Michael Bay Comics

By Randy Gentile

My comic buying patterns go up and down like a yo-yo champion on a trampoline. I don't have that handful of books I buy no matter what. I have the one book I buy no matter what... Eric Powell's The Goon, which is better now that it ever has been, folks. Pick it up already, will ya? It won another Eisner fer cryin' out loud!

Even though I'm not reading new comics all the time, I am reading old comics as much as possible. I have dozens and dozens of trade paperbacks in my studio. Most of which I've accumulated back when I was on staff at Marvel. There were always a few boxes of free comics and trades lying around and me being the cheap bastard that I am was always quick to grab a handful of funny books.

I followed up Greg Pak's Planet Hulk trade with Frank Miller's Ronin. One of the few things by Miller I had yet to read. Ronin is a trippy book that while not as good as his other work (Sin City, 300) was still a solid read. I can look at Frank Miller's art all day long. He's always pushing himself and experimenting with new things... couple that with solid storytelling and you're going to get something out of the read. Being a letterer I always pull his books for inspiration. As with Dark Knight, Ronin was lettered by John Costanza.

Costanza is one of my favorite letterers of all time. Take a look at his lettering in Dark Knight compared to his work in Ronin. With DK you've got Miller doing a superhero book and Costanza lettering in a more classic, almost Artie Simek style. I can't tell you how many times I've flipped through Dark Knight before I tackled my lettering on a new book. I especially did before I started work on "Batman RIP".

Now talk a look at Costanza's work on Ronin. Miller's art has changed and so has Costanza's. Now, Costanza's lettering has adapted to Miller's art creating a wonderfully cohesive blend you can only see in comics.

In today's comic world, with computer lettering being the norm finding and creating that blend has become very difficult.

Chris Eliopoulos is the best superhero comics letterer in the biz and, in my opinion, of all time. Take a look at his lettering in Secret Invasion. With that book you've got all the components of a top-notch mainstream comic book. Writing by Bendis, art by Yu, colors by Laura Martin and letters by Eliopoulos. The slick, clean Eliopoulos lettering is there as always, but he's still experimenting with things like the Skrull language translations. Usually you'd see an asterisk and a caption box in the lower right hand corner of the panel, but instead he's used a white box that blends into the panel gutters. I think it looks and works great and I'm sure other letterers will be ripping it off in no time. I'll at least email him before I rip it off, though.

Talking about Costanza and Eliopoulos makes me miss good ol' hand lettering, though. Nothing beats Eliopoulos on Savage Dragon. There's something to say about hand lettering physically being a part of the art. It feels different. Today, lettering sits on top of the art and because of that, I think many pencilers have forgotten that the letterer even exists. Maybe that's why lettering a book drawn by John Romita Jr. was so easy and fun for me while lettering a book by one of today's generation of artists can be a chore. I don't want to paste my balloon over art, but unfortunately, I don't always have a choice.

One of the new breeds of letterers working today whose work I absolutely love is Jared K. Fletcher. Take a look at Fletcher's work on Paul Pope's Batman Year 100. (A book I can't recommend enough, by the way; go buy it already)

Fletcher's work on Year 100 was so tight and blended into the art so beautifully that a few pages into the book I thought Pope was lettering it! I can't tell you how hard that is to do and Fletcher just knocked it out of the park. He was nominated for an Eisner and didn't win, but he should have. Todd Klein won again for the eight billionth time... I think the first time he won was for Gasoline Alley.

Anyway, getting back to my comic buying pattern going up and down like crazy, I think I may have had a bit of a fanboy epiphany... I'm through with big selling books for a while. I dunno, I'm burned out, man. It's the same writers with the same artists and the same empty hype.

How many "event" comics can I read and be bored with by issue 3 or just feel "meh" about?

Secret Invasion and Final Crisis have failed to pull me in. World War Hulk was fun and had great art by JRJR but that last issue felt like it should've been stretched into at least one more issue.

These event comics have become like a string of Michael Bay movies. They look great but c'mon give me something to sink my teeth into.

Then there are books out there like All Star Superman. A fun, fresh, fast moving take on Superman that rocks my socks off every time. On the Marvel side Greg Pak is doing some fresh work on Skaar: Son of Hulk... I'm on board with that one for a while.

I'm reading a novel called Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem and come to find out he's been writing a book for Marvel called Omega The Unknown, a gorgeous book with art (including hand lettering) by Farel Dalrymple. I'd heard nothing about this book and only though a Google of Lethem had I'd found out about it. Lethem is a hugely successful writer with multiple novels on the New York Times Best Seller's List and I hadn't heard of Omega until recently. You'd think Marvel would've promoted a book with a writer of this caliber, but they did nothing.

So because of this and my perpetual boredom with the big sellers in the industry, I realize it's time to start supporting the guys of the fringe who are out there doing their own thing... the entire team behind Omega the Unknown deserves some credit. I can't image it was easy for a book like this to be published through Marvel... so when one does slip by the corporate goalie, it deserves support. It's not every Wednesday that Marvel and/or DC take a chance on something new. They know this book doesn't stand a chance of outselling a X-Book or the Avengers but so few chances are taken, that when they're out there on the shelves... they deserve your support.

And what's the best way to give books like this your support?

With your wallet.

I can write all the columns I want about going out there and pushing the comics medium forward, but honestly, at the end of the day, Secret Invasion and Final Crisis aren't going to do that. It's those fringe books experimenting and trying new things that will.

Does this mean I won't buy another big selling 4-color funny book? Highly unlikely. Hell, John Romita Jr. is back on Amazing Spider-Man... my fanboy spider sense is tingling like the Green Goblin just tossed a Pumpkin Bomb my way... but I am going to take more chances on some independent books that I'd usually pass on because my stack is full of the usual suspects.

What book will that be?

Find out next week...

Thanks for reading.

Font You!
-Randy