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?

Quarter Bin 74 "Drax, foiled again..."

These actually were bought for a quarter each, thank you very much.  The local haunt frequently puts damaged comics aside with steep discounts, so most of them this time are younger than is usual for this feature...

Drax #2 (Marvel)
From February 2016.
Being, perhaps somewhat uniquely, a fan of comics as well as professional wrestling, I can probably give insight into a CM Punk comic better than you might find elsewhere (were you so inclined).  Punk famously ditched the WWE after feeling he wasn't getting his due, even though he was one of the company's top performers, and somewhat irreplaceable, as the last few years since his departure have helped prove.  I have a complicated perspective on Punk.  On the one hand, he truly is as good as he thinks he is.  But on the other, his ego is probably more massive than he can support.  Strange combination.  But my sympathy for him has only increased since his departure from the ring.  I'm definitely Team Punk.  When he started writing comics, I was instantly intrigued, because it's a well-kept secret that comic book writers often intermingle their personal thoughts with their fictional ones (especially when they leave a series).  I quickly found I wouldn't be disappointed.

And yet, I wasn't sure I wanted to make a commitment to his first regular assignment, Drax, so I avoided sampling it until now.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.  Punk is definitely reflecting on his own life here, but not in a way that gets in the way.  Drax has a series because Guardians of the Galaxy made him more famous than he'd ever been.  And this series follows, more or less, with the character as established in the movie, which is a good thing because his was a fairly minimal role in the movie, and so there's plenty of room to explore (unlike, say, Rocket or Star-Lord, or the Guardians in general, but I digress).  Anyway, Drax is a unique situation in a comics era that's desperately grasping for unique situations (making them less and less unique by the minute), and again, Punk is ideally suited to explore it.  Nominally, Cullen Bunn, who never met a concept he couldn't suck the life out of, is there to help guide Punk, because Marvel probably had the same concerns I did, but I sense little Bunn here (again, a good thing).  So this was a very happy reading experience.

Superman: Lois & Clark #1 (DC)
From December 2015.
Another comic I was hesitant to read was one of the several Convergence spin-offs.  Fans cooled almost instantly on Convergence (I thought it was a pretty great success, both the mini-series itself and the creative freedom of the side projects), so maybe these spin-offs were never going to be the big hits DC thought they'd be (just as copying "Batgirl of Burnside" made that less significant, and led to DCYou being the failure it seems to have been).  Lois & Clark is a continuation of Convergence: Superman, with creators Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks along for the ride.  Jurgens famously was one of the writers DC tried on the New 52 Superman itself, one of the writers who famously failed to make it anywhere the success Grant Morrison's Action Comics was, at least in terms of garnering any kind of buzz.  Jurgens wisely seems to have used Lois & Clark as a commentary on that, and the New 52 as a whole.  And in case you didn't know, it also continues the Superman era last seen at the end of the '90s, the last time DC was ready for a major overhaul (technically, the early millennial Superman was not a reboot, but it really was).  The series also features Superman's son, who will be playing a significant role in the DC Rebirth era.  The comic itself is a fine read (and looks fine, too, thanks to Weeks, who knows how to translate Jurgens better than Jurgens has for years).  The issue outlines the whole concept, how the '90s Superman ended up in the New 52, and stood out of the way of history.  Like Drax, makes me wish I hadn't been so dismissively originally.

Action Comics #47 (DC)
From February 2016.
The Greg Pak era in Action Comics was kind of completely overshadowed.  It turned out to be for those who didn't want the Geoff Johns, or Gene Luen Yang, Superman.  But it's not really much to write home about.  This is from the "Truth" period, and features a villain who kind of has a valid perspective (seemingly ripped from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).  But it seems so pedestrian compared to the Johns/Yang Superman.  The artist is Georges Jeanty, whom I originally encountered in the pages of '90s Superboy, and who later resurfaced in the pages of Dark Horse's Bffy the Vampire Slayer comics.  But his work here is completely unrecognizable, which is a shame, because I liked his work from that time.  Equally baffling is Frankenstein's appearance in the issue.  It's not really dwelt on.  It's a visual element and nothing more, probably explained elsewhere, but surely disappointing for someone randomly stopping by.

Wildcats 3.0 #1 (WildStorm)
From October 2002.
This older issue is from the last attempt to keep WildStorm a viable, separate entity within DC once t became an imprint here instead of at Image.  The characters continue to pop up (they had supporting roles in Futures End, for instance, plus random efforts at ongoing series like Grifter and Midnighter), but it'll never be the same.  Speaking of completely different, this third volume of Wildcats was part of the Authority era, in which the company helped set up the Ultimates era, which helped set up the Avengers movies.  But clearly the original intent was something, again, completely different.  The idea was new maturity.  Joe Casey writes the corporate Wildcats in a way that sheds new light on just what America looked like at the turn of the millennium.  No wonder we've been struggling with our financial health ever since, because that was the era in which corporations really did seem to take over.  I mean, the '80s were the Greed Decade, but they had nothing on the '00s.  I think we all see that now.  A little too late, perhaps, but maybe it's because of things like Casey's fairly incomprehensive buzz speak heavy Wildcats.  Amusingly, Casey explains the evolution of the team in an essay, and it really doesn't help explain how Wildcats 3.0 makes sense from that any better than the comic itself, which ignores pretty much everything Wildcats except for Grifter.  I guess that makes sense...