More comics from a real quarter bin!
Black Canary #6 (DC)
From February 2016.
So apparently the previous Black Canary I picked up from this sale section is among the back issues I haven't talked about here. I'm beginning to form the opinion that Brenden Fletcher's Black Canary is DC's equivalent of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye over at Marvel. This was a bold creative risk, but one that took the more intimate approach than is typical for bold creative risks at the Big Two. Fletcher's Black Canary is probably what the Batgirl of Burnside, the creative revamp that inspired the DCYou approach that led to Fletcher's Black Canary, was supposed to be. This is a version of a classic DC character that kind of ditched the superhero model altogether and made it into a rock band fronted by Black Canary Granted, I don't think rock bands in 2016 are quite what they would have been, say twenty years ago, but as a creative vision, it's still one of the most interesting choices for a Big Two superhero concept that's come down the pike in years. Of course, it was completely overlooked, too, just like Fraction's Hawkeye. These were punk comics created for fans who think punk comics don't have to look like what punk comics usually look like. They can just try something new. It probably doesn't hurt that both Hawkeye and Black Canary featured the art of Annie Wu. Coincidences like that just don't exist...
Cerebus #80 (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
From November 1985.
With all due apologies to the story featured in the issue, I'm not really going to talk about that. (Right, and that's always been the exception...) What interests me is the letters column, in which Dave Sim engages in a dialogue with Neal Adams over the issue of creator rights. I know a thing or two about that lately. Just ask John Seavey. It's interesting, because it was almost literally the same conversation I had with Seavey, but more than thirty years earlier, and between two far more famous individuals. It's the conclusion, from Adams, that I'll quote in full:
Dear Dave:
Thanks for letting me reply to your letter, and relative to your letter and [its] basic direction, I agree with you totally.
There is a small point that might be made at this time. I have never really disagreed with contracts between parties. In truth, I have never disagreed with contracts which are unfair to one party or another. (Most contracts usually have at least one signer thinking he got a raw deal. Sometimes both.)
I have never actually disagreed with the concept of standard contracts, although they are viewed by some as unfair.
What I have disagreed with from the moment of [its] inception, is the fact that the Congress of the United States created a copyright law which includes the concept of work-made-for-hire. The insertion of work-made-for-hire in a contract removes the possibility of there being fairness in a contract. It literally turns the publisher into the creator and owner of the work. Any additional rights spoken about can only be rights returned back to the original creator from the new creator (publisher). This is base hypocrisy, and that it was able to be slipped into a law, basically in two sentences, a law that is book length, and that it permeates ours and other graphic industries is an example of how a lack of alertness or caring on the part of the people involved, can lead to ethical disaster.
(Incidentally, if we get rid of work-made-for-hire and its contracts, they'll simply be replaced with other unfair contracts. Right folks?)
Yes, I agree with your letter Dave, but there's a world of difference between the standard form contract which I have never argued with, and a work-made-for-hire contract, which I have always felt was a betrayal by our highest government institutions of the creative community of our country. People in other countries have been struck incredulous when I have told them that by contract, publishers in America can become the "creator" of a work and that right is written into our law!
And, just in case the idea has gotten across to you and your readers that I (and my white horse0 somehow stand for truth and justice in all [its] myriad forms, that's not the case. I simply try to point out gross injustices that, on real examination, are obvious and clear to thinking people. For example: the return of Jack Kirby's artwork.
Sincerely,
Neal Adams
President
Continuity Graphics Assoc., Inc.
...Anyway, I just thought that was interesting.
Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra #4 (Marvel)
From March 2003.
This is Greg Rucka's version of the Daredevil Miller Narrative, and because it's Rucka, it focuses more on Elektra than Daredevil. With Rucka returning to Wonder Woman in the DC Rebirth era, it's certainly worth revisiting classic Rucka, and I think this one's probably been lost in the shuffle, especially because Marvel's Ultimate comics kind of got summarized, in the grand scheme, by the Ultimates, Spider-Man, and X-Men, even though there were a few other stories worth remembering as well. This comic was created at the same time the Daredevil movie was released, at the height of the backlash against Ben Affleck. I always liked the movie, and how it helped return focus to Elektra, one of Marvel's worthier women. Rucka's Miller Narrative doesn't even feature Kingpin, but rather a stand-in creation, which was nice to see. Definitely worth checking out.
Drax #2 (Marvel)
From February 2016.
I suppose I should have seen this coming. This is the same issue I already read, and talked about here. It was in the same sale section, presumably because of some shipment mishandling. At any rate, it was as much a pleasure to read the second time as it was the first, and CM Punk's thoughts were just as worth reading in comics form. He's such a natural, it's scary, and this comic is such a perfect fit, I'm glad it happened.
Earth X Wizard Special Edition, #0, 3, 4 (Marvel)
From 1997, March, June and July 1999.
Now, I've given poor Jim Krueger a slagging, in the past, as Alex Ross's stooge, writing what Ross can't write himself, because Ross is busy reliving his glory days in endless regurgitations, but that's not really fair. (It's probably not fair for Alex Ross, either, but that's a topic for another day.) But Krueger has his own credentials, too, including Foot Soldiers, which was a pretty fair creative statement itself, too.
The real kicker is that Earth X is Krueger and Ross's first collaboration, and it's probably the best Krueger I've read to date.
It came about because of Wizard magazine. Wizard was that great bastion of comic book geekdom that was, in some ways, the Internet before the Internet really exploded. It was the biggest cheerleader around, and it could even be the launching pad for new projects, such as when it helped Marvel introduce Sentry, or Kurt Busiek create a new villain for Astro City. It also helped inspire Earth X, when it asked Ross what Marvel's version of Kingdom Come would look like, which is kind of ironic, because it was Marvel's Marvels that inspired Kingdom Come, and fans still haven't given Kingdom Come its due, and apparently even Earth X has a hard time getting respect.
Earth X isn't Kingdom Come. The Wizard brainstorming special where Ross detailed his ideas makes that clear. It wasn't until he reveals his version of the X-Men that I was sold on the concept as creatively viable. But Krueger's interpretation made it clear that this was truly a project I could get behind.
Ross's X-Men have a lot of interesting new mutants on the team, including Double Header, who literally has two heads. If I ever got to write a Marvel comic, I would definitely write an X-Men story with Double Header. It's perfect!)
Krueger's dystopian future revolves around a conversation between the Watcher and Machine Man. This seems completely improbable and perhaps equally inexplicable, right? All three issues I read are dominated by this conversation. The concept itself has every human having gained their own mutant powers, thus negating superheroes, right? It further alienates Marvel's famously alienated superheroes, and pushes everything forward, in a very classic Marvel way. Previous to reading this, my ideal Marvel comic was Dan Abnett's Conspiracy. Krueger takes a different stance, but the results are equally fantastic.
This is not the Marvel that exists today. Today, Marvel is going after the movie crowd, and the idea that cuter, more kid-friendly comics will probably help ensure the continued viability of the medium, but creatively, it just doesn't compare to a mindset where things like Earth X, like Conspiracy, is possible. When Marvel does a smart comic now (and maybe this was always the case?), it's the exception. I wish that weren't the case. You have things like Tom King's Vision, Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight, and yes, even CM Punk's Drax, but then, you also have Nick Spencer's Captain America. You can see that the mainstream titles don't get the same kind of freedom. Say what you will about Scott Snyder's Batman, and I've said plenty, but that was a mainstream title that took the right kinds of creative risks.
Eye of the Storm Annual #1 (Wildstorm)
From September 2003.
There are a bunch of short stories in this one, all of them exploring various facets of Wildstorm's landscape, but the one that I bought it for is written by Geoff Johns in one of his increasingly rare excursions away from DC proper. As with a lot of Johns material from this period, his story of a team of bounty hunters is not afraid to be a little sexy (although as in The Possessed, it's kind of incidental, as in art-driven). But like his later Ghosts short, Johns is experimenting with concept more than anything, playing against his type, having time unexpectedly be a factor in the story, which is to say, have a surprise element be as important as anything else. I hope he has time to do more experiments like this in the future.
Showing posts with label Cerebus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cerebus. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Quarter Bin 76 "Automatic Kafka, and other stuff"
A lot of comics bought from an actual quarter bin. Don't say it never happens...
Automatic Kafka #2 (WildStorm)
From October 2002.
Joe Casey was one of the big names in comic at that time, but then he split off with a couple of his fellow luminaries to form Man of Action, which produced hit concepts like Ben 10 and Big Hero 6. But before he left, he left a splash, with stuff like Automatic Kafka. Chances are if he hadn't left, Kafka would have a lasting memory. Like a lot of Casey and WildStorm's efforts from that time, it was a post-millennial superhero deconstruction project, although today it looks like a precursor to Matt Kindt's MIND MGMT, which to my mind is a very good thing. So it was certainly a pleasure to read some of it, and I certainly wouldn't mind reading more. It was certainly the most pleasant discovery of this particular lot, although there was plenty of other good stuff, such as:
Batman: Futures End #1 (DC)
From November 2014.
The Futures End specials were such a rich creative opportunity, and I love checking out what the more adventurous ones attempted. This one wasn't an attempt, it was Scott Snyder, with Ray Fawkes scripting, revisiting his fascinating vision of the future Batman, so obsessed with his mission that he sets up a series of clones who will continue it indefinitely. It was easily Snyder's richest Batman concept, and one seen otherwise only sparingly, from a short story in the pages of the anniversary Detective Comics #27. I didn't read this special when it was originally released, because I didn't imagine that Snyder would revisit the concept, and fan reactions at the time didn't catch on to the significance of the issue, but I eventually read it digitally, and so now I've got a physical copy as well. This is the origin of the clone initiative, an older Batman who defies the odds and breaks into Lex Luthor's secret lab to get what he needs for it. I'd love if Snyder eventually returned again to the concept, but a small collection of these two stories wouldn't be out of order, either, so fans know they exist...
Bone Holiday Special (Hero)
From 1993.
This was something of an unbelievable find, a Hero magazine special from the early days of Jeff Smith's Bone. In it is an exclusive story, plus an interview (Smith comes off as less than impressive, alas), and reprints of early strips predating Bone, back when it was called Thorn. Bone is an endlessly charming memory, one of my all-time favorite comics, and Smith has proven to be an enduring talent as well, with RASL and Tuki (an ongoing project) also under his belt by this point.
Cerebus #201 (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
From December 1995.
Dave Sim is such a unique character in comics lore. He was a virtual god of the indy press at his prime, but since Cerebus ended fans have tended to reflect more on his alleged shortcomings than on what he accomplished. This issue begins the "Guys" arc, and seems to feature parodies of George Harrison and Ringo Starr (and virtually incomprehensible dialogue to match their accents). I have no idea how representative it is of Cerebus as a whole, but it was certainly unique reading. Sim includes an origin of Cerebus (and the name of its publisher, Aardvark-Vanaheim) in an essay, so that was pretty lucky for a guy who's not usually lucky enough to find an issue...
Chosen #2 (Dark Horse)
One of Mark Millar's formative projects (he's since retitled it American Jesus, and plans on further volumes) features a boy who may or may not be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. It's actually pretty interesting.
Empire #3 (DC)
From November 2003.
Mark Waid was my favorite '90s comic book writer. Eventually, he started to try and figure out how he was going to follow up all the stuff he'd accomplished in that decade, and everything he's done since has been a continuation of that. Empire was his first shot at what the kind of superhero storytelling he later developed in his Irredeemable comics. The concept was, What if the bad guy wins? This issue features the superhero who the villain only wants the world to think died. I don't know, maybe my lackluster opinion of Waid in the last few decades colors my impression of Empire, but it's hard to see now why fans were so wild about it. But they've consistently been wild about a lot of minor work from Waid. I should know. I knew his work when it was great...
Green Lantern: Mosaic #6 (DC)
From November 1992.
1992 was from the era I last saw bargain packs all over the place, and how I first discovered Green Lantern: Mosaic. This was, as I know understand it, the Vertigo version of Green Lantern. Gerard Jones ruled the whole Green Lantern landscape at that time, and it was surprisingly expansive landscape at that time. Mosaic was the big gamble. I guess I couldn't really appreciate how big a gamble it was until I read its letters column. The first issue of the series was the first issue I read, and for decades remains the only issue. But I loved that issue. Eventually, I caught another issue, and then even the arc from Green Lantern where it originated. Turns out, fans really didn't know what to make of it, and Jones didn't go out of his way to make it any easier. I mean, this was a Vertigo title. And it seriously needs to be rediscovered. It's pretty much the Green Lantern version of Grant Morrison's Animal Man. And this is how you make John Stewart relevant.
Haven: The Broken City #9 (DC)
From October 2002.
A couple of upstart creators were given a shot at creating something new at DC. This was a time of pretty wild experimentation at DC, and so it was as good a time to let upstart creators try their thing as any. The result is better than its complete lack of impact indicates. I caught the first issue from the same quarter bin a little while back, so it only seemed appropriate that I caught the last issue, too. Bookending the series were two specials featuring the Justice League. I don't really know what happened, why the upstarts vanished and the whole thing forgotten. But it didn't really deserve that fate.
Hawkeye #3 (Marvel)
From December 2012.
But then again, the much better established Matt Fraction couldn't help this series make a bigger impact...
Infinite Vacation #5 (Image)
Back when I thought I was going to continue to be a big fan of Nick Spencer, I caught the first issue of this one, and so reading the last one seemed like it would finally be appropriate. In hindsight Infinite Vacation may be remembered, if anything, for helping launch Image's continuing obsession with really bold coloring. This is the era of colorists, folks.
Infinity Man and the Forever People: Futures End #1 (DC)
From November 2014.
This Futures End special is pretty good, too, and is the first time I actually read this New Gods series. I think its only shortcoming is that it...really doesn't seem all that relevant a New Gods concept. But it's still a good read!
Justice League Europe #36 (DC)
From March 1992.
Gerard Jones again, this time helping smooth the transition from the Giffen/DeMatteis era to the Jurgens era, as he dismantles the old Bwa-Ha-Ha League (a lot of the members in this issue join Jurgens' Justice League America).
The Mice Templar: Volume IV - Legend #3 (Image)
From June 2013.
I was such a fan of Mice Templar, but I kind of got...tired of it after a while. The black and white art doesn't help, because it's hard to distinguish characters, especially since they're all rodents. But it was such an ambitious concept, and eventually ran for, I think, forty-two issues across five mini-series. This is actually a pretty good issue, and the new essay writer explains the history of anthropomorphic storytelling, which is kind of handy. So it was a good random issue to help revisit the concept. Plus, the Salmon of Knowledge!
Moon Knight #16 (Marvel)
From August 2015.
Predictably, Cullen Bunn features the least imaginative version of Marvel's project to make Moon Knight its second most interesting character (actual storytelling results may vary), after Deadpool. Although I hear Jeff Lemire is doing some truly killer work with the concept at the moment...
Promethea #22 (ABC)
From November 2002.
Alan Moore is the comics genius (so proclaimed by at least one whole generation of fans) I consider more lackluster than not. Promethea was his project with future superstar J.H. Williams III, who later collaborated with Neil Gaiman on a new Sandman. Speaking of which, this issue reads like a lackluster, Alan Moore version of Sandman. And speaking of which...
Sandman #63 (Vertigo)
I've been trying to catch up with Gaiman's seminal comics saga for a while (as evidenced by my annotations of The Annotated Sandman, a project that will continue at some point). This issue is from late in the series and, more specifically, "The Kindly Ones." It is not, however, particularly an issue to hold against counterfeit Alan Moore Sandman. It's a pretty busy issue, and certainly better than Moore's effort, but not an easy issue to laud among the greater Gaiman material available...
Smax #3 (ABC)
From December 2003.
"ABC," by the way, stands for "America's Best Comics." Which these really aren't. They were pretty popular at the time, and Alan Moore's last real stab at popular work (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came from this era), and the funny thing is, they were all variations on stuff he originally did for Rob Liefeld. It makes sense somehow. Anyway, if Moore weren't so completely obsessed with sex, he might do better work. That's my theory, anyway...
Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #2 (DC)
From February 2016.
This is pretty much how the romance ends. It's kind of sad.
The New Titans #66 (DC)
From May 1990.
The cover of this later issue from the seminal Wolfman/Perez collaboration features Raven...not making out with Dick Grayson. It only looks that way. Raven's meddling in Dick's love life would come a little later in Wolfman's run (a development that's routinely overlooked by fans, by the way). It's worth noting that George Perez is not on art duties this issue, but rather co-scripting (the beginning, perhaps, of his writing career). The art, rather, comes from the formative pen of Tom Grummett, whose style is somewhat evident in this early work. If memory serves me right, he's also drawing when Wolfman has Raven crash Dick's would-be nuptials with Starfire...
The Legend of Will Power #1, 2 (Primal Paper)
From March, August 2011.
A local comics creator produced these comics (it's always worth sampling the native talent, which includes Drew Moss, who was in the store sketching once, and complaining about his publisher complaining about him...). This isn't Moss, however, but Vince White, and the reason I picked up these issues was because I had the suspicion there might be some Green Lantern in these pages. But the utter lack of connection between the superhero and his name (which is actually his real name) shows the disconnect between White's ambitions and his actual talent. He's a better artist. He needed a co-writer. Live and learn?
Automatic Kafka #2 (WildStorm)
From October 2002.
Joe Casey was one of the big names in comic at that time, but then he split off with a couple of his fellow luminaries to form Man of Action, which produced hit concepts like Ben 10 and Big Hero 6. But before he left, he left a splash, with stuff like Automatic Kafka. Chances are if he hadn't left, Kafka would have a lasting memory. Like a lot of Casey and WildStorm's efforts from that time, it was a post-millennial superhero deconstruction project, although today it looks like a precursor to Matt Kindt's MIND MGMT, which to my mind is a very good thing. So it was certainly a pleasure to read some of it, and I certainly wouldn't mind reading more. It was certainly the most pleasant discovery of this particular lot, although there was plenty of other good stuff, such as:
Batman: Futures End #1 (DC)
From November 2014.
The Futures End specials were such a rich creative opportunity, and I love checking out what the more adventurous ones attempted. This one wasn't an attempt, it was Scott Snyder, with Ray Fawkes scripting, revisiting his fascinating vision of the future Batman, so obsessed with his mission that he sets up a series of clones who will continue it indefinitely. It was easily Snyder's richest Batman concept, and one seen otherwise only sparingly, from a short story in the pages of the anniversary Detective Comics #27. I didn't read this special when it was originally released, because I didn't imagine that Snyder would revisit the concept, and fan reactions at the time didn't catch on to the significance of the issue, but I eventually read it digitally, and so now I've got a physical copy as well. This is the origin of the clone initiative, an older Batman who defies the odds and breaks into Lex Luthor's secret lab to get what he needs for it. I'd love if Snyder eventually returned again to the concept, but a small collection of these two stories wouldn't be out of order, either, so fans know they exist...
Bone Holiday Special (Hero)
From 1993.
This was something of an unbelievable find, a Hero magazine special from the early days of Jeff Smith's Bone. In it is an exclusive story, plus an interview (Smith comes off as less than impressive, alas), and reprints of early strips predating Bone, back when it was called Thorn. Bone is an endlessly charming memory, one of my all-time favorite comics, and Smith has proven to be an enduring talent as well, with RASL and Tuki (an ongoing project) also under his belt by this point.
Cerebus #201 (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
From December 1995.
Dave Sim is such a unique character in comics lore. He was a virtual god of the indy press at his prime, but since Cerebus ended fans have tended to reflect more on his alleged shortcomings than on what he accomplished. This issue begins the "Guys" arc, and seems to feature parodies of George Harrison and Ringo Starr (and virtually incomprehensible dialogue to match their accents). I have no idea how representative it is of Cerebus as a whole, but it was certainly unique reading. Sim includes an origin of Cerebus (and the name of its publisher, Aardvark-Vanaheim) in an essay, so that was pretty lucky for a guy who's not usually lucky enough to find an issue...
Chosen #2 (Dark Horse)
One of Mark Millar's formative projects (he's since retitled it American Jesus, and plans on further volumes) features a boy who may or may not be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. It's actually pretty interesting.
Empire #3 (DC)
From November 2003.
Mark Waid was my favorite '90s comic book writer. Eventually, he started to try and figure out how he was going to follow up all the stuff he'd accomplished in that decade, and everything he's done since has been a continuation of that. Empire was his first shot at what the kind of superhero storytelling he later developed in his Irredeemable comics. The concept was, What if the bad guy wins? This issue features the superhero who the villain only wants the world to think died. I don't know, maybe my lackluster opinion of Waid in the last few decades colors my impression of Empire, but it's hard to see now why fans were so wild about it. But they've consistently been wild about a lot of minor work from Waid. I should know. I knew his work when it was great...
Green Lantern: Mosaic #6 (DC)
From November 1992.
1992 was from the era I last saw bargain packs all over the place, and how I first discovered Green Lantern: Mosaic. This was, as I know understand it, the Vertigo version of Green Lantern. Gerard Jones ruled the whole Green Lantern landscape at that time, and it was surprisingly expansive landscape at that time. Mosaic was the big gamble. I guess I couldn't really appreciate how big a gamble it was until I read its letters column. The first issue of the series was the first issue I read, and for decades remains the only issue. But I loved that issue. Eventually, I caught another issue, and then even the arc from Green Lantern where it originated. Turns out, fans really didn't know what to make of it, and Jones didn't go out of his way to make it any easier. I mean, this was a Vertigo title. And it seriously needs to be rediscovered. It's pretty much the Green Lantern version of Grant Morrison's Animal Man. And this is how you make John Stewart relevant.
Haven: The Broken City #9 (DC)
From October 2002.
A couple of upstart creators were given a shot at creating something new at DC. This was a time of pretty wild experimentation at DC, and so it was as good a time to let upstart creators try their thing as any. The result is better than its complete lack of impact indicates. I caught the first issue from the same quarter bin a little while back, so it only seemed appropriate that I caught the last issue, too. Bookending the series were two specials featuring the Justice League. I don't really know what happened, why the upstarts vanished and the whole thing forgotten. But it didn't really deserve that fate.
Hawkeye #3 (Marvel)
From December 2012.
But then again, the much better established Matt Fraction couldn't help this series make a bigger impact...
Infinite Vacation #5 (Image)
Back when I thought I was going to continue to be a big fan of Nick Spencer, I caught the first issue of this one, and so reading the last one seemed like it would finally be appropriate. In hindsight Infinite Vacation may be remembered, if anything, for helping launch Image's continuing obsession with really bold coloring. This is the era of colorists, folks.
Infinity Man and the Forever People: Futures End #1 (DC)
From November 2014.
This Futures End special is pretty good, too, and is the first time I actually read this New Gods series. I think its only shortcoming is that it...really doesn't seem all that relevant a New Gods concept. But it's still a good read!
Justice League Europe #36 (DC)
From March 1992.
Gerard Jones again, this time helping smooth the transition from the Giffen/DeMatteis era to the Jurgens era, as he dismantles the old Bwa-Ha-Ha League (a lot of the members in this issue join Jurgens' Justice League America).
The Mice Templar: Volume IV - Legend #3 (Image)
From June 2013.
I was such a fan of Mice Templar, but I kind of got...tired of it after a while. The black and white art doesn't help, because it's hard to distinguish characters, especially since they're all rodents. But it was such an ambitious concept, and eventually ran for, I think, forty-two issues across five mini-series. This is actually a pretty good issue, and the new essay writer explains the history of anthropomorphic storytelling, which is kind of handy. So it was a good random issue to help revisit the concept. Plus, the Salmon of Knowledge!
Moon Knight #16 (Marvel)
From August 2015.
Predictably, Cullen Bunn features the least imaginative version of Marvel's project to make Moon Knight its second most interesting character (actual storytelling results may vary), after Deadpool. Although I hear Jeff Lemire is doing some truly killer work with the concept at the moment...
Promethea #22 (ABC)
From November 2002.
Alan Moore is the comics genius (so proclaimed by at least one whole generation of fans) I consider more lackluster than not. Promethea was his project with future superstar J.H. Williams III, who later collaborated with Neil Gaiman on a new Sandman. Speaking of which, this issue reads like a lackluster, Alan Moore version of Sandman. And speaking of which...
Sandman #63 (Vertigo)
I've been trying to catch up with Gaiman's seminal comics saga for a while (as evidenced by my annotations of The Annotated Sandman, a project that will continue at some point). This issue is from late in the series and, more specifically, "The Kindly Ones." It is not, however, particularly an issue to hold against counterfeit Alan Moore Sandman. It's a pretty busy issue, and certainly better than Moore's effort, but not an easy issue to laud among the greater Gaiman material available...
Smax #3 (ABC)
From December 2003.
"ABC," by the way, stands for "America's Best Comics." Which these really aren't. They were pretty popular at the time, and Alan Moore's last real stab at popular work (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen came from this era), and the funny thing is, they were all variations on stuff he originally did for Rob Liefeld. It makes sense somehow. Anyway, if Moore weren't so completely obsessed with sex, he might do better work. That's my theory, anyway...
Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #2 (DC)
From February 2016.
This is pretty much how the romance ends. It's kind of sad.
The New Titans #66 (DC)
From May 1990.
The cover of this later issue from the seminal Wolfman/Perez collaboration features Raven...not making out with Dick Grayson. It only looks that way. Raven's meddling in Dick's love life would come a little later in Wolfman's run (a development that's routinely overlooked by fans, by the way). It's worth noting that George Perez is not on art duties this issue, but rather co-scripting (the beginning, perhaps, of his writing career). The art, rather, comes from the formative pen of Tom Grummett, whose style is somewhat evident in this early work. If memory serves me right, he's also drawing when Wolfman has Raven crash Dick's would-be nuptials with Starfire...
The Legend of Will Power #1, 2 (Primal Paper)
From March, August 2011.
A local comics creator produced these comics (it's always worth sampling the native talent, which includes Drew Moss, who was in the store sketching once, and complaining about his publisher complaining about him...). This isn't Moss, however, but Vince White, and the reason I picked up these issues was because I had the suspicion there might be some Green Lantern in these pages. But the utter lack of connection between the superhero and his name (which is actually his real name) shows the disconnect between White's ambitions and his actual talent. He's a better artist. He needed a co-writer. Live and learn?
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Quarter Bin #47 "Resurfacing Cerebus and Others"
Disclaimer: Comics featured in "Quarter Bin" are not necessarily from an actual quarter bin. This is a column about back issues.
Aquaman Secret Files 2003 (DC)
From May 2003:
I don't have an extensive history reading Aquaman, but I've generally kept tabs on the character during the midst of my comics experience. Perhaps the most notable stories of the past twenty years came from Peter David, who famously had Aquaman lose a hand and grow his hair out, so that he was more distinguishable from DC's other heroes. Amazingly, the lost hand stuck around for years after David's run, and was even referenced when the character resurfaced in Brightest Day a few years ago. After David, the character went back in search of direction, which at one point even included an assist from Savage Dragon's Erik Larsen. It became pretty random. Now, before recent years when a series was relaunched it was because a publisher was just trying to draw attention to a character whose visibility had been shrinking but who otherwise was still relevant enough to justify their own book. Aquaman got that treatment, again, around the release of this Secret Files release. Things did not really improve for the character, though. By the end of the series a few years later Aquaman had been killed off and replaced pretty unceremoniously (although the Tad Williams issues of Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis are well worth reading). The problems can be found here. Apparently someone had the idea that Aquaman should be a fantasy character. This is a problem, because Aquaman has always struggled for mainstream credentials. You will never find mainstream credentials for someone like Aquaman by attempting to shape his stories into a niche genre. Comics are already a niche genre, especially those featuring superheroes. To ask a large pool of fans to care about a character you're suddenly limiting that much more in his appeal, without making him more compelling, is a recipe for disaster. The one thing I learned from this special is that Vulko, a character Geoff Johns has been using in his current and far superior Aquaman, is an established supporting character. But he's one, along with Mera, that Geoff uses far more effectively, along with everything else.
Cerebus #262 (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
From January 2001:
One of the things I'm pretty mad at myself as a comics reader is that I didn't read Cerebus when I had the chance. Cerebus is perhaps the most iconic indy comic that never went mainstream, a step below Jeff Smith's Bone and two behind Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It's most famous for creator Dave Sim's vow to run it for three hundred issues, which he kept. Part of the reason why it has more limited appeal than its more famous indy kin is that Cerebus was not about anything in particular, but rather whatever Sim wanted to explore. The main character, like Groo, began life as a parody of Conan the Barbarian, an aardvark warrior of all things. I had a chance to read some of its final issues as they were released, but at that time I was just getting my access to comic books, and wanted to reconnect with the superheroes I used to enjoy. But don't feel bad, Cerebus fans. I also skipped out on the final issues of Bone as well as Grant Morrison's New X-Men and Brian K. Vaughan's Y: The Last Man. I was pretty much an idiot. What it means for me as a reader today is that I have a chance to revisit Cerebus for the first time, and this is the very first issue I've ever read. As I expected, Sim's concept of narrative is pretty loose. This issue is part of the extended "Going Home" arc (it ran from #232 to 265). Based on this tiny experience and what I know of the complete series, it may be worth arguing that Cerebus is the most cerebral, philosophical, literary comic book ever created. I have every intention to eventually read the whole run.
Avengers: The Children's Crusade - Young Avengers (Marvel)
From May 2011:
Young Avengers from original creators Allan Heinberg and Jimmy Cheung was the best comic book Marvel published at the time. It was a mix of old and new school, and a rare instance of attempting to create a new generation, or a new New Teen Titans if you will, wholesale and actually succeeding. When Heinberg and Cheung reunited for The Children's Crusade, I expected everyone to be as pleased as the original series was beloved. Yet it was met with massive indifference. Now it has some historic importance, since the Scarlet Witch's return in the pages of Children's Crusade led to her considerable role in AvX and subsequent X-Men lore such as featured in All-New X-Men. This particular issue from the Children's Crusade period was a one-shot that harks back to the original Young Avengers, with a strong focus on Iron Lad, who happens to be the younger version of the classic Avengers foe Kang the Conqueror. The struggle between these two was a key element of the early days, but the longer the team stuck around the more the focus shifted to other characters, whether the emerging relationship between Wiccan and Hulkling or Patriot's growing ambivalence toward a continued superheroic career. Yet Iron Lad's conflict remains fascinating and could easily support its own continuing story. At the very least this special is worth reading to see how interesting it really is. Because of things that were happening to me as Children's Crusade was being released, not only did I not read every issue (notably missing the finale), but I had no idea this even existed, so I was glad to discover it. With a new Young Avengers series just begun, it'll always be worth looking back at what came before.
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