``xStory points change. Was the Hulk gray or green? Histories become tweaked. Was Batman a ruthless vigilante who had a predilection for snapping necks or a duly-appointed special deputy of the Gotham City Police Department who swore never to kill?
Settings shift. Did Clark Kent and Lois Lane try to out-scoop each other at the Daily Star or the Daily Planet, and for whom did they work: George Taylor or Perry White? Names become obfuscated through confusing storyarcs. Who is Spider-Man? Ben Reilly or Peter Parker? Was there a Spider-Clone, and how did one of them meet the Punisher?
Before the forties and fifties, comic books cared little for continuity. Continuity mattered only to the internal workings of the story. For instance, Linda Turner was always the Black Cat. She didn't suddenly become Sally Trefusis. Green Lantern's power-ring always failed to affect wooden objects. It didn't occasionally suffer from this weakness.
The definition of continuity broadened about the time when The Bat-Man's steepled ears shortened and he preferred the simpler sobriquet Batman. Generally speaking book-to-book continuity, plot-wise, was never before necessary because, like their pulp progenitors, the heroes usually got around to finally killing the villains or making certain they fell victims to their own diabolical traps. With the resurrection of the villain, the books stopped only producing a series composed of what we would call one-shots today. Suddenly, it became important how the villain rescued himself from certain doom. Thus comic books began to reference themselves.
The more modern definition of continuity grew from the demands of the story. Whereas the Shadow waged his battle through operatives and pumped the law for information, the Bat-Man worked alone. It would be ludicrous to suggest that the police led by Commissioner Gordon would not eventually capture such a loner. Not every cop was on the take, and surely these honest cops would eventually hunt down the vigilante and unmask him. To continue such a crusade against even a horrific whisper like the Bat-Man for sixty years would border on the comical.
To be true to the characters, Commissioner Gordon would have to shake the hand of the man responsible for cleaning up Gotham. Otherwise, commissioners would have to come and go--each would have to fail to bring the Dark Knight to justice. There would still only be a finite number of characters to fulfill such a role, and sooner or later the element would become tiresome. It was better in terms of story to have Batman come out of the shadows. In the comic strip, his working with Gordon and Robin lost none of his darkness, his edge. If the comic books seemed to lose their punch because of this camaraderie, blame not the overall evolution of the story but the writers themselves.
With this germ of an idea planted, the walls between comic books soon fell. Batman meets Superman and teams with him frequently. They live on the same planet. Their cities are but miles away. With their team-ups mirrored on the radio--a more intrusive form of media--acceptance of the World's Finest team became firmly entrenched in the American psyche. Ask me if I was surprised that Batman and Superman would soon find each other in their animated series, and the answer would be of course not. Their meeting in all media is a given. I dare say that had Lois and Clark continued, Dean Cain would find himself meeting Michael Keaton in Gotham City--which was being foreshadowed on the series.
When the USA committed to fight Hitler with more than surreptitious and economic aid, comic books entertained the troops. Here again is an example of the historical climate changing comic books. As the country was asked to unite and fight, so did the heroes. It was not solely a marketing ploy. Society was prepared for it, and that's why the move succeeded. If the majority of the world had been isolationist, the idea of a JSA teaming up to battle the Axis would have failed to attract an audience. The Justice Society in terms of story however surpassed the claims of World's Finest. Not only did Superman and Batman know each other, but they also knew Black Canary, Starman, Wonder Woman and the Flash. Quite suddenly, we now had a world populated by super-heroes.
Of course, everybody knows what happened after the war. The fifties saw the rise of a force that even the Dark Knight could not judo-toss. McCarthyism and its sidekick Fredric Wertham attempted to destroy comic books. They did a good job. By the time the fifties waned only DC and Marvel stood and not so proudly.
The heroes who fought against the Nazis had seemed to gone into hiding. Batman and Superman were still around, but they were almost unrecognizable. Superman was not originally the boy scout stereotype a number of people have assumed. His favorite tactic was to pick up plug-uglies and toss them high into the air. Sometimes he would catch them. Other times, well, let's just say due process was not really his concern.
Batman sadly suffered the most. No longer a detective, he instead fought such laughable characters as Lemur Man and Marmoset Woman while avoiding the amorous glances of Batwoman. Why, you ask? Got me. Kathy Kane was a hottie. Perhaps Wertham was on to something about his relationship with Robin. I kid: Wertham was on something.
The problem is that his crusade led to these perceived changes. Before Wertham, Bat-Man was engaged to Julie Madison. There were sparks between he and the vampiress Dala. The Cat wanted him badly, but his denial of her was justified since she was a jewel thief. Bat-Man actually had the healthier of the relationships with Julie and his ward Dick Grayson. The man who turned him into a metaphorical child-molester was Wertham.
Wertham faded away with McCarthyism. About this time, Julie Schwartz took over DC and reintroduced the heroes to the lonely universe. Replacements took their World War Two names and paid tribute to their heroism. The Flash was reborn as Barry Allen. Green Lantern arose from his ashes as Hal Jordan. Hawkman became Katar Hol. All their origins had one thing in common. They were linked by science. Hawkman was not a reincarnation of an Egyptian prince; he and his wife were alien lawmen. Jordan possessed not a magical ring but one forged by superior intellects from the planet Oa. The Flash's origins depended upon Frankenstein's lightning bolt and a dousing of chemicals; the original inhaled hard water vapors.
Perhaps, because they were some of the first, DC realized they could not reintroduce Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman in different guises. Still, subtle changes were made. Wonder Woman, for instance, though still depending on the gods, relied more upon Amazon technology. Batman once again became a detective. Perhaps he was not yet the Dark Knight of yore, but that shadow was cast upon the horizon.
Continuity DC kept. The Flash met Green Lantern. Wonder Woman met Superman, and soon, the Justice League of America formed. That's right - all the heroes resided on one planet. DC could have chucked continuity. Each hero's book could have been self-contained. They did not. Comic books (at least with regards to DC) reverted back to normal. Silly stories became the rarity and not the norm. Some became groundbreaking.
"The Flash of Two Worlds" subtly razzed the ghosts of Wertham. Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson suggested Jay Garrick had not been frightened away by Wertham's mania and certainly not by the criminal element left over from the war. He and the JSA existed and kept their cities safe on a parallel earth separated from our own world--or that which purported to be our own world--by a frequency. Every one of our atoms vibrates at a specific frequency. It was indeed plausible to cloak a planet by simply shifting it out of phase to render it near invisible. The parallel world not only produced good stories but good science fiction light years ahead of the scientific community who only have recently begun speculating upon the possibilities of alternate universes.
DC rarely abused their parallel worlds. Fox and Anderson were the main forces behind the concept, and DC let them have at it. They gave the heroes their counters in Owlman, Ultraman and Superwoman--recently reintroduced in another form by Grant Morrison, the once heir to the silver age fortune. The JSA resided upon Earth Two. Other creators brought back the Marvel Family who lived on Earth-S.
The stories from these alternate Earths never seemed lazy or childish. They gave a writer an established premise from which to work. For instance, Wonder Woman of Earth One watches Steve Trevor die twice. She retires her guise and retires to Paradise Island. The gods grant her the gift of forgetfulness. No one remembers Steve Trevor except the Amazons who keep his existence a mystery from Princess Diana. Her motivation for leaving the island obliterated, Diana becomes content.
Her solitude is ruptured by the breaching of the vibrational plane. Another Steve Trevor crashes near Paradise Island. Another Steve Trevor is rescued by Princess Diana. They feel an eerie recognition toward each other, and the gods now must gently remove a layer of their shroud of the mind. They allow all to remember Steve Trevor but not his death. This motivates the Trial of the Amazons yet again. This forces Diana to become Wonder Woman to bring back Steve Trevor to man's world and to combat frequently Kobra, thus beginning a ssssupremely sssssatisfying round of his losssssses.
The strength of continuity is that it forces writers to think. DC could not simply reintroduce Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. Steve Trevor, reanimated once by the gods, died a second time. He was not coming back, and you simply could not chuck the entirety of Diana's history because it was inextricably linked to other hero histories. Enter the beauty of multiple Earths. The new Steve Trevor is not the Steve Trevor we knew. He is an alternate from a world where Diana does not exist. This provides only an opening through which the writer can work. He takes that and considers the implications. Yes, Steve is back, but hey, the gods made everybody forget. So, what can I do? The gods must undo the spell, but clearly that puts the god in the machine, so to speak. Thus, the writer turns the advantage into a disadvantage for the character who has the point of view in the story.
Hippolyta does not want her daughter to leave; the death of Steve Trevor nearly killed her daughter, certainly his second death shattered her sanity. She fears for her daughter's emotional safety but knows destiny demands there be a Wonder Woman. She must enact the Trial of the Amazons. This not only reviews Diana's origins; Hippolyta knows the Trial is a sham, she knows Diana will win. Each blow draws a tear from her eyes. When older comic book readers speak of the silver or bronze age, it is the strength in the writing to which they refer. It isn't just the multiple Earths we mourn; we mourn the impact of those varied universes.
Ah, the eighties, a boon for comic book reading and for the Age of Infinite Earths. Each comic book from the eighties--still only sixty cents--featured a back-up for another hero. In Wonder Woman, that back-up feature belonged to the daughter of the Earth Two Batman and Catwoman. The Huntress was the second total creation from Earth Two. Only her name was old and even then belonged to a villainess. This raven-haired master of strategy and weaponry fought crime in Gotham City much like her father did. Her attraction of fans was an honest one. She relied upon no man like the Earth One Black Canary. She was more confident than the Earth One Batgirl. She was also feared. Never the side-kick, Huntress was the hero. She missed the opportunity to work with her father, but she often visited her "Uncle" Bruce--the Earth One Batman--and flashed her cape beside his to solve some of the JLA's and JSA's toughest cases. When Batman's faith in his parents were shaken in a classic Brave and Bold, Helena protected the city and stayed with him to hear him renew his vow. To this day Helena Wayne is mourned.
Not one bad thing originated from the concept of multiple Earths. Sorry, Captain Carrot and his Zoo Crew would have happened whether or not the vibrational planes separated the worlds. Hugo Strange was murdered on our world by Rupert Thorne. On Earth Two, Strange escaped death. He attempted to kill Robin, and a quirk of fate or a supernatural guardian of Gotham brought Batman Earth One to Earth Two where he saves Robin's feathered buttocks and meets Kathy Kane (Batwoman) of Earth Two. Both are "spooked" since both lost each other's counterpart. Both stories resonate with the kind of power missing from today's stories. Multiple Earths was not a gimmick. It was a device that the writers used wisely. The multiverse created a framework for the creation of the tightest of stories featuring a depth of character matching their extinct cousins-the pulp heroes.
The Crisis of Infinite Earths (recently re-released in TPB form) when judged solely as a comic book mini-series is truly stunning. Each issue is a gem. The premise isn't based upon multiple Earths or even multiple universes. Instead, a war between matter and antimatter wages. Every Earth introduced was not made of an alien substance but a variance of positive matter. Each hero and villain--which is why they participated on the side of the heroes--is made of the same stuff. The Anti-Monitor and his Weaponeers are composed of antimatter. It is a fundamental battle for survival. The differences are that we know all the warriors who fight for our side, and when they die, we feel their last breaths on our cheeks. Certainly some cannon fodder instilled little emotion. Who shed a tear when Prince Ra-man met his maker, but the Flash, good old Barry Allen, sacrifices himself to destroy the Anti-Monitor's doomsday weapon. Supergirl, whom we all knew was the better of the two who wore the shield of S, beats the crap out of the Anti-Monitor but only at the cost of her life. Sweet Helena is pronounced dead, but her body is never found. Many a fan longs for the day when she steps out of nothing, escaping this ultimate trap to take her rightful place among giants. In a way we had many such days thanks to Grant Morrison.
The impact of the Crisis is somewhat surprising because immediately after the Earths have been recombined, immediately after the Anti-Monitor is defeated, the heroes all retain their memory. They were at the point of rebirth. They are not of the new world, but aliens from dead Earths. Had this element been rescued from DC's meddling, we would have had healthier stories. Does anybody really believe Power Girl is actually Arion's daughter? The better explanation derives from the paradox of her existence and her being adopted by Superman Earth One. We see at the end of the Crisis, Superman and Power Girl comforting each other as they walk slowly toward the Fortress of Solitude. Batman would have had a rationale for despising the new Huntress. She would be and really is, apart from when featured in the JLA, an insult to the memory of his beloved "niece."
After the Crisis, the DC universe in terms of characterization went haywire. The Flash, Wally West, slapped the face of his dead uncle. When the Crisis ended, Wally intended to uphold the honor of the Scarlet Speedster. Instead, he charges for heart transplants and sleeps with everyone not fast enough to move out of his path. It took William Messner Loebs to finally make him live up to that vow. The new Batman was not and is not as intelligent as the old model. The removal of his history affected the way most writers approached the character. At worst he became a talented amateur, not the World's Greatest Detective. His back was broken. His mind was snapped. The Crisis planted a seed. The heroes were not invulnerable, and the writer no longer had to think of a way for the hero to escape. Before the Crisis, the heroes could not be crippled or killed. Knightfall was daring, but it wasn't very bright. No Man's Land would not have happened had the Crisis not hit. As soon as the idea formed, it would have been dispelled. The pre-Crisis DC was far more integrated. The heroes were friends. They shared common bonds--such as the knowledge of multiple Earths.
Nothing good continuity-wise came after the Crisis, which though a superb story in itself was unnecessary. The multiple Earths did not create confusion. They did not multiply the number of heroes to the degree of the X-Men. It did not hamper most future plans. The John Byrne revamp of Superman for instance could have taken place without the destruction of the multiverse. The re-darkening of Batman in the seventies happened without the literal destruction of an Earth or the single rewriting of a JLA adventure. We lost much and gained nothing. I don't consider Helena Bertinelli to be the Huntress. I don't consider the Earthborn Angel Supergirl. A new language has been created to explain that which has been removed. The retcon. Continuity no longer exists. It could have. Batman could have remembered the time he and Wonder Woman fought Deja vu, a deadly villain from Brave and Bold.
We are now subject to the whims of the authors and editors who have little concern for history. Who murdered the Waynes? Joe Chill? No. We don't know that anymore. From where did Matrix (the faux Super-girl) come? She cannot have arisen from the pocket universe John Byrne created because the Time Trapper had no rationale to create a Superboy whom Superman never met. The reaction to the Crisis is that nothing counts anymore, nothing is carved in stone.
We, the readers, are poorer for the experience.``xRay Tate``xray@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xCrisis In The Comic Books``x976965960,59951,``x``x
``xAbout three years ago, I was reading pretty much every major comic book title that was published (and a lot of the minor ones). However, through the years, I've dropped various titles that I once was very fond of.
Now, due to curiosity, I have gone to my local comic shop and purchased a dozen titles that I used to read on a regular basis. I will review six of them here, and the other six next week. My judgment of each title will be based on the artwork, readability, new readership accessibility, and the amount (or lack) of confusion each title causes me. I should also warn you that there will be MANY SPOILERS, so if you'd rather read it for yourself, be warned. So, to begin:
Wonder Woman #160
Written by Brian K. Vaughan; Drawn by Scott Kolins
The last time I read this title was when John Byrne was writing it, which was about three years ago. I suppose I was lucky with this issue because it is the first part of a story arc, and Vaughan was basically setting the table. In the story, Batman's old enemy Clayface comes to find Wonder Woman, who, like him, is also made of clay. He wants to absorb Wonder Woman in order to make himself more powerful.
During the battle, he manages to succeed, but only to an extent. Wonder Woman breaks free, although he does manage to steal a part of her, thus making him stronger and giving him the gift of flight. As the story ends, Clayface flies away, leaving Wonder Woman to seek out Troia for help.
Overall, the story was decent, but nothing too terribly outstanding. The artwork was definitely better than some comics I've seen, but Kolins isn't about to find himself on a top ten list anywhere. Vaughan did an admirable job at explaining confusing events of past issues, but in all honesty, the story isn't catchy enough for me to want to find out how it ends.
Green Lantern #127
Written by Jay Faerber; Drawn by Ron Lim
I last read Green Lantern a little over two years ago, just after Hal Jordan made an appearance in issue #100. This issue of Green Lantern is about a fire powered super villain named Effigy and his new companion, ice maiden Killer Frost getting together and wreaking havoc against Green Lantern. It's interestingly told from Effigy's point of view, which allows for a few humorous moments (such as when Effigy saves a mother and child from a forest fire, and then drops them into a lake because he doesn't want to put up with being called a "bad guy”).
Effigy and Killer Frost make an interesting pair, because Frost draws power from heat in order to make her ice. In a way, they seem to neutralize each other's powers, and romance sparks between the two. However, by the end of the issue, Effigy realizes that as long as he's with Killer Frost, Green Lantern will continue to fight them, so he basically leaves her to be captured. I'm sure there'll be another confrontation between GL and Effigy at a later date, being that nothing was really resolved with this issue.
I found this issue to be a decent story. There were some comical aspects, and both the writer and artist were good. However, I am under the impression that neither Jay Faerber or Ron Lim are the current creative team on GL, and they must have been doing some fill-in work. Regardless, I might be willing to pick up another issue somewhere down the line, although my motives are more out of nostalgia. However, I do think that if someone just picked up this issue and began reading, they'd have no trouble following along, which is always a bonus.
Captain America #35
Written and drawn by Dan Jurgens
I last read Captain America about three years ago. I had enjoyed the Waid/Garney tales before Liefeld mucked everything up, but their run after Heroes Reborn was very disappointing. On the other hand, Dan Jurgens used to be my favorite writer and artist, mostly because Death of Superman was my first real introduction to buying comics on a regular basis. However, I think he fails with this issue.
The story is about someone named Proctocide, who apparently should have received the title of Captain America, but didn't. He has been found by A.I.M., and they have turned him against Cap. A sub-plot involves Cap going on a date with his new girlfriend, which is probably what I liked the most about the story. I think a lot of the time, Steve Rogers gets left out of Captain America stories.
At the end of the the story, Cap fights Proctocide, and whilst he stops him from capturing something called "Omega", which apparently is a virus of some sort that, with a single drop, could wipe out all of New York City. The reason why I didn't like the story was because Jurgens really didn't go out of his way to explain what everything was and why it was that way. As a new reader, some things confused me, and I really don't have the desire to go buy back issues to find out all the things I missed (I get the feeling that I would just find MORE reasons to buy MORE back issues, and my wallet doesn't like that idea). All in all, Captain America has potential, but not much else.
Impulse #64
Written by Todd Dezago; Drawn by Eric Battle
I used to read Impulse back when Waid and Ramos were on the book, and actually stuck with it until around issue #38. Basically, #64 is part three of an ongoing story arc in Impulse. From what I can surmise, Bart has been captured and placed in a virtual reality (apparently very similar to what he had when he was growing up in the future). Meanwhile, the outside world is going to hell, and he needs to bust out to save the day.
Bart also has a V-R pal named Dox, who is his only companion in this virtual reality heaven. I suppose the reason Dox is there is so that, when Bart eventually escapes, he'll have something to be remorseful about. And by the end of the issue, Bart is confronted with his knowledge of reality, and that his mentor, Max Mercury is dying. Bart escapes from V-R, and tries to take Dox with him. Unfortunately, Bart fails, wakes up, and is, of course, remorseful. Bart escapes, probably toward the conclusion of the story next month.
Overall, due to the fact that I stepped in in the middle of an ongoing story, it was a little difficult to follow along with everything. I have to basically assume that Dox was the VR character that Bart grew up with, as opposed to someone new in his VR world. Also, I do not know how Max wound up dying in the hospital. Regardless, it was an interesting story, although once again, to find out all I'd need to know, I would have to buy back issues, and my wallet will not permit that I do that. I doubt that I'll find out how the story ends.
Iron Man #35
Written by Joe Quesada & Frank Tieri; Drawn by Alitha Martinez
I last read Iron Man near the beginning of the Kurt Busiek revival. Which, God bless him, was a HELL of a lot better than pre-Heroes Reborn. It wasn't, however, good enough to keep my attention. Iron Man #35 is an interesting issue that tells two stories. First, we are shown something that was probably from earlier issues of the series: the story of Max Power, a creature who was branded a scientist on his home planet (which is synonymous with heretic).
Apparently, Iron Man is trying to stop Power from what he wants to do, which is eventually return home by way of creating a potion that allows normal humans to have super-heroic powers for 15 minutes at a time. Also, apparently Ego, the Living Planet is a spore currently hiding out on Earth, which surely can't be a good thing. Iron Man, along with the Fantastic Four, go on a search for Ego, eventually leading them to a town that is actually All Ego and no human life. After a battle, Ego escapes and the story continues for another issue.
All in all, it wasn't a bad story. Quesada co-wrote it, and with the aid of Frank Tieri, does a good job of recapping and progressing the story. However, I didn't really see anything that convinced me to buy another issue, so I guess it falls in the limbo between a bad and good story.
Generation X #70
Written by Brian Wood (from a plot by Warren Ellis); Drawn by Steve Pugh
Back when Generation X first came out, I was an avid fan and actually followed the book for about three years. However, due to some creator changes, the book seemed to lose momentum and hipness, and so I wound up dropping it. This issue of Generation X was not extremely memorable.
I seem to recall that a year or so ago, Warren Ellis took an active interest in many of the X-books, promising to return them to past glory. Apparently, Ellis failed, since a lot of those books - including Generation X - are being cancelled. I don't know if he took an active role with Generation X, but this issue is a good example as to why many people are frustrated with the X-Universe. Basically, it's part 4 of a 4 part story, in which Emma Frost's sister is out to destroy the school and Emma, due to a long-standing jealousy. In the process, the team has to fight through a mutant-hating crowd in order to dismantle some bombs, and one member is either seriously hurt or killed.
I think the story was hard to understand and generally not worth the $2.25 I paid for it. Originally, I was very enthusiastic about Generation X, but I think the level of quality has dropped considerably. The artwork was uninspired and the story was hard to understand with very little recap. I honestly wish that Generation X wasn't cancelled - if only because I hope that someday, it will return to past glory. However, with stories like that, I can understand why it was given the axe.
So, of the six titles reviewed this week, I found only one that I might be really interested in buying again, which was Green Lantern. They all had decent artwork and interesting ideas, but were either not compelling enough to buy again, or were simply too confusing. Iron Man had a vaguely understandable story, but that one hardly kept my interest. Hopefully all of the titles I purchased will not be like that. After all, with a comic book industry that is having troubles selling titles, good, compelling stories are hugely important.
Next week, I'll be reviewing Wolverine #153, X-Men #106, Uncanny X-Men #387, Fantastic Four #36, Aquaman #68, and Avengers #34. I'm not optimistic.
``xKurt Evans``xkurtevans@aol.com``xAre Comic Books Accessible For New Readers? (Part I of II)``x977607109,73558,``x``x
``xTime for a whole bunch of capsule reviews in an attempt to clear the backlog before hitting the great stuff coming our way in 2001. Let’s see what the longbox holds…
Hitman #57
DC – Ennis (s), McCrea (p), Leach (i)
It’s part five of the nine-part finale to this series, and the cataclysmic finale draws closer with another flashback tale – this time, the story of how Monaghan and Nate “The Hat” met. It’s almost your typical boot-camp type of tale, but Ennis just tells it so long, with humour, pathos, an accurate eye for dialogue; couple this with McCrea’s visuals easing you through the issue smoothly, and you have another top issue. Will be sorely missed.
The Sentry/Fantastic Four
Marvel Knights – Jenkins (s), Winslade (p), Palmer (i)
The first of the many one-shots before the finale of the Sentry’s battle with the Void, and all are thematically linked – the Sentry plus the relevant heroes are waiting for the Void on Liberty Island, and we visit each in turn. Now that his memories of the Sentry has returned, Reed Richards ponders a mission the FF had with Sentry against “The Android Pirates of Dimension Nine”. A clever (although not unique) comic-within-a-comic device to showcase the flashback hides a fairly basic Silver Age tale – the art is nice, but the whole thing just feels as if we’re biding time for the main event. Not essential to the main Sentry storyline.
Outlaw Nation #4
DC Vertigo – Delano (s), Sudzuka (p), Camagajevac (i)
Slightly disappointing after last issue, this feels more of a collection of vignettes than parts of a cohesive whole: Mr Gloves abuse and uses up a male nurse to quench his depraved tastes; his father diverts him off to Mozambique and away from his Johnsons-pursuit (and he’s not happy about it); and Billy gets it on with the Jennifer, the woman he rescued from her trailer home last issue, but not until his true identity is revealed/deduced by Jennifer’s son, Martin. Still a good read, but you just long for the plot to be advanced a little rather than spend the issue on talking heads.
Hellblazer #155
DC Vertigo – Azzarello (s), Dillon (p+i)
Constantine accepts a mission from the FBI, or the CIA, or some other bunch of twats in suits, who cares who it is, it’s just wrong. Apparently (it is explained to him in a bar), he has pissed off a few people in very important positions – important enough that JC’s life in America could be made extremely nasty indeed. Which beggars the question – why is he still hanging around the US after 12 issues? JC of old could fly back and forth at will, passport or no passport – a little magic and tickets/paperwork/whatever is not a problem.
Now he is reduced to be blackmailed into accepting a little job (yeah right), by a generic man in black. It doesn’t matter who this guy is working for, JC does not accept commissions, you know? The story is set in a bar, so who better to step in for an issue than Steve Dillon, and his art is fine, although brown is way overused on the colouring so the whole issue feels drab. There’s a second story of the other guys in the same bar, and you get the feeling that Azzarello is more comfortable with that than with the main man himself. That’s a helluva problem, and I can’t see it clearing up anytime soon.
Spider-Man: The Mysterio Manifesto #2 (of #3)
Marvel – Defalco (s), Weeks (p), McLeod (i)
Yet another letdown. Last issue’s cliffhanger had Mary Jane and the baby back alive again, a great way to end #1, but this plot is dispensed with after half-a-dozen pages, instead we get a revelation as to who Jack O’Lantern is this time – it’s (dum dum dum) Danny Berkhart! No, not Danny Berkhart! Who the hell is Danny Berkhart? Having to know continuity like that is a big no-no, especially in the context of a mini-series. The heroes escape their confines by the way they always do in these situations – something feels instinctively wrong to them and they bust out… Another twist ends the issue (everyone loses their powers, oh, and here’s a bunch of supervillains to fight) – a nice ending, spoiled by the setup. One issue left to redeem the series!
America’s Best Comics 64 Page Giant #1
ABC – Alan & Steve Moore (s), various (p+i)
And I’ve really been enjoying the ABC titles too, but this is just too expensive for comfort. $7 for 64 pages of story may not seem a lot on the surface (just the price of three issues, and you do get three covers effectively in this one issue), but it’s all staccato shorts, you just get into one and it ends abruptly. If you prefer the anthology title Tomorrow Stories to any of the regulars, then you will love this. If you’d much rather have 22 pages of your favourites, then this will be dissatisfying. Highlights of the issue – the Greyshirt adverts dotted around (specifically the running comic strip throughout), and the Top Ten short (not involving any of the characters from Top Ten, mind).
Starman #74
DC – Robinson (s), Heath (p+i)
Yet another quality DC title that’s about to finish – there’s just six more issues to go after this one, and we’re starting to wrap up the loose ends in anticipation of giving Jack Knight a happy ending in issue #80 (I hope). It’s another Times Past story, telling how Brian Savage, Scalphunter, met his end, but not before clearing corruption out of Opal City in the last year of the 19th Century. His death is as inevitable as it is tragic and unnecessary, but sets the stage for the 20th Century and the O’Dares to police Opal for the next hundred years. A moving story, and it’s not to late to pick it up, marvel at the writing and the art, and order the TPBs covering the earlier issues.
Planetary #13
DC Wildstorm – Ellis (s), Cassaday (p+i)
After all the hoo-hah building up before the release of #12, closing off the first half of the Planetary series and revealing the identity of The Fourth Man, #13 has crept into the stores barely heralded, and with more of a whimper than a bang. This time around it is the story of Elijah Snow as a young man, behind a cover homage to The Strand magazine of the late 19th/early 20th centuries. It’s almost Ellis’s riff on Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, just set thirty or so years later and with characters appropriate for that time. It’s interesting enough, but a slow start to the second and final year. And the colours are all brown and dismal again – maybe an attempt to lend a sepia tone to proceedings, but maybe the colour restrictions afflicting Hellblazer have spread here too?
Deadenders #12
DC Vertigo – Brubaker (s), Pleece (p), Stewart (i)
I’m upset. Not enough of you have been buying this title, so, with issue #16, it’s all over. Despite that, this is still one of the best Vertigos on the stands; Beezer and Anna finally find the other cataclysm kids like themselves, and it’s not good news. Even worse news is that the cataclysm may still be happening at this very moment. The good news is that the moped race at Blue Lake is still on! All participants are producing some of their best work here – let’s hope their enthusiasm doesn’t drop off in the final few issues.
Tom Strong #11
ABC – Moore (s), Sprouse (p), Gordon (i)
Tom Strong from our Earth meets Tom Strange from Terra Obscura. A horrible cover kicks things off, it’s a parody of Marvel covers from the 60s, a typical image on the cover which has no real bearing to events inside this issue. But forget that, and marvel (sic) at the contents – it has taken Tom Strange thirty years to run to Earth – nothing as prosaic as a spaceship for this chap, he literally ran all the way to get help from our Tom Strong. What menace could possibly spark such a dash? Just look at the last couple of pages – nasty. Forget your science, forget your disbelief, just enjoy the romp.
Rising Stars #12
Top Cow – JMS (s), Lashley (p), Alquiza (i), Altiner (i)
An interesting, although slightly confusing, issue, with a little bit too much posing going on from certain characters. The plot advances in bounds yet again – past issues indicate that no-one is safe in this title, so when a nuclear device heads towards the bulk of the group of “heroes” in this tale, you really think that there’s a real chance they might not make it. What happens to the device and the heroes, and the final fate and redemption of Josh are grand themes within, and JMS is finally shaking off the predictability of the last couple of issues. Continue in this vein and Rising Stars will turn into a real landmark series, talked about for years to come.
Promethea #12
ABC – Moore (s), Williams III (p+i), Gray (i)
I’m too stupid for this issue, I’ve decided. It’s twenty-four pages of full page panels, depicting the origins of the universe, of the earth, of mankind, through to the destruction of the same, using reinterpreted Tarot Cards and a pair of rhyming snakes to tell the story. More a philosophical treatise than a comic book story, you also get the life and death of Aleister Crowley at the same time, running across the bottom of each page, whilst he tells a joke – the meaning of would make magic seem as clear as day, if only the meaning could be divined. Furthermore, you also get a set of scrabble tiles on each page making up anagrams of the word PROMETHEA; each anagram ties in at least loosely with the tarot card and bit of history being related on that page. It’s a lot of work to read, rewards going back over three or four times (I promise you, the first time you’ll go “huh?”), and absolutely the best evidence ever that Alan Moore is either completely and utterly bonkers, or a total, total genius. Buy it, and feel your brain try to escape.``xCraig Lemon``xcraig@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xA Cornucopia Of Reviews``x978213217,4547,``x``x
``xTo recap in case you missed the last article, a few weeks ago I realized that I am now reading far fewer comic books than I had been three years ago. And, out of curiosity, I went to my local comic book shop, purchased twelve titles that I used to read, and decided to begin critiquing them based on readability, new reader accessability, and overall quality of the work.
Last week, I found that, out of six titles (Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Impulse, Captain America, Iron Man and Generation X), only one was worthy in my eyes to begin purchasing on a regular basis. Considering the state of the industry, that is a bad sign. Hopefully, the six titles I will be reviewing for this article will be a little better. They are X-Men #106, Wolverine #153, Uncanny X-Men #387, Aquaman #68, Avengers #34, and Fantastic Four #36. Once again, I will now issue a very heavy SPOILER WARNING. So to begin:
X-Men #106
Written by Chris Claremont; Drawn by Francis Yu, Dernick, and Williams
There was a time when I was an avid fan of the X-Men. I believe I have every issue from around #280 through the Onslaught storyline. However, as I have grown older I've realized that even those stories were fairly weak compared to the past glory that was Claremont and Cockrum/Byrne. Unfortunately, Claremont's return didn't live up to his pre-departure days, and as it is well known, he has been fired off the major X-books.
X-Men #106 is a giant-sized issue telling the story of a mutant named Domina. Domina, the chieftain of the warclan of Neo, is out for revenge because her daughter was killed in some barely-mentioned battle. The X-Men are in the way of her vengence. Basically, the issue consists of the X-Men attempting the infiltrate a fortress and battle some mutants, probably to save humanity again. However, I found there to be very little backstory and the motivation behind the events were confusing.
It seems that yet again this is another title that has fallen victim to readership exclusivity. If a reader hasn't been following along for at least half a year (and possibly longer than that!) the book makes little sense and the continuity is confusing. I really had NO idea what the point of that story was. It will be a long time before I buy another X-Men title, although I may be willing to give the new creative teams a chance.
Wolverine #153
Written and drawn by Steve Skroce
Back when I was reading the X-titles, I avidly collected Wolverine as well. I believe I dropped the book sometime after Legion went back and killed Xavier. #153 is the conclusion to an ongoing storyline apparently about revenge and Wolverine trying to find his love, Yukio.
The story, which is Steve Skroce's last, is an Asian adventure consisting of two crazed kung-fu girls out for revenge, or something. It's really pretty hard to understand exactly what's going on, except that Wolverine is out to help Yukio and keep her from being hurt.
I just have to take a moment to ask one question. Would it really be two hard to dedicate an extra page or two an issue to recapping? Whatever happened to the characters explaining the situation through dialog? This is just yet another issue where I'd have to go and buy months and months of backissues just to get caught up, and that's no way to obtain new readership! I would say that I hoped the new creative team would do a better job, but that creative team would appear to be Rob Liefield, so I'm going to reserve my hopes for something more likely to occur. Like an end to world hunger, and a disarming of all nuclear weapons.
Uncanny X-Men #387
Written by Chris Claremont; Drawn by Salvador Larroca
As mentioned above, I previously collected X-Men titles from around #280 of this series up until the Onslaught series. After that, I got tired with the books. Then, the legendary Chris Claremont returned to the titles, sparking hope amongst frustrated fans. I think he's let those fans down.
Uncanny X-Men #387 starts off with a cliche. To paraphrase John Byrne, the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix stories were tremendous and probably some of the best X-Men stories ever told. That is, they would have been if Chris Claremont hadn't gone back and reused the storyline again and again. Thus, you could say I was a little frustrated when the first three pages were dedicated to The Phoenix. On one hand, Larroca can draw one awesome Jean Grey. On the other, the story was mostly a Dark Phoenix rehash, consisting of a D'Bari out for revenge for Dark Phoenix's destruction of his planet. I'll give Claremont props for explaining the story and for showing some character interaction, but I can't forgive him for rehashing on Dark Phoenix...AGAIN.
All in all, the artwork is what made the story work. And as mentioned, the story itself WAS well-written. It was merely the story itself that upset me. However, beggars cannot be choosers, so I will proclaim this issue a surprising winner and move on to the next book to be reviewed.
Aquaman #68
Written by Dan Jurgens; Drawn by Steve Epting
I used to truly enjoy the Aquaman stories as presented by Peter David. Unfortunately, David wound up having some problems with the editor, and took leave of the book (and so did I, in the end). About two years later, it is Dan Jurgens helming the now-cancelled Aquaman (I'm pretty sure #75 was the last issue).
It seems that Jurgens is presenting the story from a future perspective (what with Tempest -the former Aqualad - telling the story with a little white in his hair). From what it looks like, I've stumbled into the middle of a war story between Aquaman and the queen of Cerdia (whoever SHE is). Aquaman has been in battle with the Ocean Master, and continues the battle in this issue in order to save Tempest's daughter (who he is narrating to).
The story isn't bad. It's not inspiring by any manner, but unlike his work on Captain America, Jurgens gives enough recap to allow any new reader an understanding of what is going on. Aquaman was definitely readable here, but not inspirational, and I doubt I'll go and collect any of the unsold back issues at my comic store.
Fantastic Four #36
Written by Carlos Pacheco & Rafael Marin; Drawn by Pacheco
The Fantastic Four was actually one of the first comics I ever read back in my middle-school days. Unfortunately, it was during the time of Defalco and Ryan, so compared to say the Byrne run, I didn't have much to read. I never really collected the FF, except through back issues (I now have almost the entire Byrne run and even the previously mentioned Defalco and Ryan run, which I bought for cheap in the 50 cent bin).
In this issue, the Fantastic Four are up the the usual. They're in the process of battling Diablo the Chemist (oooh, a Chemist! Scary!) to save the city. While the art here is also a saving grace, the writing does not go into detail to explain how they got there or what Diablo's plan is. Basically, they battle and are captured by Diablo, but through sheer will, the Thing manages to break his bonds and save the day.
Once again, it is the art that saves the day, but not enough. I admit, my curiousity in the Fantastic Four may be enough for me to buy another issue in the future, but probably not until Jeph Loeb takes over the writing chores. I admire Pacheco's love of the Fantastic Four, but I don't think that love quite survives the writing process. Hopefully Loeb will improve the book.
Avengers #34
Written by Kurt Busiek; Drawn by George Perez
I think I've missed out with this book. Widely proclaimed to be extremely well-written and drawn, I did in fact pick up the first half dozen issues after the Heroes Return storyline, but dropped it for reasons I cannot remember. Big mistake, as I will now have to scour the back issue bins for George Perez's pencils, as #34 is his last issue on the series.
Busiek does an impressive job right off the bat. The first page is a recap to what is obviously the end of an extended story, and I surely would have been lost without it. Basically, the notoriously power-hungry Count Nefaria is bent on ruling the world, and the Avengers (and their extended allies) are out to stop him. However, he proves to be extremely hard to defeat, up until the Avengers do what they do best - work together as a team! It takes a tremendous effort, but eventually they manage to damage the Count, and after his bomb fails to do the damage he expected, he is defeated (and possibly destroyed) by his own leaking ionic energy. Wonder Man is seriously hurt in the process, but the Count was defeated!
Truly an entertaining story, The Avengers proves to be a great team up book. I doubt that every story is that good, but I imagine that they're all at least close in quality. And while it is sad to see George Perez take a break from the book, it is refreshing to note that his replacement is the ever-talented John Romita Jr., who will surely do as good a job. All in all, the Avengers is a book I might start collecting. To say the least, I'll buy another issue!
All things told, my little research project was very disappointing. Of 12 books reviewed, I only enjoyed four stories, and only one story enough to consider collecting that title on a regular basis. It seems that both Marvel and DC are too exclusive and are telling too many multi-part stories without enough recapping. Of course, that is no new news, but I will write an extended article on my findings shortly. Be warned, it will be highly critical.
Well, enough for now! Perhaps in the next article I should also list the titles I enjoy! Until then, happy reading!
``xKurt Evans``xkurtevans@aol.com``xAre Comic Books Accessible For New Readers (Part II of II)``x978823139,48299,``x``x
``xNow, there's a title. Is your dander up now? Is the blood rushing to your face and are your fists clenching with rage? Are you shouting "NO! NO! NO!" at the screen? Are you already composing an email reply to state that even considering this subject is deterimental to the mythos?
All I ask is that you stop. Just stop for a moment, take a breath, disengage your homophobic-kneejerk-reactionary hind brain and give me your homo sapien intellectual fore brain. Calm now? Right then, I'll begin.
I don't blame you for your reaction. I myself have reacted similarly in the past, but I've really forced myself to examine why I felt that way, and, frankly, I don't like the answer I get. I don't consider myself to be homophobic and, in fact, many gay people have spoken out against Batman being gay too. My overall conclusion is that we are, unfortunately, living in a homophobic society, and that our immediate reflexive reactions are governed by that. A cop out? Possibly, but still worrying all the same.
So, is Batman gay? The question we first really have to address is which Batman we are talking about. Ironically, the post-Wertham Batman of the sixties (a character gradually recreated in the wake of homophobic hysteria) is far more overtly homosexual than the man who was accused of perverting a nation's youth. The Batman of this period was sensitive, emotional, and terrified of getting into a relationship with girls. Similarly, Robin too would (whilst Batman fended off the ever-so-sexy Batwoman's advances) try to avoid the sexual lure of Batgirl. Then, of course, we had the pink costume and the TV series...
However, it's unfair of us to look at the character from such a different time, especially as Crisis On Infinite Earths and Zero Hour effectively wiped such stories from the legend (maybe because of their overtly homosexual tone?). So, I will focus on the post-Crisis Batman. For simplicity's sake, this especially means starting with Batman: Year One, by Frank Miller.
Has your appetite been whet yet? Good; now you are hooked I'll leave you until next week with a passing thought. Through our careful and considered examination of the Batman mythos, Craig and I examined the Batman family in general. Next week, we will discuss not only if Batman is gay, but the bisexuality of Barbara Gordon and the question about how many other members of Batman's team are possibly homosexual. The results may well surprise you.
Until next time, open your mind, don't let yourself give into your knee-jerk reactions, and do a little research of your own.
[Note: We would like your opinions on the use of sex, violence, and bad language in comics. Are there any comics you consider to actually be perverse? Email us on soapbox@silverbulletcomicbooks.com and let us know...we may do an article, or we may just take the mickey...]``xAlan Donald``xsilbulcomboo@aol.com``xIs Batman Gay?``x979391528,37322,``x``x
``xBefore I begin this article I feel I should make something clear. You may find that I am talking in generalities, there is a reason. This isn't laziness, I just honestly don't think that individual examples would be helpful for this article. Why? Quite simply, I'm not interested in finding one specific example of Batman acting "gaily". Individual examples are subject to a writer's whim and often even the best editors let continuity problems slip through. What I want is a gestalt view, simply the feel that myself and others take from the sum total of the modern Batman mythos.
Let's make one thing clear here: we are in no way making any linkages between homosexuality and the sexual abuse of young boys. This is an assertion that has been made before but it, in our opinion, is untrue and unfair. Our comments and observations are specific to Batman alone and not homosexuality in general, especially when it comes to the Robins.
Craig basically wants me to write: "Batman's a shit stabber, if he isn't shagging the Robins now, he once was. Barbara Gordon and Dinah got it on after they finally met. Batman's anger comes from sexual repression, maybe impotence. Dick Grayson swings both ways. Alfred....well, "Master Bruce", that just says it all. And don't get me started on Jason Todd. Jason Todger more like. They're all a bunch of...". Thanks, Craig. All joking aside, we have a number of points to consider:
1) The concept of a secret identity. While this is practical and has a firm reason, there's more to it. Many homosexuals have, at least in the past, had to lead a secret life or to have a secret identity, to hide what they are. This was especially true when homosexuality was illegal.
2) The uniform. Skin-tight and deliberately attenuating his 'assets'. The drama of the cape combined with the near-nakedness of the body suit could be conceived as being highly sexual. Dramaticism and drama in general have often been linked to homosexuality. As to why this is, this isn't for me to say - perhaps it is because a homophobic society has forced gay people to become good actors. One thing is clear - a camp dramatic-style has long been part of male homosexual culture, as have sexual skin-tight outfits.
3) The violence. This isn't something most people associate with homosexuality, except, perhaps, repressed sexual frustration. This will be explored more fully later in the behaviour section of this article.
4) Lack of commitment. The only people Batman develops close relationships with are male. There are only two female characters that Batman has any long term commitment to: (a) Dr. Leslie Thompkins; (b) Barbara Gordon. Dr Thompkins is a surrogate mother figure to Bruce, and as for Barbara? Well, there's nothing to say that gay men can't have any female friends, in fact, quite the opposite. What I am examining here is different - Batman didn't invite Barbara into his life, she forced her way in. Time and time again, Barbara has made her presence felt. This is a marked difference to the Robins and even Azrael, whom Batman openly invited into his home and "inner sanctum". The new Batgirl is an oddifty - Bruce's relationship with her is a distant one, she even lives with Barbara. Shondra Kinsolving and Vicki Vale do dirty the water somewht, admittedly. But Shondra we have to remove from the mix due to her mental health, but where is Vicki? Gone. Forget the strain of a secret identity, to be honest, it seems clear that Batman finds it difficult to commit to a long-term, close relationship with a female partne
5) Behaviour. While Batman doesn't camp it up to the level of Graham Norton (see http://www.channel4.com or Carrie Fisher's website as he's her favourite gay presenter), not all homosexual males mince, or are even slightly camp. We have just discussed Batman's relationships (or lack thereof) with women, but what about his general behaviour? I don't believe Batman is actively homosexual, and I don't believe that he has had many partners. Bruce's adoption of Dick was an act of altruism and compassion for a kindred spirit, and despite the highly sexual costume, I don't believe that anything happened between them. Tim Drake is another capable and intelligent young man, who Batman admires greatly and perhaps is attracted to on some level, yet I believe once more that nothing overt has happened. Whilst I believe that at most Bruce was attracted to Dick, Craig thinks that at the very least theirs was an unrequited love affair. One thing is clear - Batman is overtly homosexual, in fact he may even deny it to himself, which leads us to think about the violence in his life. Does Bruce use violence as a replacement for sex? Is that therefore why he wears the sexual costume and goes out looking for fights, accompanied by his partner?
6) Jason Todd. Conspicuously absent from all discussion so far, Jason was the second Robin. Jason, more than anything, stands out for simply being dead. Jason has gained a new sobriquet from the discussions Craig and I had: Rent Boy Robin. Basically we've been forced to conclude that in our belief that Batman is one accepts the possibility that Batman is gay, you must also conclude that Jason Todd was once his lover, and perhaps the only sexual partner Batman ever had. Jason Todd was a street-smart rough-and-ready kid. Jason had had to learn how to live on the streets, and make a living. He met Batman when he tried to steal the wheels from the Batmobile. Jason appeared older than Dick, and Batman's relationship with him was quite different. Jason and Bruce argued, not like father and son, but more like a lovers tiff. Pictures of the two of them working out (in Death in the Family for example) paint an extremely homoerotic portrait. Jason died, and Batman was hurt. Natural even for a close friend, but Batman's reaction was far more akin to the loss of a lover.
So, is Batman gay? Well, of course he is. And, of course he isn't. I don't believe that any writer has specifically ever set out to make Batman gay, they just set out to enhance the existing mythos. The fact is, Batman has expanded well beyond his origins, and far beyond the whim of any individual creator. This is mainly because no individual writer is allowed to do too much to Batman, only add to what exists. What this really means is that any reader can feel free to take what they want to from the mythos.
What of the supporting cast?
1) Dick Grayson. Bruce Wayne's son/lover/unrequited partner. Dick has had numerous female partners, but none of these have ever lasted, and, in fact, he has been known to try and avoid women. Probably bi-sexual or straight then.
2) Tim Drake. The completely straight-laced third Robin. The biggest queer of the lot, or completely straight? The jury is out on Tim, mainly because of his age. I personally take him as being straight.
3) Barbara Gordon. After the recent picture of her and Black Canary in Birds of Prey embracing, there's no doubt in my mind she is at least bi-sexual. Even with this put to one side, Barbara's behaviour towards Dinah and the new Batgirl is suggestive of more than a 'normal' degree of female affection.
4) Jim Gordon. Straight as a die.
5) Alfred. Jury is out, probably masturbates himself into a frenzy down in the Bat-Cave whilst Bruce is on patrol.
6) Batgirl. I don't think she even knows herself.
7) Joker. Beyond sex, the Joker takes what he wants, whether male or female.
8) Two-Face...Harvey was straight, but what about his alter ego? Well, everything about the character Two-Face indicates he has two diametrically opposed sides in everything he does - therefore his Harvey half is straight, and his Two-Face side must be gay.
9) Catwoman. Huge amounts of pent up sexual drive and aggression here. Though not as mad as the Joker, Catwoman has something in common with him - I believe she takes what she wants, when she wants it - male or female.
10) Harley Quinn. Aside from the Joker, she's a raving homosexual and we all know it.
11) Poison Ivy. Man, woman, plant, she doesn't care.
12) Superman. Mr. Hetrosexual. Supes doesn't even reaslise that there is another way. He doesn't understand Batman as it is, if we add sexual intrigue to the mix, poor old Clark doesn't stand a chance.
So, why the article? To make you think. To provoke a reaction. To prove just how involved and durable the mythos is. I could have equally presented a case that Batman is straight, but that wouldn't have been any fun. What's the correct answer? There is none, except for that which you provide yourself. Enjoy your Batman reading,
``xAlan Donald``xsilbulcomboo@aol.com``xIs Batman Gay? Part II``x979996710,77236,``x``x
``xReviews are not easy. What do you say if you go on about the structure and the art? Do you basically transcribe the story? Or do you take the opportunity to examine a character or backstory? As for grading...well, grades are too subjective anyway. A grade system is too open to people making snap judgements. And as we all know, snap judgements are invariably inaccurate, and incorrect.
On top of that, many people give too high or too low a grade for work, based on personal bias. This problem is magnified in "an out of five" grade, as there is very little latitude. Too many things are "above average" or a "very good read" (i.e. three out of five). There are times when you want to scream, because there's no way a certain title is as good as another you have at that grade, but the grades above and below are wrong. An out of ten system does give more leeway, but is still a little restrictive.
At the end of the day, giving review scores is pointless anyway - does anyone really just look at the score a book gets before deciding whether to read the review or not? The key to whether a reader will enjoy an issue should be contained within the review itself, not determined by how many points a particular book gets.
Some people think that the reviews themselves could benefit from a common structure to aid the reader, writer and editor. If grades must be given, perhaps they should be for different aspects of a comic. I suggest perhaps:-
(a) Introduction to title, small paragraph;
(b) One sentence (well, two or three maximum) run through of this issue's plot;
(c) Few words/paragraph - on Art
(d) Few words/paragraph - on Structure
(e) ... - on Characterisation
(f) ... - on Dialogue
(g) ... - on Story
(h) General rant to close it off
Ah, it'll never happen - you see too many internet (and print) reviews that try to fit to a structure (what I liked/what I hated, or story/art/dialogue) and the whole thing just comes off as too structured, too forced, that these reviews just do not read naturally. Forcing a structure on a review is a replacement for writing ability - anyone can write a review if most of the text is supplied for them in the form of headings. To start with a blank sheet of paper, have the title of the book and the creative team next, and you write from there - ah, therein is the skill.
But, in the spirit of trying anything once, let's take a couple of recent books and review them as "structured" reviews...it's worth a shot.
Tomb Raider #10
By Jurgens/Park/Sibal/Smith/Dreaner
Plot: Part four of four. Catch the eye...
What is it? Action adventure with the sexy star of the computer games. Indiana Jones with bigger guns, and much bigger breasts.
This issue? The final part of a four-parter, Lara has her prize stolen from her, wakes in luxury, descends into a warzone, and tries to find her own way out.
Art? Excellent as ever. Lara is far sexier in the comic than the games. That said, despite the skimpy clothing and the fanboy following, this tends to rarely be a T&A show, but instead an action-adventure.
Structure? Simplistic and straightforward. The panelisations and page layout aren't the best ever, but they are more than just functional, and, in fact, are extremely well thought out.
Characterisation? For what could be the most vacuous soft-porn cash-in on a computer game franchise, the character build-up is incredible. Time is always taken to build characters into people that we feel we know.
Dialogue? Fairly snappy, and, at times, witty.
Story? Easy to follow, but not very original. A very good issue all the same, though.
General? Tomb Raider is a title that continues to surprise. It only needs to be mediocre, flashing Lara's bits around the place to succeed, but instead real care is taken to weave a snappy, intelligent, and well-thought-out action adventure. Very good and recommended.
Score?
Black Widow #2
By Devin Grayson/Greg Rucka/Scott Hampton
Plot: Black Widow isn't Black Widow, and neither is Black Widow. She's Black Widow, and Black Widow pretends to be Black Widow, and she kills Black Widow. Um, I think.
What is it? Espionage and action with SHIELD and the KGB. Face/Off, Marvel-style.
This issue? The goodie Black Widow has replaced the baddie one, and prepares to contact the baddie's Russian contacts. Meanwhile, the baddie Black Widow believes she has killed the goodie Black Widow while they were dressed up as each other. Now, the NYPD, SHIELD, and the heroes all chase the "goodie" (i.e. the baddie in disguise) Black Widow.
Art? I like this style, it's fully painted and looks like something from 2000AD.
Structure? Functional and clearly laid out.
Characterisation? Difficult for me to say, I don't really know SHIELD or Black Widow well enough. Daredevil to kept to his usual boy-scout-like attitude.
Dialogue? Snappy and spy film-like.
Story? Confusing as hell on the first read, but not so bad on a second one. Rereads make this better than a first time, though. And reading issue #1 makes everything crystal clear - a mini-series best read as a mini (or maybe as the TPB out soon).
Score?
Well, that made writing the reviews much easier. But, rereading them, they just lose so much. Structured reviews? No thanks.
``xAlan Donald``xsilbulcomboo@aol.com``xA Reviewer's Rant``x980639123,34219,``x``x
``x[An introduction from David here to the major essay covering his main theme next week...]
Let’s talk about classic stories. Let’s talk about the X-Men. Looking back, the Joseph storyline was rather ridiculous. Magneto's space station collapses and then Rogue just happens to find a guy that looks just like Magneto, only considerably younger. So, the X-Men just let him join because Prof. X has apparently went nuts, and then he takes off because a member of the Israeli secret service says she may know the truth about his origin, only to get killed by the real Magneto.
At the time, it was semi-decent going though. Was he really Magneto? Was he trying to infiltrate the X-Men? Did he have a genuine need to do good? If he was good, then who was that in Magneto's base? The Gambit / Rogue / Joseph thing seems so trite now, but people forget that this was four years ago, this was before Gambit was overused and back when he was still one of the most popular X-Men. Fans wanted him and Rogue to be together and they've been hoping for such since the early (adjectiveless) X-Men issues and Joseph was just a really big complication. Fans knew Rogue and Gambit would get together eventually, but this made the storyline less clear cut.
My big problem with the circa 100-250 X-Men is that they're not old enough to become charming again. I've been reading those old Defenders and I loved them. Yeah, by today’s standards they're pretty bad (how many issues did Hulk, Namor, and Val get together to save Dr. Strange from a relatively powerless mystic who somehow gains the means to attack him?) but they've got everything from huge lapses in judgement:
"What? A giant robot that will bring devastation to the world unless we stop it from saying it's own name? Then we must hit it with everything we've got! But Val, don't attack it."
"Bah! I hate men but I will do nothing to disobey your wishes"
"Oh no! Our plan to attack it with everything we've got, except for Val, has failed!"
"Then I will hit it with my sword!"
Next panel, Val has chopped the robot's head off and even though the robot had 20 pages to say it's own name, it's only half way done when Val FINALLY chops its head off
to dated slang (especially my poor lovely Hellcat) to stupid plot devices (Val goes to college to learn more of this world, makes friends with a guy named Dollar Bill and the Defenders, even Dr. Strange, decide to let him follow them around with a video recorder) but it's so dated it's charming.
I think those X-Men issues just need a few more years to age and then they'll be fine. Meanwhile, might I recommend a 1987 Avengers? It's a fine vintage.
[Next, in Part II - Future Classics and Soap Operas]``xDavid Young``xsilbulcomboo@aol.com``xNostalgia ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, Part I of II``x981190718,99602,``x``x
``xSoap operas are a far superior art form to comics because it works within its own strict limits, the main one being that people get tired. Yes, there are people that have been playing the same role in the same soap for 30 years, but more often than not, they have either had several extended breaks from the series or they've been relegated to a recurring role for most of that time, only occasionally being pulled back into use.
If the comics were true to their soap opera leanings then Spider-Man would not be in title after title, guest starring and cameoing and starring and teaming up... we would see him about 10 times a year (even the stars of the soap operas aren't in every episode) and each story would attempt to be as watchable as the last. Not more complex, not more twisting, not with bigger explosions, not with more character, just rather equal.
Soap operas are a formula and they know that there can be no more than one love triangle at any one time and that you should only focus on 3 active characters per scene and only 4 juggled plot-lines per episode. No massive teams dealing with 15 gangs of villains at one time. Even popular characters get put on the shelf now and then.
Take Dazzler for instance. She wasn't Wolverine status, but she had her own title and it lasted pretty long. When's the last time you heard someone say "damn that Dazzler, I'm so sick of her" recently? You haven't because she's not there to be sick of. She still gets a story every now and then but when the writers are done with her she goes back on the shelf.
Punisher started as a bit role. He was popular, eventually he moved on to a starring role in the Marvel Universe (via his own titles) then he was shelved (albeit, only because the fans were so sick and tired of seeing him) but after a few years, he was brought back, and now, a few years later he's back to being a main character.
Back to my point... Read the last half of Morrison's JLA. Between the 16-member team and the Injustice League and the miscellaneous plot devices you're getting one character per page. Most people will easily pick up on the basics. Batman hates killers and the Huntress has killed before. Superman just wants to save the Earth. Plastic Man is funny, Big Barda and Wonder Woman are strong, Orion is violent and there's a giant something or other that's somehow going to kill the world. If that were all, then any non-comic fan would pick up any part and say "hot damn, this is an action packed storyline" but no. There's Metron. What's he here for? What's the deal with his chair? Why is Queen Bee building a hive? Why are these super-heroes talking to a girl in a wheel chair? When did they build this purple laser thing? What's Lex Luthor doing in the moonbase? Who's Firestorm and what's he doing with that Atom guy? Wait a minute... now everyone's got super-powers?
Yes, I know "well when you put it like that it sounds bad" but take the average soap opera. Watch a week’s worth of episodes. What's going on? Bob and Sue are in love but Mary wants Bob for herself. Jack is in the hospital with a life threatening heart problem and Betty is at his side trying to convince him not to give up. Cathy and Dirk are trying to figure out what evil schemer Terry is up to, not knowing that his lackey John has planted a bomb under their car. Yeah, it may not sound all that interesting but it's different when you're going through it.
That whole continuity thing is just something the hardcore fans use to keep novices out. Just like in comics. If you're talking to someone who's watched soaps all their life, then yes they're going to tell you all about so-and-so and how his father is so-and-so's cousin who just happens to be the arch-nemesis of this other person's daughter's cousin's son's doctor. But you don't need to know that. You just need to know who's sleeping with who this week.
You think the writers consult years and years and years of episodes so they can decide what the next step can be? No! They just need to know where they last put each character.
Comics are written by the same type of fan that can tell you who was
sleeping with who when so-and-so-got pregnant with person X's baby. They expect you to know, or at least be reasonably familiar with not just the 10 or so characters that are active in the book at this time, but also the cast and crew of every other book published by that comic company in the past few years. You can't pick up an issue and just enjoy it. Hank is replaced by his evil double from years ago that tagged along with him when he and the Wasp were battling foes (in another book) and Captain America is upset with
the Avengers because he's been battling a guy that has the same powers as he does and while he was doing that, the Avengers failed to clean up a mess that was caused by a robot obsessed with the Avengers 2 years ago and a giant spirit that stole a cursed sword from an ex-Avenger 7 years ago and Triathlon and Photon and Jack of Hearts (the last two just coming back from adventures in another title) are battling two guys that were sent by an evil group that the Avengers were insulted by 2 and a half years ago and these guys planted Triathlon there but we still don't know why and the Scarlet
Witch is still upset because she's in love with Wonder Man whom she brought back to life, much to the dismay of her former robot-husband/lover who's just realized that he's in love with her again and so he's trying to make her jealous by dating Warbird. And She-Hulk is super-strong. And in tomorrow's episode (well, next month's issue) none of that will matter because Captain America and all of the aforementioned characters will be in Greece with Silverclaw, who last appeared 6 months ago for about 8 pages in 2 issues, battling the Hulk who went insane in the pages of his own book.
That's why nobody reads comics anymore. The last time I heard someone compare soap operas to comics someone mentioned how ironic it is that soap operas are big ratings grabber, but comics are a very cultish thing and that comics need fewer fans writing the books and more good soap opera writers and I can't agree more. Too many comic writers depend on the concept that if you're reading the book, you have some idea of every major event that has occurred in not just that title but in that universe ever since that universe started (which in some cases, means a long time ago). Few soap opera fans can tell you what happened in the first episode of the series. Few can tell you what happened in the first 20 years of the series. 90 percent can't even tell you what was going on when they started watching the damn thing but that doesn't stop them from enjoying what's going on now.
Maybe you feel that you used to read a title years ago, and stopped, and now maybe it won’t appeal to you? Hey, the stories SHOULD appeal to you, regardless of your age or how many years you've been reading them. Few people say "I'm too old to enjoy ER" after all. Granted, there aren't many things that a person can enjoy the same way they did when they were 10, but there should be something of entertainment value for everyone.
It seems to me like the more transient comics have been the most popular ones. Around WW2 comics were extremely popular, not because they were exceptionally well written, but because they were easy to get into and out of. The writers weren't expecting readers to pick up every issue to continue a single plotline. Yeah, there's the "well, they were popular because it was during the war and people were buying them as cheap entertainment" argument, but the point remains, it didn't matter if you were a faithful follower of a certain super-hero or if you just bought comics whenever you'd go to town, they were the same sort of throwaway material as TV and paperbacks about cowboys and aliens.
What comics do most fans start out on? Archies. Almost every one of us (well, I can't speak for the non-Americans so probably this argument isn't the best one) has read one at one time or another but almost anyone would be hard-pressed to tell you what happened in one of them, other than the basics. Archie and Betty and Veronica are in a romantic triangle but Reggie wants Veronica. And Jughead likes to eat.
Yeah, in one issue Archie will get amnesia or Jughead may dream about living in medieval England and Veronica's father may cut off her allowance and make her get a job. In the end, the books (all of them, and yeah, there are many) remain the same. While they may not be X-Men level sellers (I don't even know where to look for stats on print numbers but I know they can't be too dynamite) they make a profit AND they have fans.
Back issues are nearly impossible to find... trade paperbacks, essential editions and masterworks/archives are non-existent... the life of any one issue is probably less than a year, but hey, they keep going. No continuity, no cumbersome five-year story arcs that lose their way after the first 3 months, no reboots, no special jumping-on points...
Maybe Marvel should take a page out of Archie's book instead of their current plan of "let’s make movies, then make books about the movies. And while we're waiting for the movies to come out, let’s put current hot creative teams on books so those silly comic fans will stay happy".
``xDavid Young``xsilbulcomboo@aol.com``xSoap Operas and the Comics Industry, Part II of II``x981838439,7070,``x``x
``xComic pros and comic retailers are complaining about the declining state of the industry. Joe Casey recently divulged in his Crash Comments column that in January 2001 Diamond Distributors had no comic with more than 100,000 units ordered. That got me thinking.
This might be the first time the X-Men didn't crack 100,000 copies in the United States since the 1975 relaunch. There hasn't been a day since I've started reading comics that I could say that. Can the industry survive much longer with the X-Men declining? Why does the X-Men's decline matter? Should anyone in or out of comics care that the convoluted Claremont continuity will go the way of the Dodo?
These are all valid but frightening questions for me, because all I've ever wanted to do was write comic books. What happens if the industry I've desperately wanted into folds up before I get a chance to be heard?
Here's some perspective. The population of the United States is roughly 283.5 million people. That means if the January issue of X-Men SOLD OUT (no back issues held by retailers, no fanboys buying two copies) then only 1 in 2,835 Americans would get a copy. The Rose Bowl has a capacity of 105,000. If it was full of a random sampling of Americans, then only 37 people in the crowd would have bought a copy of the January issue of X-Men. This is a change from X-Men #1 (Lee and Claremont) that sold 7 million copies worldwide; that's one copy per 40 Americans. That would have filled the Rose Bowl 70 times over.
How do we keep the current industry running in the face of decline? Most comic professionals will tell you the current industry is a fat, bloated bitch. She should do us all a favor and die. That depends. I can sum up the direct market simply; it is great for independent comics trying to reach a niche audience, it is bad for mainstream comics trying to reach the national audience. Which one do we want, diversity or national recognition?
The current comic industry is about as bad a model of business that has existed, much less thrived, for national exposure. It needs a drastic overhaul to successfully reach the national audience, and there is almost no chance that the industry in its current incarnation will go back to the success of the speculator boom.
Do I want the direct market to collapse so we can start something new? No, because I don't think those smaller independent comics will have any chance of survival if the direct market goes away. I think the direct market can continue for years to come -- if it evolves. The one thing that can spark resurgence or slow the decline in sales is MONEY.
Where is this money going to come from? The money will come from two groups: People Who Read Comics and People Who Don't Read Comics. We've already got the attention of the former group, so let's concentrate on the latter. The comic industry has always looked at ways to get new readers into specialty shops and on subscription lists -- and they have usually met with failure. How do we get new readers into stores with what we have? What comic do we give to the average American to get them involved in comics?
How do we reach the national audience while keeping the direct market? Most comic pros would say that good comics like Sin City, Savage Dragon, Strangers in Paradise, and Dork (Eisner award winners, basically) can get the national audience into stores and increase sales. Good comics can help, but good comics can also be ignored -- even Eisner winners. Good comics were largely ignored when X-Men was selling 7 million copies and comic shop attendance was at an all time high. Hellboy was coming out during the boom and won multiple Eisner awards, but it was as ignored then as it is now. I don't want to read crappy comics, believe me. But if it weren't for the outdated direct market we wouldn't have gems like Powers or Stray Bullets. They never would have existed. Good comics don't have the point of reference that X-Men has. X-Men is on the big screen, on the small screen, in video games, and in the grocery store.
To get the national audience to respond to something you have to understand their mentality. The national audience doesn't want to take a chance. They want a known quantity or a point of reference. They want to have their hands held.
True story: I remember after X-Men the movie came out, I was in my local comic store on new comic day. A guy came in off the street and said: "I saw X-Men this week, and I want to buy comics again". The storeowner and I suggested different books to him. I told him my favorite book was Hellboy, but my favorite monthly title was Planetary. The shop owner suggested Authority, the whole series was in trade paperback form (no expensive back issues), and the book is excellent.
The return-fan said "What about X-Men? Can't I just read that?" The storeowner and I both sounded off with a resounding "No". We weren't about to let him read that impenetrable web of crap if we could turn him on to something else instead. He was upset that he wouldn't know the characters at all. He wanted to have his hand held; he wanted to take baby steps; he wanted to ride with training wheels. You get the point. I wished that it could have gone differently. I wish he had asked for an X-Men comic, and we proudly gave him one. I wish that X-Men -- the best point of reference for the national audience -- was the best comic I could offer a new reader.
My wish came true. X-Men is getting a creative overhaul. In May, the best point of reference for the national audience will be the best it has ever been. New creators Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly are standing on the precipice of a new world for the band of misfit mutants. A world where Jane Average can ask a comic retailer for a good book, and the retailer can point her to the X-Men, a book she's heard of, without a twinge of regret.
Look at the big picture. Marvel is undergoing vast creative changes to make X-Men and Spider-Man the best books they put out. Guess why? They will be the best points of reference for the national audience for the next two years with their high-profile movies.
Won't it be great when a non-comic reader asks what titles are good, and we can proudly tell her that X-Men, Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman are the best mainstream comic books? She will have actually heard of these characters and titles. She won't need endless back issue knowledge to read the book; she won't have to take a chance; she won't need as much handholding.
And after we get her hooked, we'll get her into Midnight Nation, Top Ten, Planetary, and Preacher; but let's start with baby steps.
Jai Nitz is a freelance comic writer. His credits include his creator owned anthology Novavolo from Jungle Boy Press, and Genactive from Wildstorm.
``xJai Nitz``xjai@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xSworn to Protect a World that Won't Buy Their Comic Book``x982423941,17947,``x``x
``x
Story: Alan Moore
Art: Dave Gibbons
Publisher: DC Comics
Plot: A plot is uncovered to remove masked heroes.
I expect everyone to have heard of this one. This seminal work in the history of comics, changed the face of comics for ever. Everyone who has enjoyed Preacher or Transmetropolitan or countless others owes a debt of gratitude to Alan Moore and Watchmen. You see, without Watchmen, none of these titles would probably have existed. Twelve issues, supposedly on a monthly basis when originally published, although delays almost inevitably occurred towards the end of the run. An almost last-minute change to the structure and characters, when DC decided that didn't want Moore to play around with the Charlton heroes that they'd just purchased (presumably they wanted more than just one appearance from each of those due to be killed off by Moore), and told him he'd need to come up with some originals.
When Watchmen was originally published by DC, the comics world was totally stagnant. The majority of comics were kids' tales about superheroes, with very little being well-written or thought-provoking. The comics of the time mostly shied away from adult themes as well, and because of this comics were getting a bad name as just being kids' stuff. Watchmen changed all that and practically single-handedly re-invented comics as a valid art form. OK, so maybe this is a slight exaggeration - it at least served as the catalyst of other, more low-key revolutionary changes, and along with "The Dark Knight Returns", I think I can safely say without fear of contradiction that Watchmen is the most influential book in the recent history of comics.
The thing about Watchmen is that it's clever, it has a plot (in fact it has numerous sub-plots), it is set in a modern world and doesn't view it with rose-tinted spectacles. It deals with adult themes. It covers politics, rape, mass murder, power and numerous other issues, virtually unknown in comicdom prior to its publication. This book is a true work of contemporary art.
However, fashions for modern art have proved intransient, these days no one quite agrees just what art is, so I ask the question exactly how well does Watchmen fare in today's comics scene? A scene, which is varied and ripe, full of promise, full of comics which are inspired by Watchmen itself? When Watchmen was originally published it has no real competition, but now when there are many varied mature comics does Watchmen still deserve classic status or is it time for us to re-evaluate that? Does Watchmen stand the test of time?
At first glance things are not looking good, the art is, although clearly defined, often garish. It does the job, but it doesn't sparkle when put next to some of today's modern titles. In places it does in fact seem ugly. The proof is in the reading, however, and when you start to read Watchmen you realise that the ugliness of the art doesn't ruin the work, in fact because of the nature of the world Moore has envisaged it compliments it perfectly. The world is ugly and Gibbons is merely illustrating that in a drawn format.
Moore's world is populated by monsters. Not fantasy monsters with horns, but with real human believable monsters, which are scarier. The main focus of the work is on Rorchach, a masked vigilante who, in confronting monsters, has become something of one himself. The idea that in facing monsters you may become a monster is an ongoing theme throughout the work and Rorchach has many parallels within the story. Watchmen is full of little literary devices such as this.
It is the little touches in Watchmen that make it stand out, for example, the text pages between chapters, which give an impression of gathering evidence for a court. The text pages provide background information and, although, you don't have to read them to follow the story they can greatly enrich the experience. They certainly make Watchmen all the more believable for them.
And, Watchmen is nothing if not believable, there has evidently been a lot of work gone into this comic to make it as realistic as possible, the only thing that might let it down in that area is some newer readers may not understand the context. Watchmen was written when the shadow of the cold war hung over us all and the threat of nuclear war seemed very, very real. It reflects those times well, but younger readers may not understand the fear that people had in that situation, and the strong feelings that echoed during the time.
Nevertheless, all readers should appreciate the twisting weaving plot structure and well-written dialogue. The story is full of sub-plots and twists yet never lets you forget that you are heading in a very definite direction. It has a flow and the more you read the more you are being pulled along with it, however, Watchmen is never too predictable. It can take your expectations and impressions and turn them inside out with its many plot twists and devices yet this book is always engrossing. The writing of Watchmen is quite simply a work of genius.
This is a brilliant work and although there are many like it now, I think it is still one of the best. This is to be highly recommended to everyone, it is a fantastic work and may it be recognized as such for many years to come.
If you haven't already bought it, buy it. If you've already got it, buy it again.``xGlenn Carter``xglenn@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xClassic Cuts - Watchmen``x983049633,9634,``x``x
``xDaredevil #15
"Parts of a Hole, The Conclusion"
Writer: David Mack
Artists: David Ross (p), Mark Morales (i)
Publisher: Marvel Knights
Plot: The lasy part in the much-delayed series - the blind Daredevil faces off against the deaf Echo.
Let's get the bad bit out of the way first. The Preview edition of this comic had a few pages loose and out of place in the book, a bit of judicious editting later and the story came together. If the published version is as badly put together as this, then a few people might be confused and end up scrapping the book entirely, which would be a shame because there's a classic story waiting to be unearthed.
The diligent reader can get around this easily enough, then we move on to why this book was so late. Well, this issue is the first in this storyline that Joe Q had no artistic input to, Dave Ross took on the full pencilling chores, and this came out just a month after #14. The natural assumption is that the timing problems have been purely down to JQ and his new position, although it would've been nice to have this acknowledged earlier in the run to avoid the scheduling disruptions.
However, given that this storyline is a dead cert to be collected into a TPB form, and sooner rather than later, you'd find that this is comic book writing and art of a quality and synergy that is worth of comparison to Watchmen. If this book was written full script, then I am blown away by Mack's mastery and vision along with Ross's skillful adaptation. If, however, this was Marvel's plot-only method, then I don't know what to think - everything gels and blends so perfectly together that it's almost magical.
Mack and Ross walk a very fine line with a work of this type - too little skill in one discipline and they'll end up with surreal mess that nobody gets; too little skill the other way, and you'd have an over-blown parody, pretentious and disastrous. It would be like Alan Moore's writing coupled with my art in one direction, and my writing coupled with Alex Ross's art in the other!
The guys walk the fine line between crappiness, genius and madness very well, and the whole kit and kaboodle emerges as a wonderful single issue of a comic, and a terrific final issue of a series. The series itself is a body of work that will stand in immortality as a piece of class graphic literature in TPB form, which has also always been readable in single issue format. Basically, it's how comics should be.
Why am I raving? Well, story-wise this issue is little more than a superhero slugfest, with a smattering of a villain's autobiography inserted for good measure. The story itself is good fun, well-paced and well-executed. OK, it's hardly Shakespeare, but what sets this comic apart is structure. The text isn't simple introspection of a brooding hero, or an overly descriptive narration of the action on the page. No, what we have here is a juxtaposition of words and art; ideas bouncing off of visuals, and visuals used to prompt ideas.
Unlike the way JLA #51 jumps disconnectedly from place to place, this flows seemlessly from idea to idea, often in a disjointed way, but never confusingly, never distractingly - simply put...this is beautiful.
BUT!! - it's so bloody late! Comics like these shouldn't be put into the system until they are completed. This is no joke (but Stuart Moore's apology (and stated aim for 2001) at the end was nice). Along with DF and poor comics, lateness is contributing to killing the industry. Marvel is trying to sort itself out, but we still get weird bits like X-Men Forever coming out after X-Men #106. Why is that a problem? Well, in the normal X-Men comics we now have the film versions of Toad and Mystique, and there was no explanation for this...except the explanation is in the X-Men Forever prequel, which should've come out first!
How this is relevant to Daredevil is the recently concluded Daredevil/Spider-Man miniseries which featured a blind Kingpin, but for no apparent reason. Except the reason is in this issue, which should've come out before Daredevil/Spider-Man #1 did, nearly four months ago!
Speaking of the Kingpin, his past is covered here, a great component in the overall story, with aspects of Lex Luthor, Al Capone and what almost appears to be a degree of autism. The Batman-style acquisition of his physical ability is good, albeit an oft-used plot device (a trip to the Orient). I think one question remains unanswered - is the Kingpin a mutant? His youthful experiences would appear to say no, but as mutant powers tend to reveal themselves through puberty and the teenage years, this could maybe explain his sheer resistence, strength and agility despite his bulk. What a twist that would be - Kingpin = Mutie. You heard it here first.
Daredevil #15 is, in a word, awesome. I can say no more.``xAlan Donald``xalandonald@talk21.com``xThe Devil You Know``x983629716,67461,``x``x
``x[with apologies to Ookla The Mok and Harlan Ellison]
Comics are ever-increasingly moving towards having a beginning, a middle and an end, but have in the past been more episodic in nature. For a while, comic book characters in animated cartoons looked set to take the mainstage encore. The Maxx was sheer brilliance, Spider-Man had some great animated CGIs, the X-Men with its thorough and loyal retelling of some of the best stories from the booklet's 37 year run, coupled with a great opening sequence.
Somewhere, somehow, the cartoon shows lost their way, perhaps scared of the mainstream's renewed interest in animation. Reflecting on faults possibly; they became watered down and a pale imitation. I even have my doubts about the new Batman show. Wasn't it a great cartoon? (Actually, shoot my point in the foot and check out Return of The Joker, a work of genius that deserves to win awards.)
Batman in its element, all dark and brooding shadows, square chins and Harley Quinn. A supporting cast and Rogues Gallery that was the perfect eraser for some of you. It was the near mirror image of what I consider to be Batman the comic book's strengths. Superman, I don't believe, was any near as good, but it did have its moments: The Lobo episodes, for instance.
That era could be over. Or more probably laying low. Quite a few TV shows (particularly late 70s/early 80s) have icons straight from comic booklets. The majority, good or bad, have been bastardisations. Lois and Clark, love it or loathe it, was a step in the right direction. In the eighties we had shows like Battlestar Galactica.
Nowadays, TV is a lot more advanced in what it can offer. We've some great, some weird, some fantastic programmes. Buffy, Angel (Dark and prefix-less), Babylon 5, three (soon to be four) Star Trek spin-offs. Northern Exposure (Fraser is Superman, yeah?), Twin Peaks and Due South too are worth mentioning. The fifty minute show has migrated much more towards science fiction and fantasy (let's lump both together as speculative fiction) styles (I haven't even mentioned Xena, Hercules, Roswell, X-Files, the list just goes on and on), with time slots and ratings precedents.
This breed of show contains luscious helpings of sitcom and soap opera (and varying degrees of speculative fiction, from the merest smidgen in an episode to a full-blown premise behind a series) mixed in for all round enjoyment. Isn't that a large part of what most mainstream comics are about? Take one part sitcom, one part soap opera and one part SF and mix together for ... most of Marvel's, DC's and FOX's (to pluck but one from thin air) output.
This is a near perfect scenario with one great fucking gaping hole. Yes, it's another chance for Marvel and DC to screw creators in the most uncomfortable of places. DC, lagging behind, still come down with a Mister-No-Fun Werthram hand, pulping the coolest of ideas (does anyone really need reminding of Eisner-award winning Superman's Babysitter by Kyle Baker?), but their Vertigo imprint does grant creators certain rights and privileges, even if they continue to keep crawling to their doors like pathetic needy exs:
"Oh, lets try it just one more time. I know we can make it work."
Of course, the problem with Vertigo is that the market's expectation is that this is were DC shove all grim-and-gritty, all sex-and-shocks, all on-the-edge comics, and sanitise their "mainstream" even further. If you're mature, you read the Vertigo range; if you read the DCU is the implication you're immature? The DCU translates to cartoons best; the Vertigo universe to "adult" SF series best. Does this mean never the twain shall meet? But what we tend to see in Vertigo books is that the creator-control, being much greater, often means it is those creators involved in discussions concerning film or TV versions of their creations...in the DCU itself, does any creator get involved in this side of things anymore?
Marvel have taken a sudden and unexpected turn for the optimistic: their new owner seems to have some very sensible ideas about how to market books, treat customers, and steer the leaking ship, from an almost insider-like perspective. The view Ronald Perelman will dream of in hell. Joe Queseda is the editor-in-chief.
Joe Queseda. He's young, popular, influential in the right way and in a position where he can change things. Selected specifically by Bill Jemas. As far as safeguarding creator's interests, I suggest a start. Some kind of first-draft wage could be paid out to the original comic booklet's creative team as payment for their story being used as the original source material. A second-draft screenplay and storyboarding option an automatic. A chance to revolutionise the meaning of work-for-hire is here, will it be taken?
I would appreciate feedback on these remarks, and welcome suggestions specifically those covering the protection of creators' interests. It is imperative if the mainstream comicbooklet would move to that small suburb on the outskirts of Hollywood, something that they have always wanted and would in fact fit right in with.
It is imperative more than ever before that the rights of the penholders are protected and tradition is fought against. As tempting as it may be to leave Dan Jurgens to catch pnuemonia from living in a dumpster and Scott Lobdell pimping himself on the streets, it's just not on. And it's a worrying sign of the times when the likes of Todd McFarlane start behaving like Marvel, DC or a Vietnamese sweatshop. The Big Two have cleaned up their policies in recent years but the situation is far from perfect. Perhaps the enthusiasm comics creates just brings out that manipulative grabbiness in people.
Andrew Luke
Bangor, Northern Ireland
Andrew.trs2@bushinternet.com
http://www.bugpowder.com/trs2/``xAndrew Luke``xsilbulcomboo@aol.com``xThe Super Secret Clubhouse and The Glass Teat``x984265140,95104,``x``x
``xAmazing Spider-Man #29
Writer: Howard Mackie
Artists: Lee Weeks, Scott Hanna
Publisher: Marvel
Plot: Thicky and chunky like a good chowder ("THAT'S CHOW-DA you imbecile! I'll kill you!" - spot the reference and win a prize)
One issue to go. Soon the glory days will be here....JMS and Jenkins! Well, that's the buzz...the reality? Only time will tell, but if rumours are to be believed (and I don't advocate believing rumours, it's just more fun if you do however) JMS will be setting up some secret society of Spider-Men. Just think of it - in each age a Spider-Man appears, he rights wrongs, he upholds justice, he oppresses the strong and defends the weak, what happens when the last Spider-Man gets in touch in our Spider-Man and tells him all this? The Spider-Man Corps, perhaps? The Justice League of Spider-Men?
Wait, there's more. The question that really needs to be answered concerns that little bitty spider that bit Peter Parker all those years ago. Was it, as we've all believed until now, a total accident; the Spider got in the way of the radiation, it bit Peter before it died, the blood transference granted him Spider-Man powers? Or was the spider already powered up, a Super-Spider, the Amazing Spider-Spider if you like, and the radiation pumped it up too much, it had to release its powers, it had to transfer the legacy onwards, and Peter Parker just happened to be the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time (another reference to be spotted, and another prize)?
Guess what? There's even more. Paul Jenkins, rather a popular writer around these Silver Bullety type parts, has just dropped the Hulk as he's taken up a position at Top Cow as story editor, he's developing more titles for them, he's writing more for them than before - how will his work on Peter Parker: Spider-Man be affected? Will he drop back more and more on traditional Marvel-style for Bucky to interpret? Will we see the Amazing book be led by crazy ideas, and the Peter Parker book be led by its art? Is Image coming to Spider-Man?
What about this special Marvel event in August, the one that has been kept so secret, very few people know what will actually happen. Are we looking at the move of the Captain America book from the Marvel U to Marvel Knights as a precursor of Steve Rogers being killed or retired, and Sam Wilson, the Falcon, taking his place? The first black Captain America? Or, as yet more rumour would have it, are we looking at Spider-Man's Uncle Ben being revealed (either truly or just another Mysterio-type-clone-saga-cop-out) as a child abuser? Or if not Uncle Ben (as debunked recently) what about Peter's missing parents?
Ah, this is all speculation of course, but interesting nonetheless, backed up in small measure by recent comments by the aforementioned writers and wildly extrapolated by your friendly neighbourhood reviewer for the sake of perspective. Yes, there has been a point to all this. The point is this - our mortgages have been bet on a Spidey renaissance at the hands of JMS and Jenkins, what if it doesn't come off? What if it's a disaster? We await those issues with immense interest...
But until then, we have Howard Mackie and Paul Jenkins tying the last few years up, or trying to at least. However, unlike with Lobdell's war over in the X-titles, or Mackie's own version of the apocalypse in Mutant X, there aren't really that many characters to play with in the Spider-verse, so no last minute deaths on the cards I'm afraid. The real loose end that needed attention was Mary Jane Parker's supposed death in the plane crash...
Well, she's not dead, folks, as this issue (should be subtitled The Search For MJ) shows us. Instead she has been locked up in a closet by a nutter, who was prepared to dress up as an old man, drug her with a lollipop (MJ eats lollypops?), abduct her off the plane before it took off, and then cause the plane to explode, killing a shed-load of innocents, just to convince the world that MJ is dead.
Mary Jane's return, whilst an obvious and sickeningly repetitive device in comics, was planned a long time in advance. Mark Buckingham had hinted her return was on the cards on his first visit to Alan's shop (back when issue #20 was published). His comments were that she wouldn't just come back...that IF she was coming back, it wouldn't be anything silly, and everything would change because of it. Spider-Man would have just got his life back together and...well, a lot of this is pure extrapolation from Mark's obscure and diplomatic hints. He loves his job and won't give anything away that would jeopardise it. We also know (from preview comics) that MJ will reject Spidey and live her own life.
For now, we have the sickening and overused plot device of a main character being presumed dead, and returning from the grave. Supes came back from the dead. Peter Parker reclaimed the mantle of Spider-Man from Ben Reilly. PP returned to the Daily Bugle. Clark Kent returned to the Daily Planet. Bruce Wayne reclaimed the mantle of Batman from Jean Paul Valley. The list goes on and on. The status quo can only be disrupted for so long before being restored - Gotham had to be rebuilt, just as MJ had to return; she was too deeply ingrained into the legend to finish off for good. Colossus was allowed to die but Cyclops wasn't...
Back to this issue. So, now we officially know where MJ is, we know about her terrible plight and the background of her kidnapper, but what about Spidey? He's suffering bad but still refuses to accept her death - much like the link between Cyclops and Jean Grey, he knows she is still alive, just doesn't know where to find her. The villain of the piece gives us another feel of what the "Marvels" look like to the common man before going into full-on "Buffy-in-earshot" mode (you know, the episode she developed telepathy but slowly went mad as she couldn't shut out the voices). It's a real shame that Xavier hasn't used Cerebro in the last couple of comic months, it would've registered off the Richter scale with the mutant potential of this villain!
This issue sees the end of Mackie's run on this monthly title, and I feel that mamy people (myself included) have been unfair to Howard as he has proven to be a very imaginative and skilled writer - it's just his style (on this particular title) hasn't always matched my preferences or prejudiced views of what Amazing should be. I wish him well wherever he may be going (some comicshop owner and reviewer...I never keep track of who is moving where).
So it's not a bad comic by any means, just a little inevitable. At least we get to see the best way to nullify Spider-Sense at the end of this issue!``xAlan Donald & Craig Lemon``xcraig@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAll Out Of Web Fluid?``x984890734,62670,``x``x
``xI didn't watch the Academy Awards, but I was told by my friend and associate Jeff Clifford that the Director for the movie Erin Brockovich and Traffic said in words to this effect:
"I want to take this time to thank everyone who was involved in the creative process of these movies. I want to also salute everyone who creates, no matter what it is."
I have always found great satisfaction in creating, more than collecting. Sure, I enjoy reading comic books, but it is more fun to create and being able to hold the finished product in my hands. In the comic book industry there are so many creators.
There are the comic book artists, comic book writers, website designers, publishers of comic book email ezines, publishers of comic book newsletters, script writers, character designers, colorists, etc. No matter if you claim yourself as a professional or an amateur in the comic book industry, these people can all claim the one thing. That they 'create'.
I, for one, get plenty of satisfaction in creating. I create my own newsletter and get plenty of joy when aspiring artists and writers submit their material for publication. Once, at a comic book convention, I listened to a comic book fan complain about how crappy the art was in some independent comic book that was Xeroxed together. I looked at him and said, you must respect the fact that this aspiring comic book creator creates, no matter if his artwork is considered crappy.
If anything we should always encourage the creators. What is interesting is that certain people who have the creative urge, most likely something in our DNA that was derived from the greatest creator of them all, god, have people who wish to preserve their creations. I call them the preservationists. They are the ones who collect comic books and place them carefully in Mylar plastic and go out and purchase acid free backing boards. The preservationists appreciate and enjoy creations and make sure that future generations will have access to their old comic book collections.
Of course, some preservationists can be found working at libraries, archival institutions and other depository institutes where they feel at home. Back to creativity. We can find creators in all categories. My own father was a creator of sorts. When I was younger we would walk the beaches of Monterey and collect driftwood. He would in turn create French Provincial furniture with this driftwood. He also would collect rocks from Carmel Valley and created a large rock wall around our home in Monterey. He was a creator for the purpose of home improvement.
Creators can be found in the film industry, comic book industry, video game industry, animation industry, publishing industry, etc. Almost every kind of industry has their creators and we should have a day recognizing creators of all fields. If it weren't for the creators, we wouldn't have the entertainment that they provide us with their creations.
Sincerely yours,
Paul Dale Roberts, Production Captain
Jazma Universe Online!
http://www.jazmaonline.com/
5606 Moonlight Way
Elk Grove, CA 95758
PRoberts@ss.ca.gov``xPaul Dale Roberts``xSILHOUET98@cs.com``xThe Joys Of Creation``x985474841,52538,``x``x
``xEnemy Ace: War In Heaven #1
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artists: Christian Alamy (breakdowns), Chris Weston (finished art)
Publisher: DC
As I write this review I’ve only spoken to Craig about my feelings concerning this title, i.e. he hadn’t read it at that time, and I’ve got no idea what his review will say. [Not a lot, as it turns out, I’ll interject in this article (with Alan’s permission of course)]
Personally I thought this was an absolutely blinding read. Visually, it’s stunning. Visual cues have been taken from classic war films and such tributes to them as Star Wars. Alamy and Weston use a wonderful selection of camera angles, zooms, panel shapes and sizes, to not only tell a story, but to truly drag us into the tale emotionally. We can identify everyone without effort and every bit of action (even when the page is packed full) is clear enough to make everything out. This is how comic art should be, energetic, clear, emotive and lovingly (but subtlely) coloured. This is no “all-Image” piece, but a glorious synergy of art and story that doesn’t scream “LOOK AT THIS ART”. It doesn’t have to, that’s not its function.
[The way I look at this is that when you buy a Garth Ennis comic you’re invariably buying it for the story, you expect that to carry the comic through to the end, through comedy and tragedy, ultimately regardless of who is on the artistic duties. However, almost insidiously, you take in the glorious art that is page 1, the fly by on page 10, the dogfight on page 13, and you almost swear you’re watching a movie. You stop, you look at the art, you look again, you almost forget the script, you wallow in the detailed research – here is an art team to match Ennis’s scripts, it just works oh-so-well.]
Garth Ennis’s script directs the art as skilfully as Moore would, yet this is most definitely Ennis fare. Why do I say that? Well, simply put there are one or two scenes that, frankly, no other writer would feel the need for. Gratuitous and overly graphic violence…bailed out pilots chopped up by propellers, a wolf goring Russians, and a family settling down to a eat a human hand, are just some examples.
[It disappoints me that Garth seemingly can’t get through a story without such excess. Oh, there’s a time and a place for such things, for sure, but when you have such a well-crafted book like this that, sans gore, you could revel it and show to anyone – your granny, your kids, schools, libraries – and hold this up as an example of the industry at its best, and then find you can do no such thing as the violence will be an immediate turn off, you get so disheartened. This isn’t even a Vertigo book, since that imprint started I don’t think there has been such extreme violence as in this comic.]
War is hell, we know this, we’ve seen it. Violence and particularly showing the consequences of violence are an extremely powerful way of getting a message across. However, Ennis’s sheer overuse of these types of scenes has dulled their impact. Where once we were shocked and reflected on the futility and horror of the violence, now we feel like voyeurs, and I fear that some Ennis fans are just violence-junkies, out to seek the next bit of ugly horror dished up as entertainment, whilst side-stepping what it would mean in the real world. “Ugh”s have been replaced by “wow”s. That’s my rant out of the way.
So, what’s it all about (Alfie)? As many of you know, Enemy Ace was a DC title of old. It has classic war comics stuff with a twist – the star was a WWI German pilot. Von Hammer (a thinly veiled tribute to Von Richthoven, complete with red-painted tri-plane) was a honourable enemy, a warrior true, worth telling stories about because of his skill and honour. Sound familiar? It should so, the Red Baron and Field Marshall Rommel come very much to mind. Why is it we feel the need to find “honourable” foes to talk about? Perhaps our sheer distaste for the horrors of war have led us to believe the idea of an honourable enemy, a battle of equals matching skill and tactical abilities is far more palatable than goodie-goodies smashing an enemy of darkest evil. I dunno.
[I think you need look no further than British war comics (Victor, Warlord, Battle, et al) of the 70s, and the still published Commando books to get your fill of good vs. evil. They say history is written by the victors, but there appears little “decent” or “honourable” about the losing sides in World Wars One and Two. You could say that introducing the notion of an honourable enemy to legitimise war, to make the stories more interesting, actually cheapens it. However, the stories featuring “our” troops overcoming the odds and winning out against “their” troops have maybe all been played out – indicating that redemption is possible for the enemy, that there were some “bad” nazis and some “nice” nazis, gives you a story hook, but isn’t necessarily morally correct.]
Enemy Ace is a title that should be dead, the stuff of the Victor and other comics, but it isn’t. Ennis’s skill and the present climate of reflective, tongue-in-cheek, introspective and very “knowing” titles help to produce an incredibly well-crafted, through-provoking and, at times, funny title. This tale is set in WWII with the eponymous hero an older, wiser man, dragged into a war he has no desire to fight, for a fatherland he has no respect for. What is good (and particularly of our current time (though originally seen (I believe) in Watchmen)) is that the characters reflect sarcastically on previous runs of the title. [Of course, sometimes the dialogue just doesn’t ring true (German characters circa WWII using “mate” and “bugger” is just taking artistic license too far)].
This current, darker take on the title comes from the change in the characters’ hearts – they are older, wiser, and tireder. The darkness was there before, but the characters kept it to themselves.
This is an exceptional read…but it’s controversy time. I’ve previously likened Ennis’s Punisher work to the 60s Batman TV series, now I’ve a new comparison to make…Von Hammer = Von Trapp? The similarities are there – an honourable aristocrat, a patriot opposing the Nazis bullied by a snivelling petty nazi…ok, maybe it’s just me.
There’s a lot more depth here I’d like to go into, I’d like to talk about how we’d all love to see Von Hammer defect to the Allies, but know it’ll never happen and why. I’d like to discuss the awesome Star Wars X-Wing books I’ve been reading lately, and of how the pilot-to-pilot dialogue is so similar to this title, and how Wedge Antilles and Von Hammer are one minute portrayed as lovely people, then as soon as they get into a plane they turn into vicious killers – yet both sides are equally part of the same person. You’d never expect Antilles or Von Hammer to walk up to an unarmed boy and shoot them dead, yet we cheer when they slice a squadron of barely trained recruits to shreds.
[Of course the difference between an unarmed boy and a squadron of barely trained recruits is that the former cannot harm you, the latter have a fuck-off huge arsenal to blow you to crap with!]
There’s so much I want to talk about, but there’s still the concluding issue #2 to come…I’ll cover it then.
[My final word: a good book, an excellent read, couple of caveats stop this from reaching the pinnacle of greatness – the glorification of violence, the misplaced dialogue, the implicit racism (Von Hammer and chums happily blow the Russian planes to pieces, as soon as the English Hurricanes and Spitfires turn up the situation takes a radical turn for the worse for the Germans – hoorah the English and yah-boo-sucks to the Russians then).]
``xAlan Donald & Craig Lemon``xcraig@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAn Ace Enemy Or A Number Two?``x986082427,72332,``x``x
``xBack in the good old Bronze Age when multiple earths flourished along with talent DC had one of their brightest ideas since shirking the silly pow, biff, bop Batman. They would promote their universe by teaming individual heroes or teams with the Dark Knight. DC took a somewhat harmless book called Brave and Bold which never the less premiered all sorts of genuine heroes such as the Silent Knight and gave it over to Batman. The effect was pronounced.
Batman was always a popular character. When the television show reached out and managed to touch every form of creative endeavor--"batusi" anybody--comics and Brave and Bold were not the exceptions. There are stories in these early issues that can send any Batman fan curling into a fetal ball beneath a handy rock. For instance, Bob Haney teamed up Batman with Wonder Woman and Batgirl against Copperhead. The less than Dark Knight's chauvinism even puts that which Chuck Dixon unwittingly stained to the character to shame.
Certainly, these incredibly moronic stories pleased somebody, but these tales do not represent the eyes that mist when the phrase Brave and Bold is mentioned in conversation. Brave and Bold became important to the DCU when Neal Adams begins his run. These issues featured a dark Batman who never the less was still a member of the JLA and frequently teamed with a college age Robin. In one such issue Robin and Deadman--one of the rather more interesting back-up characters of the seventies--guest-starred in a bona fide mystery. Things began looking braver and bolder.
The problem with the Neal Adams era of DC--these caveats are not just isolated to Brave and Bold--is that it's as topical as Doctor Who during the time a blonde-bubble head named Jo Grant became a fixture. Don't misread. Bar none Neal Adams is one of the finest artists ever to grace comic books, and he is one of the artists who draws definitive Batman, but the stories--oh, my...Hippies abound, and horrible, with-it dialogue metastasizes. Pigs oink in blue. Green Arrow grows a beard and sports an annoying attitude that will nearly diminish the totality of the great Black Canary's resonance. Green Lantern--Nah. He was always the palest shadow of Alan Scott.
The real important era of Brave and Bold arrived when Jim Aparo began an almost twenty year uninterrupted run as the Batman artist. I mean no disrespect to the authors. The writers however came and went. Mr. Aparo remained, and what made his run, so important is that he was doing archetypal DCU. This is the DCU all but the history-cheated new comic book readers remember.
Fads become dated. Then they become the subjects for jest. A scene of streaking--though some characters do this on variant covers--would not have the desired effect in a book today as it would in a book from the sixties. Likewise, a pair of flared hippies making peace signs would be highly suspect in today's Batman titles. DC however succumbed to this urge, and it probably did make the books relevant for a generation. It wisely did not last.
After the fads in comic books became dated, the DCU that would form in its wake would become the template for various incarnations of The Super Friends. Your initial reaction may be one of confusion, but remember how far more television reaches and changes the cultural psyche. When censorship confined Yogi and his Hanna-Barbera contemporaries to a Flying Ark in search of a "perfect place," when slow-witted imbeciles forced Space Ghost to turn permanently invisible since he had the audacity to fight crime with his fists, there was no doubt that The Super Friends, any incarnation, was the best animated show on the air. What can you say? Alex Toth simply creates magic. Green Arrow in the comic books was an embarrassment. In The Super Friends, he was cool. Green Lantern was an ultra-white jock in the mold of Cal Meachum from the justified target of Mystery Science Theater 3000's bile This Island Earth. In The Challenge of The Super Friends, GL was not only cool but he seemed to be an international super-hero with a funky accent and bronze skin.
The much more simpler DCU stripped of embarrassing flower-child sentiment became the DCU of Brave and Bold and that which would be destroyed by the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Brave and Bold was the place where you could always eavesdrop on areas of the DCU in which you seldom traveled.
The very first Jim Aparo issue of Brave and Bold my parents purchased for me, when a child, teams Batman with Wonder Woman. She will frequently guest-star with Batman in this title, and this is not an incarnation of Wonder Woman. This is Wonder Woman. She is the immortal Nazi fighter and the UN attaché in her guise as Diana Prince. Yes! She has a secret identity. Can you believe it? Now, I should point out that Batman is actually the older character, but somewhere along the line he became due to her origins the relative younger. Diana's about sixty years old to Batman's eternal by writing standards thirty. One of the luxuries dealing with the bare bones of heroes is not having to worry about age. Suffice to say, in Brave and Bold Wonder Woman has known Batman for years and not the lazy six years--if that--of today's half-witted continuity--a classification I must insist be called into question.
Wonder Woman was a character with whom I never had an affinity. She always seemed to be mooning over Steve Trevor for reasons I simply could not fathom. I mean on a scale of Green Lantern to Batman, he was definitely at the level of Green Lantern. She also never seemed to be written as powerful and intelligent as she should have been.
Enter Brave and Bold.
In her first Jim Aparo Batman team-up, she lassos an attacking jaguar and smashes a garbage can around it to save Batman's life. I'll let that sink in. Sunk? Good. Wonder Woman saves Batman's life, and remember Jim Aparo is darkening our hero so this is definitive Batman--the one who would influence Tim Burton and Michael Keaton to make only their live action Batman memorable. What interests in the scene is that Wonder Woman is as powerful and as intelligent as she should be. A jaguar is stronger than any human. An adrenaline laced jaguar is as strong as about five of them. Wonder Woman has roped this big cat, swung it out of Batman's path and jury-rigged a cage which she holds down beneath her boot.
Never seen Jim Aparo's Wonder Woman? My friend, you have been cheated out of a rare experience. What would no doubt make that strange group of Batman fans who believe the character to be a bastard and like him that way is that Batman thanks Wonder Woman for her help and treats the Princess with respect. Believe it or not, Bob Haney--the same "no talent" who scribed the awful Batman/Batgirl/Wonder Woman team-up--wrote this story.
In another Bob Haney story, Wonder Woman saves Batman from becoming shark-food. There's nothing wrong with heroes saving each other. It doesn't make any of them less of a character. It doesn't harm their resonance. There's nothing wrong with heroes working together. There's nothing wrong with heroes having no ulterior motive behind their cooperation. That's what makes them Super-Friends: in the case of Batman and Wonder Woman perhaps more.
What made Brave and Bold different in terms of rescues is that every rescue seemed real. The situations really seemed hopeless, and Jim Aparo had a never copied ability to render a flawless illusion of power opposing those cul-de-sacs. When Wonder Woman slams into the aquarium, it cracks with such realism that you feel the blow sing down your arms. The sound effect is only there for emphasis. With Amazon speed and strength depicted in such a jaw-dropping fashion, you don't need to imagine it. It's all there before your eyes.
In case you're wondering if Batman did anything in Brave and Bold, lay your fears to rest. Batman did what he seldom does in today's continuity titles. Batman acted smart. In that same issue of Brave and Bold, Batman through sheer willpower breaks free of a hypnotic agent and through a series of events seems to swallow a prototype solar cell. His hands are chained. Therefore, he cannot so easily reach his utility belt. He's being forced to do tricks for a self-styled ringmaster, and he takes the only option open. The ringmaster orders his trained apes to capture him, and Batman seems doomed when they do. The sicko intends to have his gorilla operate to retrieve the cell. The cell Batman knows is a fake, yet he does nothing to resist, or so it seems.
Batman knows the psychology of his friend. He also has a burning hatred for magic. It messes his nice logical world. He knows also that his escape will only be a short-term gain since the ringmaster's apes will no doubt overpower him yet again. Man, in terms of strength, is no match for ape. He needs Wonder Woman who is caught in the same hypnotic state he experienced and worst of all chained by a man. According to DC legend, when Amazons are chained by men they are then subdued and no more powerful than an ordinary woman. Batman does not and cannot believe this. His world does not work this way. Jim Aparo twists Wonder Woman's face with gut-wrenching terror as the ape's scalpel hovers over Batman's stomach. She not only breaks free of the hypnosis. She not only breaks the chains. She shatters a continuity point that now must be considered a psychological barrier enforced by her culture.
After breaking free, Jim Aparo's Wonder Woman is a sight to see. She hoists the apes over her head and hurls them into each other with such force that Linda Carter could only have dreamed of administering. She deflects bullets with her bracelets, and you can again feel the impact and hear the k-tang of the ricochets. Batman? Never in any danger. The day he can't escape from some madman's operating table is the day he gives his costume to Terry McGuinness. I doubt he even needed his utility belt for this particular annoyance.
While every issue of Jim Aparo's Brave and Bold is as enjoyable and as relevant in terms of writing and story lines, maturity does bestow occasional hindsight. Perhaps I am reading into the relationship depicted, but Batman and Wonder Woman's relationship in their team-ups seems to go beyond friendship. Wonder Woman in the example reacts to Batman's intended victimization as if he were Steve Trevor. In the previous team-up the looks she gives him are as meaningful as those shared between Xena and Gabrielle.
Gerry Conway in the third team-up picks up on Mr. Haney's apology--for if even if the relationship between the heroes is only an inference, their interactions are far more mature that those in the Copperhead debacle. For this story Batman and Bruce Wayne who here is as sharp as well as debonair asks Diana for a date.
"Meet me later for a late dinner?"
"I'd like that, Bruce. We'll see."
Later continuity becomes important. The villain Deja Vu--perhaps, the first serious French villain in comic books--makes Wonder Woman see Steve Trevor die all over again. I could watch this happen for an eternity, but Jim Aparo draws such raw emotion that you know how Wonder Woman feels. Nobody deserves such punishment, and her scream is entirely justified. The worst however has yet to occur. When Deja Vu exposes Batman to his chemical concoction, the horrors of the Dark Knight's past resurface. Any hope that this is the pow, biff, bop Batman shatters like the chains from the previous team-up. After this issue of Brave and Bold, no artist has ever matched Jim Aparo's rendition of Batman's pain and anger over his parents death. Never. Not one panel. Words cannot describe what is on the page.
In his maddened state, Batman believing Wonder Woman to be Joe Chill, the thug who killed Batman's parents, beats on her. No doubt a Werthamite would accuse Batman of condoning violence toward women, and another idiot might suggest this scene rationalizes Batman's apparent hatred for women in Chuck Dixon's run of Detective Comics, but these observers are not living up to their names. Brave and Bold though part marketing scheme to keep heroes relevant and a guidepost to the DCU was not a throw away title. The exact nature of Batman's and Wonder Woman's relationship becomes questionable on these pages. Wonder Woman risking if not her life then certainly her health, ceases struggling. She allows Batman to use her as his punching bag--off panel for the most part, but we see the aftermath. She also frees her lasso thus allowing them to drop from the rooftops of Paris. Now you can argue that she does these things out of sheer heroism. That answer isn't very satisfying. Heroism dictates that she incapacitate Batman and face Deja Vu on her own. Instead, she risks her life to save Batman's mind and body. During the fall, she always keeps her body beneath his body. Batman no matter what is not going to die. She will.
When Batman through willpower and the danger snaps free of the altered state, he's not once worried about himself.
"Good lord, we're falling! You'll be killed!"
Wonder Woman could save them at this point. Instead, she lets Batman
do it. He needs the save.
Fully aware now Batman seems vulnerable.
"What--happened to me? I had a nightmare that you were...."
"That isn't important now, Batman. I took a chance that your instinctive response to danger would save us both...and I was right!"
Wonder Woman becomes businesslike because she does not want Batman blaming himself for the way he acted toward her.
Were Batman and Wonder Woman an item? Who knows? I think the argument has some validation. What is clear is that Brave and Bold gave fans definitive characters who were stronger physically and smarter than their current incarnations but even more complex than the cardboard continuity hungry stand-ins of today.
Fin
This installment of The Importance of Being Brave and Bold studied issues one-sixteen, one-thirty-one, one-forty, and one-fifty-eight.
``xRay Tate``xrayctate@aol.com``xThe Importance Of Being Brave And Bold: Wonder Woman``x986651926,28420,``x``x
``x"The voices! I can't hear the voices!"
Nova Placenta
With a 'up there' logo, standard template characters, a great layout, the cover to Rising Stars #1 gazes at me. Detailed to stimulate attentiveness from enquiry, perhaps suspicion. Turning the page, force immense celestial bodies handled with reverence. Colourist Liquid! works within inker Jason Gorder's boundaries with cared application. These inks give detail to mass, general unlikeliness meaning and definition. The tale carries unclear communication, but Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski pulls in a dual-metaphor storytelling process over a double-page spread. The parallels are painted realistically, giving the 'radioactive sex origin' story extra cred, but which it benefits from, fu*k is gorgeous. Handled with sense, unlike 'The New Universe' were if DeFalco or Shooter had've thought about it, they would have had a radioactive rubber johnny present. (Writer's note: brilliant name for a comic book!). I bet the artists too are really proud of this stuff. Particular attention to nature is emphasised here. Penciller Keu Cha seems bored by technology but finds growth and the elements important. The toll taken upon receiving their powers, the integration in relation to demeanour and physique, Cha finds especially interesting. This is seen in the way clothing is drawn. The more man-made in the process an object, Cha and Liquid! in particular are less willing in the tackle. Substituting metals for a plastic-coated look is a common occurrence too. Living is the common expression that Cha has bestowed these paper and ink children with. The souls of these beings jump out as keenly as the weather, which creates mood and temperature.
The crux of this twenty-four issue series is as follows. One hundred and thirteen children born in the same town, conceived at the same time as a strange flash appears in the sky. As with most traditional superhero tales, the metaphysical powers reveal themselves through circumstance's necessity. Again, the elements are called upon to stimulate six-year old Matthew Bright when a freak storm threatens to engulf Pederson Elementary. The flashes of lightning, inferred spotlight and the flash from a camera is a perfect symphony of illumination. Again, light and Liquid! comes into play in the transitional page following. The warmth emanating from a coffee cup leads not to a faceless bureaucrat 'tackling the problem' but a human being in a confused world which just got hyper-confused. That he isn't given a name is on the same page as the look of torture he wears and the ring on his finger.
The humanisation of the metapowered has been done before and done well, and mighty Joe Straczynski does this well. That he writes about children and writes their behavioural patterns with accuracy is rewarding. While the bulk of the growing is glossed over, this is because 'Nova Placenta' is about the beginning and ending of the tale. And the 'glossing over' page (below) is as visual as basically integral.
The kids are packed off to 'Camp Sunshine', where they are to spend their growing years. Things go wrong in a scene that is an omen of what is to come in this series. Nasty things, when an exploitative world meets an unseen complication, for the most parts its own creation. Unstoppable force meets immovable object. The unwelcome advances of manipulative humanity and the nature of infection.
"We didn't know. Could never have guessed. But we should have known. Because like all true evils, it knew our names... and it came from inside."
"Can't touch this" is in part, the death of 'special' Peter Dawson. Behind a challenging cover, oddly so. On one level, it looks like the bog standard superhero, looking really pissed with lots of electric's flash. With the other eye, he's a dangerous fat retard, definitely a look of the crazy power controller. His facial expression suggests unseen saliva moving down his chin. The final night of Dawson's life, cold hopeless twilight, coloured fittingly with blacks and blues, an eerie luminescence gazing out from the LED of an alarm clock. Dawson is/was invulnerable and wretched. Lonely, his physical meta-ability is an emotional disability resulting in loneliness and numbness. Like the tear of the first fatality in Pederson, this is tragedy. As his life appears before us, Cha lays out a slow moving pictorial account, close time sequencing: the tick of the watch coming to claim the victim - closing with beat narrative.
The big tension builder in the first arc (there's that word again!), is the killing of the 'specials', and this issue using the framing device of the cops interviewing Doctor Welles (doctor to the specials). Grey muddy green hues give a clinical breakdown of facts, serving to communicate with the public whose only understanding of them is through the mass media and its hyperbole. The suggestion of the part 'Nova Society' will pay. The chapter concludes with the killings being examined by special/poet John Simon. Transmitted through four pages of hand-written text from Simon's journal, the artists draw only accompanying 'photos'.
Whatever Happened To Keu Cha?
With #3 everything looks promising. Graphic Design Editor Peter Steigerwald goes the Dave McKean Vertigo cover route. It fits in well, and although I can't quite explain it, it's my favourite of the covers.
Trickery is afoot. I discover what you probably know - No Keu Cha! No Jason Gorder! No Liquid!! With the exception of letterer David Heisler a brilliant art team is gone! The reason JMS is gives is that it was 'a stylistic decision' and it has been said that Cha's work-rate was slow in comparison to Zanier's. I can't say the new art team is bloody awful. However, the majority of their work doesn't sit well with me at all, and reading this book becomes a chore.
Christian Zanier's first page debut shows a rather stunning looking model, with beautiful skin tone by Tyson Wengler. It's a shame her breast is the size of my head. Some of Zanier's characters are the downright clichés JMS ought to stay away from. (Perhaps they are trying to reproduce the hammier acting from B5). He may be perfectly comfortable when it comes to drawing any buildings, furniture, construction or valuables but when it comes to capturing LIFE he is no substitute for Keu Cha. And he seems to enjoy drawing those masks and capes just a little too much. Perhaps he thought his gig with Straczynski was Spider-Man. Also, whether at Straczynski's sudden insistence or Zanier's clumsiness, the pages and panel arrangements all look cramped.
The inkers must be sleeping too, for if something doesn't clash, it blurs or bores. I'm no expert on inking, but it too is inconsistent. There are some clear cases were it is over-done. The colourist team (five of them in #4!) put together some really bland stuff. The best of their work is scoured by the uneven nature of it. For some reason, they only really succeed when the firestarter characters are involved.
Numerous backup colourists too do little to curry my favour. Wengler and co paint poorly and make Zanier's panels and Livesay's inks more confined. There is no suggestion of light or décor, and everything looks muddy. In opinion, the colouring is the big offender. The separations are bloody dreadful in #3 and #4.
'Whatever Happened To Lee Jackson?' and 'Masques' are fairly similar to the preceding tale. Hard-luck heroes and death, are the predominant themes. Thematically identical, JMS does what he did in B5 : tells a multitude of tales of varying lengths, all the while expanding THE TALE and THE TALES : he's a master weaver. Through the lives of paranormals Peter Dawson, Lee Jackson and Cathy Jean, we witness the changing of times and the growth of the Pederson children. Despite it's obviousness or because of it, the 'costumes and codenames' surfacing is irritating even if only background. The murderer ID/detective story has a great build but essentially #2-#4 follow quite an identical formula, yet somehow it seems fresh and new. #4 is Zanier's first cover for Rising Stars and it boasts some fine layouts worthy of a pin-up. His interiors are also a lot neater and warming and the script plays to his advantages.
My chief fear with RS is the immense cast and geographical spreading. B5 had a huge cast, and with more supporting characters than main characters this worked extremely well. JMS sets up a date between one of the 113 and a colleague from her workplace, and the piece is not only quite intimate and personal, it manages to tell at least ten other stories! On quick count! It's a big shame much of the hues and the visual character, particularly in the action sequences, are flat and uninspired.
#5 is the big one. Covered by a really cruddy cover that is awkward and forced and lacks atmosphere. The interior reveals the identity of the killer, and although the 'whodunit' is a let down, the directorial 'howwefoundoutaboutwhodunit' however, is up there with the best of B5. Straczynski throws editorial curveballs in at every opportunity, with a wonderfully simplistic twofold yarn of strength and visual trickery. The 'trickery' at the end is cake's icing, a mark of 'credible' comicbooklet creator. It is wonderful that in this short time JMS has not only adapted to the comicbooklet medium but is able to play with form and stretch boundaries, approaching the league of Outcalt, Ware and Sim. "The World Between" is a must buy.
I'm angry because I want to tell people this is one of the best comic books of last year. I can't. Christian Zanier, to be fair, does try. So what goes wrong? The art team isn't a team. They're a bunch of artists who don't work very well together. Ken Lashley, the layout penciller has some great ideas but occasionally too ambitious for this lot. The weather is really bad. This is visual imagery which plays an important part in the story and Cha's crew could have handled it with ease, but Zanier and co. seems stuck for clues. The colourists produce the usual dog's dinner, a tornado sequence as weak as watered down Superbuy Economy Juice. The inker does not convey any depth, clarity or effective texturing and there is nothing to work with as far as backgrounds go. However, this is still the finest pre-Cha issue and a great read.
Things Fall Apart
An aptly titled three-parter, unfortunately. Real agendas come out from behalf of both the cast and the creators. There is a sudden influx of the three C's - costumes, capes and codenames. And the dreaded 'f' word. With the killer revealed to the hero, politics determine allies should be gathered. The 'bad guys' faction manipulates the government and soon go playing 'round up the paranormals'. By the end of this saga, the visuals do get a sense of balance as the team learn to work together. Zanier gets to do his car chases and helicopter gunships as Camp Sunshine is left behind for more confined adult locations: Churches, prisons, that sort of thing. The covers are mostly standard pin-up fare: connected to the story but poorly realised or with a veneer of the 'stunning' but with no internal quality to them.
Livesay`s inking manages to finally reach the place where the rest of the art stands out. In concordance with the direction this story takes, less 'the world of the specials', it focuses on 'the world the specials inhabit'.
Matt Nelson, the main colourist, still makes the page unappealing. The brightest moments of #6-#7 are when the panels are tackled with a Vess colouring pencil technique. Brett Evans' colouring on #8 is the finest and brings out Zanier high. Incidentally, the issue with the lowest 'force beam' content.
The art is at its worst when the artists do the `mainstream comic-book artist` chores and this is brought into the open by the direction of the trilogy's main plot. The problem is that the visage of 'director/storyteller' falls away to reveal the comic book fanboy in Joe Straczynski. The result, lots of very by-the-numbers superhero slugfests. A theory of mine is that JMS somewhere realises the failure of the telepath story in B5. Or that's what I hope he's doing, with the 'specials'. A re-creation and/or re-exploration or extension of those themes. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Sure, didn't Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon do it in the move from Hellblazer to Preacher?
Comics don't have sound, and the great sense of 'epic' doesn't really stand out here. Yet Joe still has that wonderful ear for dialogue and sets up his usual well-realised scenes of the common people. 'Tis truly a shame the series so far hasn't been as promising as the first two issues...
The Deconstruction Of Rising Stars continues next Saturday.``xAndrew Luke``xandrew@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xPederson 113: The Geometry Of Rising Stars (Part I of II)``x988466470,94892,``x``x
``xThe Last, Best Hope...
Rising Stars is a dubious little bugger, swaying between masterful proclamations as if transcribed from the greatest of the literati and the hammiest teen awkward notepad. Between brilliant and innovative storytelling technique and drab typical by-the-numbers overused superhero templates. Between wonderfully fixating visual feasts and artwork so terrible I might wipe my arse with it. Quite fittingly, between the darkness and the light.
Before Rising Stars went on sale, Top Cow went the route of most comicbook distribution, limiting it as much as possible so that it would reach, only those 'in the know'. And those in the know, avoid Wizard like the plague. So, in June of last year, they had the good sense to reprint for those who travel distance, Rising Stars #0.
In a six-page strip, Slappy The Clown has been hired by the government to talk to 113 children about Camp Sunshine, their home until the age of 18. Alcoholic Slappy (whose wife has run off with a circus geek) is considerably nervous being left alone with these metapowered youngsters. This serves as a great introduction to the series, laid back, written in the style of Peter David and his comical asides. Drawn too, by Gary Frank, whose skill at drawing PEOPLE is as suited to this book as Keu Cha's work ever was. Keu Cha and co-original art team, Jason Gorder, Liquid! and David Heisler return in an eight-page story that really should have seen print in #1. It's the introduction to the series and makes things an awful lot clearer. Everything looks spot-on and the scenery is breathtaking and the characters look travelled. JMS had expressed to Top Cow he wanted RS top be a writer-driven book. But writer-driven only works if the right artists bring his book to life.
"The night it happened. The night the sky burned we thought we had been touched by the finger of God. We were so impressed and overwhelmed that we forgot to ask one question. Which finger?"
One of the few just reasons the over-enthusiastic fanbase of RS makes comparisons to Watchmen is to do with JMS' use of fictional published documents to illustrate the world around the protagonists. A note from the journal of camp counsellor Doctor Welles and a Supreme Court ruling referencing a court battle between representatives of the 'specials' and the government are present. These are neat asides but do lack the strength of relation in the more 'closure' tale that Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons set out. A five-page look at Rising Stars rounds this book off, too 'advert' or 'fannique' for my liking.
Another Rising Stars extra, 'Prelude' was published some months after.
'Visitations And Midnight Thoughts' includes the work of (p)Dave Finch, (i)John Livesay and Victor Llamas. Notable in that it features the original art team that worked on #0-#2 and a return to JMS' more 'intimate' storytelling. With a sermon on the nature of comics and superhero/supervillain rivalry that adds a new dimension to the old 'two sides of one coin' thing. The humanity of this piece is daring and while it won't convert me to christianity it does make some valid philosophical points on the theme of 'making amends'. The tale's only flaw is that the minimalism is a little badly fitted at times.
In The Year Of The Chicago War...
The second act of Rising Stars begins with #9, the first fifteen pages of which once again feature the Rising Stars 'published document' or media representation. Straczynski's writing is a lot clearer and it also works to better effect than the B5 episodes, 'And Now For A Word' and 'The Illusion Of Truth'.
A copy of Mediaweek shows the strengths of Rising Stars. The potential for misused responsibility of The Child Welfare Act(#1). 'Things Fall Apart' (#6-#8) as a metaphor for the events of Waco. The possibility of the hundred and thirteen allowing to be representative of a general population sample.
Regular artist Christian Zanier despite turning in a 'big pile of poo' cover, is improving his work. He seems to favour the 'dark and mysterious' angle for every scene and it is all drawn very much in the Image house style, but perhaps at the higher end of those aged spectrums. The tale centres on Stephanie Maas, a special who has taken over the city of Chicago and made it her own. In exchange for an amnesty a collective of specials decide to take a government offer: the re-taking of Chicago. Brett Evans added the seriously twilight tones that run through much of this series. Again, it does suit it. There is an essence of Straczynski trying to do a superpowered gang warfare zombie flick.
At times it's annoyingly predictable. When a friend of lead character John Simon, dies, a fit is thrown where the hero yells at the sky. It's so overblown that it is funny. Part of me wishes this were intended, that Joe seeks to satirise the 'death in fiction' cliché at the most untypical moment. When it comes to friendship, Joe is at it's best. 'What Goes Around' (#11) details the friendship between two 'specials' which JMS writes as if he were Garth Ennis.
Rising Stars is at it's best when Joe pulls little tricks out of the bag and #12 ("A, B, C, and D") is one of those long overdue welcome moments. Pages 2-9, 10, 11-13, and page 15 are four horizontal panels per page. Each follows a specific protagonist or situation with only the minimum of beats skipped.
#13 sees the import of another new inker and colourist team: Marlo Alquiza, Danny Miki and Dan Kemp, take a bow folks. Granted, the work is still 'house style' but it's more New Marvel rather than Image. There's a little hint at a return to Keu Cha's expressionist style, which I hope is a good omen. The colours are quite golden and shining, not fitting with the events were they actual, but more to tie in with the introductory page's comparative simile. Yet, it's cluttered, with the writer's designated archetypes and what they do and how they move about.
Story, it's a big one, with the death of a major character, the defeat of a major villain and a few 'shocks' and 'surprises'. At least, I get the impression that's what they should be. I just feel like shrugging my shoulders. 'Huh? So what?' As Dave Sim once wrote, "No impact".
JMS is really at his best writing his multi-part stories, with a bloody good mask of them being self-contained tales, over in a teaser, three acts and a spoiler. Even the rather neat historical and occult reference don't impress as much as they should.
Nothing here is exactly as it appears...
The number of similarities between Rising Stars and Marvel's (frequently maligned) New Universe line increases. With 'Nova Placenta' (#1) we had a parallel with "the white event", a bright light in the sky granting superpowers. Pederson's 'Camp Sunshine' mirrors both 'The Clinic' (DP7) and 'Sanctuary' (PSI-FORCE) in the providence of home, early base of operations. In 'Things Fall Apart', a forced registering and abduction of those affected by the aurora borealis is similar to the New U's THE DRAFT.
The thematic similarity, the incidence of a paranormal war pops up in the unimaginatively titled and written THE WAR. Yes, Rising Stars does it better, but they could have done it much better...
I can't help but feel totally disappointed by Rising Stars, despite its good points. Are Claudia Christian and Keu Cha enhancing influences on JMS' connections with his muse? I adored Babylon 5 bar the more haphazard nature of the first and last season. As a reviewer of over-optimistic nature, I have waited for a mainstream book to come along that I really didn't like: an excuse to tear into convention. And you know what? When one reads a really great book it's an absolute delight to write about it. When one reads a really bad book and has to write about it, the chore is doubled in enmity.
I'm sorry Joe, I can't believe everything you touch turns to gold, silver or bronze. And it's a shame you can't see that. For you would be a much better writer if you did.
Who's Who In The SBC Update 2001
Who is... Andrew Luke
Alter Ego: Andy Luke, Drew, John Andrew Luke, J. Andrew Luke, Antdew Loop, Alpen Jones, Weapon X (Glutton)
Occupation: Professionally unemployed.
Group Affiliation: Eltingville Club (Hicksville Branch)
Base Of Operations: A great big blue sofa beside biscuits.
First Appearance: Scholars are still working on this. The guy is such a slut.
History: Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and decimated everything in his wake until he got to Newtownards. His Flat Of Not-Enough-Solitude looks out over the magnificently phallic shaped Scrabo Tower were he compiles reviews and articles for Silver Bullets. Also, The Review Sheet (TRS2), a bimonthly newsheet centering on small press comics in the UK which is published both on paper and electronically, by Bugpowder.
Andrew is also working on his latest comic books, including an autobiographical tale of a teenage party and the final issue of his (s)hit s/p book, BOB'S.
Powers And Weapons: Andrew has the tendency to get as many words into a sentence as possible, feeling that if he uses a lot of research material in his work, that gives him divine right. He regularly hits christians over the head with a hardback MacMillan Encyclopedia. He is also a schizo.
Past Articles: This is the first. Makes you feel kinda special? You are.``xAndrew Luke``xsilbulcomboo@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xPederson 113: In The Shadow Of Chicago (Part II of II)``x989076419,75317,``x``x
``xTouching, but not intersecting
The above is the first definition for the word "tangent". A tangent is a line that touches a circle at only one point without intersecting it. In common speech, it refers to a line of thought that does not follow the course of the current conversation. In mathematics, it is the ratio of the sides opposite and adjacent to the acute angle in a triangle. In music, it is an upright pin that creates pitch in a keyboard instrument by stopping the string at a precise length. Each of these can be considered a variation of the "touching but not intersecting" idea.
The second definition of "tangent" is "irrelevant".
I wonder which one Dave Sim had in mind when he entitled his five essays "Tangent".
For those of you completely out of the loop, issue #265 of Dave Sim's self-published comic Cerebus came out this week. It not only concludes the 12-issue "Form & Void" storyline, but includes 20-pages of Sim's "summing up" of his conclusions on women, feminism, and society. The content of these pages has resulted in the resignation of two women who worked for Sim: Carol West, the Administrative Assistant, ("a very fancy feminist name for a very plain secretarial position: mea cupla, mea maxima cupla", says Sim), and Diana Schultz, Senior Editor at Dark Horse Comics who refused to proofread any more issues of Cerebus after reading this one. Sim expected that "Tangent" would cause as much controversy as Cerebus #186, where he described women as The Void trying to extinguish the male Light. He's waved all rights to the essays, provided that they are reprinted in their entirety or excerpted for "journalistic purposes".
I don't know if I qualify as a journalist, but for the sake of this article, let's pretend.
Before I sum up what "Tangent", (or rather, "The Five Tangents"), are about, I'd like to let you know where I'm coming from. I like Cerebus. I have the first ten volumes and every issue since 201 (it is currently up to #266, released this week – check out our review). I honestly think it's one of the best comic books ever made, and Dave Sim is a brilliant writer. I've come to see Cerebus as more than just a comic book. It has become an extension of Sim himself. Reading it is like talking with Dave for about an hour a month. As a result, I've come to think of Dave Sim as an asshole. I probably wouldn't want to spend more than 30 seconds with him in real life. I've thought of him as a paranoid misogynist, an expression I had to invent just to describe him.
As much as I am offended by Dave Sim the man, I love Dave Sim the artist. I long ago accepted the fact that such diverse dichotomies exist within people. I've learned to separate the person from their work, to hate one and love the other.
In other words, I'm a Cerebus fan, not a Sim fan.
Also, as both "The Five Tangents" and this article deal with the issue of women and feminism, it would be prudent to explain my experience with both. I do not date. That is, I do not go out with girls on romantic endeavors. The last time I did so was 1999 (I think). Since then, my only regular contact with women has been a classmate I see in lecture twice a week. We talk regularly, but not outside class. And as she has a history of mental problems, it would be unfair to use her as a model for all women and their behaviors.
My mother was a feminist. She was also a housewife. (Actually, let's change that to ‘homemaker'. 'Housewife' has such a negative connotation.) This may seem like a contradiction to many of you. Many modern feminists abhor the idea of a woman staying home, cleaning the house, and rearing, (not raising), children. And yet, my mother was a feminist. Why? Because she chose to stay at home. She did what she thought was best. She could have worked outside the home. Instead, she chose what I consider to be the hardest job in the world. I took her for granted for much of my childhood, but I came to respect her and what she did. Isn't that what feminism was supposed to be? A woman making her own decisions about her life? Earning respect based on her works, not her appearance? This is the kind of feminism my sister currently believes.
So, to recap, I like Cerebus, I hate Sim, and my mother and sister were feminists who didn't hate men. Are we all caught up now? Good. Now keeping all that in mind, here are my honest opinions about "The Five Tangents" and Dave Sim's ideas.
I find them frightening.
I'm frightened because he may be right.
You might want to go and read all five essays. You'll probably find them posted somewhere on the web, probably on this very site [Ed’s note: Not at the moment, but try http://www.tcj.com/ for a copy]. I'll give you my reactions to each of the essays in order, then to the work entire.
Tangent I
Dave Sim explains here that his ideas on women were formed mainly by interviews he conducted with them while researching the "Mothers and Daughters" storyline, (Cerebus #151-#200). He found that when he talked to a woman, (especially an unattractive one), without wanting to sleep with them, he found himself completely uninterested in what they had to say. Further, they didn't answer his questions directly.
They told stories to convey a feeling or to draw inference. Sim became aware of the interviews as being "emotional badminton". The women were expressing emotions, rather than following answering questions directly, (at least to his satisfaction, they weren't). This led Sim to conclude that women are emotion-based beings. Not emotional beings, but creatures completely ruled by emotions and feelings with no regard for reason or rational thought.
I find this to be impossible. I honestly cannot conceive of any creature as evolved as a human being completely ignoring, or even being incapable of, rational thought. It's pure madness! Now, I have noticed that women tend to tell stories in conversation, but I have not had such a lengthy conversation with any women for any length of time to draw conclusions on their collective mental state. On this point, I will say what my father has always said: "People are driven by their emotions". This I have found to be true among all genders. Yet to be completely ruled by them, to bounce from moment to moment, action to action, guided by nothing save one's feelings, with no thought to the consequences or the future of one's own actions? Is that even remotely possible?
The first Tangent also lists the first 14 in Sim's list of "Impossible Things To Believe Before Breakfast. Each of these things is a major tenet or goal of modern feminism. Sim explains why each is patently ridiculous. Maybe it was the way he phrased them, but I found myself agreeing with his point of view on these matters. They all sound illogical and downright crazy. Maybe it's just the way he words them, or maybe he's oversimplifying things. But, ultimately, these points are what much of feminism boils down to.
I do disagree with a couple of points. Point 5 compares a marriage with an equal partnership to a car with two sets of controls and pedals. Folks, I always assumed that marriage was the joining of two lives into one. Anything I would do as a husband would affect my wife, and vice versa. Therefore, I think a husband and wife should keep each other informed of what they're doing and what they plan to do. If it makes things work easier, responsibilities should be divided between the husband and wife. Let it be made clear that each partner has full authority at specific times and over specific areas. Yet neither is more important than the other. A man is king of his castle, but that castle has a queen. This was the kind of relationship my parents had, and it worked.
Point 7 says affirmative action makes society more fair and just by taking jobs away from men and giving them to women. Now, the whole issue of affirmative action has been a mess since day one. If we want true equality between the genders and races, then maybe we should change our focus. Instead of making every company hire the same numbers of women and non-whites, maybe we should give said groups the same education that most affluent white men enjoy. I would rather have people hired because of their qualifications instead of their ethnicity and/or gender. Sim comes out strongly against abortion. He suggests that the biblical quote used in marriages, "What God therefore hath joined together let no man put asunder", could be applied to the joining of sperm and egg cells. Sim says that a woman's "right to choose" should extend as far as choosing whether or not to have sex. If a woman does choose to have sex, then any pregnancy is the work of God. However, Sim does entertain the possibility that abortion may be something less than a mortal sin. (He also claims to have been a willing celibate for the last two years, which has made sex less important in his life.) Me? I'm pro-choice. I acknowledge the sad reality that there are times and conditions under which a baby should not be born. The decision to abort should only be made by the mother and father. On this point, I agree with Sim.
Finally, it is in this Tangent that Sim first expresses his belief that men are superior to women. This is as laughable as the idea of women being superior to men! Each gender is different, yea opposite, from each other. Yet each is necessary for the Natural Order. To say that one is greater than the other, that one excels in qualities where the other lacks, that one may not need that other, is to overlook the obvious place each gender has in nature. Men and women need each other. Men should not lord over women, restrict their physical and political rights, or denigrate them in society. By the same token, women should not do this to men. In other words, there is no good reason to have "The Man Show". (That may be a bit off-topic, but I think The Man Show pretty much sinks any argument about men being superior to women.)
Tangent II
Sim is not opposed to homosexuality as an idea or a lifestyle. Nor is he opposed to any sexual acts that are considered deviant by society. On the other hand, he is physically repulsed by the idea of what's going on behind some closed doors. He feels that some things should not be talked about in public, and certain lifestyles should be kept quiet. The recent alliance formed between feminists and homosexuals is part of a larger agenda to eliminate gender distinctions. Many gay-rights advocates say that one's gender identity and sexual preference is imposed by society and personal experience. Therefore, there is no real difference between straights, gays, or anything in-between. Feminists have taken this idea to the next level, saying that gender behaviors are imposed by society. Therefore, there are no inherent gender differences between men and women. Men and women are interchangeable.
Sim compares the attempts to teach people the above statements to totalitarianism, the expression of a single viewpoint to the exclusion of all others. He is perfectly willing, he says, to accept viewpoints other than his own. He just doesn't want his views to be changed to fit someone else's view of what's right.
In case you're curious, here are Sim's viewpoints:
“I firmly believe that feminism is a misguided attempt to raise women above their place, which I firmly believe is secondary to that of men. I firmly believe that homosexuality - not homosexuals themselves - belongs at the margins of society and behind closed doors. I firmly believe that it must be tolerated just as I firmly believe it should not be publicly celebrated. ‘In your face’ celebrated, I mean.”
Again, I disagree with the notion of women being second to men. I, too, have no desire to see gay men having sex. Nor would I like to know the details and variations of such acts. I'm sure that gay men (and women) are not interested in seeing or hearing about "regular" sex. Frankly, I think it's in bad taste to talk about what goes on in the bedroom to anyone except your closest friends and family. (Incidentally, I subscribe to the double standard of homosexuality that most straight men do. I'm turned off by gay men, but not by gay women. Lesbians can tell men anything and everything about their sex lives. Of course, lesbians won't do this because it degrades their love and lifestyle. But still. ..)
Tangent III
Sim says no one wants to be a woman, mainly because they get periods. And because women "bleed" once a month, they manufacture a version of the world where they are interchangeable with the "simpler" gender. I think I'll let the reader draw his own conclusions about that one.
The interchangeability of gender and sexuality proposed by women is now being extended to children. The idea of treating children like adults results in children not being raised by their fathers. This, in turn, leads to children who grow up without boundaries, do not learn any discipline, and contributes to the recent rise in Youth Crime. The Elian Gonzalez case is cited as a concrete example of a child being treated like an adult, an idea taken to a ridiculous extreme. Further evidence in how women see children differently from men can be seen in the genders' reaction to the Peanuts comic strip and the movie Looking Who's Talking.
Now, I'll be the first to voice the importance of a father in a child's life. I'll further state that the father may, may, serve best as a disciplinarian. A child does need boundaries, and a father, (at least my father), is very good at enforcing them. I do not think that women are incapable of also setting boundaries and showing discipline. I will also be willing to agree that this may not always be the case. Sim claims that since women are emotion-based beings, they interpret any expression of emotion to be a sign of intelligence. It doesn't matter if the being in question is a baby, a child, an adult, or even an animal, (more on that in Tangent IV).
This, again, is based on an argument that I cannot believe. And yet, women do show great affection for children, often elevating them to a status far above what they deserve. I believe that both men and women delude themselves into thinking children are more pure and innocent than they really are. Children, as we know from personal experience, have no morality. They have no concept of guilt, regret, empathy, or pity. They do what makes them feel good at the time. If someone gets hurt in the process, it's not important. In some cases, it's better that way. Children have no concept of good or evil, and thus can be monsters.
Finally, Sim advocates spanking children. My parents didn't do that, and neither will I. I'm opposed to hitting a child in any way. I'm also opposed to Sim's suggestion that women could benefit from the occasional spanking. I hope he was joking.
Tangent IV
Sim really goes out on a ledge with this one. He extends his argument of women trying make genders, sexualities, adults and children interchangeable to include animals. He says: "Women quite literally don't know whether they are human beings or animals. Nature reflects and there is, to me, a fundamental danger to society in the underdeveloped, tactical, emotion-based female "mind", (his quotes, not mine), staring lovingly into the eyes of a feral beast which derives interchangeable pleasure from eating, sleeping, and licking feces from itself...and with that female "mind" identifying her-(it?)-self with that feral creature and persuading herself that she has more in common with a feces-licking creature than the opposite gender of her own species or seeing herself as having just as much in common with feral beasts as with men or seeing herself as a mediator halfway between man and beast or seeing herself as an ambassador to the world of men from the animal kingdom."
I think Sim is making a mountain out of an anthill, (they're smaller than molehills). Just because a woman speaks baby talk to her pets, or dresses them up in little clothes, or uses expressions like "animal rights", or even entertains the notion that her pet my have been a human in another life, it doesn't mean she thinks of herself as an animal! That would mean she really didn't see any difference between animals and people.
Oh shit. That's true.
How many times has a woman justified treating her pet like a human because, "animals have feelings too?" Whether or not an animal has feelings is beside the point. Perhaps it is a sign of something deeper going on inside a woman's mind.
Tangent V
In the last essay, Sim explains how Martin Luther King Jr lost control of the Civil Rights Movement by not keeping God and spiritualism at the heart of the movement. Instead, he was distracted by numerous affairs and the agenda of Marian Logan, a secular humanist.
Now, putting asides the sheer audacity of a white Canadian analyzing the collapse of the black American civil right movement, Sim describes a Dr King I never thought existed. Sim takes his information and quotations from Bearing the Cross, by William Morrow. He describes King as a man who thought he was chosen by God, that God spoke to him directly and gave him strength. That strength was sapped away slowly by members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference who, according to Sim, ultimately served the agenda of the then rising feminist movement.
I think a closer look into the sordid and private dealings behind the scenes of the SCLC may be warranted. And this view of Dr King, a passionate, yet conflicted man, is one that I find captivating. Yet to connect the secular aspects of the Civil Rights movement to feminism is Sim's way of defining the entire feminist movement as secular. I think Dave Sim is implying that feminism isn't just a misguided movement, or a futile attempt to overturn the natural order. I think he's saying feminism is an act against God, and fundamentally
unholy.
I'm still having trouble with the "emotion-based creatures" idea. No way am I going THAT far.
Conclusions
Well, I think Sim has managed to piss off every woman on the planet, be they feminists or not. (According to Sim, all women are feminists.) And I still think he's an asshole for expressing these views so publicly and shamelessly. But he is right. On some points, at least. There is a strong trend in our society to let our feelings determine our actions. We have a tendency to not think things through rationally. Some of the policies where emotion has overridden logic include affirmative action, federally funded daycare, gay rights, and children's rights. The proponents of these policies tend to be, more often than not, women. And, from my limited personal experience, women do hold conversations differently from men.
But to call all women emotion-based creatures that want to believe everybody's the same because they secretly hate themselves for having a period? Well, when you summarize a 20-page essay into a single sentence, then, yes it sounds insane. But I'm going to be paying closer attention to what going on around me. I'm going to look and listen critically in how men and women speak and what they say. I'm going to see just what's going on in the world, with my own eyes. And I'm going to pray Sim's wrong. About women, about their agenda, about their influence over the world. Because if it's true, if the whole of society abandons all notions of gender identity, and rejects all traditional values, if everybody's reason is completely overridden by emotion, then civilization will destroy itself.
Don't believe me? Think that's too extreme? Another author had a similar viewpoint in the 1940s. Back then the fear was communism taking over the world. Yet the story dealt with the same basic issue of emotion versus reason. The story, and others by the author, formed the basis for a new philosophy based on reason. The book was Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. A philosophy based on reason, yet also depicted women as being secondary to men, created by a woman.
I'm not trying to be cute. I'm just pointing out facts, making observations, and drawing conclusions. Here, I conclude that no single statement can be true for all people. Human beings are too diverse and individualistic to categorize so easily. I'll admit to some characteristics and motivations being true for most people, but never all. Humans are too complex. They can never be fully understood.
Especially a man who works as an artist, and says how men are not ruled by emotions.
``xMichael Deeley``xmiked@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xDave Sim, Off At A Tangent?``x989699793,47483,``x``x
``x
Writers: Cary Bates, Robert Kanigher, Jack Kirby, Paul Levitz, Elliot Maggin, Dennis O'Neil, Len Wein
Pencillers: Dick Dillin, Jack Kirby, Werner Roth, Curt Swan
Inkers: Murphy Anderson, Vince Colletta, Joe Giella, Dick Giordano, Bob Oksner
Original Editors: Murray Boltinoff, E. Nelson Bridwell, Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz
Collection Editor: Michael Wright
Synopsis: Collects many of the classic Superman stories of the 1970's.
For any fan of Superman in the '70s (and I'm one...I've probably had letters, mostly favorable, published on half the stories in this collection), this is a delightful collection, and for newer fans, it's a wonderful selection of what made '70s fans consider him so memorable.
1970 was an important year for Superman. It marked the retirement of long-time editor Mort Weisinger, who had memorably guided the character since before World War II. Weisinger was noted for treating his artists and especially his writers badly, but his stories, although aimed more at the 8-12-year-old audience than the teenagers that were increasingly coming to dominate comics fandom, showed a great deal of imagination.
By 1970, however, even Weisinger would admit he was beginning to run out of steam. He was becoming increasingly interested in outside work (ranging from writing magazine articles to judging beauty contests), passing on more and more of the editing work to his assistant, former fan E. Nelson Bridwell. He'd lost many of the writers who'd made his earlier Superman stories so enjoyable to read: Jerry Siegel, Superman's creator, had departed in 1966 over a copyright-renewal dispute, and Alvin Schwartz, Otto Binder, Edmond Hamilton, Robert Bernstein, and Jerry Coleman were also gone, many as a result of an attempt of DC's writers to unionize in the late '60s.
Weisinger had been one of the first editors to attempt to replenish his writers from the ranks of comics fans. Nelson Bridwell had been the first, followed by Roy Thomas, Jim Shooter, and Cary Bates. But, aside from Bridwell, only Bates had stayed on: Thomas and later Shooter had found Mort's bullying too much to handle and had found, or would find, more pleasant employment across town at Marvel. For writers, Weisinger had increasingly had to rely on Bates, Leo Dorfman (his sole surviving writer from the early '60s), and long-standing writers from other DC editorial offices like Bob Kanigher and Bob Haney, neither of whom had a style particularly appropriate to Superman.
Weisinger's last suggestion, before he retired, was that a single editor be placed in charge of all the Superman titles so they could have the coherence he'd given them. Presumably that editor would either have been Bridwell, Weisinger's assistant, or Julius Schwartz, Weisinger's childhood friend who had already revitalized Flash, Green Lantern, Batman, and many other DC icons. Infantino turned down the suggestion (perhaps, fan Joe Brancatelli suggested, because he didn't want another editor gaining the power at DC that Weisinger had had...but also because the rest of the editors at DC wanted a piece of the top-selling Superman pie) and divided the books between five editors.
Bridwell remained as assistant on all the books but received only Lois Lane (and various reprint titles, soon to include the fondly-remembered "100-Page Super-Spectacular" series) to edit outright, and Schwartz got World's Finest Comics and Superman itself. Murray Boltinoff, who had already taken one title (Superboy) off Weisinger's hands two years before, was also given the reins of Action Comics and, at least on paper, Jimmy Olsen.
Perhaps most interesting of all, two of the maverick writer/artists of the day were given control of two of the least-selling Superman titles. Mike Sekowsky, the long-standing JLA artist who'd proved he could handle a strong female protagonist in Wonder Woman, was handed the reins of Adventure Comics, then starring Supergirl, and brought his heroine into the working world. And the legendary Jack Kirby, newly departed from Marvel Comics, had just been lured to DC by publisher Carmine Infantino, who claims Kirby had asked to write and draw all the Superman titles.
Other sources, however, have indicated that Kirby's main interest was always in developing new characters and concepts of his own, and that he had to be talked into taking over even one Superman title (the least-selling of the group...not, as some have said, the least-selling book at DC, or he'd have ended up with Metal Men or some such title). So (although only after calling Jerry Siegel himself and getting his approval for his ideas) Jack Kirby became writer and artist of Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen...and, according to his long-time assistant Mark Evanier, Murray Boltinoff did next to no editing on his stories. Within three issues, Kirby was editor in name as well as in fact.
Inevitably, the five-way split didn't last. Many of the titles, most of them eight times a year, were increased to monthly after Weisinger's retirement...but within a couple of years all except Superman and Action Comics had dropped all the way to bimonthly. Sekowsky was fired by Infantino, and Kirby moved on to other things, and their titles too plummeted in sales...so much so that in 1974 Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and a short-lived Supergirl title had been merged into a 100-page Superman Family title. Other editors, including Robert Kanigher, briefly handled the various titles, but by the end of the decade what was left of the Superman Family had once again been brought together under one editor: Julius Schwartz.
And with good reason...with the possible exceptions of Kirby and Sekowsky, Schwartz was the editor whose office produced the most consistently good Superman material, so it's not surprising that all but two of the thirteen stories in this collection are from the Schwartz office. The two exceptions are Jack Kirby's first Jimmy Olsen story from Jimmy Olsen #133...very good, but Kirby's propensity for long, involved serials means that only a piece of the story is present...and a very strange Lois Lane story from the early Bridwell run, in which Lois disguises herself as a black woman (taking her cue from a then-popular nonfiction book called Black Like Me, by a white journalist named John Howard Griffin who'd attempted a similar masquerade).
Although completely politically incorrect, the story did have the editor's and writer's heart in the right place; Kanigher and artist Werner Roth made the story a memorable one. But, divergent as they otherwise were, the Lois and Jimmy stories both suffer from interference above the editorial level which limited the editors' ability to choose their own creative staff. Both were inked by the late Vince Colletta, arguably the worst embellisher ever to pick up a pen, but since he was a close friend of Carmine Infantino, he dragged down all too many of the stories of this time, including (especially regrettably) much of Kirby's early Fourth World series.
Julius Schwartz, fortunately, had enough clout to get more of a choice of creative personnel. He very wisely retained Curt Swan, who had been the head Superman artist under Weisinger, as the regular penciller on most of the Superman titles, teaming him up with Schwartz' own best inker, Murphy Anderson. Anderson's departure from DC circa 1974 was a definite loss; few of Swan's other inkers were anywhere near as good. Bob Oksner, a good but somewhat misplaced artist best known for humor, was better than some, as was long-standing Schwartz inker Joe Giella.
Nine of the 11 Schwartz stories in this collection are pencilled by Swan, with inks by Anderson, Oksner, or Giella; the other two are a solo Murphy Anderson job and a strange Superman/Superboy team-up/fight by Dick Dillin and Dick Giordano. (Which really didn't deserve to be in the book at all; possibly the editors wanted to be nice to its writer, Paul Levitz, who is now DC's publisher. This story is hardly his best work; they'd have been much better served to include one of Levitz' stories of the Legion of Super-Heroes...which, after all, was originally as much a Superman spinoff as Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen.)
Schwartz always demanded high standards in his writers, and for the most part got them. One of my biggest regrets is that his writing staff, like Weisinger's, had been depleted in the late '60's by the aforementioned unionization attempt, and the heavyhanded response of Infantino (and his boss Jack Liebowitz) to it. I'd have loved to see the pillars of his Silver Age writing staff, Gardner Fox and John Broome (both of whom had past experience with the character) writing Superman stories.
As it was, Schwartz's favorite writer at the time was Denny O'Neil, whom he tended to put on high-profile projects whenever he took them over. In most cases, especially with Batman and Green Lantern, O'Neil proved successful; even with Superman, a character he admittedly never cared for, Denny turned out a classic serial involving Superman's powers being drained by a sand-being from the realm of Quarrm. Unfortunately, as with Kirby's serial, only the first chapter is included here; it's been reprinted several times and is really not all that effective on its own. Perhaps an O'Neil story largely unconnected with his overall serial (Planet of the Angels, for instance) would have been a better choice.
Leo Dorfman was never able to get work from the Schwartz office (and ended up selling his stories mostly to Murray Boltinoff after Weisinger's retirement...a shame, since some of them were quite good), but Cary Bates made the contact and became one of Schwartz' regulars...not only on Superman but on Flash as well. Backing him up was Elliot Maggin, a Brandeis University student who'd impressed Schwartz with an unsolicited Green Arrow story (which saw print in the classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow run with Neal Adams art; the only story in that series not written by Denny O'Neil).
Both had an excellent "feel" for Superman, and they (especially Bates) remained his top writers until John Byrne took over the character in 1986. Maggin writes a surprising six stories in this collection (of which the only one I'd question is Must There Be a Superman?, not because it's a bad story...it isn't...but because it's been reprinted several times before), Bates writes two, and Len Wein one.
In short, this is an excellent collection that admittedly takes much of its material from the most memorable era of the '70s Superman ... all but two of the stories are from 1975 or earlier. But it's well worth buying for any Superman fan.
[Editor's Note: It is with great sadness that I must tell Rich's readers that he passed away this week from a heart attack. He was a lively personality online, and a terrific storehouse of knowledge on the comics medium. Rich was widley published in comics industry magazines, including through an excellent series of interviews in Comics Interview. He had many passions outside of comics, including his beloved dogs. Rich will be deeply missed by many.
Everyone at Silver Bullet Comics wishes their most sincere condolensces to Rich's loved ones, and offer our sympathies at this difficult time.]``xRich Morrissey``xrichm@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xSuperman in the Seventies``x990286866,74400,``x``x
``xSometimes a comic book can inspire me to write something (in fact many do), or sometimes a good movie can inspire me to write something. This time a movie called Vertical Limit has inspired me to write about subcultures. What does this have to do with comic books? I'm getting there.
As I was watching Vertical Limit, I was introduced to the subculture of mountain climbers. A close knit group who has their own Who's Who in whom are the best mountain climbers. I was never a mountain climber, but I came in close proximity to these daredevils when I rappelled down Moaning Caverns here in Placerville. (Of course, rappellers have their own subculture, but I won't get into that). Moaning Caverns is so large; it can easily house the Statue of Liberty. I was able to meet a few of these mountain climbers who get a thrill of climbing mountains like the Half-Dome in Yosemite. Now, you're probably still wondering what this has to do with comic books. I'm still getting there, be patient.
Throughout my lifetime, I have met other subcultures. I once did a tandem skydive and met the subculture of skydivers, another very close knit group. Not all subcultures have to consist of daredevils, because we have our very own subculture. The comic book subculture. We may read Marvel's Daredevil, but being daredevils only comes in the form of the written word or in the artistic creation of our creators. How can that be you ask? I'll get to that.
We are a close-knit group that consists of comic book readers, comic book collectors, comic book dealers, comic book webmasters, comic book zinesters who utilize hardcopy zines or email zines to get the word out; comic book creators from your pencilers, writers, inkers, colorists, editors, publishers; comic book promoters, etc. We have our own Who's Who that list alumni from Joe Quesada, Will Eisner, Stan Lee, Garth Ennis, Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Smith and many others. Some comic book aficionados have placed these men on a godly level.
The people of the comic book subculture are a very close knit community. Communication is through emails, websites, conventions, comic book signings, newsletters (hardcopy and email), letter hacking. People on the outside of our subculture are touched by the creativity of comic books, when they flock into theaters to see the newest blockbuster movie X-Men. Only then does the outside community ask questions like: "What is Wolverine's healing factor all about?".
Our subculture has a love for the comic book medium. A passion that is unyielding and makes us strive on to make the comic book industry a strong industry. Not only a strong industry, but an industry that is noticeable by the populace of the world through intervention of TV series like Witchblade and major movies from Batman to the upcoming Spider-Man movie. We touch the outside population through hardbound books, radio, videogames and interesting websites.
We are a subculture that makes a difference through our creativity, preservation, promotions and ambition. We may not be daredevils, but we enjoy what we are doing and have placed the world of comic books in the forefront of our lives. Perhaps it's only the creative side of the comic book subculture that can be considered as daredevils, because they must forever be ready for the comic book critics! Let our comic book subculture live on! ``xPaul Dale Roberts``xsilhouet98@cs.com``xThe World of Subcultures``x991515274,55190,``x``x
``x
Story: Alan Moore
Art: David Lloyd
Publisher: DC
Plot: Alan Moore's grim tale of post-apocalyptic Fascist Britain, follows the political destabilising antics of "V", the product of an experiment.
V for Vendetta combines poetry, satire, prophecy and violence to make a molotov cocktail of a book which makes you sit up and take notice. This book is engrossing yet feels strangely prophetic, its Alan Moore's vision of what Britain would be like under a hard-line totalitarian fascist regime and reminds us of the need for personal freedom and privacy. Sure, it's all been done before in Orwell's 1984, however the hope for a better future that was lacking in Orwell's bleak prediction submerges in V for Vendetta in the shape of "V", a melodramatic anarchist with the power to make a difference.
The characterisation of V is brilliantly executed. He remains enigmatic all the way through and although we are given glimpses of his history we are never truly aware of what lies at the heart of him or who he truly is. V seems to be a combination of madman, genius and visionary and you're never totally convinced that V isn't totally insane. This serves to add an extra edge to the work, which adds a lot to the already fine work.
David Lloyd's artwork has a distantly gothic horror feel and is perfect for this novel. His rendition of V in the clown face is superb, and makes him a more weird and enigmatic character.
There are elements in the work when it's not clear what's happening but I get the impression this was intentional and, because of the nature of both V and the book, actually adds an extra element of mystery to both the work on the whole and the character of V.
V for Vendetta is one of the finest works in comics to date. It's a groundbreaking work and when it originally came out nothing like it had ever been done before, at least in this format. It's influential, powerful, evocative and totally engrossing. Apart from the fact that we have already seen past 1997 and 1998, the years in which it is set, the work has not aged at all and it is still as powerful a piece of work as it ever was.
Uniquely, you actually get more story and art for your money if you buy the ten individual issues rather than the collected edition. This is because the TPB omits almost all of the linking pages between chapters that were added specially to the original tales (which originally appeared in Warrior in individual installments) for the ten-part DC series. Plus you get an enigmatic back cover that develops over the course of the series, which is also missing from the collected editions.
It's a gritty drama and it's not pretty, so if you're looking for a happy, "safe" tale you may be disappointed. Everyone else, get it now.``xGlenn Carter``xglenn@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xV For Vendetta``x992120641,93613,``x``x
``xDVD technology has changed the way movies are viewed and made. The technology allows filmmakers the opportunity to include material on the disc that could not fit on a VHS. Such material includes extra audio tracks of the filmmakers' comments, additional scenes that were cut from the theatrical release, and special behind-the-scenes documentaries. This allows the viewer an opportunity to see the director's and writer's original intentions. For the first time, the viewer can learn how the movie's plot, characters, etc. changed from its initial conception. Some DVD's include alternate endings to the movie. Others have enough deleted material to make the film on the disc seem like a completely different movie!
Sadly, there is no equivalent technology for comic books. A book can only be read in a linear fashion, from its beginning to its end. One could not add "deleted scenes" to a book without publishing a new copy of the book. The closest comics do have to this technology is the trade paperback. But even here, the only additional material tends to be the artists' sketches. It is rare to find a book that includes additional story pages. Rarer still are the trades that show the original script for the comic, ("Sandman: Dream Country" is the only example of this I have ever seen.) In short, we never know how the final story differed from the creators' original intent. There is no comic book with a "director's cut".
Except.
Except for 'The Dark Phoenix Saga'.
'The Dark Phoenix Saga' is one of the most famous and significant X-Men stories ever published. It's still remembered as one of the best comic stories ever written, and possibly the best X-Men story ever told. The ending shocked the comic book community when it was first published nearly 20 years ago, (and if you don't know what happened, stop reading now.) Marvel is printing the book this summer for the 11th time. No other Marvel trade book has been through so many printings. I know only one other TPB to go through so many printings: Watchmen.
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I didn't read 'Dark Phoenix' until two months ago. I never even thought to read it until I decided to buy every TPB labeled 'Marvel's Finest', (but only the 1998-2000 releases.) But before I read the book, I read a unique comic.
'Dark Phoenix: The Untold Story'.
This 48-page special, published in 1984, the same year as the first printing of the 'Dark Phoenix' trade, contains an alternate ending to the 'Dark Phoenix Saga'; the ending originally intended by its writers, Chris Claremont and John Byrne. The book reprints issue #137, the conclusion to the 'Saga', with new art and dialogue. It also includes the transcript of a round table discussion with the people responsible for the story: Claremont, Byrne, Jim Shooter, (Marvel's EIC at the time), Jim Salicrup, Louise Simonson, (X-Men editors when the story was first published), and Terry Austin, (the story's inker). These six people discuss the reasons why the ending was changed, and what Claremont and Byrne would have done had next.
In case you can't find this book at your shop or over the net, allow me to summarize: By issue #137, Jean Grey had become bonded with the Phoenix, a cosmic entity of almost limitless power. This power, combined with the manipulations of the mutant mentalist Mastermind, (Whoa! Gotta cut back on my Stan Lee intake.), corrupted Jean. She traveled into space and consumed a star, thereby destroying an orbitting planet and its 5 billion inhabitants. The Beast and Prof. X were able to drive the Phoenix back into Jean's subconscious, but the threat of that power remained.
This brings us to historic issue #137. Lilandra, Empress of the Shi'ar Empire, demands that Jean Grey must be turned over to her. The threat the Phoenix poses to the universe is too great to let Jean live free. Prof. X, Lilandra's former lover, invokes the right of combat for Jean's freedom. Lilandra agrees, knowing that the X-Men cannot be allowed to win. The X-Men retire to their rooms and prepare for tomorrow's battle.
At this point, the two books begin to differ. In the published version, Wolverine vows to "stand by Jeannie all the way!" But the alternate version has Wolverine thinking of Mariko, the woman he almost married. He also admits, "For the first time in my life, the thought of dyin'...bothers me." This little look into Wolverine's soul helps to humanize him. I found it to be more personal and emotional than the stock 'tough guy' dialogue Wolvie spouts in the published book.
The alternate version has less dialogue for Beast and Nightcrawler. Beast grumbles at how he's been denied the chance to call the Avengers for help, (he was a member at the time). The "public" version has Beast go on about due process and 'innocent until proven guilty'. The published book also has Nightcrawler wondering if Jean is worth fighting for, while in the alternate book he only worries about the coming battle and his skills. I find the dialogue in the alternate version more natural and less "clunky". It's probably because the published dialogue was added later. Remember, the
alternate version is the original form of the story, and hence it would fit in better with the story's flow.
Scott's thoughts in the published book are of Jean and the moral conflict he has. His thoughts in the alternate version are of how his entire life seems to have been determined by institutions. This is the main difference between the published and original books. In the published version, the X-Men's concern is with their teammate. Each of them tries to sort out their feelings about Jean, and whether they're doing the right thing. The alternate version has the X-Men review their life entire. They think and act like tomorrow, they'll die. This gives the alternate book a deeper, darker mood. The story becomes more than saving the life of a teammate; it's about the X-Men facing what could be their last day alive! And I've never seen it done better, with more feeling, more sadness, and more sensitivity than in these pages. Pity that so few people have seen them.
The rest of the book, the battle between the Imperial Guard and the X-Men among ancient alien ruins on the moon goes the same way as the published version. One by one, the X-Men are defeated, until only Jean and Scott remain. They make one final charge . . .
In the alternate version, Jean Grey is captured. The Shi'ar perform a "psychic lobotomy" that permanently removes Jean's telepathic powers. It reduces her to a normal human. Such a fate, to render a telepath powerless, to make her blind, deaf, and dumb on such a deep and intimate level, would be a fate worse than death. Had this ending been published, Jean would slowly come to grips with her lack of power. What's more, the memory of her crimes would return to haunt her. According to the round table transcripts, Claremont had intended for Magneto to offer Jean the chance to become powerful again around issue #150. Jean would wrestle with her conscience over this, but ultimately turn the offer down. Chris felt that this storyline would give Jean the chance to be a hero. To quote Chris, "She and Scott would have gone off and lived happily ever after and gotten married and that would be the end."
In the published version, the Phoenix power "flares up" again. Jean, swearing she'll be overcome by the power again, telekinetically operates an old laser cannon buried on the battlefield. Jean destroys herself, releasing the Phoenix force, "to the cosmos that is its home".
Now, that ending might have worked. I could have bought it if it weren't for a few "mistakes". For starters, when the Phoenix power returns, Prof. X telepathically awakens the other, unconscious, X-Men who then try to contain Jean. Can that be done? Within the laws of psudeo-science that govern super-powers, can a person who's been physically knocked out be revived through telepathic willpower? If a state of unconsciousness has been brought about physically, can it be reversed psychically? Maybe I'm over-thinking the point, but I'd feel better if there was more evidence one way or the other.
The next flaw is the "moment", the moment when the Phoenix returns. A Shi'ar observer ship is relaying its report of the battle to Lilandra. In the alternate version, the ship reports the X-Men's defeat. Sad, yet it feels natural. In the published version, the ship reports a sudden spike in energy. The pilots cry out in panic, "No! Sharra and K'ythri-NO!" and are destroyed by an energy bolt from the Phoenix. After seeing the X-Men defeated, one by one, after seeing Scott and Jean make their last stand, after the entire issue has been leading up to the defeat of the X-Men, the sudden return of the Phoenix feels. . . well, it feels the same as when that blond German in 'Die Hard' leaps off his gurney and charges after McCain. It feels like cheating. And it certainly feels like it was tacked on at the last minute.
But my biggest problem with the ending is "Scott's Reasoning". Now, I acknowledge the long tradition of comic book characters coming up with semi-plausible explanations based on flimsy evidence. But Scott's reasoning for how Jean arranged for her own death contradicts a couple of facts. Let me reprint his dialogue to show you what I mean:
"You took steps to ensure that, if Lilandra couldn't stop you, you'd do the job yourself. You must have picked the minds of the Kree and Skrull observers, learned what ancient weapons were hidden here. Then, you used your fight with the X-Men to drain you of enough energy to make you vulnerable. And finally, when you were ready, you...you..."
So, in brief, Jean read the minds of two aliens NEITHER SHE NOR SCOTT EVER SEE ON THE BATTLEFIELD to learn the secrets of the ancient ruins on the moon WHICH SHE NEVER SAW BEFORE, AND DID NOT KNOW OF ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN THEM AND THE KREE OR SKRULL, expected the X-Men to survive, or even win, a battle AGAINST STRONGER OPPONENTS who are FIGHTING FOR THE EXISTANCE OF THE UNIVERSE, then have the X-Men fight her when the Phoenix returned ONLY AT A SPECIFIC POINT DURING THE BATTLE AND NOT A MOMENT SOONER, weaken her enough to be killed, BUT NOT SO MUCH THAT SHE COULDN"T OPERATE A WEAPON OF ALIEN ORIGIN, turn the weapon on herself, and die.
Yeah, that's exactly what happened. Right. Sure.
Maybe that was Claremont's way of saying, "This wasn't my idea, folks."
Long-time Marvel fans know that the ruins, the "Blue Area" of the moon, were constructed by the Kree. But the X-Men didn't know that. So why scan the mind of the Kree? Hell, he's just an observer, not an archeologist. The odds of him knowing what weapons were hidden on the moon are the same as me knowing what's hidden in King Tut's tomb. One other thing: After the X-Men beam down to the moon, Lilandra says, "They will not win, Araki. You have my word on that." This leads me to believe that Lilandra rigged the fight! I'd find it easier to believe she programmed the laser cannon, being one of several throughout the area, to fire upon Jean if the Phoenix's power returned. Hey, when the stakes are the fate of all life in the universe, you can't afford to play fair.
So now the question becomes, "How did this happen? Why did Chris and John change the story?" For the same reason we have Secret Wars II and Broadway comics: Jim Shooter. Shooter felt that Jean had to be punished for killing 5 billion people. He also felt that, the way the story was written, Jean was in control of her actions. She was not possessed by the Phoenix, but corrupted by it. Jean had to pay, and removing her powers wasn't enough. On one point, I agree with Jim. Jean is clearly not possessed. But I don't think killing her solves the story problem of "What next?".
The idea of an ordinary person committing such a heinous crime, the fact that they once had the capacity to commit such evil and actually enjoy it, I think such an idea is great! I love the conflicts brought about when a mortal becomes a god, and vice versa. Claremont's original intention, to have Jean slowly come to grips with these memories, with the demons she just discovered within herself, that's the kind of deeply personal and philosophical drama that comics are sadly lacking. Nevertheless, I can see Shooter's point. Jean couldn't remain a "hero" having killed so many innocent people. Still, one death doesn't seem like much to atone for the death of a planet, its people, its history, and its unwritten future.
Well now that I've told you "what might have been", I hope you'll go out and find 'The Untold Story'. The alternate ending is reason enough to find it, but the round table discussion is also interesting. You can almost feel the friction between Claremont and Byrne. These feelings would lead to Byrne leaving the book, (before issue #150, by the way).
And for those of you who say the original ending was better, think on this: After the death of Jean Grey, we were introduced to her clone, Madelyne Prior, who ultimately lead to the "Inferno" crossover. Jean Grey later returned to life. It was explained that the Phoenix force had taken on her form and memories, while the real Jean was cocooned at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea. Her return lead to the launching of the "X-Factor" series, which was a mixed blessing at best.
Meanwhile, Scott had married Madelyne and had a son who would become Cable. Cable has come to symbolize all that was wrong with comics in the 1990's, from his convoluted history to his ultra-violent "heroics". Finally, if Shooter had not asked Claremont and Byrne to change their ending, perhaps their parternership would have lasted longer. True, they didn't always get along. Their break-up was probably inevitable. But without that extra stress, without having to compromise their original vision, perhaps their break up would've been more amicable.
Of course, all of this is acadmeic. As readers, we can only see what has been published. But this time, we can also see what might have been.``xMichael Deeley``xmiked@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xDark Phoenix: The Director's Cut``x992727263,22238,``x``x
``xBack in the 1980s, when Reagan was allegedly at the helm, much was made of the fact that despite administrative scandal and regular political shelling, he somehow managed to deflect nearly every shot fired and subsequently was anointed “The Teflon President”. Bill Clinton, also a master of avoiding lasting tarnish no matter what assailed him, has emerged unscathed, and more popular than ever -- even though his influence has receded from the front lines of the political landscape. In the world of professional sports, the actions of law-breaking star athletes are no longer given a second glance as long as they perform to the benefit of a sports franchise and put butts in seats. In short, it seems Americans, when assessing our politicians’ and sports heroes’ actions rely upon a measure of blissful ignorance.
A similar phenomenon seems to have been spawned by the comics industry.
Despite seemingly countless rumors, stories and accusations by his peers, coupled with his evident abandonment of the craft for which he was best known in comics culture, Todd McFarlane remains as popular as ever in the world of comics.
Why?
Is it because he’s such a maverick businessman and a corporate rebel -or so he tells us? Out of the gate at Image, McFarlane racked up an impressive amount of marketing and merchandising accomplishments --parlaying a comic book into a toy manufacturing company, an HBO animated series, a relatively successful film and wide recognition of his character. The rewards of all one can achieve in comics were his. A multiple winner of Wizard Magazine’s no doubt unbiased (cough) “Most Powerful Person in Comics” roundup, McFarlane became the embodiment of every wanna-be comic creators’ dreams. Come up with something cool. Market the hell out of it. Create buzz. Swimmin’ pools, movie stars!
Then he stopped writing and penciling his monthly comic. Not long afterward, he stopped inking over someone else’s pencils, except a page or two, or panel here and there. His empire had expanded to the point that running Todd McFarlane Productions and laboring over a monthly comic, were undoubtedly a tough schedule to ask of anyone, and he ceased personal hands-on work on his comics – leaving Spawn’s production to those he hired (granted at a high rate of pay). He retains all trademarks and copyright’s himself and does not pay royalties to those who physically produce the comics he publishes.
His fans are loyal and legion. The TMP convention booth teems with faded Violator T-shirt-wearing disciples of Spawn. The message boards of McFarlane’s homepage often play shelter to a protective, defensive and vociferous lot, who tend to the image of “Todd” and rabidly guarding the legend like hellhounds straining at their chains. The words “I think Todd…” have likely become a ubiquity near unavoidable in the average fanboy posting, unless the posting is by “The Secret Squirrel” (purportedly the alter ego of McFarlane, who has had a career-long, nauseating habit of referring to himself in the third person). McFarlane’s fans have plenty of toy releases, comic publications, conventions, memorabilia and whatnot to talk about. What they don’t have to talk about is what McFarlane is actually doing when it comes to penciling comics again. Sure, he writes Sam & Twitch now, but it’s the pencils the fans want and have begged for, tantalized by any possible prospect of it actually occurring. It’s the pencils that could possibly help to get an anemic industry talking and maybe even revitalize interest by garnering some major-media coverage.
In paraphrased terms that few but a professional major-sport athlete could blindingly appreciate, McFarlane’s fans must wonder “what has he done for us lately?”
Or do they?
One could assume that after he “went corporate” and began hiring others to write, draw, develop, market and merchandise the characters he owns (in effect becoming that which he once purported to loathe), McFarlane would be off the comics “HOT!” radar and fanboys would find someone else (talent optional in post-Liefeldom) to lavish praise upon. This hardly seems the case given the throng still eyeing his every move. Even though he rarely picks up a pencil to draw something for publication anymore, or a pen to do a signing, McFarlane retains his fan’s idolatry. Like a felonious linebacker, he enjoys the fan mentality dictating that as long as he delivers the goods, he will flourish even when behaving badly.
The recent and not wholly unsurprising allegations that he’s less than delightful to work for, adverse to his employees needs and an active participant in corporate cronyism (among many others) leveled in Rich Johnston’s All The Rage column, if true, are quite damning indeed. A casual assessment of the litany of complaints, accusations and pitiable tales of his treatment of fellow creators seems enough to enlighten the uninformed to wonder just what it is about the man himself that others find so admirable?
In a March, 1999 posting on the Comicon website message boards, Stephen R. Bissette related an experience he shared with Cam Kennedy when they were invited to McFarlane’s former Oregon residence. According to Bissette upon his arrival, they were met by McFarlane’s assistant who promptly “handed me a page and showed me to a board. We were there for about an hour, during which I inked the page backgrounds. Todd said neither hello or goodbye; in fact, he said nothing to me at all.”
Bissette continued “The only available seat for Cam was across from Todd's drawing board, at the end of which sat a bowl of M&Ms. Todd talked AT Cam for the duration ("you gotta tell these fuckin' toy guys how to do everything" blahblahblah), never responding to Cam's attempts at conversation or offering Cam an M&M. I finished the page, Cam and I nodded at each other, and we left.”
During the stay, Bissette recalled that McFarlane “stepped on an industry award belonging to one of "his" colorists. Todd's wife was aghast, but Todd said, "Ah, fuck it, tell him it arrived broken."” After which, Bissette and Kennedy left “in a daze, astounded by the hour we’d spent”.
McFarlane’s sidestepping of the questions surrounding the ownership of Miracleman and whether or not he possesses the legal right to muscle through the impending appearance of the character in an upcoming issue of Hellspawn, demonstrate what Neil Gaiman patently referred to as McFarlane’s “astonishingly cavalier attitude to creator rights, to ownership and to property”. Gaiman commented further on the Engaged.well.com message board for his new novel “American Gods”, relaying that McFarlane has now "broken every agreement he’s made with me, every promise he’s ever made, everything he’s ever signed, everything he’s ever said. I guess he’s done it because he thinks he can”. The Secret Squirrel himself responded to Gaiman’s accusations in a Spawn message board posting in the mangled syntax that is his trademark: “I have found over the years that one of the ways to show your ignorance is to talk about things of which you have little or no knowledge” (a statement that, considering the source, takes nearly all the sport out of any rebuttal it may inspire) and “PERHAPS, just perhaps there may be another side to this intriguing story, he continued. One in which I am not willing to discuss. Now it can be percieved [sic] as an attempt to hide something, but I’m sure all you Todd-bashers can think of at least a couple of reasons why a person may not want to talk about something. Go ahead, try it…. I’ll wait.”
OK. How about not wanting to incriminate oneself any further by saying little more than the grade-school level comebacks that there are two sides to every story and “no comment”? How about not wanting to lose face in the light of being in the defenseless position of someone who is doing something he hasn’t the legal or moral right to do? How about the fact that his fan base may begin to notice that he’s a massive hypocrite when it finally sinks in that his peers feel that he has repeatedly thumbed his nose at that which he referred to as a “grossly over used [sic] term… CREATOR RIGHTS” on more than one occasion,
A subsequent posting by The Secret Squirrel clarified one of his followers’ posted assumptions by stating, “In my own self-righteous way I will not be badgered into talking about crap,” and in a later posting warned his message board users to “get ready for some changes. And some won’t like it.” Messages from a poster on the Comicon message boards indicate that some users (evidently his critics) have since been banned.
McFarlane seems to think his position on things legal is legitimized when he further observed “you should not once again show [your] ignorance by stating things that are of the legal world.” Which, somewhere within that statement, is the notion that casual observers don’t know the legalities surrounding the dispute and are therefore in no position to comment. True, but then again, a brief layman encapsulation of said legalities can be touched upon without sacrificing plausible deniability. Secret Squirrel closed by noting, “with or without my voicing anything out loud still means that there are some percptions [sic] that may not be completely accurate”.
McFarlane’s dealings with Gaiman shine a big spotlight on his own capacity for hypocrisy regarding creator’s rights, particularly in light of the fact that he is often been held up as an example of the benefits of creator ownership. When one considers the original concept of the ownership of Miracleman was, according to Gaiman “to hand it down, like a legacy,” the irony of a creators rights symbol like McFarlane denying Gaiman and Buckingham their rights as co-owners of Miracleman is not lost on an industry observer. “When we left we planned to hand over our ownership to the writer-artist team that followed,” Gaiman lamented. McFarlane evidently feels that although he has absolutely no creative ties to Miracleman, and a full one-third of the characters’ ownership does not belong to him, it is still his right to do with the character as his whim pleases. The fact that he would disrespect the legacy of a historic, ground-breaking character like Miracleman by having him appear where he doesn’t belong against the wishes of a co-owner with more creative ties to the character than himself is a staggering display of arrogance and complete disrespect for both creators rights and comics history. It seems Gaiman may have been on to something when he once said “Todd is really big on creator’s rights as long as the creator in question is Todd McFarlane”.
Recently, as the one-time “wanna-be” ballplayer fielded softballs in an interview posted on the Comic Book Resources website, McFarlane, in his trademark arrogance addressed the Miracleman debacle, stating matter-of-factly that he owns Miracleman “until someone proves otherwise” and would be publishing a Miracleman appearance in Hellspawn. McFarlane went on to say, “If somebody feels as strong about Miracleman as I do, then I invite them to take as hard a stance as I will. If somebody steps that way, then we'll let somebody else decide which of us is right. Maybe neither of us will be. Maybe [we] both partially will be. Who knows? Until any of that happens, then I take the position that I own Miracleman.”
Translation: I bought and own Miracleman, and I will sue anyone who says different. You are just a writer and I’m a man with the wallet to break you for sport over something I haven’t any personal ties to and see merely as a commodity to be exploited.
How mature.
Evidently McFarlane hasn’t grown up much since his day in the Elysian Fields. His insolent stance conjures the image of the playground bully, holding the possession of a smaller child above his head where the kid cannot reach. He does not care about the possession itself, it’s significance to those with closer ties to it, or what is the moral and just thing to do --just the humiliation of its owner who wants it in proper hands that will care for it. One could conclude that a lawsuit filed by Gaiman and Buckingham upon the publication of Miracleman in Hellspawn is the logical recourse for the claimants of one-third of Miracleman’s ownership. Why don’t the two of them just play at McFarlane’s farm-league level, find him at a Con, haul him into the little boys room and give him a good old-fashioned swirlee?
And how will McFarlane explain away Gaiman’s claims of having the Miracleman printing film in his basement, which he says McFarlane gave him as an initial step in the full transference of the balance of the Miracleman rights as compensation for past Angela royalties he didn’t share in? Sounds as if McFarlane was once on course to doing the right thing – and came up short. Then again doing the right thing would require acting in an adult-like manner instead of a common bully. To act like an adult, one has learn to swallow pride, assess what’s right and at least metaphorically possess that which thus far two home-run sluggers, scrappy fans (including a research scientist) and millions of dollars have thus far been unable to provide…a real set of balls.
It appears as if, in his world, the injustices of the industry’s past he’s believed by his fans to be such a rebel against, were merely a primer on how to conduct current business. In addition to this appalling display of disregarding other creators’ rights, McFarlane seems to hold little respect in reserve for his fellow writers. In their “debate” at the 1993 Comicfest, Peter David chided Todd McFarlane for having once told the Comics Journal, “I didn’t let some little thing like not being able to write stop me.” This statement can either be interpreted as the “damn-the-torpedoes” statement of a maverick, or an arrogant and ignorant disrespect of the necessity of a solid wordsmith to create good comics.
The former interpretation is reliant upon believing McFarlane’s (in retrospect, empty) bluster shortly after the formation of Image when he was selling himself as a champion of creators’ rights in the debate, interviews in Wizard: The Guide to Comics and in the now-defunct Hero Illustrated. Even going so far as wearing boxing trunks and being backed by Image-contracted Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders when he and Peter David took their opposing podiums. Maybe at the time he was possessed of one of the “ghost personas” he rambled about during the course of their debate.
As for the latter interpretation …keep reading.
Brian Michael Bendis left the writing chores on TMP’s Sam & Twitch for seemingly political reasons - rumored to be the result of his increasing amount of high-profile freelance work for Marvel and little to do with the quality of work Bendis was producing on the TMP monthly. TMP didn’t have much comment on the matter at the time other than printing “Brian Michael Bendis is leaving Sam & Twitch,” and that he would be “pursuing other interests and we wish him well,” in the letters page of S&T #18. Bendis has not commented on the matter other than having been quoted as saying he was “canned.”
An additional dustup had also ensued over Bendis’ scripts being rewritten (something he has publicly stated he will not tolerate) for issue #’s 6 and 7 of Hellspawn. Addressing the fallout, Bendis, in a very telling manner, closed with, “and like so many, many others before me, my TMP days are officially done”. In the CBR interview with Michael David Thomas, McFarlane conceded that they “agreed to disagree” over their differences while lauding Bendis’ abilities and product. He went on to say that he and Bendis are still in contact regarding the TMP dealings with the movie adaptation based of Bendis’ original graphic novel Torso. When reflecting on their creative parting of ways McFarlane was quoted as saying that “we'll live past that moment and go on to do things in the future.” Whether they will do them together, he did not say.
By acting as though quality writers (in this case, debatably, the hottest writer in the industry) are little more than a grudging necessity, Todd McFarlane has, (all compliments to Bendis paid after the fact aside) through his popularity and hubris, lent to the notion among the comic book audience that writers need artists, not vice versa. To him they’re interchangeable. In comics and on the schoolyard, actions speak louder than words, right? Who needs the hottest writer in comics? Why not just write the comic himself, balls to the wall. It worked on Spawn, didn’t it? All the fans need to see is TM’s name next to the writers’ credit and sales won’t drop, right? Wherever he goes, so goes his fans.
“Being with Todd for over 8 years,” Beau Smith spartanly proclaimed in a recent press release for Sam & Twitch #20, which noted McFarlane’s return to Spawnverse full-time writing chores, “I’ve seen him grow as a writer. Not even I thought he would ever reach this kind of level. His sense of pacing and dialogue has reached the same high quality that he gave us with his artwork in its prime.”
That is what is politely referred to as a “stretch”. More like spin?
Granted, whether you liked his style or not, McFarlane’s tenure on Amazing Spider-Man and adjectiveless Spider-Man for Marvel are considered by many of that generation to be the definitive visual interpretation of the character.
That’s “visual”.
Saying his writing on Spider-Man was erratically ill-paced, unfocused and lacking coherent characterization is charitable at best. Had his name not been Todd McFarlane “the artist”, doubtless he would not have been writing the Adventures of Small-Press Lad (unless he owned the publisher) much less a flagship Marvel title. A reading of Sam & Twitch #20 indicates to this critic little growth in McFarlane’s grasp of characterization and pacing. The issue once again exposes the tin ear he possesses for dialogue, a lack of cohesive structure and an assumption that one cares about his opinion of NBA salary regulations --demonstrating that he’s nowhere in Bendis’ league (or Bob Costas’s for that matter).
More recently McFarlane showed little interest (much less class) in his response to Marvel EIC Joe Quesada’s proposal of a Spider-Man/Spawn crossover joint publishing venture, which besides making oodles of cash for both publishers, would ultimately benefit a good cause. Suggesting they each draw and publish a Spider-Man/Spawn one-shot (offering an initial joking $1,000.00 up front to teasingly entice McFarlane into penciling again), Quesada hyperbolically reasoned such an event would excite fans, sell a truck-load of books and maybe even gather some sorely needed mainstream press for the medium that helped launch Todd McFarlane on the path to his success. Quesada further upped the guilt ante by promising to donate both $10,000.00 of personal profits and half the art from his own Spider-Man/Spawn efforts to the ACTOR fund for disenfranchised, retired comic creators.
In a response to Quesada’s pleas originally posted on the Spawn website message boards, McFarlane could not have come across as less interested if he’d tried, placing blame primarily on Marvel’s past ownerships’ business decisions for the current comics market malaise and by extension, his current inaction. Backhandedly referring to Quesada as “some Marvel employee” and saying he “will do what I deem to be important after talking it over with my company and my fans,” McFarlane more or less dismissed the idea without even addressing its ACTOR aspects. In the CBR interview, McFarlane recalled that he and Quesada “had a different perspective on it. So we do this and it works, everybody’s happy for 30 days and the next month comes along and then what? So what? We did a temporary stopgap. Big deal! Just because you can do that doesn’t mean you should.” He also admitted in the CBR interview that Quesada’s perspective was “equally valid” and that “maybe the comic book business needs to come out with a couple of these things. Come out with Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men and then Frank Miller does Dark Knight and you do this crossover. Maybe just doing one after another… Maybe looking at each one individually, they don't mean anything, but you run them all together and there's some momentum there. Not bad, a pretty good comeback.”
The fans have spoken. Online web-polls overwhelmingly indicate fans of his work want to see him draw again. Although it is curious to note that many insist it be on his terms (better make sure McFarlane has HIS creator’s rights). It is highly unlikely anyone at his company would advise against making the profit such a publication would undoubtedly generate. So what real excuse has he for not participating? He’s probably a busy guy. The rumored relocation of his employees to where he lives must be a real pain –for the employees anyway.
So what gives?
Why is it that despite his loutish behavior and treatment of other creators, his army of fans stays adamant in their admiration of the man they call “Todd” --as if he would pal around with them and share a beer after one of his increasingly rare convention signings? Is it because TMP puts out such slick comics and toys and that he’s such a corporate rebel? Or is it the same mentality usually reserved for felonious jocks that causes one to ignore their childish, boorish and often brutal behavior because they help fans win bragging rights and feed the fans’ adolescent yahoo mentality? Then again, as McFarlane himself once told the Calgary Sun “It’s OK if they’re loyal to a character. They’re the ones who put money in your pocket.”
One wonders if he really doesn’t find it to be any more complicated than that …or personal for that matter. What a character!
There is no one person more in a position in the industry to help out the CBLDF, ACTOR or a like cause and comics culture than Todd McFarlane. He has the autonomy, power, outlet and mouth to publish, market or speak to a large audience of the needs, cause and wonders of comics and related media and possibly make a difference. If he can print a full-page add in his comics for his vanity baseball collection’s ALS Association charity tour, one would think a column by TM himself rallying the troops for, oh, say, COMICS, it’s future and the honoring of its past printed in each of his publications letters page or as a half-page ad, or maybe even in the baseball tour literature, would not be too much of a financial burden. The contributions he could make to ACTOR, comics culture and its legacy via ads in comics and on his website and blurbs on toy packaging, animation tape and movie credit scrolls alone could make a difference aside from any check he could cut.
Probing the cult of Todd McFarlane is a labyrinthine yet simple journey within the reach of Spawn’s chains to his convention booths and the TMP website message boards where the cries of “leave Todd alone” that met Quesada’s pleas still echo. Fanboys follow McFarlane lemming-like, reaching for the comfort the Spawnverse provides. His cold inarticulate toys and comics are the chains that bind their loyalty to him –to his creativity. His accountability is evidently beyond the reach of their grasp. However, if they took time to notice the absence of warm, tactful and tactile contact with the fans and creators he exploits but appears to feel he owes nothing to - evident in both his actions and inaction — his appalling lack of respect for comics' history, its creators and its culture might become blindingly apparent. Maybe only among similar-minded fans and within the Spawnverse, McFarlane’s minions feel at home, bound, shivering, but seemingly safe within the cold comforts their hero will continue to furnish them, provided they ignore his effrontery to anything outside of his own best interests.
They seem, however, destined to only feel the chilling embrace of Todd’s chains and not the enchanted cloth they seek. For not unlike the naked king of a fable of old …their hero has no cape.
Copyright 2001 Mark A. Bittmann
[Source's of the quotes used above follow:]
TM analyzes himself in "third person": Page 1, paragraph 7.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001937.html
Rich Johnstons All The Rage column reference: Page 2, paragraph 5. Also serves as reference for Miracleman dealings: Paragraph .
http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/rage/viewnews.cgi?newsid989924575,47356,
Bissette's story: Page 2, paragraphs 6, 7 & 8.
http://www.comicon.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000223.html
Gaiman comments from the engaged.well.com website: Page 3, paragraph 1.
http://engaged.well.com/engaged/engaged.cgi?c=inkwell.vue&f=0&t=104&q=0-
Gaiman quote: "Astonishingly cavalier attitude...": Page 3, paragraph 1.
http://www.comicon.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000003.html
McFarlane quote: "I have found over the years...": Page 3, paragraph 1.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004563.html
McFarlane quote: "PERHAPS, just perhaps".: Page 3, paragraph 1.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004563.html
McFarlane quote: "Creator rights is a grossly over used [sic] term".: Page 3, paragraph 2.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004563.html
McFarlane quote: "I won't be badgered.": Page 3, paragraph 3.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004581.html
McFarlane quote: "Get ready for some changes". Page 3, paragraph 3.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004585.html
McFarlane Quote: "With or without voicing anything.": Page 3, paragraph 4.
http://www.spawn.com/board/ubb/Forum1/HTML/004563.html
Gaiman quote: "To hand it down like a legacy": Page 3, paragraph 5.
http://www.comicon.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000003.html
Gaiman quote: "Todd is really big on creator's rights as long as the creator in question is Todd McFarlane": Page 4, Paragraph 1.
http://www.slushfactory.com/anime/features/nyaff/panel.shtml
McFarlane fields softballs: Page 4, paragraph 2.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=comicwire&article=1001
McFarlane quote: "I never let a little thing like..." Page 5, paragaph 1. From The Comics Journal Issue #152.
Bendis quote that he was "canned": Page 5, Paragraph 4.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=comicwire&article=951
Bendis quote that "Like so many, many others before me...": Page 5, paragraph 6.
http://www.fandom.com/comics/editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=260791
CBR interview McFarlane quotes: Page 5, paragraph 6.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=comicwire&article=1001
Beau Smith quote "Being with Todd for over 8 years...": Page 6, paragraph 2.
http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/news/viewnews.cgi?newsid990305672,78200,
Quesada & TM exchange: Page 6, paragraphs 6 & 7.
http://news.wizardworld.com/Comics/CB1128-ToddJoe.asp
also
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=cia&article=761
CBR interview McFarlane quotes Page 7, paragraph 1.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?column=comicwire&article=1001
TM quote: "It's OK if they're loyal to a character. They're the ones who put money in your pocket": Page 7, paragraph 4.
http://www.canoe.ca/JamMoviesArtistsM/mcfarlane_todd.html
CBLDF link: Page 7, paragraph 6.
http://www.cbldf.org
``xMark Bittmann``xmarveler1@hotmail.com``xSpawn of the Devil?``x993318224,82001,``x``x
``x
"Vox Populi"
Writer: Doselle Young
Artists: John McCrea (p), Garry Leach (i)
Publisher: DC Wildstorm
I find the sophistication of Monarchy to be brilliant and frequently underestimated. Monarchy #4, entitled "Vox Populi" or "The Voice of the People", demonstrates that the world's greatest problems cannot be beaten into submission. Subtlety and thought will be needed to combat their world's illnesses.
It is impossible to review this title without some understanding of its origins, specifically, that Monarchy springs from its predecessor, The Authority. The Authority is a team of superheroes headquartered in a realm called "The Bleed". They battle the most extreme of antagonists resulting in epic conflicts that leave cities devastated. That being understood, Monarchy asserts itself as part of the same Wildstorm universe as The Authority but vastly different in its scope and intention.
In this issue, Jackson King visits his ex boss, Hishino, in the hospital and telepathically converses with him. Professor Q and Christine empower a hundred year old century baby (a la Elijah Snow and Jenny Sparks) named Addie Vochs whose abilities had been suppressed at birth when Fevermen destroyed her family. The Fevermen turn out to be "nasty thought constructs" that resist Q's impressive black hole and are only defeated after Addie's "voice of the people" speaks for the first time.
Meanwhile, Union and Farmer discuss Polder Realms which are unique pockets of reality "maintained by faith and force of will". Farmer tells Union that Oz, a renowned Polder Realm, no longer exists. Towards the end of the issue, King explains to Hishino that "post-humanity" (roughly, superpowered individuals) form a kind of planetary antibody not unlike white blood cells. When those blood cells start fighting each other indiscriminately, a cancer births. This cancer in the Bleed is destroying realities within it including ours.
The cancer manifests in various ways revealing the extent of the disease. The Authority are shown leveling a city in their efforts to save it. Skyscrapers are ripped apart in the battle that can only have a body count in the tens of thousands! Just before leaving Hishino, King tells him, "I'm going to undream the world" which points the series towards wiping clean the small minded world that is going to hell just as a surgeon might anesthetize a patient before removing a tumor.
Worst of all, the cancer appears in the small mindedness of people like security guards; people that build our day-in-and-day-out world; people not unlike ourselves. The two security guards minding Hishino share a tasteless (but funny) joke. The real horror of this book is not that muscle bound goons are the cause of the state of our world, but that perhaps the average person is, that we are. Professor Q asks, "where do bad things come from?". With the transitional cue, "and the beat goes on", we hear the only thing the guards say in this issue and it is a cruel joke. The unmistakable implication is that maybe bad things come from potentially good men not having the will to embrace, understand or even empathize with their world. The cancer in the Bleed stems from how people approach their world.
In contrast to the cancer we meet Addie Vochs who channels the voice of the people. She speaks on behalf of the "moon launch and cool jazz, [...] Nat King Cole and Hiroshima." In other words, she speaks on behalf of the quiet people that have built and paid for this world's achievements with a lifetime of effort or their very lives. It seems to be the will of these people that has the best chance of stemming this cancer that destroys their (our?) world.
Through Farmer and Union, we learn that this cancer is likewise destroying mankind's ideal realms as well as his physical reality. I especially like that the Monarchy's struggle is going beyond the Wildtorm universe. The Monarchy, it would seem, will be taking on all myths, Oz and Sun Gods landing in Kansas included.
Bringing home these intricate discussions of how choices create universes, how faith creates mythic realms and the power of human achievements is the joke shared by the guards. This joke ("What do you tell a woman with 2 black eyes? Nothing, you told her twice already.") is a bit of a challenge to the readers. Since Addie Vochs exemplifies the power of the average person, the underlying questions of this book seem to be, "How do your view your world?" and "Is it a reflection of how you view it?" I speculate that, "Can you imagine your world to be finer and do you?" is the underlying challenge to the reader.
Monarchy is a surprisingly sophisticated book. I imagine that since the groundwork has been laid, the pace of the book will pick up a bit. To be fair, the book had a great deal of groundwork to lay: distinguishing itself from its predecessor, introduction of new characters, relationships to each other, extent of the protagonist's battlefield and an entertaining story all at the same time. The book should prove to be even more engaging in future issues, but this first story arc appears to be critical to understand what is to come.
One frustration I have with the book is the artistic storytelling. The use of silhouettes is overdone and appears to be lazy rather than "mood setting". There are so many shadows that the significant ones are lost in the shuffle. For example, King's eyes emit light as he approaches the security guards whose eyes remain so deep in shadow that they are not even visible. This makes for a nice visual counterpoint which reflects the story's theme of how people view the world. Since the silhouettes run rampant throughout the issue, subtleties such as this are easily lost on the reader and should not be.
To be fair, the artistic detail, panel structure and overall visual pacing of the book has improved dramatically since issue one, but I still charge that all are still lacking. The coloring in this issue sets the appropriate mood for each scene of the book. A fine example would be on Page 3 where panel 2 shows Hishino in his hospital bed. The yellow light spill on the left side of this panel indicates light from the open door in the hallway. Panel 3 has no spill telling us the door is closed and King has arrived. The black page base upon which all panels are rendered also helps define the tone the stories. These simple but dramatic touches are nice to see.
Overall, Monarchy #4 is a strong, thoughtful, effective comic, one that provokes thought for the reader. I find this to be a welcome relief.
``xBruce Tartaglia``xBruceTartaglia@excite.com``xMonarchy #4``x993895174,74392,``x``x
``xOr...how bad printing can ruin a good graphic novel.
Marvel's recent focus on publishing more graphic novels is great news for everyone...or is it?
The big problem I'm seeing in recent Marvel graphic novels is bad 'trapping', and bad color registration.
'Trapping' is when the color and the black line art overlap so there is no gap inbetween. When done incorrectly, it leads to awful white lines in and around the printed art.
This is happening at a rapid rate and enough to raise quality control issues.
Recently, I bought the Avengers Forever TPB, $24.95, without flipping through it.
What could go wrong?
Plenty.
Over 40 pages are printed off-register, just enough to alter the artwork.
This could be a widespread problem.
I've looked at different copies, in different stores that arrived months apart.
Some books are OK, some are just spoiled bad.
Not every page is out of register. The misprinted pages can be different from book to book, but they are in the same area of a book.
If you have a copy of Avengers Forever WITHOUT any printing mistakes, then congratulations.
Victims of this printing nightmare I've seen also include: Jim Lee's Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four; Spider-man: A Day in the Life; and (the absolute worst) Avengers: Ultron Unlimited. The ultra-detailed artwork of George Perez and Al Vey is so out-of-register with extra white lines, it's the first time that artwork physically hurt my eyes to look at it.
Ouch.
This doesn't have to happen with proper quality control.
There is a setting in both Quark Xpress and Adobe Pagemaker that takes care of 'trapping' when outputting the pages to film for the printer. You just need to know what you're doing and what to watch for.
So, you just bought a Marvel Graphic novel with bad printing.
What can you do?
Well, not much; it's buyer beware. All sales final.
Local comics dealer: They might take it back, if he or she wants to keep your business.
Chain store: They will let you exchange it for another copy, but that one could be no better or even worse.
Mail order: You'll get your credit card bill before you get that straightened out.
E-bay: You could sell it, hope you don't get bad feedback on your name.
Buddy, you're stuck; just hope the story is good.
For more information on correctly printing comics:
"Digital Prepress for Comic Books", this book is a good reference used by professionals throughout the industry.
http://www.stickmangraphics.com
Ron Stallcup, an avid comics and computer collector, has for the past 15 years been working in newsroom graphics departments. He is currently the Graphics Editor at the Pensacola News Journal in Florida and the owner of a bad copy of Avengers Forever.
``xRon Stallcup``xronstallcup@pensacolanewsjournal.com``xMarvel: My Printer, My Enemy``x994523414,85702,``x``x
``x
Introduction
Forget it. I don’t want to do this.
Brandon Thomas, dedicated SBC staff reviewer here, finding myself with a bit of a problem. After very politely asking editor-in-chief Jason Brice to bestow upon me my very own bi-weekly column, even going so far as to prepare mock press releases containing fabricated personal quotes that conveyed a slightly inflated perspective of my vast intelligence, I’ve come to a terrible realization. I actually have to write the damn thing.
Introductions are always the worst. I compare it to being onstage for two minutes and having to give your best performance with minimal preparation. The stage is yours and it’s all you can do to keep from falling flat on your face. Most people possess a limited attention span (myself included), which leaves you with the problem of quickly leaving your readers with something that’ll bring them back next week. A hook if you will.
You can choose to entertain/interest them, or you can always take the easy way out and piss them off. Though I’m probably a little more highly skilled at pissing people off than I’d care to admit, I think I’d settle for entertain/interest.
The only aspect of writing an intro. more aggravating than the brief period of spotlight is that uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach, that conveniently appears every time you prepare to birth your next masterpiece. The nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you are about to sit down and write the biggest piece of crap you’ve ever signed your name to. This anxiety kicks the majority of writers in the ass so hard…that they never finish anything they wholeheartedly INTENDED to start some day. It’s terrible and I can only hope that one day it’ll go away.
Now that that’s over and done with….let’s get to business. I know what you want. You want to know what in the hell is Ambidextrous?? You want to know why in the hell should you care?? Net time is golden and you want justification as to why you wasted five minutes of your life reading this thing. Hopefully I won’t disappoint you.
This column will be a lot of things, because frankly, I get bored very quickly with the same old shit. If wired into some format or archaic formula, I’d spend the majority of my week dodging my editors’ persistent e-mails, kindly then violently inquiring why my latest column isn’t ready. I wouldn’t be able to sustain it…so I need to be flexible in my pursuits.
Some weeks I’ll mount the mighty soapbox and shoot off at the mouth about some random subject within the realm of comics that delighted or horrified me that week. I may talk about how Joe Quesada was one of the best things to happen to Marvel since bulk printing, or how I don’t quite understand why everyone loves to hate Wizard, Todd McFarlane, and Rob Liefeld. (Well, the Liefeld thing I can understand…never mind. Just kidding Rob!! ;) ) You may read rants about how no one reads the damn Black Panther, while it continues to kick the ass of 85 percent of the stuff on the stands. I may become annoyed at the habit of rabid fans dismissing projects four months before the shit even gets read. (Origin, the Marvel mature line, any book that’s released that disobeys the status quo for even a few months at a time…just to mention a few.) I’m even planning a story about how I liked the latest incarnation of Acclaim Comics. (Yes, you really read that…I liked Acclaim at one time.)
There will also be interviews here. (Assuming anyone returns my e-mail queries!!) I have a huge wishlist of potential victims, and my editor Jason Brice is at the top of the list. When I know definites, you’ll know definites.
Perhaps the most exciting and equally frightening aspect of Ambidextrous will be the behind-the-scenes workings of a young naďve hopeful that foolishly believes his stories will entertain/interest countless recipients...and sometimes even piss them off. I need to be a writer. My head is filled with plot and dialogues that scroll in rapid-fire manner across my consciousness, threatening to drive me insane with regret and depression if not dispensed into a proper outlet. Whether it’s for cinema, television, or comics, wherever words are needed….I want to be present.
There is something about the comics medium attractive to any aspiring storyteller. Maybe it’s the flexibility that writing with only your imagination for a restriction affords. Incinerating an entire West Coast state may send a movie’s budget up another few million, but if necessary for a comic, all it takes is a few man hours. (I can see the faces of any artists out there while screaming, “What the %^!$ does he mean a few?”)
But you get my point.
Maybe it’s the relative speed at which your work can be digested by the public. With the use of any decent word processor, a script can be constructed and couriered at the speed of a modem connection to an editor across the country. Four months later the thing is on the stands, being dissected by a brutal, opinionated internet community. What writer wouldn’t appreciate that? Hell, in the time it takes most films to travel through the annals of post-production, a writer could have written ten issues, seen four released, and be waiting for his complimentary copies of the trade paperback in the mail. The faster your audience can tell you that you suck, the faster you can make the improvements to silence their complaining. Pen a God-awful screenplay and your name is equated to dog crap for nearly another year before you can get something better out…or you land the assignment to write Halloween 36 or some other such piece of bullshit. Write a bad issue and you’ve got a couple months before the fans are ready to burn you at the stake. But then…screenwriters do make a lot more money, and aren’t as subjectible to the whims of public opinion than someone like Paul Jenkins. (I can imagine the Hollywood screenwriter counting his money in his Beverly Hills loft with a sly grin on his face muttering, “And they said that Halloween 36 shit wouldn’t work out.”)
Still, notoriety and fame aside…I have to believe that most writers want something more. They want their names to mean something when strategically placed on their next book or project. When Mark Millar writes something, I have to imagine that he’s gained such a level of consumer confidence that 95% of his work means quality. That the comic fan won’t feel that he’s been bent over and taken for his money. This is the goal….too bad I don’t have the slightest clue how to get there.
This column will serve as a structured dumping ground for my lost pitches, concepts, and feeble attempts at rendering full scripts. There are drives and disks full of this stuff, and if I want to get better…I need to know if the stuff truly sucks or not. Fun part being that I’m going to invite fellow wannabes, hopefuls, prospectives, whatever you want to call them, to join the mass gathering. Periodically, I’ll issue challenges and may the most creative scribe win. There are no cash prizes of course, Silver Bullet refuses to pay me for this stuff, but you will receive bragging rights and your name printed in bold letters.
I can’t wait to expose others not within my little reading circle to ramblings gathered on slow shifts at work, and in the most unusual of places. I can’t wait to complete the sentence that seems to be hanging on the neck of superhero team books. You guys are coming quite close to my breakthrough and while it’s common knowledge that good ideas and good opinions are not entirely exclusive, and there are probably dozens of people that have considered this same thing…I am hearing approaching footsteps with every issue of Previews that is released.
It’s been on the tip of your tongue for awhile, but you haven’t realized it. The concept of superheroes as celebrities is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s modern works, and Bendis is even going to explore the idea of superhero groupies in his Powers book in a couple months. (One of my favorite writers by the by, proof that a name can equal quality on several levels.) The next step is obvious and if you lean in closely I’ll let you become an insider. Ready? Are you sure?? Last warning before jumping out of the pool. In a few weeks I bring you….publically-elected superheroes.
Some of you are spinning your wheels. Some of you are swearing because you thought of the same thing seven years ago. And some of you are saying, “So the $#!@ what!!??” Regardless of your response, I promise to try to bring you something you’ve never seen before…or something you have, but twisted in such a way that it’s unrecognizable.
That’s the point of Ambidextrous. To deliver the unexpected. To never give you tradition and recycled politically correct opinions run through a censor before read. To be insightful, opinionated, and stubborn. To be humorous whenever possible. To keep myself and you from getting bored. To give you a reason to leave an e-mail…even if it’s to inform me that I’ve pissed you off and you’ll never read anything with my name on it ever again. To write two stories at the same time with both hands (which would be really cool to do), and to have some fun in the process.
Whew. Now that the intro is done, I can get to the nitty-gritty. I’ll be back in two weeks, with something a little less personal.
I don’t know…I think that intro. went pretty well. Hitting stride and conquering anxiety feels good. Comments are to placed in the Silver Soapbox message board.
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
Next time: Keep changing my mind…maybe something about comic movies….
Recommended Reads: Come in Alone by Warren Ellis. Provided me the balls to write this article. Halfway through and loving every minute of it. One of the comics industry’s true personalities and he says “Bastard” a lot.
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAmbidextrous - Volume Uno``x995147158,7331,``x``x
``xIt's not often I learn something about the history of comic books. While hardly an old fogey with fond memories of watching mastodon roam the plains, I simply have a thirst for research and have gained much knowledge over the years.
Somewhere along the line I missed the fact Black Canary debuted as a femme fatale in Johnny Thunder's back-up strip in The Flash. She was a jewel thief who suckered Johnny into aiding and abetting her crimes.
Johnny and the Canary certainly were not Batman and the Cat. The Canary portrayed the competent straight man next to Johnny's amiable goof. While Johnny was quite enamored by the sexy ne'er do-well, she simply liked him as a pet. In a way they anticipate the relationship between Seven of Nine and Harry Kim on Star Trek:Voyager.
Their first meeting is caged in The Black Canary Archives, and this first story is a delight. Johnny is as dumb Jill Sobule's box of hammers, but he's likable. His heart's in the right place, and while he's gifted with the most powerful magical entity next to the Spectre on the planet, he does not abuse that power. He comes off as a nice, normal guy who tries very hard to do the right thing. His love for the Canary is unwavering, and it's very easy to see why the Canary saves Johnny's life.
The Black Canary must have been very popular among readers. Easy to see why. Intelligent and tough, the Canary also was very loyal. Maybe she did not feel the same way Johnny felt for her, but she would not just use and discard him. That's a trait of heroism.
The Canary's tradition from crook to hero occurs in the second team-up with Johnny Thunder. What's fascinating is that the writer Robert Khaniger didn't simply hope the reader would forget. He subtly shifts the Canary's role from bona fide jewel thief to misunderstood vigilante. Easing the change is the serendipity of her stealing from crooks from the last issue.
By their third meeting, just the Thunderbolt considers the Canary a crook who means trouble for his master. The third meeting is a hilarious comedy of errors. The Black Canary has enough faith in Johnny that she believes he is capable of rescuing her. Instead, he accidentally gets captured, and both require the aid of the testy Thunderbolt who does not let them live down their helplessness.
The Canary is finally cleared after she and Johnny are framed for murder. This is yet another story that displays the loyalty of these characters for each other. He refuses to believe the Canary is capable of murder, and the Canary once again saves Johnny when the he most rational thing to do would be to cut losses and leave him behind. They're a winning combination and share a natural, easy partnership.
While comedy and lightness are themes, the fourth team-up becomes a little more serious. The crooks--in a brilliant twist--use Johnny as a hostage to force the Canary to become a jewel thief. Being criminals, they promptly toss Johnny out of the plane and strafe the Canary. I'll let you discover how they extricate themselves from these predicaments.
The Johnny Thunder/Black Canary stories are a pure delight. The richly detailed characters like each other. The engrossing plots are brisk fun but they all make sense, and the artwork by Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella is a masterful lesson in comic timing mixed with a good-girl aesthetic. It's reminiscent cinematically of The Time of Their Lives starring Abbot and Costello opposite the beautiful Marjorie Reynolds.
The stories and artwork are more interesting than later Canary stories. Johnny in a fight can be like a bear obsessed with a picnic basket. He focuses on one thing, and the crooks knock themselves out. Because of the many klutzy ways Johnny defeats his foes, the humor never becomes tiresome and offers the reader a contrast to the Canary's style. Her aim is solid. She's sneaky. She doesn't have the martial skill she displays in later stories, but brother, you do not wish to cross her.
I used to believe Johnny Thunder was a waste of tree pulp. In reality it's Larry Lance who really deserves to be thrown into a wood chipper. Whereas Johnny is a well-meaning boob you wouldn't mind having about, Larry is smarmy. Whereas Johnny is nice, Larry is abusive. Whereas Johnny was loyal to the Canary and expected nothing in return, Larry was trying to bed her. They're not obvious about it but there's no doubt what he's really after is beneath the fishnets. That he eventually succeeds disgusts on many levels.
Clearly, the creators aimed for a Carry Grant/Rosalind Russell kind of chemistry between Larry Lance and Dinah Drake. Instead, they end up with a Leo Georcy/Rosalind Russell kind of mess. Larry consistently treats Dinah like dirt. Sure she returns his nastiness with nastiness, but he starts an oil/water relationship that's hard to stomach.
While these adventures do allow the Canary to display an impressive sense of martial prowess, we must endure Larry's treatment of Dinah, and it's simply not worth it.
Things improve when Starman enters the picture. Larry and Di are married at this point, and they finally seem to get along with each other. Larry acts human but rather blandly when compared to Johnny Thunder. At least you do not hope for his death.
James Robinson of course in Starman mucked up this relationship with the nauseating suggestion that Starman slept with Dinah. Nothing in the adventures themselves hints at such a betrayal. Starman for instance knows Larry Lance. Both men are friends, and Larry even invites Ted to dinner with he and Di. I can see Diana having an affair were she chained to the loathsome Larry from her "mid-season", but that Larry Lance is not present here. Both Starman/Canary adventures are classics and possibly encountered before by the reader. However, rereading a good story among obscurities is can never be considered a bad thing.
Rounding off this collection is an Alex Toth Black Canary story that's worth the price of the book. Allegedly the book was meant to emphasize the Canary's solo career, but in reality, it details her life away from Green Arrow. There are however two notable missing pieces. Black Canary guest-starred with Batman in two Brave and Bold issues, and one of those stories was a Jim Aparo masterwork with her in frenetic action and sonic scream facing down the Joker. The second was a Dave Cockrum piece which would have definitely appealed to her fans since she is bound in her underwear ala' Honey West by the Penguin's goons, saves Batman's life and in the end of the adventure shares a kiss with the Dark Knight. Hopefully, these will be included in the next Black Canary Archives.``xRay Tate``xRAY@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xThoughts on the Black Canary Archives``x995751038,51829,``x``x
``x
Being Unbreakable
I always intended to write this column…I swear. It’s just that something I encountered recently forced my hand (http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/monkey/viewnews.cgi?newsid994914000,94902,). How ironic that it was on the website to which I call myself a contributor. Before we discuss just why Unbreakable was one of the best movies ever put to film involving comic books, let’s first look at the concept of comic movies and what it means to our little corner of the entertainment world.
Some of the most creative and visionary professionals are toiling away their lives and word processors writing these little things called comic books. They get minimal respect from those outside of their insular industry and their work is approached with an ever critical demeaning eye. They don’t respect us, but on occasion…they will take some of our better (or maybe I should say more marketable) ideas, and splash it on a screen at the local multiplex, providing some strange manner of vindication for our interest in the four-color realm we know and love.
Perhaps that explains just why fandom sets away with obsessive anticipation at the announcement that one of our little “properties”, one of our little books, is being turned into a movie. I’m not excluding myself from this reaction of course, when I heard they were making an X-Men movie, I said, “Cool.” Spider-Man was announced from Columbia Pictures, and while my enthusiasm regarding this latest foray wasn’t as heightened…I thought to myself, “That’ll be cool.”
But why dammit?? Did the X-Men movie in its near perfection alter the enjoyment I find and will always find from the X-Men comic?? Hell no. Will the Spider-Man movie change my life?? I doubt it. So why am I excited at the prospect of witnessing Marvel’s mighty mutants adorned in black leather and dashing across my local theater screen?? I think the main reason, other than it could be great fun is that it suggests that someone is looking at us…finally.
I want the industry to explode back to its previous overblown stature. The days when creators reaped incredible financial benefits and took daily baths in their money bins must return at all costs. From a creative and production standpoint, the industry has never been as fresh, as diverse, or as prepared for the spotlight. The time is now, but in order for this to occur…people have to know we exist. We’ve got to find new ways to attack the mass market, and big budget movies are an appropriate entryway into the throes of mass media. Unless of course…they suck.
The most dangerous Catch-22 folks, because the majority of people involved in the production and conception of comic movies have never read a comic in their life, and when handed a stack for research, can barely suppress a deep chuckle. Comic creators do it for the love, because there isn’t any damn money in it. The big-time producer, the hotshot screenwriter, and the lackluster director are going to receive a huge paycheck regardless. In the case of a popular comics property, that inspires Happy Meal tie-ins and a line of action figures…it’s money in the bank. People are going to get paid, whether the thing is good, whether it’s true to the original idea, and whether we bitch and bitch and bitch about it everyday until our vocal cords fail. It doesn’t matter what we think because we’re lucky the idiots even came down into the nether regions of the comic world to poach from us anyway. This leaves us with one option…grin and bear it.
It’s not in our best interest to take these things too seriously because 90 percent of the time it’s going to be crap and at the end of the day…this shit isn’t real. It’s entertainment, it’s fun, it’s flashy…but it isn’t real. The way people treat it like its gospel, like it’s their whole world, like it encompasses their entire being is frightening. Relax. Get out more. Go fondle a member of the opposite sex. There’s more to life than comic books. Everything doesn’t have to be the best, the most accurate representation, or the most life altering experience you’ve had. Because if you approach this hobby, this interest, as more than that…you will always find yourself disappointed.
And remember that I’m not pretending I’m immune to this behavior. I’ve spent plenty an hour bitching about the lack of quality comic movies and comics-based material out there. Then I fondled a woman and that made it all better. Repeat after me…it’s not real.
I know what you’re thinking by the way. (What the %^$# does this have to do with “Unbreakable”!!??) Patience. Now…addressing the subject of this little self-help speech, what was so bad about “Unbreakable”??
First off, playing the name game, we’ve got Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson, two of Hollywood’s prestige, bringing to life the script of the young director who is being compared to the next Spielberg, in the follow-up to the record-setting Sixth Sense. Wait a minute..this thing is about comic books!!?? Where the hell did that come from!?! We’ve just identified the first reason why M. Night Shyamalan did all right.
The entire movie was built around the mythology of comic book lore and no one knew about it until they sat down in the theater and the thing started. There were no toys, no Taco Bell tie-ins, and no desperate plea to be looked at and commented on with wide-eyed appreciation. “Unbreakable” was about comic books and no one was alerted to this fact until it was too late, tickets bought, popcorn leaving a greasy stain of your jeans, and arm securely around a date. Subtlety or deception, I don’t know which, but well played.
The information blurb that proceeded the film came under fire from critics who are in essence too sensitive about their hobby to realize Night’s true point. The words displayed on your movie screen weren’t meant to belittle or embarrass the comic reading public, it was meant to illuminate just how much comic books have become a part of our society to what we know are the privileged few. Look at the damn numbers…did you really feel like an outcast or a social misfit?? Personally, I said, “Damn. I didn’t know it was like that.”
Realism was also another draw for me. David Dunn was more concerned with his failing marriage and relating to his son than he was with the possibility that he may be some modern day superhero. Real people have real problems…and most of our books forget that super people can have real problems too. The production was smart and the most touching scenes featured David’s heroic return to his wife, and his son’s emotional reaction to the truth about his father. And the man wasn’t wearing tights when they happened. Subtle, but there.
Mr. Glass’ fanatical respect for the medium was also refreshing. Yes it was exaggerated because he was slightly psychotic, but he believed comics to be an art form. I do, you probably do, but many people probably don’t. How could you not give props to Night for that??
And this is going to sound strange, but I liked the ending of “Unbreakable” from a comics point of view. I’ll admit that after first viewing it…I was a little confused. But the more I analyzed it, the more I realized…how do modern comics end?? The hero is triumphant and the villain is left for the police, leaving the hero to move on to the next adventure. Ask yourself again what happened at the end of “Unbreakable” and maybe the answer will reveal itself. It took me a minute before I realized that the movie HAD to end that way. More subtlety.
All I can suggest is that you watch the film again with a different set of eyes. Stop thinking about how it relates to the comic industry and how your hobby is being represented. Take it for what it is. A piece of entertainment that enjoyed several ties to comics. Not the gospel. Not the last hope for us all. Not the ultimate vision. Just a story. You don’t like it, watch something else. Or just go fondle a member of the opposite sex until your negativity is quelled.
Next time: SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL AND WINNING MARVEL’S TALENT SEARCH.
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
Recommended: Watch Unbreakable again and see if you like it any better the second time. If not, find an attractive member of the opposite sex…proceed to grope.
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAmbidextrous - Being Unbreakable``x996333872,14952,``x``x
``xJoe Quesada, Editor In Chief at Marvel Comics, recently made certain remarks about Darwinism in the comics industry, and following are his introductory passages to that thought:
“I know that there will come a day for me, and for every creator, where people lose interest in your work. You lose your voice, whatever that may be. It happens to everybody. It will happen to me, it will happen to the best of us. Essentially, it’s Darwinism. It happens, and you just have to move on. If the comic book industry has passed you by, it has passed you by. We need to rely on new, young voices. If we’re not hiring people, it’s because, traditionally, their styles are not going to sell.”
First off, I want to explain that I do not feel that any of the following issues (relating to what Quesada said) apply to me, professionally. I have no personal grievances on this topic toward Marvel, DC, or Mr. Quesada. I’m speaking on behalf of numerous creators, with whom I have daily conversations...and a true love of the comics medium...and continued sadness at the aesthetic and commercial disintegration of the medium. Now to the task at hand...
Comics aren’t the first industry to promote this theory of Darwinism—or social Darwinism, which is a more accurate term for what Quesada is intending—and comics won’t be the last.
Asking Jason Brice, Editor in Chief of Silver Bullet Comics, for his definition of social Darwinism, he replied: “Social Darwinism is the application of pseudo-scientific jargon that seeks to justify the inhumane treatment of workers by employers (in this case), recognizing the worth of individuals purely in terms of what an organization can get out of them in the short term.”
He continued: “Social Darwinism is a throwback to enlightenment era thinking, where all thought had to be framed in scientific terms to hold any validity. It’s about 100 years out of date as a mode of thinking, but it was the sort of thing that became popular again with Reagan-era economic policy.”
Well, those are certainly two sides of the same coin, but the real problem is not so simple, nor are its solutions, as Quesada would have us think.
There was truth in Quesada’s remark...just enough, I suspect, to pull the wool over many people’s eyes.
Do creators lose whatever it is that appealed to their audience? Yep, sure. So what? That doesn’t mean they can no longer write, draw, ink, letter, or color. It means that Quesada is saying he can’t sell their work.
Saying he can’t sell their work doesn’t make it so, except as a self-fulfilling prophecy, but is this really why Marvel isn’t interested in hiring older talent? (BTW, they do hire some, but I’m addressing Quesada’s “rule,” not his exceptions).
Quesada’s a talented artist, with some responsibility for reinvigorating Marvel’s line…but it wasn’t the talented artist’s or visionary’s hat he was wearing when he offered his Darwinism in comics perspective. That was the hat of a corporate executive, and his statement was pure politics. Not good politics, but politics none the less.
He blamed the talent, washing his and Marvel’s hands of the responsibility.
What responsibility?
I’m referring to the dual responsibility to make the best books possible...and to behave with some measure of appreciation for the past successes of the company and the industry. In short, to show some measure of loyalty to creators, and not just his friends and discoveries. To quote the opening line of Miller’s Crossing: “It’s a question of ethics.”
So, if it’s not entirely the talent’s fault...then whose fault is it?
Fault is a tough designation, because it isn’t so simplistic.
Let’s say there are multiple issues...that Marvel is not prepared or equipped to deal with. Some of them are:
1) Most comics editors don’t have the craft of comics and/or a competent editing standard (beyond their fan-based story judgement) to properly direct and oversee a book. This is such a monstrously complicated topic on its own, which I could write about for hours, but rather than argue my specific points, let the proof be in the pudding. Read a month’s worth of Marvel Comics and tell me the visual and dramatic storytelling is top notch. If it isn’t, the captain of the ship is responsible for its sinking...and that’s the editor. Apply that standard, and look at how many editors should go down with their ships.
I will clarify that if editors did have a real craft of comics and an understanding of what it really means to be an editor, then they should be able to direct the new and the mature creator to achieve a desired result.
How do I know this? Take a look at the brilliantly written Jimi Hendrix graphic novel that came out some years ago...written by somebody I never heard of, and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz. I understood how it achieved such a level of creative maturity, once I discovered that Will Eisner backseat-edited that job. I understand the writer went through several drafts of what was likely Comics 101.
I know that Dick Giordano worked extensively with Frank Miller on multiple script drafts of The Dark Knight Returns.
How many drafts does an editor require today...and, when they want more than one, are they focusing on what helps the project achieve its initial goal? Or are they requiring the change because “they would have written it differently”?
2) Age-ism does exist...and be suspect of anybody’s motives who tells you it doesn’t. Young editors don’t hire their fathers or mothers...not unless they’re confident in their own skill (for which you should refer back to #1).
To put this another way, editors hire people they relate to, people they understand, people they can feel a measure of trust towards; in short, people they feel comfort with. Also, young editors have young taste, a fairly narrow scope in itself. Not all editors, just the ones who don’t really know what they’re doing. Mike Carlin at DC—about whom I have many personal and professional issues, so you know this compliment isn’t coming from any feelings of love or mutual respect—hires and works with many long-time professionals...because he understands the craft of comics and knows when, where and how to dip into that pool of talent...
...a pool Quesada appears to not realize exists, even though it’s sitting in his own backyard.
3) Out with the old, in with the new. There are two reasons this occurs.
One: Regardless of a creator’s skills, editors respond to sales and trends to help sell books, and, within the scope of that very narrow statement, it’s important for a publisher/producer of any type of material to respond to these trends.
Quesada stated: “I understand that there’s talent that’s out of work, but I don’t understand why that has to prohibit us from finding new voices.”
This is different than editorial ageism. This one’s a market perception, and, whether he knows it or not, Quesada’s throwing the baby out with the bath water.
It suggests that comics readers only want the next new thing...and yes, I’m exaggerating, but I’m doing it to make a point.
The new hot creators will likely develop a maturity of their craft...and be replaced by the next new thing...and find themselves scrambling for work and wondering why editors can’t see how much they’ve improved.
Quesada is a terrific artist. Someday, as he’s matured nicely—and I suspect he will—he’s going to find it difficult to find work he prefers. Will he think he’s lost it, that he’s a victim of social Darwinism? No. He’ll know to be true what I’m saying now:
Editors (like him now) can’t see the forest for the trees.
In his position at Marvel, he has a wealth of talent at his disposal, but he either doesn’t have the tools (editors) or personal vision to use that talent.
Two: Another way “out with the old, in with the new” applies is when an editor decides to take a book or a line in a new direction.
An editor at DC once decided to change the direction of his books. Everybody was fired off their books...by a faxed letter. I’m not saying that there were creative differences, and the editor went elsewhere. There was a change of editorial vision...and firing everybody was perceived as an easier way to get a fresh perspective...as though creators don’t have the ability or shouldn’t be given the opportunity to change course.
Apparently, the accepted method for a captain to turn a ship is to throw the crew over board, then bring in a new crew before ordering the ship’s wheel to be turned. Even in the British navy, guilty of so many brutalities to its sailors in the 18th and 19th centuries, that would have been absurd treatment…but the cultures at the offices of DC and Marvel embrace it.
4) Professional peer pressure. If you’re going to work at DC or Marvel, you have to get along to go along…or you’re out.
When an editor inherits an existing title with non-influential creators attached, there is a culture in the hallowed halls of DC and Marvel that says, “You are a weak editor if you don’t get rid of the old talent to make your mark on the book.”
This means the quality of the work being produced by writers and artists is completely irrelevant to the goals of an editor who’s more concerned with advancing his or her career than the quality of a book.
It’s the rare editor that bucks this aspect of the culture, and survives.
So you see, it’s all about the captain, except when it’s time for somebody to pay for running the ship aground.
5) Cronyism. This is a relative to #2, but I believe it’s different enough to merit discussion. To some degree, I embrace this. Paul Levitz once said to me that the most valuable thing an editor brings with him is his Rolodex. I would say the most valuable thing an editor brings with him/her is #1 above, but the Rolodex is a close second.
However, when cronyism or the Rolodex outweighs an acceptable level of craft in the finished product, that’s where I part ways from #5.
What this means is that, all too often, a new editor comes in to a new book and fires the previous talent…fulfilling the cultural requirement of being perceived as a strong editor, as described in #4 above, but with a different goal. He or she wants to work with his or her pals.
This, to me, is the worst sin imaginable, short of producing crap.
There is a very well-known editor at DC, who used to have a pretty good reputation, certainly for the books he produced, who’s now the worst of the worst...reputation-wise...because he has unnecessarily destroyed lives. He has done it, not to make his books better, but simply to surround himself with talent he trusts and/or has a previous relationship with. That is the growing inside/outside industry perception of him...and his reputation is justifiably sinking fast.
Again, referring back to #1 above, it’s too far beyond this editor’s skills to gain trust from the talent he inherited. Instead, he trusts his Rolodex, and soon, all he will have is that Rolodex.
There are editors reading this last point who likely feel that it is their prerogative to hire and fire, for whatever reason they decide...but that is simply the result of the cultures within the DC and Marvel offices, cultures that must change. The culture is a sickness that’s rooted in misplaced empowerment...and it’s killing the body that’s called comics. Again, I quote: “It’s a question of ethics.”
It’s a little off the topic, but the cultures in these companies are one the biggest impediments to real creative growth. I believe every editor must be held responsible for every hire and fire they make...and before firing somebody off a book, they must be able to explain why that writer or artist didn’t work out. If this was done, and editors were forced by Executive Editors, Editors-In-Chief, or Publishers to a higher level of comics and editorial craft, the industry might stop stinking from the head down.
Extending that concept to far beyond the comics industry, I also believe that when a company fails to perform, management should be held responsible, not the tens, hundreds, or thousands of workers who are likely doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Why? Because they’re the true captains of the ship, and if anybody goes down with it, it should be the one most responsible for the ship hitting an iceberg.
Regardless of many of the criticisms leveled against Paul Levitz—a man who once fired me, and a man who I like and respect—DC continues to weather the storm of the industry’s downturn by not resorting to layoffs. He gets far too little praise for this effort, both inside and outside of the company.
And DC continues to experiment with titles, in an attempt to expand the core market.
But what’s Marvel doing in this area?
Quesada said: “Quite frankly, the reason why a lot of the talent finds themselves out of work is basically because of the implosion of the industry. Books went by the wayside. Marvel used to publish over 100 titles. We’re down to thirty-five or forty. Somebody is going to be out of work. But for the future of the industry, we have to look forward—we can’t look back. That’s why Marvel is looking for fresh young voices.”
Do you see what he’s saying?
The implosion of the industry made him do it…even though the downturn occurred with books approved by publishers and shepherded by editors. Let’s not forget that the industry imploded because publishers strip-mined it with so many variations of overpriced collector editions that could never be collectible.
But it’s the talent that takes the hit…for not being commercial.
Quesada’s right that new talent must find its way…but shouldn’t the “not-so-good,” make way for the “good,” as opposed to the “old” making way for the “new”?
As Quesada points out, if the industry was booming, many of these people would be employed, so that has certainly contributed to the problem...maybe the biggest contribution, since the decline of the industry followed a monstrous expansion...which brought an incredible number of new talents into its ranks.
To sum up, for every talented creator out there who isn’t working, some combination of what I’ve written above is the likely reason they’re not currently employed...or only getting by...and barely.
I almost started listing the number of truly talented people out there that are having trouble paying their bills...but what’s the point? We know who they are.
But...what if comics were being produced by the best talent available?
What if editors were held to a higher standard of professionalism than is evident?
Would comics be better...and more accessible?
Would comics sell better?
In the long run, I think so, though those of you who’ve read my previous thoughts on the future of comics distribution on Steven Grant’s Graphic Violence web site, know that this is only one small step that I believe is required to bring about a more healthy industry.
As I said initially, there are no pat answers.
Just don’t buy Quesada’s pat Darwinism excuse. He’s really saying, “Ignore that executive behind the curtain.”
He is, for now, just another in a long line of folks filling the shoes of The Great and Powerful Oz.
Lee Nordling is Executive Editor of the Platinum Studios Comic Book Department, Editor of the internationally syndicated “Rugrats” comic strip, and author of “Your Career in the Comics.”
``xLee Nordling``xLeNordling@aol.com``xDarwinism in Comics``x996614623,60463,``x``x
``x
Going Back To Cali
It's official. I am in love with the city of San Diego.
Being an infrequent traveller whose flight coupons have only read Orlando, Florida, the prospects of viewing a fresh locale and returning home in a mere four days becomes infinitely appealing. And San Diego did not disappoint. The weather was an alarmingly comfortable seventy-three degrees the whole time, which was virtually heaven on Earth to someone growing weary at plodding through the wave of humidity that seems to have settled over much of Illinois. Someone referred to the weather here as oppressive. I'd be hard-pressed to disagree with this assessment. With San Diego's convenient trolley system, its impressive architecture, and the quality restaurants...I was prepared to make my stay permanent. And did I mention the weather was beautiful??
Onto the reason I was even there.
My first day of the fabled San Diego Comic-Con International 2001 was Friday and check-in was surprisingly well organized and staffed. After navigating the line and snickering at the league of fully armed Jedi Knights, I found myself on the convention floor, with booths laid out as far as the eye could see. Combine this with the prevalence of overpriced food and snacks, and it was undeniable...I was at the con.
To be truthful, Friday morning was a bit boring. I've attended several Chicago editions and having ventured across the country to witness the San Diego madness, my ever-cynical presence was demanding some breakthrough, some unbelievable experience that would justify my expensive voyage to this strange land with the beautiful temperatures and lack of humidity. Initially, I'd say that there isn't that much difference in structure and scope between the Chicago and San Diego shows, and after completing the process...I'd still agree with that statement. Does that mean I didn't learn anything?? Hell no.
I watched Tom Brevoort give a couple of portfolio reviews and subsequently missed the only opportunity I was going to be afforded to speak with him regarding my Thor submission. After several rounds of repackaging and spot editing, the pitch, Rapid Eye Movement, ended up being placed in a large box with countless others. I'll explain in greater depth below. (I think several people cheated on the one-page limit also as an aside.) I would post it so the viewing public could pick any possible inconsistencies to pieces, but the file appears to have become corrupted on my disc somehow.
Following a solid hour of wandering and stumbling upon a booth set up by a store that only deals in graphic novels (very cool), I found myself in Michael Lovitz's Comic Book Law panel. A significant personal discovery resulted from this...the knowledge that talk of copyrights and trademarks causes my head to spin...and then my eyelids to dip ever so slowly. After escaping with a thick printout in tow that I'm almost afraid to look at, my convention compatriot (the man who designed the Ambidextrous logo) and I dipped out for lunch in Seaport Village before returning for the highlight of my day.
A little background here. It's Chuck Dixon's fault that I want to write comics. Thoughts of writing the great American novel were polluting my subconscious until I stepped through the doors of Mr. Dixon's Ten Commandments of Comic Book Writing. During that single hour a course was determined. You mean I can write comics and make a decent living while doing it?? Oh, hell yeah. Since then I make it my business to attend as many of these behind-the-scenes, no-holds-barred, "I can say whatever the hell I want to because my editor is across the building," sessions. Enter Joe Casey.
I've considered Mr. Casey the "Man" since he fooled me into thinking for several months that Marvel's Cable was a cool character. The only regret I have regarding his run on the title was that the X-office didn't allow him and artist collaborator Ladronn to contribute their own interpretation of the much-famed Twelve saga. (Instead they handed it off to some unknown...think his name was Rob Liefeld or something...)
Anyway, from that I followed him to runs on Hellcop, Deathlok, and the highly underrated Mr. Majestic. The first issue of Majestic's title caused me to realize that this Casey guy was capable of bringing major wood to the world of comic book writing.
For those not yet enlightened, consider this. Mr. Majestic is an essence a Superman-clone that resides in the Wildstorm universe, and at the beginning of this classic he successfully destroys an alien probe lurking in Earth's atmosphere and brings it planetside for further analysis. He learns that the probe has meticulously mapped our solar system for the express purpose of beaming this information across the galaxy to a large entity that means to make a small lunch of the entire damn Milky Way. If it arrives here and the composition of our universe matches the probe's readings, Earth will provide a sizeable appetizer before it devours our sun. What option does this leave Majestic?? Alter the entire universe to make it unrecognizable to the approaching threat. Government cover-ups, the creation of asteroid belts, and the re-positioning of the Earth follows. When the threat enters our system, it doesn't recognize the menu and vanishes into the void. Tell me that's not cool shit.
Then there was X-Men: Children of the Atom, a modern re-telling of the events leading to the formation of the original X-team, without the fancy trade dress and extensive advertising campaign. An Ultimate approach in an editorial environment that wasn't quite ready. Another gem. Then he made Wildcats worth reading and then critical mass was achieved. I'll stop now because I think you get the point...I like the man's work. So I was looking forward to this little discussion about the business of writing comics.
After arriving a few minutes late and catching his breath, Casey introduced himself to those in the audience that may not be as familiar with his work and proceeded to take questions from the floor. What followed was an hour of insights, tricks, horror stories, and work habits. The guy seemed sincere when faced with a roomful of hopefuls and willingly answered any query thrown his way. (Even though he had to censor his language slightly due to a child in the room.) He commented on the difference between New Marvel and Old Marvel, the camaraderie among the Superman writers, and the freedom that Wildstorm provides him with the 'Cats franchise. Quite interesting, quite inspiring...Joe Casey is the man. His session lit a large fire under my ass, and Saturday is tentatively scheduled to involve many more interactions with editors of many shapes and forms.
The evening is spent formulating plans of world domination if Marvel contacts me to inform my humble personage that I've won the talent search, and escaping from Tijuana, Mexico after wondering why there are so many high schoolers in the club, and if there is some conspiracy behind NONE of my cab-drivers knowing where the hell they're going.
Saturday sees the convention mutate into a veritable madhouse, and requires me to stand in line for my ticket a tad longer, providing me the pleasure of suspiciously eyeing a Jedi Knight and silently pondering just where one can find an exact replica of a lightsaber. Stopped by the Marvel booth looking for Tom Brevoort to hand off my Thor submission and was once again denied. An hour later I'd find out why.
The Mighty Marvel Press Conference, featuring Mr. Brevoort, Axel Alonso, Stuart Moore, Bob Greenberger, and the grand pubah himself Joey Da Q, was a bit of well-deserved stroking. "This is why Marvel is offering the most diverse product on the stands today...this is why we'll continue to do so." Like I said, much deserved. The House of Ideas is living up to its moniker in spades these days, and if their slideshow and confident explanations are any indication, this trend will re-present itself in the coming year. No mention of Origin though. Maybe they're saving something for WizardWorld Chicago.
After ducking out slightly early following Kevin Smith's Black Cat announcement, partly because of an impulse to avoid an overactive former associate who feels the need to rush me and immediately solicit my opinion on whatever's of interest in the comic world at the present time. No matter how much time passes between our meetings. I went six months without seeing this kid, and he once felt the need to accept my outstretched hand, while simultaneously asking my opinion of Casey's Uncanny X-Men. If he noticed me concealing my face only twenty feet away, he would've attached himself to me for the duration of the con. Until my annoyance grew unconcealed and he wandered off after deciding life was now complete because he just met Bendis. If only he would say "Hello" first.
Following lunch and another failed opportunity at meeting Tom Brevoort, I ended up at the Dark Horse booth with editor Phil Amara. He's got a submission in the mail with his name on it. I'll let you folks know how it goes.
Waited in line forever for the JLA panel and after finally sitting down and viewing the clip, and hearing the motivations of the show's producers...I'm making sure my new apartment is equipped with Cartoon Network. Finally dropped my Thor submission off without speaking with Brevoort, but my disappointment eventually fades.
On the whole, a very worthwhile trip which gave me a few ideas for Chicago in a couple of weeks. Arrived home to check the mail and found a notice from CrossGen informing me that my writing submission is still being considered...they're just a little behind in reviewing.
Due to nearly uncontrolled expenses, I decide not to return to San Diego next year unless I'm signing books. Come on now editors...I really enjoyed the weather there. :)
Next Time: WE TALK GUILTY PLEASURES....
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
Recommended: Invade your local bargain bin in search of Casey's Mr. Majestic run. Or pester Wildstorm into releasing a trade.
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAmbidextrous - Going Back To Cali``x996969140,47950,``x``x
``x
Writer: Frank Miller
Artist: Bill Sienkiewicz
Publisher: Marvel
PLOT: Jon Garrett, a cyborg agent of SHIELD, becomes "involved" in Elektra's plot to murder a presidential candidate who's working for the Anti-Christ. Sexual violence, violent sex, nightmarish imagery, and numerous flashbacks ensue.
For me, this is the definitive Elektra. I judge every incarnation and variation of the character by the standard set here. Her first appearances in Daredevil were merely a watered-down version of what Miller later achieved in this work. The later stories, her return into Daredevil's life in Fall from Grace, the monthly series by Peter Milligan and Deodato, etc, they were all pale imitations of the true work. The Elektra presented here is complex and conflicted, a woman who is completely aware of her body and her power. By that, I mean she knows how sex and violence are often two sides of the same coin. And Elektra constantly flips that coin.
The story starts with Elektra in a South American mental asylum. She was sent there after local police caught her trying to murder the American ambassador. Elektra believes the ambassador to be in the service of the Beast, a being of pure evil. It was the ninja cult the Hand of the Beast (often just called "the Hand"), whom Elektra joined and tried to destroy from within. Elektra recognized the presence of the Beast by the presence of foul-smelling milk.
The first chapter is a complete summary of Elektra's life: The murder of her mother while Elektra was still in her womb; The night her father molested her, (an event not mentioned in any other story); Her time with the 7 "pure" ninjas; her joining of the Hand; and the events that led her here.
It's after her escape that he story really kicks into high gear. Believing the ambassador to be the Beast in human form, Elektra stalks and kills him. Only then does she realize the ambassador was only a servant. The Beast's true form is the young, charismatic, and liberal presidential candidate Ken Wind, (always depicted with the same photocopied smiling face of John Kennedy. The incumbent, an ardent conservative, is a midget hybrid of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.)
But the driving force of the story is Agent Garrett. Garrett, an ex-con turned cyborg prototype, is the narrator for most of the story. It's Garrett who investigates Elektra's last assassination, and finally tracks her down. But instead of turning her in, he falls under her "spell". Elektra's use of ninja mind control and old-fashioned "feminine wiles" slowly bring Garrett under her complete control. And as he learns more about Ken Wind, the Beast, and their plan for humanity, he submits to her more and more.
Garrett is a filthy, drunk, sexist dinosaur of a man who's more machine than man. He's a gross exaggeration of the classic "macho action hero" so prevalent in 20th century fiction. He's James Bond without the polish; Rambo without the honor; Schwartzenegger without the likeability. He's also the closest thing you'll get to a hero in this book.
Elektra: Assassin, combined with Miller's preceding work, The Dark Knight Returns, makes me wonder about Miller's politics. In both stories, liberals are presented as weak idealists who have no idea what "real life" is like. The use of a liberal candidate as a pawn for the Anti-Christ may say more about Miller's politics than anything else. However, traditional conservative values are not treated well either. The incumbent President in Elektra:Assassin is shown as a paranoid megalomaniac who's always 5 seconds away from pressing "the button". And institutions, such as SHIELD and the US Government are portrayed as large, heartless bureaucracies whose leaders aren't completely aware of what their subordinates are doing. Thus, these institutions violate the very ideals and subvert their intended functions. They become inherently corrupt and hypocritical. The use of a single, brash individual as the heroic lead is a frequent theme in Miller's work. Look at Miller's Daredevil, Sin City, and his Batman stories. I think you'll find many similarities of theme and subtext.
Of course, a comic book with a great story is less than half-done, (see my review of the first Elektra series for an example). The art of Bill Sienkiewicz is, in short, disturbing. It's difficult to describe, but Bill's art, (if I may call him Bill. "Sienkiewicz" is too hard to type), doesn't depict the action as much as it conveys the emotion. The art has an abstract quality. Faces and objects are exaggerated to heighten their impact or place in the story. When Nick Fury enters the tale, for example, we see him sitting in the chamber of a giant handgun. Fury then fires said gun at the wall when Agent Garrett reports to him. (Incidentally, Fury, the typical WWII hero, the loyal patriot, is also shown as being clueless to the workings of his own agency.) Another agent, a woman named Chastity, is often dressed in white with a large gold crucifix earring. She is portrayed as Elektra's opposite. Chastity gains strength through her purity, while Elektra's come from her inner darkness. Chastity is also seen dressed like a nun, even when not working undercover.
If this description seems overly long, it's because it's difficult to summarize the entire artistic style. I could site numerous other examples, but it still could not accurately convey how the art makes you feel. I can only say again that the art in this book is more abstract than what you find in other comics. Reality and fantasy become interchangeable, as emotions take the characters, and readers, from one to the other. The only other graphic works I could compare it to would be Neil Gaiman's Sandman, Moore and Campbell's From Hell, or David Mack's recent run on Daredevil, (Mack, I feel, is trying to imitate Bill's style. The cover of a recent Daredevil comic, featuring the masked hero and a young woman, is an "homage" to the cover of Elektra: Assassin issue #4). But make no mistake: Sienkiewicz's work is singular and unique. I have rarely seen comic art so powerful, so raw, and yet so subtle.
The only flaw in this otherwise brilliant work is Miller's frequent use of ninja skills and mysticism. Elektra's mental powers, her fighting prowess; All of this supposedly comes from intense training and certain chemicals gained during her training with the Hand. This stretches the credibility of the book. While the story does have the Anti-Christ rising, and men being rebuilt from their heads, it stays remarkably grounded in reality. I'd have an easier time with the story if Elektra's abilities were put down to some heretofore undiscovered mutant abilities, but I'm probably just splitting hairs.
On one level, the story works as an emotionally wrenching tale of conflict on the spiritual, political, and global scales. Every character is either fighting for or against demons, and you always get inside their heads.
On another level, this book fuckin' rocks! We've got blue midgets, talking severed heads, killer cyborgs, hot babes, huge guns, big 'splosions, and ninjas. Evil, hide-in-the-shadows and serving-dark-powers ninjas. It would take a Rob Liefeld to screw up a formula like that!
Seriously, it's a great book. Miller's writing had matured enough by this time to display his own unique "voice". And Bill's art is powerful, frightening, and weird; the stuff of great nightmares. This is one of a dozen books that SHOULD be on your shelf.``xMichael Deeley``xmiked@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xElektra: Assassin``x997240703,89765,``x``x
``x
The Great Acclaim Confession
This installment was supposed to be about something else entirely. It was supposed to be entitled HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE FOUR, and was meant to dictate my newfound appreciation for Marvel’s Fantastic Four, due purely to the man known as Carlos Pacheco. While mid-way through the outline process, the word came down that Carlos was allowing his exclusive deal with the publisher to expire, officially becoming a freelancer, and sending a swift torpedo through the possibility of him making an extended stay in the Baxter Building.
Well, shit.
I wasn’t prepared to spill my comic guts all over the column just yet. But that’s what the whole damn thing is about. Going with the flow, stopping on a dime and switching focus. With that in mind, let’s take a moment to discuss guilty pleasures.
How do you know if the title you frequent on a regular basis could be considered a guilty pleasure? Lack of readership is one indicator. The company publishes just enough copies to remain marginally profitable and the letters page is filled with comments from the same three readers month after lonely month. Or there is no letters page at all, replaced instead by frequent editorials to fill up the empty space resting alone in the rear of the book because not enough people realize the thing exists, so how the hell would they even consider writing a fan letter??
The comics media frequently pans any book that could be classified as a guilty pleasure. On nearly ninety percent of the online comic sites that seriously conduct regular reviews, the title that you’ve grown accustomed to in some bizarre way is dismissed on a consistent basis, completely regardless of its sporadic release.
Then there’s always the speedy cancellation of a title you thought was just hitting its stride. Apparently, you were all alone because the company shuts the lights off and makes for the door before you can even find the nerve to write your first fan letter.
The above criteria appearing exclusively or in tandem should be an initial clue that your enjoyment of a title is not shared by fandom at large, but my personal warning light came from my friendly neighborhood retailer. Upon removing my books from my weekly pull box, and in the infrequent instance that one of my guilty pleasures actually was released, he always reserved a snicker for me while commenting that I was the only one who spent their hard-earned comic dough on such drivel (my words, not his).
Now…I’m a regular customer of this particular establishment. I drop a substantial amount of currency within its doors on a weekly basis. I personally request that my retailer order certain items for my reading enjoyment. (That’s another trait of a guilty pleasure…most of them are difficult to locate.) And this man was actually laughing at the source of a small portion of his revenue. Not a large part mind you…but a part. (And before you go attacking my retailer for being an ass…consider that this man also provided me with the directors’ cut of Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. All is truly forgiven.)
Still, this made me think. Was this the average person’s response to the unidentified culprit?? Were the books really that bad?? Was something fundamentally wrong with the work these people were putting out?? Was I the ONLY one reading this stuff?? And if so, how much longer would they be released until the specter of cancellation loomed its dark head, scythe in hand, and ready to strike??
Enough posturing…it’s time to lift the cloak in hopes that things will suddenly become completely understandable. Maybe you’ll even get a hearty laugh out of it, or raise a suspicious eyebrow in response.
Two words people…. Acclaim. Comics.
They’re not around anymore, but for a period of time…I was a faithful follower. I’m referring specifically to the last incarnation that encompassed nearly a dozen releases over an eighteen month span. I bought all of them. Every last one. My own personal comic guilty pleasure right up there with books from Awesome Entertainment.
(Don’t even get me started on that one!!)
Allow me to explain why I would think something so strange. Acclaim had an alarming amount of potential, but suffered from that fact that only I was interested in just how they were executing it.
Content is king, and on paper…Acclaim had content. Three big guns that could’ve driven the line to greatness. Three concepts that didn’t involve spandex. Three that died off before finding a true voice.
There was Shadowman, the guardian of the barrier that separated life and death. Anything foolish enough to attempt crossing the void met with this man in black, guns blazing with enchanted weaponry, nonchalant attitude and cool nature nearly betraying the importance of his mission. The fate of the world in the hands of a man that refused to smile, to feel emotion, to behave as a “super-hero”. Michael Leroi, who worked as a late-night talk show host, was not interested in stopping bank robbers, muggers, and kingpins of crime. His only concern was with the demons, witches, and monsters that haunted the night. It was his job to send them back to Hell, and making the world a better place wasn’t relevant.
Then there were the Armorines. (Stop laughing at the name and listen.) This was the premier government sponsored task force that specialized in the prevention of alien invasions and other similar interlopers intent on damaging the American way of life. The appeal of the title came not from the high-tech ordnance and equipment, or even the spider-like alien invaders they repelled. It was the individual personality quirks that were contained within the advanced suits of armor that made things interesting. From rampaging egos, power plays, ambivalence, and betrayals, the team’s greatest enemy frequently came from within.
Completing the triangle of Acclaim’s big guns was Turok, Dinosaur Hunter. Joshua Fireseed, top college baseball prospect and all-around stud, loved his life of adulation and debauchery until he learned the truth behind his family heritage. The eldest born male is entrusted with the task of taking the mantle of Turok, Son of Stone, protector of the Lost Land.
The Lost Land is an interdimensional toilet that serves as a dumping ground for the universe’s detritus. The expansive world contains dinosaurs and other manners of creatures that the universe would rather keep sequestered. One of Josh’s ancestors unwittingly allowed the things that dwell there access to our world. As penance, it falls to the latest in the Fireseed lineage to ensure that Earth doesn’t perish as a result, no matter the impact this has on Josh’s sex life or his baseball career. Aided by the Light Burden, a satchel that doubles as a dimensional portal, from which Turok can remove nearly any weapon imaginable, and best friend and resident geek Barry Hackowitz, Josh is forced to wage a one-man war on anything resourceful enough to enter our world.
Sounds good right? Solid concepts with plenty of room for character development. These characters all spawned big-budget video game titles, with Turok racking up two sequels with more likely to follow.
Complementing this line of characters were Acclaim’s top notch production values. The covers and interior pages were all printed on a glossy paper stock that caused the comics to take on a more magazine type appearance, distinguishing them from their worthy competitors on the stands.
On small feature that would seem to be a no-brainer from an accessibility point of view was the issue synopsis being printed on the back cover. This enabled any suspecting reader to pick up the product, read the description of what was contained within, and make a more-informed buying decision. (If more of them came like that, I’d probably have less crap books.)
So if the core characters had potential, and the production was quality, why haven’t the comics world heard anything from Acclaim in the last year?? Unfortunately, the reasons why a comic doesn’t sell are numerous and alarmingly complex. Perhaps the creators involved weren’t popular enough to sell units?? Perhaps the harsh reality that this was Acclaim’s third shot at comics’ marketshare colored its reputation in the eyes of retailers and consumers. Maybe…I was the only one that bought the things. Still, for the period of time that Acclaim sporadically released its wares…what they were trying to accomplish was worth my hard-earned comic dough.
On a personal note, the editors there, Mike Marts and Omar Banmally, were the first to take a genuine look at any of the countless submissions I’ve been attempting to pass off to potential employers for the past two years. I intended to target Mr. Marts with frequent mailings, and two days later (I kid you not!!) I read on AnotherUniverse.com that Marts had just been hired by Marvel Comics. His former cohort Banmally exchanged a few e-mails with me before disappearing from the face of the company.
Still…it was a start. Enough to get my wheels spinning on how to handle things if given the keys to the wheel of the Acclaim universe. My own naiveté and semi-confidence in my work allowed me to believe that proposing two year-long maxi-series’ and a complete revamp of an existing title was not a waste of my time. That’s the thing about being a writer…sometimes you take such pride and respect in your work that you ignore the submissions guides and insiders that tell you a newcomer would never be given such an opportunity. If only you could get the stuff out there…the rules will change. That’s the fantasy that drives you, and personally…I wouldn’t have it any other way. Approach the work from any other perspective and your intensity will suffer. Write like this is the first and last story that a person will ever read. Leave them with something of yourself. Make them put the thing down and think about it later. Refuse to shoot yourself in the foot.
Never say never.
Next time: I give you three proposals prepared for Acclaim Comics, with the intention of delivering them during last year’s WizardWorld convention (only to discover they weren’t attending….just my luck), including commentary that explains some of the thinking that went into their creation.
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
Recommended Reading: Pick up a book you’ve never read before and give it a shot. I’m suggesting this because I have to read a stack of Thor books this weekend to familiarize myself with the character enough to win this talent search Marvel is hosting. And I know nothing about Thor. Wish me luck.
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAmbidextrous - The Great Acclaim Confession``x997520586,28272,``x``x
``xWell, after reading Hal Roth's column, all I can say is what utter rubbish. The reboot is the last resort of the desperate. Rarely is it needed, and mostly it can and should be easily avoided. The whole idea of a reboot is DC's Frankenstein’s Monster, and it forever split their comic book universe into two camps: pre-Crisis and post-Crisis. I have railed against the post-Crisis for most of my reviews and exalted the pre-Crisis, which I will continue to do, but I do not do this out of stubbornness nor capriciously. I do this because one is the superior fictional cosmology.
Consider Batman. The pre-Crisis Batman has a fairly straightforward continuity. Both the earth-one and earth-two Batman have the same origin. Both of their parents were shot by versions of Joe Chill. No, don't bring up the Zero Hour. I shan't listen. Both of their parents were shot by versions of Joe Chill. Got that? Good. The earth-two Batman killed. The earth-one Batman didn't. At a certain point on earth-two, Batman stopped killing criminals and followed suit with the relatively younger earth-one Batman. The younger Batman joins the JLA while the older Batman by this time has served many years in the JSA. Around the time Batman resigns from the JLA because they will not intervene in the civil upheaval of Markovia, the earth-two Batman dies protecting Gotham. His death leaves the Huntress, his daughter, as the sole, consistent vanguard of his city. It is an interesting side-note that even before the Crisis there was only one Batman standing.
The history of Batman has consequences. Because Huntress' father died, she frequently visited the Batman of earth-one. Because Batman interacts with the woman he considers his niece, he becomes lighter in character. She is family for him. We see Batman because of this history as more than his role but as a man with deep feelings that can be hurt and rekindled. A similar effect can be seen in his frequent team-ups with Wonder Woman, Superman, Black Canary and Kara—the earth-one Supergirl. Batman knows these heroes. He has worked with them for years. Continuity is not just a plot device. It strengthens character. In Brave and Bold, when Linda Lee Danvers bursts in on Bruce Wayne and begs for him to contact--"wink, wink, nudge, nudge"--Batman so he may find her adopted father, she is doing this out of a sense of friendship. Batman is Supergirl's friend. He is Superman's best-friend. Besides her cousin, he is the one man she knows on whom she can rely.
Now let's turn our attention to the reboot. It's often claimed that Chuck Dixon reintroduced the Huntress. It's true that he's probably the author who worked the second most with the character, but in reality, Joey Caliveri and Joe Staton reintroduced the Huntress in an experimental comic book series that essentially ran parallel to the DC post-Crisis universe. There was no mention of other heroes existing in the new Huntress' world. There was no indication that any hope touched her grimy environment. However, Keith Giffin brought her back into the post-Crisis universe. She guest-stars in an issue of JLI in which she successfully beats the brainwashed Blue Beetle who stabbed Oberon and intends to assassinate Maxwell Lord. Batman misinterprets her actions, but this is where the two heroes meet for the very first time. Remember, the new Huntress is not Helena Wayne, and it's that fact that puts a puzzling spin on the whole escapade.
Why did the Huntress meet Batman again? Continuity no matter how much tampering done reasserts itself. Continuity should be considered a highly powerful force. I do not put much stock in Jung's Theory of the Collective Unconsciousness, but there is a cultural subconscious. If you ask any comic book reader in their early thirties who is Power Girl? They will know the answer. She is the cousin to the earth-two Superman. It's litany. Continuity cannot be totally destroyed. Huntress will always be associated with Batman because originally she was his counterpart's daughter. She will also always be associated with the JLA and the JSA because that is the place where many first encountered her exploits; for those interested, her other adventures are recounted in Wonder Woman and All Star Comics. You see continuity is a strong force. It's why Batman returned to his old costume and why Superman finally cut his hair. It's why Luthor has no hair.
The reboot damages continuity. It sucks the premise from the continuity and leaves in its place an empty shell. You see Helena Bertinelli really has no reason to exist. This character serves no purpose. There is no reason for her to have dark hair like the old Huntress. There is no reason for her to wear virtually the same costume as the old Huntress or rely on her color schemes. The old Huntress' purpose was to be a legacy. She was the daughter of the Bat, and she inherited his mantle. She fought the good fight. She was loved by the comic book reading public. The only time the new Huntress worked is in Grant Morrison's JLA because he characterized her as near as possible to Helena Wayne. It is here where she works side by side with Batman. Continuity reasserts itself, but if it's going to do that anyway, why bother to make the character weaker than the original?
Hal wants to save the comic book industry. Personally, I've never seen its demise. It's been around since the thirties. Seventy years later, it's still here. Television also didn't kill radio, and I really don't see what the fuss is about when somebody keeps tolling the death knell of comic books. The super-hero genre's longevity is so powerful that it branched out to books and television. You're a fool if you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Xena or Sheena or Queen of Swords are anything but super-heroes. They are. The new improved models to be sure, but super-heroes definitely. I have lately been seeing if not a demise then certainly the infirmity of DC Comics. Their stable of writers keep scripting offal and calling it treasure. Something that may help is to simply to admit defeat and split up the earths or at least give back the heroes their memories. Why this was done, I'll never know.
The reboot undermines the very nature of a series. In a series, history is required. Characters in a series must share a common history, and once you reboot then nothing can be definite, and nothing matters. Consider again the Huntress. She was created to be Batman's daughter on earth-two. When she was obliterated—not killed--Joey Caliveri and Joe Staton reintroduce her in a series existing parallel to the DCU. Keith Giffin brings her back to DC. Continuity reasserts itself, and for their remaining issues, Caliveri and Staton acknowledge her return by having Batman guest-star. They also imply strongly that these two characters have met. Now, Chuck Dixon comes along. He reboots the character again! Batman has heard about the Huntress but he has never actually met her. This is phenomenal. Never would this blunder occur in a pre-Crisis comic book. We now have two competing reboots in the same post-Crisis DCU! We have one where the Huntress debuts and operates in New York City. She meets the JLA and the Batman who is actively seeking her--probably to apologize for his misjudgment. When they locate her, we learn that Batman has recommended her for the JLA, and in a few issues, she once again fights side-by-side with him. Continuity reasserts itself. Then we have the second reboot existing simultaneously where Batman meets the Huntress who operates in Gotham City--which is completely unnecessary--and resents her mainly because Chuck Dixon characterized Batman as a male chauvinist pig. To muddy the waters further, Alan Grant and the editors of the Batman books have Batman working alongside the Huntress, both heroes have no issues about the other. Batman even leaves Gotham in her care when he hunts for the cure for the Clench. When Dixon gets these heroes in his sights, it's back to the oil and water relationship. Well, thank you, Mr. Reboot! You've saved comic books once again.
The reboot is not the answer. Pre-Crisis comic books of the eighties are ten times stronger than practically anything written today. They formed a history that was known sometimes even better than actual world history, and yes, perhaps it made comic books insular, but it was a world that anybody could hop onto and with a few scant back issues catch up. Indeed, there was always usually a scene in a book dealing with earth-2 which explained briefly how a vibrational plane separated the earth and the counterpart heroes on both worlds. Most of the strong memorable stories that appeared immediately after the Crisis used the back history to bolster these characters. Because the creators knew, "a man is a sum of his memories..."*
The DC heroes exist because of their history, and a reboot that destroys their history results in them not existing at all.
* The Fifth Doctor--Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
``xRay Tate``xray@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xThe Reboot: Continuity's Cancer``x997813578,42967,``x``x
``x
Acclaim Comics – Ambidextrous Style!
Last week I professed my affinity for Acclaim Comics and simultaneously lost half my readership. This time, as promised, I present three proposals that I drafted in the attempts of breaking into this crazy industry as a writer for the aforementioned company. Yes, my attempts were a little heavy-handed but I couldn’t let statistics and the possibilities of success stop me. I had stories to tell dammit, and I chose Acclaim’s three biggest guns to tell them with. Following each pitch is commentary from yours truly (in italics), explaining some of the thought process that went into each proposal.
A child that can cross the barrier between life and death…
An object that can make the dead live again…
And the curse upon mankind that results…
SHADOWMAN: GENESIS (12 issue maxi-series)
Act I - First Born
She was born in a place where things only die. The young girl known as Nia has gone from newborn to preschooler in just seven days, and her young parents realize that something is terribly wrong. Nia possesses the ability to breach the void between life and death, which makes her a valuable prize to many.
Emerging from Deadside’s much-feared Valley is a band of creatures, led by a serial rapist known as Bryce who harbors a serious grudge against Michael LeRoi. Meanwhile in the land of the living, the covert government organization Obsidian and their leader the Faceless Man are readying their own plans for Nia, for only she can truly complete their assemblage of Deadside artifacts. And only Shadowman can keep her alive long enough to fulfill her role in an ancient prophecy, but one thing is certain…not everyone will leave this conflict alive.
Act II - The D Files
Nia’s demise has triggered something within Mike LeRoi he had believed long gone…his emotions. Perhaps that explains why the romantic wiles of Obsidian defector Lara Lopez prove to be so effective upon the half-dead peacekeeper of the gates when she convinces him to escort her into Deadside. The true reason for Obsidian’s pursuance of Nia is revealed as the legend of the Soul Staff is told. The staff can make the dead live again and Lara needs it to reunite herself with her husband whom Michael killed to protect Nia. This fact is unknown to the Shadowman, in addition to the knowledge that Lara’s promises to resurrect Michael’s own family are complete falsehoods. Only one soul per staff can make the journey from oblivion to renewed life. And to complicate matters, due to Obsidian’s examinations of Nia, they know how to let themselves in and out of Deadside, and the Faceless Man has his own plans for the staff…and for the traitorous Ms. Lopez.
Act III - Darque Days
Every action demands an equal reaction and this situation is no different. Through the use of a Soul Staff, a man has been reunited with his son, but as the Faceless Man can readily attest, there are consequences involved when cheating death. Each time a staff is used in Deadside, a random catastrophe occurs on Liveside. It could occur one week from now, or one hundred, but it will occur. On this particular occasion, the Earth is experiencing a plague like no other. Mankind’s population is decreasing by millions daily and there’s nothing that Shadowman and Obsidian can do to stop it.
Enter Master Darque who claims to hold the answer to salvation, but LeRoi is infinitely certain that this man cannot be trusted…but what choice does Shadowman have?? Only the final Soul Staff can be of use, and Nia must return to the land of the living and inadvertently cause the catastrophe that will repopulate the Earth with human life after the virus runs it course.
As legend has it, the first and last Soul Staffs cause the identical disastrous result. The activation of the first staff millennia ago cursed the Earth with humankind, and unless Shadowman wants to spend the remainder of his existence sharing the planet with burgeoning plant life…it must happen again.
Shadowman Commentary: I have a rule. Before I get too overly involved in the construction of a storyline I need to know two things…how it begins and how it ends. Sounds simple right?? The beginning is usually the no-brainer, and in this case it was the origin of Michael LeRoi. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely familiar with the particulars on how this radio show host became the guardian of the gates between life and death…and I’m still not. Originally intended as a four-parter, this frame or over-arcing theme became the vehicle that would allow me to tell the story without calling the thing Shadowman: Year One or the Origin of Shadowman. I intended to be a little subtler than that. Develop a main plot, and quietly slip Shadowman’s origin into the mix…after I found out what it was of course. But I still didn’t have an ending.
I had a cast of main characters that served only to ensure that I couldn’t tell this story in four issues leading to nearly uncontrolled expansion and before I knew it, not only was I relating the personal experiences of Michael LeRoi, but I was commenting on the government’s long running conspiracy regarding the existence of Deadside, and commenting on the source of human evolution. An example of how a story can run away from you and provide a more quality finish as a result. But still…I didn’t have an ending.
The more elaborate things became, the stronger the ending had to be, and I still didn’t have one…and then it came to me. How many stories have we seen that concluded in the complete annihilation of the human race?? A plague so terrible that humanity could never survive. But then I had to put things back right?? Enter the Soul Staff…
On a whole, I’m very satisfied with how things evolved (even though I cheated a little) and I hope to one day cannibalize some of these themes for another story. I mean, come on….the end of humanity?? That’s good stuff. Moving along….
Fifteen years in the future, mankind is on the verge of extinction…
A race of hostile aliens wishes to turn the Earth into a breeding camp…
But now we know where they live, and the tide is turning…
ARMORINES: HARSH REALM (12 issue maxi-series)
The sky rained fire for seven days. The invaders now known only as the “Spinners” came to our planet in a hail of meteorites that escorted them through our protective atmosphere and deposited them in the heart of New York City. It only took them two weeks to cocoon the entire metropolis and begin breeding like rabbits. Conversely, it only took our government three days to make the decision to vaporize the largest city in the U.S.
We foolishly believed it was over, for the thought of anything other than total victory was unthinkable. Then handfuls of us began disappearing, dragged into the night by some unseen force. The Spinners had survived and deep within the bowels of our cities they were hard at work creating organic factories where human bodies were fed live to their young. We fought back…at least we tried, but somehow they kept coming. An unending tide of murderous rage that the human race could only beat back through desperate negotiation. A truce was called…we give them half the planet and a few thousand “volunteers” for their breeding purposes, and they’ll leave us to our own devices.
As a populace un-interested in remaining underneath the claws of a race of giant insects, the human race secretly releases two-dozen space probes into the cosmos, in a desperate play to discover the home world of these intergalactic spiders. After ten years, that day has finally come and this is our final chance.
Armorine Captain Tyson Rayside is appointed the task of recruiting a strike team that doesn’t mind going on a suicide mission that could possibly save mankind. He insists on delivering the invitations personally, believing that when receiving a personal invite into the gates of Hell…that invitation shouldn’t come over a phone.
Managing to put together a motley crew of operatives, they depart on a month long voyage that will take them to the heart of the “Spinner” empire. They’re attacked upon reaching the planet’s orbit by miniature fighter craft and a trio of Armorines takes to the stars to defend their main shuttle using their robotic flight suits. Unfortunately, the enemy cripples the three defenders and sends them plummeting to the planet below. Against all odds, two of the Armorines survive the plunge and make the shocking realization that there are hundreds of human beings living underground.
Rayside cannot bring himself to release the planet-destroying missile and the shuttle is taken down to the surface, where the remaining Armorines are forced underground. In a last ditch effort to escape the planet, the Armorines attempt to fight their way back to their downed ship to send a distress call to Earth…but the odds seem hopeless. They fail and start to realize that they’re deep behind enemy lines…with no way home.
As the months’ progress, the situation grows progressively worse as the Armorines find themselves responsible for the lives of hundreds of innocents. By the conclusion of the second act, an Armorine has committed suicide and by the end of the series, it’s not certain if either the Armorines or the hundreds of refugees they’ve come to protect will leave the planet alive.
Armorines Commentary: I penned this one after doing Shadowman: Genesis as an exercise to see what I could come up with using Acclaim’s other big gun, and I had a very particular ending in mind before I even got most of it on paper. It sometimes annoys me in the scope of action movies and comics, that things always come to a happy ending, resulting in a conclusion that denies the harsh reality we live in. Everything doesn’t have a nice, clean, sanitized ending…and I didn’t want this story to fall into the same hole.
It’s been suggested that audiences demand a happy ending to complete their enjoyment of any work that dictates the struggle between good and evil, but I think the audience simply wants a resolution. I compare it to the movie “Seven” starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman (SPOILER WARNING) where the detective played by Pitt finds something very shocking contained in a cardboard box. Now, I was a bit disturbed that the “hero” of the story was allowed to be emotionally damaged in such a gruesome way, but I appreciated his realistic reaction to the killer’s final gambit. “Seven” didn’t have a happy ending in the slightest…but it was realistic enough to suppress my initial distaste at its attempts at breaking convention.
That’s what Harsh Realm is to me, a dark, depressing, disturbing story that details the decay of the human psyche in an environment that could accurately be described as Hell. But it’s also about the strength of the human spirit and its struggle to overcome Hell and control its direction. Depressing and inspiring at the same time. No powers or special abilities, just the human need to survive and trapped in a situation where prejudice doesn’t matter…only living does.
Now onto what started this madness in the first place…
TUROK: SON OF STONE- 1ST YEAR
Issues One to Three - “Dark Shroud”
A rash of mysterious murders are occurring on the OC2 campus, and Josh’s baseball teammates number many of the victims, including Coach Atkins, the one confidant Turok had left. What appears as a targeting of athletes is later made abundantly clear when Barry Hackowitz, Josh’s roommate, is almost killed. Only the appearance of Turok prevents Barry from becoming the killer’s next victim, and the Son of Stone barely escapes with his own life after making the discovery that the murderer cannot be seen.
After visiting the Lost Land and conferring with Tal’Set, Josh learns that the creature is known as the Wraith, a legendary enemy of the Turok lineage. Josh lures the monster back to the Lost Land, where he is quite visible, and an intense battle ensues. For five days and four nights, Josh clashes with the villain from one end of the Land to the other, with the conflict climaxing on the rim of a volcano. (Think Episode I, Darth Maul vs. Qui-Gon Jinn & Kenobi, only longer, on paper, and taking place on the back of a brontosaurus, inside a raptor nest, and in the arctic.)
Meanwhile, Barry spots a pair of raptors loitering behind the neighborhood 7-Eleven!!
Issues Four to Six - “Displacement”
Upon returning home after his victory over the Wraith, Josh was too exhausted to hear Barry’s story concerning errant raptors and convenience stores, but when he and his roommate awaken in the Lost Land, Turok wishes his consciousness had not so easily failed him the night before. He soon discovers that he’s not the only displaced resident of Earth, when he’s forced to prevent the Land’s largest dinosaurs from making a meal out of hundreds of fellow humans. Finally taking a break after hours of peacekeeping, he crosses dimensional boundaries and finds himself....back on an Earth populated by dinosoids!!!
Barry becomes a valuable ally, as the entire world is on the lookout for Turok, at the behest of the Campaigner. For unknown reasons, the conqueror fears for the survival of the Lost Land, and through the use of a strange device, has evacuated most of its residents to the relative safety of Earth. But what does he fear and why won’t he allow Turok to help him??
Issues Seven and Eight - “Dead On Arrival”
The Earth and the Lost Land have been returned to their proper states, and the new Turok has scored another major victory. However, he discovers just how much his friend Barry Hackowitz matters to him when Barry is kidnapped by the government agency known as the D.O.A. Months ago, the clandestine organization sent a research team into the Lost Land, but due to the Campaigner’s machinations, the five scientists are lost, and the D.O.A.’s path into the Lost Land has been destroyed.
Enter Turok, who can traverse dimensional barriers with ease, and will do anything to protect a friend, even entering the Lost Land in search of the team, and the mysterious Isotope M they’ve created. The trail leads Josh to a strange underwater city and a deadly new villain. But what happens when Josh’s 24 hours are up?? Will the D.O.A. really kill Barry?? And why does the D.O.A. seem much more interested in recovering Isotope M?? And why are there dinosoids rummaging through a house in Davenport, Iowa??
Issue Nine - “Fires of Time”
In recent weeks, Barry has stared death in the face almost as much as Turok has. Josh, tired of putting his best friend in constant danger has come up with a solution....train Barry as his partner!! Before they can get started however, they must attend the reading of Coach Atkins’ will. He bequeaths to Josh a strange item that will play a message only for him. It asks Josh to safeguard Atkins’ niece, who possesses a necklace that is much more than it appears. But what starts as a peaceful trip to Davenport, IA, evolves into something much more as a group of dinosoids get involved. And just what secret does the pendant hold??
Issue Ten - “Ulterior Motives”
Before officially beginning the training of Barry, Josh travels to the Lost Land to consult with Tal’Set about his decision. He learns that no Turok ever before has taken on a protégé. They later become embroiled in a fierce adventure and Josh is forced to confront the real reasons he’s willing to take on a partner.
Issue Eleven - “The Ropes”
Josh begins training Barry, and comes to the conclusion that it will be a much harder task than he originally suspected after the two take a trip to their neighborhood weight room, and Barry almost kills himself. But this doesn’t deter Josh who is determined to make his own mark on the Turok lineage by successfully training a partner, and proving the naysayers wrong. Following the light workout, the two are on the way to a local cafe when they spot a young child on the wrong end of a semi. Without hesitation, Barry leaps into the street and removes the child from harm’s way, dislocating his shoulder in the process. Josh pops it back into place, and believes with this setback, Barry will immediately end his pursuit of becoming Josh’s apprentice, but unexpectedly, this steals his previously shaky resolve.
Issue Twelve - “Oblivion”
The threat that prompted the Campaigner to attempt the evacuation of the Lost Land rears its ugly head and becomes the first major test for the duo of Josh and Barry that have grown more effective as a team over the course of two months. Oh, and Barry grew his first muscle!! The two are walking a tightrope across Niagara Falls at the beginning of the issue, when Barry stumbles and falls into the chasm. Josh dives after him and opens a portal that deposits the both of them on their school’s football field. They decide to postpone the activity for the time being.
While taking a jog, someone begins following them. The two lead the figure into a dead end, and attack him, learning that the man is secretly the Campaigner, taking Josh up on the offer he made in issue #6 to aid the conqueror in protecting the Lost Land. The creature known as Oblivion has resurfaced, and only by working together can the Land be saved. Josh requests that Barry stay home but he refuses, which later proves to be a near-fatal mistake when Oblivion strikes him down in battle. But, after believing that he witnessed his best friend murdered, Josh heads off on a revenge-crazed mission that may mean the death of him.
Turok Commentary: These plots were actually written before Shadowman: Genesis and Armorines: Harsh Realm, and were my first attempt at preparing something for Acclaim. That’s why the format is slightly different.
I proposed a year’s worth of stories with the over-arcing theme that addresses the sense of loneliness that Joshua Fireseed experiences as a result of serving as the Son of Stone. Those familiar with the monthly title may remember that before Acclaim’s second close, Josh suffered a serious betrayal at the hands of elements within his own family and a covert government agency that plotted to kill millions to avert a cataclysm that wouldn’t have occurred for another twenty years.
I took this point and expanded on its possible effects that leave Josh feeling that he can trust no one. Killing Coach Atkins in my first arc serves to leave Turok in nearly complete isolation save for Barry Hackowitz, who becomes an important factor in the reluctant hero’s life. Barry is Josh’s only friend, and young Fireseed realizes that Barry’s proximity to him puts the computer geek in serious danger on a regular basis. The obvious solution…make Barry his partner. Ignoring the fact that no Son of Stone has ever taken an apprentice, and rebelling against any and all objections presented by family members and predecessors, Josh embarks on a path that will forever change the Turok legacy. Through this venture, Josh sees his solitude quelled and replaced by the burgeoning brotherhood between himself and Barry.
I wanted to make this book about the friendship between two young men. Strip away the threats to human life and the prospect of complete destruction, and the book is about two friends making their way through the world, supporting and strengthening each other. Most mentor-partner relationships are between two characters separated by age and life experiences, but I wanted to make this one equal in scope. People need friends in order to grow, and I wanted to force Josh into accepting his role as a protector by giving him someone else to care about. Besides…we need more books out there depicting friendship in its most powerful form. The question for my second year of stories was this…what does Josh think about Barry becoming an even better Turok than him?? Maybe one day I’ll get to answer these and other burning questions.
Whew!! I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. Post in the boards and tell me if I suck or not.
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
Recommended Reading: Read a magazine that’s not Wizard, and has nothing to do with comics. It could be music, movies, girls, whatever, escape the box and seek your story ideas elsewhere.
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAcclaim Comics - Ambidextrous Style!``x998167934,36408,``x``x
``x
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artist: Mike Allred
Publisher: Marvel
A friend of mine once told me that reviewing a single issue of a comic book can be like reviewing a movie after seeing 20 minutes. To that end, I waited for 3 issues of X-Force before reviewing it. Issue #116 implied a satirical, unconventional and intelligent book. The third issue into Milligan and Allred's run cemented my support of this book.
I should preface by stating that I have never been a fan of the whole X-Thing, so to speak. That is not to say that X-Men have been without merit, but the X franchise has always been a great example of the commercial exploitation of comic fans' loyalty to the characters. I understand that comic books are a business venture and must generate profit to survive, however the X franchise has often leveraged shelf space and market domination tactics to support itself. Through that rather thick veil of commercialism, it has often been difficult for me at least to see any characters worth caring about. As a result, I have little connection with X-Force's established continuity and characterization; this review will view the current X-Force issues accordingly.
The commercialism evident in the comic book marketplace and the American culture in general is the backdrop to this book creating a rather unique title in this newly recreated X-Force title. The first issue shows us a number of largely unlikeable, self-absorbed and possibly even despicable characters. A new team member, Anarchist, blatantly commits a criminal and dangerous act while proceeding to laugh in the face of traditional law enforcement. The next sequence provides a tour of the X-Force cafe which markets dolls and hats and whatnot in an effort to generate profit off of the marketable team. (To bridge comics with reality for a moment, this restaurant is very reminiscent of the Marvel theme restaurant once found in Universal Studios Hollywood.) Next we witness team members panicking about their physical beauty and their individual clout with the public. Edie, an X-Force member with the ability to teleport herself and others explains the team's culture by saying:
"The best seat in the house. Money. Sex. Fame. Power. All this...isn't that what it's all about? The missions we go on...they're just the sideshow we have to deal with so we can have this life."
She also delights at the thought of a forest she just purchased being converted into more profitable commercial property and politically vies to become the leader of the team. By the time the team is charged with rescuing a kidnapped boy band modeled after N'Sync, I was so inundated by the commercialism that the thought of any more American pop culture made me want to puke. My hope was that this book had found a solid new ground and would live up to its potential. After reading three issues, I believe that it has.
The next two issues introduce us to a new team and a new team leader called the Orphan. The team is similarly arrogant and quarrelsome, except for Orphan who becomes a voice with whom the reader can empathize. In this issue, previous members of X-Force attack in order to defend the legacy that they themselves had established. Cannonball provides the contrarian point of view to Edie's aforementioned egocentricity:
“[For the new team] it's about media manipulation. It's about merchandise. It's about money. And it's about time the people out there knew how you were degrading the once proud name of X-Force. [...You are] more interested in pimping your public image than protecting your own kind.”
Edie and Cannonball's opposing points are the crux of this comic.
In the midst of this hotbed, the Orphan, an appropriately hypersensitive mutant, struggles to find his place in this world and possibly on this team. The most engaging part of this title for me is that the Orphan seems to want to live in this world with honor and dignity and perhaps to live up to a standard that Cannonball implies, but he has to live in the reality that Edie describes.
Milligan implies that capitalism has become a means to cast off one's own morality in the name of protecting one's own interest and securing one's own future. In the third issue (#118), the team attempts to rescue a child by purchasing necessary information from a contact in the child's native country, Bastrona. This contact, Diego, betrays the team while the country's militia try to kill X-Force. The team debates how best to kill Diego while Orphan declares that they shall not kill. Diego defends his actions by saying that he is just like X-Force and Americans in general:
“I mean, I'm ... a capitalist, selling his services to the highest bidder. I want to go to America, see. I want to be enterprising! And buying a ticket to the States costs big time.”
Given Edie's earlier remarks, it becomes difficult to find fault with Diego. Both sides have casually abandoned any morals they may or may not have had in pursuit of their own interests. What the greater good might be is never even considered.
Someone once said that the United States' middle class was liberal during a recession because they feared losing their jobs and conservative during economic growth because they feared missing their chance to get rich. Milligan, along similar lines seems to be showing us the world we live in: self interest seems to drive everything.
That might not be a bad thing, but regardless, it appears to be an accurate reflection of what much of the comic industry, sports industry, music industry, politics and perhaps even the American culture overall has become.
In the face of all of this, Milligan provides a mutant in its original form. The Orphan is a true freak. He is ugly and nobody likes him. His teammates do not care if he lives or dies. Edie would openly prefer the latter so she can move into the team leader position. He considers suicide nightly. Given what he is surrounded by, it is not difficult to see why.
It is hard for the reader to not see parallels to the world we live in, and to ask what guides our choices. The satire is of course funny, but biting at the same time. Like any good satire, it compels the reader to think about our world and how we relate to our community. In other words, "does this apply to me?" should be asked.
In terms of action, it's still an action packed book. It is impossible to know who will live or die in this book. Allred's artwork is great. It is not flashy. The backgrounds are always strong which grounds the characters in a world around them, and in this book, the world around them is almost its own character. The individuals have human proportions, well, the characters that ARE human at any rate. The dynamic positions of the characters is in no way melodramatic and largely accurate. On a side note, this just feels like yet another strong production by editor Axel Alonso. I always feel like someone should write a review of his editing. He seems to always strive to create intelligent books by generating new perspectives on familiar themes and/or characters.
All in all, I find the book to be a great one, well worth reading. I hope it keeps up.
``xBruce Tartaglia``xbruce@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xX-Force Or X-Farce? Reviewing X-Force #116 To #118``x998389103,66464,``x``x
``x
Ambidextrous - Is It In You??
I once commented that Joe Casey, during his Business of Writing Comics panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, successfully lit a creative fire under my ass. Well, I’m pleased to announce that a similar event his occurred recently…except that this sensation is more akin to that of a Bunsen burner.
The setting is WizardWorld Chicago and due to prior commitments, I’m touring the convention floor solo without the best friend in tow. On top of that, I’m slightly over two hours late and this disaster is just another entry in what is quickly becoming a very strange weekend. After missing the Connections panel that served to pair writers with artists and vice versa (the one panel I was looking forward to the most by the by), I had to settle on a little something called What Marvel Wants.
Terrific…Joe Quesada is going to take the stage and tell everyone that we have the potential to make it, when odds and brutal statistics indicate that not only will no one in the room of hopefuls make it, but they’ll drive themselves crazy trying. Right???
Wrong.
Perhaps it’s testament to Joe’s ability as a spokesman and salesman, but something about this pep talk was a little different. He talked of the new wave at Marvel, dedicated to telling stories that a casual reader could follow and care about. He talked of refusing to be handicapped by years of baggage and continuity, and how that would serve to completely disconnect a new reader from the material. He talked of how the Chosen One, the person capable of taking things to the next level and providing the new voice that Marvel is looking for could be sitting in that very room. And I believed that shit.
What is it about a creator’s mentality that causes them to think that they have something that the people want?? That they are in fact the Chosen One?? And why is that the only mindset under which we can deliver the goods??
“You have to be prepared to drown your babies,” Quesada said at the panel. He’s referring to a creator’s inability to release his or her own ideas and concepts when presented with another alternative that may work just as well. But if you think your baby is too ugly to present at the river, you won’t even get the chance.
When you sit down to pen your own version of the Fantastic Four, or the new revamp for Young Justice, or the ultimate Batman and Robin story, it’s a testament to your work if you suspend your disbelief for enough hours to produce a story worthy of being pawned to retailers in Previews. If you can imagine your artistic collaborator toiling over your script and being as interested in the impending ending as your audience. If you imagine your editor receiving your plot via e-mail and thanking himself or herself that they ever took a chance on THIS unknown. If you imagine your name being synonymous with quality, the mutual respect of your peers, and hanging at a convention booth chatting with the people putting a check in your pocket on a monthly basis. To me there would be nothing more satisfying. Entertaining the masses. “Putting asses in the seats” as Quesada put it.
Marvel’s announcement that “we’re not just superheroes anymore” is even more stimulating to the mind of any hopeful. No longer is a writer handicapped by the singular choice of genre. Got a killer Western story?? Bring it. What about comic satire?? Bring it. A damn romance comic?? Just bring it. The floodgates are officially open and for large moments at a time, you must forget the odds, throw caution to the wind and get noticed.
Whatever it takes to put you in the mindset to make things happen?? Do it. Otherwise, you’ve lost before you’ve even begun. Game over. You lose because you were afraid to fail. I’m still keeping all of my rejection letters, written in form though they may be, to use as fuel. You think I’m going to let a form letter force me to turn back?? HELL NO. Too much work to be done, too many stories to tell.
Is it in you?? Let’s make it happen people…just don’t think you’re taking my spot. ;)
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
Next time: There is a force out there that exists strictly to derail and prevent everything we hope to create. They are growing in number and the internet has made them stronger and bolder in their pursuits. Next week…we take aim at the “haters” to turn the tables.
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAmbidextrous - Is It In You??``x998730539,56272,``x``x
``xOne of the things I really, really, despise is when a storyline jacks me up to the point where I want something significant and important to happen, and instead I find some idiot doing the equivalent of peeing on my boot.
Now, I have been able to forgive this in The X-Files for various reasons, including the fact that part of the ride was the obfuscation, confusion, and sheer weirdness going on — sometimes it really didn’t make sense, if only because Chris Carter was making it up as he went along. It fit the theme.
With Dallas, I didn’t give a damn when Bobby turned up in the shower. Big dumb joke, that.
What they did with Witchblade, though, utterly pisses me off. Worse yet, everybody involved seems to believe that they’ve contributed a masterpiece of television to the world. Well, sorry, folks, it ain’t so. It wasn’t so before the last first-season episode, but at least it was tolerable, and, in quite a few places, actually gripping.
To back up a little bit and explain, Witchblade is the story of New York Police Detective Sara Pezzini, who is pushed into contact with an ancient artifact called the Witchblade. This gives her useful abilities, including the power to spring a three-foot sword from her wrist and do some time-twisty things. Also involved is billionaire Kenneth Irons and his henchman Ian Nottingham, Sara’s first partner, Danny, and then her rookie partner, Jake, who turns out to have more than a few secrets of his own. Then there’s good cop Joe Siry and bent cop Bruno Dante, and his team of White Bulls. Finally, we have Gabriel Beauman, the sidekick she acquires, and Conchobar, her short-lived boyfriend. It’s based on the Top Cow comic, which is so much about t&a that I’ve never been tempted, thanks (if I need the stimulation, Avatar Breast, errr, Press features heroines with much bigger, err, assets and then there’s Jim Balent).
Between the two-hour pilot and the following eleven episodes, Witchblade follows Sara as she learns more and more about the Witchblade. Irons, meanwhile, has his own agenda (exactly what it is, is unclear until the last couple of episodes), Nottingham goes all weird over Sara, Jakes gets involved with the White Bulls, and Dante decides to kill Sara. It gets messy, it gets difficult, and then, in the last episode, it gets damn near terminal. Nottingham turns out to be clones, Irons needs Sara’s blood to survive, and everybody gets killed (listen to the uh-ohs when Danny’s ghost touches Gabe) except for Sara, who isn’t feeling so well then. Jake exits in an impressively tacky scene, having surfing flashbacks as Nottingham throttles him.
This is when we’re introduced to Lazar. “Who?” you ask. “Lazar,” I say. Yes, yes, I know, cluelessness results. Well, we’ve seen Lazar from time to time — a wrinkly blond shamanic type popping up silently here and there. You can’t miss Lazar, actually. Every time he turns up, they stay with him in slow motion for something like ten minutes. Nobody ever explained anything, however, or even hinted. Well, Lazar is quickly mentioned in this episode, then it’s a reminder about something Sara learned in “Periculum” (the episode where Yancy Butler is strapped to a bed in her underwear) about the way time is supposed to work. Except that now it’s “you can turn time back, but only once!” Errrr, well, wasn’t that having the ability to go back and forth through time at will? Apparently not; she can turn time back full tilt.
So she does. Bang pow! Funky light out of the Witchblade, and smash cuts through the episodes until we get back to a scene from the pilot ... except this goes a little differently. Everybody’s alive again, Sara’s forgotten all she learned, and the series has been, in one shot, rebooted completely. They can now do a second season exactly like the first.
I am so thrilled I could barf.
This is unfortunately the typical TV industry mentality. It’s only fantasy, so who cares about the rules? There was little consistency in the series, with the possible exception of Nottingham’s increasingly daffy behavior. After “Periculum,” with Sara being bonded to the Witchblade, one could expect some interesting elements to pop up. Never happened. If anything, the fantasy elements became duller and less pronounced.
On the other hand, I will say this — there were some very good cast choices made, including the selection of Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzini. The bullfrog voice is actually a perfect grace note. Alas, as I won’t be watching the next season, I won’t be hearing it....
``xSteven E. McDonald``xstree@azstarnet.com``xWhacking The Witchblade``x999013577,28606,``x``x
``x
Ambidextrous – Pit Stop
A sincere apology to those that have come here expecting a commentary called Haters Be Hating. Not to worry. My most controversial and flamboyant article thus far is coming your way very soon…it’s just that the headmasters presiding over SBC have decided to allow Ambidextrous to reside within the confines of this esteemed site on a regular basis. Which presented a slight problem schedule-wise, because the next article deserves to start things off in my regular and hopefully permanent spot.
Editor extraordinary Craig Lemon suggested that I devote a column to interesting offerings in the latest Previews. Probably had something to do with the fact I was flipping through the latest issue shortly before his gave me the promotion. Instead of mindlessly picking upcoming comics with impressive covers as my November must-haves, I decided to implement a small theme. A method to this madness.
Let’s discuss a buzz-word in the comics world known as the jumping-on point. An issue meant to serve as an appropriate entry into any self-respecting series. Let’s ignore the principal issue that ALL comics should be written as someone’s potential first, because that’s seldom how things happen. And it’s no one’s fault in particular. Just happens that way. So in the spirit of continuity at its finest, I’ve assembled a list of interesting possibilities that will allow the virgin reader to experience storytelling at its finest, from the very beginning…or at least at a point where everything makes sense:
Wizard #123:
Whatever you do…don’t call them the Ultimate Avengers. These are the Ultimates people…wake up and smell the money coming Marvel’s way. Pair Mark Millar, fresh off an acclaimed run on The Authority, and ongoing architect of the continuity flush (which I think is a good thing by the way) known as Ultimate X-Men, with Bryan Hitch, one of the co-founders of widescreen storytelling and a veteran of not only The Authority, but the JLA as well, and watch the fans go absolutely nuts.
Couple this with the claim that this title will usher into life a new breed of superheroic adventure devoted to the resolution of real-world conflicts, and even the mouth of a cynic waters. What the hell does this have to do with Wizard you ask?? This is where you’ll find the first 22 pages of the saga, and you know you want a sneak peek.
Catwoman #1:
Did you realize that Catwoman’s monthly book had been canned by DC a few months ago?? Me neither. Forget what has come before…Selina Kyle is back in a slinky black number with a renewed purpose and a fresh creative approach. To be honest, her appearance reflects the revamped design she sported in the latest episodes of The New Batman/Superman Adventures that aired for a couple of years before experiencing the horror of cancellation. The fact that the artist for the project seems to present a style highly reminiscent of the animated series is setting off my weird coincidence meter.
No matter. The thing looks like a lot of fun. Writer is a man by the name of Ed Brubaker, and though I’m not quite enamored with his run on Batman, I’ll be watching this one very closely. The first four-issue arc throws Selina back into a life she’d thought a distant memory. We’ll see if my suspicion that this story has something to do with murdered prostitutes proves true.
JLA/Haven: Arrival:
Even if the promos for this one-shot, leading into the year-long maxi-series, Haven: The Broken City, weren’t featuring beautiful art from Ariel Olivetti, I’d give this one a look. Ignore the fact that this series replaces the massive crater left in the DCU following the destruction of Coast City, and that it establishes a new alien presence on Earth for the JLA and the rest of humanity to deal with…the writers of the project broke down a couple of perceived barriers getting here. And that gives another waiting on the sidelines infinite hope that one should never say never.
Ashley-Jayne Nicolaus and Matthew P. Schuster had never written a comic professionally, they didn’t pair up with an artist to peddle their wares, and they handed out the proposal for this saga at a convention. Three established no-no’s when trying to kick down the walls as a writer…and to them it meant next to nothing. It’s inspiring guys and gals and I’ll happily line their pockets with royalties. It also helps their cause immensely that the story sounds damn intriguing and the art is gorgeous.
Cannon God Exaxxion #1:
This one may raise a few eyebrows. Cannon God comes from Dark Horse and is the latest translated manga offered from the guys at Studio Proteus that are giving us Blade of the Immortal, which I haven’t had the opportunity to check out, and the title that prompted this recommendation…Gunsmith Cats.
I was first exposed to the Cats through the anime series released by A.D.Vision and became subsequently hooked. This led to a rabid following of the comic series I discovered that Dark Horse published from creator Kenichi Sonoda’s secret stash. In a sentence, Gunsmith Cats presented the adventures of two female bounty hunters operating out of Chicago and was riddled with bullets and stylish car chases. Good stuff to be sure.
The Cats are no more unfortunately, but this is their creator’s latest work. Not only is the art highly expressive and detailed, but this new series features nanotechnological battlesuits that make the wearer superhuman, alien invasions, city-smashing giant robots, insanely powerful handguns, and cover-to-cover action. I’ll be there.
Cla$$war #1:
Last but definitely not least is this fascinating offering from the boys at Com.X, who are based across the world (at least from me) in the UK. Met these cats at the San Diego Con, bought a handful of their books and had them autographed with little hesitation. The vibe these guys gave off was insanely cool (which is why I sent them a submission recently), and I watched them grin from ear-to-ear while telling me their first release, Bazooka Jules, was completely sold out and therefore I couldn’t have one. The guys were proud of their sales and they had one of the coolest free posters available at the con. A class act to be sure.
About Cla$$war though, it’s yet another superhero tale, but one with an interesting twist. Two men, one an ex-CIA operative, one a genetically enhanced super soldier, are intent on showing ordinary people that there’s a life outside of the authoritarian corporations, corrupt politicians, and imposing wealth that is commonplace in their lives. The people in charge aren’t going to sit back and lose their seats of power however, sparking an all-out war. Superheroes and gritty politics in full-color. And Com.X is also releasing collected editions of their unavailable works soon too. Can’t wait.
That’s all folks, just something to get your November’s heated properly. Be back on Thursday for the true premiere of Ambidextrous, cut completely loose and released on the unsuspecting public.
Apparently, you people wanted this…and I’m the man to make sure you get it. Thursday. Haters Be Hating. Silver Bullet Comics. Don’t miss the train.
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
In the meantime, head to the message board and leave the name of a title you’ve always wanted to try but were afraid that you wouldn’t understand clue one if you picked it up. Please. Mine are Blade of the Immortal and Sin City. If we start talking television shows…Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Step up and be heard. Message boards are fun. ``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xAmbidextrous: Pit Stop``x999363107,74968,``x``x
``xPrognostications
or, "Hypertime Follies Of 2001!"
Orders due by September 23rd for product shipping in November and later. Order from your local comics dealer, your favorite mail order place, or however it takes your fancy.
(Disclaimer: The author is flying almost as blindly as everyone else, and has notoriously unusual taste at times. This is a subjective guide, not a set of commandments. Do you like my interdimensional defrangulator? It's so cool in plaid!)
DC
Offerings this month include the rebooted Catwoman #1, a quartet of Superman titles that interest me not at all, and too damn many hardcovers for anyone sensible -- including George Pratt's Batman: Harvest Breed, Green Lantern: Legacy - The Last Will And Testament Of Hal Jordan (written by Joe Kelly), and JLA: Riddle Of The Beast, an Elseworlds written by Alan Grant and painted by a slew of people. The Hawkman Archives Volume 1 is offered again, and Plastic Man Archives Volume 3 makes its debut (one for my list, anyway).
Jimmy Palmiotti takes over scripting on Superboy this month, with #94. I am bailing now. I'll stay with Supergirl, though, which now frees itself from crossovers with #64, and about damn time too. Chuck Dixon's books continue to do the Joker: Last Laugh thing, thus helping many of us to make the choice to save money.
JLA/Haven: Arrival may be of interest. Two new writers sold DC on the concept of a huge spacegoing city crashing to Earth where Coast City once stood.
Green Arrow #10 finally wraps up "Quiver". At this point, I'm glad it didn't run for twelve after all. I'll probably also go with The Spectre #11, and the final issues of Generations II and JLA: Incarnations
.
ABC/Vertigo/Wildstorm
The Authority #28 sees the return of nasty old Seth. Hilarity ensues. Further issues of The Establishment, The Monarchy, and Cybernary 2.0 also arrive, as does The Authority: Widescreen, a 48 page special with a story from Bryan Hitch.
Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset #2 ... not to be missed.
Four Women #2 from Sam Kieth. Again, one to show to the folks who don't get comics yet.
Marvel
MAX heads into its third month, wrapping up US War Machine with issues 9-12, as well as a trade paperback compiling the lot. If you haven't started on the series already, then the trade will probably be the best way to go, as well as a bit cheaper. Fury and Alias continue apace.
The combination of Greg Rucka and Yoshitaka Amano on Elektra/Wolverine: Redeemer is an interesting one, especially as the story is prose with illustrations. I'm waiting for the collected edition, however, though I know many will not.
Daredevil: Yellow wraps up with #6. I've meanwhile lost interest in the mainstream DD series -- what, he's getting the whackies again?!
Then there's Black Panther #38, and Captain Marvel #25.
Of the trades coming this month, I lean towards Crossover Classics III for geek potential, and towards The Essential Dr. Strange because I kinda like that nut.
Dark Horse
The usual Lone Wolf And Cub, now up to Vol. 16: The Gateway Into Winter.
A new Hellboy novel, The Bones Of Giants, will be on the loose, illustrated by Mike Mignola, written by Christopher Golden.
Akira, Book Five arrives with a slightly higher price and a slightly larger page count.
Image/Top Cow
Dean Motter's Electropolis #3 is a definite on my list.
Powers #16, continuing the "Supergroup" arc.
I've abandoned Savage Dragon, finally. Got bored, alas.
Everybody Else
AiT/PlanetLar serves up Sky Ape: Waiting For Crime. No, you are the weird one. It's 56 pages, and you will get it. You will also get Don't Trust Whitey by James Kochalka Superstar -- a CD and minicomic combination. You will acquire this because a) I say so and b) JKS produces really, really, really superior music with quirks and bends to it.
More Slow News Day from Andi Watson, now at #3 of 6. Don’t wait for the trade paperback, you fool!
Okay, it's a shock, but I'm about to mention an Avatar Breast, er, Press title -- of course, it's Alan Moore's Glory #1. Numerous covers, including one by Joseph Michael Linsner. The sky hasn't fallen, but some of those clouds look kind of shaky to me....
Bent humor is the point of Deep Fried #4, which has done such fun stuff as crossing Peanuts with Wolverine in the past.
David Lapham's Murder Me Dead has all nine issues collected into a single hardcover volume. Not cheap, but worth checking out. There is also a nine-pack of the original comics at a little bit less cost, though the hardcover makes more of a treat.
From Batton Lash and Exhibit A Press is Vampire Brat And Other Tales Of Supernatural Law, compiling a number of issues of Supernatural Law, as well as Mavis #2. Great fun; I've liked this series for years.
Chris Ware's second book is coming -- Quimby The Mouse is another Acme Novelty Library title, and will have hardcover and softcover editions.
Battle Pope Shorts #3, because you can never be too perverse. Don't miss Saint Michael #3 either. Funk-O-Tron have also picked up the ball with the late Double Image with Double Take #6, which continues Larry Young's Codeflesh and introduces the world to rex mantooth, Kung-Fu Gorilla.
Here's something even my wife would like -- the latest entry in gemstone's Carl Barks Library, an expensive slipcased item with three hardcover volumes of Uncle $crooge reprints in a slipcase. Collecting the entire library is going to prove costly -- still, it is a little cheaper per volume than the Marvel or DC archive volumes. Note that the artwork is reproduced in black and white, however.
Rick Geary presents us with Blanche Goes To Paris, in which pianist Blanche Womack endures further wild adventure while trying to find a paying gig.
I've decided that I'm going to stick with the Metabarons trades from now on, simply to stay in one format. #15 is on the way for those who would rather stay current.
Liberty Meadows #23. I've become a fan. Now I want my local newspaper to carry the strips.
Alan Moore and Tim Perkins serve up Highbury Working, a CD that delves into the Highbury area of London. Words from Alan Moore against soundscapes by Perkins.
Eagle Vol. 22 brings the story to a close, finally. Eagle Volume Four TP is meanwhile a help in catching up on this highly-regarded story.
Magazines
Alter Ego #11 looks at Timely Comics and Captain Marvel. Asian Cult Cinema #33 looks like a good bet, too.
Books
The Art Of Robert McCall has been reduced in price considerably, which makes it an especially fine value.
I'm picking up Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Tales Of The Slayer for the rest of the family, who will doubtless wear it out in a hurry.
Trina Robbins' The Great Women Cartoonists looks worthwhile for the reference shelf.
A couple of film references you might want to have: Spaghetti Nightmares and Tokyoscope, both of which delve into varieties of cult cinema.
Various Lucky Luke books are being offered at lowered prices. Good fun stuff, these.
Toys, Videos, Stuff
Getcher Daleks rat cheer, folks! Especially the nice big plastic kit Daleks, eighth scale kits from Comet of both TV and movie Daleks.
A variety of German comics slipcases are being offered for sale, at a reasonably price of $5.99 list -- usually including a comic.
Graphitti not only offers up the Earth X hardcover/2CD package again, but also a t-shirt with the tentative cover of the new Howard The Duck #1 on it. Fast work, boys (on the t-shirt, anyway.)
Ah! My Goddess: The Movie features Belldandy versus her mentor, Celestin, in a new tale. This should be at least amusing -- Ah! My Goddess has been consistently funny. DVD and VHS from Pioneer.
Trigun is collected into an 8 DVD box set by Pioneer -- that's a lot of watching. Actually, it's a lot of money, too.
The fifth DVD set of The Prisoner is coming, and if you want to find out what came before that series, the first two-DVD volume of Secret Agent (aka Danger Man, and, before that, Man In A Suitcase.) For those who waited, the entire Prisoner is going to be available in a 10 DVD box.
GNP Crescendo is releasing The Best Of Stargate SG-1 Season 1, which means choice moments from Joel Goldsmith's underscores. Hmmm. James Horner's Battle Beyond The Stars soundtrack CD (which also includes his score for Humanoids From The Deep) is also again available.
I seem to have run out of Previews to preview! So ... back again next month, with yet more. until then, be well, and remember to wear your underwear on the outside. Ya ho!``xSteven E. McDonald``xstree@azstarnet.com``xSeptember's Prognostications``x999643626,15432,``x``x
``x
Writer: Peter Milligan
Artists: Mike Deodato Jr (p), Deodato Studios (i)
Publisher: Marvel
PLOT: Elektra is offered a chance to bring her father back to life. All she has to do is kill an immortal being who's trying to possess a new body. Plus, a rematch with Bullseye leaves a young girl in Elektra's care. There's also Dr. Strange, a big fight with some no-name villains, and it all ends with a guy in a woman's body. I wish I were making this up.
Since a new Elektra series has just launched, I thought it might be worth looking at the first 'Elektra' series. Published from 1996 to 1998, this was the last major project from then hot artist Mike Deodato Jr. Yep, the same guy who's work on 'Wonder Woman' was almost universally reviled by right-thinking fans, and who went on to challenge Jim Balent for the title of "Horniest Artist Ever", was given the job of drawing Marvel's first "bad girl".
At least his 'Jade Dragon' series has been a bomb. Proof positive that there is justice in the universe.
Peter Milligan wrote the series, before going to Vertigo and his short-lived series 'Minx'. He's now writing the interesting new 'X-Force'. I've seen enough of 'Minx' and 'X-Force' to wonder if 'Elektra' was written by the same Peter Milligan.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. I wanted to read these issues again before I read the new series. I didn't want the new book to make the old one seem worse than it already was. (If that's even possible.)
Anyway, let's get down to it, issue by issue.
#1: Elektra is sponsoring a dojo where she sends young crooks in an attempt to straighten out their life. She agrees to do a modern dance production to raise money for the Dojo. Meanwhile, she's beginning to feel something stalking her in the dark. Wolverine appears as a follow-up to a story from his book. Stick's ghost, (I think it's his ghost), follows Elektra around doing the "Yoda as a crotchety old man" thing. Finally, Bullseye shows up for a rematch.
The problem with superhero books is their inherent ridiculousness. I mean, the concepts many characters are based on are so over the top to begin with that it's difficult to do a story with emotional depth, personal conflict, or any other complex character issues that are traditionally the antithesis to the whole genre. Once the stories cross a certain line, almost anything that attempts to be serious just sound silly. I realized this when Elektra found the two masters of her dojo attacked by Bullseye. One of them says the following:
"He's going to kill you again, Elektra. Only this time...he's going to make sure you stay dead..."
I'll give even odds that line will be spoken in an upcoming "Austin Powers" movie. Really, it's laughable! This is why dead characters should stay dead! Not just to give the life of the character more meaning, but to prevent the writing of dumb lines like that!
Despite that little stumble, Milligan does a good job of creating mood. Elektra comes across as a woman trying to redeem herself. Problem is, it's hard to take her seriously when Deodato keeps drawing her, and every other woman, like a fantasy babe.
#2: Elektra and Bullseye beat each other up. Elektra wins only by forgetting her training, and letting her self go. Unfortunately, she accidentally kills a man nearby, right in front of his daughter. She also finds Bullseye wearing a necklace she made and gave to her father years ago.
OK. We see some of Bullseye's childhood, that's good. But he's drawn like Venom, before he became a tongue and ten claws. That's bad. It's impossible not to compare the art here to the art of Klaus Janson, but I don't think such comparisons are unfair. The qualities the characters had under Janson's pencils are sadly lacking here. He drew Bullseye and Elektra as lean, muscular people. Deodato doesn't even make them look human! Bullseye just looks like a big, drooling monster. And Elektra's waist is so small, it's almost non-existent. It's like her body is an optical illusion, with her legs and torso both reaching infinitely to some theoretical vanishing point.
I think Elektra looked sexier in her first appearances. Her body language was smoother, more fluid, and more natural. She had a certain grace and power that is sorely lacking here. Here, her breasts are too big, her legs too long, and she wears a lot of useless bands on her arms and legs. (Obviously, I am a member of an ever shrinking minority of comic book fans.)
I'm beginning to think Milligan was wasted on this book. It's a strange experience to read a comic where the writer is superior to the artist.
#3: The Architect announces his presence to Elektra via a club full of burning people, all under his mental command. They tell her that soon, many assassins will be converging on NYC. Meanwhile, Nina, the traumatized girl who's dad Elektra accidentally killed, escapes from the hospital and immediately gets picked up by some aspiring gangsters.
One flaw in Milligan's writing is beginning to appear: Elektra sounds too American for someone born and raised in Greece. Her dialogue is too casual, relaxed, even downright flippant. It doesn't quite fit with her "fighting dark, inner demons" persona.
Nina's grandparents show up vowing to take her home. The cops who speak to them act like the grandparents are too stifling. All they say is, "She'll be better once we get her home and give her plenty of loving", which sounds like the kind of thing a redneck says about his wife. What about that sentence means "overbearing" or "suffocating"?
On a side note, this comic has a three-page article about the Marvel/Top Cow crossover, "Devil's Reign". Did anybody read that? It says that Warren Ellis wrote the 'Ghost Rider/Ballistic' issue, and I know Elektra was involved. Is it worth reading? Should I buy it cheap on e-bay? Damn my weakness for crossovers!
#4: Nina moves herself in with Elektra, the Architect appears as a Sadhu in India, and Elektra sees the first of many battles among assassins. Dr. Strange shows up in a very smooth red overcoat and agrees to look into this Architect. Finally, the big 'A' himself shows up with an offer: He will let Elektra speak with her dead father, if she kills the Architect.
OK, lemme explain the plot: Architect is going to transfer his mind into a new body. But his old body will fight as hard as it can to stay alive. So he needs the world's best assassin to kill him, thus allowing his rebirth. He went to Bullseye first, and now Elektra. I'm not sure how the other assassins playing 'Highlander' fits into all this. Maybe it's a single elimination tournament of killers.
Again, Elektra looks too damn sexy to be taken seriously. Everything stretches or fits tight on her, even a sweatshirt. I do, however, like Dr. Strange's look. The long coat is a nice yet natural change from his usual ornate cape. I wonder how good his Marvel Knights mini-series was?
#5: Half way there folks! Elektra has fourteen days to consider the Architect's offer. Meanwhile, more assassins, like Taskmaster, Bushwhacker, and Razorfist, arrive in NYC. Even Blacklash comes out of retirement hoping this job will be his last. Also, Mac Stewart, one of the dojo's senseis, confesses his growing love for Elektra.
First thing you notice is every woman in this comic is drawn and dressed like a babe! I'm serious! There are no average-looking women in this book. They're all busty, tight assed, short-skirted, tiny-waisted pin-up girls. Mr. Deodato has some serious issues.
Elektra's becoming less of a dark and conflicted person, and more like Jennifer Lopez, (I ain't callin' her J.Lo. Nope. No way. Uh-uh.) Again, this the fault of the body language, tight clothes, and casual modes of speech. But Milligan makes up for this with the subtle signs of Nina's inner pain. She can only hide it for so long. Nice touch.
In the end, Elektra turns down the Architect's offer, in a standard monologue-in-the-rain sequence. Really, the minute she opens her mouth, you know what her answer's going to be.
#6: Elektra fights Razorfist, the Architect comes to NYC, and Elektra's musical has a great opening.
I'm running out of new things to say about this book. I'd like to point out that the cop, Morrissey, doesn't look the same as he did when he first appeared in issue #4. And this is the first time that Stewart looks like an African-American. Before he looked Asian, or white. Ah, blame it on Hypertime. Let's move on . . .
#7: Every assassin in the Marvel universe fights each other for the chance to kill the Architect, who's put a hit out on himself. Blacklash gets his wife killed, and geos on a mini-rampage. Meanwhile, Konrad Weiss, the director of Elektra's show, maeks a deal with the Architect.
Let me point out that this issue picks up where the last one leaves off. #6 ended with Elektra going out in costume. Here, it begins with her in regular clothes. That bit of continuity out of the way, we move on.
Blacklash's breakdown is tearful, sudden, and a little heart breaking. Kudos to Milligan. The fights among the assassins are too short. There's very little sense of movement or speed here. I'm not sure how to describe it. It's like the fights are a series of pictures that you know to be connected, but there is no real sense of . . . flow. Imagine a movie where every other 2-minute block is removed. Wait, they've done that in "Tomb Raider". Okay, it's like the action in "Tomb Raider".
Since making my Lopez comparison, I'm starting to imagine her as Elektra. Honestly, I could see her play Elektra in a movie. It would suck big time, but I could see it.
#8: Finally, it all comes to an end. The Architect arranges for Elektra to kill him during her show. Dr. Strange finds the Architect's new vessel, and Konrad Weiss gets a sex change operation.
First of all, Strange and Elektra find a sixteen-year-old girl impregnated by the Architect. She's going to give birth to his new "vessel". The girl's name is Mary, (get it? Apparent virgin birth, Mary? Hey, I don't mind a little blasphemous humor, so long as it's intelligent and funny, like "Life of Brian"), but looks exactly like Nina. It seems like Mary gives birth within a day of finding out she's pregnant. Are supposed to assume the Architect accelerated her pregnancy, or what? And when the baby is born, he's described as "an empty shell", (by nurses without pupils in their eyes). Does that mean he's dead, or just gives off a really creepy feeling?
During the show, the Architect switches bodies with Konrad, leaving him as a woman, (who also looks like Nina). I find that to be just plain weird, if not unnecessary. Does Konrad come back later in the series? Did Milligan plan to do a sub-plot with Konrad learning how hard it is to be a woman in a man's world? And was Knorad gay? It was never mentioned explicitly, but there were a couple of little things here and there that made me wonder.
Elektra decides to start killing people again, saying, "There are people out there the world wouldn't miss". Excuse me, but after all she's been through, after seeing a girl go crazy after her father's death, after all the violence and killings brought on by the assassins, and everything else that came from the Architect seeking death, wouldn't she have a greater appreciation for life? Wouldn't she come away saying, "After all this time, I gave in to my dark nature. I broke the promise I made to myself. This time I had no choice. Next time I will?"
Finally, I was left with the impression that Stick is still alive. Is he? Can I get confirmation on this? I don't want to go buying up old 'Daredevil's' just to find out, especially the ones by Scott McDaniel. Not pretty.
So, final verdict: The story started out strong, but got a little sloppy at the end. The art retained a consistent level of quality: bad. Normally, I'd give it but for the fact that this is supposed to be Elektra. Having read her first appearances by Frank Miller, and the 'Assassin' mini-series, I can honestly say that this is not Elektra Natchios. Anyone else, fine. Elektra, no.
So if you're going to pick the new series from Bendis, or the trade paperback collection of Miller, and you find yourself wondering, "What was that first 'Elektra' series like?", now you know.
It kinda sucked.
(Oh, and by the way, I have read an issue of 'Jade Dragon'. Too much Freudian imagery for my taste.)``xMichael Deeley``xmiked@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xElektra - First Series``x999963722,42009,``x``x
``x
DC is setting itself up for a fall. Truth is, I’ve been saying it for months now. Not the small kind where there’s a month or two of struggles in terms of shipping or a single famous creator takes off for greener pastures. No, I’m talking about a full-scale dive in ingenuity, creative loss, and overall sales.
While the publisher continues to lose ground in direct sales, it compensates with months long company wide crossovers and fifth week events that would frighten any small child when it comes to reading comics. Testing our resolve as fans and consumers are unlimited amounts of gimmick projects the likes of “Silver Age”, “Sins of Youth”, “Justice Leagues”, “Batman Dies”, “Return to Krypton”, “Officer Down”, “Our Worlds at War” and now “The Joker’s Last Laugh”. Making the consequences of these events even more depressing are the four core books, six family books and five to ten one-shots that become “complimentary” to even the smallest of events. How long does DC believe it can squeeze every penny from their most loyal readers? I have to ask… did they really believe there would be a line of folks waiting to read a one-shot about what Harley Quinn was doing during an alien invasion? Are they really betting that the Jenny Sparks clone in Suicide Squad will turn heads and soar through the sales charts? Just wait until you folks see a Jokerized son of Darkseid chasing superheroes around. Oh, not that familiar with the concept yet? You will be… you will be.
Adding to the popularity descent of DC’s more mainstream titles, the company can’t seem to hold onto their creative staff. If one hasn’t jump ship for Marvel, they’ve bailed for CrossGen… or even Image. One can only assume for so long that it has nothing to do with their internal politics or business procedures. After all, Marvel doesn’t seem to have a problem with sharing creators and CrossGen is apparently tempting enough that high profile creators are willing to sign exclusives and move to the Hellhole I call home: Tampa, Florida. For goodness sakes, Chuck Dixon’s Birds of Prey has already lost two ongoing artists in a row to the latter publisher. DC’s answer to the problem? Tighten their grip. Throw exclusives like confetti and offer Vertigo or Cliffhanger/Homage projects like tissue paper. Yes, do anything and everything to keep the talent in house… even if it means becoming a lot more lenient when it comes to publishing material. It’s not that dangerous to become dependent on young and less experienced creators for the direction of a comic publisher, right?
But what about Wildstorm, they’re pretty well organized… right? You know, if you had asked me about it six months ago… I might have agreed with you. Let’s review DC… *cough*… I mean Wildstorm’s latest publishing plans. ‘Pseudo-JLA’ Authority ongoing series? Check. Authority ongoing spin-off series? Check. Authority ongoing spin-off series two? Check. Authority specials and one-shots? Check. Hardly two-years-old-engulfed-in-flames-fad running out of steam? Check. Oh, I’m sorry. Oh yes, I’m absolutely sure that the runaway success of adult-targeted Authority-style comics will trickle down through the entire imprint and generate new and youthful audiences for years to come. Absolutely. *Sarcasm off*
DC is a ticking time bomb, I assure you. If you’re not convinced yet, allow me to flash some keywords and phrases that I’m sure I’ve subliminally implied to you by now. Ready?
Marvel Comics. Middle 1990s. Months long crossovers. Maximum Clonage. Onslaught. New, youthful creators in power. Todd McFarlane. Erik Larsen. Jim Lee. Image Comics. Darker, more adult comics are hot. Ghost Rider. Midnight Sons. Marvel Edge. X-Men are hot. Too many X-Men books. Comics are unbearable. Readership dries up. Comic industry apocalypse.
Any frightening images of the past rattling around in those skulls of your yet? I thought so.
The coming months of DC “events” will be pretty tough to wallow through, but with projects like Green Arrow, The Dark Knight Strikes Again and Wonder Woman… it may not seem too bad. Of course that’s until Kevin Smith, Frank Miller and Phil Jiménez decide it’s time to move on to something else. Then you’ll start to ask yourself some difficult questions. Must I own all thirty to forty crossover tie-ins? Is the Authority really as new and captivating as it was a year ago, now with The Monarchy, The Establishment and everything in between? Do I really buy anything and everything with Batman or JLA in the title? Or is it Wolverine or X-Men?
I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared to make the same mistakes I may have made almost a decade ago. I do believe I can survive a whole month or two without Jokerized villains or the latest return of Doomsday. I kept out of Our Worlds at War and I’m all the happier because of it. The real question is… what will your choice be? Send a message of disinterest to DC or fill that terrorizing one to two issues gap in your Action Comics collection? It’s your decision… choose wisely.
Born and raised in Tampa, FL, Drew Reiber is a part-time student with aspirations of someday writing those comics he so loves to rant about. He hopes that future generations will forgive him for this DC Comics tirade, but also understand that the Joker: Last Laugh solicits caused his eyes and ears to bleed.
``xDrew Reiber``xgorok190@aol.com``xWake Up And Smell The Coffee: The End Is Coming...``x1000209426,24622,``x``x
``xYou have ventured into a cross-over courtesy of Silver Bullet Comics. For one week, and one week only…Ambidextrous will dwell within both its original birthing facility, the Silver Soapbox, and its own corner of the site where the Crucible have effectively usurped control for the next few weeks.
We are here today because a fellow SBC reviewer believed that Alias, Bendis’ new project from Marvel’s MAX line, sucked the posterior of a donkey. I passionately disagree with this assessment and this is what you need to consider in order to properly view the situation my way.
Marvel’s MAX Comics are not for children. They are being provided for consumption by rational, clear thinking “adults” that will appreciate and enjoy storytelling techniques and concepts not found in the latest installment of the Avengers. An adult analysis of characters that can enjoy wild sex, smoke with wild abandon, and make decisions that stand the possibly of being incorrect…kinda like real life. MAX is Marvel without handcuffs, and Alias by Brian Michael Bendis is the first bullet. I won’t argue that the first installment is a shot through the heart…but I believe Bendis at least struck a significant limb.
We’re introduced to private detective Jessica Jones while she breaks a bit of disturbing news to a client regarding his wife. He doesn’t like what he hears and turns violent, leaving her no choice but to put his face through a window. The authorities are called to investigate the scene and we learn the truth…Ms. Jones once belonged to the legion of heroes known as the Avengers. And apparently she’s fallen a long way.
Her depression leads her to excessive drinking in an establishment owned by Luke Cage, Power Man and Hero for Hire. They exchange pleasantries and something much more intimate before the night is over in the much-heralded sex scene that reportedly stopped the printers due to obscene content. The morning after, Jones meets a client that wants her to locate a sister that has recently disappeared with a mysterious beau.
This leads Jones to a shocking revelation...
I liked this title. The trademark Bendis dialogue was free-flowing and his artistic collaborator Michael Gaydos gave him ample space to utilize the numerous dialogue balloons that the writer employs when left to himself. His title character was interesting and portrayed three-dimensionally, a woman with problems trying to make her way through life, unsure if her decisions will lead her down the correct path. Bendis injected uncertainty into the life of his htitle character Jessica Jones and caused her to respond with smoking, careless sex, and irresponsible drinking. And people swore while in the course of normal conversation…something that happens in real life as well.
The shocking cliffhanger also ensures the next few chapters will prove most interesting, as Jones will likely be forced to confront the dark underbelly lining the Marvel Universe. Things are not as they seem apparently and what person more qualified to ferret out the truth than one that once operated within the secret circle??
If this were the standard SBC rating scheme at work, the book would easily earn four out of the five available bullets. My fellow reviewer gave it ONE and compared it to Youngblood and Heroes Reborn. Here’s what I think he failed to consider.
The man commented that Alias shares the same name as an upcoming series premiering shortly on ABC about the secret life of a female spy. He then makes the assertion that this makes Bendis’ latest offering derivative in nature…because of a name similarity.
Who knows the exact entity that suggested Alias as a title for their latest project initially, ABC or Marvel. More importantly…who gives a hell!!?? Apparently, the two projects share minimal similarities in scope and approach and even less in audience. If Marvel isn’t worried about the possibility of being attacked for copyright infringement, a costly and annoying process to be sure…I think a reviewer using this as a reason to label a project as derivative has suddenly lost their footing.
The man commented that Alias lacks sex appeal and that Luke Cage is an inappropriate sex partner for Jessica Jones. He also commented that the whole sex scene lacks originality. Last time I checked…Alias wasn’t about sex. It was about a former superhero turned private eye and her misadventures operating on the fringes of the Marvel Universe. The sex scene itself was not graphic or gratuitous and the dialogue helped to produce the desired effect in the reader more than the panels themselves. If you want a stimulating and horribly imaginative sex scene…watch a porno. Jessica Jones having “relations” with Luke Cage was less about throwing a random sexual tryst into the midst of the story for no reason, and more an incident to shed further light on a title character that seems determined to abuse herself on several levels.
Luke Cage, last time I checked, was black. As I’m sure the original printer in Alabama is aware of. (For the record, I believe nearly wholeheartedly that the obscene content they took an issue to was the portrayal of interracial sex.) News flash…interracial sex isn’t a big deal. The fact that Luke Cage, a black man, participated in sexual acts with Jessica Jones, a white woman, means nothing. It’s not a big deal, no matter how much people may want it to be.
A former fictional female detective hooking up with a black detective in some product of mass media called Guardian Angel (which isn’t accurately explained any way) means…NOTHING. Black men and white women having sex isn’t a plot twist…it’s reality. Once again, the bottom drops out of an argument that suggests any time a white female detective takes on a black lover it’s fair to label it as derivative. Take a poll…white women have been known to have sex, and yes, even MARRY black men.
The man commented that former Spider-Woman Jessica Drew should take over this project because she’s much more interesting and more deeply rooted in heroic nature than Jessica Jones. That would be an interesting idea…if people were at all interested in Jessica Drew and whatever the hell she’s doing wallowing in Cancelled Character Hell.
Let’s bring back Ka-Zar too. What about Darkhawk?? No? Well, why not?? What’s that you say…people don’t care!!?? Leave Drew in the box she’s trapped in and move on.
MAX isn’t about superheroes, at least not traditional superheroes anyway. It’s not about brightness and spandex. It’s about realistic portrayals of characters. Characters that smoke. Characters that drink. Characters that have irresponsible sex. Like real people do sometimes. If people can’t leave their archaic rules about what comic books are supposed to read like, look like and taste like at the door, just keep reading your Avengers and Superman books and don’t join us down here in the world of MAX.
I’m not expecting everyone to agree with me…but if you compare a book to Youngblood and Heroes Reborn…reasonable arguments are necessary. Alias wasn’t the best, but it was a good start and damn sure wasn’t the worst.
Haters be hating?? You be the judge…
Peace,
Brandon Thomas
``xBrandon Thomas``xbrandon@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xHaters Be Hating - Case In Point???``x1000595938,14344,``x``x
``xIt’s been a pretty long time since I wrote that last column. It was actually due to appear much earlier, as I wrote it just days before the San Diego Comic Con began. Since then, DC/Wildstorm has made dozens of announcements, including a new mature readers imprint, major creative changes and the solicitation of what is probably the most highly anticipated follow-up in the Modern Age of comics…The Dark Knight Strikes Again. Many of these announcements relate to my issues posted last week and some of them are actually positive changes for DC, so I thought I would cover a few of them today.
WildStorm: Mature Readers label
All I can say is… well played. If anyone has been reading Wildcats for the last year, they’ll know that the content has been getting considerably more adult every month. Joe Casey has definitely brought more depth and flavor to the series, but he’s also upped the ante when it comes to subject matter. This is all well and good, but you may as well slap a mature label on the cover to be safe. It’s not going to hurt anyone and it’s a pretty good bet we know who the audience is anyway. The same goes for The Authority, which will also be labeled mature beginning with Brian Azzarello and Steve Dillon’s upcoming run in April. Taking full advantage of this new imprint, WildStorm is also taking the opportunity to launch a few new titles… as well as relaunching the existing ones. At first, I thought that was a great idea. After all, it might be better to place some space between the original titles and their new “mature” incarnations. However, I’m starting to get the feeling they may take this relaunching a bit too far and unnecessarily apply it to several other titles, creating a line-wide sales gimmick (a la Marvel circa 1998/99). It’s a little too early to speculate, but I’m a bit wary none the less. We’ll see what happens.
Batman
Wow. Simply… wow. Batman editor Bob Shreck, clearly the biggest gun DC has today, has lined up some amazing projects for the fans over the next year. Aside from the obvious – excellent storytelling among the core titles – Shreck has been building several new titles and side projects to keep us counting the hours to every shipping date. The Catwoman relaunch has been solicited for November, with Ed Brubaker (Batman) and Darwyn Cooke (Batman: Ego) setting up their series with a pre-launch storyline in the pages of Detective Comics. Word is Brubaker and Greg Rucka (Detective Comics, Queen & Country) are now working on a Gotham Police Dept. ongoing series that they would alternate writing duties for with artist Michael Lark (Legend of the Hawkman). Also of note, Shreck is soon placing artist Steve Lieber as the new ongoing penciler of Detective Comics. Lieber is well known for his award-winning collaborations with Rucka on Whiteout and Whiteout: Melt from Oni Press. If you haven’t read these two books yet, I implore you to do so. If all this news has been tasking enough, the upcoming Batman mini-series and original graphic novels will probably kill you. Joe Casey (Wildcats, Uncanny X-Men) and Cully Hamner (Wildstorm Summer Special) are working together on a 3 issue mini-series, Batman: Tenses, and the fan-favorite 100 Bullets creative team of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso are putting together their own Batman graphic novel. Do I even need to mention The Dark Knight Strikes Again? 3 issues, 80 pages each, Frank Miller writing, Frank Miller drawing, starting in December… be there. There are even some projects that we haven’t been privy to yet… pretty big ones. I assure you, if there was ever a time to be reading Batman… that time is now.
Superman
I can’t imagine this has nothing to do with the controversy surrounding a 3 month long crossover, but regardless, the Superman creative teams have said they plan on breaking up the books into individual storylines for at least a while. I don’t know, I’ll believe when I see it. Otherwise, I am happy to see DC used their typical December gimmick planning to issue a harmless theme with the special covers. Doesn’t affect the content and gives people something a little different. Maybe this is the sign of a kinder, gentler DC? Ha ha… probably not, but it’s a start.
Chuck Dixon
Another major DC creator moves to CrossGen, who would have guessed? Actually, this one surprised me. By all rights, I should have seen it miles away after the cancellation of Marvel Knights and Fantastic Four editor Bobbie Chase’s departure from Marvel. I didn’t, though, and it was quite a shock. Perhaps it was the 3 monthlies Dixon has fathered and nurtured for the last several years. I mean, who would have thought someone could leave that behind? I’m sure it was a very difficult decision, but working nearly to death as a freelancer just doesn’t add up when comparing it against the employee benefits at CrossGen. I hope Dixon finds the creative environment he needs to flourish here in Tampa, but I sure will miss his work on Birds of Prey. On the brighter side of things, at least I don’t have to worry about a sequel to Joker: The Last Laugh… I hope.
I think this has pretty much brought my thoughts on DC & WildStorm up to date. Hopefully next week I’ll turn my evil eye towards Marvel and their odd practices of late. Anyone who knows me is probably dreading the words, Ultimate Marvel, but they’ll have to wait and see. Until next time…
I want to use this space today to express my deep sadness over the terrible tragedy that has afflicted the world over the last week. The loss of family and friends is far too great for anyone to have to bear, but I hope they will be able to find some light when this chaos has passed. I also hope that despite the anger and rage many of us are feeling as Americans, that we will not turn it on our fellow brothers and sisters of this country due to differences in race or religion. We must stand together against this atrocity as a nation and not allow the petty bigotry and hate that lead Laden and his extremists to violence plague our people. Thank you. - Drew ``xDrew Reiber``xGOROK190@AOL.COM``xWake Up And Smell The Coffee: Ch-Ch-Changes...``x1000796204,56775,``x``x
``x
Writer: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Artist: Bernie Wrightson
Publisher: Marvel
If you have never read Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's Frankenstein, you probably should, and I have yet to find an edition I enjoy more than Marvel's Illustrated Novel Edition. To be upfront, I should mention that what I am reviewing is, in fact, the Mary Shelley novel, with Bernie Wrightson illustrations. So this is not really a comic book, but since Bernie Wrightson is known to so many comic fans, since it is published by the Marvel Group, and since I thought it was great, I begged Craig Lemon to let me write this review.
I admit I feel somewhat ridiculous and certainly pretentious reviewing a book that has become such a benchmark of our literary history, especially if you enjoy science fiction. However, I do this only to alert any of you that have not tried this edition to strongly consider doing so. To reveal the extent of my personal enthusiasm for this book, I had a poster copy of the cover illustration on my wall for years. With my respectful intents revealed, let's get on with the gushing, um, er, I mean, the review.
The story of Frankenstein, as you may know, but then again, may not, is about a scientist, Dr Frankenstein, obsessed with tearing back the veil of nature's secrets, specifically the secret of life itself. In his efforts to unlock the mysteries of life, he struggles to animate a lifeless creature of "gigantic stature". He succeeds. Struck by the realization of the tragic monstrousity that he has created, Frankenstein flees his laboratory. His creation, the "monster", abandoned by his creator, makes his way into the world. All of his efforts to find acceptance are spurned because of his horrific appearance. Despite noble efforts and a stunning intellect, the monster is rejected by everyone he encounters. Eventually, Dr. Frankenstein is confronted by his creation. What follows is tragedy.
Frankenstein is one of the finest literary example of the dangers of obsession. Frankenstein traditionally refers to the pursuit of science without any thought to morals or consequences and how such an arrogant path can lead to destruction. Modern day examples of this would, of course, include the atomic bomb and its more destructive descendants. More recently, the worldwide media and governments have been forced to address questions of human cloning via embryonic stem cells. Placed in this modern context, Frankenstein loses none of its horror.
For my money, however, Frankenstein also works as a more personal, cautionary tale. Anyone that can find themselves obsessed or compelled by their work or art might see some of themselves in Dr Frankenstein. The doctor discusses his obsession as such:
"...my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature... I could not tear my thoughts from my employment, loathsome in itself, which had taken an irresistible hold of my imagination. I wished, as it were, to procrastinate all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed."
After realizing the tragic mistakes he later makes, he recants much of his earlier behavior by saying:
"A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquility... If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind."
There are three primary reasons as to why I enjoy this book and this edition. The first is the theme of a good man walking a precarious path in his efforts to extend his world and quench his intellectual thirst at the expense of all else. The second is the language or, I should say, the prose. Lastly, the superb illustrations elevate the novel.
One theme that I find fascinating is: how can a good man do bad things? In the case of Dr Frankenstein, he has a loving supportive family, a fiancee that adores him, he is well educated and sets out to explore the world with a fervor that the reader might not only relate to, but admire. Unfortunately, his enthusiasm leads to a single mindedness which in turn leads him to become nervous, frantic, and eventually tormented. The setting of the German countryside with a monster lurking about, heightens the tension, but much of the tragic turn of events derive from the doctor's inability to avert his own course. This tale is not horrific because of a body that you might find in the closet, but rather, because we each might find ourselves with similar obsessions directing our lives. In other words, the doctor is mad, but not at the beginning of the book, and the reader walks with Frankenstein as his path leads him and his loved ones to their tragic fates. As a result, Frankenstein serves as a cautionary tale filled with pathos and at the same time, excitement.
The language is beautiful. It makes me somewhat sick to hear that this book was written in one weekend on a bet as to who could write the best ghost story. Can you believe the nerve of this lady? Couldn't she at least be kind enough to make it LOOK difficult to write this? But alas, I digress. The language is best appreciated by reading the book out loud. Each word resonates as though it was carefully chosen to capture as much meaning as possible, and if you read too quickly, a reader might gloss over moments too casually.
Using the above quote for an example, "I could not tear my thoughts from my employment, loathsome in itself, which had taken an irresistible hold of my imagination" demonstrates exactly the state Frankenstein's mind in only one sentence. Frankenstein admits to not being completely in control of himself largely because he finds his "employment ... irresistible". We infer his state of mind, his reasons and his "loathsome" environment from this one sentence. The reader is free to imagine an overworked, compelled, obsessed, brilliant scientist surrounded by horrific sights of body parts and machinery as he toils frantically to reanimate a patchwork creature as the reader sees fit. But, the tone is definitively and undeniably set. Many of the specific details of what vial went where and where the eyeballs may have been kept are left out, but I believe that this leaves the right amount of room for the reader's imagination while at the same time, driving the story in a clear and compelling direction. If the reader's imagination needs more enticement, as admittedly mine once did, the Bernie Wrightson art completes the package flawlessly.
Bernie Wrightson, as most of you probably already know, has done a tremendous amount of good horror comic art. His work on Frankenstein stands out as some of the best of his career. What strikes me about the artwork is the line detail: despite the fact that each image is filled with a tremendous number of lines, each one clearly serves a definite purpose, and the viewer cannot imagine the image without each of them. More importantly, there is a drama and passion to each image that not only stands up to Mary Shelley's great tale, but in fact, enhances it. The front cover perhaps serves the best example. The creature, alone and distraught, has begged his creator to grant him another creature such as himself who could serve as his companion. Frankenstein initially agrees, but as the thought of unleashing another similar horror overcomes the doctor, he destroys his uncompleted creature. The cover shows the rage, the passion and the anguish of both characters while simultaneously providing a view into the mad doctor's laboratory; the world as he has come to see it.
Some, myself included, have mentioned that the novel is, at times, slow. If that has been your opinion previously, try reading it with Wrightson's vision infused alongside Shelley's. Even the simplest scenes start to shine with more life.
Be warned that the beginning of the novel is the slowest section and the reader should push him or herself through the first 2 or 3 chapters. The book opens with a ship's captain that has just encountered Dr. Frankenstein. The author spends some time introducing the captain, then exploring Frankenstein's story and then, eventually the monster's story. The captain is the least interesting of the three, but he largely a device used to pull a discerning reader into so incredulous a tale.
I warned you all, I was going to gush, and boy, did I gush. I have read this book at least once every 2 years for the last 10 years, and I have always enjoyed it. Consider this book. It is not only a fine precursor of the almost one hundred fifty years of science fiction that followed, it is not only a timely tale of amoral science gone unchecked, not just a cautionary tale of a tortured soul, strongly augmented by beautiful art, it is ultimately a very enjoyable and often gripping read. If you have a slow comic week, and as always if you have the money and in this case, the time to invest in reading it, you can't really go wrong with this one. Let me know what you think.``xBruce Tartaglia``xbruce@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xFrankenstein``x1001171143,6444,``x``x
``xAfter a recent exchange of emails, Bill Jemas, newly promoted Chief Operating Officer of Marvel Comics, kindly offered an interview. I write twenty questions, he answers them, and I follow up the answers with another round of questions. Simple.
For reasons I won’t go into, upon reading the questions, Mr. Jemas declined to conduct the interview.
That should be the end of it. Right?
Well, not quite.
While I think Mr. Jemas has done a terrific job at Marvel, and Mr. Quesada has shown a real vision for the Marvel Knights line, bringing in some terrific talent, that shouldn’t be the end of it.
That shouldn’t make questions go away.
I do believe that there needs to be dialogue in this industry about what’s what for the creators who write, pencil, ink, letter and color in it. There also needs to be a dialogue about REALLY finding enough readers to make this industry truly healthy.
As I responded to Mr. Jemas: “I think any of those questions could have been approached honestly. Those questions were about taking stands, for better or for worse, and not pretending they don’t exist. If they don’t exist, then why don’t you want to address them?” It was certainly Mr. Jemas’ prerogative to not answer my interview questions, even though he was the one to suggest an interview format to help generate a dialogue.
However, since Mr. Jemas chose not to answer some very important questions about Marvel and this industry, I will invent the answers I expected, or in some cases hoped, Mr. Jemas might give.
What If… Bill Jemas Had Conducted This Interview?
I reiterate, the answers below are not—NOT NOT NOT— the positions of Mr. Jemas or Marvel, at least not that I’m aware.
Part I - A dialogue about the future of Marvel comics, inside and outside of the Direct Market.
Q1: What is Marvel’s vision for the demographics of its different lines?
ANSWER: The Ultimate line is intended to be a jump-on place for new comics readers, whether they be young or old.
The Marvel Knights line is intended for readers who know Marvel comics…and want to experience a new interpretation of the characters they’ve come to know and love. This also gives comics readers who’ve not been reading Marvel a jumping on place, albeit a more sophisticated one than our Ultimate line.
The basic line is for fans that have been following Marvel for years, and we are dedicated to continuing to offer books to them.
Q2: While Marvel is enjoying sales growth that appears to be a direct result of the well-promoted Ultimate and Marvel Knights comics, as well as the expanded collected edition program, how much of this is Marvel simply getting a larger slice of the same-sized pie—that pie known as the Direct Market
ANSWER: Complicated question. First, the growth at Marvel shows we’re headed in the right direction. Our books are getting better…and more people are reading them.
That most of those people remain in the Direct Market is more symptomatic of the reality that it’s going to take more than Marvel to solve the difficulties of the Direct Market.
For the Direct Market to increase its number of stores, we’re going to need an extended period of reinvigorated health to attract potential new retail merchants.
That said, we think we’re doing our part. Marvel’s increased sales within the Direct Market indicate that we’re offering a more attractive product to consumers.
As the industry continues to show increased signs of health, we also hope that the numerous new films based on comics characters will help increase awareness among the vast mainstream audience, and that that will translate into more people walking into comics shops.
We just have to have some patience and not overreact every time there’s a periodic dip in sales.
Q3: How has the upswing of sales led to a significant increase in the number of specialty shops in the Direct Market?
ANSWER: Well, again, it hasn’t, but we expect that a reinvigorated line will lead to better word of mouth that comics are cool, and that that will lead to more readers.
More readers will show a healthier industry, and that, we expect, will lead to new specialty shops.
One more thing. I think the new specialty shops will be much more diversified in their product than the shops of ten or fifteen years ago…and that will help them stay in business.
Q4: What action is Marvel Comics taking to expand, in any substantive way, beyond the Direct and vastly depleted newsstand markets?
ANSWER: Well, not unlike the film industry, we can no longer count on one revenue stream to keep us healthy.
In the entertainment world of today, licensing for products and films will likely continue to be an important source of income and for making increasingly large audiences aware of our characters.
Collected editions continue to sell well in bookstores, and, with renewed interest by book publishers in the graphic novel format, we expect that to increase.
The trick is getting comics into the hands of kids who don’t go to comic shops or bookstores. And that’s a lot of potential readers.
“Disney Adventures,” at its height in the 90s, sold nearly one million copies a month as a point of purchase check out item at grocery stores and other mass market outlets, and the comics section remains the most popular part of that publication.
At some point, to really expand, comics have got to aggressively explore all the mass outlets available, from grocery stores to Wal-Mart to get comics into the hands of the kids who will read comics.
Q5: Not only does superhero continuity wipe out any chance of material being accessible to a mainstream audience, the current visualized page is completely indecipherable to them, so how does Marvel plan to bridge this mainstream readership gap with a readable product?
ANSWER: Well, yes, that’s a problem…for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse… for all of us.
What we have to do is go back to basics for any books intended to reach a mass market.
That doesn’t mean comics for stupid people.
That means smart comics with clean, self-contained story lines, action that is easy to follow, left-to-right balloon placement, etc.
We acknowledge that comics today in the Direct Market have story lines and utilize storytelling tools that are not accessible to a mainstream audience, but they are comics that our readers in the Direct Market love.
The trick is to create transitional comics for the entry-level reader, like the Marvel Ultimate line. From there, readers will get their sea legs and be able to then experience the full line of what we have to offer.
Q6: What can Marvel do to get trade paperbacks and graphic novels out of the graphic novel/humor collective ghetto that exists in bookstore chains today?
ANSWER: First, it’s always hard to tell somebody how they should run their own business, and get results.
The best way we can change the way bookstores display our books is to show them a better way that exists within their current display standards.
Many years ago, First Comics introduced a line of illustrated classics that were contained in point-of-purchase displays and sold at bookstores across the country.
If a similar type of book that was crafted solely for a mainstream audience were similarly displayed, and successfully marketed and sold, then I think that might be the first break in the armor for how comics are displayed in that market.
In this respect, success would be the best instructor.
Q7: Regarding your upcoming line for young readers, how do you expect to reach younger readers in stores that currently have a much older clientele?
ANSWER: First, you can’t ignore a potential audience.
If we don’t publish for this market, then they will surely not have anything to purchase when they step into the stores, will they?
Just because the market’s small, doesn’t mean it can’t grow. Those specialty shops that continue to modify their stores to reach a potentially larger audience deserve encouragement…and books to sell.
That’s where we come in.
Q8: If it’s your intent to reach beyond the Direct Market or depleted newsstand distribution system with these books, how do you expect to accomplish this?
ANSWER: It’s never good business to give away a business plan.
However, the important thing to remember is that dreams begin with “build it and they shall come.”
We’re building it.
Q9: Why does Joe Quesada cancel Marvel books, only to bring them back under his own imprint…where, whether or not this is the intent, he derives a personal profit…especially when leaving them where they were could potentially maximize Marvel’s profits?
ANSWER: I’m addressing this question because I do not want any professional or fan to think that Joe Quesada would work at any cross-purposes to Marvel. He is our Editor-In-Chief, and I support him completely.
With Marvel Knights, Joe Quesada has built a line that stands for a unique vision of the Marvel Universe. He created it as an independent contractor.
With some books, where we felt the vision was lacking and needed reinventing, putting them in the Marvel Knights line made sense.
Books in the Marvel Knights line get a lot of attention, and increased sales are a reflection of what Joe has built. That Joe profits from his efforts in having developed this line is simply fair. He’s created an asset for us, and he should be entitled to profit from it.
Part II - A discussion about the nature of freelancers and how they’re viewed by Marvel Comics.
Q10: If the huge turnover in the Marvel freelance workforce is NOT the result of an “out with the old, in with the new” editorial policy, then why couldn’t these changes have been made with existing talent?
ANSWER: In order to do the job of revitalizing Marvel Comics, we had to make a lot of changes…and quickly.
We had to reinvent the entire corporate culture of how Marvel does business, and sometimes that means breaking some eggs.
While we appreciate the work past creators have done for us, we have to be concerned about the future…and our future required fast changes that would improve our books immediately.
Q11: Since it’s well known that the Marvel creator contracts are unilateral—in the respect that it binds creators to the company, but that the company can cancel the contracts at any time—under what circumstances does Marvel cancel contracts with talent?
ANSWER: Creators that sign our contracts are all big boys and girls who know what the score is. Our contract tells them we want them, that as long as our intent or goal—which is paid off in the quality of the finished comic—is upheld, they can count on working for us for that particular period of time.
But, if the goal of a comic is not met…or even changed…then we have to find the right people to do the job, and, considering the financial state of this industry, we can’t afford to be giving out pay-or-play contracts to talent we can’t use.
Q12: How do you believe freelancers share fairly and/or reasonably in the fruits of their labors?
ANSWER: Freelancers receive a living wage up front for their efforts, where Marvel takes all the publishing risk.
While we would all like to return to the situation where there is so much profit that everybody can benefit on the backend, we need to be a little realistic about that.
The reality is that if creators really want to receive full benefit for their labors, then they should become independent comics publishers…and assume all the risk themselves.
We think we offer freelancers a lot of money for the books they create for us, and even though there’s been a massive drop in industry sales over the last ten years, that has not corresponded into a commensurate reduction in page rates.
I’m not telling you life is rosy…but at least it continues…and has a hope for improvement.
Q13: With the understanding that these freelancers who’ve worked endless hours to write, draw, ink, letter and color your books are the ones that bring to life Marvel’s characters…characters that were created by other work-for-hire freelancers, what is your moral responsibility to any of these people?
ANSWER: Okay, it’s time for a reality check here.
First, we do appreciate the efforts of our freelance workforce, even those who have left us, but we all have to look after our own. I have to look out for my family first, and you have to look out for yours.
The people who work for us are not children to be coddled.
They are professionals doing a job for us…and under agreements that should not be expected to extend beyond whatever we have written between us on paper.
As businessmen, our moral obligation is to do what’s right…for our business. Anybody who thinks otherwise is playing by a different set of rules.
Q14: What should happen to artists and writers with a more mature style, whose current work is not perceived, inside Marvel, as being saleable to younger readers with a younger taste?
ANSWER: Well, there are two ways to look at this.
First, I’d love it if comics were published and sold in such quantities that everybody who’s of a professional caliber could be published…but that’s not the case.
In our current environment, we don’t have the luxury to be able to go out and create books for talent who we think have moved beyond being able to contribute as productively as we’d like.
The assignment of talent has always been and will always be a subjective affair, based on determination by our editors.
In specific answer to your question, it is the responsibility of talent to find a market for their work, not the other way around.
Q15: What efforts are made by Marvel’s editorial staff to redirect existing talent…before deciding to fire them?
ANSWER: It’s the editor’s job to decide whom they do and don’t want to work with. If they have changes to make in books, and they’re not comfortable making them with existing talent, then they have to find somebody else to do the work.
In answer to your question, editors do whatever they think is necessary—sometimes a lot, sometimes probably nothing—and everybody still working for Marvel has been somehow redirected, and THEY were not fired.
It is the editor’s domain to determine whether or not it’s worthwhile to spend time working to redirect talent, and since they do this for a living every day, seventy-plus hours a week, I have to trust their judgement.
Only the quality of the books will determine whether or not their judgement was correct.
Q16: Beyond the short-term success of ten to fifteen years—similar to that of a professional athlete—what long-term future can freelance talent expect to have in the comic book industry?
ANSWER: Some will have quite long and lengthy careers, using Joe Kubert and Will Eisner as examples, others will begin their careers in comics and move beyond it into different fields, and others, for whatever reasons, will have very short careers.
Some people will make a lot of money, but most won’t.
Those with a real love for comics will find a way to continue producing, and the satisfaction of the finished product may ultimately have to be their greatest reward.
Part III - What Marvel requires of its editors, as professionals.
Q17: What working knowledge of story and art, as well as professional demeanor, is required at Marvel to be an editor?
ANSWER: At Marvel, an editor needs to have a working knowledge of story structure, character construction, dialogue, visual storytelling, balloon placement, and be able to critique drawing and finishing. An editor also needs to understand the market they are developing books for, as this is a commercial medium.
That said, an editor needs an aesthetic that is consistent with the goals of the company.
An editor also needs to be a manager…of people as well as projects. There are many balls to be kept in the air, and it’s the editor’s job to make sure as few of them hit the ground as possible.
To utilize those skills, an editor needs to be a communicator.
Q18: How promptly should editors return phone calls from talent, if at all?
ANSWER: There is no excuse for editors not to return phone calls within a day. If editors are on deadline—which they always are—it doesn’t take long to call people back, even to have to arrange conversations at a more convenient time.
I realize there are people in this business who have a natural tendency to avoid difficult conversations, such as telling people they aren’t interested in buying ideas.
That said, an editor is the representative of Marvel Comics to the freelance community, and it’s not in our best interest for them to behave in an unprofessional manner.
Communication is the life’s blood of our company, and an editor cannot be a bottleneck of information.
If people are not getting their phone calls returned, I want to know about it.
Q19: How important is it to Marvel that an editor respond to a submission from a known professional and give a sound reasoning why something wasn’t acceptable?
ANSWER: It’s very important.
Not everybody’s proposal is going to be 100% on the money, and whatever guidance can be given to help bring a project in line with Marvel’s editorial goals, then that benefits Marvel doesn’t it?
Obviously you’re asking this question because you believe that freelancers don’t get feedback from editors.
Well, as I mentioned before, Marvel’s editors put in over seventy hours a week to get our books out. They are dedicated to this task, and they often have to choose between getting books out and buying new projects.
Obviously, there needs to be some middle ground, but I think they’re doing the best they can.
Q20: How are ageism and cronyism discouraged by management?
ANSWER: Who editors hire is left pretty much up to them, but I have continued faith in their professional editorial judgment.
Had he chosen to, Mr. Jemas could have offered these—or any other—perspectives, and shown the face of Marvel to be that of a business struggling successfully to work its way out of many years of decline.
But that is not the face he chooses to show us. He wants us to think we professionals should all be members of some big, happy family.
I wanted straightforward answers…so we’d all know what was what…and what’s so wrong with that?
Too often, collectively as professionals, we don’t face the realities of the business we work in. We want to write or draw or ink or letter or color. We want to participate in the telling of stories with characters that we care about. We want to do it so badly that we don’t face the realities of the business we’re in…or who we’re really working for.
And sometimes we end up being surprised by how things turned out for us.
And sometimes we feel screwed.
But were we screwed, or did we simply believe we were members of one big happy family? And we all know you don’t screw your family…
Marvel and DC are companies, not families, and that’s how they should be viewed.
Marvel and DC are also the industry leaders, and where they fail, we fail. If there is a perception that something’s broken, let’s fix it. If our books aren’t what they should be, why not? If a mass audience can’t read our books, why not?
Some people, Mr. Jemas included, have criticized my perspective of editors, the state of the industry, and the quality of comics. To me, that sounds an awful lot like: “America, love it or leave it.” I always believed that loving something means accepting it for its good as well as its bad traits. Accepting it, and facing it.
Facing problems and dealing with them is the only way to make them better.
We should not miss seeing the forest for the trees.
I think the comics industry needs leaders, not cheerleaders, who’ll step forward.
I hope Mr. Jemas will be one of them.
©2001 by Lee Nordling
Lee Nordling is Executive Editor of the Platinum Studios Comic Book Department, Editor of the internationally syndicated “Rugrats” comic strip, and author of “Your Career in the Comics.”
``xLee Nordling``xlenordling@aol.com``xWhat If... Bill Jemas``x1001413696,34589,``x``x
``xHey everybody. I thought I’d take a break from talking about DC for a change. Instead, let’s take a look at the progress so far in revitalizing comics’ most popular franchise, the X-Men. Ever since Bob Harras took over editing duties in the late 80s from Ann Nocenti, he put the books on an unending downturn into oblivion… helping to take the entire industry with it. No matter how many times we were told and thought it would get better, it got worse because of editorial interference. The time new creators spent on each book grew shorter and shorter as they fled them in frustration (heck, Mark Waid lasted 5 issues). After the botched Revolution relaunch early last year, expectancy was at an all time low. That was, until Joe Quesada replaced Bob Harras as Editor-In-Chief and gave everyone, including those creators who had left in disgust, a newfound hope. 9 months later, the entire line was relaunched again, but this time with its first real chance to shine. Today I’m going to cover all the ongoing series were part of the relaunch, with my own thoughts about the work in progress. Let’s begin…
New X-Men – Between the similarities I found to previous JLA plots and Frank Quitely’s inability to properly convey a larger variety of facial expressions/body language, I must admit I’ve been a bit underwhelmed by the first story arc. I know Grant Morrison has several different creative “heads” as they say (JLA, Invisibles), so maybe he’ll pull something out his hat when I least expect it. That’s hardly an issue however, as the series has really taken off with the fans. Many old and new readers are enjoying his relaunch and variety is definitely good business. However, I do find it quite disturbing that despite a planned 3 issue fill-in by Ethan Van Sciver, Marvel still couldn’t manage to put the book on schedule. Perhaps they’ll be able to catch up during this new arc, but X-Men editor Mark Powers’ statements regarding compliance with late work doesn’t leave much hope.
Uncanny X-Men – Cable, Wildcats, X-Men: Children of the Atom, The Adventures of Superman… here did this come from? He had an interesting starting roster and the right credentials, so what went wrong? Though I started noticing it in the first issue, it took me a few more to realize it. Ian Churchill’s artistic interpretations of the plots were *really* mediocre. Sure, sure, he’s got that Jim Lee look going on… but he’s also got that Rob Liefeld dynamic (less detail, stiffness and lack of proper anatomy). Added to that, he seemed obsessed with delivering a “widescreen” type of direction through his paneling that wasn’t very engaging and slowed the action to a crawl. I was astonished at the jump in quality the storytelling took with Sean Phillips’ layouts last issue, but it still couldn’t save the arc. Casey seems intent on delivering social commentary by mirroring events that took place in the X-Men past. Started with Magneto’s attack on Cape Citadel and followed with the Mutant Massacre, fans are left with a been there, done that feeling with each story. I’m a longtime fan of Casey’s work, so I’m at least sticking around until the time Ron Garney jumps aboard as penciler (December). Hopefully the book will pick up by then, or I’ll just have to move on.
X-Treme X-Men – What can I say? I’m in love with this book. I really, really am. What started off with a lot of skepticism has become a series that gets better with each and every issue. The characters are richly defined, the adventures feature an international flavor, the villains are cool (Vargas, what a total bad @$$) and the book has a purpose. If you’re somehow convinced Chris Claremont can’t manage good storytelling anymore, it’s time to get over it. Bob Harras’ meddling is gone and Claremont writes just as much dialogue as he did a decade ago (if you don’t believe me, dig out your old New Mutants books). Salvador Larroca’s full pencils are a sight to behold and I must admit that this new coloring process has really grown on me. Between the art and story, this is the X-Men book I look forward to the most every month. I also look forward to X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land this week, a by-product probably due to Morrison’s last minute grab for Beast. Between the monthly, mini-series and the annual (also by Larroca) all in December, I do believe I’ll have a very happy birthday.
Ultimate X-Men – Oh boy, another “post-Authority” book… or whatever Mark Millar calls the formula apes these days (adding prefixes won’t change things, Mark). If you’re enjoying the series, then good for you. It’s more money in Marvel’s pocket. Just don’t try to convince me that he’s saving the industry. The only folks who care about whether or not Logan and Jean make out are the older fans who are somehow convinced this stuff is groundbreaking. That’s… that’s great guys. Time to wake up now, Marvel officially stopped aiming for new readers when they announced Ultimates. Either that or when they decided to reference the first issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up in their Spider-Man/X-Men crossover. “Continuity free” indeed.
Wolverine & Deadpool: Agent of Weapon X – Hmm. Well, I would say Frank Tieri’s heart is in the right place. Unfortunately, I still haven’t seen or heard anything from his work besides the conventional. At least his direction is interesting enough that it’s turning heads and raising sales, that counts for something. Sean Chen (Wolverine) has always been one of this industry’s better artists and Georges Jeanty (Deadpool) is a rising star whose work on Bishop: The Last X-Man was very impressive. I see Marvel finally figured out how far Deadpool had wandered from the x-books, and decided DC had a pretty good idea with that cheesy Azrael: Agent of the Bat title gimmick. They were right though, as Deadpool shot up the chart at incredible speed. Another rising talent, Gail Simone (upcoming Night Nurse), will be taking over writing duties in April. If you haven’t yet seen her weekly column “You’ll All Be Sorry” at www.comicbookresources.com, I hope you’ll do so soon.
Cable – I don’t have a lot to say about the new direction this book has taken. Unfortunately, I’ve been reading Cable ever since I came back into comics back in late 1998. Artist Jose Ladronn’s Kirby style combined with Casey’s redefinition of Cable’s character drew me into the series, but silly indifference on Marvel’s behalf soon cost me my favorite creative team. Three writers, more artists, and a Rob Liefeld later, I found myself with yet another creative team… this time managing to hold out for at least a year before editorial canned them as well. Novelist Robert Weinberg (upcoming Nightside) and penciler Michael Ryan (upcoming Iron Man) managed to pull me into the series again with strange and wondrous cyber-punk/sci-fi tales that surprised many and even garnered some award nominations. With Joe Quesada’s ascension to EIC came yet another revision of the comic, costing many irritated fans one of their favorite titles. Although I’m happy to see both Weinberg and Ryan moving onto bigger and better things at Marvel, I can’t help the fact that 3 major creative changes over 3 years has finally soured the book for me. Howard Chaykin (who later dropped out) and David Tischman were given creative reign along with Igor Kordey, and decided to try for a more geo-political direction with the series. It will be interesting to see if Tischman and Kordey can keep the series afloat despite all the recent upheavals.
X-Force – One of the very few X-Men related titles to consistently grow in sales since its launch, this series has been entertaining many while shocking the rest. Arguably the most confusing revamp from May and June’s X-Men relaunch, the concept received a complete reconstruction from the ground up. It retained the title and issue number, but that’s where the similarities end. Writer Peter Milligan and artist Mike Allred (Madman) has turned X-Force into one of the leading examples of how EIC Joe Quesada and President Bill Jemas are trying to tap into completely different audiences with the x-books. Of course, the adult situations and level of violence aren’t for everyone, but at least the creators are using the content to make some interesting and valid statements on society rather than for the simple sake of it. *cough* Ultimate X-Men *cough*
Brotherhood – Farewell Brotherhood, we hardly knew thee. The series, which supposedly began as a 12 issue maxi-series, was finally cancelled this month at issue #9 (in January). Despite an impressive artist lineup (Essad Ribic, Leonardo Manco, Sean Phillips) and an interesting concept, it just didn’t appear to hold itself together well enough. Somewhat convoluted in plot with an erratic shipping schedule (#3 shipped with 3 inkers!), I also believe it was the use of an alias that scared people away. Perhaps if and when Marvel decides to reveal the identity of X, we’ll learn more about where the series was heading. Then again, if it’s who many speculate it to be, perhaps not.
Exiles – *Sigh* What a complete and utter disappointment this book has turned out to be. Not even half as interesting as Brotherhood, writer Judd Winick and artist Mike McKone have turned the series into a veritable adaptation of the early 1980’s TV series “Voyagers!” with superheroes. Instead of using the vast infinity of pre-established alternate universes as a playground, we’ve instead been given a new “What If?” starring Blink and the “I’m the brother/sister of what’s his name but different” squad. The scenarios are nothing different either, offering the most overtly predictable twists like an evil Xavier or an evil Jean Grey. New character additions to the series are rarely given any time to blossom, but rather just pop up and get killed off some few issues later. I can’t see how one is supposed to care for the characters when they’re cardboard and/or cannon fodder, not to mention unrecognizable. I doubt it would kill them to use a couple more known cast members, but it would take a lot more than that for this series to build a following and grow.
X-Men: Evolution – Finally, but what took them so long? A successful animated television series for kids and the best they could do was Ultimate X-Men? The new book is also pointed in the right direction when it comes to content. Instead of committing suicide with yet *another* direct adaptation, they’re striving for something original to complement the show. The last two, X-Men Adventures and X-Men: The Manga, were actually both from the X-Men animated series scripts. Devin Grayson (Batman: Gotham Knights) is writing with Udon Studios on art. I also have to hand it to Bill Jemas, who was absolutely right about Marvel editorial’s lack of media related titles. Hopefully along with Mutant X and Men in Black (hopefully still in development), these three books will bring in some new and youthful readers. Hey, every little bit helps.
X-Men Unlimited – I’ve been so bummed to see Lysa Hawkins leave Marvel for DC. Editor Jason Liebig (now ex-editor) had taken the quarterly book and turned it into… ok, get this… a “third core title” which would relate to the events without affecting them in any manner. Can we say, inherently meaningless? It’s too bad, because writer Joe Pruett and artist Brett Booth could do so much better than what they were allowed. Oh well, they got wiser and jumped the heck off. Once new EIC Joe Quesada let Liebig go, and newly appointed editor Hawkins took the opportunity to turn X-Men Unlimited into a full blown anthology series. Fan favorite creators and characters have turned up, from Steven Grant on X-Man to Will Pfeifer on Dazzler. If Lysa’s departure hasn’t sidetracked the January issue, X-Men fans have something special to look forward to. For anyone who doesn’t know, Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz are collaborating on a New Mutants reunion story. I do believe Sienkiewicz is also painting that issue’s cover. Anyhow, Mark Powers is now editing Unlimited, but hopefully the format won’t change anytime soon.
Well, that’s it for this edition of “Coffee”. I hope you enjoyed it and found something interesting to talk about, because I’d love to see you guys on the SBC message boards. Otherwise, I’ll see you all next week.
Born and raised in Tampa, FL, Drew Reiber is a part-time student with aspirations of someday writing those comics he so loves to rant about. He hopes that his exhaustive edition today hasn’t driven anyone to madness, but understands that sacrifices had to be made. You can find my other weekly column at Nolan's Pop Culture Review.
``xDrew Reiber``xdrew@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xWake Up And Smell The Coffee: The X-Books - A Work In Progress``x1001761053,6715,``x``x
``xThey are at the cutting edge of modern storytelling.
They are where off-the-page pencil, pen, ink and splatter layouts in forced perspective may collide with Photoshop-fueled colors to render a Sterankoesque splash page in full bleed. The place where words and pictures in concert, performed by the hands of free-form stylists, jam on a near-boundless stage with only the edges of human imagination dictating its limits –an endless scat of words, color and line.
They are the found in basements, closets, attics, landfills, auction houses and archival Mylar sleeves. They are the stuff that childhood dreams are made of -often outgrown and cast aside by Little Jackie Paper’s in bloom, or sent to the undignified and not uncommon fate of the trashcan –often during Mom’s spring-cleaning.
It’s fair to say that nearly all of the people who will read this column know it’s about comic books after reading the first two sentences. We know because we speak the language of comic’s culture.
We know the breadth of Jack Kirby’s palette fusing with Stan Lee’s character dynamics, sense of his heroes’ human frailties and their place in a shared universe. We’ve read the greatest Batman story ever told. We’ve been treated to the flawless light sourcing and textures of Neal Adams and the realism, perspective and scale of the paintings of Alex Ross. We’ve read and have been enthralled by the narrative depth of an inspired Neil Gaiman or Alan Moore story and the tales of the classic Marvel and DC characters, who modern, younger comic fans are familiar with either directly, after a fashion, or due to a direct rip-off. We’ve marveled at the Children of the Atom and the have learned the high cost of living from Death. We know of the worlds to be explored on stapled, ink-stained pieces of paper. We know something the outsiders don’t. We know comics. We “get” comics.
We’re in on the joke. And it’s a hell of a good one.
Jokes are a part of human culture dating back before recorded history. This is known because some of the worlds’ oldest recorded history contains them. They do serve a cultural purpose. Their function is essentially to aid us in our struggle in life. Jokes are our observations and what we experience in the human condition as filtered through memory and pragmatism and distilled into sly and symbolic stories and/or musings of what we believe the truths and lies of our world, and our place in it, to be, or not be. Once created (although ever-evolving), jokes are passed along for others to identify with (or not) in a myriad of ways, oftentimes for generations. Sometimes it’s the punch line that gets us and at other times it’s in the telling. And that’s the thing about jokes. They have to be told. They have a lifespan. If a joke is no longer told or ceases to adapt to suit societies needs, one may assume its observations are no longer relevant to the culture’s issues it commented on.
Comic books in American culture are a bastardized source of tales tall and legends of God-like titans clashing overhead, underfoot and in the teen’s bedroom next door in an ongoing struggle of good vs. evil. They are tales with universal truths and classical archetypes in world-shattering situations with dire consequences, or just as often a story of struggles of the mortal variety. They have confronted and commented on all aspects of the human condition from the holocaust in set in a metaphoric world of cat and mouse-size scale, to a single hearts desire writ large.
Comic books have produced some original, thought-provoking stories, and particularly in recent decades, concepts of startling originality and depth both in and out of the superhero genre. Meanwhile, they have been largely ignored by the news media and the majority of the population that seem to view them as Saturday morning cartoons on paper with staples -simple morality plays with capes for small minds, and no more important than the newspaper Sunday Funnies. Perhaps the perception that comics are all about webbing, hammers, batarangs and those who wield them in the name of vigilante justice is a result of a proliferation of male power-fantasy comics after Wertham took his best shot at destroying the comic book industry and horror comics subsequently took a powder. And let’s face it, even with the majority of comic book companies publishing outside the auspices of the Comics Code Authority, comic books still predominantly feature grown men and women running around in graphic-emblazoned spandex bodysuits and masks for Christ’s sake. That’s not exactly something that screams cultural relevance -at least not on the surface anyway. Pop cultured junkies aren’t exactly known for delving much beyond the surface of things. Look at MTV. They’re not watching The Watchmen. They’re just looking at it.
So it hasn’t exactly taken an intellectual leap over a tall building in a single bound to come to some of the conclusions the layman press has. For example, while reviewing the X-Men movie, a reporter for People magazine wondered why they tried to include so much emotional content if it was just a comic book movie. Is this ignorance on the part of the reviewer? Undoubtedly. But comic’s culture hasn’t exactly done a lot to otherwise enlighten the media’s widely held belief that comic books are essentially for kids.
Kid stuff?
Not so in France, where comics artists like Moebius and American expatriate Robert Crumb are national treasures, or in Japan, where Manga comics can sell several million copies a week and their biggest creators are cultural Gods. Comics are a popular entertainment in Europe and not branded with the stigma of being merely “kid stuff”, as they largely are in America --Old World culture and all that.
The average indulger of pop culture (damn near everyone) may not even know of the comic book world beyond that of superheroes, where modern and more avant-garde literary genres are represented. From the highly personal work of Harvey Pekar, to the simultaneously harsh and hilarious Tarantinoesque riffs on edgy, explosive characters in Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher, to the varied and thought-provoking tales of Drawn and Quarterly and Acme Novelty Company, comics run the genre gamut.
There are those who would posit that a reading of Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell or Los Bros. Hernandez’ Palomar tales would trump any argument that the “kid stuff” stigma attached to comics is because of the inclusion of pictures to go along with the written narrative. The argument being substantially rooted in the assumption that pictures assist the unimaginative in visualizing the story.
Comics may point the reader in a direction visually. It is however, up to one’s imagination to interpret or decide the mood, pace, motion, elapsed time etc. not just within the panels, but between the panels as well. An artist may use anywhere from 1 to 50 panels, or more to demonstrate the same span of time. Often an average comic may require the reader to make several different subconscious decisions interpreting rhythm and pace etc., due to time and motion progression between panels, sometimes without dialogue assistance. All of this of course, is in addition to employing standard tools of literary interpretation like plot, structure, character motivation and the like. If the story is done well, a comic reader makes the interpretive decisions required to immerse themselves in the intended mood and atmosphere of a story with virtually no effort. Once submerged in the characters’ space, the feel of the story becomes apparent from the characterizations, visual and written text and subtext. In short, reading comics requires an understanding of the language of the comic book art form itself, accomplished only by diving in and reading them.
It seems that for the most part, American society appears to consider reading story narrative and dialogue while viewing a drawn, choreographed, accompanying image that is motionless, to be a storytelling art of lesser import than one consisting of prose, animation or a captured moving image with live actors, sound effects, spoken dialogue and music. Comic books remain more and more a niche entertainment catering to a specialized audience as opposed to the grasp on nearly everyone’s wallet the film and video game industries enjoy. Poor distribution of product seems to be the primary culprit industry pundits point to, citing a lack of exposure to new readers due to traditionally formatted comics’ being primarily available in specialty shops instead of a variety of outlets ranging from 7-11, to the corner market, to Barnes and Noble –which currently sells only Graphic Novels and collected editions.
There are also opinions that with sales as low as they are, perhaps comic books have priced themselves out of the kid market and a little informed reevaluation of what is now considered the average target audience is needed before the bulwarks of the industry seize and sputter. That audience has evidently shrunk as well as grown up. With recent data indicating that the average age of a comic book reader is now 25 (about a dozen older than the target audience of a decade ago), it stands to reason that the vast majority of teens are spending their precious entertainment dollars elsewhere. 25-year olds and up have the disposable income to indulge their comic jones, and being older, their tastes have grown up as well. In recent years, creators (particularly writers) have more than ever been able to placate their adult literary whims and sensibilities by developing more mature and thought-provoking tales, with and without spandex-clad protagonists. This may be indicative of a maturing of the comic book audience as a whole.
There is a new audience for comics and it appears to be an adult one presumably capable of communicating its passion for the art form to functional society and indoctrinating new readers into what comics have to offer. They’re in on the joke.
There is something inherently cool about being privy to something special that others are not: Knowing how to score a baseball game in score-sheet shorthand, seeing a sneak preview of a highly-anticipated film two weeks before it comes out in wide release, or an intimate understanding of the unique vernacular of any given hobby. However, the coolest part about being “in” on something as cool as comic story-telling is eventually sharing it with someone and seeing his or her reaction.
Yep. Comic book fans are in on one hell of a joke all right, but we’re not really sharing it with outsiders. We haven’t exactly taken the story-telling medium we hold so dear and promoted it through brilliant feats of our own raconteurism. We’re delivering it as more of an aside. Treating the joke as a mere throwaway …like mom did.
We are not gathered around the water cooler to discuss the latest Katsushiro Otomo masterpiece in microsurgical/analytical terms to impress that cute co-worker like we do a marginal summer movie blockbuster. We are in chat rooms with others well versed in the arcana of the subject, arguing over whether or not the last issue of Battle Chasers came out 6 months late or 7.
Not enough of us are learning the literary and film tastes of friends and family and pushing graphic novels in one or more of the genres they enjoy their way, telling them there will be a quiz afterward, and that we will pester them to read it if need be. A little tough comic book love never hurt anybody.
When’s the last time you read a comic book in an airport or on a flight? I was 11 (my first flight) and it was Batman #243, the issue that featured part of a classic Neal Adams Ra's Al Ghul story –the one with the bound-together-by-wrists knife-fight between Batman and a Ra’s’ protégé on the cover. It was my introduction to the Batman and superhero comics. I haven’t read a comic book on a plane since my early teens, or anywhere in public for that matter –unless you count San Diego Con.
I’m as guilty as the next fan. But I’m making efforts to change since I returned to reading them about 10 years ago. I’m telling the joke.
A few lapsed fans where I work, who, like myself had outgrown comics in favor of girls in their teens, chatted me up about the current state of the art form, and it has been a thrill to see now-adult former regular readers of comic books turn on to a work like Marvels, Batman: The Killing Joke, or even something unfamiliar to them like Sandman or A Distant Soil and have them ask for more. I have also taken the liberty of giving my dentist comic books and Ultimate Marvel Magazine for the kids to read in his waiting area as an introduction to the form. Friends I have known for years that had never before read comics find themselves glad that they caved in to my pleadings to read a comic in a genre of fiction I know they like. Now they will try whatever I give them. There is something for everybody in comic book fiction. Does he watch The Soprano’s religiously? Give him Punisher. She likes Marion Zimmer Bradley and Roger Zelazny? Throw a Gaiman Graphic Novel at her to read and see if it sticks, or a CrossGen publication. Are they into intellectual minutiae? Howzabout a little Jimmy Corrigan?
Word of mouth carries a lot of weight in this world and everyone enjoys a good joke. If you don’t, check your pulse. While the comics industry may not be in a permanent downward spiral, it is certainly in a state of transition. With the recent Editorial Glasnost towards more adult, gonzo creativity, and away from the Comics Code, Marvel has signaled to DC that it’s time to note the average age of the current audience and grow up. Unless DC wants to become a mere training-ground for kids looking to graduate exclusively to eclectic compilations, graphic novels and more mature hero books like Rising Stars, Astro City and Alias, they’ll listen up. The creator playing field and those whose money they covet grow closer together in age every year, but new readers must still be gathered from the young. Marvel and DC both either do publish, or will be publishing animation series adaptations and comics of original tales more suited to youngsters. In addition, there are Manga collections and other publications for kids to go along with Power Puff Girls, Pokemon and the like. If rumors prove true and Joe Quesada actually succeeds in getting J.K. Rowling’s name on comics in some creative or editorial capacity, it could very well be a benefit to the industry as a whole, as her name would definitely “put butts in seats” as Quesada himself might say it. Many complain that it would be butts in seats viewing only Marvel product, but we all know you have to start somewhere. My first exposure to superheroes may have been Batman, but I am an old fashioned Marvel Zombie first and foremost.
So the joke is being told to some extent. Comics seem to be getting some much-needed media exposure, publishers seem to be doing more to promote product and there seem to be hints of optimism among industry observers. However, at this point in the evolution of the comic book industry, the joke needs to be told a lot. Fans need to be seen reading comics (next time I fly, I’m reading Watchmen again, as it’s a long, excellent read and therefore a pleasant time-killer when stuck in coach) and sharing tales with our co-workers, friends, relatives and acquaintances -the unusual suspects. If someone seems dumbfounded when you tell him or her you read comic books, inform them that the artistic level in the industry is higher than ever before due to the influx of talent of people trained for careers in the graphic arts field. Note that some comic books are being written by Hollywood level (and put a positive spin on that) wordsmiths and best-selling novelists and that “oh, by the way, the guys that made a little movie called The Matrix (you may have heard of it) got their start writing for comic books.” Tell them that many of the most popular and entertaining movies of recent years, and many to come, have begun as comic books and been made by people who read comics. Tell them that comic books are more than just “paper movies” and have their own unique language and rules. Tell them that the only limits on a comic book stories are the collective parameters of the writers, artists and readers’ imaginations, and the amount of paper and ink in the world.
Tell the joke.
Once told, a great joke makes the rounds like The Flash on Crank. Everyone tells two friends and they tell two friends and so on, and so on etc., just like the pretty blonde in the Breck shampoo commercial of yore.
So anyway, this Caped Crusader and his ward walk into a gay bar…
Copyright 2001 Mark A. Bittmann
``xMark Bittmann``xbittz@earthlink.net``xComics: Being In On The Joke``x1002049732,71312,``x``x
``x
The truth is that I had intended on reviewing Alias, the splendid new television show on ABC. The acting and writing are topnotch, and at this point I was going to make some snide commentary about it being infinitely more worthy of a fan-base than the unrelated comic book which coincidentally has the same name, but that's all I'm going to say about the television show. It's good. Watch it. Mute the opening song, and watch Enterprise. Watch the character driven mystery series Crossing Jordan. Those are my recommendations of the new shows, so far; some of which are getting off to a slow start thanks to Osama Bin Laden and his loonies.
September eleventh did not personally affect me. I lost nobody in the abominable act. It didn't even shock me, or so I thought. Two days afterward for about fifteen minutes I could think of nothing but the imagery of the twin towers crumbling and killing innocents. The images simply would not go away, and those fifteen minutes were the longest fifteen minutes I ever experienced. Even by comparison watching Batman Forever was cakewalk.
On October second, I experienced four hours infusing myself with the season premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The premiere itself lasted two hours. I watched it twice in a row. We knew Buffy was coming back. She was dead. She wasn't Spock-dead. Spock's body was renewed by the protomatter on Genesis. She wasn't even Xena-dead. Buffy was probably autopsied as this is required in any suspicious death. She was definitely buried. For a brief ghoulish instant we see her emaciated corpse. She was about as dead as dead can be. We still knew somehow she would return.
Buffy's return was magic, but the moment was more than Buffy rising to face a new season of challenges. This was Buffy standing amid carnage and asking why and how. This was Buffy watching in abject horror as seemingly mindless demons reveled in the destruction of civilization. When she gathers her wits, when her friends and sister are threatened this was Buffy being the hero she is and always will be. We need heroes.
The real world has produced heroes. Several gave their lives to prevent the loss of more innocents. Some continue to search the rubble. Fictional heroes take nothing away from flesh and blood bravery. Fictional heroes and real heroes are linked for each has been inspired by another hero's creation. A hero like Buffy Anne Summers represents the amplification of every heroic gesture humanity can muster, and seeing her return was the most powerful moment witnessed in any television series.
If these thoughts you find childish, if you find them inappropriate, so be it. At least they're honest, and the return of Buffy the Vampire Slayer moved me.``xRay Tate``xray@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xBuffy Lives!``x1002353740,70813,``x``x
``x(Research Assistance by Yat Cheung)
A subway ride. A ghost listens to a woman of flesh converse about her relationship in hurried non-content shorthand. A girl on her way to a new job rests the head of a pensioner who sleeps on her shoulder. A tall, loud man chats to his sweetheart via mobile phone as the train pulls to a stop. These conversations come and go, a mother dragging her daughter off to be replaced by others, gladly clad, asking for a new see-through prism cape. "All the other girls at school have one". Two superheroes discuss a football game. The pensioner replaced by a(nother) costumed sort takes up residence on Robyn Slinger's other shoulder. At the far end of the carriage, a staff is held by a mage-like figure who opens a book and begins reading.
This is the first page of Top Ten.
And with the turning of that first leaf, and each successive turn, the characters look more and more unusual and the pacing just gets faster and faster. Moore, Ha, Cannon and all put so much detail, into each of the players, whether they're there for one panel or for every issue.
Top Ten concerns itself with the employees of Pike Street's Precinct Ten, Neopolis. Neopolis, much like Millennium City, is a grand cluster of skyscrapers, bridges, teleporters, autorails and inner-city freeways, designed by nazi villains and mad scientists. "A four storey car park designed by a varied committee including Ray Bradbury, Fritz Lang and Zeus...(it) connects the city's different levels, in a tide of vehicles whose lurid colourings and fins and spines suggest a river seething with fantastic and primordial fish". "A fantastic place" according to Officer Slinger. "A toilet" according to Officer Jeff Smax.
The first booklet concerns itself with Robyn Slinger's first day on the job, and serves as an introduction to other officers in the precinct, a sampling of the criminal fraternity and those that get caught inbetween.
"I like her...she smells sorta like wind chimes", remarks a sensory adept. The captain also welcomes her warmly mentioning how he has worked with her father. In fact, it seems like everybody likes Robyn, the enthusiastic and competent junior. And indeed, Moore and Ha communicate all the officers as a warm, likeable bunch. Everybody except Officer Smax, a bad-tempered moody behemoth. Probably the 'shoot first ask questions later' type. The type Robyn has the misfortune to get partnered with.
In the first story, the officers tackle a domestic, a homicide, prostitutes, an invisible pervert and an interrogation going horribly wrong. There are dead partners, ex-dates, quiet religious tension and family tradition. Hell, they even have the pain in the butt lawyer to contend with.
This is indicative of Top Ten, perhaps the title refers to the gear Big Al writes this book at.
The broad range of characters and the must-fast move construction of sets provide Ha, Cannon and Klein the opportunity to invent and invent, so many angles. Sometimes on four panel pages, Ha and Cannon seem to struggle with the sheer mammoth-like proportions. This is a project which thrives on visual detail so my guessed estimate is that they've taken the right track. All the characters are familiar yet appeal in their similar triggering reader-viewer's imagination potential. If you don't go bury your head in the popcorn or cyclopedia you could be acting your own Top Ten adventures in waiting for the next issue.
Wildstorm FX provide the colours: mostly a grim, monotone grey smell of corrugated iron, petrol fumes and damp cigarette butts. An occasional dazzle, flash of light exploding like a fracture in the copper pipes spectrum from the dimmer tinted background.
Top 10 is full of interesting creations, Sung-Li aka Girl One is one example. With bio-engineered skin, the naked officer moves her pigments around at will to provide the reader with a jolly good show changing per panel from flourescents to metallics to Lichtenstein pop art. Another is the lawyer, Mr. Fischmann,a literal shark:-
'Blind Justice' is a slower show than the pilot, freeing up more space for Moore's ER style soap opera. God, 'soap opera', what a tacky phrase. Even 'domestic serial' doesn't exactly do justice to the fantasy science trying to be achieved her. Focussing on three, four character case studies means the pacing is rapid and the panels look a lot less crowded than before. Zander Cannon’s layouts providing point to point to create a good running film, flowing arrangement of successives. Gene Ha fills in the details and gives focus so effortlessly and playfully , figures draw with screaming ease and the players invested with just the right amount of attitude and emotion.
'Internal Affairs' extends that 'another status quo episode but damn, ain't it exquisite' feel,. Ha and Cannon continue to play architectures of Neopolis, filling the skyline with all the vastness of EuroDisney's biggest rollercoaster, while Mr. Moore contents himself writing gripping whatsgoingons. Splendid social interaction and many a sneaky background gag. (something of a running delightful aspect) This integrated approach can be very much explained by Zander Cannon himself, "I try to keep the artwork from calling attention to itself, and make the reader focus on the characters and the story".
There are several running storylines (patterns as opposed to arcs), and always an element of gentle plot-thread humour running through every episode.. For example, one incident sees Officer Cathy Peregrine get caught between a wall and a rapidly inflating insurance salesman! T10 isn’t much of a comic to dwell on from a student perspective, it's just the nature of the beast. You can take ad breaks, but this is compulsive viewing. It's tough to write about, because there is so much I want to tell you but can't, because there are surprises to be spoilt should I do so. It's not that you need to read every issue (although I recommend it), 'tis more a case of you have to read two or three issues in a row, to gain satisfaction, or multiple satisfaction.
Many of the stories tie up quietly, so like other Moore yarns, it's the journey that counts. With #5, 'Great Infestations', the bearded one ties up a major storyline, and writes about a lot of explosions, as well as starting new threads and speeding others along. However there is still space for Moore to throw in some warming human interaction:-
Moore and Cannon have made the necessary changes to the storyboard making the frames much more functional in purpose. Cannon is doing a splendid job, using space sensibly, wisely, thus delivering the goods in a well-wrapped 'Handle With Care' package. The decoration of an all-year round festival, Ha makes fertile balance-orientated spell, seasoned. Top Ten does look aged, but only suggestive of the team's experience and maturity.
Todd Klein, the letterer of this book works on many of Moore's background poster gags in addition to designing the look of the sounds. This series is immensely character-driven. Robots and ex-Godzilla foes get their own fonts, and Officer Jackie ‘Jacks Phantom’ Kowalski, a phasing character with facilities much like the X-Men's Kitty Pryde, is also given this attention to detail. When the layouts are designed, Kowalski is roughed in, but it is only after the background and full art has been drawn that Kowalski is sketched. The production team then place the separate image onto the finished page, to create a transparency so that both the character and her direct background can be viewed. Together with the ABC colourists (I would assume) her letters fade in and out of visual range. Much like the character whatever her backdrop. Superb.
#6-#7 are among the more accessible issues of the series. Moore tells a complete tale, yet still manages enough space to include the five or six running subplots in each issue. So, Andrew, I appreciate your ability not to spoil the surprise for us but man, you've got to give us some detail! We need something to go on, okay? I hear you voice. In #6, five officers are on the case of arresting Santa, while in #7 Officers Smax, Slinger and Detective ‘Synaesthesia’ Jackson investigates the murder of a god. 'Mythdemeanours' is a clever and humorous little piece Moore tells with his usual sensibilities and has a lot of fun with the dialogue:
"Truly you cops are everywhere alike, one unto another."
"Why are you not smiting someone for this?"
"Thunor, my son, sit you down and still your tongue. It is the mead which speaks, not thee..."
Todd Klein too, really gets a chance to shine and smile with this one. Ha excels at drawing these olde giants. They look to be the true legends of sagas and epics: helped as much by perfect inks. ABC's colouring support, Wildstorm FX who are more spot-on than usual (and bear in mind that their work on Top 10 singles them out as the martial artists of colourists). Zander Cannon too, with his keen technical mind proves again and again why he is one of the most spectacular layout artists in the business. The team plant their cameras in many of-wonder areas and #7 is probably one of my favourite comics of last year. (And I read a lot of bloody good comics last year.)
#8, 'The Overview' opens with a splash page of Lieutenant Peregrine flying over Neopolis. It's a lovely page. Deluxe. A fine example of the amount of detail Gene Ha, really brought out to the max. Together with the premium strength colouring by Wildstorm FX this is equal with if not surpassing the better painted work of Charles Vess or Phil Winslade. Yumola!
Focussing on a particular officer's day as much of Top 10 attempts to do, this issue centres on Peregrine as she attempts to sort out a major traffic accident involving teleporters. The situation (ludicrous on a par with the inflatable insurance salesman) should be more humorous, or would be under Giffen and DeMatteis. Yet Moore and Ha play it as tragedy, highlighting grief and loss. Cannon's layouts to these scenes seem at first distracted, disorganised, distant. As if we're looking back at a replacement layout artist. Then I realise this was becoming more structured. The quality of layouts moving at a different pace from the rest of the plot threads. Like the sensitive officer on scene or the doomed victim trying to come to terms with the death of mortal hope. It's also loaded with imagery that will possibly take repeated readings/viewings over a long period of time to figure it out. The keen comic booklet reader will also greatly appreciate Gene Ha's intricate crowd scenes: a real good one for sitting around with a bunch of mates trying to reference or name all the characters included. One of the better meditations on the abyss.
With the following issue, Cannon's layered backgrounds obviously suit Ha's need to fill every orifice of the scantily clad artboard with inks imitated grit and grime, extremes within specifics, guidance beams and people, real people. Between them and the FX team they easily surpass anything Alex Ross has ever done (and I do like Alex's work, how couldn't I?) There is too much going on in Top 10 and I mean that in that it is a most pleasant book(let). Each tale takes place within the timeframe of one to three days and each successive issue in close proximity. 'Rules of Engagement' takes place over thirty-six hours and it goes right to the edge of Top 10's hypothetical problem, in that it is almost boring, predictable. With too much and not enough going on, no focus but many aspects of focus as a great calm before the great storm In truth, it sets up what is to come and dreams take form from everywhere's clues.
#10 is like watching a person we know step into the path of a rapidly approaching car in full-blown horrible slow motion. We know it's coming due to some serious hints, we see it played out before our eyes and we're totally, totally powerless to stop it. All we can do is run around our homes lighting candles and praying to our various deities. I've never before been so affected by or shall forget the death of a comic booklet character, with so much vividness. Mind-shattering, this exploitation of cliche/stereotype. The death of Gwen Stacey’s dilemma pales in comparison, and it makes me sad. (There’s goes rational and analytical) Growing up in Northern Ireland with a father who was police, I recall picking up on that from a very early age. I’d watch TV news, or radio news, with my mom, the neon glow I didn’t understand, and suspected terrorism to come across in the form of a report on his shooting. It didn’t., although it is an accepted risk inherent in police work. #10-#11 reflect this very well, as the viewer follows the partner of a deceased officer as a homicide case is tackled: an insight also provided into the character of Smax, who prior to the first booklet, witnessed the death of his partner. We are familiar by now with the officer killed and with several family members of the cast. Thank god for the fiction-barrier. #11 also introduces Joe Pi, a replacement officer who looks like a transformer. Situation mirrors Issue One (Slinger’s induction) in full tone, and the fact that “Joe” is as fully rounded a character as the rest makes for some very paradoxically ‘human’ moments. Moore’s gang pulls off a difficult task: following a conflict apex with a tale just as fulfilling and of utility. No trademark character, in terms of the whole is lost. Jesse Custer is just one of many guest stars making an appearance, delivering the sermon at the deceased officer’s funeral.
From the beige and auburn tones depicting the (titanium chipped) wood of Neopolis PD, its columns, panelling sweeping to the silver (computer) paint’s components of the building foundation. The step parade of the more finely detailed in visibility characters – arranged, different destinations, readiness signalled to take to the blurb, title: “Court On The Street”. Dealing with the public relations to private (seen and not seen), it is a much more subtle piece than the previous entries. Strange, for the character action has as many guns and explosions as shocks and surprises. The viewer is left out of this perspective and is called to do so much more detective work. Following the cops around, definitive judgement call. At time of writing considering #12 my jury is out although there is, a definite sense of finality to it.
I’m stuck with a conclusion for this piece. Top 10’s ‘suspension’ (as it were), to a season of twelve issues is due to the fact that every member of the creative team have for the most put in as much to this series as they possibly could. Speaks volumes. No casual remarks, this is a classic, this is one of the enjoying comic book series I have ever seen. Top Ten is Top Dog.
Andrew Luke,
October 2001,
Bangor, Northern Ireland.
Andrew Luke writes and lives in Bangor, Northern Ireland with a packet of cigarettes and too many books he hasn't read. He has previously written for Silver Bullet Comics, Bugpowder, Borderline, Tripwire and Comics International, and updates TRS2 five times a week. His current project is a History assignment which is due in in two days. Just go back and read the article, 'kay?``xAndrew Luke``xandrew@silverbulletcomicbooks.com``xBook 'em, Kemlo: An Overview of Top Ten, Season One``x1002621772,86599,``x``x
``xWhen is it sensitivity and when is it censorship?
That’s the question I’ve been asking myself for the last couple of weeks. Ever since the horrible tragedy that struck this nation on September 11th, 2001… the world has reacted unpredictably, as expected. Left-wingers and right-wingers working together, thousands buying gas masks and avoiding mass transportation out of fear, George Bush Jr. impressing people with his speech… it’s been weird, that’s for sure. But throughout all of this, there has been a reaction on the entertainment front, also as expected. Can you show terrorism? Should you show terrorism? What kind of terrorism? And many more variants of these questions based on violence, devastation and even the World Trade Center. But where does it end? That’s my question.
I was very fortunate in my youth. Raised through the early eighties by a very liberal household, liberal television and surrounded by a variety of races and religions (myself a Jew) for friends and family… I admittedly grew up with a very open sense of the world. I’ve seen fear and hate in the faces of schoolmates and neighbors, but I’ve always believed that through perseverance and understanding that these elements would eventually melt away. I believed this because my sensibilities were created through people taking the time to explain the differences of the world to me and also being able to see the truth, whether through my own living environment or entertainment. It’s no surprise that the most open-minded people I’ve met in my life come from comic reading backgrounds, because this industry has always tackled the horrible injustices of man through stories and character depictions that allow us, as youth, to relate and learn. Hell, I read X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills when I was 10… and I learned more about the motivations of hate through that than I had through years and years of World War 2 popcorn films. Why, you might ask? Because the understandable fears and anxiety of our nation’s outlook during the early 80’s motivated comic creators to speak through their works, to show the youth why our thinking can cause others harm. It’s not that Chris Claremont, Alan Moore, and Frank Miller just decided one day to make something really grim and terrifying for the heck of it. No, they saw how dreary our future was beginning to look and took the opportunity to say something and make everyone the better for it.
Over the last decade, I’ve seen some truly shocking actions taken in the name of sensitivity. Go back about 15 years and people didn’t use the terms “P.C.” as much as we do now... if at all. In a culture largely influenced by the media, which had taken extremely large steps in the last several decades, it wouldn’t be long before we had to take a look at what we say and do and how it affects the rest of us. Subjects like discrimination, racism, bigotry, and prejudice are all dangers to the stabilization of society and the impressions made on youth. But how far do you go to stop it? I am the man I am today, because quite frankly, no one was afraid to show me the truth. My grandfather’s entire family, along with most of my grandmother’s, was murdered by the Nazi’s during the Holocaust. No matter how many times they explained it to me, or I saw some semblance of it on television, I never truly understood even a portion of what happened until I was 12. Do you know why? Because my parents told me to read Maus. That’s right, a comic book. I took my folks’ copies off the shelf and spent the entire night, from evening until morning, reading both volumes. I just wish my grandfather had lived long enough for me to ask him the questions I had afterwards.
How does this relate to what is going on today, you might ask. I don’t know how many of you have been paying attention to the last several weeks of news, but there have been some decisions made by DC Comics that are currently raising a lot of questions and controversy. After the events of 9-11, DC took a good, hard look at their publishing content and schedules, and made some very difficult decisions. All the solicitations for The Authority, The Authority: Widescreen, Goddess (trade) and JSA: Darkness Falls (trade) were cancelled until further notice. While the futures of the trade collections were left unclear, DC began to ask the creative teams of the Authority to edit their content in an effort to properly accommodate the tragedy. While some creators have decided to go with the program and make the necessary changes, others have declined due to various conflicts. Due to this inability to conform to DC’s editorial wishes, these stories may never see the light of day. Simply put, this news horrifies me. Not because of their refusal to publish the comic, but why this has only become an issue now and what this action means in relation to content from this day forth.
Do not let DC’s publishing edicts fool you. They are doing this to protect their company from criticism and litigation, not because it clashes with their moral code. Of course I’m not saying that absolutely none of them are troubled by the similarities or subjects of these books due to the crisis in New York. But if anyone expects me to believe that DC editorial is now more caring than ever about its readership and the impact of their stories… they can sell their bull manure elsewhere. Do not get me wrong. I loathe The Authority. I despise the kind of “stories” it passes as entertainment. Not because I’m some nutcase about violence, but because I’ve never felt they’ve offered more than low-grade fluff in the form of ultra-violence and explosions, much like the rest of Hollywood these days. But if DC wants to publish material like that, and especially through a Mature Readers label, I’m all for it. If there’s an adult audience for it, let them have it. We know who reads it and there’s no reason to kid ourselves. However, I don’t want them piddling a pitiful excuse for censorship in the name of sensitivity in an attempt to cover their own unmentionables. DC, I don’t know if any of you out there are actually reading this… but if you are, at least have the guts to back what your creators and content. If it’s going to be shocking violence, then so be it. Otherwise you’re just wasting everyone’s time. I can already guarantee you that you’ve lost a number of regular consumers due to your amazingly intuitive decision to edit/cancel those titles.
In the last two years, The Authority has depicted a Captain America clone raping innocent men and women. It has depicted children being suffocated underwater, or raped by their doctors. Entire worlds of females being raped on schedules in order to breed males. All of this, published and placed on convenient comic store racks and book store shelves without mature labels… and not one DC editor or press release has said a word, until now. This, my friends, is hypocrisy in its purest form. Basically, what DC has said, is that molestation is not a sensitive enough issue to be handled until it’s affected us on a scale that demands nation-wide coverage. Perhaps if JonBenet Ramsey had been raped and killed during that period of two years, DC would be more “sensitive.” Lord knows a giant redneck killer