In case you’re wondering, I’m putting a title on this post about 11 years after originally writing it.
Once again, new comics day:
- Since pal Dorian and I started our respective weblogs, one of the regular Wednesday morning rituals we have while we’re breaking down the comics shipment, is the calling of “DIBS!” on various discussion topics for our websites that are inspired by items in said shipment. It’s sorta funny, and by “funny” I mean “remarkably sad.” Anyway, I wasn’t really thinking about the weblog this morning, so Dorian was dibsing things left and right, leaving me to dibs talking about dibsing. Sigh.
- The new Wizard has an article about Batman’s mistreatment of Robin, including that one Justice League of America panel that was making the rounds a few months ago, as well as that one Batman cover I showed you. Interesting.
- That Scott Pilgrim book everyone’s been talking about still hasn’t arrived at the shop…I’ve been curious about it, but we were shorted on our initial order, and apparently when reported the shortage to Diamond, the report ended up getting lost, deleted, whatever. So yes, we are trying to carry the book, honest!
- As I had thought (hoped?), Doom Patrol, with its third issue, has improved slightly now that it’s extricated itself from that vampire storyline we were all pretty tired of halfway through Claremont and Byrne’s JLA issues. This new issue (dealing with what appears to be Lovecraftian Antarctic critters) is a little less confused than the first two issues, and the new members of the team seem to be at least circling around personalities, if not quite landing on any yet. It’s just plain old-fashioned superhero stuff, which is fine…but it hasn’t even begun to approach the bizarre campy weirdness of the original ’60s series.
- WE3 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. Very good. Sure to baffle and irritate those people that require baffling and irritation.
- The Weird Secret Origins 80 Page Giant has been unleashed from DC Comics today, and I was all set to pick it up…until I realized that I have, in one form or another, most of the stories within. The reproduction is nice, though.
- Atomeka A1 Big Issue #0 is also out today, reprinting selected stories from the original A1 anthologies from…Good Lord, 15 years ago? Anyway, this issue does include the must-read “Survivor” by Dave Gibbons and Ted McKeever, as well as one of the “Bojefferies Saga” chapters by Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse (which I think may have actually first run as a back-up in the Dalgoda Flesh & Bones mini-series). Unfortunately, the art for the “Bojefferies” story is printed in such a way that the sides of the panels are trimmed off at the edges of the page, which is a little distracting. There are also multiple covers on this item, including a Flaming Carrot cover (yes, there’s a FC story in this comic as well, also reprinted from the original A1) and a Bojefferies cover. Good stuff, if you don’t already own it.
- The last of the Julius Schwartz tribute comics is out today, DC Comics Presents the Justice League of America, and thankfully this series goes out with a bang, given that the last couple of issues were only sorta okay. The Harlan Ellison/Peter David story is entertaining, with Julie battling the JLA, and interspersed with Ellisonesque humorous asides and personal touches (such as Julie bemoaning that his superhero “family” seem more real than his own, and Julie’s revenge on a complaining parent). The Marv Wolfman story is a nice wrap-up to the whole series, eschewing explicit references to Julie (except maybe an implied reference at the very end), and instead focusing on the differences between the Silver Age and the modern JLA. The art by Dustin Nguyen and Richard Friend is just a tad shaky, particularly during the parts where it appears he’s trying to ape a Silver-Agey style, but it’s serviceable. The cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is very nice, though…we don’t see nearly enough work from him.
- Did anyone else reading the new Flash get the impression that the Turtle has somehow developed some…unnatural tastes? Ick.
- Also: Promethea #31 (probably a bad issue with which to start reading the series…felt like the very last issue, but there’s another to go it apppears); X-Statix #26 (last issue…a shame, and I guess that’s it for my X-book needs until Madrox comes out); Dreadstar Vol. 1 TPB (is there any difference between the two editions that anyone’s aware of? I haven’t had a chance to thoroughly check, but a brief look tells me “no” – same with the hardcover editions); Green Lantern #180 (next-to-last issue – boy, are people not going to like what happens in here).
In other news:
- If you have a weblog, sooner or later you’re posting pictures of cats. There’s just no getting around it. (Here’s my cat post.)
- House of the Ded reviews Captain American and The Falcon: Madbomb, one of the nuttier later-day Kirby storylines.
EDIT: Apparently pal Dorian dibbed (dibsed? I have no idea) the Wizard article when I wasn’t looking, since he posted about it, too. Rats!
EDIT AGAIN: This is my 400th post. If only I’d spent all that time doing something productive.
