this week’s comics

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.

Funnybooks, ahoy! I didn’t get a whole lot this week (unless you count the Simpsons Season 4 DVD set, which finally shipped from Diamond), but I did get the new issue of Flash, with a nice Michael Turner cover, for a change; Luba’s Comics & Stories #4 by Gilbert Hernandez…remember, Los Bros Hernandez = quality entertainment; The Stuff of Dreams #2 by one of my favorite cartoonists, Kim Deitch…more insane faux comic strip/Waldo/old film history as found via eBay; Superman #206 (I am enjoying it, but it’s paced even slower than a Brian Michael Bendis comic, if you can believe it); Hellblazer #197 (homeless amnesiac John Constantine finds himself in the clutches of a religous cult…hasn’t this happened in Hellblazer before?); and Batman Adventures #15 (a story that’s sympathetic to the villain, and doesn’t show Batman in much of a good light).

I’m also trying out The Gray Area…I like John Romita Jr.’s art, but usually he isn’t drawing anything I want to read. However, this story (about a policeman stuck in an afterlife limbo) seems like it might be interesting…I would have preferred that they lost the gratuitous sketchbook pages and the prestige squarebound format and dropped the price a couple bucks, but What Can You Do? (Yeah, yeah, I know, “not buy it.”)

Also bought Mark Evanier‘s latest collection of essays, Superheroes in My Pants — illustrated as usual by the always excellent Sergio Aragones. There’s a lot of space devoted to the late Julius Schwartz, which is understandable. I’m a big fan of Evanier’s writing…light and enjoyable and very informative…so I’m looking forward to this book.

In other news:

Totally stolen from pal Reid: a comic strip adaptation of Douglas Adams’ first Dirk Gently novel. Enjoy it before the lawyers find out!

Pointed out to me today by pal Dorian: an object of pure horror.

Only a couple days left to send in your entries to The Street Angel Squid Contest. Get crackin’ there, Sparky!

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the Alan Moore action figure came out today.

New comics day!

Seaguy #2 – the genius continues! Grant Morrison and Cameron Stewart bring us a comic that feels like it’s every comic you’ve ever read, squeezed into a three-issue mini-series. I love this comic.

Plastic Man #7 – Scott Morse fills in with Plastic Man helping Woozy out on a date. It’s a beautifully illustrated comic (not that the previous issues by Kyle Baker weren’t), and lots of fun as well. I’ve said it before…all the people who are skipping this series because they apparently wanted a serious Plastic Man comic are really missing out.

Captain Marvel #24 – remarkably depressing…well done, and a logical resolution to this storyline…but depressing. Here’s hoping the next, last issue of the series ends on an up note!

Justice League: Another Nail #2 – this is one crowded funnybook, but Alan Davis draws everything so well you really don’t mind.

Also (and this could be a *possible spoiler* since I’m discussing story specifics) the new issue of Batman: Gotham Knights seems to establish once and for all that some of the details of the Joker’s origin as seen in Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke are canon. However, given that the flashback sequence in this issue is as apparently related by the Joker — who, in The Killing Joke, states that he remembers his origin differently each time — the story could still be suspect. A couple interesting notes: 1) the sequence of events in the B:GK Joker origin appears to be slightly different from the one in KJ; 2) The Joker’s real first name is finally revealed in comics for the first time* (and should come as no surprise), even if it was in flashback and possibly suspect; and 3) The Joker seems remarkably sane as opposed to most of his appearances…which makes this story strangely affecting and the Joker that much more menacing.

And, as I was poking through our previews for next week’s comics…the forthcoming issue of Excalibur has crushed all belief I had in the basic goodness of the universe. You’ll see what I mean.

*…though part of his first name was revealed in Legends of the Dark Knight #50, a few years ago. This is part of my brain that could be used for useful information.

So, anyway….

I haven’t had a chance to read all my new comics swag for the day…did get through Bone #55, the last issue of the series. It wraps things up quite nicely, I think, and interestingly it reprints a four-page Bone Christmas story from (I believe) a long ago issue of Disney Adventures, which does appear to fit into continuity between the two chapters of this issue. Neat. Now we can look forward to Jeff Smith’s Shazam! mini-series…he’s probably one of the few creators out there who can manage the right balance of seriousness and whimsy necessary for the original Captain Marvel.

Ever read a comic, and, not even after you’ve read it, but while you’re reading it, you wonder just what the heck it is you’re reading? I mean, nothing just really registers with you. I had that experience with Incredible Hulk #73. It might have been my fault, as I was trying to read it while I was fairly distracted…but it looks like it was a whole lot of stuff happening, to no purpose. And it’s another Hulk-free issue of the Hulk again…an interesting approach to the title at first, but three years or so on (and, inexcusably, during the release of the Hulk movie) it’s getting a little tired now.

And then there’s this week’s bull in the china shop: Identity Crisis #1. Well, I think it’s a pretty compelling beginning to this series, which established a high level of dread and anticipation right from the beginning of the book. You know something horrible is going to happen, and you almost don’t want to turn the page in case that horrible-something is waiting for you there. There’s also a nice bit of self-aware commentary at the very beginning, noting the safety (and lack thereof) of main characters in novels (read: comics) as opposed to “real life.” Plus, a throwaway reference to a character’s tenure as a superhero establishes the current DC superhero universe as being around for nearly 20 years…quite a jump from the 12-year (or so) span established in some of the most recent Secret Files.

Two asides: First, as I was pulling copies of Identity Crisis for subscribers, every time I looked at the Michael Turner cover, I kept thinking of the phrase “bad art makes Superman cry.” I could have sworn it was pal Dorian who first said this to me, but he told me that he believed that I was the one who said it, though I know I didn’t come up with it. I must have read it online somewhere, or maybe even a customer said it to me. At any rate, it’s hardly fair, as this cover isn’t that bad…it’s not quite as…anatomically adventurous…as most Turner efforts, and it’s a striking image.

Second, concerning a story element present at the very beginning of the book: if you’re gonna pick two superheroes to do a late-night stakeout on an illicit transaction, why would you use Firehawk, who emits bright-blue glowing flames from various places on her body at all times? This is a character that doesn’t exactly have a stealth mode. Ah, well…the old Firestorm fan in me was glad to see her, anyway.

I would have also like to have commented on the new Global Frequency, but, as pal Dorian has noted, our distributor saw fit not to send copies of this comic (among others) to us this week. For the last several weeks, we’ve been completely shorted of one title or another (usually a DC), only to get it a week later. Actually, we were completely shorted the new Y The Last Man last week, and we were just told our copies will be arriving next week. Sigh. I guess we’ll just have to go to a different distribu…oh, right.

Other funnybooks this week: Street Angel #2 (love the faux-Dan Clowes back cover!), World’s Best Comics Silver Age Archive Sampler (only 99 cents for three great stories, even though this is like the 10th reprint of the first appearance of the Legion of Super-Heroes that I have), Demo #7 (all issues available from Diamond, so you have no excuse. Larry – the AiT/Planetlar reviews will resume soon, I promise!), Love & Rockets #10 (new squarebound format! Special bonus: lists of Jaime, Gilbert, and Mario’s favorite comics!), Fallen Angel #12 (good stuff…read it, you), Fables #26 (includes a preview of The Witching, which does nothing for me), and a couple more books, but I’ve gone on enough to no good end.

Also, I’ve bought my very first issue of Toyfare magazine, for the complete photo guide to the DC Direct action figures. I’m a sad old fanboy.

Well, I finally finally finally got my copy of Fantagraphics The Complete Peanuts, and it’s a real humdinger. The strips are reprinted at a good size, the linework is nice and clear, and the design of the book is exemplary. And that index! “‘Good grief,’ first utterance of” can be found on page 215 (and it ain’t said by Charlie Brown).

Also out this week at the comic shops…the conclusion of the first Plastic Man story by Kyle Baker, which I thought was very entertaining, but it’s certain to tick off the people who probably shouldn’t be reading this version of Plastic Man anyway (you know, the people who are upset that this isn’t a serious superhero comic…oh sure, that makes perfect sen–wha huh?).

The DC 100 Page Super Spectacular reprint is pretty nice…it’s a duplicate of the 1971 giant, down to the text pieces and the key to the cover, with the exception of the addition of creator credits to the inside front cover (not the credits to the stories, but rather to the creators of major characters…still no mention of Bill Finger, not that I was expecting one). The other exception is the cover itself…as I was looking at it at the store, it seemed to be a little awkward to me. I chalked it up to the coloring job (which is a lot brighter than the original), but once I got it home and was able to compare it to my original copy, the differences were pretty obvious. There is a cover reconstruction credit (to Dick Giordano) inside the reprint, so clearly there was a great deal of work to be done to reprint this cover. However, a lot of the finer linework has been lost, some of the linework that remains is a bit cruder, and some of the facial features are a little askew (Black Canary now looks crosseyed, for example). It’s still a nice piece, but it really suffers in comparison to the original. I realize that the original art probably wasn’t available and that there was only so much they probably could do, but it’s still a shame. The actual story pages inside are nice, though, even if some of them have a slight “photographed from the original printed page” look to them (like the Checker Books Supreme trades had).

The long-awaited first issue of the new Firestorm series is now out, and although a bunch of comics message board people responded negatively to advance word on this new series because Firestorm was going to be “different” (i.e. “black” — I don’t know if that’s a racism thing or an “it’s different from what I’m used to, therefore it’s bad” thing)…well, you can safely ignore them (if you weren’t already) because this first issue was pretty good. And, when you get right down to it, it’s not all that different from the original: teenaged kid, with troubles at home and with school, does something stupid and ends up with super powers*. It’s all set-up, with almost no Firestorm action, but it’s got me intrigued. It has a nice cover, too…really stands out.

The last part of Sandman Presents Thessaly Witch for Hire is new this week (amusing and well-drawn), as is Swamp Thing (told y’all about it last week), the new Invincible (a series I’ve really grown to like), Shield: Spotlight (is anyone else reading this? I can’t be the only one), and some others I might write about when I’m not fighting a huge headache like I am now.

The new issue of Scurvy Dogs, quite possibly the best (okay, only**) funny pirate comic on the stands, is out today as well, and that reminds me…1) I owe Scurvy Dogs publisher AiT/Planetlar some more reviews — I haven’t forgotten, Big Larry, I promise! — and 2) there’s also a new contest regarding Ait/Planetlar’s title Demo, details of which can be found here. Win free comics, shirts, subscriptions…all kinds of goodies are being given away. And even if you don’t win one of the prizes…hell, it’s not like Demo is expensive; go buy your own copies.

* Though I kind of wonder how they’re gonna deal with the terrorism aspect of Ronnie Raymond’s Firestorm origin, particularly in this political climate.

** Unless you count El Cazador. …Ha, I kid!