Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin
Sparing you the worst since 1969
1. Don’t know how I missed it on Friday, but Scott Saavedra posted his proposed revamp of Swamp Thing.
I’d buy it in a heartbeat.
2. Given the discussion on this here weblog of the recognizability, or lack thereof, of Superman by the general public, I was amused when I came across this Action Comics cover on a related theme.
1. Okay, so after the short discussion in the comments section of my post on Friday, I may have to reconsider what I thought was the universal knowledge of the character of Superman. However, at the very least, most people should be able to look at a guy in a red cape and blue tights and recognize him as the corporate symbol of “Superman,” even if they know absolutely nothing about the character. You know, much in the same way people see Mickey Mouse…they know he represents Disney, but any details of his personality or adventures or relationships with other characters are long since supplanted by his primary existence as a corporate trademark.
I hate to think of Superman heading in that same direction, but perhaps someday Superman will only be known as a generic representation of “a super guy” — Luthor, Lois, the Daily Planet, all forgotten except by the 30,000 people who buy his comics each month.
Not a day goes by when I don’t see Superman’s “S” emblem as a (probably unlicensed) decal on the rear window or bumper of a car…I wonder if there’s a percentage of people with these stickers who have no idea who Superman is.
1a. I wonder, when the first Tim Burton Batman movie came out, how many people were surprised to find out that Batman’s origin involved the death of his parents? I don’t believe it was ever explicitly stated on the 1960s TV show, which is how most people knew the character.
How many people thought the filmmakers got David Banner’s name wrong (“What? ‘Bruce?’ Who’s that?”) in the recent Hulk movie?
When I saw the Lord of the Rings movie in the theatre, after the film was over, someone sitting behind me expressed astonishment that the story was going to continue into a second movie. So, really, I guess I shouldn’t assume that certain bits of knowledge are known by everyone.
2. Last night’s Justice League Unlimited was the long-awaited episode written by Warren Ellis, and it was worth the wait. Ellis delivered what the people wanted…a gaggle of super-heroes and a whole lot of mayhem, with a smattering of amusing dialogue that probably annoyed some overly-serious superhero fan somewhere. Not me, though…with Atom’s complaint of being “tired and old,” and Batman somewhat sarcastically noting that he was in need of help since he couldn’t fly, there were some honestly-earned grins along with the action.
It was also nice to see an alien spaceship that looked…really alien, for once. Plus, we finally got to see the Shining Knight in action! Given that it seems like 75% of the members of the Justice League either a) fly and punch, or b) fly and shoot energy beams out of their hands, focusing on the member that’s carrying a sword and riding a flying horse brings some welcome variety. The characters whose sole powers appear to be the ability to shoot guns (Nemesis and the Vigilante) show up as well.
Overall, a fun episode…one of the few to actually take full advantage of the large cast of characters.
3. H doesn’t like the new Swamp Thing series. That’s (sniff) that’s okay…it’s fine, really, you don’t have to like it. (sniff)
Just on a whim, I did a Google search on the phrase “I’m chalk,” just to see what would pop up (given the frequency that particular phrase occurs on this site), and I ended up discovering that a lot of people use the phrase “I’m chalk-full” instead of the correct “I’m chock-full.”
Yeah, I know, exciting.
(pause)
M: “Um…why are you looking at me?”
D: “No, they don’t. Most people don’t know anything about Superman.”
M: (eyes widen in shock; monocle goes flying off) “WHAT? Superman’s like one of the most recognized fictional characters in the world! Maybe they don’t know the exact details, but at least they know the ‘strange visitor from another planet’ business!”
D: “You know it because you manage a comic shop. Comic fans, maybe little kids who watched the cartoon, and that’s about it. The majority of the audience doesn’t know or care.”
M: “Buh-buh-buh” — and that’s when the gunplay started.
1. Regarding that link to the article about Japanese animation I posted last night: if you can believe it, that was actually on Yahoo‘s front page as a featured news story! Okay, I know not everyone is as mired in this stuff as I am, or as most of you are, so it’s likely news for a lot of people somewhere, but it was still amusing.
FARK seems to have picked up on this as well, and the accompanying discussion is the “anime is kewl” / “anime is teh suck” debate that you’re probably already imagining.
1a. Speaking of news articles related to our hobbies: when was the last time any of you saw a “BAM! POW! Comics Aren’t for Kids!” (or “BAM! POW! Comics Are Big Money!” or whatever) headlined news story in the wild? I don’t mean ironic uses in the comics press…I mean in, like, an Associated Press article, or in a local weekly paper, or anywhere else that doesn’t balk at using references to a 40-year-old TV show* when writing their headlines. I think it’s been a good decade since I’ve seen a headline like that…but then, I haven’t been looking.
2. There’s this Metafilter post regarding the comics market boom and subsequent bust, with a link to someone relating his experiences as a comic dealer during said boom/bust.
As someone who rode out that particular period, the one thing that sticks in my head is the large number of people asking for “comic book Becketts.” The Beckett guides, for those of you who don’t know, are prices guides focusing on sports cards. For some reason, people were leaving the sports card hobby in droves and diving headfirst into comics as the “hot, new collectible.”
I also remember getting asked a lot about what comics would be good “investments.” My general answer was that they should buy comics they like to read, so that they’ll always be worth something to them. But not enough people listened, I’m afraid.
3. Yesterday at work, pal Dorian was looking at the latest San Diego Comic Con update flyer, and read aloud the phrase “John Cassaday, best known for his work on Astonishing X-Men….” I responded that this was probably a fair statement, since more people are reading Astonishing than Cassaday’s other major project, Planetary.
However, which series do you think people will still be reading in 5 years? Or 10 years? The series published by the company whose parent company has shown a long-term commitment to their trade paperback program, or the company who has let even their most recent paperback releases go into spotty availability? Plus, as soon as the new hot writer and/or fad comes along and sends the X-titles into yet another direction, support for the older “new” directions will drop in favor of the new “new direction.”
Of course, it helps that Planetary, when it is done, will be a self-contained unit. Contrast that with Astonishing, which will be just a sequence of chapters in the ongoing serial of the X-titles.
3a. I don’t intend this as a criticism of Whedon and Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men run, honestly. Cassaday’s art is, as always, stunning, and Whedon…well, the comic’s not aimed at me, but I can tell that Whedon is at least attempting to tell a story sans the usual Claremontisms and continuity baggage, and with a light sprinkling of wit. As X-Men comics go, it’s not a wire hanger in the eye.
4. Recently acquired at the shop: a big ol’ pile of Classics Illustrated and several Dell and Gold Key comics of the ’60s and very early ’70s, plus a smattering of Marvel monster books and some of your standard-issue nutty ACG comics. Expect to see some of these popping up over the next few weeks, both here and on Dorian’s site. I’ve got a good one for tomorrow, so be sure to tune in.
Anyway, some of the Classics we received were some of the harder-to-find ones…the later issues that only had three or so printings (compare to the first issue, “The Three Musketeers,” which went through over 20 printings). There are a couple I’ve never seen in all these years, such as #166 (“Tigers and Traitors”).
As I was noted the printings of each of the Classics we received, I started thinking about this series…why did some issues go into multiple printings, while some (such as the Edgar Allan Poe issues) have only a couple printings, and a handful (such as Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”) only have one printing? You’d think the Dickens story would be reprinted every year around Christmas for the run of the CI series, but nope…only one edition in 1948.
5. 2005 is not really shaping up to be a good year for comic book inspired films, it seems. Shane over at Near Mint Heroes posted a link to this Fantastic Four promo image which doesn’t fill me with a lot of hope (not that I had any in the first place); I’m still not sold on the Sin City film; Elektra is…well, for God’s sake, just look at it; and I have even lower expectations for Constantine after reading that interview with the director in Wizard. Batman Begins is the only one I’m not dreading…but we’ll see. It’s got a long way to go to wash away the memories of the previous four live-action Bat-films.**
I think I’ll just stay home those nights and read a book.
EDIT: Pal Tom points out something I missed at the above Fantastic Four link:
“Marvel’s first family of comic superheroes takes the world by storm as the longest running comic book series in history comes to the big screen.”
As Tom says…what about Action? Or Detective? Maybe they meant Marvel’s longest-running series.
** Well, okay, three for me…I still haven’t seen the fourth one, since just its trailer was warning enough.
This just in: “Japanese Animation Catching on in U.S.”
New comics day (SPOILERS, don’cha know):
Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks #4 – nice wrap up to the series…surprisingly low-key, probably the only time the Hulk/Thing battle was mostly just them having a debate/discussion. Yes, there was the occasional punch thrown, but the action was more psychologically-based. Wish it wasn’t in a $3.50-a-pop mini-series, though. Ah, well…onward to Peter David’s return to the character!
B.P.R.D.: The Dead #2 – now are we learning more about Abe Sapien’s pre-fishy existence, or is it just a ruse on the part of the evil being investigated? I wouldn’t think that Mignola would want to spoil one of the Hellboy mythos’ great mysteries, so I’m inclined to think there’s more to it than what we’re seeing. Also, the humor from the previous issue is maintained, mostly in the relationship between Roger the Homunculus and Captain Daimio. Fun stuff, with moody art by Guy Davis. (“Moody art by Guy Davis” – now there’s your redundant phrase of the day.)
JSA #68 – I tend to enjoy Alex Ross’ work more when he’s painting the Golden Age DC heroes, and this cover isn’t bad. Power Girl’s…um, busting out all over, as it were, but I suppose that’s consistent with her…characterization. The inside of the comic deals with the JSA’s forced retirement in 1951, and how the current time-manipulating shenanigns of the greatest Golden Age villain ever, Per Degaton, are intent on keeping that retirement permanent. A very interesting set-up…we learn one of the true tasks of one of DC’s long-running time-traveling superheroes, which also sets up what is sure to be a forthcoming additional revelation about said character. There’s also a surprisingly violent sequence regarding an attack on a JSA member’s family. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about this in the near future.
Action Comics #822 – for all the bad rap Chuck Austen has been getting on pretty much everything he touches, I think his Action is a fun read. It certainly lives up to the title, anyway…and I’m enjoying his just slightly smart-alecky characterization of Superman.
Mad Magazine #449 – it’s the 20 Dumbest People, Events, and Things of 2004 issue, and the feature article is bound to offend someone of any political stripe. Comic fans may want to note the Identity Crisis spoof cover used at entry #18. Also, there are two covers on this issue…the Janet Jackson cover is amusing, but the one to get is the Drew Friedman cover, with Alfred E. Neuman as Lynndie England. Also, because of the extended 20 Dumbest… article, we get shorted on our usual number of Sergio Aragones’ Mad Marginals!
Others: JLA #109 (the actual JLA finally makes an appearance; still all set up, not a lot of action, but still interesting), Punisher #15 (I swear, Ennis is laughing his head off as he writes these scripts, just daring Marvel to print ’em; over-the-top violent, vulgar, and fun stuff), Wild Girl #2 (still not sure where this is going, but Shawn McManus’ art is always enjoyable), and Fables #32 (another issue of continuing subplots, with no central driving motive; still good reading, but maybe lacks a little focus).
Other new arrivals:
A new Mad-a-like called Gag Magazine was released today, written mostly by Barry Dutter (who I know worked in the comics industry for a while, but I’ll always remember him as the letter column regular who wanted to get She-Hulk booted from the Fantastic Four all these years ago). Best reason to pick up the magazine: art by Captain Jack creator Mike Kazaleh.
Bighead is a graphic novel collection of Jeffrey Brown’s mini-comix superhero spoof…strange, but amusing.
I can’t believe the Claypool Elvira comic is up to issue #140. I don’t know what the print run on this series is, but given that even a larger store like ours only orders minimal numbers on it, I can only guess that the production costs on this comic must be extremely low to allow its continuing existence. Then again, maybe there’s a store somewhere that sells a thousand copies each month. Who knows?
Powers #7 – is it just me, or did the lettering and word balloons in this issue look a little pixelated?
After about two weeks of delays, we finally got our copies of Losers #18. Man, I hate when that happens.
1. Let me introduce to you the newest member of the dread pirate ship ACAPCWOVCCAOE* — the Infinity Weblog! The army grows: hide the children and womenfolk!
2. Another weblog note…Beaucoup Kevin, who was at this Blogspot address, now has a domain name of his very own: Beaucoupkevin.com. Adjust your links accordingly, damn your eyes!
3. A while back I placed a reorder on the first issue of the recent DC Space Ghost series…at about the same time DC was announcing that it was out of print, which was my good timing. Of course, I got a response of “ON BACKORDER” from Diamond, which generally means “FAT CHANCE.” Well, surprisingly, my reorder on Space Ghost showed up today. No idea how Diamond got ’em, but there they are. Say what you will about this comic (and boy, some of you have), but it sure sold well.
Over two decades ago, my grandmother came back from a flea market with one of these for me…a full-color British hardcover collection of 1950s and ’60s Superman and Batman stories. If you look closely, you can still see the 25-cent price tag on Batman’s chest emblem. And if the book looks pretty worn…believe it or not, that’s more or less how it looked by the time it got into my possession.
One of the stories included is the “classic” “The Revenge of Luthor” by Supes’ co-creator Jerry Siegel and artist Al Plastino. Due to exposure to Red Kryptonite, Superman splits into, well, Superman, and the younger version of himself, Superboy! Also as a result, the elder Supes gains a bad temper, while the boy Supes suddenly becomes less mentally agile. At one point in the story, Superboy ends up blundering into a trap set by Luthor (complete with sign reading “Luthor Trap to Capture Superboy”) that leads to this panel:
Well said, Mr. Luthor. Anyway, Superman and Superboy are eventually forced by Luthor to fight each other for the lives of Lois Lane and Lana Lang, respectively, until we discover…well, I don’t want to spoil anything, but it turns out this whole story was just a delusional dream of Superman’s, caused by his exposure to the Red Kryptonite. Oh, wait, I did spoil it. Sorry about that.
A close look at that panel may show some odd coloring choices…for example, the jail is apparently made of the dreaded Brown Kryptonite, Lana is colored with yellow hair, Superman’s hair has white highlights instead of the usual blue, and so on. The whole book is printed with less of a color palette than your typical U.S. comic, though the actual linework is very clearly printed on white paper, and the colors that are present are nice and bright. The color on some pages is a little off-register, but that’s more of an exception.
Another coloring error pops up in the Superboy story “The Super-Dog That Replaced Krypto.” In the original, the white-colored Krypto was very distinct from the coloring of the canine ursurper, which can be seen here. In this Bumper Book reprint, things are slightly different:
And yes, Krypto was colored brown through the entire story. This can cause some minor confusion, particularly when the rival dog (named Swifty) gets his own cape, and then there’s a brown-colored robot Krypto that Superboy builds, and then there’s the Bizarro-Swifty that shows up late in the story, and…well, it ends up with brown dogs all over the place, making it a bit hard to follow.
Other stories include the Batman and Robin story “Prey of the Alien Hunters” (a prime example of the “Batman’s Time Travel Crimes on Venus” stories of the ’50s), “The Lone Wolf Legionnaire Reporter” (in which Jimmy Olsen searches out news scoops in the Legion of Super-Heroes’ time), and the Lois Lane story “Courtship, Kryptonian Style!” (where Lois and the still-blonde Lana travel to the bottle city of Kandor).
Some non-fiction articles are interspersed throughout the book, such as a look at turn-of-the-century car racing, an article on the origins of Lifeboat Service, and a page of illustrations of vintage guns (illustrated by the Mick Anglo studio – Mick Anglo being the cartoonist responsible for Marvelman).
Also featured were several text stories that no one ever read; though, let’s face it, with a title like this:
…how can any story live up to it? (And watch your hands there, Batman!)