Noses, delays, and reviews.
BEHOLD THE FACE OF DOOM
So Sideshow Collectibles is releasing a new Dr. Doom bust, which features a removable faceplate that reveals what has been (more or less) unrevealed in the comic books…the ruined visage of Von Doom. Pictured above is the “noseless” version…you have the option of leaving the nose on or off of Doom’s face.
No, really, I swear to God:
BEHOLD THE BENOSED FACE OF DOOM
And all this goes to show you is that it’s much more interesting if you don’t know what Doom really looks like. (Although I’ve always been partial to Jack Kirby’s concept.)
And in Books of Doom (SPOILER ALERT) we get a peek under the mask as well…it turns out to be a fake-out, which is too bad, because what lay under the faceplate in that comic really did match my expectations for how horrible Doom’s disfigurement could have been. Ah well.
So the current comic industry brouhaha is over Marvel’s delay of its Civil War crossover and a boatload of its related tie-ins. As a funnybook seller by trade, my immediate reaction to this is “Oh, great, I’m going to be hearing ‘where’s Civil War #4′” for the next two months.” And “Too bad, we probably could have used that money during the usual autumn doldrums.” And “So much for keeping some of those new readers the publicity for the series brought in.”
The official line is that the creative team for the main Civil War title needs the time to complete the books. However, the cynical and bitter part of my mind keeps thinking that the Spider-Man movie people said “You did what to Spider-Man? Fix it. NOW!” — and the Marvel folks are now scrambling to rewrite the ending to meet that demand. No proof or anything, and that’s probably not the reason…but on the very off-chance that it turns out to be the case, it wouldn’t surprise me.
But no, given that most of Marvel’s scheduling problems appear to be creative team-related, I’m assuming that really is the case here, too.
Anyway, until Civil War resumes, maybe folks will be placated by the concluding two issues of Ultimate Hulk Vs. Wolverine. Oh, wait.
And now…some reviews:
The Boys #1 by Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson – Interesting set-up issue, establishing a world where superheroes are out of control and civilian casualties are a quickly covered-up by-product of super-battles, with a big dollop of Ennis’ usual black humor. Like the much-missed Marshall Law, this could prove to be a very entertaining superhero comic by people who really don’t like superheroes. I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 Swamp Things:
Tales of Leonardo: Blind Sight #3 by Jim Lawson – There have been some interesting things going on in this mini-series, which, at least for me, calls back to the early black and white magazine-sized days of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m not a regular TMNT reader, myself, but the cover design is attractive and the series’ conceit (that Leonardo has been blinded and must learn to deal with his disability) is oddly compelling. This issue has Leonardo going on a spiritual dream journey which places him into the life of a warrior in feudal Japan, which is strangely affecting, particuarly in his relationship with his “wife.” If you haven’t checked out the Turtles in the while, this series might be a good one to sample. I give it 4 out of 5 Swamp Things:
The Savage Brothers #1 by Andrew Cosby, Johanna Stokes, & Rafael Albuquerque – You know, I keep thinking that the last thing in the world I really need to see is yet another zombie comic. This genre’s just about as played out as the driven into the ground vampire thing. But, Boom! Studios just keeps putting out new books that find new life in the the walking undead…in this case, a couple of good ol’ boy bounty hunters eking out a living during the Apocalypse, complete with lakes of fire and raining frogs. And, yes, hordes of zombies. It’s a quick but fun and goofy read, very B-movie-ish, with some some nicely expressive art from Albuquerque. I give it 3 1/2 Swamp Things:
Lady Death: 2006 Fetishes Special – You know that you can buy actual pornographic magazines, right? With pictures of real people? And I understand that such material may be found on the internet, too, if you do some digging. Anyway, this is a pin-up book with Lady Death in her usual state of near-nudity, only with the occasional bondage shot or wearing a chastity belt. And, since this is an Avatar book, you get your choice of nine (at least) different covers (Angelic cover, Devil Girl cover, Latex cover, etc.). Feh, sez I. This book gets 1 Arcane:
