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A true comic fan’s pull list is something sacred. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve requested my pull list just to make sure it had all the titles I enjoy on a monthly basis. I’m constantly tweaking the thing to ensure that what I’m giving up my hard earned money for is the pinnacle of comic entertainment as I see it. Lately, however I’ve found myself requesting my pull list mainly to REMOVE things from it which is quite disturbing. Apparently, this is becoming a trend since the economy went into cardiac arrest. Truth be told, the removal of titles from my list has absolutely NOTHING to do with the economy.
Rebel One and I often have discussions about what we’re getting every month. I’m sure he’s picked up on it, but our conversations are turning into what we’re taking off the list instead of what we’re adding to it. This isn’t a good sign. Both of us have reasonably stable jobs with money to burn when it comes to our favorite hobby and yet we’re spending less money in the comic shop. Why?
For one thing, the mega-event crossover is ruining the quality of comics. Period. This is a typical fanboy comment but there’s validity to the statement. I write this as a guy who enjoys the cosmos-spanding-super-duper-exciting-omni-event just like the next guy but it’s starting to TAKEOVER what’s happening in the books instead of things naturally building to a major event. The books are starting to follow a pattern that looks like this;
MAJOR EVENT-----FALLOUT/BUILD TO NEXT MAJOR EVENT----MAJOR EVENT-----FALLOUT/BUILD TO NEXT MAJOR EVENT---
The characters are suffering because they don’t have any room to breathe. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I LIKED the issues where the team would play a pickup basketball game or someone went on a date. I remember an issue of X-Men after the much bally-hooed relaunch with Claremont and Lee where Gambit took Rogue out on a date and the rest of the X-Men followed them around because nobody trusted Gambit. I loved that issue. Sure, they got attacked by a bunch of dudes in red suits, but that was cool. At least they were trying to inject some fun into their complicated lives. I remember the issue where Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus went to a bar and got into it with an unarmored, but still deadly Juggernaut. AMAZING ISSUE. Now all the characters look like they’re in desperate need of enemas. Nothing’s fun because there’s no time for it and things are WAY too dark for fun. Someone’s raping all the superheroes’ spouses or the good guys no longer trust each other because Captain Determined molested Victory Maiden’s granddaughter 15 years ago and she’s decided to speak up about it just in time for the summer crossover event. And these are the GOOD GUYS. Things are darker in comics than they are in real life and that’s just plain wrong. Part of the attraction I had to superheroes as a kid was I wanted to BE these people. I wanted to swing across a rooftop like Spiderman. Now, I wouldn’t want to be Peter Parker for a million bucks. I love my wife too much to make a deal with the devil so I forget I even met her. But I’m getting off topic…..ahem….
Listen, I understand that comic companies want to make money. I also understand that the big event comics generate a HUGE amount of that money. Unfortunately, it seems that the business strategy has changed in such a way that there is ONLY the event. Everything else is simply build up and fallout of the event. It’s frustrating to follow a book where a great story is going and then all of a sudden the character is sucked into the vortex of the BIG EVENT that’s running through all the books. I’ve perused a P & L statement or two on my day-job as a manager and I’d bet money that these EVENTS are nothing more than lines on a budget with a projected percentage of revenue and that these lines have to be met or exceeded or else the stockholders aren’t happy which puts a lot of pressure on the people putting the books together which stifles creativity which yields a dumb comic which gets removed from my pull list. People might argue that the pressure of delivering a mega event actually sparks creativity but I beg to differ. That’s another post entirely.
Another thing that gets books pulled off my list (with the quickness) is creative team change ups. I’ve got favorite characters but I don’t follow them no matter what. There has to be a competent writer and artist on the book for me to throw down the ole’ debit card. I know the nature of the business today is not conducive to long runs on books by creative teams but I wish things would change on that front. There are few things as frustrating as following and loving a particular run by a creative team only for the team to move on and you get stuck with another group that goes OUT OF THEIR WAY to make big, sweeping changes so that they make their presence felt on the book. Guess what? YOUR PRESENCE=LAME, which also = OFF MY PULL LIST. As you can probably tell, I’ve been burned by this a few times.
Ok, so having said all that, here’s my pull list as it stands today. You should note that this thing is constantly changing and a lot of it hinges on what I’ve mentioned in the previous rambling paragraphs. In no particular order,
1.) Cassanova
Matt Fraction’s probably my favorite writer right now and his dimension hopping, superspy saga will stay on my pull list as long as he keeps writing it. Fraction’s words and Gabriel Ba’s magnificent pictures combine to form one of the best original concepts to hit the shelves since…well…EVER…
2.) All-Star Batman and Robin
Is this still coming out? I know Frank Miller’s busy doing the rounds in Hollywood and Jim Lee’s buried beneath DC’s looming MMORPG as its creative director but I don’t recall the series concluding. It’s on my pull list because it’s a Batman story that’s off on its own and it’s obvious that Frank Miller’s having fun writing Batman as a stark, raving lunatic.
3.) Daredevil
If Fraction’s my favorite writer, then Ed Brubaker certainly comes in a close second. I was never interested in Daredevil until Brubaker started writing the book. Every month I close the latest issue of Daredevil actually feeling sorry for Matt Murdock. The guy NEVER gets a break. I wonder how much the man can take before he breaks, if he isn’t already broken. No way could I move on without acknowledging the STUNNING job Michael Lark does on this book. Too bad these guys are moving on….I think I might too…
4.) Captain America
For my money, Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Luke Ross, and Mike Perkins are producing the greatest Captain America story EVER printed. Cap was another character I wasn’t terribly interested in until Brubaker worked his magic on the title. How he managed to take a typically sunny character clad in bright red, white, and blue, plunge him into the dark world of espionage and secret missions and it somehow fit the character is downright mind boggling. The book NEVER disappoints. The fact that Brubaker and Co. have managed to tell a story this compelling WITHOUT Steve Rogers is a testament to the strength of the talents involved.
5.) The Uncanny X-Men
Did I mention Fraction was my favorite writer? I did? Ok, so then it should come as no surprise that his X-Men title shows up on my list. I used to pick up the X-books way back when and the last great story I read was by another favorite writer of mine, Grant Morrison. Good thing Fraction showed up to take on these characters because I’ve always thought the characters were cool (except Angel which is a topic for another post). I like the direction he’s taken with the team, changing up their base of operations and giving them a specific purpose in the MU. However, I’d be lying if I said I loved the artwork. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not terrible, but I think Greg Land’s artwork might work elsewhere. Fraction likes to write kinetic scenes and it seems that Land’s artwork makes the characters look like they’re trapped in amber thereby robbing the scenes of movement. The books fine when Terry Dodson draws it but it loses something with Land. It’s unfortunate because it’s a very interesting read. Nevertheless, stays on the list on the strength of Fraction’s writing.
6.) The Umbrella Academy
Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba have created an offbeat and funny gem of a book with The Umbrella Academy. It’s a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously and it succeeds marvelously at being consistently entertaining. It’s a book that’s a tad hard to explain but it doesn’t matter, just pick up the book and have a blast.
7.) Criminal/Incognito
Yep, more Brubaker. You can never have enough Brubaker. His two creator-owned titles with Sean Phillips under the Icon imprint are absolute masterpieces in the comic craft. Brubaker and Phillips deftly weave dark noir tales in both books except one has superpowers and the other doesn’t. Neither title should be ignored.
8.) The Invincible Iron Man
Oh look, more Fraction. The buzz this book’s getting is well-deserved. Matt Fraction and Salvador Larrocca are firing on all cylinders as the tale of a fugitive Tony Stark on the run from a determined Norman Osborne makes for month-in, month out comic dynamite.
9.) Northlanders
Brian Wood’s hardcore look at the Viking age is a book that should be on everyone’s pull list. The stories are tight, tense, and bloody. There’s not a lot of talking either as the people portrayed in this book let their swords speak for them. There are those who say this book reads better in trades but I like the book, and I want to support it so that it can MAKE it to the trade.
10.) Dark Avengers
I don’t know how much longer this book will stay on my list, honestly. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure for me but it’s still hard to stomach Osborne in charge of everything. Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato, Jr. must be having a blast on this book because it shows. There’s a lot of energy, even on the talking heads pages. This book’s teetering on the edge of being dropped but the book’s more fun than a lot of the books on the shelf so I’m taking a ‘wait and see’ approach.
And that’s that. The pull-list in its glory. I’ve got to say that lately I’ve been mulling over a decision that would drastically alter my pull list. I’m thinking of dropping all my mainstream titles and going totally independent. The comics landscape needs change and some of the independent creators are doing mind-blowing work. For years, I’ve been the guy that saw an independent book and said, “I’ll wait on the trade”. That’s been the wrong outlook. An independent book needs monthly sales to even make it to the trade, so if I like an independent book, I should support it by buying it monthly. The mainstream books shouldn’t have a problem making it to the trade since a lot of the mainstream books are being written for the trades anyway. Instead of dropping four bucks on a book I know is strong sales-wise, maybe I’ll take that money and give it to a creator-owned title that might be having trouble. Hmm…….decisions, decisions….
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Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Gimme That (Pull List)
My monthly pull list has shrunk considerably over the past year. A few years (and one less baby) ago I was buying all kinds of stuff. I had to be spending like $100 a month. Now I've paired it down to about $50 on a regular non-event month and i have the other $50 to pick stuff that's not on my list but I might give a try. I'll go through my list in sections.
Guaranteed-are the 5 stars must-read, must have books. I love those books with a passion and will often wait until one of them comes out before I head up to Dr. No's.
General Bets-Mostly solid books that I enjoy every month. They're fun to read but I'm not passionate about. Others are things I pick up out of habit and haven't quite got fed up enough to cut.
Trying out- New and mostly non-big 2 books that I've heard about and willing to try.
Traded-book I'm going to wait on the trade to read. They were on the Good Bets list or the try list and have for whatever reason not justified being picked up monthly.
Cut- these books have slacked in quality to the point that I want nothing to do with them.
Guaranteed
Green Lantern, Invicible Iron Man, Thor
I am absolutely guaranteed to have Green Lantern, Thor and Invincible IronMan in my bag on the way out the store. I have to pick up those books every month. They maintain a level of quality on a month to month basis that has never and probably will never fail, given that the same creative team stays with the book. The stories they are telling are very complex and interesting. Geoff Johns is killing this Hal Jordan epic he's crafting. Same with Fraction and Tony Stark in Invincible. I expected a little story to coincide with the Iron Man movie but i was blown away with what they actually gave me. JMS and Copiel on Thor is absolutely must read storytelling. Its the best, most interesting, and most intriguing plot Loki has ever devised. Watching it roll out every month is a joy.
General Bets
Secret Six, War of Kings, Incognito, Invincible, Incredible Hercules, Ultimate Spider-man, Wolverine: Weapon X, Green Lantern Corps, Battle for the Cowl, Flash Rebirth,
All good reads. Secret Six and Invincible are almost guaranteed but haven't quite inspired me yet. I like what Robert Kirkman is building up to in Invincible. He juggles a lot of plot lines each month.
Trying
Unwritten, Dead Irons
Mike Carey is one of my favorite writers. His Lucifer is pretty classic. Xmen Legacy is a good take on Prof X. The concept of Unwritten sounds like a stroke of genius if its executed right. I'll give Carey a chance automatically. Dead Irons I'm picking up based on Jason Shawn Alexander's art. Its an old west vampire story. Should be worth at least one issue for the art alone.
Traded
Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead
I have all the single issues up to this point but I realized I haven't read half of them. The story isn't bad by any means. Its just...heavy. It's a lot to keep track of on a regular story when I've read all the Dark Tower novels and this is suppose to fit into the series in one big continuity. I can't help but try to make a big time line until my head hurts. Plus they have Robin Firth writing those novellas/history chapters in the back. When I read comics seeing all those words with no pictures turns me off. I get tired imagining reading it. I love Jae Lee's artwork though. So I'll wait for the trade.
Cut
All Avengers/Dark Reign books
They were cut a few months ago but its worth mentioning still. I was all into the secret invasion thing. I had all the tie-ins and man that ending made me feel like s#@$!. Anything that is touched by Dark Reign withers and dies in my opinion. It sucks my interest right out of it.
Detective/Batman
I don't know how I feel about this new Batman stuff. I liked Paul Dini and Nyguyen on Detective and Morrison of Batman. They're doing a lot of shuffling and I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet. I know I have no interest in Batwoman so Detective is out. I don't know who is in Batman proper, or if it will be Morrison's Batman and Robin with Frank Quitely (which I'll probably ad to the list). I'll wait a few issues before I pick those back up.
Guaranteed-are the 5 stars must-read, must have books. I love those books with a passion and will often wait until one of them comes out before I head up to Dr. No's.
General Bets-Mostly solid books that I enjoy every month. They're fun to read but I'm not passionate about. Others are things I pick up out of habit and haven't quite got fed up enough to cut.
Trying out- New and mostly non-big 2 books that I've heard about and willing to try.
Traded-book I'm going to wait on the trade to read. They were on the Good Bets list or the try list and have for whatever reason not justified being picked up monthly.
Cut- these books have slacked in quality to the point that I want nothing to do with them.
Guaranteed
Green Lantern, Invicible Iron Man, Thor
I am absolutely guaranteed to have Green Lantern, Thor and Invincible IronMan in my bag on the way out the store. I have to pick up those books every month. They maintain a level of quality on a month to month basis that has never and probably will never fail, given that the same creative team stays with the book. The stories they are telling are very complex and interesting. Geoff Johns is killing this Hal Jordan epic he's crafting. Same with Fraction and Tony Stark in Invincible. I expected a little story to coincide with the Iron Man movie but i was blown away with what they actually gave me. JMS and Copiel on Thor is absolutely must read storytelling. Its the best, most interesting, and most intriguing plot Loki has ever devised. Watching it roll out every month is a joy.
General Bets
Secret Six, War of Kings, Incognito, Invincible, Incredible Hercules, Ultimate Spider-man, Wolverine: Weapon X, Green Lantern Corps, Battle for the Cowl, Flash Rebirth,
All good reads. Secret Six and Invincible are almost guaranteed but haven't quite inspired me yet. I like what Robert Kirkman is building up to in Invincible. He juggles a lot of plot lines each month.
Trying
Unwritten, Dead Irons
Mike Carey is one of my favorite writers. His Lucifer is pretty classic. Xmen Legacy is a good take on Prof X. The concept of Unwritten sounds like a stroke of genius if its executed right. I'll give Carey a chance automatically. Dead Irons I'm picking up based on Jason Shawn Alexander's art. Its an old west vampire story. Should be worth at least one issue for the art alone.
Traded
Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead
I have all the single issues up to this point but I realized I haven't read half of them. The story isn't bad by any means. Its just...heavy. It's a lot to keep track of on a regular story when I've read all the Dark Tower novels and this is suppose to fit into the series in one big continuity. I can't help but try to make a big time line until my head hurts. Plus they have Robin Firth writing those novellas/history chapters in the back. When I read comics seeing all those words with no pictures turns me off. I get tired imagining reading it. I love Jae Lee's artwork though. So I'll wait for the trade.
Cut
All Avengers/Dark Reign books
They were cut a few months ago but its worth mentioning still. I was all into the secret invasion thing. I had all the tie-ins and man that ending made me feel like s#@$!. Anything that is touched by Dark Reign withers and dies in my opinion. It sucks my interest right out of it.
Detective/Batman
I don't know how I feel about this new Batman stuff. I liked Paul Dini and Nyguyen on Detective and Morrison of Batman. They're doing a lot of shuffling and I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet. I know I have no interest in Batwoman so Detective is out. I don't know who is in Batman proper, or if it will be Morrison's Batman and Robin with Frank Quitely (which I'll probably ad to the list). I'll wait a few issues before I pick those back up.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Free Comic Book Day's Top Five Comics
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I suppose a welcome is in order for this fledgling blog. Welcome. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let us begin.
Free Comic Book Day was last weekend and I braved the crowds that formed inside of my local comic book shop (Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find in Charlotte, NC) to acquire as many of the free books as I could plus my ever dwindling pull list (a topic for another post). The shop tried something different this year by working the free titles into the shelves with the rest of the books instead of putting them all in one spot. I certainly see the logic behind doing this as it may spur an impulse buy of another comic next to it. Unfortunately, it caused quite a few looks of confusion among the non-regulars and I was asked more than once where the new stuff was. All in all, it wasn’t terrible. Good to see the amount of kids I saw looking wide eyed at the shelves, pointing to comics and shouting to their parents, “Look Dad! It’s Spider-Man!” The industry needs that.
So, this first blog post is dedicated to the top five free books I read. I think I got about 15 of them. Some stood out while others couldn’t have, in good conscious, charged anymore than FREE for what you got. Here’s the list…
#5. Comics Festival!
I think I surprised myself with this pick as I don’t really lean towards comedy books (Nextwave being the exception). However, this book made me laugh in a few places. The book’s a collection of stories from various Canadian creators. The stories are random, wildly inventive, and hilarious. I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore when I read the first story called Sardine: Moon Pie by Emmanuel Guibert. In the story, a character named Pierrot is making “moon pie”. What you later find out is he’s actually making the moon that he’s cooking in a skillet-catapult contraption that he plans to launch and stick to the sky. When he launches his moon pie, it gets intercepted by a group of baddies and Sardine and his gang set out to retrieve the pie. It’s crazier than bed bugs, but I like this kind of thing. It was almost like reading Dr. Seuss.
Perhaps my favorite story would be Blackbeard by Kate Beaton. Blackbeard’s breakdown after a series of probing questions makes me laugh every time I read it. Not a small feat.
After reading all of the stories, I felt like I’d gotten a lot for the price of FREE so it made my list. I’ll also be hunting down some of the creators and checking out other stuff they’ve done in the future.
#4. Cyber Force/Hunter Killer First Look
Back in the day, you couldn’t have found bigger Image fans than Rebel One and me. I can still remember 9th grade “Principles of Technology” class where we’d rush through our work to open our backpacks and pour out the latest Image comics we’d scored. Cyber Force was always a big one. I still remember the twisted love triangle between Ripclaw, Warblade, and Misery in the “Killer Instincts” crossover with the WildC.A.T.s. Man, was Jim Lee ripping it back then or what?
Well, time moves on. Cyber Force hasn’t been on my radar since high school and I haven’t really missed it. After reading the First Look free comic, I might consider giving them another shot.
I was comforted by seeing Mark Waid’s name written at the top of the book. I knew I was in good hands. This guy has penned all kinds of comic gold including Kingdom Come and 52. I’d seen Kenneth Rocafort’s work elsewhere (Madame Mirage I think it was) and I enjoyed it with this outing being no different. The Hunter/Killer concept is intriguing enough and pretty much all of the original Cyber Force characters showed up except for Impact (wonder what happened to him?). The story was decent, using an interrogation scene to get the reader up to speed on the important characters and their purpose. I also appreciated the “Cyberdata Case Files” in the back of the book that caught me up with the Cyber Force characters. I’m kind of thrown off by the whole Shaman/Killer thing Ripclaw’s got going on. I thought Shamans were peaceful agents of change not death dealing heroes, but this is a comic book and I’ve certainly read stranger things. End of the day, it gets on the list because it seems to have a compelling story and I suppose the nostalgia of seeing the old Cyber Force members gave it the boost to get it to #4.
#3. The Avengers
Rebel One won’t mind telling you how much he doesn’t like the Dark Avengers. He also won’t mind telling you how much he doesn’t like Dark Reign in general. I agree with him on most of it. The way Norman Osborn came to be the most powerful man in the Marvel U. just doesn’t sit well with either of us. The man makes the kill shot that takes out the Skrull Queen while the press watches and suddenly the world names him the Chosen One and hands him the keys to its most powerful organization? Wasn’t he the same guy throwing pumpkin grenades and cackling maniacally not too long ago? Ah well, its comics I suppose. I do think a lot of good stories have spun out of Dark Reign. Matt Fraction on Invincible Iron Man stands out as well as Dark Avengers.
Dark Avengers stands out because it’s such an off the wall concept and it gives Brian Michael Bendis an excuse to write a book about a bunch of criminals dressed up like the Avengers. If he wasn’t writing the book and Mike Deodato, Jr. wasn’t drawing, I doubt I’d pick it up every month. Now, with the Free Comic Book entitled The Avengers, Bendis mashes the Dark Avengers with the legitimate heroes, the New Avengers, together in a stand-alone tale where they face off against a Frost Giant. Bendis writes a decent one-shot story here where things start to boil over with the two teams until Osborn cracks the whip and asks his unit to stand down. They team up to take down a ticked off frost giant using the Twilight Sword, which only a god can wield. Luckily, Ares is standing around and he retrieves the sword ending the fight. The highlight of the book for me was Thor punking down Osborn. After watching Osborn pretty much operate unchallenged throughout the Marvel Universe, it was nice to see that there’s a line even he won’t cross.
Jimmy Cheung deserves the most credit here I think. His artwork propelled this book to number three on my list. I’ve been a fan of Cheung since he drew Scion for CrossGen some years ago. He’s always been a strong artist and he doesn’t hold back here at all. The second panel on the last page where Capt. America is staring down Osborn is probably my favorite scene in the book. No words necessary, it was all in Cap’s eyes. Great panel.
I’ll probably keep Dark Avengers on my pull list for the time being. Even if the concept is far-fetched, it’s an interesting diversion.
#2. Love and Rockets
Here’s another unconventional title that made the list based solely off its originality. Throughout my time as a comic reader, I’ve seen the Hernandez Brothers’ names show up in a lot of places in respect to great comic work. Can’t really explain why, but I just never pulled the trigger on picking up any of their stuff. With the free comic book, I got a chance to give them a shot and they’ve made a believer out of me.
There are four different stories in this book and the reader is sort of thrown into the mix, not fully aware of everything that’s going on. It’s cool though because I came out of the stories wanting to know more about everything (the true purpose of a free comic I would assume) and I’ll certainly be hunting down the trades.
The thing that stands out about the book is the breadth of stories told. Ranging from the big superhero type story to the smaller slice-of-life type story, the Hernandez Brothers deftly craft compelling stories regardless of genre. The artwork is magnificent. It’s not the overworked, over-rendered stuff you’re used to seeing in comics all the time but simple, clearly defined line work that’s the mark of a true master. I’ve read through it a few times and I’m completely carried away by it. I’m so carried away by the book until it traded places with the number three book as I wrote this post. Rebel One, expect to see me hunting the trades down like a madman come HeroesCon.
#1. Blackest Night #0
I suppose this should come as no surprise seeing as how the internet is abuzz with how good this thing is. That buzz is well deserved as Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis blow the doors off the next DC Mega Event. Rebel One’s been following the Green Lantern books faithfully as I bash my head against a wall wondering why I’ve yet to add the title to my list (It’s on the trade list for HeroesCon so the bleeding should stop soon).
If there’s one thing about Geoff Johns it’s that he gets it. He knows how to put together a comic book. In this intro to the Blackest Night event, Johns scripts a grieving Hal Jordan and Barry Allen standing at the unmarked grave of Batman. Johns deftly catches us up on current DC events through the conversation Jordan and Allen have in the graveyard. The flashback to Batman being held back by his fellow League members from punching Hal’s lights out was hilarious and Jordan showing Allen a construct of his own funeral was awesome. I think what grabbed me about the book was how many people have died in relatively short stretch of time. I’d forgotten all about the Martian Manhunter dying and it hasn’t even been a year has it? Everything seems very heavy and very big, like there’s a shoe that’s yet to drop and when it does, nothing will be the same. That’s how comics should be.
Ivan Reis is becoming a mega artist right before our eyes. He can do the big splash (that page with the Flash showing up is outstanding) and he can do the quieter conversational moments. The page with the Black Lantern standing there with Batman’s skull in his hand is as creepy and haunting as it should be. This guy should be at the top of DC’s list when it comes to doing the big event stuff. He just knocks it out of the park every time.
I also appreciated the rundown of all the Lanterns in the spectrum at the back of the book. I haven’t been a regular reader on the Green Lantern book but clearly there’s a lot going on and this book makes me want to hunt down every single issue leading up to Blackest Night. DC should take a bow here. They used the Free Comic Book day concept to set up their big event for the summer. They brought two of their biggest guns with Johns and Reis to the show and electrified the air surrounding Blackest Night. DC’s the company to watch this year. Period.
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I suppose a welcome is in order for this fledgling blog. Welcome. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let us begin.
Free Comic Book Day was last weekend and I braved the crowds that formed inside of my local comic book shop (Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find in Charlotte, NC) to acquire as many of the free books as I could plus my ever dwindling pull list (a topic for another post). The shop tried something different this year by working the free titles into the shelves with the rest of the books instead of putting them all in one spot. I certainly see the logic behind doing this as it may spur an impulse buy of another comic next to it. Unfortunately, it caused quite a few looks of confusion among the non-regulars and I was asked more than once where the new stuff was. All in all, it wasn’t terrible. Good to see the amount of kids I saw looking wide eyed at the shelves, pointing to comics and shouting to their parents, “Look Dad! It’s Spider-Man!” The industry needs that.
So, this first blog post is dedicated to the top five free books I read. I think I got about 15 of them. Some stood out while others couldn’t have, in good conscious, charged anymore than FREE for what you got. Here’s the list…
#5. Comics Festival!
I think I surprised myself with this pick as I don’t really lean towards comedy books (Nextwave being the exception). However, this book made me laugh in a few places. The book’s a collection of stories from various Canadian creators. The stories are random, wildly inventive, and hilarious. I knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore when I read the first story called Sardine: Moon Pie by Emmanuel Guibert. In the story, a character named Pierrot is making “moon pie”. What you later find out is he’s actually making the moon that he’s cooking in a skillet-catapult contraption that he plans to launch and stick to the sky. When he launches his moon pie, it gets intercepted by a group of baddies and Sardine and his gang set out to retrieve the pie. It’s crazier than bed bugs, but I like this kind of thing. It was almost like reading Dr. Seuss.
Perhaps my favorite story would be Blackbeard by Kate Beaton. Blackbeard’s breakdown after a series of probing questions makes me laugh every time I read it. Not a small feat.
After reading all of the stories, I felt like I’d gotten a lot for the price of FREE so it made my list. I’ll also be hunting down some of the creators and checking out other stuff they’ve done in the future.
#4. Cyber Force/Hunter Killer First Look
Back in the day, you couldn’t have found bigger Image fans than Rebel One and me. I can still remember 9th grade “Principles of Technology” class where we’d rush through our work to open our backpacks and pour out the latest Image comics we’d scored. Cyber Force was always a big one. I still remember the twisted love triangle between Ripclaw, Warblade, and Misery in the “Killer Instincts” crossover with the WildC.A.T.s. Man, was Jim Lee ripping it back then or what?
Well, time moves on. Cyber Force hasn’t been on my radar since high school and I haven’t really missed it. After reading the First Look free comic, I might consider giving them another shot.
I was comforted by seeing Mark Waid’s name written at the top of the book. I knew I was in good hands. This guy has penned all kinds of comic gold including Kingdom Come and 52. I’d seen Kenneth Rocafort’s work elsewhere (Madame Mirage I think it was) and I enjoyed it with this outing being no different. The Hunter/Killer concept is intriguing enough and pretty much all of the original Cyber Force characters showed up except for Impact (wonder what happened to him?). The story was decent, using an interrogation scene to get the reader up to speed on the important characters and their purpose. I also appreciated the “Cyberdata Case Files” in the back of the book that caught me up with the Cyber Force characters. I’m kind of thrown off by the whole Shaman/Killer thing Ripclaw’s got going on. I thought Shamans were peaceful agents of change not death dealing heroes, but this is a comic book and I’ve certainly read stranger things. End of the day, it gets on the list because it seems to have a compelling story and I suppose the nostalgia of seeing the old Cyber Force members gave it the boost to get it to #4.
#3. The Avengers
Rebel One won’t mind telling you how much he doesn’t like the Dark Avengers. He also won’t mind telling you how much he doesn’t like Dark Reign in general. I agree with him on most of it. The way Norman Osborn came to be the most powerful man in the Marvel U. just doesn’t sit well with either of us. The man makes the kill shot that takes out the Skrull Queen while the press watches and suddenly the world names him the Chosen One and hands him the keys to its most powerful organization? Wasn’t he the same guy throwing pumpkin grenades and cackling maniacally not too long ago? Ah well, its comics I suppose. I do think a lot of good stories have spun out of Dark Reign. Matt Fraction on Invincible Iron Man stands out as well as Dark Avengers.
Dark Avengers stands out because it’s such an off the wall concept and it gives Brian Michael Bendis an excuse to write a book about a bunch of criminals dressed up like the Avengers. If he wasn’t writing the book and Mike Deodato, Jr. wasn’t drawing, I doubt I’d pick it up every month. Now, with the Free Comic Book entitled The Avengers, Bendis mashes the Dark Avengers with the legitimate heroes, the New Avengers, together in a stand-alone tale where they face off against a Frost Giant. Bendis writes a decent one-shot story here where things start to boil over with the two teams until Osborn cracks the whip and asks his unit to stand down. They team up to take down a ticked off frost giant using the Twilight Sword, which only a god can wield. Luckily, Ares is standing around and he retrieves the sword ending the fight. The highlight of the book for me was Thor punking down Osborn. After watching Osborn pretty much operate unchallenged throughout the Marvel Universe, it was nice to see that there’s a line even he won’t cross.
Jimmy Cheung deserves the most credit here I think. His artwork propelled this book to number three on my list. I’ve been a fan of Cheung since he drew Scion for CrossGen some years ago. He’s always been a strong artist and he doesn’t hold back here at all. The second panel on the last page where Capt. America is staring down Osborn is probably my favorite scene in the book. No words necessary, it was all in Cap’s eyes. Great panel.
I’ll probably keep Dark Avengers on my pull list for the time being. Even if the concept is far-fetched, it’s an interesting diversion.
#2. Love and Rockets
Here’s another unconventional title that made the list based solely off its originality. Throughout my time as a comic reader, I’ve seen the Hernandez Brothers’ names show up in a lot of places in respect to great comic work. Can’t really explain why, but I just never pulled the trigger on picking up any of their stuff. With the free comic book, I got a chance to give them a shot and they’ve made a believer out of me.
There are four different stories in this book and the reader is sort of thrown into the mix, not fully aware of everything that’s going on. It’s cool though because I came out of the stories wanting to know more about everything (the true purpose of a free comic I would assume) and I’ll certainly be hunting down the trades.
The thing that stands out about the book is the breadth of stories told. Ranging from the big superhero type story to the smaller slice-of-life type story, the Hernandez Brothers deftly craft compelling stories regardless of genre. The artwork is magnificent. It’s not the overworked, over-rendered stuff you’re used to seeing in comics all the time but simple, clearly defined line work that’s the mark of a true master. I’ve read through it a few times and I’m completely carried away by it. I’m so carried away by the book until it traded places with the number three book as I wrote this post. Rebel One, expect to see me hunting the trades down like a madman come HeroesCon.
#1. Blackest Night #0
I suppose this should come as no surprise seeing as how the internet is abuzz with how good this thing is. That buzz is well deserved as Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis blow the doors off the next DC Mega Event. Rebel One’s been following the Green Lantern books faithfully as I bash my head against a wall wondering why I’ve yet to add the title to my list (It’s on the trade list for HeroesCon so the bleeding should stop soon).
If there’s one thing about Geoff Johns it’s that he gets it. He knows how to put together a comic book. In this intro to the Blackest Night event, Johns scripts a grieving Hal Jordan and Barry Allen standing at the unmarked grave of Batman. Johns deftly catches us up on current DC events through the conversation Jordan and Allen have in the graveyard. The flashback to Batman being held back by his fellow League members from punching Hal’s lights out was hilarious and Jordan showing Allen a construct of his own funeral was awesome. I think what grabbed me about the book was how many people have died in relatively short stretch of time. I’d forgotten all about the Martian Manhunter dying and it hasn’t even been a year has it? Everything seems very heavy and very big, like there’s a shoe that’s yet to drop and when it does, nothing will be the same. That’s how comics should be.
Ivan Reis is becoming a mega artist right before our eyes. He can do the big splash (that page with the Flash showing up is outstanding) and he can do the quieter conversational moments. The page with the Black Lantern standing there with Batman’s skull in his hand is as creepy and haunting as it should be. This guy should be at the top of DC’s list when it comes to doing the big event stuff. He just knocks it out of the park every time.
I also appreciated the rundown of all the Lanterns in the spectrum at the back of the book. I haven’t been a regular reader on the Green Lantern book but clearly there’s a lot going on and this book makes me want to hunt down every single issue leading up to Blackest Night. DC should take a bow here. They used the Free Comic Book day concept to set up their big event for the summer. They brought two of their biggest guns with Johns and Reis to the show and electrified the air surrounding Blackest Night. DC’s the company to watch this year. Period.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Best of Free Comic Book Day
I don't know what genius came with Free Comic Book Day but it makes perfect sense. Any quick survey of any comic book fans would surely reveal almost none of them started reading comics because they bought one. (Except for the few rich bastards out there). Most people got a comic from some random person (cousin, uncle, friends, etc.) and got hooked like that. I know I did (thanks pop!).
So since we all agree giving comics away for free is the best thing since slice bread, I guess the question then becomes are the free books any good, or rather are they good enough to bring somebody back and grow the industry. There were a few that were completely worth it.
#5-Savage Dragon #148
I know Rebel Zero is thinking "Savage Dragon? WTF?" I haven't read a single issue of Savage Dragon since god knows when. For me the idea of the Dragon was always more appealing than the execution. A mutant half dragon man is found in a fire and becomes a Chicago cop fighting hilariously over the top villains. It existed on the "don't take it too serious" plane of comics. Straight up super hero fun. Eric Larsen always had this loose, distorted very fun art style and his writing style followed suit. Compared to everything else I was reading it lacked the edge and intrigue I grew accustomed too. That said this issue had a 4 page recap of all the history I overlooked that last 140 plus issues of SD. I had no idea some of that stuff happened. Dragon had a little dragon kid, whose mother was murdered, got married, adopted another kid, that chick got murdered, he killed some villain, left the force, came back. That's some heavy duty stuff.
This issue was about Dragon hunting some people that kidnapped his kids. As he's looking he ends up teaming with the image version of DareDevil (it looks like the same version from Project Superpowers). Superhero fun ensues. The story ties into the history of Savage Dragon in a very complex soap opera type of way. It was a fun read and changed my mind about Dragon from what I knew. That's a big win for Eric Larsen in my book. I might even get a trade from him at HeroesCon.
#4- CyberForce/Hunter Killer
The word "Cyber" is cool all by itself. CyberForce is automatically a cool idea. A team of cybernetically enhanced soldiers fighting...stuff? What did they fight back in the day? Who knows. I'm not familiar at all with Hunter Killer. After a quick introduction to the Hunter Killer team and the concept (Enhanced people called ultra-sapiens hunting other ultra-sapiens) it zips right the the confrontation. The story is faced paced and leaves you waiting anxiously for the action to start.
What really sold it for me was the art. Ken Rocafort has an amazing art style. I loved it in Madame Mirage, I'll love it in the Marvel Astonishing Tales when it comes out in the trade (I can't bring myself to pick up the single issues). His character designs are super stylish. The CyberForce team look better than they ever have. I can't remember ever seeing Hunter Killer before, but they look good. The coloring is pretty decent too. (Notice on the cover how bits of color are in the pants of Ellis). I'll be following Rocafort for a while. Also I think this Mark Waid guy might make something of himself. It was a good teaser for the series.
#3- Buck Rogers #0
A man in space fighting an army of giant single cell organisms that want to ingest everything on Earth. He has a space suit and a .45 pistol. What more do you want? Scott Beatty toned down considerably on the festival of campiness that was Buck Rogers but the adventure and futuristic goodness of it is all right here. I've read a little about this on CBR and Newsarama. Its interesting how this book is coming together. Alex Ross did the redesigns but Carlos Rafael is making it work in on art. Ever since Star Wars I've been a sucker for a good space odyssey. I get the impression from Beatty that that's exactly what he's trying to do. This issue gave me a glimpses into the series and I like it.
#2- Blackest night #0
As full disclosure I must say that Geoff Johns Green Lantern series is my favorite ongoing right now. Johns has been building his Green Lantern/Hal Jordan epic since Rebirth and has not disappointed me yet. Everything from the Sinestro Corp War, to Secret Origin, to the latest Agent Orange story has been absolutely great.
I'm taking a few points off for the Hal Jordan/Barry Allen "welcome back" talk. I feel like I just read that scene in Flash Rebirth #1. The content of the conversation was different though. This was all about death in the DC and what it means to these 2 men who have died themselves and came back. As Barry and Hal leave the Bruce's grave we get our first look at the Black Hand since Brave New World issue DC put out before Infinite Crisis. The conversation was a good mirror to this guy who is bringing back the dead heroes of the DCU to be in his Black Lantern Corp. Who exactly is this guy? What is he going to do? Who will be in the Black Lantern Corp? What is the Blackest Night? These are exciting questions left by this issue. Ivan Reis kills the art like he does every month in Green Lantern and will do in the Blackest Night Series.
After the story you get full splash pages detailing the different color Corps. The designs are incredible. Seeing all the Corps displayed in almost side by side gives me the same feeling I had looking at the Xmen for the first time. Pure comic book joy. Give this issue to any imaginative kid and you will make him a comic book fan for life.
#1- Avengers
I hate Dark Reign. Ask Rebel Zero. He's had to listen to my tirades more than anybody. I hate Dark Reign. I hated the ending of Secret Invasion. It made me feel robbed. I don't get the logic of Dark Reign. I don't understand the appeal of it. The Green Goblin is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. or whatever he calls it and doing whatever he wants because he was taped shooting the skrull queen, which didn't even win the war (Thor did that). The Cabal makes no sense. I hate the Dark Avengers. I don't understand the appeal of it. This entire storyline irks me to no end. Though I don't often rail against creative choices or obsess about editorial decisions, I want them to ret con everything all the way back to before civil war. I mean a huge Patrick Duffy moment, in the shower with Sharon opening the curtain on Steve Rogers like it was all on big stupid dream. Erase all of it as blatantly and disrespectfully as they did with Brand New f&%*ing Day.
I should say I didn't understand Dark Reign or its appeal until I read this comic. With Bendis' complete grasp of Spiderman's voice (expertly learned from his run on Ultimate Spiderman), I was finally given a story that shows the upside of Dark Reign. Spiderman's quips kept me laughing (Thor saying he couldn't win, he responds "I'm sure you're just being Modest" or "Worst avengers snow fight ever"). Its Bendis so of course the dialogue is top notch. The verbal exchanges between the teams are full of tension. Thor verbally lashing Osborn was classic. The art was another great show of talent from Jim Cheung. He has a very clear, clean style that rarely confuses the action. Even with the smaller page sizes I think he did a damn good job on the art.
This issue is number one on my list simply for the fact that they had such a steep hill to climb with my bias against Dark Reign as a whole. With this issue i finally understand the appeal of this "villains running things" Marvel. Doesn't mean I like it.
So since we all agree giving comics away for free is the best thing since slice bread, I guess the question then becomes are the free books any good, or rather are they good enough to bring somebody back and grow the industry. There were a few that were completely worth it.
#5-Savage Dragon #148
I know Rebel Zero is thinking "Savage Dragon? WTF?" I haven't read a single issue of Savage Dragon since god knows when. For me the idea of the Dragon was always more appealing than the execution. A mutant half dragon man is found in a fire and becomes a Chicago cop fighting hilariously over the top villains. It existed on the "don't take it too serious" plane of comics. Straight up super hero fun. Eric Larsen always had this loose, distorted very fun art style and his writing style followed suit. Compared to everything else I was reading it lacked the edge and intrigue I grew accustomed too. That said this issue had a 4 page recap of all the history I overlooked that last 140 plus issues of SD. I had no idea some of that stuff happened. Dragon had a little dragon kid, whose mother was murdered, got married, adopted another kid, that chick got murdered, he killed some villain, left the force, came back. That's some heavy duty stuff.
This issue was about Dragon hunting some people that kidnapped his kids. As he's looking he ends up teaming with the image version of DareDevil (it looks like the same version from Project Superpowers). Superhero fun ensues. The story ties into the history of Savage Dragon in a very complex soap opera type of way. It was a fun read and changed my mind about Dragon from what I knew. That's a big win for Eric Larsen in my book. I might even get a trade from him at HeroesCon.
#4- CyberForce/Hunter Killer
The word "Cyber" is cool all by itself. CyberForce is automatically a cool idea. A team of cybernetically enhanced soldiers fighting...stuff? What did they fight back in the day? Who knows. I'm not familiar at all with Hunter Killer. After a quick introduction to the Hunter Killer team and the concept (Enhanced people called ultra-sapiens hunting other ultra-sapiens) it zips right the the confrontation. The story is faced paced and leaves you waiting anxiously for the action to start.
What really sold it for me was the art. Ken Rocafort has an amazing art style. I loved it in Madame Mirage, I'll love it in the Marvel Astonishing Tales when it comes out in the trade (I can't bring myself to pick up the single issues). His character designs are super stylish. The CyberForce team look better than they ever have. I can't remember ever seeing Hunter Killer before, but they look good. The coloring is pretty decent too. (Notice on the cover how bits of color are in the pants of Ellis). I'll be following Rocafort for a while. Also I think this Mark Waid guy might make something of himself. It was a good teaser for the series.
#3- Buck Rogers #0
A man in space fighting an army of giant single cell organisms that want to ingest everything on Earth. He has a space suit and a .45 pistol. What more do you want? Scott Beatty toned down considerably on the festival of campiness that was Buck Rogers but the adventure and futuristic goodness of it is all right here. I've read a little about this on CBR and Newsarama. Its interesting how this book is coming together. Alex Ross did the redesigns but Carlos Rafael is making it work in on art. Ever since Star Wars I've been a sucker for a good space odyssey. I get the impression from Beatty that that's exactly what he's trying to do. This issue gave me a glimpses into the series and I like it.
#2- Blackest night #0
As full disclosure I must say that Geoff Johns Green Lantern series is my favorite ongoing right now. Johns has been building his Green Lantern/Hal Jordan epic since Rebirth and has not disappointed me yet. Everything from the Sinestro Corp War, to Secret Origin, to the latest Agent Orange story has been absolutely great.
I'm taking a few points off for the Hal Jordan/Barry Allen "welcome back" talk. I feel like I just read that scene in Flash Rebirth #1. The content of the conversation was different though. This was all about death in the DC and what it means to these 2 men who have died themselves and came back. As Barry and Hal leave the Bruce's grave we get our first look at the Black Hand since Brave New World issue DC put out before Infinite Crisis. The conversation was a good mirror to this guy who is bringing back the dead heroes of the DCU to be in his Black Lantern Corp. Who exactly is this guy? What is he going to do? Who will be in the Black Lantern Corp? What is the Blackest Night? These are exciting questions left by this issue. Ivan Reis kills the art like he does every month in Green Lantern and will do in the Blackest Night Series.
After the story you get full splash pages detailing the different color Corps. The designs are incredible. Seeing all the Corps displayed in almost side by side gives me the same feeling I had looking at the Xmen for the first time. Pure comic book joy. Give this issue to any imaginative kid and you will make him a comic book fan for life.
#1- Avengers
I hate Dark Reign. Ask Rebel Zero. He's had to listen to my tirades more than anybody. I hate Dark Reign. I hated the ending of Secret Invasion. It made me feel robbed. I don't get the logic of Dark Reign. I don't understand the appeal of it. The Green Goblin is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. or whatever he calls it and doing whatever he wants because he was taped shooting the skrull queen, which didn't even win the war (Thor did that). The Cabal makes no sense. I hate the Dark Avengers. I don't understand the appeal of it. This entire storyline irks me to no end. Though I don't often rail against creative choices or obsess about editorial decisions, I want them to ret con everything all the way back to before civil war. I mean a huge Patrick Duffy moment, in the shower with Sharon opening the curtain on Steve Rogers like it was all on big stupid dream. Erase all of it as blatantly and disrespectfully as they did with Brand New f&%*ing Day.
I should say I didn't understand Dark Reign or its appeal until I read this comic. With Bendis' complete grasp of Spiderman's voice (expertly learned from his run on Ultimate Spiderman), I was finally given a story that shows the upside of Dark Reign. Spiderman's quips kept me laughing (Thor saying he couldn't win, he responds "I'm sure you're just being Modest" or "Worst avengers snow fight ever"). Its Bendis so of course the dialogue is top notch. The verbal exchanges between the teams are full of tension. Thor verbally lashing Osborn was classic. The art was another great show of talent from Jim Cheung. He has a very clear, clean style that rarely confuses the action. Even with the smaller page sizes I think he did a damn good job on the art.
This issue is number one on my list simply for the fact that they had such a steep hill to climb with my bias against Dark Reign as a whole. With this issue i finally understand the appeal of this "villains running things" Marvel. Doesn't mean I like it.
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