Summer Reading, pt. 6

by Brandon

This is it. This is the end. I start back to work in two days. Students start back a week thereafter. I would lying if I said I wanted to go back to work. Let me state emphatically that I do not. This summer has been crazy busy and I don't feel like my brain has had enough time to defrag from last school year. Like it or not, though, my days of freedom are dwindling. Luckily, I have been able to read a ton of comics this summer and have been able to catalogue my new comic book experiences here for all to read on the big, bad Internet. In this last edition of summer reading, I review new books from the Batman reboot, a milestone for Savage Dragon, the awesome Unwritten, and several Star Wars books.

Captain America: Reborn #2
I know I reviewed my latest batch of Marvel books last week, but I decided to give Captain America: Reborn another shot. The first issue fell kind of flat for me for two reasons: the same two reasons this issue fell flat for me. What a coincidence? My first major reason is that I am an outsider to this title. I'm one of those people Marvel roped into buying this through the hype. I'm probably a chump for doing so, but impulse buys can sometimes pay off. I'm the type of outside person Marvel is hoping will buy this. Yet, an outsider is all I feel like. I have no real connection to the characters or events outside of the larger context that the event/non-event Dark Reign that is going on and Norman has some kind of mad-on to make sure he gets Cap first. Which brings me to my second problem. This just doesn't feel real to me. This can't really be how Marvel is bring Captain America back? It seems to out there for Brubaker's reputation. This second issue did little to clear up the mechanism of how a magic bullet is able to bring Captain America back by sticking him in time. It's weak for a return that surely have been planned from word one when they decided to kill Steve Rogers off at the end of Civil War.

Batman & Robin #2
Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely are probably the best creative team in comic books working past, present, or future. They just hit the ground running with whatever they do together, a synergy that clicks. The second issue of the new Batman & Robin series has some great character moments with just about everyone in the book. Alfred is comfortable in the mentor role and Damian is too in his role as the would be jerk. The dynamic between the new Batman and Robin is still tense. And while I think it's a bit too early to play the "Robin runs off on his own" card, it just seems to work here. The editorial bigwigs over at DC should pat themselves on the back. The Batman books haven't been this blessed with this caliber of creative talent in a long time, if ever.

Detective Comics #855
Speaking of talent on the Bat books, another one of the titles that is currently blessed is Detective Comics. While Rucka's story here is weaker than the last issue, it still plays off well. A large part of that is due to the gorgeous artwork provided by J.H. Williams III. Batwoman spent a large part of this issue tripping, which works more towards the artist's strength rather than the writer. If Morrison and Quitely are the best team, then Williams is the best stand alone artist. Each page is a joy to look at. The second feature with the Question was still "meh" for me.

Fables #85
Now back on regularly scheduled programing, this issue of Fables stands out as one of the better single-issue stories in the run thus far. That may be in large part due to following up the so-so crossover of the last few months. Mr. Dark is a menacing villain and we get a slight peak here of what he was like and where he came from. Willingham's story almost reaches new heights here, while guest penciller Jim Fern does an outstanding job of providing artwork worthy of any regular issue out of the series. This new, yet darker era for Fables looks like it is going to be fertile for new stories. Some fans wondered if Willingham was going to be able to continue to write great comics for Fables once the Adversary was out of the way. It's issues like these that prove Willingham can actually out do himself.

The Unwritten #3
Holy crap! This is the best new series on the stands now. To use an over-used baseball analogy, Mike Carey and Peter Gross are hitting the ball out of the park with every issue. This title is everything you want out of a Vertigo title. It's literary and edgy, smart and funny, mysterious and fantastical. Carey manages to keep the story of Tom Taylor dealing with his alter ego of Tommy Taylor going strong without really focusing on the fictional Tommy Taylor this issue. Instead, we get an examination of Frankenstein and a solid argument between assembled writers on why horror works. This is such a well-written series that it's hard to find fault with anything Carey and Gross have done thus far. Could this be the best book out now? Possibly, but if you haven't gotten on board yet, what's your excuse?

The Savage Dragon #150
Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon hit a milestone few independent comics ever reach with this 150th issue. It is such an achievement for him and not just in term with numbers. Savage Dragon isn't the best book on the stands. I don't think it ever will be. However, it is one of the most entertaining reading experiences a comic fans can have. The amount of zany ideas per square inch here beat out any comic book being published right now. It's hard to read a Savage Dragon comic and not catch a bit of Larsen's infectious love for this character. The title on the cover states that this issue was the biggest bargain in comic." 100 pages for $5.99? Yeah, that's awesome, especially when many Marvel and DC books cost you just two bucks less for barely 22 pages worth of story. For that, fans get a ton of extras on top of the regular story for this issue. Included here are Savage Dragon #0, Lev Gleason Publishing's Daredevil #18 (not that Daredevil), a Vanguard story, and several small strips just for fun. And I shouldn't forget the always interesting letter column. For fans old and new, this issue is great for someone wanting to scratch their comic book itch. I can promise it's not going to be the next Watchmen, but does every comic need to be? Just have fun reading this one. I did.

Conan the Cimmerian #12
I gushed last month about how awesome Conan has been since the rebooting to Conan the Cimmerian. I don't have that much to add this month in terms of praise because this book is still very entertaining. "Black Colossus" is one of those classic Robert E. Howard stories that is hard to mess up. It has everything you would want from a Conan story: love, war, and lots of kick ass art. Though I'm already familiar with the story, Truman and Giorello inject so much life into this story that is fresh once again.


Star Wars Extravaganza:
I'm going to be dorky and write a review haiku for each of these issues. It's a) something different and b) risk free because no one is reading.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars #7
So pedestrian
Can anyone make this good?
Not even the Jedi

Star Wars: Invasion #1
Based on book series
Why not follow Yoda's lead?
Please do or do not

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #43
John Jackson Miller
Must Zayne always save the day?
Isn't he clumsy?

Star Wars: Legacy #38
Poor Cade Skywalker
Trapped real drunk on Tatooine
Look, bounty hunter
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Shout Outs! and Scream Ats!

by Matt


Welcome to another "Shout Out/Scream At!” column! where I take a look at what makes me a happy fanboy (Shout Outs!) and what frustrates me (Scream Ats!) about the comic industry. This column is all about the 90's! I will be covering Nomad, Guardians of the Galaxy, Savage Dragon, Psylocke and a few more 90's nuggets of joy!!

I admit that I love the 90's. While there was a lot of crap that was produced during this era, this era also produced a lot of fantastic and creative works. And it seems the comic industry is revisiting this era as well and I couldn't be more excited for some of it.


SHOUT OUT! SAVAGE DRAGON #150!
It makes me feel old when a book I have been collecting right from the start hits a major milestone. But I am proud that the Savage Dragon is hitting #150. If I was allowed only one comic to get regularly, I would take this title. You just have to admire Erik Larsen, like him or not, you should respect the guy for his passion and commitment. Why do I love this book so much? I have a ton of reasons and here are just a few.


-PASSION. Erik pours everything he has into this book. He has written and penciled (including covers) the book for 150 issues, at times he has colored it and lettered it on his own. He has stated that the Savage Dragon will be done when he dies and that this is what he wants to do until he dies. You can tell how much he loves the book and that, to me, enhances the enjoyment. He was sick in bed and still cranked out backup stories for his book.

-CREATIVITY. This is one of the few books where I cannot tell what is going to happen. No one is safe, not even the Dragon himself. This book really has it all. Clones? Check. Alternate universes? Check. Colorful characters? Check. Space invaders? Check. Deaths? Check. I could go on and on. His book also tries to stay within "real" time. Meaning, it has been over ten years since the first issue came out, so the Dragon has aged 10 years. I cannot think of any other book that does this. Erik also experiments with how to tell a story. One of my favorite comics is when he covered a whole year using single panels. Each panel covered a different day. Another memorable issue was "The Fly". One of Dragon's baddies transformed himself into a fly and pestered Dragon while he was recovering in the hospital. Erik is also not afraid to let his opinions show in the book. It could be regarding politics or the comic industry, he lets loose with it. He isn't afraid to change the status quo. Issue #75 comes to mind, Dragon makes a decision that he thinks is right by killing his enemy. Darklord (his enemy) warns him that it will be worse if he is killed and the Dragon doesn't believe him. So he kills him anyway and it changes everything! Remember when Image produced a Mars Attacks! series that showed the aliens invading the Image universe? Erik was the only one that worked that into his regular continuity. Some folks may not like continuity, personally, I love it. It makes a stronger book.

-ART. I know a lot of people are turned off by his art. I didn't like his art in the beginning when he was drawing Spider-Man but I got used to it. He may not be the greatest artist but his greatest strength is making the art kinetic.

Erik consistently puts out an entertaining product. It is chuck full of fun stuff. It can be serious and it can be laugh-out-loud funny. It is exactly what I want out of a comic book. Congrats Erik for hitting #150!


SHOUT OUT! The Original Guardians of the Galaxy return!
When the new Guardians of the Galaxy series was announced, I was so excited because I LOVED Jim Valentino's run on the book from the 90's. But I was sad because they were similar in name only. Until Major Victory and Starhawk appeared. And then this cover came out and I am all ga-ga! I love the concept of the original Guardians of the Galaxy and I am glad that they are being used again. And kudos to Marvel's trade program for putting out two classic Guardians of the Galaxy hardcovers reprinting their early appearances!


SHOUT OUT! Avengers/Invaders #12
What does this have to do with the 90's? I enjoy the Golden Age characters and during the 90's I picked up the series called "Saga of the Original Human Torch." This documentary-style comic retold the tales of the early Invaders and I really liked it. The original Human Torch was a neat character and I followed him through Avengers West Coast and Heroes for Hire, all the way till the New Invaders series (which was really underrated) when he was killed. I saw that Marvel was soliciting a new Torch series and I was looking forward to seeing Jim Hammond again. I was stoked when I heard that Jim Krueger and Alex Ross were writing this project. The first couple of issues were okay but the series started to lose some steam. I still collected the rest of the series but found myself barely reading it and filing it away with my collection. The last issue came out and I was thumbing through it and I was taken by total surprise.
**SPOILERS**
I thought it would be Jim Hammond returning but it wasn't. It was another Golden Era hero that had "Torch" powers. This totally took me off guard. Surprises just don't happen very much anymore in comics. I am looking forward to reading this series in one sitting now that I have an ending that I know I like!

SHOUT OUT! Psylocke Series
I fall into the camp that prefers British Betsy. Betsy has always wanted to be a warrior so it made sense that she become a ninja but I was not a huge fan of her changing race. I was happy with the recent Uncanny X-Men storyline that brought Betsy back to the X-Men but was a little sad that it was not the British one. But I am excited for the new mini written by Christopher Yost and I hope that he brings this character some stability that she has lacked in years. I would love to see and am confident that Yost can pull this out and make me care about Betsy again.


SHOUT OUT! McKeever/Nomad
I didn't like the original Heroes Reborn. I sold the books more than five years ago and I don't miss it at all. I hated the redesigns, I hated that Jim Lee couldn't stay on the FF the whole time, I hate the eagle on Cap. Perhaps it would be easier if I listed what I liked about it. The only thing that I liked was the 13th issue of each series when they crossed over with Wildstorm. I tried the Return one-shots and I liked them even less than the original. Even though it was Liefeld and Loeb, I picked up the Onslaught Reborn series and that completed the Terrible Trilogy. But I did like the ending of that series, I liked that they moved the girl Bucky to our universe. And boy was I surprised when they whipped her out for Cap #600 and when it was announced that she would get a miniseries. I was going to pass but then I learned that Sean McKeever was returning to Marvel and writing the series! I allow myself one or two $3.99 books (Dark Avengers being the other one I get) and I just might pick this up. I am interested to see where Marvel and McKeever take the character.



SHOUT OUT! Clone Saga?
I hated the original Clone Saga. I was collecting the Amazing Spider-Man for 240 straight issues and I finally had enough of it and dropped it with Amazing Spider-Man #400. That issue being the only good thing that came out of the whole thing. I admit that in the beginning of the Clone Saga, I was curious to see where the story was going but it just got worse and worse and finally I bailed. I am glad that Marvel is at least recognizing the storyline instead of flat out ignoring it. My opinion on continuity is this, if you are a good writer you can make continuity work. Only lazy writers ignore it completely. I was surprised that Marvel wanted to revisit this storyline in this way though. Marvel brought back Howard Mackie and Tom DeFalco to tell the story they originally wanted to tell which makes it more of a morbid curiosity. But I am screaming at the $3.99 price tag. So thanks Marvel, I will wait for the trade.


SCREAM AT! Return of Britannic!
Just kidding! I needed something to scream about! I like Scott Lobdell and I enjoyed a lot of his run on the X-titles but his run on Excalibur was horrible. What really made me appreciate Warren Ellis as a writer was his run on Excalibur. He could have swept the whole Captain Britain/Britannic away but instead chose to work with it. He formed a cool story involving Cap seeing the future (because he was lost in time and came back as Britannic) and stripped Cap to just being Brian Braddock again. And then slowly brought back Captain Britain. Warren also demonstrated this when he took over Stormwatch as well and that instantly made me a fan of Ellis.

6 Shout Outs to one (1 and a half with the $3.99 pricing) Scream At? A lot better than last time!

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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 - Random Thoughts

by Brandon

My first column of this year focuses on some random thoughts I have about comic book collecting. I figured that might be a good place to start. My brain is going all over the place. I’m swimming in thoughts of DC, killing off Batman, Barack Obama, comic book storage issues, LCS pseudo-sales, and even the smell of comic books. Step on inside to take a gander at the thoughts bouncing around my head.


Give DC a Chance
Many people who have read my column know that I’m not exactly fond of DC. I make no bones about how uninterested I am in anything resembling the Infinite/Finite/Final/Indefinite/Uninspired Crises that DC has been constantly churning out for the better part of eight-hundred years. There’s a bit of hyperbole involved there, but the nugget of truth that is there is that DC is awash in hefty continuity. One hand often does not know what the other is doing. Modern DC just looks like this behemoth that has gotten to high on its own history. I don’t want to touch a DC book that has been published in the past few years with a ten-foot long box. However, I am on a personal quest during this New Year; I want to read some good DC. Mind you, I don’t want recent DC, but good DC. Stand alone DC. I actually do want to be sold on DC. I plan on starting with Kingdom Come and The New Frontier. From there, God knows where I’m going. I’m open to suggestions. Have any?

R.I.P., Batman
I don’t read Batman regularly, but this whole killing off Batman thing just sounds dumb. Bruce Wayne is Batman. This story just smacks of idiocy. Add a dash of “been there, done that,” and we have the makings of a story that will be overturned so fast that most fans will be embarrassed by it in a few years.


Barack Obama is MINE!
Do you know that Barack Obama has been inaugurated as our 44th President? Do you know that he has been on approximately one zillion magazine covers? Do you know that he has also appeared in comic books? Like Santa Claus, Barack Obama is everywhere, even in the comic book world. A little controversy was sparked by this when Marvel decided to put Mr. Obama in the pages of Spider-Man. Erik Larsen took offense to this because apparently his usage of Barack Obama was better than Marvel’s usage of America’s savior. I understand Larsen has been a longtime supporter of Obama and his character Savage Dragon has used Chicago as a base of operations. The Obama connection makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is his supposed outrage at Marvel. With all due respect to Mr. Larsen, I love his comics, but his ire over the use of Obama is pretty stupid. The outrage runs counter to what Barack Obama believes and embodies, don’t you think? It’s time to get over it.

…And those have to go as well.
I’m getting married in June. With nearly five months to go, the home planning and improvements are now in full swing. Jenn is definitely in nesting mode and I’m pretty much stuck in the usual male temperament of being a bachelor. Having thousands of comic books is cool, until you get married. The closer we get to the date, the more ruefully Jenn looks at my comic book collection. I feel like a paranoid schizophrenic, but I think she may have it out for part of my collection. The times, they are a’changing. Planning for the future together is awesome. Planning where all these freaking comic books go is not.

LCS Psuedo-Sales
I went to a comic shop somewhere in South Carolina this past weekend. I want name names because this shop officially pissed my inner and outer el cheapo off. Imagine my surprise and excitement when I drove up to the store to see huge sale signs on all the windows. Jenn can ell you I was literally giddy with excitement, like it was Christmas morning and I knew I was going to get some ridiculously awe-inspiring present. Got it? Now, imagine my disappointment when there was no sale going on at all. The store had opened what they called their “vault.” I wouldn’t have called it that. I would have called it a “roomful of expensive ass comics.” While I’m sure collectors who have that kind of money were thrilled, I am definitely the bargain bin variety of collector. Nothing else was on sale. No deals on their trades. No special bargains for their back issues. No discounts on their titles on the shelf. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zero. They only wanted to discount your wallet with their fine collection of idiotic variants and Little Lulu back issues. When a comic shop says “Sale,” I expect just that. And yes, I’m still pissed.

Comic Books Stink
Am I the only person on earth who smells their comic books? Please tell me I’m not the only freak! 99.9% of the time it is the first thing I do when I get a comic, or any book for that matter. I smell it. I can’t explain it, but there is something alluring about smelling comic books. And not just from any age or era. Comic books from the mid-1980s smell the best to me. They don’t even smell good or pleasant. It’s just a comforting smell. I don’t get weird about smelling comic books or anything like that. I don’t wear leather things and spank my own ass as I read through a back issue of Uncanny X-Men. I just smell them. That’s all.


Ultimate Ultimatum
Do any of you really think that the Ultimate Universe is gone? Between reading two or three issues of each Ultimate title last week and the recently solicited “Final” issues of all the Ultimate titles, it sure looks like the Ultimate universe is coming to a close. But why? You would think in these poor economic times that Marvel would want to keep some of their solid performers around. Instead, the Ultimatum body count is ever increasing and the books appear to be gone according to the solicitations. I can understand the nay-saying argument that the Ultimate Universe makes the regular Marvel Universe less special. Yet, the Ultimate titles have been entertaining at the very least, and when they are on their “A” game, they are solid. The talent on the Ultimate line has also been topnotch for the most part. With its power creators and rock-solid stories, I bet these titles and this universe won’t be gone for good, but one has to wonder if there will be much of the Ultimate Universe left to come back to. I would hope so.
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