Spring Break Reading, Part 1 - Mighty Marvel Round-Up

by Brandon

Ever get behind on your comic book reading? I'm not just talking a handful of issues gathering dust on your nightstand. This type of "behind" would be largely the size of, oh, maybe a long box and a half. That's the situation I currently have before me. The stresses of work, planning a wedding, and just every day life have plagued my ability to catch up on my reading. Add to the mix some very large runs that I've been able to buy on the cheap lately and you have a massive problem. But have no fear, Spring Break 2009 is finally here! While most of my students are probably off having wild, teenager-style adventures involving fumbling sexual antics and wine coolers in exotic tropical locales, their teacher has voluntarily sat this Spring Break out to catch up on reading comic books. I'm taking one for the team and catching up on a load of reading. Fasten your seat belts! This is going to be a long ride Here are some pellet reviews of the books that have crossed my path thus far during Spring Break 2009.


Dark Tower: Treachery #'s 1-6
When I finished the book series, I was pretty bummed about the lackluster ending. I had my own feelings of trepidation when the comic books were announced. However, I have been surprised at how much I have enjoyed these minis thus far. Treachery helps shed some light on a few important events in Roland's youth as a young gunslinger. In this volume, we readers get to see how his mother's infidelities are dealt with in full. I won't spoil the plot, but Peter David and Robin Firth have successfully translated the world of the Dark Tower to comic books. I hope they will continue this series beyond these origin tales. Maybe that will make up for the crappy ending to the book series.

Uncanny X-Men #'s 506-507
Of late, I've heard the X-Men creative intelligentsia frequently say that the X-books don't require teams anymore because... because... um... well... because... We've moved past that point in history. ... Did I get that right, X-creators? Anyway, the focus of the X-Books is pretty much anything goes. That must mean quality too because ever since Manifest Destiny started, Uncanny X-Men has been uncannily boring. The art is pretty. The writing is decent. The total package is just dull, dull, dull, dull. Perhaps having a more cohesive team and roster for the book would help give it some focus. Oh, and get the X-Men out of San Francisco. It just isn't working. Sorry guys.

X-Men Legacy #'s 221-222
On the other hand, the X-men Legacy title has been killer. Two of my favorite X-Men are taking center stage for this arc, Gambit and Rogue. Both characters seem to have found a writer that can actually make them interesting without hamming each character up. Gosh, those accents just beg for it, I know, but Mike Carey makes these characters work so well. It's sad to think the Professor X story is ending since it has been a welcome return of the character's relevance to the pages of the X-books. For the first time in at least two decades, Xavier is an interesting character who isn't just a figurehead or out-and-out bastard. Kudos to Carey and teh rest of the Legacy team for making this one of the best X-books in years!

Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #4
Eh. This was the best thing I've read thus far from the Manifest Destiny titles. That's not a ringing endorsement though. This is a fairly forgettable Wolverine story. There are tons of those out there too. This story just happens to be inoffensive enough to be forgettable.

Ghost Rider #33
On one side of the coin, this issue was awesome just because of the sheer number of Ghost Riders it covers and shows. It sets up a fascinating backdrop for future exploration. On the flip side of the coin, this issue was pretty much a throwaway story that has no real meat to it. I'm glad the new Caretaker has decided to keep the fight going. Good job, Caretaker. But, um, was there any doubt that this would be the case? It's like having Superman handed his ass to him by some bit bad guy. Of course Superman is going to go whip his ass for that. Duh. Do we need to have a whole issue history lesson and pep talk to rev us up for that from a largely uninteresting character?

Squadron Supreme #'s 8-9
The first part of this series started off as a dud, but the last couple of issues have been great. Why? The Squadron is actually here instead of these new losers that Chaykin rolled out in the first arc. So the series has significantly improved with the return of Hyperion et al. Therefore, Marvel has to cancel this series. Oh well. Maybe this universe won't be totally forgotten, but I have a small voice inside that tells me it's done.

Daredevil #'s 116-117
This is an example of the "been there, done that" school of comic books, but it's so damn well written you almost want to forgive Brubaker & Co. for bringing back Kingpin. Almost. The first part to "Return of the King" actually works really well, but the second part feels like a retread of Kingpin/Daredevil truces of the past. At first, I was a bit sad that this creative team was moving on, but now I think maybe it's time. Note to future Daredevil writers; when you start wanting to bring back Kingpin, it's time to move on. Maybe there's an X-book you could write?

The Invincible Iron Man #'s 11-12
I have to admit that Invincible Iron Man is the first monthly Iron Man title I have ever read, but I'm really enjoying the hell out of it. Tony Stark is on the run and doing a nice tour of the Marvel Universe to boot. I didn't read Secret Invasion and am trying to avoid any Dark Reign stuff outside of the titles I usually read, but fans get a large dose of "Osborn won, get over it" here in this title. The art is absolutely gorgeous. It's hard to believe that this is the Salvador Larroca that drew some other, fairly ho-hum titles in the past.

Punisher #3
Already three issues into the new title and Remender is already doing a better job at it than Fraction did with War Journal. I already wrote about this a bit in my last Panelology article, but this is a quality title. However, I think Remender and other Marvel creators are wrong when they say Punisher doesn't have to be taking out these big fish he's gunning after. Um, that's what the Punisher does. He kills bad guys. End of discussion. If he's not doing that, then what's the point? That's why many people are attracted to the character. If you want an antihero that shows mercy, read Batman., If you want people killed like chumps, read Punisher. Next.

Ultimatum #3
Here's a little math to start off this review; Gory + shocking ≠ a good comic book. This series is almost a mockery of the Ultimate concept. Here's Marvels thinking; let's bastardize the core concept that this isn't the Marvel Universe by just killing off all this characters. It will be frickin' great! And shocking too! The only problem here is that it isn't good and it's tying the hands of future Ultimate stories. Oops, that characters dead. Screw it. Marvel is killing more than their Ultimate stable of characters. They are killing my interest. If enough fans are like me, that could be the most damaging death in this whole Ultimatum mess.


Ultimate Spider-Man #131
Despite the whole Ultimatum fiasco being just ridiculous, Ultimate Spider-Man still manages to make lemonade out of lemons. This isn't a great story by comparison to others that have appeared in this title, but it's still entertaining. The Hulk scenes were fun. But why didn't they kill Aunt May? Marvel's killing everyone else. Her ass has got to go in some Universe. Why not here?

Ultimate Fantastic Four #60 & Ultimate X-Men #100
I'm lumping these two titles together because Ultimatum has become a mercy killing for both of these titles. It seems that ever since Marvel decided to go with this Ultimatum mess, the creators of both of these titles have been farting around just waiting for the axe to fall. And it shows. The quality of both of these titles is poor, and that's being kind. Maybe they will come back in some form, but let's hope they can find some A-list creators to write solid stories, not just stories that will occupy space on the comic shelf monthly.

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk #3
Late? Yes. Worth the wait? Probably not. Decent? Yeah, I guess. While an entertaining read, I breezed through this issue like the Flash on cocaine. This is what we waited so long for? Lindelof had problems writing this? Really? Entertaining, but hardly worth the wait.

That's it for now. Check back tomorrow for the Dark Horse and Wildstorm reviews!
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Panelology

by Brandon

"More ranting and raving on comic book collecting?" you ask. Yes! I can deliver on that. It's free and a renewable resource. Just don't abuse my cantankerous attitude for your own benefit. My targets this week include Kingdom Come, Ultimatum, Back Issues, and The Spirit movie. Enter all who dare.

Give DC a Chance, pt. II
I talked about wanting to try out some Dc titles in my last article. This promise did not come from a lack of knowledge of DC, just a lack of appreciation. I think DC is largely boring. Could an old, tried and true, corn-fed Marvel zombie like myself actually enjoy an iconic DC title like Kingdom Come? Could I actually appreciate a book from a company I have little love for? Could I overcome my personal bias against these boring characters that are about as lifeless and uninteresting as Superman or Flash? Actually, no. I could not like.

I loved it.

While I may sound a bit like a teenage school girl when I say that, I really did love it. I thought it was entertaining and thoughtful. The commentary on the short-term gains of the 1990s superhero excesses. My love is born out of a certain ignorance of the DC universe. Mark Waid's scripting and Alex Ross' art were perfectly conjoined. Thanks to all who suggested it to me. Who knows what I will read next, but I will definitely poke my head around the rest of the DC universe.

Back (issues) to the Future
The economic situation sucks. That's not real news or anything earth-shattering. At least I hope that isn't real news to you. Comic fans are bemoaning the fact that some titles are edging closer and closer to $3.99. Now that really sucks. It seems like more and more, some comic fans are looking to trim their comic book diets in order to tighten their belts up some.

Might I offer you an alternative? Of course I can. Try back issues. I have been buying more and more back issues. I can get around 40 issues for $50-$60, roughly equivalent to the purchase of around twenty books on the shelves now. That is assuming that the books are all $2.99, which, again, they are not. I've enjoyed going back to check out all the titles I may have missed over the years at dirt-cheap prices. Earth-X, Grendel, Ghost Rider volume 2, Savage Dragon, Grim Jack, Jon Sable, Justice League, Dakota North, Azrael, Elementals volume 2, Rising Stars, and Queen & Country are just a few of the titles I've been able to indulge in on the cheap. Not bad.

How does this help the economic situation in a struggling economy? Well, it doesn't help Marvel, DC, or any other comic book company for that matter. However, it does help out the small businesses I buy these back issue books from. And to be honest with you, I would rather line their pockets with money than the pockets of Marvel and DC. Maybe I'm wrong. I probably am, but I like having lots of great books that don't cost four bucks each.

Ultimate Suckage
Um, do you think Ultimatum sucks? Me too. Do you think the new plans for the Ultimate Universe are kind of dumb? Ditto. Aside from killing off practically everyone in the Ultimate Universe, Ultimatum has been a sputtering turd of a comic, the epitome of the slide in quality for this line of titles. The plans for the future of the line coming out of New York a couple of weeks ago were also yawn inducing. Why do the Ultimate title need their own imprint? Maybe I'm reading too much in Brian Michael Bendis' reaction to the change, but I don't get the impression is terribly impressed with this retooling of his baby.


The Spirit Sucked Too
I watched the Spirit movie last week at a $2-theater. Yeah... that was awful. It was quite possibly the worst comic book adaptation ever committed to film. What the hell was Frank Miller thinking? I know a lot of people have asked this lately, but seriously, does anyone have an answer? The acting and story was so over the top that it completely removed me from the experience within the first five minutes. I'm not a huge fan of the golden age, but The Spirit happens to be one of the few titles that I enjoyed. If Eisner's stories weren't so damn good, Frank Miller may have ruined the character for me.
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Panelology – Cataloging My Addiction

by Brandon
Heroes Con in Charlotte is always one of my yearly fanboy highs. What’s not to love about it? It blends a wonderful comic book friendly environment with good, solid deals. When I go to Heroes Con, I always feel this elation that is hard to describe and even harder to calculate. I’m not necessarily one of those fans who thinks things through well when I show up at a convention, or even normal shopping for that matter. I never bring lists. Does that make me less of a fan? Probably. But I'm okay with that.

There was a guy sifting through a trade paperback bin next me early on Friday during this year’s con. He had a notebook with pages upon pages of titles he needed to pick up. This wasn’t a floppy, flimsy notebook either. We’re talking about a solid 1 1/2 – 2 inch thick three-ring binder. This man was serious. As he found what he was looking for, he highlighted each selection and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I thought that this type of anal-retentive comic book accounting was a bit silly. Who has the time or patience to catalogue what you currently have, let alone what you need? Moron. Go read a book to children or the elderly. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Clean your house. Just do something besides sweating out the details of your collection.

That is what I thought until I had a major Mr. Magoo moment.

I would like to think I have a good memory for useless or esoteric things like comic books, and I do. But going through a long box of back issues there on the con floor, my brain went dead. I was looking at some issues of the second volume of Ghost Rider, a favorite of mine back in the '90s because I thought I wanted to a biker. It’s true. The allure of the open road, tattoos, and leather jackets was pretty strong. It wasn’t until later that I developed a fear of motorcycles, an aversion to wearing leather, and some serious inhibitions about living into my sixties with a tattoo of a rebel flag on my arm. But still, I have a soft spot for Ghost Rider. I live my biker dreams vicariously through the exploits of the Spirit of Vengeance.

As I looked through the box, I couldn’t remember what issues I had in my collection. I remembered buying some issues a few months before, but had I bought the first ten issues or the first thirty? I couldn’t remember. Somewhere in the halls of fairness, the aforementioned moron with his big thick notebook was laughing at me as he highlighted yet another priceless find to make his comic book collection just that much more awesome.

I left without buying a single issue of Ghost Rider. I’m so cheap that I will literally let an issue fall back into the dark abyss of the dollar box than buy duplicates of an issue. That really pisses me off.

I got home and had to reason with myself. It was time to catalogue my comics even though I still thought it was kind of silly. I have said here before that I don’t consider myself a collector, but more of a reader. I mean, seriously, collectors are kind of odd people and I’m not odd people. I’m perfectly normal. Why would I want to catalog my precious belongings? I read them, have my fun, and I throw them in a box to be pulled out and read again somewhere down the road. So, no, I’m not a collector.

As my fiancé likes to point out, the thousands of comics that currently reside in my second bedroom tell a whole other story.

I’m a closet collector. There. I admitted it. Full disclosure; I feel a little dirty admitting it, but it is true. I enjoy reading comics, but I hate organizing and counting things. I would make a terrible librarian. I could read all day at the library and be perfectly content to pick up my paycheck on Fridays, but the second someone tells me to go shelve a book in order, I’d be inclined them where the can stick their Dewey Decimal System. Order isn’t my thing. Being OCD is one thing, whereas being neat is something else entirely.

Somewhere around the middle of July, I found the right program to use, Comic Book Database. It was free and it was online. My wallet was cool with that. I know some folks use Excel or Word, but I’m too lazy to organize those in any reasonable fashion. Comic Book DB is pretty user friendly. Now, if only we could get the user to finish the job. Almost two months, and I still have about six long boxes to go.

And guess what? Typing all of that stuff into the computer sucks. It’s just as mundane and excruciating as I had originally imagined. Not only is the manual labor monotonous, but the gasps of horror over some things I have found in my collection were frequent and shocking. But it’s necessary.

And the cataloging process isn’t a total bummer. It is fun going back and looking at all of those comics. I love remembering not only the craft of the stories, but where I was at in that particular point in my life. It’s kind of neat in a cheesy Hallmark sort of way.

The fact that members can edit the content is very Web 2.0. I feel geeky in the "I edit Wikipedia for fun" kind of way when I do, but the feeling passes rather quickly. From a collector’s standpoint, I can also clearly see the huge gaping holes in my collection. I guess if I weren’t so cheap I could fill those gaps in quickly. That is, if I actually stay on top of this.

I know there are probably a million ways one could go about the cataloging of comics, but this one seems to be the least painful for someone as lazy as I am. Maybe my fine readers have a better way. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re like me, stuck in the miasma of fanboy lethargy. Let’s hope not, because I now feel like this is a worthy exercise for any collector. Yes, you too can catalog your collection like that overzealous three-ring binder guy and me. If I can do it, you can do it. No pain, no gain. Quitters never win and winners never quit. Yeah!

Can I stop the inspirational Vince Lombardi speech now?

You can look at what I have documented thus far by clicking here. Warts and all.



That’s all for now. Next week, I’ll offer up some suggestions for essential books that every comic collector should own. I promise I won’t put Dark Knight or Watchmen in the list. I promise, really.

Until then…
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