by Matt
Last time, I admitted that I like gimmick covers and that I was one of those fans that helped make it a problem by buying a ton of them. I still stand by saying that some of them were cool and I looked at the Top and Bottom of Gimmick Covers. After reading more of Brandon's great Casualties of the 90's columns I decided it would be fun to look back at the 90's as well. With this special extended 18th edition, I will be looking at my favorite projects that came out in the 90's. While the 90's were not looked at as one of the greatest eras in comics, it was certainly important and is probably my favorite era. 
October 1992. Marc Silvestri is one of my favorite artists and I could not wait until this series came out. Like all early Image books this did have problems with lateness but it was worth waiting. The first miniseries had 5 issues (#0-4) and the second series lasted only 35 issues. What I liked about this series is that Cyberforce's main enemy was destroyed in the 25th issue and then it had to change direction. That new direction introduced a more supernatural edge to it that became Top Cow's main staple.
August 1994. I am a sucker team books and Ultraforce featured all of Malibu's top guns. Another big draw was the return of George Perez to a monthly book. Sadly, this series only lasted 10 issues before Marvel destroyed the line. But the 2nd volume that came out a year later was still pretty entertaining, it featured early work from Warren Ellis. This series and the original Prime title were fantastic.
September 1991. The only Valiant title that I have a full run (except for that pesky #60) of. Those early issues was absolutely terrific. Solar was not an ordinary super hero, and I recognized that quickly when he lost control of his powers and destroyed the whole Earth. The split personalities and alternative universes were more than plot devices, they were clever ways for the reader to learn how god-like and how human Solar really was.
March 1995. I discovered this book a lot later than when it initially came out and I wish I had picked it up then. Back when I first collected comics, I rarely went beyond Marvel and DC and I was more into superhero stuff. This book would have changed my comic buying habits for the better. This book is still going although sadly it is on hiatus. Reading Stray Bullets makes me feel better about the life that I have, there are moments when I read it that I feel sick to my stomach. I feel that way because I feel like I know these characters and the terrible decisions that they make and it is hard to watch what happens. 
March 1995. I couldn't believe it when I heard that Marvel was cancelling all of its X-titles (I heard this in the comic shop, way before the Internet was used) and I couldn't believe what these "new" X-titles looked like. Probably one of the greatest events of the 90's. While I knew that the normal Marvel Universe would return, it was so much fun to see how characters were changed and how they fought. It really felt important and would affect the X-titles for years after. Hey Marvel! This is how you kill off Banshee!
March 1994. I always like Mignola's moody art when it was on Alpha Flight and I remember flipping through this issue at Woodhaven Comics in New York and thinking that this could be something special. This was pure Mignola art, not like I saw when he was on Alpha Flight. It wasn't until Wake the Devil that I knew for sure that this was special. I never imagined that this series would still continue today and that there would have been a few movies as well.
July 1996. When Stormwatch first came out I collected and loved the early issues, Backlash turned out to be a personal favorite of mine and I followed him through the Kindred and then to his own Backlash series. But the reason I listed Stormwatch on this list was when Warren Ellis took over the book and turned it around. Ellis gave me a superhero book that was not just about capes and supervillians. He gave us a book about how those who have abilities can change the world. His work grew more ambitious and led the way to the 2nd volume of Stormwatch and then naturally turned into the Authority. His run changed comics forever. 
July 1991. My first real independent book that I picked up. I heard a ton of good reviews about it and I saw #15 on the shelves and decided to pick it up. At first glance I thought I was picking up a kids book, the Bone characters looked silly. But as I read the issue and laughed out loud, I knew I was wrong. The black and white art really stood out and the pacing seemed a lot slower than other comics (this was before decompression was really used) and it fit. Those first 25 issues of the that series (it was completed with #55) were classic!
October 1994. By now I am sure everyone knows that I a MAJOR Alan Davis fan. I loved his run on Excalibur and was intrigued by this new mysterious series that featured all new characters. What I loved about this book were the relationships between the characters, they felt like a family to me. They argued like a family does, they treat each other like family members do, good or bad. During this time, comics were more grim and gritty. It seemed like every team book had a guy with claws and a guy with large guns. This book hearkened back to the older days, where characters had code names like Crimson Crusader and they wore a cape. This was a refreshing look back at the classic feel of the old days. Sadly, Alan left the book with the 8th issue and returned for a 2 issue miniseries with the X-Men and it would take almost 15 years for them to return.
July 1992. At first I really disliked Erik Larsen and now I love the guy. His book has never failed to entertain me. This book literally has everything. I never know what to expect when I read it, it is full of shocks, twists, violence, sex and a whole lot more! The best part is that Erik Larsen will always be on the book until he dies and I will be along for the ride the whole time. How can you go wrong with a character like BrainApe? Yes, he is a huge gorilla with the brain of Adolf Hitler. Erik is not afraid to change anything, NOTHING is sacred, even the Dragon himself!
See? I love the 90's! I could have easily added Preacher, Starman, Alan Moore's Supreme to this list! Now there are books that came out that were not so great either. I will not bore you with a huge list of what was ridiculous but I will give you my Bottom 3 projects of the 90's.
September 1993. This crossover featured 2 of the hottest comic companies in Image and Valiant and this series was one of the things that caused the downfall of comics in the 90's. Image was extremely late in the project, so late that retailers could not return any unsold comics back to the publisher. There was thousands of Deathmate Red and Black left unsold in comic shops. The project was hastily put together and it should be noted that Todd McFarland and Erik Larsen wanted nothing to do with the project. Its only bright spot was that it did introduce Gen13 to comic fans.
November 1996. You'd think that with Liefeld and Jim Lee returning to Marvel would be the greatest thing but it wasn't. None of the creators could even stay on the books the whole time, which was extremely disappointing. The only good thing about it was it gave more exposure to the Avengers and Fantastic Four titles and made them just as important as the X and Spider-titles. 
October 1994. I never thought it would come to a time when I didn't collect a Spider-Man book. It has only happened twice, with Brand New Day and back in the 90's with the Clone Saga. Comic book companies in the 90's found a formula of success by overhauling characters completely, they killed Superman, broke Batman's back, made Hal Jordan go crazy, kill Daredevil off and replace him with an 'armor' version, make Colossus go bad, suck the metal out of Wolverine, kill off Green Arrow... ...geez, the list is endless. The biggest disaster was the Clone Saga. The Spider-Man we all knew was just a clone! The Clone Saga was only supposed to last a year or so but it sold well (like all the comics in the 90's) and so Marvel extended it and it went on and on and on. Now there are some good stories within that craptacular event, Amazing Spider-Man #400 being the best, we ended up with a new Spider-Man. The costume was cool, but Ben Reily was not. Thankfully they ended it by killing Ben, who was revealed to be the actual clone but it also brought back Norman Osborn. Ugh.
Sure the 90's had some terrible moments but there were some great gems that came out of the same era!
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9.05.2008
The Return: From Top to Bottom #18: The 90's!
8.29.2008
Panelology - Casualty of the 90s: Warriors Of Plasm
by Brandon
We all probably fondly remember a comic book or company that went away in during the 90s due to one creative failure or business miscalculation. Though the company or title remains forever in our hearts, they have sadly passed on to the nether region known as the dollar bin, or even worse, the trash can. Some of these titles were exciting, refreshing, and new. Many of these titles were terrible beyond the imagination of anything these hokey events from the Big Two could slop at us. But yes, Virginia, there were some quality titles that went the way of the dodo, dinosaur, and southern liberal. Defiant’s Warriors of Plasm stands as one of those imaginative titles that were woefully destroyed by the ridiculous and spiteful underpinnings of the 1990s. Feel like getting mad at Marvel today? Of course you do! Read on.
Shooting the Shooter
Even before Rob Liefeld was a twinkle in a fanboy’s evil eye, Jim Shooter could get the fans all abuzz with hate, blood pressure rising in raging, foaming about the mouth with cheap plastic Halloween swords in hand ready to storm the Marvel Offices in New York. Shooter has never shied from controversy. Shooter has also never shied away from trying new things and shaking up the nuts and bolts of comic books, especially certain well established properties. I think Captain America fans still have bounties out for his scalp. 
Whether you love or hate Jim Shooter, he entered the 90s with a great drive to bring new comics to the forefront, first with Valiant Comics and later with Defiant. The story of Valiant Comics is one for another Causalities of the 90s column, but it is impossible to talk about Defiant without looking at Valiant briefly. Valiant successfully published original and licensed properties and helped lead the charge for those cheesy chromium covers. I know, ugh. Valiant was wildly successful for an independent publisher, but despite the success, there was a question of selling the company, which Shooter disagreed with. Also, there was the question of Shooter being quite the dictator when it came to his editing practices. Shooter would eventually be forced to leave Valiant for a time, though he would later return, causing even more trouble once he returned. But that’s another story for another time.
Defiant to the Last
Not to be outdone by his Valiant partners, Shooter would Defiant, headhunting several of the creative talents populating some of Valiant’s best books. One of those creators was David Lapham. Shooter and Lapham created Warriors of Plasm together. Warriors of Plasm was a pretty funky title. How freaky was it? Freaky. Imagine David Bowie creating a strange space opera in the 1970s that involved aliens, the end of days, and decadence. Well, on second thought, scratch that. 
Warriors of Plasm followed the story of a sentient planet, the Org of Plasm. Being a living world, it was constantly hungry. The Org had to be fed constantly, so those people who followed the Org had to conquer plants and offer up tasty, meaty morsels to the great Org. Mmm mmm, good. Lorca, the lead guy on the acquisition of munchies for the Org, had a change of heart when it came time to devour our humble planet, Earth. He genetically modified five humans to stand up and defend Earth against the impressive hunger of the Org.
Hilarity and problems ensue. Unfortunately for Defiant, they ensued both on and off panel.
Marvel at Marvel’s Legal Might
Do you remember the Marvel character Plasmer? Of course you don’t. And if you do? You’re a loser. Your guild in World of Warcraft needs you now to raid some mine or castle or whatever it is you do. On a scale of comic book coolness from 1 (Quasar) to 10 (Wolverine), Plasmer scores a whopping -15.2. Well, if anybody remembered Plasmer it was Marvel. And Marvel’s Legal Department. 
Apparently, on the surface, Marvel believed that we fans were too incompetent to recognize the difference between Plasmer and Warriors of Plasm. Let me write those two names again for those of us Marvel considers to be too stupid; Plasmer and Warriors of Plasm. Right. And this was in the era before flawed Joe Quesada-like thinking at Marvel. Originally, the title of the comics was supposed to be just Plasm, but Marvel still sued after the name change. Excelsior!
It doesn’t take an insider to see that this was probably more a vendetta against Defiant and Shooter than it was about protecting their intellectual property. Full disclosure; I feel dirty using the term “intellectual property” for Plasmer. Marvel’s pursuit of the lawsuit would prove fail in court, but it was enough to topple Defiant as a company. The large legal fees used defending itself from such a frivolous lawsuit alone helped topple Shooter’s Defiant Comics. The lesson learned here for independent publishers; don’t mess with Marvel. Even in legal defeat, Marvel has a deeper wallet than you do.
A total of fifteen issues (#’s 0-13 and a holiday special) and one trade of Warriors of Plasm were published before the plasmatic axe came down on the title.
The Dust Settles
Defiant was brutally victimized by the Marvel juggernaut for daring to infringe on the much beloved Plasmer. But this story does have a bit of a silver lining. At my core, I’m an optimist, so I can’t leave these creators or my fine readers in the negative-Nancy lurch, right?
In 1995, David Lapham would move on to start his publishing company El Capitan. His title crime title Stray Bullets would wow critics right from the beginning. Lapham would gain so much attention that he would do books for both Marvel and DC, working on characters such as Batman, Punisher, and Daredevil. He’s currently rocking the socks off of his Vertigo title Young Liars. Lapham made it! That’s too bad in a way because as his mainstream workload has increased, his output on Stray Bullets has decreased. That’s too bad. Stray Bullets has consistently been one of the best independently published titles ever produced. It would entertain, get your juices going, and constantly provoke you to think about human nature. 
And then there’s Jim Shooter. He would make a comeback to Valiant in 1999 with Unity 2000, but that wouldn’t last too long. He was brought back on to rejuvenate the now flaccid Valiant line. But Shooter had chips on his shoulder and axes to grind. Mental note for all readers; don’t try to piss off the people you pissed off before by bringing unfavorable facsimiles of them into your title. It is not likely to garner you any favors and someone may be tempted to use the word “asshole” when describing you. Shooter did this. It was funny for all of us readers, like Democrats watching Hillary Clinton forcing that malevolent smile this week at the DNC. It was an odd choice of venue for revenge, but nevertheless, it wouldn’t last. Like many companies at the time, there were payment disputes out of the yin-yang. Acclaim/Valiant filed for bankruptcy after three issues. Even though he was lost in the comic book void for a while, Shooter has recently found his way back to the title that put him on the map, DC’s Legion of Superheroes.
Warriors of Plasm may be gone now, but the creators are still out there enjoying their own brand of success. You can’t ask for much better than that, can you?
Next Week…
We must say goodbye to the Causalities of the 90s for the time being. But don’t fret! Casualties of the 90s will be a regular feature of Panelology during the last week of every month henceforth. Next week, I’ll be looking at the arduous subject of the even more arduous task of cataloging your comic collection. Ouch.
See you then!
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6.05.2008
Patrick's Hat Trick: Signs of Things to Come
by Patrick
Whoever I am? It says "by Patrick" right at the top of the post. And if you want the rest of this post to appear so you can get started, all you have to do is click here:
TRINITY #1: After the success of 52 and the...let's call it...the interesting experiment of Countdown, DC is launching their newest year long weekly book. And after one issue, it's looking like this one will be closer to 52 in quality. The issue is pretty much all set-up. And I don't think that is a bad thing. The first part of the book, by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley (in what I believe to be his DC debut), deals with our "Trinity" of heroes (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) getting together to discuss a dream they all had. Except it was one of those dreams that people have in comic books that they know wasn't just a dream. We get lots of good character moments, a little snippet of action from the Flash and his kids, and end on a cliffhanger that looks like it may start moving the story along pretty quickly. One thing I was wondering .... 
Since when does Wonder Woman lose her powers when she is out of
The second half of the book, with nice art from Scott McDaniel and Mark Bagley, focuses on a trio of villains coming together to oppose our heroes, as well as offering some possible views of where the story may be going.
I wonder if some reviewers will be complaining that not enough happens in the first issue. I won't be one of them. It was a good set up. If I was reading a 52-chapter novel, I would expect the first chapter to be set up. And that is what we got here. An interesting first chapter that makes me want to come back and check out chapter two. Grade: B An interesting beginning, but can it hold our interest for a year?
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #16: Has this book been running late and is catching up? Or where there suppose to be two books this month? Because I was very surprised to see this issue this week. It hasn't even been a week since I reviewed issue fifteen. I'm glad to say the pace has seemed to pick up a bit. I felt like more happened. The reveal of Gog and his past was handled well. And it looks like this could be an interesting arc. And it's been fun to have the page or two painted by Alex Ross every issue. Grade: B-The story is good, the pace is picking up a little bit. Let's hope it doesn't tread water until the end of the arc.
HARBINGER: THE RETURN HC: Remember when Valiant comics were the hottest books being published? I remember seeing early issues of Harbinger going for over a hundred bucks. Well, those days are long gone. Valiant was sold, closed its door, and is now back to publishing some of its old stuff again. Dan looked at the X-O Man-O-War collection this past weekend. The Harbinger collection was suppose to hit stores a few months ago, but I believe it was held up by some lawsuits. But I would like to say, I think it was worth the wait. I read some of the Valiant books back in the day. But Harbinger was not one of them. And I have to say, it was a pretty good book. Strong characters, lots of action, and some densely plotted stories. The art on the original issues is all by David Lapham, but don't expect it too look like his current stuff. Valiant had a pretty strong house style when it started, and the art here reflects that.
The extras include the original story from the back of the coupons of Harbinger 1-6, which gave details on the main villain's past, as well as a new story written by Jim Shooter that expands the story from the coupons. I was also surprised by Solar: Man of the Atom's appearance in the books. Everything I had heard about this new Valiant was they didn't have the rights to him or Magnus: Robot Fighter. Grade: BStrong characters, good story (if sometimes a little wooden in the storytelling)and good art make for a very nice hardcover collection.Well, that's three reviews, so it's time to close up the Hat Trick for this week. Thanks for taking the time to read my thoughts. As always, I'm interesting in hearing yours in the comments section below. See you next week.
5.31.2008
Waited for the Trade: Fear, Fighting, Killing & Birth
by Dan
I don't wait for trades. Trades wait for me. In a big random stack next to my bed. Okay, so the X-O Manowar hardcover is new and I did wait for the trade on BPRD, but I've kept Goon Vol. 0 and the second K Chronicles compendium waiting a good ol' while. The question is, why? 
Fear of a Black Marker: Another K Chronicles Compendium - The second collection of Keith Knight's cartoon strip is even more fun than the sheep lovin' good time of Dances with Sheep. Many of the strips are comedic, observational, slice-of-life tales. Nothing is slap-your-knee, laugh-out-loud funny, but every page leaves you smiling. Knight addresses everything from family to race to politics to his hip hop band, Marginal Prophets (check out their album Bohemian Rap CD for some fun stuff). 130 pages of smart, funny, well-drawn, wordy strips that everyone can relate to. A
Check out more Keef-tastic stuff here.
The Goon Vol. 0: Rough Stuff - Eric Powell's first self-published three-issue attempt at telling the story of the Goon. All the basics are here, but as the title suggests, it's all a little rough. The Goon and Franky are drawn in a mostly recognizable fashion, but the Goon's giant overbite in these early appearances is oddly distracting. The intro page to this collection actually makes note of the artistic changes and goofs on oddball creative decisions (even by Goon standards) in an incredibly funny, self-deprecating way. But, dammit, I want more talking chainsaws! B+
BPRD Vol. 8: Killing Ground - I have a hard time getting into the Hellboy series. I blame my inability to comprehend metaphor. But these BPRD books about the supporting cast are just rip-roaring fun. This volume is a bit frustrating as nothing in particular gets resolved. More than anything, it's just some excellent horror comic with a crazy Wendigo, two mystery men infiltrating the BPRD headquarters, a hero showing his true fangs and lots and lots of blood. Killing Ground does move the major plot points forward, but just doesn't give any satisfactory conclusions. BX-O Manowar: Birth - This is a collection of X-O Manowar #0-6 with a new 10 page story. I actually read these issues about six years ago and I think I enjoyed it more in its original format. I don't know if the idea of a 6th century Visigoth in 20th century New York with the most powerful alien suit of armor ever just didn't work as well the second time around, or if the technical flaws in this hardcover edition ruined the fun.
At first, I thought it was just a case of bad lettering in the original comics. However, a page-to-page comparison shows that for this edition, 
Valiant Entertainment chose to shrink the panels to the point where the lettering now butts into the panel's border. Additionally, they've noticeably cut off the tops and bottoms of many splash pages. Finally, a big draw of these editions is supposed to be the recoloring by the original colorists. Sadly, the changes are too subtle to make any impact.
But for all those complaints, there is a lot of good too. The art from Joe Quesada and Steve Ditko, #0 and #6, respectively, is outstanding. And there really is something refreshing (or is it just nostalgia kicking in?) about the shared universe that Valiant did so well and Valiant Entertainment is honoring by releasing these hardcovers. The first hardcover was Harbinger, a team of super powered kids fighting the good fight. No one would be lost reading X-O without that, but when the kids show up in the fourth chapter here, it adds a wonderful extra layer. B-
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