this week’s comics

The Lighter Side of Concrete.

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Look, it’s been a long time since we’ve had a Concrete comic, I don’t need to tell you that. There were some short stories that popped up in the 2011 series of Dark Horse Presents that were collected into the Three Uneasy Pieces one-shot in 2012, which was the last time a comic called Concrete was on the stands.

Prior to that, the last long-form Concrete story was The Human Dilemma, a six-issue run in 2004-5. Which, by the way, ended on a…cliffhanger? Unresolved plot line? Not sure what to call it, but I’ve been waiting over twenty years to see some forward progress on that particular bit of business, which, I’m glad to say, you do see at least a tiny bit of in this story. This isn’t quite on the level as where we were left off with Miracleman #24 back in ’93, keeping us waiting ’til the new stories started up in 2022…especially given that Miracleman as a whole is likely to remain unresolved forever. Well…let’s just consider ourselves lucky Paul Chadwick is around and able to continue his comic.

Despite the 21-year-gap, Chadwick just picks things up right from where they left off, which…actually, works a lot better than you’d think, thanks to the general nature of Concrete stories. There’s not a lot of story-to-story, mini-to-mini continuity that one has to keep track of. Primarily all you need to know is that Concrete was once a dude named Ron whose brain was transplanted into some kind of biomechanical body by aliens, and now uses that body to travel the world and do interesting things, accompanied by an assistant and a doctor who monitors his condition.

This new mini, Stars Over Sand, at least in this first issue, does lean pretty hard on events from previous decades-old stories. Well, “lean pretty hard” in relative terms, because there’s nothing here that isn’t explained or at least can’t be figured out from context. It’s just a little strange to have carry-overs from previous stories like that.

To enter [SPOILER] territory, the big “cliffhanger” I was sort of talking around earlier in this post was Concrete’s “baby,” a miniature version of himself that more-or-less budded off his body in that Human Dilemma story. That’s probably the biggest change to the Concrete “formula,” in as much the series has one, in that we now have an apparently-inert but still alive child version of Concrete the cast has to concern themselves with, along with whatever new shenanigans Concrete himself is up to.

What’s particularly interesting is the character development of the doctor, Maureen, that we’ve seen along the course of Concrete‘s existence. Inspired by the arrival of this new series, I’ve pulled out my original run of the Dark Horse Presents anthology series to reread the earliest short stories, and very early on Maureen’s interest in Concrete is almost solely scientific. It was a characterization that carried through for years, at least to my memory, before taking a sudden, more…intimate turn in Human Dilemma, seemingly resulting in Baby Concrete’s creation. There is a short sequence in this new issue where Maureen goes from commenting on the child’s current inert status to actually cradling the child, with concern and care in her face. It’s a more motherly turn that would have been hard to imagine earlier in the Concrete timeline, but given she could very well be considered one of the baby’s “parents,” it’s an understandable development.

Okay, despite all that other stuff, it’s still a Concrete story, with Concrete’s own musings on the world, the environment, and his place in it, and it’s all as expertly done as you would expect from Chadwick. The art is beautiful, the writing is sensitive, bereft of melodrama even given the occasional melodramatic moments, and overall it is an engrossing and relaxing experience. There’s really no other comic quite like it. I understand “cozy” is a term now thrown around to describe certain types of entertainment experiences. I’d imagine one could call this comic “cozy” — it gives you want you want and what you need, while still gently surprising you.

It appears Chadwick is lettering the comic himself, as I’m assuming longtime letterer Bill Spicer has retired in the meantime. (I used to see Mr. Spicer on a regular basis at my old job…loved chatting about old comics and ‘zines with him, since he’s an ol’ ‘zine editor himself!) Alas, there is a typo on the very first page of the story, but let’s just say the character speaking just stumbled over his words a bit. I mean, whomst amongst us…? And anyway, who am I to talk about typoos. Um, I mean, typos.

One more thing that kinda/sorta threw me off slightly was dialoge references to the internet and YouTube…I mean, yes, the internet obviously existed when that last mini came out, but the series existed for so many years prior to wide use of cell phones and social media and all that. It was like when Carl Barks wrote one last Duck story and one of the nephews referenced a fax machine. Okay, yes, this tech existed in one form or another since the 1800s, but this was clearly a reference to modern tech that felt very strange to see in the eternally mid-century Duck stories. I don’t get the sense that Concrete stories are in “real” time, so if we have a sliding timeline at work here, then surely Ron had his cell phone out taking pictures of those weird lights he saw on that long-ago hike where he first encountered those aliens. (I haven’t reread the origin or its revised version in a while, so maybe he did take pics, I don’t remember.)

Anyway, I am more than pleased that Concrete is back. It’s a longtime favorite — 40 years longtime, in fact — and I hope it sells a bazillion copies so that Mr. Chadwick will be inspired to cut the gap down between series to something less than 21 years.

• • •

Oh, hey, MAD Magazine #600 is out, and it has a swell new wraparound cover by Serio Aragonés (click to MAD-size):


A few years back, there was a run of media stories about the “end” of MAD and how it would be no more, and to this day I have people coming into the shop commenting on the fact that this American institution had been cancelled. “Nope,” I would say, and whip out the latest copy from the shelf, much to their shock.

In fact, the mag just relaunched with a new #1, only available through comic shops, and went mostly reprint. As time went on, the new content slowly increased, and for the Special #600 (“Big Deal!” as MAD has said about previous milestones) it is almost all new stuff! Classic material from some of the artists most associated with the magazine, like Al Jaffee and Jack Davis, is included, because it wouldn’t feel right to leave them out.

And reverting it to the original numbering is very welcome. MAD isn’t a thing to be Rebooted with an All-New Beginning! It’s a continuing observer of our times, and having that numerical link back to its history gives it, in a way, a little more weight and validity than it had as what almost felt like a special “Classics” side-series replacing the original.

I know print satire and lampooning like this isn’t “hep” and “groovy” with the kids like it used to be, and that to an extent MAD exists as a nostalgic artifact for adult readers. And I’m sorry that’s the case, given I’ve written before about how, amongst the jokes and silliness there was a real education about seeing through the veneer of advertising, cutting through the babble of politicians, and basically learning to recognize bullshit when you see it. Frankly, that’s needed now more than ever.

There are lots of jokes about MAD itself in this issue, which, sure, they’ve earning it. Sergio contributes “A MAD Look at MAD” which is exactly what you hope it would be. There’s a reference to the infamous “middle finger” issue which I love. There’s a solid Dave Berg gag…not a gag by Dave Berg, but a gag about Dave Berg. Jaffee’s in here with a great “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions” article. And there’s plenty more fun stuff in here, too. If you haven’t looked at MAD in a while, this would be a good one to check out.

I hope MAD is around for another 600 issues. I hope it’s around for another 6,000 issues. Goodness knows it’s not like the world is going to run out of things it can use for subject matter.

In which I speak of Swamp Thing a lot.

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Hard to believe, but here we are, with issue #2 of the long-delayed ending to Rick Veitch’s 1980s run of Swamp Thing. It was the previous issue what got all the attention of course, with Special Guest Star Jesus, and the inciting incident as to why the whole thing got canned in the first place.

But there’s still a story to be told beyond that big event, and it’s continued in fine style with new artwork by Tom Mandrake, colored by Trish Mulvihill, and lettered by Todd Klein in original letterer John Constanza’s style. And yes, pal Rich Handley still knocks it out of the park with his 1980s-style editorial page inside the front cover! (Rich has pointed out at least one online commentator was sufficiently convinced his column was in fact from the 1980s and not newly written for this comic. That’s how good a job he’s doing!)

Again, our mossy hero bumps into more DC Universe characters, this time more time travelers, as one of them attempts to rescue Swamp Thing from his uncontrolled journey into the past. Plus, we check in with Abby and her pregnancy in the present day, as further groundwork is laid for the eventual conclusion of this story.

Which has me wondering…way back when, as things went down and Veitch quit the book, he relayed his plans for the final four issues to Comics Buyer’s Guide, which I mostly remember (since I don’t have that copy of the paper anymore, shockingly). Without going into spoilers, I do know that what Veitch had worked out is contrary to what passes for DC’s continuity now in regards to the Swampiverse. I mean, things have been rebooted and retooled enough at DC in recent years that one could easily just say “well, Veitch’s Swamp Thing conclusion is now canon,” though one could point to the Black Label imprint on the cover there and just declare all this “not official.”

One particular point (and this is a slight spoiler, but c’mon, Abby’s pregnant, there’s gonna be a baby) is that Veitch had something specific planned for the child (name and presumably powers) that he kept to himself once DC put the kibosh on his story. In official DC continuity, Abby had a daughter that was named Tefé, who bridged the plant and animal worlds with her own elemental powers and had her own adventures (and even her own series). She is still around as of the recent Swamp Thing series with the new Levi Kamei version of the character.

So I suspect Tefé will remain the default child of Swampy, with whatever Veitch has cookin’ with this “1989” series remaining an alternate version. Ah well. Once it’s all said and done, maybe I can do a side by side comparison of Veitch’s intended ending to this storyline with the one by Doug Wheeler, Tom Yeates, and Pat Broderick that DC published in its stead.

• • •

Speaking of Swamp Thing, and when aren’t I, DC also released this week a facsimile edition of Saga of the Swamp Thing #21, the issue in which Swampy learns his true origin, and (spoiler) does away with the previously mostly off-panel menace of General Sunderland. (He does pop up once or twice in earlier issues, but not nearly as craggly and menacing as he does in this comic, drawn by Steve Bissette and John Totleben).

Anyway, if you rememnber this post from, oh, only eight years ago, I griped a bit about how the digital version of this issue left out the “color hold” imagery, where it looked like this:


Instead of like this, how it appeared in the original comic:


Well, I’m pleased to report that the color-hold drawings are back in this new facsimile, appearing as such:


…even if the texture looks a little odd, since the new color printing is flat, not “dotted” like the original and interacting with the linework in the color held bits.

That gives me hope for future reproductions. I’d been told that the person currently in charge of the Swamp Thing restorations for coming reprints is trying to do right by the work, and this is a good start!

• • •

Continuing to speak of Swamp Thing, old pal Ben (whom you’ve seen pop up in the comments here on occasion) informed me that he was on Facebook at just the right time, which is how he was able to purchase this illustrated sketch cover direct from Roarin’ Rick Veitch his own self:


Pretty cool. Anyway, if that disappears out of Ben’s house one night, I assure you I have an alibi for the evening.

• • •

And speaking of Swamp Thing just one more time, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this variant cover by Bruno Redondo for Justice League Unlimited #19, also out this week:


Nicely done. Bruno can add himself to the list of Redondos who draw a good Swamp Thing. Now Swamp Thing himself isn’t featured in this issue’s story (unless he’s in the background somewhere that I missed), but it’s enough to know that he’s a card-carrying member of the Justice League now. Just as Wein and Wrightson intended.

Swampy, take the wheel.

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Hey hey hey, they’re finally here:


After very nearly 40 years, the cancelled-for-various-reasons segment in Rick Veitch’s Swamp Thing in which our favorite swamp monster runs into Jesus. Illustrated by the late Michael Zulli, with finishes by Vince Locke, and featuring a nice long afterword by Steve Bissette giving the surprisingly warts-and-all telling of what happened with this comic way back when.

The book is designed to look like how it would have in 1989, including subscription forms and period house ads (Truman’s Hawkworld, anyone?). Inside the front cover is a “Johnny DC’ text piece, written in the voice of those old promotional pages, that gives the story context of this current issue for anyone new to the book. And it’s written by close, personal friend Rich Handley, the one person in this fallen world that I’ll admit has more Swamp Thing knowledge than I do.

But the comic itself…yes, it’s great. I know a lot of folks who’d been waiting for this book since 1989 went back and reread the issues leading up to this story, but I’ve reread those enough that I’ve practically got them memorized, so I’m good, but if you’re coming in fresh, don’t sweat it. Like I said, Rich’s “Johnny DC” column tees you up just fine, and the story itself does enough to give you the idea what’s goin’ on.

I don’t think the rest of the mini-series will be too difficult for new readers, either. A long time ago, the Comic Buyer’s Guide ran plot outlines for Veitch’s then-cancelled final issues for his run. As I recall, the events in those issues should be easy enough to follow on their own, given what you’re told in this first issue.

But how’s the comic? It’s great. It’s nice to read the full, completed thing after I may or may not have seen photocopies of the art many years ago, I admit nothing. But it’s as weird and magical and knowingly irreverent as Veitch usually is, while remaining respectful to Jesus Himself. We get the Vertigo-style twist of an old DC character, we get yet another origin for a certain demonic fella, and all this madness is mixed up and presented in an almost weirdly dreamlike progression. It’s a wonderful return to this era of Swamp Thing…I’m not going to say “it was worth the wait,” because should never have had to wait this long, but I’m glad it’s here.

• • •

So long to the nigh-legendary comics writer Gerry Conway, who passed away this week. While best known for his Spider-Man work, as well as being the co-creator of the Punisher and Firestorm, he of course has also written certain swamp creatures at both companies. He was the co-creator of Man-Thing at Marvel, and at DC, he wrote the inaugural issue of Swamp Thing’s short-term New Look, issue #23 (1976):


I talked about this issue way back in 2004, and it’s an interesting example of serving two masters: attempting to retain the character’s horror roots (so to speak) while transitioning toward a more superheroic tone, a balance I thought Conway pulled off. He would of course return to Swamp Thing in short order, during his stint on Challengers of the Unknown where he would actually reverse the changes made to the character at the end of his own series.

I know it’s weird I focus on this over all of his other work, both in comics and in television — I remember seeing his name on an episode of Law and Order and thinking “wait, the same Gerry Conway?” — but I always appreciated the fact that he wrote competing swamp monsters in comics. In fact, I once got the opportunity to ask him who’d win in a fight, Swamp Thing or Man-Thing, and you can hear his answer at 1:11:36 in this 2016 episode of War Rocket Ajax. I was happy that I got a chance to make him laugh.

Another loss I learned about just as I sat down to write this post was comics writer Len Strazewski, who was primarily active in the ’80s and ’90s. I remember him most for two things: writing this swell and far-too-short Justice Society series, drawn by the also-departed-too-soon Mike Parobeck:


…and for also popping briefly into the former place of employment and saying “hello.” He was a nice man, who spotted our backstock of Ultraverse titles (an endeavor he also worked for, having co-created Prime) and commiserating with us that we would probably never sell all those. Well, I wish I could tell him we did sell them all, eventually…for a nickel apiece in a bulk sale, which isn’t much but it still counts as a sale!

It’s sad to see two more pieces of my comics fandom pass from this world, but we can always remember them through their work. So long, Gerry and Len.

And also starring Jesus’s twin brother, Thor.

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So anyway, I was reading the new Spider-Man/Superman book released by Marvel this week (NOTE: THIS IS A NEW COMIC AND NOT THE SAME AS THE SUPERMAN/SPIDER-MAN COMIC RELEASED A MONTH AGO, DON’T LET IT FALTER IN SALES LIKE THE SECOND BATMAN/DEADPOOL TEAM-UP), and seeing one of the back-up stories,. the one by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank:


…it reminded me of somethin’. What we see here is a big battle between DC and Marvel characters, primarily good guys versus bad guys, though the Hulk as pictured is giving Superman what for. And what all that hoohar brought to mind was this bit from Doomsday Clock #12, also by Johns and Frank:

This was the bit at the end of this series where John forecast some future events in the DC universe, in particular what is obviously a Marvel versus DC battle in 2030. We’re still a few years off from that, of course, but who knows how long this current détente between the two publishers will last, and thus John ‘n’ Frank got in their predicted big battle a little early.

Granted, the “sacrifice” described in that Doomsday Clock excerpt doesn’t happen in this story. But as we’ve seen in these recent intercompany team-up books, the back-up stories often end after having resolved whatever emotional core existed at the center of the plot, leaving the traditional “good guys versus bad guys” battle for an unseen denouement. Perhaps, if you need to tie up a loose end from Doomsday Clock, this story can suffice as the foretold conflict, with the Hulk’s death still coming after the end of the story we see here.

Anyway, it’s fun to pretend.

• • •

Now, you sinners need some superhero love in your life, so here are some pics my old, old pal William took of a vehicle he spotted whilst out and about:


If you want bigger pics, William’s got ’em in this Bluesky post — let them pay for the bandwidth! But seriously, this vehicle is amazing. William and I live in the same general area, so I’m amazed I haven’t seen it driving around my own self. Unless it was just passing through on its way to spread the good super-Word throughout our country.

I wonder if Archie will ever reprint that one issue where it’s revealed it was Betty in an overcoat kissing Veronica?

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So the hottest comic of the week is, obviously, the Jughead #327 facsimile from Archie Comics:


And, as Archie has been doing lately, the facsimile comes with a swell variant cover that has me tempted to take home a second copy:


I mean, look at that beauty.

Now, one of the apparent criteria for Archie facsimile selection process is “notoriety,” like the cover I discuss here which had been the subject of many immature giggles and the occasional artistically-altered photocopy. And of course as the internet spread its diseased tentacles across the world, so did that implied-naughty image follow and make an impact on folks that hadn’t seen it before.

With notoriety comes premium prices, of course, which brought about reprints of some of Archie’s higher priced back issues, like that first appearance of Cheryl Blossom, first issue of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, that one comic where Betty and Veronica sell their souls to the devil, and so on. Not all comics that live in infamy — like, Sabrina is just the first issue of that popular character — but a little prurient interest tends to goose things along.

So, for Jughead #327, the Jughead going punk story was one that was discussed online periodically, including by me way back in 2006. Thus, I am taking full credit for providing sufficient internet notoriety for Archie to pick this for the reprint program. I won’t hear any different.

But if Archie’s listening…please, let’s get facsimiles of Jughead’s Folly and, if you’re feeling adventurous, Jughead’s Fantasy. Look, “Fantasy,” sounds downright salacious, am I right? Huh? C’mon Archie.

I forgot to mention how I like the look of Superboy wearing those red hightops.

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I don’t think it dawned on me that Bruce Zick was the artist on this Hellboy-universe series. That’s a name I haven’t thought about in quite a while, since he drew Thor for Marvel back in the ’90s. (And that’s on me if I’ve forgotten any work he’s done since then.) Anyway, he does a good job drawing a creepy ethereal realm filled with ruins and monsters in this comic, which is just what I want from a Hellboy-related comic book.


This series has done a very good job duplicating the tone of the TV series, with plenty of humor mixed with what works out to be a genuine Star Trek-style adventure. The earlier issues felt a little more dense, thanks to Ryan North’s inclusion of extra text along the bottom of most pages, and they had the advantage of North’s grasp of working in complex sciences into the plotlines.

But the newer ones are fine, and plenty of fun. The story involves a planet with a missing populace, a Lower Decker feels jealousy over a crewmate’s achievements, and of course plenty of hijinks and goings on. Just by being printed on paper, everything’s less manic, but most everything that made the TV show special is still here in the comic.


Absolute Batman remains The Comic Book That Prints Money, and none more so that this issue, introducing this wild new interpretation of the Joker. Did I order enough for my shop? Probably not. But I expect the forthcoming eight or nine reprints will sell just fine too.


A nice story that shows the moral lessons Superboy has to learn to effectively be a superhero. And it’s not a predicament with which he can punch his way to a solution. I enjoy getting a story like this when too many other superhero comics are involved in High Stakes Super-Fighting Saving the World/Universe/Local Dimension battles. Having a storty where the villain is A Banker Who Sucks is a welcome change.


Writer/usual artist Sophie Campbell (Haining drew this issue) gave a sneak peek of what she had planned for this issue on social media a while back, referencing the Silver Age story where Supergirl parked one of her secret identity Linda Lee robots in a hollowed out tree. The story is about, as Campbell’s cover may imply, What If Supergirl Just Totally Forgot about That Robot?

I won’t spoil anything you can’t already see on the cover, but Supergirl certainly learns a lesson about herself. And that’s what I like about the series…there’s usually some kind of minor (or major!) personal lesson to be had in each issue, whether it’s explicitly laid out there or just something to be inferred. Like the Action this week, it’s good to have a comic that’s more than just “how do I beat up the villain this month?”


I don’t really need to be buying more magazines since I’m way behind on the ones I do have. But, I mean, look at that cover. And I’m always up for a newly-transcribed Len Wein radio from some years back. Added bonus: an article about Jay Scott Pike, the creator of Dolphin.

Just pooling it all together.

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[SPOILERS ahead, I’m totally not kidding]

So at the conclusion of their run of Animal Man in 1990 – a comic that deal with, among other things, the nature of the various layers to reality — Grant Morrison their own self appeared in the book to speak directly to the title character:


It was certainly a surprise, if not entirely unprecedented, for a fictional character to suddenly find out that he’s a fictional character in a narrative controlled by another, particularly in a serious narrative. Just in comics we saw it in Silverwolf’s Fat Ninja from the mid-1980s…okay, maybe not a 100% serious comic but I still think it counts.

And then later on we’d see it in Cerebus and his interactions with “Dave” (AKA Dave Sim, his creator), and we’d get the Fantastic Four meeting God, or Someone in a similar position, who looks an awful lot like Jack Kirby.

You know, that’s just comics. Don’t get me started on Six Characters in Search of an Author.

Anyhoo, about a year later, in Suicide Squad #58, writers John Ostrander and Kim Yale, along with artists Geoff Isherwood and Robert Campanella, introduced The Writer:


…basically taking Morrison’s self-insert character and giving them the power to affect reality with what they write in the script on their computer. It was an amusing one-shot reuse of Morrison’s storytelling device, who ends up dying on the battlefield because they couldn’t type fast enough to fix things to their benefit, as I recall.

One thing I’ve kinda wondered about all these years was whether or not Morrison was aware that this particular bit of storytelling he used in Animal Man was appropriated for this Suicide Squad tale. I mean, beyond the general awareness that anything you create under a work-for-hire contract for a publisher like DC Comics is going to be owned by DC Comics, and can be freely reused by anyone, editorial permitting. But I’m going to guess Grant Morrison had no expectation of comics’ sensational character find of 1990, Grant Morrison, was ever going to have any kind of life outside of its initial purpose.

But here we are, a mere 35 years later:


…as Morrison brings together various bits and pieces of Marvel and DC lore that they created or (in the case of the Writer’s appearance in Suicide Squad) inspired by them. It’s a wild traipsing through a surreal landscape, and Morrisoin acquits themselves well in applying the Deadpool-style humor necessary to truly make this a fourth-wall breaking, self-referential Deadpool story. It’s that Animal Man twist of discovering he’s a comic book character, but played for laughs and not expense of the story. Obviously, if anyone knows how to do this sort of thing, it’s Morrison.

Can’t really fall into the trap of “is this better or worse than Marvel’s Deadpool/Batman crossover from a few months ago,” as these are two very different approaches. Marvel’s is more straightforward adventure, this one from DC is more…about itself, the layers of reality at play, both succeeding at what they were attempting.

My main issue with these new crosovers is that the lead stories seem a little short, making room as they do for multiple back-ups with other team-ups. In general, I think the additional stories in the Marvel release were maybe a little stronger, but the DC issue has a John Constantine/Dr. Strange back-up (with a Swamp Thing cameo!) that was fun. Again, I’d have liked a longer story to take more advantage of the opportunity, but I’m guessing a 48-page Constantine/Strange comic would have a little more trouble getting greenlit. The other shorts in this issue are fine…the Laura Kinney Wolverine/Nightwing team-up has a surprisingly emotional core to it.

This first batch (if two can be “a batch”) of DC/Marvel crossovers have been successful creatively and financially (at least so far…as I write this the Batman/Deadpool one-shot hasn’t been released to the public yet). I’m hoping the promised Spider-Man/Superman crossovers planned for next year will give us longer lead stories and fewer, if any, back-ups.

Yes, there are plenty of feet, Mr. Tarantino.

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Okay, before I get into today’s entry, I want to point back to Monday’s post about the Donald Duck comic from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Because I am an unworldly American who also has eyes that occasionally betray him, I referred to the museum by a different name. I’ve corrected the post (but left my dumb mistake there and crossed out). Thanks to Walter for pointing this out to me.

Now, onto to hopefully less error-ridden looks at some of this week’s comics! SPOILERS AHEAD!


Now, this graphic novel I haven’t had a chance to read page one yet, but it’s Bill Griffith, creator of Zippy the Pinhead and master cartoonist, presenting another of his epic-length biographies, like those of Schlitzie, the famous real life “pinhead” of the 20th century, and Ernie Bushmiller, creator of Nancy.

Griffith is going back to his own family as a subject, having previous written about his mother in 2015’s Invisible Ink. This time he’s examining the life of his great-grandfather William Henry Jackson, the famous photographer. My brief glance through the book reveals another lavishly illustrated, densely-told narrative that promises to be as rewarding as any of Griffith’s works. I can’t wait to dive in.

• • •


Sophie Campbell returns to full art chores for this Thanksgiving tale, as Supergirl is delayed for dinner by finding herself attempting to help a previous adversary. …Well, okay, no need to be coy, it’s Princess Shark, she’s right on the cover. It’s a fun read, and it doesn’t shy away from the dichotomy of the holiday being a time for family gatherings and maybe not having the most savory of origins. Supergirl is a solid book built around relationships and learning to understand each other, definitely one of the most worthwhile books on the stands.

• • •


Well, bless him for trying.

• • •


It’s a little strange that two different American companies are publishing their own Uncle Scrooge McDuck series simultaneously. Both are fine, but this one, the Fantagraphics series, is picking up the “legacy” numbering (the pictured issue is #462).

And this series also feels more like an authentic Disney Uncle Scrooge comic, reprinting as it does from Italian publications, one of the primary sources for modern Duck comics. The Marvel produced Scrooge comics feel more like “what if Scrooge was a Marvel character?” (and I don’t mean Marvel’s series of Disney-themed What If comics.) It’s a perfectly acceptable take, but it’s just off-model enough to be distracting.

The Fantagraphics series is enjoyable, though, and surprised me in #461 with a bit of serious emotional depth in the middle of all the wild goings-on. Old enemy Flintheart Glomgold has reformed (or…did he?) and as he’s about to take the nephews out to his place, Donald has this to say:


That’s not goofball, slapstick Donald being put upon by Scrooge or Gladstone, or furious Donald squawking incoherently…that’s “don’t piss me off, I mean business” Donald, who poses an actual threat to anyone who would harm his family. Good to know some of that steel in Scrooge made it to his nephew.

• • •

Oh, okay, fine, I’ll say a little more about Youngblood.

Look, I’m not a big ol’ Liefeld hater or anything. I appreciate that he has fans and that he can still sell books. Waaay back in 2009, I even put out the question “hey, I know I sold a lot of Youngblood when it first came out, did any of you guys buy it?” and at first I got some responses from folks who were all “yeah, I got caught up in the hype” or “I was totally into Rob then” and that sort of thing.

And then the Rob himself noticed, and linked to me on his message board, and behold, Every Youngblood Fan in America was suddenly in my comments, defending Rob and his comics and occasionally getting mad at me for some reason. You can read the three parts here (1 2 3) but be aware there is some linkrot, including links to the original comments, alas. But I quote enough of them to give you an idea.

And I discussed the comments and responded to them, even the ones that called me a jerk, and I tried to be open-minded about it all. The overall impression I received was that Rob’s fans, at least these responders, were hyperdefensive, and I quickly add, not that I can blame them. Especially at the time, when his work seemed to get pulled out and kicked around a bit, particularly in the comicsweblogosphere.

The ultimate conclusion was that 1) Rob’s work is Not for Me, and 2) More power to his fans for liking his stuff. I mean, that’s all.

Yes, my short review above was a cheap gag, one I got in my head and needed to release. However, like I said somewhere in those posts I linked from 2009, I would love nothing more than Liefeld committing, Erik Larsen on Savage Dragon style, to doing a single issue of Youngblood every single month for the rest of his career, just to see the weird and wild places it would go to. Personally, I think that would be amazing.

This first issue I don’t find particularly amazing…lots of full-page drawings and close-ups and backgrounds that are little more than lightly textured color and the occasional shot of a boat. Everyone’s leaping around and shouting at each other and, I mean, nobody’s buying Youngblood to see a comics version of My Dinner with Andre. This is pretty much the Platonic ideal of a Youngblood comic.

I will give the comic this. The first page, acknowledging the title’s return to Image with panels in the shape of the Image logo, is clever. And the last page reveal does make me want to see what happens next, even though it’ll probably be more leaping around and shouting.

I wrote about as much regarding a new Crumb comic as I did about a Golden Age superhero only I like.

filed under Categories sterling silver comics, this week's comics 24 Comments

[SPOILERS AHEAD]


It’s been a couple of decades since we’ve had just a plain ol’ comic book from one of the last few still-standing underground comix legends, Robert Crumb. And on a purely artistic level, I am happy to report that he hasn’t lost a step with his illustrative mastery.

The big theme for the main stories of the book is, as you may gather from the title, paranoia, particularly in relation to conspiracy theories. A large part of these stories are caricatures of Crumb himself speaking directly to the reader, outlining his beliefs and opinions on various conspiracies, particularly those around the anti-vaccination movement (with which he sympathizes). He does point out occasionally that he knows he’s ranting, and that yes, maybe he’s the crazy one, but by and large it’s clear the sympathetic point of view is the conspiracy-minded one he’s espousing.

At one point Crumb complains that someone has lumped “alien visitation” in with some other, wildly racist, conspiracy, and he wonders why the former, something he feels that people have general interest in, should be associated with something as specifically awful as the latter. Which misses the point that most populist discussion around alien visitation is essentially defined by conspiracy, and in some cases can be inherently racist itself (see any “ancient alien” type show where primitive (cough)non-white(cough) cultures’ achievements can “only” be explained by alien intervention).

It’s…a lot of text-heavy pages, and I’m not doing much more here than picking out one particular example. I realize this sounds like a chore to get through, but like Crumb’s best work, it’s a peek directly into his head and what he’s worried about and what he’s obsessing over and no one does this sort of thing quite like him. It still functions as a good demonstration of misdirected thinking, and Crumb’s a smart guy…he knows what this all sounds like, and admits as much in the comic. I do hope he’s joking about not getting the COVID shot, though.

Other stories of note is a particular experience Crumb had on LSD decades ago, the memory loss of the evening that followed, and his sometimes nightmarish quest to figure out what happened. Keeping with the secondary theme of “problems with drugs,” I suppose, but he recalls so much of the event in great detail, that when he reveals there’s a bit he can’t remember, we feel that weird loss.

And there’s the final “Dirty Laundry” story, featuring Crumb and his late cartoonist wife, Aline. It’s a tale of what appears to be too many publishers of their work going out of business…a sad sign of our times. But it’s told with humor and Crumb’s hilariously bad bedside manner (where he tells Aline she’s just driving all these companies out of business with her work). At one point Aline’s probably facetious wish for her work to be forgotten takes on an extra depressing level knowing that she’s passed on as we read this. It’s a story that’s equal parts depressing and hilarious, which is like Crumb’s sweet spot.

Other stories round out the book (several single-pagers, and the longer “Deep State Woman,” which you can tell by the title is another conspiracy-minded entry), and it’s good to know Crumb, even in his 80s, can still put out work like this. Well, yes, I know I have problems with some of this comic, but I can’t deny the technique at work here. Hopefully this isn’t his last hurrah…I’d love to see more.

• • •


I have a very minor quibble with a character detail revealed in this issue, in a series that I’ve been enjoying once the first couple of issues shook out the rough spots and it found its footing. And I liked this new issue, too, as it covers the World War II-era beginnings of the team.

But the one thing that kinda mildly sticks in my craw, and I fully understand if this is just a retcon and I’ve got to learn to deal with it, and it involves Johnny Thunder. Yes, it’s me, the Johnny Thunder purist, the last Johnny Thunder fan standing in this brave new post-Crisis/post-Zero Hour/post-New 52/post-Rebirth/post-whatever else world.

Anyway, he tries to introduce himself to Jay Garrick, explaining that he has a magic Thunderbolt he can summon, that’s currently in the form of a pink pen.

…Which is a thing I don’t remember from his early stories, or his Silver Age appearances (though I could have missed something, admittedly). Johnny would say his magic word, “cei-u” (often in some variation of “say, you” in dialogue) and the Thunderbolt would show up and do his bidding.

In the very late years of Johnny’s existence, as an old man suffering from dementia, the Thunderbolt had been disguised as that pink pen, before being passed along to his successor, Jakeem Thunder. So Johnny does appear to have created the “Thunder-pen” concept, though not revealed until…a couple or three decades ago? Something like that.

So what’s going on in this new JSA is the establishment that Johnny didn’t just start doing that under the influence of dementia, but something he’s been doing all along. We just never saw it on panel ’til the end.

I guess in talking it out like this I’ve unstuck my craw and am better with it. It was just a surprise to see this particular character quirk that I more closely associate with another era, and not part of the Golden Age. But I guess it’s fine.

• • •

Also, today is the 11th anniversary of the opening of my store, Sterling Silver Comics.

Also, Superman should still be able to push around the bones and muscles in his face to disguise himself, like he did in the Golden Age.

filed under Categories batman, superman, this week's comics 6 Comments

[SPOILERS AHEAD]


The new Superman Red and Blue 2025 Special was certainly a welcome arrival this week, given the Red and Blue mini-series from a couple of years back was about 95% great (there’s that unpleasant story in the first issue where Superman is captured and tortured, which does not sit well).

This special has four stories presented in the limited palette gimmick, each tale colored with only shades of red and blue and somehow manages to look great anyway. The story I specifically want to note is “Out of the Ordinary” written by Dan Abnett, drawn by Caitlin Yarsky, and colored by Alex Guimaraes. And just so I’m clear, I liked this entire comic, and I enjoyed seeing Superman doing super things and being nice without having to worry about the continuity of the DC Universe at large.

And I liked “Out of the Ordinary.” But I did get stopped short at one point when Superman just up and admits to this small town reporter he befriends that, oh, yeah, I have a secret identity. Here’s a little piece of that:


Now here’s the problem. It’s me, I’m the guy who’s been reading Superman comics since the John Byrne relaunch in 1986 and have picked up every issue of Superman and Action and the other ongoings. That’s spitting distance within 40 years, which clearly no sane person should have done.

Stuck in my head from the promotion for the ’80s Superman relaunch was Byrne’s insistence that in this new version of the mythos, the fact that Superman even has a double identity wouldn’t be common knowledge. You can read more about that here. Prior to this, Superman having a secret identity was known by the general public, and often a major plot point as bad guys (or Lois) try to get Supes to spill the beans or trick him into revealing it.

That little bit of knowledge is always there, whenever I read a modern Superman comic, whether or not it’s still an active thing or if it’s gone the way of the fancy cuffs that were the last remnants of Jim Lee’s terrible redesign of Supes’ costume. Realistically, I know in the nearly four decades since the relaunch happened, some storytelling choice made way back when, by someone who doesn’t even work in comics anymore, is not going to be enforced.

But that didn’t keep your pal Mike from being tripped up by Superman telling this young lady “oh, yeah, I grew up in a place like this, and I have a regular job when I’m not Superman, etc.” Then again, he was just telling one person, not, like, announcing it on TV or anything. And she probably knows “oh, yeah, I should keep this to myself.”

I am reminded by that story where Jimmy Olsen gets a photo of Superman’s hand, showing a wedding ring (which he neglected to remove before going into action, as he usually would). After some shenanigans regarding that photo getting out to the public, and getting explained away as a Justice League thing, Superman does confide to Jimmy that he is married, but his private life is private. And Jimmy, being Superman’s Pal, of course keeps that under his hat.

Okay, that’s a lot of typing that’s basically “Mike can’t let things go,” but I do want to add this story is still a fun and pleasant one. As are all the stories in this comic.

• • •


Normally, in current comics, especially with the limited page counts and occasionally sparse storytelling, I can find myself resenting any full-page illustrations, or God help us, two-page spreads that aren’t the opening splash pages. That usually just feels like wasted space, eating up valuable real estate.

Daniel Warren Johnson’s story in Absolute Batman Annual #1 delivers multiple full-page splashes and two two-page spreads, and they are earned and fantastic.