. Dixon and Beatty give him a great, crazy, ingenious voice and we really get to see how smart of a villain he is. Not only did he figure out the chemistry involved in turning the Slab's nerve gas into Joker gas, but he continues to use the supervillains and their powers as tools to continue his assault on humanity. He even continually kills Multi-Man (who gets a new superpower every time he dies and comes back to life) until he gets the right power to bust them out of prison.

I'm also a fan of the art. Pete Woods and Marcos Martin especially bring their style to the wacky world of the Joker and it really fits well. Even though a different artist handles each issue and they each have fairly unique styles and inkers, the book still retains a fun, fluid continuity from issue to issue.

And really, I think that's why I liked Joker's Last Laugh, it's fun. Which is weird to say about a story staring a lunatic facilitating untold murders (and even lighting enough fires on the earth that the JLA could see a sneering smiley face from the Watchtower). In the end, the DCU is pretty much the same as it was before the story started, but Nightwing and Oracle have definitely been changed and God only knows what's going on in the Joker's mind. Oh, the Slab also ended up in the South Pole due to some weird teleportation thanks to Black Mass. I do kind of hope that DC puts out a companion book, though, because it seems like there's some fairly important plot points that took place in other issues (like Robin going up against Killer Croc which results in Nightwing thinking he's dead), but for the most part, LL is a complete story that kept me entertained and reminded me about how different comics were even 7 years ago. Can you imagine this creative team doing a line-wide crossover now?

OMAC Attack

2008-06-18 4:00:34 am

For the past 15 years or so I've felt this weird connection to Jack "The King" Kirby. It's not because I was a huge fan of his work (I think the only copies of his books I owned prior to last year were some of his Topps Comics stuff), but because he passed away on my birthday back in 1994. I was around 11 at the time and had only been reading comics for a few years, but I remember feeling really weird about that.

Anyway, fast forward to last year and I finally found myself reading some of Jack's work for the first time. But it wasn't the Marvel stuff I had heard about since I started reading comics, it was the at-one-time-less-known New Gods stuff. The Jack Kirby Fourth World Omnibuses blew me away and once I'm through reading them, I'll probably post something on here about them, but for now you'll have to settle for an OMAC review.

Jack Kirby's OMAC: One Man Army Corps
Written, drawn & edited by Jack Kirby
Starring OMAC, Buddy Blank

This book came out a few weeks ago and boy is it a great read. Weird, but great. Probably the most interesting aspect of the whole thing was mentioned in the intro by Mark Evanier. According to Mark, the concept of OMAC (a One Man Army Corps in the future) started life as a Captain America story. Can you imagine? Just think about it for a second.

Anyway, on to the story. Most of you have probably heard of OMACs by now. The latest version played a prominent role in DC's Infinite Crisis. In that continuity they're hapless people who were infected with a technovirus that lets a satellite called Brother-I turn them into superhero killers. But in Kirby's world, OMAC was designed as a hero for the people in "the world that's coming."

Which brings us to Buddy Blank, a regular dude who works for Build-A-Friend until he's selected by the faceless Peace Agency to become the One Man Army Corps. When OMAC takes over, Buddy disappears, but does return later on in the series.

Over the next 8 issues, Kirby throws OMAC against everything from a rented city of assassins trying to kill him, a giant spider-like monster, future gangsters, a vast cloning ring, a mad scientist stealing the Earth's water and more. Kirby's wild pencils really bring these out-there concepts to life, punching you in the eyes with incredibly crisp pencils.

The main problem with the book is that there isn't much of a conclusion. Like a lot of Kirby's DC work (from what I hear), OMAC got cut short because he was moving back to Marvel and DC didn't want to put anyone else on the book (hence the Joe Kubert cover to #8). Because of this, the obviously-planned-as-a-cliffhanger ending to #8 got a new non-Kirby panel drawn to try and wrap-up the series (which doesn't really succeed).

That being said, this book is completely worth it. If you've never read any Kirby, this is a great representation of his wild and wacky DC work. Want to pick up the Fourth World books, but don't know if you'll like them? I think if you like OMAC, you'll like the Fourth World stuff, so this is a pretty good measuring stick for $24.95 (or less depending on which websites you shop at).

Personally, I'm hoping to see the rest of Kirby's DC work collecting in a similar format to this and the Fourth World Omnibuses. Maybe a Sandman book? Or even a re-packaging of the Kamandi Archive Editions in this Omnibus format. What do you say DC? What are the odds?

The Bloodening: A Blood Pack Review

2008-06-05 2:11:47 am

Alright, so I'm gonna try and keep this one a bit shorter. Tonight's review is on a four issue mini-series from DC in 1995 called Blood Pack. It sprung out of the Bloodlines event that ran through all the annuals of that year and a two issue mini-series. Basically, these alien parasites came to earth and were sucking the spinal fluid out of folks. But if those folks had the latent metagene, they got superpowers. Makes sense right? Overall it was a fairly forgettable event, but it did spawn Hitman, one of my favorite characters of all time. But, hey, I'm a DC fan who started reading around this time, so I'm curious to check out everything and anything that came out around then. Plus, I snagged them for a quarter each at a rad comic sale. So without further ado:

Blood Pack (DC, 1995)

Written by Charles Moore
Drawn by Christopher Taylor & Andy Lanning
Starring Jade, Ballistic, Sparx, Mongrel, Nightblade, Loria, Geist, Razorsharp, Superboy and the Demolition Team

Here's the basic idea: after the events of Bloodlines, a TV company sponsors a team of the parasite-spawned heroes and follows them around with cameras for a ratings bonanza. But here's the rub, the producers are really a group of people who have sold the earth out to a group of aliens who need to terraform the earth so they can live there. The producers created this team to give the people someone to look up to and trust, someone that they could control. Oh yeah, Jade (the currently deceased daughter of Alan Scott, the original, Golden Age Green Lantern) leads the team.

Not surprisingly, I liked this book. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it, even though it is a '90s DC book and I'm a sucker for those, especially because the only name I recognized on the cover was the inker's (hey Andy, how's things?). But, even aside from my predilection for these kinds of comics, Moore really surprised me with this concept that seems to obvious now, but had never really been done before. At this time the only reality show on the block was the grand daddy of them all Real World, so it was still a relatively new phenomenon.

I was also impressed by how little I need to know about these characters ahead of time to enjoy the book. Sure, I knew Sparx from Superboy and the Ravers (a whole nother entry in and of itself), Jade from GL and even Razorsharp from the Psyba Rats, but as the four issues went on I had a pretty good idea of what the characters were about and what their powers were. Like with the Iron Man books I kind of just jumped in and figured out what I needed to know as the series progressed.

This is definitely not the type of book you'll remember for the rest of your life. I read it a couple weeks ago when I started this blog and I can't even remember all the details, but if you're a DC fan and can pick these bad boys up for about a dollar or two it might be worth a shot. Also, it makes me want a Bloodlines Omnibus of some sorts, though I highly doubt that'll happen. I've read a few of the annuals, but not many and I am gigantic fan of omnibuses, so why not dream?

The Incredible Wonder Woman

2008-05-19 2:27:43 am

Like I said during my review of Demon in a Bottle, I didn't really read a lot of older comics, especially pre-Crisis DC stuff. I used to feel like if it didn't matter as far as continuity is concerned then why bother? I also assumed, wrongfully, that a lot of the books from back then were too corny to be read. I've been proven wrong plenty of times since getting to Wizard and having access to the library. So, with that in mind, I decided to give DC's recent Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Volume 1 trade a whirl.

Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Volume 1 (1968-1969)

Written by Denny O'Neil and Mike Sekowsky
Drawn by Mike Sekowsky
Collects Wonder Woman Volume 1 #178-183

Okay, so, there's no intro in this book to give any context as to what the heck was going on in Wonder Woman before the trade starts, so it's a jump-in-the-pool-and-swim situation. Also, I read this book over a few weeks, picking it up and putting it down as other things came across my plate, so my memory might be a little fuzzy (well, fuzzier than usual).

We open with Wonder Woman's love interest Steve Trevor getting picked up by the cops on murder charges. Like any good girlfriend, Wonder Woman sets out to find out what's really going on, but thinks that rolling out as WW might be a little too obvious so she goes out as Diana Prince and gets herself some very mod clothes. And man, does Sekowsky revel in the psychedelic backgrounds and clothing, which unintentionally transport modern readers back to the time period this book was being created in (or at least what we like to think the '60s were like). Diana/Wonder Woman figure out what's really going on with Steve and everything's okay.

Then in order to get Steve out of the way for some time, Steve Trevor gets sent out on a secret mission to infiltrate Doctor Cyber's criminal ring that makes him look like traitor. In the same issue Diana gets word from her mother that the Greek gods are moving to another dimension to rest up. Diana agrees to stay in our dimension to continue helping mankind, a decision that strips her of all her powers.

It's pretty crazy to think that they were trying things like this back in the day. We're used to it by now, but can you imagine if they stripped Superman of his powers back then? From what I can remember, the '60s were a pretty rough time for DC's superhero comics (what with those upstart Marvel Comics coming out), so it seems like this was DC's way of trying to keep readers who were into the martial arts and spy fiction of the time. I'd like to think that it's the kind of book that would have sparked my interest if I was reading comics back then (I got into comics with the death of Superman, Batman getting his back broken, Wonder Woman becoming a red head and Green Lantern going crazy).

So, Diana Prince finds herself powerless on a world she still doesn't quite understand, having to worry about things like food and rent. Luckily for her, an old blind Asian dude is getting accosted by some hoods right outside her new place, she jumps in to help him, but he proves a formidable foe and easily dispatches the criminals. The man's name is Ching (sometimes called I Ching, though I'm not sure if that's part of his actual name or just the way he talks) and he's on Dr. Cyber's tail too. By the way, yeah, Morrison recently brought Ching back in the Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul. So in exchange for Diana's help in tracking them down, he'll train Diana in the martial arts in some really freakin' cool splash pages.

Have I mentioned how much I like Sekowsky? I'd never heard of him before picking this trade up, but the artist turned writer (O'Neil left a little over half-way through the book) wowed me to the point where I'd give just about anything he drew a shot. And of course, Denny O'Neil is one of those incredibly prolific writers that I've read and enjoyed for years.

Back to the story, Ching and Diana spend a few more issues going back and forth with Doctor Cyber's evil ladies, accompanied by Tim Trench for a while. Trench fills the roll of the hardned private dick who's ready to help until something more profitable shows up. Again, I really enjoy the different genres that O'Neil and Sekowsky played with. The next guy that comes along ends up betraying Diana and Ching to Dr. Cyber, leading Diana to beat him within an inch of his life. For some reason, Cyber (who, by the way, is a woman, even though they assumed it was a man for the first few issues, I assume this was way more of shock back then) leaves her to beat on him.

Distraught, Diana runs out of the house. By this time Sekowsky was flying solo in the writing department and the combination of his words and pencils really reveal the betrayal that Diana feels as she collapses in the street from exhaustion only to be approached by an Amazon asking her to return with her to the Amazon's new dimension. Diana agrees and brings Ching with her.

It turns out that Diana's grandfather Ares wants Hippolyta's secret of interdimensional travel which only she holds. Hippolyta refused, so Ares' sister puts her in a coma after fighting the first battle in a war of the gods (no, not that one). The Amazons brought Diana back to fill her mother's role as general of the Amazonian army, a roll which she fills with gusto, leading them into battle against Ares' monster army.

But Diana and the Amazons realize they're no match for the god's armies. Diana comes up with a plan: to travel to the dimension of history's heroes and ask them to come to the Amazon's aid. The dimension-hopping Amazon takes her there only to find that the heroes are sick of fighting for no personal gain. Luckily the Valkyries offer to fight side by side with the Amazon's against the hordes of Ares, even though they know they can not win. The combined forces do a serviceable job defending themselves, but still fight a losing battle, until the heroes eventually show up and turn the tide in their favor. With Diana's mother restored, Ares admits his defeat and leaves the Amazons be, for now. In the end, Ching opts to stay with the Amazons for a while as Diana returns to her adoptive home.

Overall I really liked this book. It's a great mix of genres with a number of rad stories, some fantastic art and a good balance of action and mythology that plenty of other Wonder Woman writers have aimed for and missed. By stripping Diana down to her bare bones, O'Neil and Sedowsky really showed me why Diana is a great character. My only problem with the story is that this strong woman who we've seen grow as a person, a fighter and a warrior needs a group of men riding in on their horses to save the day, even though I love the idea of a dimension filled with heroes (like a hero heaven). Maybe it's just those women's lit classes I took in college kicking in, but it does seem to take a little bit away from the story. I can't wait for the next volume to hit shelves (and by shelves I mean the Wizard library).