New York Comic-Con 2008: Not a Full Report, But Some Highlights*

The Third Annual NYCC is over, and I need about five days to recover. Good thing I'm on vacation this week. Oh wait, I'm teaching a workshop at the Norman Rockwell Museum every day until Friday. No rest for the awesome.

And teaching a comics workshop at the Norman Rockwell Museum is pretty awesome, I have to say. Even if I constantly point to the walls as the kids are drawing and say, "you'll never be as good as this guy anyway, so don't bother." Just kidding! They will be even BETTER than Rockwell. What comics did that guy ever do, anyway?

You know who does comics, though? Jeffrey Brown. Here he is, signing the only two things I bought all weekend: The Incredible Change Bots and Little Things:

See how he hides behind his massive piles of Top Shelfy comics so I can't see what he's up to? He's sneaky. I assume he wrote profanity in the margins of random pages. I just haven't come across those pages yet. But I could not resist buying some books from him anyway.

Still, you also have to wonder how I could go to a ginormous convention and buy only two small books. (Well, I guess I also bought Comic Book Comics #1 from Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, so I bought three things, honestly.) I could have bought more. I had money in my pockets. I saw stuff I wanted. But I thought, "eh, I don't even have the time to read all the stuff I already own." What's that about? Am I becoming more rational?

Probably not.

Although I did treat this year's con as more of a business trip (sort of) than a fanboy fun fest. I networked. I mingled. I said, "I like your stuff" and handed out my crappy, cheaply-printed right before the convention business cards that I forgot to order in advance. So I didn't really go in with the mindset of a shopper. Plus, I knew I'd be there all three days, and I wasn't in a rush to buy anything the first day. Then, Saturday was too busy to shop around, and by Sunday I'd lost any interest in what I'd wanted to buy on Friday. Three days at a convention equals me buying less than one day. That's the math involved, apparently.

Instead of buying stuff, I attended a couple of panels. Like this Vertigo panel, which was more of a really quick overview of Vertigo's upcoming projects and Karen Berger deftly advancing the slide show without giving away too much. She'd show an upcoming Scalped cover and say, "Scalped. I really like this cover." Then move on. She had a lot to get through, and she had to let Grant Morrison (who's not seen in the picture because the podium was blocking his glorious bald pate anyway) talk about some of his upcoming work. He's doing War Cop which is some kind of riff on the military-as-video-game mentality, and he's doing more Seaguy of course--with Seaguy as the world's foremost Bull Dresser--and he's doing a comic about Dr. No's daughter being hunted by James Bond (except without using their names, of course, or else DC would violate some trademarks and Charles Atlas would come back from the dead and punch Grant Morrison in the face).

The Morrison stuff sounds great, but I was hoping that the other panelists would have a chance to speak about their work, and very few of them did. Jason Aaron, on the far left, did not get to say a single word. We all know Scalped is the best Vertigo comic on the stands, and the applause from the audience was loud when the Scalped slide flashed on the screen for a few seconds, but he must be in the Marvel-exclusive penalty box, because he didn't get to participate on this panel at all.

So, afterwards, I went up and punched him in the face.

My Teenagers from the Future book was proudly on display. Selling like Ritalin at a middle school dance. The book sold out. Sold. Out. And it won't be available again until we get it though the bookstore channels and onto Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble in June or so. It will be worth the wait, though.

Just ask Mike Phillips, seen here posing with the books. (Needless to say, I punched him in the face.)

I also had a chance to speak with, at length, Johanna Draper-Carlson and KC Carlson. KC tried to help me pull together some essays for the book, and he was curious to see the printed book, so he stopped by the booth. I did not punch either of them in the face, because they were really interesting and cool. I'm glad to have met them this weekend.

They were so nice, in fact, that I didn't punch anyone in the face for at least 15 minutes.

Grant Morrison, signing at the DC booth. This was late Friday, I think. But before the fans arrived at 3:00, he was just hanging out at the booth, talking with Len Wein (who jokingly asked Grant for 10% of his earnings for all the recent Len Wein-inspired stuff he's been doing at DC recently). I have interviewed Grant a couple of times, but I hadn't met him in person, and when he saw me, he was incredibly gracious and enthusiastic (as he always is about everything, apparently). I know that as a bald guy, I had a kind of Grant Morrison haircut going on, but when I saw him in person I realized that I was also the same size as him, and he even said, "I'd better be careful, or people are going to think I'm you." I told him about what I was working on recently, and bumped into Geoff Johns and Dan DiDio too, who all joined the conversation about Teenagers from the Future. I thanked Geoff for The Legion of Three Worlds, and told him that it was perfect timing to help sell my book. So, once again, I was in too good of a mood to punch anyone or anything.

Then, later, when I saw people standing in line for hours to get their books signed by Grant, I ran down the line and punched each one of them in the face.

My wife and kids joined me for Kid's Day on Sunday, which meant that I could shift from business and punching-in-the-face-mode to father-and-husband mode. I did a mediocre job with that, since I ditched my family at least three times to hang out with people who are more famous then they are.

But I'm pretty sure they had a great time. It's a comic book convention! What kid doesn't like overweight men spray painted gray and dressed in a Colossus costume? What kid doesn't like hardcover collections of "The Erotic Art of Rob Liefeld"? What kid doesn't like Podcast Alley?

My wife is smiling in the picture above because it's early in the day and she doesn't realize how often I will abandon her so I can talk to people who used to write fan letters to a comic book I sort of liked fifteen years ago.

My daughter didn't seem to care about what was going on anyway, because she got a free Scooby Doo digest from the DC booth and she read the heck out of it. She read that thing cover-to-cover, laughing at all the right bits. As much as I want to say something sarcastic here, I just can't, because this is what the Kid's Day is all about. Kids reading comics. And she did exactly that.

Soon, I'll move her up to the Archie stuff.

Next year, I think she'll be ready for Tim Vigil's Faust.

Mo Willems! He heard about all the face-punching and made a scary face so I would be intimidated. It's an animal defense mechanism called "mimicking," and it keeps weaker prey from being attacked by predators. He's obviously mastered the technique, as you can see here. Also, his panel, sponsored by MoCCA, was the best panel of the weekend. My kids laughed, played along with his antics, learned how to draw a cool pigeon, and left excited about books and creating their own books. I'm very glad we got a chance to see him in action. His new book is called The Pigeon Wants a Puppy and it's better than 99% of everything that was on sale at the convention. If you have kids and you aren't buying the Mo Willems books, you are obviously a horrible person who will never receive the love you so desperately crave.

Right before we walked out the exit, I had my wife capture this moment of my son and I saying farewell to a convention that we all enjoyed. I made a few contacts, my son bought a few Ugly Dolls, and we all bonded over the Pigeon's ridiculously fallacious puppy assertions. As we calmly prepared to leave, others, like the guy to my left, ran through the convention aisles, seeking that final "big deal." That fabled first issue of Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man at half off the $45 cover price. Or that new Vampirella bust, slightly defective, at a shockingly low $235. We, as a family, had moved beyond such trivialities and were ready for the long ride back to Massachusetts.

We joined hands to create a giant fist with which to punch the Javits Center in the face. But instead, we gave it a big hug. We love you NYCC. You were almost perfect this year.

*Please note, the punching I referred to in this post is a metaphor. I didn't literally punch anyone in the face over the weekend. Instead, I used ninja stars.

Amazing Spider-Man #557 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Amazing Spider-Man #557, in which I write the following sentence: "'Amazing Spider-Man' #557 certainly has its story moments, like the neat use of space/time fighting from the Mayan god, and the bit with the exploding web cartridges, but it's really Bachalo's art that makes this story worth reading."

Read the entire review HERE.

Superman #675 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Superman #675, in which I write the following sentences: "In short, it's a Superman story. One of the very good ones. And after a couple of years of long speeches by Arion and the Insect Queen, Busiek finally nails it, just as he's walking out the door."

Read the entire review HERE.

Wonder Woman #19 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Wonder Woman #19, in which I write the following sentences: "...does this most recent issue succeed on its own? Is it a good 'Wonder Woman' comic? Is it a good comic? The answer is: yes, on all three counts."

Read the entire review HERE.

Teenagers from the Future at NYCC

If you're going to be at the New York Comic-Con, make sure to stop by Booth #2445 (located right next to Artist Alley) and get your copy of Teenagers From the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes. Sequart's own Mike Phillips will be on hand to tell you all about upcoming Sequart projects, and I will be around most of the afternoon Friday and Saturday if you want to stop by and say, "hey" or talk to me about Grant Morrison, the Legion, comics, or your favorite episodes of "Turbo Teen."

The Teenagers from the Future book ended up being 330 pages of Legion awesomeness, including:

Matt Fraction's Foreword

Barry Lyga's Afterword

Me on "Thomas, Altman, Levitz, and the 30th Century"

Richard Bensam on "The Death of and Resurrection of Lightning Lad"

Chris Sims on "The (Often Arbitrary) Rules of the Legion"

James Kakalios on "The Legion's Super-Science"

Jeff Barbanell on "Shooter's Marvelesque"

Sara K. Ellis on "Architecture and Utopia"

Lanny Rose on "The Amethyst Connection"

Alan Williams on "Gender Identity and Homosexuality in the Legion"

Matthew Elmslie on "Generational Theory and the Waid Threeboot"

And Much, Much, More!

See you all this weekend.

Brief Reviews for 4/9/08 Comics

I read a few other comics this week that I didn't review in full. Here's what I thought (with five-star rankings):

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #556: I still love Chris Bachalo's art on this story arc. It's certainly enough to get me to pick up the comic. The story has potential with inter-demensional Mayan guys or something like that. We'll see how it all plays out in the conclusion next month. I do like the snow-related humor and the dialogue with the homeless dude isn't too bad. I'd say this is decent enough Spider-Man comics. Really, though, the conclusion will make or break the story. ***1/2

BOOSTER GOLD #8: Kick-Ass had me thinking about DC's lame 1980's Wild Dog character and here he is showing up in this very issue! I like the rag-tag Justice League of this alternate reality, and this was one of the better issues of the series. Unlike previous issues, it wasn't just visiting a past event from DC continuity. This one was all about what happens when guys like Wild Dog are left to defend the planet. A good, but not great, comic. ***

COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS 3: Nothing undermines this climactic battle between Darkseid and the forces of dull Countdownery than the press for Final Crisis which revealed that the Darkseid shown in this comic is just some kind of projection of a much greater cosmic threat. It's a 52 issue series culminating in a mini-boss battle. It's like getting stuck on Level One of Donkey Kong for 52 straight weeks. *

GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY #7: Mike Norton does a really good Cliff Chiang impression here. It looks pretty good. I assume the inker helped smooth over some things, but this may be the best Mike Norton work yet (the second best being his art on Gravity a few years back). Wow. This just looks so much better than his stuff on the Atom recently. Still, it's written by Judd Winick. It's not that bad, actually. I kind of liked this issue with the Scooby Doo reveal and all. Not too shabby, boys. ***1/2

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #23: Bad stuff looms. ***

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #14: Geoff Johns must have spent all of his awesomeness on last weeks Action Comics issue, because this thing is no good at all. He does a terrible job juggling the gigantic cast of characters (which makes me cringe actually, because that doesn't bode well for his big Legion project this summer), and if he is this generation's Roy Thomas (which he is), then this is like one of those middle-of-the-run All-Star Squadron issues that had too many characters and not enough characterization or plot. **

SUPERMAN CONFIDENTIAL #14: I expect better from B. Clay Moore. This story felt too safe. It didn't have anything to recommend it other than the nice Phil Hester art, really. It's not a bad comic, it's just completely average. Bring some of your voice to the DC Universe, B. Clay! Don't water it down. **1/2

TITANS #1: I didn't buy this. I thought about it. I haven't hated Winick's recent work (or maybe I'm just getting soft), so I flipped through it in the store. It looked unreadable. Lots of ugly splash pages and little plot. So, let me know if I missed out on a hidden gem here. Somehow, I doubt it.

WOLVERINE #64: I loved this issue. This is definitely Garney's best art work. I've never seen him look so good, and we all know that Jason Aaron is a comic book force with which to be reckoned. Aaron would have been great on that canceled Mystique comic, don't you think? It would have had more of an edge, which is what it needed. Anyway, if you're not reading Aaron's Wolverine, you are a big ugly doofus head. That's a verifiable fact. ****

Dead of Night #3 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Dead of Night Featuring Man-Thing #3, in which I write the following sentences: "They panic, they scream, and they try to fight back. Man-Thing, who appears only in the story as a silent, looming presence, isn't much more than a mysterious force of nature. Thus, the weight of the story falls on the four youthful protagonists, and they just aren't worth reading about."

Read the entire review HERE.

Criminal #2 Hits THE SPLASH PAGE

Chad Nevett ranked Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's Criminal as one of the Top 10 comics of 2007. I scoffed.

I wasn't impressed with the first story arc at all, and I didn't bother to read the second.

That was at the end of 2007. Have I changed my opinion since then? Am I destined to get a beat down by a punk kid like Nevett? Do I even like comics?

Find out in the newest installment of THE SPLASH PAGE. Read it, in all of its glory: HERE

Criminal Volume 2 #2 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Criminal #2, in which I write the following sentence: "It's a single-issue story that hammers its way into your psyche with a brutal unfolding of the inevitable."

Read the entire review HERE.

Fantastic Four #556 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Fantastic Four #556, in which I write the following sentence: "It's a hyper-sexualized take on the Fantastic Four, and it just feels off for this particular group of characters."

Read the entire review HERE.

Tiny Titans #3 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Tiny Titans #3, in which I write the following sentence: "Tiny Titans #3 is a great example of editor Jann Jones's vision for the new Johnny DC: gateway books for a new generation of comic book readers."

Read the entire review HERE.

The Last Defenders #2 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: The Last Defenders #2, in which I write the following sentence: "this series does a better job balancing the laughs with the substance than any other Giffen work in recent memory, so clearly Casey is doing something right."

Read the entire review HERE.

Cable #2 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Cable #2, in which I write the following sentences: "Even hillbillies from the future can't save this comic. And if they can't, maybe nothing can."

Read the entire review HERE.

Kick-Ass #2 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Kick-Ass #2, in which I write the following sentences: "Romita Jr. gives us a hero who is on the ground kicking furiously. A character who lashes out without style. A character who is caught on camera, not in an iconic hero shot, but hunched over, blood dripping from his face. Romita makes us feel the heavy breathing and the pain."

Read the entire review HERE.

The Art of Joe Staton at the Storefront Artist Project

This is something you should all check out, especially if you have kids and want to travel to the Berkshires this summer:

Pittsfield, MA…Pittsfield’s Storefront Artist Project is teaming up with the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in New York this summer to present The Art of Joe Staton. Staton is a well-known cartoonist, and his work on Batman, Scooby Doo, Rugrats, Jonny Quest, the Wild Thornberrys, Green Lantern, E-Man and Michael Mauser will be highlighted in the exhibition. The Art of Joe Staton will be on view August 2 – 31, 2008, at the Storefront Artist Project, and a series of related free workshops and programs will also be offered.

With a career spanning over three decades, Staton is a legend in the world of comic book art. His career began in 1971 with Charlton comics where he worked with Nicola Cuti to create E-Man and Michael Mauser, two popular characters still published today. Staton is the former artist for the most successful crime comic book of our time – Scooby Doo and is currently the artist on Jughead’s new look from Archie Comics.

The Art of Joe Staton is curated by Lawrence Klein, chairman emeritus and founder of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. A resident of Pittsfield, Klein founded the New York based museum in 2001. “When I founded the museum, it was a way to set an example on how people can give back to the community. Similarly, I became involved with the Storefront Artists Project to give back to the community in which I now live,” said Klein.

A series of related events and workshops begins with an opening reception on August 2. On August 3 Staton will conduct a free, day-long workshop including a drawing demonstration, sketch-a-thon, and discussion. All programs are free of charge and held at The Storefront Artists Project, unless otherwise stated. For more information, including pre-registration contact the Storefront Artist Project at 413-442-7201 or visit www.storefrontartist.org.

On August 23, Event with Jim Salicrup, Editor-in-Chief, of Papercutz, the youth-friendly publisher of Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Tales from the Crypt, and the Classics Illustrated library with author Stefan Petrucha (Nancy Drew Graphic Novels) will talk about writing, art, publishing and review the artwork and writings of those attending.

Educator and author Tim Callahan leads a session of superhero splendor on August 17 when participants can create their own super-powered characters and draw stories about their exploits. During this two-hour workshop, participants will learn how to put characters into trouble and get them out alive.

On August 9, local cartoonist Todd Casey will conduct a drawing workshop that emphasizes the use of individual style. During the workshops, participants will learn how to create characters and move them through a series of panels to make the comic strips come to life on the page.

Hey, look. I'm involved! See you this summer.

Brief Reviews for 4/2/08 Comics: Now with Five-Star Ratings!

Since I'm using the five-star rating system for the CBR reviews, I might as well use them here too. Here are some comics I read this week but didn't write full reviews for:

All-New Atom #22: Rick Remender hasn't sold me on his new direction after his first two issues, but at least he (a) isn't using those ridiculous footnotes which Simone seemed to be keeping out of stubbornness, and (b) seems to be blowing shit up. I'd love for this comic to become ten times better than it is, and if Remender needs to raze Ivy Town to do it, that's fine with me. Unfortunately, the comic isn't that great yet. **1/2

Amazing Spider-Man #555: Well, I really love the art by Chris Bachalo. (And this is the first time I've seen the clever "tkins" sound effect as Wolverine retracts his claws. Has it been used elsewhere?) ***

The Boys #17: This series seems to run hot and cold for me. I liked the second arc much better than the first, and I think I like this arc less than the previous one. I still don't see a very strong overall direction for this book, and I don't know how much longer Ennis can keep me interested in his giggling, super-heroes-are-so-perverted attitude on display here. **

Clandestine #3: I read plenty of Excalibur issues back in the day, but I think I missed the ones Alan Davis wrote and drew himself. So I'm not sure I got the continuity jokes here, but I loved the attempt to figure out which Earth they came from. Funny stuff, and the Alan Davis art is great, of course. Although I recently re-read Justice League: The Nail and his layouts there were really extraordinary. I kind of think of Alan Davis as having a VERY consistent style, but he seems to be a but less dynamic lately. Maybe it's just because he's taking a different approach to drawing this comic. ***1/2

Countdown to Final Crisis #4: I already made fun of it the other day. It continues to be one of the worst comic book series in the history of the universe ever. The art this week wasn't terrible, at least. The story was. *

Jonah Hex #30: It's amazing how different each artist makes this comic. I would assume that Gray and Palmiotti use full-script, and yet each artist comes along and gives the series a very different tone. Jordi Bernet comes in and the comic feels like a violent newspaper strip. Weird. Anyway, this is a good comic month in and month out, but since each issue is self-contained (barring very few exceptions) and doesn't draw upon and story moments from previous issues, I'm not sure that I need to read this every month. I just don't feel like the small moments have added up to all that much over the course of the past couple of years. I'd be pleased to see some new writers take this comic in a new direction at this point. ***

Logan #2: The best-looking comic of the week. I like what Vaughan is doing here, and I think it will be seen as an essential Wolverine story once it's collected. But really, the art is what makes it special. ****

Metal Men #7: I've given up trying to piece together the narrative of this story as I read it in monthly installments. I liked the bits I could make sense out of in this issue, but I really need to wait until I have all eight issues in front of me before I have any real idea of the quality here. I love how ambitious it is, though. (And I love Rouleau's art.) *** (tentatively)

Omega the Unknown #7: Anyone who felt that this was going to be a rehash of Gerber's original series (which is understandable, considering the first issue), has to realize that this has turned into something VERY different. I'm pretty sure nobody expected Gary Panter to illustrate a Marvel comic, but that's sort of what we get here (at least in part) and it's pretty cool. This is another series that I can't even come close to judging fairly until it's completed, but I have a feeling this is going to be something really great by the time it's over. I liked this issue a lot. ****

Punisher War Journal #18: It's probably ridiculous to say the "Guitar Hero III" product placement ruined the comic for me, but it really did. I couldn't stop looking at the poorly-incorporated game logo when it appeared in what should have been a ghastly scene of torture. Instead, I was so distracted, I couldn't appreciate Chaykin's panels. Also, I really don't know what's going on with Jigsaw. Does he have the ability to transform his face? I thought he was just a dude with an ugly mug. Has he ALWAYS had that power? I trust Fraction to make sense out of all of this and to demand that Guitar Hero III never again destroy his comics. **1/2

The Twelve #4: And the promise of the first issue slowly withers away. I hope JMS plans on doing more than he's shown us in this issue. Chris Weston is perfect for what this comic should be, though. **

Young Avengers Presents #3: Master Pandemonium earns this comic extra points--does anyone else besides me love the West Coast Avengers? I think I read that comic more faithfully than the main Avengers series as a teenager. This issue is nothing special, but it has some nice character moments and I kind of like the clear line artwork. The Young Avengers has been a team of interesting characters since it debuted, and this issue continues that trend. It's not ground-breaking, but it's good enough. And, maybe it is ground-breaking with its matter-of-fact homosexual relationship. I don't know. ***

What did you read last week?

Shooter's Legion vs. Johns's Legion: A Few Thoughts

After reading my reviews for the newest issues of Action Comics and Legion of Super-Heroes over at CBR, Legion book contributor and Estoreal blogger Richard Bensam made the following comment:

I just wonder what you got from that Action Comics storyline that I didn't. For me, Shooter has me reading and enjoying a Legion book for the first time in nearly twenty years; meanwhile, what Johns was doing just felt hollow. It was "let's hit this plot point...and here's a moment that's meant to be evocative...and here on the diagram we insert a scene that touches on the stated thematic goal...and here, one more moment where we stop and commemorate the meaningfulness of it all." I get the impression your response was the reverse of this, and it vexes me.

I wouldn't say my response is the "reverse" of Bensam's, but I did give Action Comics a favorable review and Legion a relatively negative review (with the qualifier that I think the Shooter-penned series has great potential). So let me explain a bit more about how I feel about Johns's recent version of the Legion and Shooter's interpretation.

First of all, my CBR review wasn't evaluating Action Comics as a Legion book, but as a Superman book. So in many ways, Bensam's criticism of Johns's by-the-numbers Legion moments misses the point a bit. The Legion moments were clearly designed to illuminate Superman, to provide a dramatic context in which aspects of Superman's character can be emphasized, not to add depth to fifty years of Legion characterization. As a Legion story, Johns's tale was nothing extraordinary, but it did a more than admirable job of re-engaging the Legion with the Superman mythos. The Legion has been cast aside for too long, in my mind, and even the Abnett and Lanning attempts to connect the characters with Superboy felt like a second-rate patch job. So there's that.

Also, I have absolutely no problem with conventional storytelling as long as its done well, and Johns is one of the best at well-structured superhero narratives. You may be able to see all the beats in advance, but damn it if he doesn't hit them emphatically. There's a reason we, as a species, keep telling the same basic stories again and again. We like to see slight variations, but we like the what we like. Over and over. If you listen to a song you like, even a new version of it, you don't judge it based on what's going to surprise you, but on how well the artist performs the required moments. That's what John does, and he does it well.

I'm still not sure what to think about Shooter's Legion, though. He didn't want to reboot the series, even though he claims DiDio offered him the chance to do so, yet he isn't keeping the tone or characterizations of the Waid Threeboot, so he has basically just adopted the costumes (which he will also change in the near future, as seen on the first cover of his run--a strange image, to be sure, since we're several issues in and those costumes still haven't appeared), and the main cast of characters. But since the characters don't act like they have in the recent past, it's basically a relaunch anyway. Which is fine, I guess, since he did instill some much-needed energy into the series. Even though I liked Waid and Bedard's Legion when I reread the entire series last year, it was a bit too self-serious for me. It felt like it was trying to say something important and show the weight of the universe on the shoulders of these young men and women in the Legion, but it didn't have much life to it. Shooter has brought in some life, which is why I believe the series has potential under him.

But I do actively dislike plenty of his dialogue, much of which relies on "futuristic" slang that sounds like a 65-year-old trying to be hip. And his attempts to add conflict within the Legion is reminiscent of every team comic book since Claremont's X-Men. Or, perhaps I should say every team comic since Shooter's original Legion, which was inspired by Marvel's troubled heroes. Either way, there's certainly nothing new here, and Shooter isn't as good at hitting the marks as Johns is, but I think he might surprise me before his run on the series is over. I'm optimistic about the new direction, but I don't think the comic is all that great yet. Perhaps Shooter still needs a few more issues to position the team where he wants it. I don't know.

Of course, with the Johns/Perez "Legion of Three Worlds" this summer, perhaps Shooter won't get a chance to take the Legion where he wants them to go. I'd be shocked if a reboot or deboot (or whatever) didn't come out of this Final Crisis/"Legion of Three World" stuff. And although I'd happily keep buying Jim Shooter Legion comics, I feel that editorial forces beyond all of our control may have something different in mind for the future of the Legion.

I am really glad that someone had the foresight to pull together a useful analytical guide to the various incarnations of the Legion of Super-Heroes just in time for this huge summer event, though. That guy must know what he's doing, at least.

What does everyone else think about all of this stuff?

Voice by Proxy: Countdown #4

I teach my students to avoid the assumption that the author of a literary work is speaking through his or her characters. But sometimes the author's voice clearly comes through a fictional proxy or two:



From Countdown to Final Crisis #4. Words by Sean McKeever.

Scalped #16 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Scalped #16, in which I write the following sentence: "While 'DMZ' alternately stumbles and sprints in a vague, uncertain direction, and 'Fables' binds itself in its all-to-clever conceit, 'Scalped' explores one of the essential human dilemmas: how does one do what is right and just in an unjust world?"

Read the entire review HERE.

Casanova #13 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Casanova #13, in which I write the following sentence: "Moon's reimagining of the Ba-illustrated universe of 'Luxuria' demonstrate the subjectivity of the past, but that's exactly the point."

Read the entire review HERE.

Trials of Shazam #12 Review

Recently reviewed by me at CBR: Trials of Shazam #12, in which I write the following sentences: "Estelle Getty, watch out! Zeus might win the coveted 'Coolest Senior Citizen Ever' medallion."

Read the entire review HERE.

Secret Invasion #1 Hits THE SPLASH PAGE

Sometimes a comic book about Skrull sleeper agents makes you think about Vladimir Nabokov and George Bernard Shaw. Sometimes it doesn't.

Join Chad Nevett and I as we discuss what's so great about Secret Invasion #1, what's so bad about it, and why we think that it just may or may not be the greatest first issue of a Skrull-related Marvel crossover this Spring!

Even if you've read thirty-five reviews of this issue already, that shouldn't stop you from seeing what Chad and I have to say. I guarantee you'll find more than one sentence that has NEVER APPEARED ON THE INTERNET BEFORE.

Read the newest installment of The Splash Page HERE!

Updating the Old Blog; Plus, Reviews!

So I've decided to spice up the old GeniusboyFiremelon. If Comic Book Resources can do it, why can't I? I'd probably change the template if I didn't have to redo all my sidebar stuff. But I would, so I won't.

As you can see, I've slapped up a photo of myself, finally, so you can see who you've been dealing with. I look like I'm waiting in line for a comic convention in that picture, but I'm actually in Puerto Rico with my lovely wife (who took a break from high-speed shopping to snap a photo of me, standing there, carrying all the little things she bought in my super-cool backpack). Still, I do look ready for some Comic-Con action, so if any were to break out in San Juan, I would have been prepared!

Also, even though Chad Nevett and I will tackle Secret Invasion #1 in tomorrow's SPLASH PAGE feature, I did write a brief review of the comic at CBR, which you can read here.

I also reviewed an even better comic: Action Comics #863. Read that review here.

A week from tomorrow, I'll have to post a new picture since April 11th is moustache day this year, and I've been growing a monstrous 'stache for this year's festivites. I can't wait!

Comic Book Resources and Me

My top-secret project has finally been revealed to the world: I'm one of the weekly reviewers for the relaunched Comic Book Resources site! I'll be reviewing 4-6 comics a week over there, and I've been building up an archive of reviews since early March.

Read Jonah Weiland's welcome message to find out more, and...

Check out all of my Comic Book Resources reviews HERE and then tell me how wrong I am (hint: I'm not wrong at all. My opinion is truth). Not all of my reviews are posted yet, so look for more stuff to appear every couple of days for the rest of your life.

Brief Reviews for 3/26/08 Comics

A quick rundown on some of last week's comics that I haven't discussed yet:

Black Panther #35: This comic has been terrible for quite a while, and this issue attempts to get it back on track by bringing in the ever-popular Killmonger. Is Killmonger really popular? Fans on the internet seem excited to see him. I'm not interested. This is probably the last issue of this comic I'll pick up until Hudlin leaves.

Blue Beetle #25: I reviewed this in detail for another site, but I absolutely loved this climactic issue of "The Reach War" (as it should be called when it's slapped into a fancy Absolute Edition). John Rogers knows how to write wonderful superhero comics. Andrew loves this comic too, and maybe it's something he'll start reading on his own now that he's got the comic jones.

Countdown to Adventure #8: Thankfully, it's over. And to think that I raved about the first issue! It got exponentially worse after that.

Dan Dare #5: Has anyone been reading this comic? I had a chance to read this issue via a Virgin sneak-peek, and it was really good. I like Ennis doing his war thing, and I have a fondness for the Boy's Adventure Comic aspect of Dan Dare. I will definitely buy the trade when it comes out.

Daredevil #106: I'm not sure what the point of this issue was, other than to create a calm-before-the-storm feeling, except Daredevil's life, in the hands of Bendis and now Brubaker, has been all storm, all the time. So, is it going to get even worse? Or was this issue a signal that Matt Murdoch is at his low point and now we'll start seeing him rise up? I don't know, but I liked the art by Paul Azaceta. Fun fact, Azaceta drew the first sketch in my convention sketchbook (it's a double-page illustration of his version of Superboy with a batch of flying heroes behind him).

Loveless #23: This is one of those series that, after the first nine or ten issues, I really felt that it would work better if read in a single sitting, instead of a month at a time. So I've been buying it, but I haven't read it since then. I would go back and read all the issues in a row, to see if my theory was correct, but I haven't had time to find where I put all the back issues. That's pretty silly, right? I've been spending money on this thing and I have no idea if it's any good or not. So, I actually read this issue, not having looked at it in over a year, and I'm totally baffled. It's now set in the 20th century? Is that what's happened? Does anyone read this comic? Should I hurry up and find all my issues and read 'em up?

Ms. Marvel #25: I like Brian Reed's work on this comic in general, and I like the Sal Buscema flashback sequences in theory, but this issue didn't work particularly well. Perhaps that's because it's all just set-up for next issue. I don't know. It's still a good comic, but when Aaron Stack only appears at the end, it just seems like a missed opportunity.

Power Pack Day One #1: This was really good. The science feature in the back of the comic was especially cool to see. Nice job Fred Van Lente! A great kid's comic.

Spirit #15: Paul Smith has a great style all his own, so why is he doing his best Will Eisner impression here? Editorial mandate? A sense of duty? I don't know, but it doesn't work and it just makes me think that this will be my last issue of this title. It wasn't worth $3.00.

Teen Titans #57: Sean McKeever has brought some life back to this comic, and I'm all about the villains he's showing us in this arc. The kids of supervillains vs. former teen sidekicks. It's what this comic should be about, and McKeever does it well. This comic is much, much better than any of the recent Justice League issues. Although, is that really a compliment?

Ultimate Spider-Man #120: Immonen is such a fantastic artist, and I think Bendis does his best work on this series, so I'm always happy to see a new issue of this come out. Another good comic by these guys, and, really, it's the only purpose for the Ultimate Universe to exist at this point. Although I kind of like Ultimate X-Men, too. But I wouldn't really miss it.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World Omnibus Vol. 4: The series reaches its end, and as Mark Evanier points out, this volume doesn't contain Kirby's best work (that would be volume 3, by Evanier's reckoning, and I heartily agree). The Mister Miracle stories drift away from the Fourth World epic, and the hasty wrap-up in the 1980s reprints (inked by the worst Kirby inker ever, D. Bruce Berry) are such a colossal drop-off from the heights of the early 1970s, that it doesn't even seem part of the same universe. Also, and this really bugs me, DC chose to include a new version of The Hunger Dogs graphic novel to complete the volume, and it's not the same as the originally published version. They included some of the original pages Kirby did BEFORE the project was expanded into an oversized graphic novel. Once that happened, Kirby reformatted the pages he already completed and then rearranged stuff and added new pages to make it into something coherent. The problem with the version DC gives us in the Omnibus, is that the "original pages" don't fit in with the Hunger Dogs pages at all! It looks terrible as you flip from one formatted-for-comic-book-size page to a page which has been shrunk to fit the proportions of this book. It's a bastardized version of Kirby's graphic novel which ruins the narrative flow and coherence of the compositions. I don't know what they were thinking, but their tinkering puts a huge blemish on an otherwise great reprint series.

Bendis's Avengers Hits THE SPLASH PAGE

New Avengers #39 and Mighty Avengers #11. Two very different takes on the Avengers concept, both written by Brian Michael Bendis, both released on the same day. Perhaps by exploring those two comics, one might reach a significant understanding of the state of the artform. Perhaps Bendis might teach us all how to make the world a better place, through comics.

Chad Nevett and I discuss the two comics in a very special installment of The Splash Page as we share tales of love and laughter, Skrulls and silence.

Reading the discussion will not only make you a smarter person, it will probably cure any disease known to man. Check it out HERE. Share this heart-warming moment with us, today.

Kid's Comic-Con 2008

I took my 7-year-old son, Andrew, to his first Comic-Con today, and I chose wisely: it was the Kid's Comic-Con in the Bronx. Instead of a lot of descriptions of the day's events, I'm just going to give you a visual guide of the day, starring Andrew, with a slight bit of commentary by me.


Andrew sported his new Spider-Man hat which he picked out last night at the mall, and, although you can't see it beneath his jacket, he decided to nerd it up by sporting a Flash pin he found in his room as he was getting dressed, thereby maintaining the proper Marvel/DC balance. It was a cold morning for this supposed "Spring" day. And, yes, that's snow on the ground.


Andrew wasn't much interested in the stuff at the tables. He was excited to pick up a free Sonic the Hedgehog comic, but he declined plenty of free stuff at other tables. Who declines free comics and books? Andrew, apparently. While he impatiently waited, Joe Staton drew a Wonder Woman sketch for my 4-year-old daughter (who had a day with Mom while we hit the geek trail). Andrew didn't even want a Staton sketch! He did like the vending machine, though, and here he is eating Cheez-Its in front of the Secret Identity Podcast folks, who are really cool guys who want to promote my upcoming projects, so hopefully you'll get to see or hear an interview with me on that show sometime soon. Note to parents who take their kids to conventions: bring plenty of snacks! I actually did that, but I left them in the car, and that vending machine was the only thing providing sustenance during our repeated laps around the room.



Still with the Cheez-Its, as we see the lack of crowds. Surprisingly low turnout for a great little show, full of cool workshops for kids and creators doing sketches for free (or very, very low prices--like $5 or less). I saw maybe only a few kids younger than 10. Where are all the kids at the Kid's Comic-Con???



Here's Jacob Chabot (of Mighty Skullboy Army fame, which my wife loves--she bought all the minicomics at the first New York Comic-Con) and Chris Giarrusso (of Mighty Marvels fame). You can't see Andrew in the frame, but he's off camera on the right, eating Cheez-Its. He did score a cool Giarrusso Spider-Man sketch, though--the only orginal art he picked up at a place full of really cool artists. Andrew is picky, but at least he has good taste. The sketch was sweet.



Andrew, chewing Cheez-Its as we pass by the Kyle Baker table. Andrew had no interest in a free Kyle Baker sketch! Oh, well...

I didn't think he was really loving the convention experience. He kind of wanted to go home even though we drove three hours to get here, and we'd only been at the show for an hour. We grabbed a couple more free comics, (Simpsons, Archie, Lion King), Andrew made his only purchase of the day, a copy of a Magic Treehouse chapter book, for $1.00 off a 10-year-old "dealer." He went to a comic-con and buys a chapter book. Nerd. Doesn't he know the kids love the comics?

Before we left for good, I convinced him to check out one of the workshops, and the only one going on at the time was the "How to Draw Manga" thing. The kind and friendly Alex Simmons helped us find the room, and we tried not to interrupt the lesson too much as we took our seats.



We learned how to make a front-view face, Manga-Style! Awesome.



Andrew, frustrated, tried to copy what was on the chalkboard, but since he's only 7, his drawing didn't look like the one on the board. He wanted it to be perfect. It wasn't. He clearly wanted to leave, but I told him to stay until he finished his drawing, which ended up being the best face he's ever drawn in his life. He was still not happy with it, but he let me put it in the bag to bring home. He was pretty grumpy at this point from the lack of a real lunch. The Cheez-Its didn't meet his nutritional requirement, apparently.



We made the three-hour drive back to Pittsfield, and he napped most of the way home. Before we got back to the house, we stopped at the famous Daddyo's Diner, which has great food at a reasonable price. The menu is amazingly extensive--not only do they have breakfast all day (with crepes too!), but they have tons of specialty burgers and plenty of other dinner choices that are delicious. Nobody ever goes there, except our family, apparently. Andrew and I were literally the only customers in the restaurant at 5:30 on a Saturday night. Like a great comic book that nobody else seems to read, Daddyo's is doomed to failure, but I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it while it lasts. It will be a good meal, at least, after a disappointing day for Andrew.



But wait! Andrew was eager to check out his stash of free comics! He took out the Simpsons issue and read the entire thing. He's NEVER read a comic by himself before. He likes when I read them to him sometimes, and he reads chapter books for extra-credit assignments from school, but he has never read a comic book story on his own. And he read the Simpsons comic from cover-to-cover, laughing and telling me about the funny parts. Even when his nutritious dinner of chocolate chip pancakes with a side of bacon arrived, he ignored the food--and he hadn't eaten anything except Cheez-Its since breakfast--to finish the comic. Could the trip to the Kid's Comic-Con have been a success?

By the end of the night, Andrew had read two entire comics and said, "I want to save that drawing I did today. I want to use ink and then erase the pencil lines." (Which he had seen Joe Staton do when he drew the Wonder Woman sketch while he impatiently waited earlier). "I think my drawing is pretty good. It's a good face."

He told me he wants me to teach him how to draw other kinds of faces, and mentioned other comic books he wants to read.

I expected an excited kid who was eager to get free stuff and happy to watch artists draw cool sketches for him. That's what I thought would happen today. I didn't get that at all. What I got was a serious kid who absorbed the lessons of the comic-con and, in his own way, began to appreciate comic books.

The Kid's Comic-Con was a success, at least for this 7-year-old. You just wouldn't have known it as you watched him dismissively eat his Cheez-Its in the Bronx.

I Read Countdown So You Don't Have To

In case you haven't been reading Countdown, which is very wise, I'll update you on the recent debacle. First of all, I probably don't need to remind you that I'm the guy that defended this series after the first few issues, saying, "wait, and let it unfold. I'm sure it will be good."

I was so wrong. So tragically wrong.

So after 46 issues of terrifically slow-moving and pointless character arcs (pausing, in the middle, for a full-issue recap of what you missed, which wasn't much), the last two issues of Countdown have been the equivalent of a highlight reel with a voice over narration. It's as if the team of writers (and I can't understand how a veteran like Paul Dini could have coordinated this junk) realized that they only had a few issues left and said, "ah, crap! Let's just tell 'em what happens real fast."

So we get two entire issues of Buddy Blank TELLING us what happened to lead to the Great Disaster.

Storytelling rule #1--the one you learn in 3rd grade--SHOW, DON'T TELL. Not in Countdown, my friends. Not when they only have 52 issues to tell a story. How can they possibly fit everything into a mere 1,144 pages? Obviously, they have to cut corners and throw in a bunch of caption boxes to explain what's going on, since 1,144 pages isn't enough to allow a story to unfold.

1,144 pages (at least), and they seriously had to resort to the equivalent of M. Night Shyamalan's ending to Unbreakable when the movie stops and he gives us a bunch of title cards explaining what happens next?

1,144 pages, and they couldn't tell a real story?

There's no reason why Countdown had to be a horrible waste of everyone's time and money, but that's what it turned out to be.

Everything You Know is Wrong #2: The Impenetrability of the Legion of Super-Heroes

This being the second in a series of posts in which I explain why the conventional widom is wrong.

The Legion of Super-Heroes has been an overwhelming part of my life for the past 16 months, as I read every Legion story (in chronological order) and prepared and edited a book of essays on the various incarnations of the team.

Conventional wisdom, as echoed by Matt Fraction in his Foreword to the book, states that the Legion of Super-Heroes is an impenetrable tangle of characters, continuity, and reboots, making it practically impossible for a new reader to jump on board.

This piece of conventional wisdom is, of course, WRONG.

First of all, Teenagers from the Future will help make everything less impenetrable, so you should all read that as a primer, but even if you are bold enough to dive into the 31st century without dipping your toes into that book, you will not drown! The Legion is accessible for anyone who's willing to even try to read it.

Here's why: Even though it seems like the Legion has a roster of billions, it's only just a few dozen, and rarely do all the characters appear in the same stories anyway. Sure, there's more characters than your average Justice League or Avengers squad, but that's part of the Legion's appeal. Plus, the characters in the Legion are really, really easy to figure out right away. First of all, each character can only really do one thing. Unless you're talking about Superboy, Supergirl, or Mon-El (who all have the same powers as Superman) or Ultra Boy (who has the same powers as Superman but he can only use one at a time), basically each character has one power, and the power is clearly identified by name.

Guess what Matter-Eater Lad can do? Um, eat matter. Sun Boy? Heat. Lightning Lad? Lightning. Do these names seem confusing to you in any way?

Even characters with "subtle" names like Cosmic Boy or Saturn Girl have single, clearly defined powers that you'll learn after about ten seconds of reading a story in which they appear. Others, like Princess Projectra, will take 15 seconds to figure out. What does she project? Illusions. Easy. Move on.


And the continuity isn't any more dense than what you'd expect from any long-running series. First of all, nobody has read every DC comic ever published. I don't think that's humanly possible (and I'm trying to do it, so I know how ridiculous the task can be). Take Batman, for example. All of those stories that Grant Morrison references in the current run are completely forgotten by most fans. And he's only alluding to about 10 stories out of thousands of past Batman tales. You can still pick up an issue of Detective Comics and read it without knowing all those stories. It's no big deal. Same thing with the Legion. And with the reboots, none of the old continuity matters anyway, except when Geoff Johns is around, but even then, he explains everything to you through exposition.

I think the Legion developed its reputation for impenetrability during the late Bronze Age, when Levitz took over the book for his extended run. He told one long story over his 100 issues, although he had a villain pop up in practically every issue. I wrote about his use of story structure in my essay for the Teenagers book, so I'm not going to go into it here, but his type of linked, rotating-subplot structure with an emphasis on characterization basically became the template for decompressed superhero comics today. His stories were not decompressed, though, he just allowed long-running subplots to evolve over months or even years.

But, guess what? That's exactly when I jumped aboard the Legion, and I was able to figure everything out pretty quickly. I wasn't sure what Dream Girl did, exactly, other than look hot, but I soon figured out that her power was described in her name too. It ain't Ulysses, folks.

The Legion is a club of teenage superheroes in the 31st century. That's all you really need to know to get started. So dive in, enjoy the fun, and soon, you too will be naming your kids Rokk and Tasmia.

Marvel Teases Us with the Digital Love

Have you guys all read the Secret Invasion prologue? It's a pretty sneaky way to try to trick us into subscribing to Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, which, by the way, is totally limited, so I don't know how they get off using Unlimited anywhere in the title. I'm pretty sure that, within the next five or six years, all the major companies will have substantial online archives that we can access for a monthly fee (it might take longer than that, since these major companies move very, very, very slowly). Marvel DCU is a step in that direction, but the lack of complete runs and the crappy interface make it less than appealing right now.

HOWEVER, subscribers get a free 7-page preview of Secret Invasion this week, although I don't know how that works, since I'm not a subscriber and I just read it. Anyway, the prologue is pretty cool, and when I started reading it, I was excited because it's all about S.H.I.E.L.D. and I thought, "wait, is Bendis ballsy enough to tell Secret Invasion from the POV of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Is it a full-on S.H.I.E.L.D. comic?" The prologue is, but when you get to the end, you'll find out that the series probably won't be.

And, thus, I'm going to throw out a major SPOILER right now, although I don't even know if it qualifies as a spoiler since it's in a free preview AND marvel_b0y already leaked it a week ago.

Dum Dum Dugan is a Skrull, and he has been since the day Captain America died. That's right true believers, check your Marvel comics from the past year, and look for all the Dum Dum appearances. That dude has been a Skrull the whole time.

Man, I can't wait until they reveal that Aunt May is one of those sneaky Manhunters.

Brief Reviews for 3/19/08 Comics

I've written over a dozen 500-word reviews for comics over the past couple of weeks, but I can't talk about any of those just yet. Hopefully I'll be able to link to them this weekend, so you can see what I've been up to. For now, here are my brief thoughts on some comics from last Wednesday.

Amazing Spider-Man #554: Don't know, I didn't read it because my comic shop never got the previous issue in. Diamond shorted them on it! (And I know the owner didn't get any copies at all, because even if he only gets a few, he hooks me up--hey, James!) How ridiculous is that? Basically a weekly comic, and then the guy ends up receiving no issues, and the replacements won't be there until two weeks later. Ridiculous. Anyway, I'll read the rest of the Gale run tomorrow and let you know if it's any good. I suspect not. I'm just waiting for the non-Gale crews to have their turn(s).

Brave and the Bold #11: Strangely, I enjoyed this non-George Perez issue more than all of the previous issues. Maybe it's because Waid didn't try to cram too much in this one issue, as has been the problem in the last few. I'm all about compressed storytelling, but this comic hasn't been reading too smoothly lately. It's a mish-mash and my eyes glaze over. Maybe the addition of Ultraman helped. Who doesn't love the Crime Syndicate?!? (Hint: nobody, because they are awesome.)

Captain Marvel #4: Ed McGuinness is such the wrong guy to do covers for this book. I love him, but not here, where he makes this look like a space fantasy bodybuilding adventure and it's really a relatively quiet, existential look at this bizarre time-warped hero. By the way folks, if he DOES turn out to be a Skrull, what's the point of any of this? Is there a point even if he's not a Skrull? At least the interior art by Lee Weeks is really nice.

Checkmate #24: This comic has been getting better every issue, or maybe I'm just connecting to it's vibe more and more. Also, I will absolutely be dropping it after the next issue. I have no interest in Bruce Jones's take. Aw, heck, maybe I'll stick around. I'm easy to please.

Ex Machina #35: This was an embarrassing diversion from any narrative momentum that Vaughan had built up. I know this is a comic about "issues" (as in political and social, not floppy comics), but this is one of the many instances of Vaughan trying to hard to make a social comment. It's Guess Who's Coming to the Mayor's Office. Not good.

Flash #238: I guess I'm not easy to please, because I didn't like Ex Machina and I absolutely hated Tom Peyer's debut on this comic. Terrible, terrible stuff. I did a full review of this that you'll see over the weekend (if you look carefully around the internet.)

Ghost Rider #21: Best of the week. And, as I posted on Jason Aaron's message board, my son wanted to look at the issue and I wouldn't let him because the final sequence would have given him nightmares until he is 30. This comic is so good, it makes me a better parent.

Justice League of America #19: So, is my understanding correct that James Robinson will relaunch Justice League with a new #1? Is that the plan? Because this series is going nowhere, and this issue proves it. It wasn't a terrible comic, but it was about a wild goose chase. Seems like the team is just running around accomplishing nothing, waiting for Robinson to do something.

Order #9: I really like this comic. I have decided to write Order fanfic the moment the final issue comes out. I will immediately give all the characters back their powers, have them fight Galactus and unite the alternate Earths into a single planet under their direct control. The stories will also star my new creation: MODOCTOPUS.

Programme #9: I gave up trying to read this in single issues, but I'm still buying it. Will it cohere when I read the series in one sitting? I'm not a big fan of the photo-real artwork by C.P. Smith. How about you? Do you understand what's going on right now?

Thor #7: Is J.M.S. writing for DC supposed to be a big deal? Has anyone read any comic that he's done that's been good for more than a few issues? I kind of like The Twelve, but there's still time for him to dull all the greatness. Anyway, this issue of Thor looks GORGEOUS. I would have bought it just for the art, and I guess I kind of did.

I also caught up on my Fourth World Omnibus reading, and I'm primed for Volume 4 tomorrow.

Plus, I've been re-reading the Kirby Captain America comics from the late 1960s, before Steranko took over. He and Stan Lee did those Cap stories right before Kirby bolted for DC and they are action-packed and surprisingly light on characterization (the Kirby dominance, and the lack of Lee evident, perhaps). Unlike other Marvel comics of the 1960s, these Cap stories almost never show him out of costume. Also, I didn't realize how significant Batroc the Leaper really was. We all laugh at him now, with his outrageous French accent, pink costume, facial hair, and kicking, but he was, without a doubt the #2 Captain America villain of the 1960s. The only villain making more appearances with the Red Skull. I think the moral of this story is that foreigners are evil and kinda dorky.

Sneak Peek: Teenagers from the Future--The Cover

Are you attending the 2008 New York Comic-Con? Then make sure you stop by the Sequart booth and pick up your copy of Teenagers from the Future: Essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes. This is a special sneak peek of the final cover design. We're all extremely happy with how the entire book turned out, and we love the faux-beat-up cover because, hell, it just looks cool. Nothing screams "future" like coffee stains and torn edges.

More details about the book will follow, but for now, start thinking about how you'll afford that trip to New York. You know you want to own this before its available in stores (which won't be until late May at the earliest).

Six Years Later

I've been buying comics ever week since I was in middle school, and unlike most fans I know, I've never taken a break from comics, and I've always had a general feeling that my comic book buying habits have been relatively consistent, although I know I spend a bit more on comics now than I used to (frankly, because I just have more money now than I used to). Earlier today I was searching for something on the CBR website and I came across a list of January 2002 releases from DC Comics. Curious about my buying habits a scant six years ago, I read through the list. Now the "Power Company" stuff messes up the data, probably (because WHO BOUGHT THAT?), but out of the 60+ comics listed, I only bought 9 of them. Nine DC Comics for the entire month of January, 2002. And most of those were for some Batman crossover that I tried out since they suckered me in with the 10-Cent Adventure. So, if it weren't for that bit of shrewd marketing on their part, I would have only bought four DC books for that entire month.

Now, in 2008, I buy about 12 DC comics per WEEK. That's like a 1000% 433.33% increase in my comics buying (Chad, I'm sure you'll check my math on this one), and I didn't think I bought THAT many more comics than I did six years ago.

Looking back on that 2002 list, the only thing I really wish I had bought was some of the Superman stuff. I totally missed that Casey/Kelly/Shultz Superman era, and I kind of wished I read it. I don't have much desire to track down the back issues, but I would have liked to have read that stuff at some point. Since 2002, I have picked up all the JSA and Giffen Suicide Squad back issues, and I have the Johns Flash stuff in trades, but, really? I only bought about four* DC comics per month back then?

Are DC comics that much better now?

I think they are, although DC hasn't done much to impress me lately, and the Countdown effect has definitely soured me toward much of their output in recent months. Still, looking at that list from 2002 didn't make me feel like that stuff back then was any good, either. Over the past few years I made a conscious decision to immerse myself in Marvel and DC's superhero universes in a way that I never had before. Before, I bought comics exclusively based on the creators. Now, I buy comics because I am immersed in the complex intertextuality of shared superhero continuity. I think that's how most fans start off. Most fans start off buying a variety of comics and then narrow it down to a few creators they follow. I started with a few creators and now I read pretty much everything. I did it backwards, I guess. But I didn't realize how little I bought just a few years ago.

How about you? Do you buy more or less comics now than you did six years ago? Why do you think that is?


*Not including the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" stuff I picked up (and I normally wouldn't have bought those titles), in January of 2002 I purchased Catwoman #3, The Dark Knight Strikes Again #2 (although did that REALLY come out that month--probably not, right?), Green Arrow #12, and Tom Strong's Terrific Tales #2. That's it.

EDITED TO ADD: Out of curiosity, I just checked the Marvel solicitations for January 2002. I bought 10 Marvel titles that month, out of 50 or so choices. Half of those were Ultimate titles or X-Men related (Morrison was doing New X-Men and Milligan and Cooke[!] were on X-Factor). Still 14 comics for the whole month--19 if you count the Batman crossover stuff, is less than what I buy in an average week now. Although this little exercise goes to show that even if I think of myself as a "DC guy," which I do, I have been buying (and enjoying) more Marvel titles than DC ones for quite a while.

Everything You Know is Wrong #1: Roy Thomas's Captain Marvel

The first installment in a new series wherein I tell you that EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG. Basically, I'll be explaining why some piece of accepted comic book-related wisdom is, actually, wrong.

Accepted Comic Book Wisdom Says, "Captain Marvel was a mediocre series until Roy Thomas and Gil Kane reimagined it by adding Rick Jones, Nega Bands, and a fancy new concept to match the fancy new costume."

Wrong!

Originally appearing in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (December 1967), the Kree Captain Mar-Vell, in his original Green and White space costume may have been Stan Lee's attempt at making sure nobody else used the "Marvel" name on a superhero title, but it was a pretty strong concept from the start. Lee may not have had his heart in it, but he, and later writers, including Roy Thomas (who worked on the green and white incarnation of the character before revamping him years after) created a strong series that perhaps lacked only in a strong villainous presence. The Captain Marvel concept worked great. Mar-Vell was a Kree who had to infiltrate human society in order to gather information for his superiors. Meanwhile, his superior officer, Yon-Rogg, was macking on his girlfriend. There was a lot of "macking" going on in those late days of the Silver Age. So pretty much every early story was about Captain Marvel trying to reconcile his duty to his people with his admiration for humanity while he was getting stabbed in the back by one of his Kree brothers. Stan Lee inner conflict at its finest, with some pretty sweet Gene Colan and Don Heck art.

The series amped up the conflict with new potential love interest Carol Danvers (note: the first time Danvers meets Iron Man, he beats her up. He was under the control of the Puppet Master, but still, it makes you wonder why Ms. Marvel trusts Tony Stark so implicitly these days. If someone beat me up the first time I met them, I might not always trust that person so much) and then with writers Arnold Drake (of the Doom Patrol!!!) and Gary Friedrich, it became really odd, climaxing in a strange, Tom Sutton-drawn issue involving the cosmic "Zo" and designed as an acid trip. It was apparently inspired by Stan Lee's then-current obsession with what Steranko was doing in his innovative work.

These Captain Marvel stories from the green and white space-suit days were good fun, contrary to conventional wisdom, which tends to ignore their existence in favor of...

Roy Thomas and Gil Kane's revamped Captain Marvel. Premiering in issue #17, this is the Captain Marvel most of comicdom is familiar with. Even those of us who never read a Captain Marvel comic as a kid knew about the guy with white hair and the blue and red costume and the golden bracelets. He's still the Captain Marvel that we understand. Not that guy with the fin on his head and the hip holster. But the thing is, these Roy Thomas/Gil Kane stories are pretty terrible. Sure, the Gil Kane art is as good as you'd expect, and it has a dynamism lacking from the Heck or Sutton issues, but Roy Thomas may have written some of his worst comics on these Captain Marvel issues, and if you read his introduction to the Masterworks volumes, he seems inordinately proud of these atrocities.

Thomas takes everything that worked about the Mar-Vell character--the inner turmoil and Kree guilt, the space context, the blend of space opera and domestic struggle--and tosses it out in favor of some weird amalgamation of Denny O'Neil's Green Lantern/Green Arrow and CC Beck's Golden Age Captain Marvel. All of a sudden, Thomas throws perennial Hulk and Captain America sidekick Rick Jones into the mix, contriving some way to replicate the "Shazam" effect by having Jones and Mar-Vell switch places by clanking their bracelets. It's not so bad in theory--although the addition of Rick Jones comes out of NOWHERE and feels absolutely forced--but the stories he and Kane tell are the worst kind of "socially relevant" stories of the early 1970s. Instead of fighting giant robot Kree alien monsters, newly revamped Captain Marvel fights against a dude who runs corrupt low-income housing. Seriously.

It's just not good. And don't get me started on Rick Jones's rock and roll career.

Roy Thomas and Gil Kane may have given Captain Marvel new life and their legacy may live on today, but their stories in these issues kinda suck. The conventional wisdom is wrong.

Captain America #36 Hits THE SPLASH PAGE

Chad Nevett and I love talking about comics, and this week we bring that love to Ed Brubaker's SHOCKING new issue of Captain America. Why is it shocking? You'll have to read THE SPLASH PAGE to find out. Don't worry, we'll spoil the hell out of the comic. You won't even have to read the issue once we're done with it.

Also, Chad drops some Raymond Chandler smackdown on comics fans, so you don't want to miss that.

This cover I've shown here once again has nothing to do with the issue we're discussing, I just happen to like it a heck of a lot more than that poorly painted thing they slapped on issue #36. Plus, is that MODOK with a torso? Man, I have to track that issue down--I bet it's even better than this Brubaker stuff anyway.

Read the newest installment of THE SPLASH PAGE: Here!

EDITED TO ADD: Thanks to the handy-dandy convenience of the Cap dvd-rom collection, I did indeed get a chance to read Captain America #132 and I still don't know why MODOK has a torso on the cover--inside, he's just regular old MODOK (which is still pretty awesome). The issue probably is better than Brubaker's Cap, since #132 features not just MODOK, Bucky, and Cap, but also: The Falcon (lamenting that he can't be Cap's BFF now that the Buckster's alive), Nick Fury (chompin on a cigar and shouting stuff like "Nuts!" which he probably doesn't use as a curse word anymore), and Dr. Doom (seriously)! And, that scene on the cover isn't a metaphor, Bucky really prepares to smash Cap's head in with a rock, only it's because he's being remote-controlled (via joystick) by MODOK! Because Bucky is not really Bucky! He's a robot! All told in one issue, folks, by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. Comics, the way they used to be.

This Is One of Those Posts Where I Talk About Me

I hate missing a couple of blogging days, but I'm working on a bunch of projects right now that needed my attention. (Plus, I had what the doctors might call the pukey-sickness all day Sunday, and that wiped away a day and a half of my life right when I really could have used the time.)

Basically, this year is a transitional one for me, and depending how much work I get done on weekends and over the summer and how things play out with my full-time job, I might be able to make a run at this whole getting-paid-to-write-stuff thing. Here's what I've been up to lately:

• I have a couple of projects cooking with a literary agent, but I can't say much more other than that they involve me and comic books, and one is geared more toward the educational market while the other would be a more mainstream memoir-type of book. Somehow I have to find time to produce more pages for that stuff, but one of the completed proposals is ready to go out, at least.

• I just finished an article which will appear in Back Issue Magazine, the "Mutants" issue scheduled for this summer. Michael Eury was pleased with how it turned out, so you can look for more Back Issue appearances by me in the distant future (that magazine has a tremendous lead time, so my next shot to contribute probably won't appear on the stands until next year).

• I'm still working with Todd Casey on a fantastic graphic novel project that is also kind of top secret. But it will not only be different from what you'd expect, it will be better than you'd expect, and I know you have really high standards. It's gonna be good, trust me.

• I'm also helping to coordinate--and this is unrelated to my writing career, but it's pretty damn cool--a family-friendly comics exhibition in my home town focusing on the work of the legendary Joe Staton. It turns out that Lawrence Klein, founder of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, lives right down the street from me, and he asked me to help him organize the whole thing. Look for more details on that this summer.

• Also, I've been invited to spread my comic book reviewery skills elsewhere--and I can't say where and I can't say when you'll start seeing them, but my reviews will become more ubiquitous in the coming weeks. As soon as I can announce the details, I will. Until then, stay excited. Actually, take the amount of excited you are and triple it, because that's how big the news could potentially be. You never know.
  

• And finally, FINALLY, I've finished proofreading the Teenagers from the Future manuscript. This book of essays on the Legion of Super-Heroes has taken far more of my time than I ever thought possible. I proposed to the Sequart guys, last New York Comic-Con, "hey, how about if I coordinate and edit a book of critical essays about the Legion? I need kind of a break after the Morrison book, and I'm not up for writing a sequel right away." Well, little did I know what I was getting myself into, but after almost a year of diligent work, the book is finally ready to go to press, the list of contributors is impressive and the essays are excellent. It's going to be the must-buy book of the 2008 NYCC, not least because where else can you read Matt Fraction writing about the Legion of Super-Heroes?!? Yes, Matt Fraction was kind enough to provide the Foreword to our little (and, by little, I mean 350 page) book and that's probably as close as you'll come to seeing Fraction writing about a DC comic for a long, long time. (I don't know if you've heard, but he's scheduled to write every Marvel book by 2009.)

• Plus, you still get me for free here almost daily and with Chad Nevett at Sequart.org every Friday. What a bargain.

So wait, how am I going to have time for all of this?

The Last Defenders #1 Hits THE SPLASH PAGE

"The New Jersey Defenders" need a little love, and Chad Nevett and I give it to them in the newest installment of Sequart.org's most eagerly-anticipated feature: The Splash Page. If you like comics, especially ones with pictures and words, then you owe it to yourself to check out our review discussion of Joe Casey, Keith Giffen, and Jim Muniz's The Last Defenders #1 HERE.

Note: This cover from Defenders #62 symbolically represents the diversity of the Defenders team and points to a little-known-fact: comic covers featuring guys with beards out-sell their non-bearded cover counterparts.