Freak Comics

Supergirl #22 has been sitting on my desk for weeks now. Every time I picked it up, I would end up setting it down again without even glancing inside. I was dreading it.

This is the second part of a two part series entitled Reunion, and both issues are tie-ins to the worst series in DC Comics history, Countdown. This alone was enough to turn me off. To make matters worse, the cover features the most overused character DC has to offer lately, Karate Kid.
I’m not sure why DC thinks that the Legion of Super Heroes are suddenly popular. Perhaps someone out there actually likes them, but if you ask me they’re conceptually dull and not worth reading about. Actually so is Supergirl. I was worried that Combining the two would make for a very boring story… and I was right.

In Supergirl #21 Karate Kid and Una had to fight an incredibly lame villain named Equus. He looks like Doomsday… if Doomsday had been a character on Back to the Future 2. The stupid outdated sunglasses, dumb looking headphones and ridiculous lines he speaks remind me of every 80’s cartoon I ever watched as a kid.
His powers are stupid too… he shoots hardening Nickelodeon-like slime from a metal plate on his chest!
This character was so stupid that I could barely focus my hate on any other part of the comic. Apparently he made his first appearance years ago in Superman #206. I don’t really care that Superman #206 was done by Jim Lee, Equus looked just as stupid back then.

After reading this terrible issue as fast as possible, I shut the comic and looked at the cover.
It was then that I realized DC had completely lied about the contents of this issue.
The cover plainly says “Supergirl vs. Karate Kids?!” and shows the Girl of Steel being choked by one Karate Kid, while punching out another.
In reality Supergirl never battles Karate Kid… let alone two of ‘em! Thanks for the false advertising, DC.

A recent comment reminded me of an article I wrote about the death of Captain America. I invited the general public to get over it. It seemed the day Captain America #25 was released the media couldn’t keep from talking about it.
Some fans of Captain America went in to a depression, some lashed out at Marvel, and some (myself included) accused Marvel of sensationalism simply to make an extra dollar.

That was at the beginning of March in 2007.
Prior to that, civil war had erupted between Earth’s heroes who were split on an issue involving their rights. Tony Stark (Iron Man) led the way in getting the government to pass a law stating that all super powered humans had to register their secret identity and be trained and employed by the government.
While Iron Man led the pro-registration side, Captain America led the anti-registration underground rebels.

I was down on Civil War and claimed it was boring. I still feel this way. The concept was brilliant, but the execution was drawn out and over-hyped. However the final outcome (the death of Captain America) and after effects have proved to be very interesting indeed. The stories that have come from Civil War made the whole event worth while.

I till say that Marvel killed Captain America for two reasons:

1. In real life they killed him to make more money on comic book sales.

2. In the comic book world he died by the hands of a former agent of shield (agent 13) who was being mind controlled by Dr Faustus. He was first wounded by a sniper as climbed the steps of a courthouse in handcuffs after turning himself in to Tony Stark.

The death of Steve Rogers (Captain America) has only proved to enhance the Captain America comic book. In fact, I actually look forward to reading this comic book. Instead of halting the comic (Superman style) the stories have focused in on Bucky, Captain America’s sidekick in World War II, the Red Skull (a long time enemy of the Cap) Agent 13 (Captain America’s killer) and several other characters. Written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Steve Epting, this comic book has a very nice conspiracy / espionage feeling to it.

Many other Marvel titles are really worth your money right now, which brings me to my final point.
During the course of this blog I have been somewhat down on Marvel in general for such things as the House of M, and just having bad stories in general. Recently I’ve reversed my feelings. Marvel is pumping out some high quality stories, you just have to buy the right ones.
X-Factor, Iron Fist, Captain America… even Iron Man are all very well written and illustrated comic books. Good job Marvel, and keep up the good work.

Months ago I talked about Punisher War Journal and how it’s one of my favorite comics. It’s action packed, well written, and constantly considers the blurry line of justice.

World War Hulk has been a pretty decent read thus far, albeit rather slow moving. I’m not much for tie-ins and as soon as I saw that World War Hulk would be crossing over with my beloved Punisher War Journal I expected a boring issue. Thankfully I wasn’t bored in the least.

Punisher War Journal #12: World War Frank, was a fun one-shot story. It managed to show Frank as a warrior and a protector. A blood thirsty vigilante with the people’s best interests in mind.

In this issue, Frank (Punisher) arrives in New York after a massive evacuation of the city only to find it overrun with Sakaar warriors… and a few stragglers who were left behind in the city. Frank does his part in helping the left-overs escape, while fending of hoards of Sakaar.
The final battle between Punisher and Mung the Inconceivable is gratifyingly gory, and Frank’s temporary new suit looks incredible. I would actually like to see that thing stick around for a while.

Most importantly, Punisher War Journal manages to remain true to it’s style even while crossing over with World War Hulk. That’s not easy to accomplish, and certainly isn’t seen in too many titles.

Years ago I saw this graphic novel at the comic book shop. I flipped through it a few times, but never did read it. The title, 30 Days of Night, and the image on the cover kept drawing me to it, but I just couldn’t find enough gumption to actually purchase it.
Now it’s been made in to a major motion picture and this slightly piqued my interest, yet still not enough to purchase the book.

A few days ago a coworker stopped by my desk and handed me his newly purchased copy. He warned me that it only took him 15 minutes to read, but it had a great concept.

After reading this book I can understand why it was made in to a movie, but I simply can’t see what all the adulation heaped upon Steve Niles is for.
The concept is definitely an interesting and somewhat unique one. Alaska has 30 days in which the sun does not rise, so what better place for vampires to gather and feast upon the blood of the living?
The execution of this is concept however is horrible.
30 Days of Night lends itself well to a movie format. But therein lies the problem. It feels as though it was made simply to become a movie. In fact, I felt as though I was looking at the movie’s storyboard with word balloons thrown in for fun.
The dialogue is contrived at best, the characters have no soul, and the art, while edgy, simply servers to further obscure the identities of the characters, making them that much easier to translate to the big screen, and that much harder to relate to.

Being disconnected from the characters is never a good thing in a comic book. Psychotic vampires who storm around town and kill everyone in sight isn’t frightening, it’s just gory without a point.

The plot, like the characters, feels empty and there are many unanswered holes in it.
For instance, why did the main vampire, Vincent, seem to support the group meeting in Alaska if he thought it was a terrible idea, only to show up later and shut the whole thing down? Why did the guy from New Orleans risk his life to send vampire photos back to his mother? And who was his mother anyway?
This was all just a vague attempt at setting up sequels, of which there are plenty.

Then there were outright mistakes made. Why on Earth did the main character, Ebb, claim that the only way he had seen a vampire killed was by another vampire, when seconds prior to that statement he and the others in his group killed a vampire? Steve Niles must take the reader for a complete dolt.
Whole chunks of the story felt like they were missing. But why fill in the blanks when the movie writers can do that for you?

30 Days of Night is a lazily written graphic novel. It’s a piss poor excuse for a comic book and gives independent writers a bad name. It was however, a successful attempt at getting an idea in to main stream hollywood and making a lot of money for Mr. Niles. And if the movie is a success, it will also help to generate interest in comic books in general, so I guess it’s not all bad… just mostly bad.

I’ve been rather disconcerted with comic books as of late. I think my tastes are changing yet again. Either that or most books are just pretty boring right now. I haven’t really felt the urge to write. And then I read Iron Fist #8.
Where has this book been all my life?

A couple of weeks ago I picked up my latest shipment of comics at Graham Crackers Comics. Usually I take a few minutes to paw through the stack and make sure nothing had snuck in to my box, but this time I was in a rush and didn’t bother checking. Later when I got home I took a look at my new comics. To my dismay Iron Fist #8 had managed to sneak in to my pile. I was none too happy about this. I know nothing about Iron Fist, I didn’t feel like finding out about the Iron Fist, and quite honestly the cover sucks. I put it away for a while and went about my business.

Yesterday I finally picked it up, assuming I’d be writing a scathing review. To my surprise I found that Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction were the writers. This changed my perspective instantly. I was suddenly looking forward to reading this comic, and it turns out I was not disappointed.
Not only is the writing superb, the art is beautiful. David Aja has put together a really beautiful book and rocketed to the top of my Favorite Illustrators list. He is now among the greats such as Tony Moore and Cliff Rathburn. I actually paused several times throughout the comic to take a closer look at his illustrations.

I have decided to go back and read The Immortal Iron Fist issues 1 - 7 and will be adding this title to my list on Wednesday. Thank goodness the guys at the comic shop screwed up and stuck this comic in my box!

Proof is a comic book about paranormal activity and the government agents who investigate it… sound familiar? Well it turns out that Proof is actually unique in several ways, some of which aren’t so good.
Issue #1 (written by Alexander Grecian and Riley Rossmo) contains two stories.
The first, Skin and Bones Part 1 of Goatsucker, centers around Agent John Prufrock (AKA Proof), a large sasquatch (bigfoot) who is teamed up with his new partner Ginger Brown. Think Fox Mulder as a giant bigfoot, and Dana Scully as a believer rather than a skeptic.
The two agents are called upon to investigate their first case together, which involves a Chupacabra who kills a husband and wife who were hiking through the woods.
Ginger Brown’s Big Week is presented as a second story. It is all about Ginger (Prufrock’s new partner), and how she came to be paired up with Prufrock.

I really did enjoy this comic despite a few frustrating shortcomings. The dialog has a very nice flow to it and seems natural. The characters are interesting, I like the idea of a benevolent bigfoot agent.
The artwork is very well done and really helps to make the comic stand out. The unpolished, sketch-book style contribute to the dream-like feel.
The colors chosen and the over all mood of the art reminds me of old X-Files episodes. I’d even go so far as to say that it looks a bit like Twin Peaks.

Unfortunately Proof does have a few failings.
As much as I like Agent Prufrock, I’m not quite sure why a giant sasquatch is a special government agent, or exactly which branch of the government he’s working for. Or if it’s even the government he’s with for that matter. Perhaps these questions will be answered later.
There’s also a very odd and out of place reference to Choose Your Own Adventure novels on the second page of the comic where the narration says the following:

If you think Jeanette was hurt or killed, turn to page 14.
If you think Jeanette got help from a policeman, turn to page 17.
If you think we should get on with the story, turn to page 3.

This odd attempt at humor is out of place and extremely confusing. Although I was pretty sure it was a joke, I went ahead and turned to the pages to see what I would find. These actually do match up as was claimed, but that only served to confuse matters more. I started thinking this was actually a Choose Your Own Adventure comic, but decided to read through naturally instead and quickly found out it was just a dumb joke.
The last “story” in this comic is a little disjointed as well. In my opinion the writers would have done much better to just embed this story in the middle of the first one as it takes place in conjunction with it. In fact, at the end of Ginger Brown’s Big Week, we’re told that her story continues on page 10 of the Goatsucker story. Very strange way of putting this issue together if you ask me.

The most glaring mistake in this comic is the Cryptoids.
Cryptoids are an annoying comic book version of VH1’s pop-up video. I could almost hear the obnoxious bubble popping sound each time I read a Cryptoid. Although these were meant to help drive the story forward and keep you informed, they only slow the story down. One or two of them may not have been so bad, but the Cryptoids appear throughout the issue. It’s like a constant barage of footnotes in a novel… rather annoying.
These so-called Cryptoids would be better served as a traditional narration box.

For all of the annoyances this comic still manages to be interesting and fun to read. That’s saying something. If you’re a fan of the world of paranormal investigation and grizzly supernatural murders, you should take a look at Proof.

Although I might not write about every single issue of the Walking Dead, I sing Robert Kirkman’s praises on a constant basis. I tell all my comic book buddies to read the Walking Dead (if they don’t already). I tell my wife to read Walking Dead and she has barely even touched a comic book, let alone read one. Unfortunately no matter how much begging, insisting or threatening I do, some people just refuse to give it a try. To them I ask: what on Earth is wrong with you?
This is the greatest comic book ever written and you are missing it! If you aren’t following The Walking Dead, stop reading this article right now, call your local comic book shop and order the trade paperbacks (or the awesome hard cover). I’m serious, do it now. This comic is best read from the beginning onward.

Issue #40 is wonderful… it’s easily one of my favorite issues of the last several months, and not even one zombie appears in the comic! It’s a breather issue in which we’re reminded that these people don’t have it all that bad, even though the world is quickly turning into a useless and hostile environment.
In issue #39 Dale was bitten by a Zombie. I was pretty horrified when this happened because I really like Dale. I didn’t want to see him die, and thankfully after the events of issue #40 it looks like he just might pull through. How many comic books out there make you feel bad when a character is killed? How many make you wish that a character could be time traveled back to life after they kick the bucket? One, it’s called The Walking Dead, and fortunately the characters never come back to life unless it’s as a flesh eating zombie!

In this issue we also get to find out that Rick and Lori’s baby girl’s name is Judith. This almost makes me want to have a second daughter and name her Judith… almost.
I also really love the fact that Shane was mentioned by Dale in this issue. That is one of the greatest parts about The Walking Dead. Kirkman doesn’t just stop talking about things that happened in his book a few years ago. Instead the events are brought up as though they happened recently, because in the comic they did.

So since I’m a huge zombie fan, and this issue didn’t include any zombies, and this is a zombie book, why did I enjoy it so much?
The answer is simple. Robert Kirkman is a genius. His writing style is so wonderful, so realistic, that I can honestly put myself in the story like no other comic I’ve ever read, nor any movie or television show I’ve ever watched. He is the Ray Bradbury of comics.
Also, it has an ad on the back for a Walking Dead poster. That’s wonderful news and I’ve alrady pre-ordered mine. And, In the back of the comic, Kirkman claims the Walking Dead statue by Clayburn Moore will be on sale very soon… this is also wonderful news and I plan to order mine as soon as I can. But the greatest part about issue #40, is that it’s going to be followed by issue #41 tomorrow, which easily makes Walking Dead the best weekly comic book to date (screw you DC Comics).

There is nothing better than a creator owned comic. The dedication and love that goes in to every aspect of each issue by far surpasses anything you’ll read in a main-stream, corporation owned comic.
Mice Templar, written by Bryan J.L. Glass and Michael Avon Oeming, is no exception.

Click for a larger view

Mice Templar tells the tale of Karic, a young mouse who reveres the Templar. The Templar are Ancient guardians and dedicated mice warriors who follow the ways of Kuhl-En, a mighty warrior priest. However long ago the Templar turned on each other and are now seen as something of a legend… a bedtime story to tell children, they are no longer believed in.

Click for a larger view

Think Lord of the Rings with mice instead of hobbits and rats instead of orcs. Mice Templar is fun to read and even more fun to look at. The artwork is beautiful. Michael Avon Oeming does a wonderful job depicting action scenes with mice in the middle of a forest… in my opinion not the easiest thing to draw.

My one complaint with this series is that I had a difficult time distinguishing between characters and keeping them strait in my head. However it’s very possible that I’m alone in this, and it really didn’t ruin the story.

I truly enjoyed reading this comic and as I neared the end found myself longing for the next issue. The art is beautiful, the story is epic, and the dialogue is poetic. Read this comic!

3-2-1 Action is a 3 part story spanning Action Comics 852 - 854. Kurt Busiek has maintained a pretty steady flow of good dialogue and interesting plots during his run on Action Comics, and he continues to maintain a good level of quality even during a tie-in with DC’s worst comic, Countdown.

I’ve stated a few times in the past that I really have no interest in Jimmy Olsen’s sudden onset of powers, and I really don’t. I don’t have a whole lot of interest in the fact that he has recently discovered Superman’s identity either. None of this is going to last. By the end of Countdown Jimmy Olsen will either be dead or undergo some type of mind wipe. Or perhaps he’ll be replaced with an alternate version of himself. Regardless of the final outcome, Action Man will be no more and Jimmy will have no knowledge of Superman’s alternate identity.

Over all the these issues have been somewhat entertaining from the standpoint of them being rather retro. 3-2-1 Action was reminiscent of the Silver Age of comics. Krypto is all over this issue (even the title, ‘Pal’, reefer’s to Krypto’s new secret identity), so that’s kinda cool. Clark Kent’s reaction to Jimmy discovering that he’s really Superman is pretty classic too. I also enjoyed watching Krypto attack a giant radioactive monkey (even though he was actually a gorilla at that point).

As for the art… well, it’s nothing to write home about. Brad Walker is not a spectacular choice for a an artist on a Superman book. He’s somewhat inconsistent. For instance, Clark Kent looks like a normal guy most of the time, while Superman looks like he’s mentally retarded. Sometimes Jimmy looks a little on the slow side himself (although I’m convinced he really is). On the other hand Krypto looks pretty cool throughout the issue (what’s with America’s fear of anatomically correct artwork though?).

Overall I suppose 3-2-1 Action was rather entertaining even though it was a dreaded tie-in and the art was pretty loose. If I seem hesitant to give this thing a good review, it’s because I am. I really hate tie-ins. They’re nothing but money grabbers. However, as tie-ins go, this was at the higher end of the scale, but please don’t take that as a recommendation.

I just watched an awesome animated short called “The Scritch-Scratch of Busy Little Hands” on YouTube.
As is usual with an animated short, this one doesn’t have much of a story line, but the animation is wonderful. It really reminds me of Charles Addams mixed with David Firth mixed with Edward Gorey. Pretty cool stuff.

Apparently it’s all hand drawn… no flash or vector shapes here. Awesome!
This film is the product of two sisters, Joy and Noelle Vaccese. Their website, twinsareweird.com links to a MySpace page (unfortunately) where you can get more information on the two animators.