Wednesday, May 23
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In the sense that it doesn’t promise significant lasting changes to our heroes or their universe, I suppose that Trinity could be described as “inconsequential.” To me, however, that’s a rather narrow measure of its success. I found this issue to be fairly exciting, even though I knew what the outcome had to be simply by virtue of the amount of story left to tell.
Naturally, we’re getting into the meat of the issue, so …
SPOILERS FOLLOW
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The December DC solicitations are 40 pages lighter than they should be, what with Final Crisis #7 being pushed apparently into 2009. However, there’s plenty of other holiday cheer to discuss. Join me, won’t you, and let’s ring out 2008!
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Welcome to the unknown in December, True Believers!
You know, as annoying as it is to see a big CLASSIFIED on your solicitations, there’s only 8 books that seem to be so effected you’ll never know their hidden secrets until the end of Secret Invasion. Indeed, it looks like the core of the Marvel Universe seems a little smaller than expected with plenty of other titles that may or may not be effected moving right along and managing to describe themselves to retailers and readers without resorting to black labeling. There’s a whole new interest in theme variant cover business as we’ve moved from zombies to Skrulls to monkeys to now ‘villains’… whatever that could mean.
The only ones we really have to worry about are the new one-shots that are clearly going to be nothing we should know about, the title books for War Machine, Ms. Marvel, Iron Man and what appears to be the Avengers books minus one Mighty Avengers. Also missing it appears is the Fantastic Four, the details of a ‘Cosmic Special’ for them so under wraps that all we know is that it’s cosmic and drawn by ‘Matt’. Considering Reed’s involvement in the Skrull invasion, think Marvel’s first family is going to make it out intact. I mean, more intact than they were after Civil War, since that also divided them up pretty good.
Ever get the feeling Reed Richards took the last cruller out of the doughnut box and now the Bullpen’s got it in for him and the Fantastic Four? Maybe they’re on the payroll of Doctor Doom.
So while no one can know that Darth Vader is Spider-Man’s real father (SPOILER!!), let’s see what else the Marvel Universe is doing for the month of December.
WARNING: Crack Pot Theory on Secret Invasion/Dark Reign inside!
This week, we say good-bye to Morrison and Quitely’s All-Star Superman, give a passing nod to another installment of Secret Invasion, and take a second look at a handful of popular manga, conveniently repackaged for our enjoyment.
Wednesday also sees the return of Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting, the second issue of Millar and Harris’ destined-to-be-a-movie War Heroes, a hefty hardcover collection for Wood and Kelly’s Local, and an outsider’s view of Burma in the form of Guy Delisle’s new graphic novel.
To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.
Just as most worthwhile writers have a good ear for dialogue, the writer of a column like this one should have a good ear/eye for quotes. If you go back and look over the quotes that Kevin Melrose and JK Parkin culled in the period when they wrote this column, it is quite evident that both of them have a knack for finding effective quotes. My ears and eyes for quotes is vastly different than theirs. In fact, some weeks I come at this gig from an extremely strange mindset.
For example, this week, I toyed with the idea of trying to find quotes from comic book folks connected to suicide, in the wake of novelist David Foster Wallace‘s suicide on Friday. I rejected this idea quickly for a number of reasons. It’s exploitative in a sense (“Hey, this man not connected to comics in the slightest took his own life! That got me a thinkin’…”) and in terms of topic relevancy, it’s nonsensical. Also, to the best of my knowledge, for the all the online abuse (amidst the fair criticism [I concede] as well) comic book creators have taken over the years, we are fortunate enough not to have any suicides in our industry (my knowledge is limited, but I am hoping no one proves me wrong in the comments section [this is a hope on many levels]).
I’m sure everyone realizes a column of this nature (like most any) is subjective as hell. My eyes and ears for quotes are not to everyone’s liking. It can’t be. That’s why I periodically ask for folks to submit their own nods for quotes they thought worth noting in the week. I’m genuinely curious to understand what might catch your eye or ear that clearly eludes mine. And with that inquiry made, I leap into the quotes.
“Yes, he’s a dick. But he’s got an exotic David Bowie quality that captures our hearts.”
- Rachelle Goguen admiring Prince Namor, the Savage Sub-Mariner
“I will do something yet that is purely for me but will create for someone in the future that passion that Blake and Keats did in me.”
- Maurice Sendak on his hopes for his future work, as well as its intended impact (in a piece where he talks of his heroes, such as “Mozart, Keats, Blake, Melville and Dickinson”, and quickly disabuses anyone of the notion he’s likening his work to theirs)
A comic book issue that provoked a lot of recent controversy has been Detective Comics #848.
Please be warned, there are spoilers in these links.
I’m going to say right off the bat that this post is not about Sarah Palin, even though it does begin with Lynda Carter’s opinion of her.
In the words of a great leader of men, “I love it when a plan comes together.” We’re barely into Trinity‘s second quarter, but I get the feeling we’re about to wrap up the first act, and specifically the Tarot/Troika subplot. However, that still leaves Krona, Konvikt and Graak, and the possibility that the Troika could succeed….
SPOILERS FOLLOW
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The new Secret Six ongoing series follows a Secret Six miniseries which was a sequel to the Villains United miniseries which tied into Infinite Crisis. Furthermore, it picks up on plot elements introduced when the Six guest-starred in Birds Of Prey. Therefore, its publishing history is chock-full of a lot of what I’ve come to dislike about the constant crossover manipulations of DC’s superhero line …
… so why did I enjoy it so much?
[SPOILERS for last week's Secret Six #1, and probably for previous parts of the Sixer saga, after the jump.]
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Are you ready?
Are you prepared?
Did you get a montage of training to get ready for today’s onslaught of Secret Invasion comics?
It’s madness, people! Seven books in total hit the stands today whether we like it or not; the good news is that actually reading them all makes the whole thing even more complicated so it’s best to pick and choose the Secret Invasion storyline you want to follow. It’s kind of how you kind of had to pick which writer’s interpretation of Tony Stark you wanted to follow out of Civil War?
Anyhoo, we’re not here to talk about that today, believe it or not. Today, we look towards the future, what comes next and why we all might want to carry around a little flashlight.
For the world is getting darker as we speak.
*Turn down your lights — where applicable*
If you prefer your comics in hardcover form, this is the week for you.
DC Comics collects Batman #667-669 and 672-675 in The Black Glove, as well as the first three arcs of Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s celebrated Gotham Central.
Marvel, meanwhile, celebrates the 10th anniversary of Kevin Smith and Joe Quesada’s Daredevil: Guardian Devil storyline with a premiere hardcover, releases a collected edition of the recent Omega: The Unknown miniseries by Jonathan Lethem, Farel Dalrymple & Co.
Plus there’s another volume of Krazy & Ignatz from Fantagraphics, American Widow from First Second, Good Neighbors, Vol. 1, from Graphix, and Naruto: Collector’s Edition from Viz Media.
And those are just some of the hardcovers.
To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.
Flight Explorer, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Kazu Kibuishi, Johane Matte, Kean Soo, Phil Craven, Jake Parker, Steve Hamaker, Ben Hatke, Rad Sechrist, Bannister, and Matthew Armstrong
Villard Books: $10.00
I’m not convinced that there’s a need for a version of Flight that’s specifically aimed at kids, but I’m sure glad there is one. I’ve only read two of the Flight anthologies and I’m struggling to think of anything in them that I wouldn’t read to my six-year-old. Some of the material may go over his head, but that happened in Flight Explorer too. That doesn’t mean we didn’t enjoy the heck out of it though.
So Sarah Palin survives another week where the US VP hopeful was not revealed to be a closet comic book collector. I’m not saying she is, but boy would it not be fun to find out she was totally pro-Tony in the Civil War debate? OK enough of political What If?, you’re here for quotes. And I have some.
“The gap between artist and consumer that was created in the ’80s has only widened, however, with many fans viewing both underlying and overt political messages as a personal assault. Perhaps its just a reflection of our divisive times, magnified by the nearly unlimited means of expression offered by the Internet, call-in radio and 24-hour cable news networks.”
- The Fortress Keeper on recent reaction to some subtle and some direct political messages in comic books
“If you’re looking for brutal superhero slaughter in your wholesome kid-friendly entertainment, then the direct-to-DVD Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow is for you. Next Avengers, which just came out on DVD, is full of adorable kids whose parents (the Avengers) were disemboweled by the android Ultron, and now he’s coming for the kids.”
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This week, it’s quality (I hope) over quantity, as we explore a surprising number of Barracudas, suggest a possible explanation for John Stewart’s “skin condition,” and judge bad puns from … Hawkman?
SPOILERS FOLLOW
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LEAD STORY
“So What Now?” was written by Kurt Busiek, pencilled by Mark Bagley, inked by Art Thibert, colored by Pete Pantazis, and lettered by Pat Brosseau; Rachel Gluckstern, assistant editor; Mike Carlin, editor.
Clouseau: I thought you said your dog did not bite!
Desk Clerk: That is not my dog.
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For the second time, I’m ready to drop Teen Titans.
How many of you went to the comics shop at lunchtime only to realize — too late! — that the new books don’t hit the shelves until Thursday?
Pesky Labor Day.
But when you return tomorrow you should find another issue of Buffy Season 8 — complete with centaur-Dawn! — a new Love & Rockets series, the first volume of Takehiko Inoue’s popular Slam Dunk, and a things-will-never-be-the-same 75th issue of Fables.
Oh, and strangely enough, a pair of miniseries about missing or sunken submarines — one each from Marvel and BOOM!
To see what other titles Chris Mautner and I think are worth mentioning, just keep reading. As always, let us know your choices in the comments below.
Congratulations, everyone! The Secret Invasion is OVER!
Grab your party hat and dancing shoes, the Skrull center (if it ever had one) cannot hold! They are lost and without their holy guidance that you just couldn’t get them to shut up about! It’s over! The heroes will rally and roll over what’s left, right?
A couple weeks ago by now, the Skrull heavens shook with a catastrophic loss that cemented the new era of Incredible Hercules stories permanently into the realm of epic valor and mythology. Grek Pak has such a zeal for these kinds of tales and with Fred Van Lente along, you always feel like you’re learning a little something as you go. I could think of no greater architects for the ultimate defeat of the Skrull empire than these two.
Not even Bendis and he’s the guy on the main title.
But, Dear Reader, are you feeling a little confused as to what I’m talking about. Are you doing the math and finding us with THREE more issues of secret Invasion to go through before we can officially declare a winner? Am I perhaps putting on the party hats too soon? Read on.
WARNING: the following contains spoilers for the Secret Invasion tie-in issues of Incredible Hercules, which you all should have read by now anyways. If you haven’t, go to your LCS and pick ‘em up! Comics ship late this week and they’ll be glad to see you.
This week’s quotes could have been an amazing collection of tributes and shots at For Better or For Worse. It’s always mystified and annoyed me how much people have gotten into bashing Lynn Johnston’s strip, increasingly so in recent years. I just didn’t see the point. I liked the strip, and I was curious to see where she was taking these characters in the last days. But my god, the last few strips made me want to start mocking the work myself. For instance, ever faithful Iris is discussing Grandpa Jim’s health with new bride Elizabeth. But for whatever reason, Iris likens elderly Jim to a baby–prompting Elizabeth’s non sequitor of “I’d like to have a baby someday.” I was really hoping Iris would cold-cock Elizabeth and scream: “We’re talking about your grandfather, you self-absorbed moron!” Sadly it was not to be…for better or for worse.
But, no, I could not bring myself to gather such a collection of quotes. Instead, over the past few weeks, I’ve been bewildered by the active campaigns in some circles to deride Kramers Ergot 7. When the pricing on this anthology was first announced, I remembered thinking: “Don’t see myself buying the book.” But the way that some folks that I respect have seemingly gone out of your way to dismiss/deride/prejudge Kramer’s Ergot 7, I’m actively rooting for this book to succeed. And the backlash has made me more likely to buy the book. Fortunately for all the negative prejudgments just as many folks seem to be expecting great things of the book. Me? I’ll wait until I can read actual reviews of the book before making any final decisions.
“11 of those contributors are must-reads for me…33 pages for $125 bucks is a non-starter at my house; sorry, team artcomix. I know I’ve disappointed you terribly.”
- Alan David Doane in just one of his many reverse marketing posts about the book.
“Alan, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one gives a special shit about what you buy or don’t buy. Get over yourself, and move on.”
-Tom Spurgeon, in the same comments section, with a unique (for him) case of public potty mouth.
What it comes down to is a lack of effort.
This is being passed around the internet. While a wonderful post, it’s not offering any new idea. The argument that so-called strong female characters often turn out to be hollow sexual objects has been kicked around the internet for longer than I’ve been writing; and it’s a well-known writing rule that flaws are what make a character compelling to readers.
But certain writers still don’t seem to understand this when it comes to female characters so these posts continue to be written and passed around. The notability of any such post isn’t that the idea is new, but that it needs to be stated in a new way to get the idea across to writers. This post offers a new mantra–”We need WEAK female characters”–that will be repeated for some time by bloggers but likely won’t penetrate the skulls of the majority of writers.
(more…)
Neil Kleid and Paul Salvi’s Action, Ohio came in second place in the Zuda competition a few months back, but now Kleid announces on his blog that the comic will return at Shadowline.com.
Kleid has quite a few irons in the fire, as well as a baby on the way in October, and unfortunately that means Shadowline’s gain is our loss … this week’s Take That! column, it turns out, is going to be his last. I want to thank Neil for contributing to the blog; while not all of his columns during his brief run were well-received, he had some that were absolutely brilliant. Best of luck with the new baby and all of your current work, and as always, Neil, you’re welcome to return anytime.
