Panelology – Your Collection is Incomplete, Part 2

by Brandon

In this week’s Panelology, we take another look at a comic book collection. But not just any ol’ collection; your collection! That’s right. Have you ever felt like your collection has been missing something. Is there a story-shaped void in your collection that needs to be filled? If so, I offer four suggestions to get your geeky jollies out on. Some of the stuff is obvious and mainstream. Some of the stuff is out of the way and may take a little bit of effort on your part. But what self-respecting comic fan doesn’t put a little effort into his or her collection?


The Surrogates #’s 1-5, Top Shelf
By Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele
Available in The Surrogates issue #’s1-5 or in Hardcover/Softcover TPB
This book was a recent “read” for me. I had heard for quite a while now that this title was flat out awesome. Despite the praises, I just never really checked it out. That is until the recent $3 Sale at Top Shelf. Words can barely even describe how awesomely good this book is. The Surrogates tells the story of a society that has devolved into technological dependence and addiction. People can buy android surrogates to interact with the world in their place while they lay around all day and play out their own lives vicariously through these androids. It’s not original to say this, but how very Philip K. Dick. The comic is smart by having playing off the themes of humanity’s fascination of technology and the alienation it causes. The artwork is brilliant and subdued. Everything just clicks for this book. I’m anxious to see how the movie turns out, which will no doubt give this book a well-deserved higher profile.

Fell #’s 1-8, Image
By Warren Ellis & Ben Templesmith
Available in Hardcover, TPB and issue #’s 1-8
I don’t consider myself a rabid Warren Ellis fan. He’s just one of those creators that seem to create a fervent, cult-like following for much of what he does. In fact, m y only claim to Warren Ellis fame is that I did have a beer in a bar whilst sitting next to him a t HeroCon a few years ago. That’s pretty much it. Outside of a few titles like Ministry of Space, Transmetropolitan, and The Authority, I never really enjoyed much of his work, and of those three, I only thought Ministry of Space was superb. However, Fell is probably one of my favorite titles currently being published. Why? Well, for one reasons it’s cheap. It’s a two-buck comic that dings in usually around sixteen or so pages. Yet it accomplishes much more in those Spartan pages than most comics do in a whole year of story arcs, crossovers, and big budget events. The book follows the crime-fighting antics of Detective Richard Fell in the mythological/seedy city called Snowtown. Cop shows are fodder for my brain, but Fell has an underlying mystery and symmetry to it that goes beyond the homicide investigations one can see at any given hour on basic cable. Templesmith’s wonderfully erratic art punctuates the sordid depravity of Snowtown like no artist could. The only frustrating thing about this book is its tardiness. Started in 2005, only nine issues have made it to stands thus far. Pick these issues up or turn in your fan boy badge at the door.

All-Star Superman #'s 1-12, DC
By Grant Morrison & Frank Quitley
Available in TPB, Hardcover, and as issue #’s 1-12
I hate Superman. I can’t really explain the origins of this strong dislike for the most iconic comic book character. I’ve always had a strange aversion to him, ever since I was little. He just seemed to be too strong and invulnerable, too clean and infallible for my jaded taste in comic books. However, I love Grant Morrison. Like Warren Ellis, he’s created a cult of devoted fans that follow his work wherever he may land. While I wouldn’t say I’m a member of that cult, I do tend to pick up books with the Morrison stamp of approval. Morrison and Quitley were phenomenal in their X-Men run together. When DC started their All-Star line in a somewhat hokey attempt to counter the popularity of Marvel’s Ultimate books, I decided I would give one of my favorite teams a try at my least favorite character. Much to my surprise, they actually managed to write a great story and they pulled off quite a magic trick; they made me like Superman. Superman seemed believable through Morrison’s vulnerability. Though the story covered a lot of ground in twelve issues, the overarching theme was that Superman was dying. Facing mortality made Superman seem relevant, like he actually had a dog in the fight for life instead of just moral responsibility to save humankind from itself. That didn’t happen in the 90s when Superman faced death and overcame it. Yet it happened here, quietly and without black polybagged gimmicks. For the first time in comic book reading lifetime, I felt for Superman. This book is essential for anyone’s collection because it represents a true, unique vision of the man of steel that doesn’t just strictly involve super-heroics as usual. To borrow a phrase from President Obama, this was change we could believe in. This was Superman.

Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1, Marvel
By Brain Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley
Available in single issue format or in Ultimate Annuals Vol. 1, Ultimate Spider-man Hardcover vol. 8, or Ultimate Spider-Man TPB vol. 15
While many fans are still irate with Marvel over the dissolution of Peter and MJ’s wedding, the Ultimate universe still has the couple sporting around. However, in late 2005, there was a sudden yet plausible shift in relationships in Ultimate Spider-Man’s life. Yes, you read that right. It was a believable shift in the relationship that didn’t involve Mephisto or Peter selling off his soul. Peter and MJ were kind of in a slump in their relationship. Much like her Marvel Universe counterpart, MJ had been the target of several attacks on Peter, who has been pretty fast and fleeting with his secret identity. A lull in their relationship left a female emptiness to be filled. Enter Kitty Pryde. Yes, that “Hey, isn’t she in the X-Men?” Kitty Pryde. While fighting the Shocker these two realize that they work well together on and off the field of battle. For Peter, here was a girl who actually defend herself if, say, Rhino decided to show up unexpectedly. For Kitty, Peter represented someone who could actually empathize with her and her powers. In my opinion, this is by far the best issue of Ultimate Spider-Man yet to be published. Also, it marked an end for me. While this was a great issue, it marked the pinnacle of the series. Ultimate Spider-Man just hasn’t been that gripping since then. It’s fun and entertaining, sure. But it just doesn’t grab me like it once did. Hopefully that will change soon, but this issue is possibly the best written story of this decade. It’s fun, playful, and genuine. You can’t go wrong with that.

Fanenomics
Next week, just like everyone else in the multiverse, I'll be talking about the bad economy. Fans can find their investment into their favorite hobby taking a nosedive when the economy goes the way of Jean Grey. What can a fan do to deal with the economic malaise and get their comic book fix?

That's next week.

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Another Godd@*# Batman List: The Most Insane Moments from All Star Batman (so-far)

by Patrick

Here we are, ready for our tenth issue of ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER, and DC issues a recall because you can read they didn't do a good enough job blacking out all the swears that Frank Miller wrote. So why we wait for the long awaited issue to be pulped and reprinted, it seems like a good moment to sit back, look back at the first nine issues, and ask ourselves, "what the hell was Frank Miller and Jim Lee thinking?!" So, now the Bad Genious would like to present the wildest, wackiest, craziest moments that made fandom put their funny books down, look at each other, and say "what the F*@%?"








#1: Talking with Green Lantern Batman finds a way to deal with Hal Jordan. You have to think why didn't Sonar or Black Hand ever use this method.

I love that he's drinking lemonade. It pushes the gag that much farther. And you'll now how Batman refers to himself, which brings us to bullet point #2...

#2: THE GODDAMN BATMAN: No one noticed when Vicky Vale called him by his newest trademarked name (Granted, we were paying more attention to her underwear parade when she rolled out the name).

Clark Kent is way too proper of a young man to say the whole thing out loud, but we all know he is thinking it.

Black Canary seems to think it's his first name.


But everyone takes notice when our favorite playboy millionaire start referring to himself as "The Goddamn Batman!"




#3: Batman Rolls Over Some Cops. So Batman, you've just saved your future sidekick from corupt police officers. Now what are you going to do?
"I'm going to run them over like roadkill!"

All Star Batman- Bringing you the pure Batman you grew up with!

#4: The Introduction of Wonder Woman: We start out with Wonder Woman walking to a meeting with the Justice League. And she just feels like sharing her view of men as she walks along: Sperm-Banks!

Then we have the Amazon's view on what to do with the "Batman Problem."

And then she reacts as only woman on TV or in Frank Miller comics act. Namely "I Hate you! You make me sick! Yet, you turn me on and must have my way with you."




Somehow, I don't think this is what Adam Huges had in mind when he signed up to produce ALL-STAR WONDER WOMAN.

#5: THE VICKI VALE FASHION SHOW




And our final moment...
#6: Batman hooks up with Black Canary
Black Canary. In the DCU, she's a strong willed, strong female. Leader of the Justice League. And not someone who you would want to mess with.
All-Star Black Canary, not quite the strong female role model we see in her own book. Hence her jumping Batman's bones the second she see him.


That's all for today. Until Batgirl beats up gang members while shouting profanities, make mine All-Star Batman!
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Free Comic Book Day Review Day

by Dan
Customer Appreciation Day Free Comic Book Day was this past weekend. How did the companies do with their various free offerings?

All-Star Superman #1 - I've read this twice already; my wife bought the first issue and then borrowed the hardcover from the library. I wasn't in love with it like most people were, but I decided to give it another go with an eye toward how this works as an FCBD promo book. I still don't care for Grant Morrison's techno babble or any of the Luther scenes, but the overall story and some of the Big Ideas I like. Also, the one page recap of Superman's origin - four panels, eight words - is perfect. Frank Quitely's artwork is wonderful. He leaves a good bit of dead space, but that actually forces you to focus on the great characters. B

Amelia Rules! - This book is full of good and bad. Good: It's Amelia Rules, which is an awesome book. Bad: It's mostly a reprint of the most recent issue, #18, which just came out a couple months ago. Good: #18 was an awesome issue. Bad: It's only most of #18. Good: The entire issue is available for free at ameliarules.com/change. The rest was all good too, including a preview of the next issue, photos of a school that put on a play based on an earlier issue and Pajamaman as Indiana Jones. This is the best all-ages book out there and one of the best all around books. A

Friendly Neighborhood Editor's note: This book was not at her comic shop, where she went to score some goodies for her nine year old nephew. Your FNE hates the comic shop down the road.

Ape Entertainment's Cartoona Palooza - The stories in this anthology range from the way too serious (Ursula Wilde - a female croc hunter type) to all out cheesy (Go-Go Gorilla and the Jungle Crew). Out of the five short stories, only one, White Picket Fences, left any real impression. The story was average, but the art was fantastic. Tim Lattie provided the pencils and Brian Mead provided the color. I'm not familiar with either name, but I hope to see them on bigger projects very soon. Their work is something of a classic animation meets Sam Kieth with a little Mike Ploog thrown in. Just wonderful stuff. Too bad it's lost in an otherwise bland comic. C-

Arcana Presents #4 - I've picked up all four of these Arcana preview books and I'm reminded every time that Arcana's stuff just isn't up my alley. Kade is their signature character and every time I've read a story with him, my interest quickly wanes. It's too much globe trotting fantasy for my taste. Burn was an interesting concept, but I don't know that we even got the full idea or if the pencil & ink art was complete. I hope it wasn't. Gwai was a cute, odd forest creature book until they went the Kill Bambi's Mom route in the last panel. 100 Girls is another regular book they push in these anthologies that I've never connected with. There was nothing particularly wrong or bad about this issue, just not for me. C+

Atomic Robo/Neozoic - I've never heard of Red 5 Comics, but the ideas in these two stories grabbed my attention. The results... Atomic Robo borrows a bit too much from Hellboy. Actually, it borrows almost everything from Hellboy other than instead of a red demon, the lead character is a robot. However, the art is fantastic. Scott Wegener should be snatched up by Marvel or DC very soon because, honestly, his talents are going to waste on this title. Neozoic is an interesting idea that just doesn't pan out. The big idea is that the meteor that killed the dinosaurs hit the moon instead and man and dino evolved together. Not a bad idea, but the story is little more than a Savage Land fill-in story from X-Men Unlimited and, while there is clear potential in the artists, the art has a lot of anatomy and perspective issues that are distracting. Overall, the writing is a big disappointment, but Wegener is a definite find. C-

Bongo Comics Free-For-All - Three different stories from three of Bongo's Simpson Comics and they are all winners. The first story is from Simpsons Super Spectacular, which was a six issue mini-series of the Simpsons characters in all their various super-hero identities. It's a fun story that focuses on Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The second story was about Bart trying to be as smelly as possible to get back at Marge for taking his tv privileges away. It's a fun bit from the Bart Simpson series. The last short story is far and away the best; a look at Simpsons comics from around the world with several pages of a manga version of Simpsons Comics. The manga style version of the characters is fantastic and fun. The characters are an amalgam of their tv versions and some weird, real world people. The story itself, something about a baseball game, is just a setting to show the incredibly visuals. Fun story choices all around. A-

Broken Trinity Prelude - Top Cow's offering is a direct spin-off from last year's First Born mini-series. The issue does a very good job of giving a complete overview of Witchblade, Darkness and Angelus, but Sejic's art is too much like 1995 CGI (think the ReBoot cartoon). Also included are previews of Darkness and Witchblade regular ongoing series. A decent primer for the upcoming Broken Trinity story if that's something you're into. B-

Drafted - This is a neat little recap of the first six issues from Devil's Due. They've cut out select pages of issues #0-5 and tied them all together with a running monologue. Very nicely done as it provides everything you need to understand this very impressive and ambitious series about all of earth having to quickly prepare to join an intergalactic war to save the planet. While the art does a decent job of telling the story, it has some really weak moments, particularly when there's a lot going on in a single panel. If there's a bunch of background all the lines start to blend together and all depth to the art is lost. Thankfully, there are a lot of blank or simple backgrounds to keep that from happening. I'm going to have to put the first trade on the To Buy List, as this just hit all the right storytelling notes for me. A-

Hellboy - The main story here is The Mole, which is a fantastic Hellboy short story. Mignola's story is dark yet simple and fun. And while it would have been great to get Mignola on art too, Duncan Fregredo does some really solid work here. The two back up stories of the BPRD are hit, Out of Reach, and miss, Bishop Olek's Devil. This is a solid, fun package for current Hellboy fans or just the casual comic fan. B+






Kids Love Comics: Comic Book Diner - A bunch of short stories featuring Roboy, Patrick the Wolf Boy, Dreamland Chronicles, Banana Tail, Buzzboy and Tbyrd Fearlessness. I was already familiar with all but Tbyrd and, as usual, enjoyed Roboy, Wolf Boy, Banana and Buzzboy. Those are very good, all-ages characters with a lot of love put in by their creators. Dreamland Chronicles is okay, but falls into that fantasy genre that I can never get into. And then there's Tbyrd Fearlessness, which just came off as obnoxious and unfunny. It gave me that same Ugh Factor that kicks in when my 9-year-old cousin turns on the Disney Channel. B-

Maintenance - Oni's solicits for this series continually catch my eye, but I've been underwhelmed with Oni's recent products, so I've always passed it up. Now I know I need to grab the trades of this funny series. Two janitors at a wacky science lab who regularly find themselves in trouble is one of those "Why hasn't this been done before?" ideas that just works on every level. There was also a three page preview for Resurrection by Marc Guggenheim that I loved. The promo page reads "Aliens invade. They devastate the planet. You've heard it all before, right? Okay, smart guy... what happens after they leave?" which wraps up the preview to a T. Add to that my mancrush on Guggenheim after watching the first season of Eli Stone and I need to get this book now! A-

Editor's note: Your FNE LURVES Eli Stone.

Marvel Adventures - Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man and Ant-Man (hmm... what do all those characters have in common?) team-up to fight the Mandarin and protect a giant ant colony in Machu Picchu. I'm pretty sure the writer, Jeff Parker, was paid $50 a mention by the Machu Picchu Board of Tourism as there is just an abusive overuse of the name. There are a couple funny one-liners, but overall, this is a very, very average comic book. C

Moth Special Edition - I read the original Moth special when Dark Horse published it a few years ago, but didn't care for it. This issue recaps that special and the four-issue mini-series that came after it. Sadly, as much as I love The Dude's art on Nexus, I've had more than enough circus freaks stories for a lifetime and just couldn't get into this everyman hero and his carney folk. C-

Neotopia Vol 3 - That's right, Antarctic Press offered up an entire digest sized trade for FCBD. I'm guessing there was a big overstock on these books or maybe the giant staples through the spine have something to do with it, but whatever the reason, a 160-page digest is nothing to sneeze at. In all honesty, I've only gotten through the first chapter and while the story is a bit meandering, the draw to this book is clearly the art. Writer/Artist Rod Espinosa creates a lush world with some American Manga sensibilities. The line work is fantastic. The story is very "heroes journey" right now, but it looks like we're heading toward a very Planet of the Apes reveal. I look forward to the next four chapters. B+

Owly and Friends - Owly is another great all-ages book with wordless storytelling through fantastic art. The $10 digest-sized graphic novels are must-own. The friends in the title include Korgi, Johnny Boo and Yam. Korgi debuted last year in an attempt to be the new Owly, but for some reason it just doesn't work as well. Probably because I find the realistic art oddly creepy. Johnny Boo and Yam are two new attempts at all ages books from Top Shelf. Yam is yet another take on the wordless storytelling and is interesting and surreal. Boo is by James Kochalka and would appeal to his diehard fans, but I think it fails at being both as funny as it wants to be and all-ages. B

Project Superpowers: Death Defying 'Devil #2 - I've now read three issues of Project Superpower (#0, #1 and this issue) and all three have left me with the same thought, "Intriguing but kind of tedious to get through." The art is good, if a little stiff and I like the premise, but I just don't know. An uncertain B.

Salem: Queen of Thorns - Boom Studios contribution to FCBD was this slightly odd, kind of undefined book. The story is set in the days of the witch hunts in colonial Salem, Mass, but I'm not entirely sure what the point of the book is. It's not bad, but it all sort of went in one eye and out the other. The unclear art during action sequences didn't help matters either. C-

Sonic the Hedgehog #1 - I've always wondered how Sonic the freaking Hedgehog has been able to sustain a comic book (and various spin-offs and mini-series) for 15 years, so when my wife grabbed a copy of the first issue reprint for her nine year old nephew, I had to check it out. After reading this issue, it's clear that the book has stuck around because it's just plain fun. The stories and characters all had a great sense of humor that readers old and young can appreciate. There are plenty of winks and nudges to the reader about this being a comic and that they are video game characters. All in all, it's a surprisingly entertaining package. A-

Tiny Titans #1 - This was a cute, fun book by the creators of Patrick the Wolfboy. The stories run one to five pages with minimal dialogue and always end on a cute, funny joke. It's a very quick, light read. As a freebie, this is a great little book, but I couldn't imagine paying the regular $2.25 cover price for the two minute read. B+

Also not at your FNE's stupid comic shop.





Virgin Comics - Three previews of new Virgin books include Dan Dare by Ennis & Erskine, Ramayan 3392AD Reloaded and Stranded by Carey & Kotian. Dan Dare, a relaunch of a classic UK character, was fantastic. It's like a sober version Remender's Fear Agent. The art is wonderful and there are none of the typical Ennis writing ticks. I may have to check this series out. Ramayan goes into that fantasy genre I don't care about. Stranded is a SciFi tv series turned into a comic. Frankly, it didn't make much sense and I can't tell if that falls to the general premise or my dislike of Mike Carey's writing. A big ol' A for Dan Dare, but D's for the other two stories, so C.

Walt Disney's Gyro Gearloose - I always struggle with these annual collections of various Disney comics from Gemstone Publishing. The main thing is that previous books (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, Mickey and Robin Hood) are reprints of 50 year old material and, frankly, haven't aged very well. Gearloose appears to be a more recent character, as most of the stories here are reprinted from 1990s comics. There is one story from 1960 and that one definitely has Golden Age story telling sensibilities. The later stories are okay, but the writing lays out every single thing the characters are going to do via dialogue, again and again. It's all too straight forward. While kids young and old can enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog #1, these stories are very much geared towards five to eight year olds. C-

Worlds of Aspen #3 - Aspen has had a very narrow focus as a publisher, with a dozen Fathom and Soulfire series, minis and spin-offs. Honestly, I can't really tell the difference between the art or the characters or the stories of Fathom and Soulfire. I've even read the first nine issues of the original Fathom and was unimpressed by it all. This issue gives us previews of Fathom Vol 3 #0 and Soulfire #8 and my opinion on those series remains the same. Also in this issue is a preview of Shrugged #8, which has an interesting hook, but this preview, #1 and #5's preview in the previous FCBD books fall apart in the execution. Executive Assistant: Iris is a preview of a trained killer as executive assistant that may do well for a short mini series. I'll see how I feel about that in the winter when it comes out. C

X-Men - Unlike most of this weekend's offerings, this issue of X-Men is a brand new 22-page story created just for the FCBD crowd. The story is by Mike Carey and Greg Land. I have some negative feelings about the previous work of both guys (including Carey's run on X-Men/X-Men Legacy), but let's see how this stands up as a free giveaway. Mike Carey's writing has always felt disjointed and without any sense of real conversational flow and unfortunately the same holds true here. I was nodding off to sleep every few pages. Well, maybe that's because the first 10 pages were about Pixie, a former New X-Men student and not about the X-Men this book is titled after. After the X-Men finally show up and save Pixie from the N'garai (a group of alternate dimension lizard demons, that are one of the X-Men's most random, infrequent and annoying enemies), they tell Pixie that she should return to school. And, yup, that's it. This wouldn't have made for a very good fill-in issue of New X-Men during its run, so I have no idea why Marvel thought this should be a story that needed to have a million copies in print. D-

Free Comic Book Day let me revisit old friends like Amelia Rules! and Owly, add new trades to hunt down like Drafted and Maintenance and new artists to watch for such as Lattie & Mead and Wegener. So, maybe it's not such a bad thing to have a little customer appreciation from the publishers (hey, I paid $6.56 plus shipping for my books - $0.34 for a full-color digest, awesome!). Read more!

Patrick's Hat Trick: Pellet Reviews for 4/18/08

Aloha out there. Today it's 80 degrees and we had a earthquake in the midwest. And I'm inside writting reviews of comic books.

Brave and the Bold #12: You can just tell this was a story written for George Perez. Lots of characters, big cosmic crisis. A good book, but Jerry Ordway, while a great artist, is not a great sub for George Perez. A good book, but the art just doesn't quite match up with the story. What could have been a clever B with Perez on art, ends up being an everyday commonplace C.






All Star Superman #10: I love Superman. So much so that at my wedding my wife and I walked out of the church to John William's Superman Theme. And I think All-Star Superman may be the best Superman comic that I have ever read. And I've read a lot. Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely are doing the best Superman comics of the last 20 years. Issue 10 is a bit slower than the some of the previous issues, but still is a ton of fun with lots of new ideas and twists on the Superman myths. A very high clever B+, with the run overall looking like it could be Bad Genious.




All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #9: This book is a crazy ride, and it's one I dig some months more than others. There are times I've looked at this book and thought "what the hot holy heck was Frank Miller thinking when he wrote this?" and other months I just read it and smile. This month, I smiled. And I think I also began to see what he was up to with his "what was he thinking" moments as well. A solid B. Read more!