Welcome to the 27th edition of ‘Leave Your Spandex @t the Door’! Spring is finally upon us, and as of yesterday 411mania is officially 1 year old! One year in the game, and 411comics is becomin more and more popular, a testament to the incredible determination of our two top boys, Ben and Daron, and the talent of everyone involved! C’mon boys, the souvlakis are on me!
Meanwhile, this column is pressing on,with the second and final part of my look back through 2003 in comics. Again, these are the greatest comics moments of 2003 in my opinion, so no death threats for leaving out the debut of Teen Titans or whatever. I would love to hear from you though, which were your defining comics moments for 2003. Contact inffo is in the end of the column.
So… where had we left off? Oh, right:
JULY
DEATH: AT DEATH’S DOOR, otherwisely known as ‘’the Death manga” is released this month, topping the GN sales charts for the year, opening the eyes of other major publishers –coughmarvelcough- to venture into the manga-style digest format. The story stars Death and her sisters Delirium and Despair, as they throw a party for the living dead, during the events of Season of Mists.
But it doesn’t get the cookie this month, because I am completely self-absorbed, and think that the July ‘tooting my own horn’ award should go to Y THE LAST MAN #13, because as my quote on the cover reads: ‘Unless you don’t know how to read, there’s no excuse for not picking up this title’! This was my personal geek highlight moment o the year, my first quote, published on the cover of one of my favorite titles. Let’s see how I can top myself in 2004!
Two more one-shots make their appearance in July: the MADMAN KING-SIZE SUPER-GROOVY SPECIAL and THE MANY WORLDS OF TESLA STRONG. In the madman special, Mike Allred returns to his celebrated creation after many years, and also allows young creators like Nick Derington, Daniel Krall and Steven Weissman to present their take on the Snap City cast. In the Tesla Strong one-shot, the Strong family’s resident intelligent ape, Solomon has kidnapped, and Tesla goes dimension-hopping to locate him. Featuring an unbelievably cool artistic line-up, with each artist handling a different dimension, this is a real treat for all Tom Strong fans!
John Layman and Dave Crosland give us the funniest concept mini-series of the year with PUFFED #1. A poor boyo gets dropped in the middle of gang territory, stuck in a puffy dinosaur costume. This series introduced Dave Crosland’s artistic goodness to a bigger demographic and paved the way for the much-awaited ‘Heaven LLC’ and ‘Bad Ideas’.
Sam Kieth returns to mainstream comics with a two-parter in SPECTACULAR SPIDERMAN #56-57, spotlighting the Sandman in an idiosyncratic character (literal) deconstruction. This is the best story to come out of the spidey office last year.
Peter David joins the much-promising artist David Lopez on FALLEN ANGEL #1, who may or may not be the 90s Supergirl. The series, which made the jump to a mature readers label after the first couple of issues, stars the enigmatic and powerful ‘Lee’ who has set herself as protector of the innocent in the seedy town of Bete Noir.
Darwyn Cooke and Peter Milligan offer the most unorthodox team-up of the year, in DOOP/WOLVERINE #1-2. The team delves into Doop and Wolvie’s friendship, as they try to solve the mystery of the man-seducing Pink Mink. After 6 reads I still haven’t been able to find logic in the plot, but I feel compelled to try again and again and again and…
Havoc and Polaris make the big step into wedlock in UNCANNY X-MEN #425, but Havoc’s repressed feelings for the school nurse will blow all of it in the air, and transform Polaris into the crazed ironic lunatic Bridezilla! This soap opera tribute marks the last storyline I enjoyed in Austen’s run, before everything went to hell.
AUGUST
The August ‘clone saga redux’ award goes to GEOFF JOHNS for daring to go down the rocky road of having his villain, Zoom, cause the Flash’s wife to have a miscarriage, in FLASH #199. Avid marvel fans will remember how that worked out last time, when the Green Goblin caused Mar Jane Watson to miscarry baby May, in the closing of the tumultuous Clone Saga. Marvel has since conveniently ‘forgotten’ that year’s worth of spider man stories, realizing that they had stepped too far in trying to ‘shake up’ Spiderman’s life. It seems it’s now the flash’s turn at tragedy, and Geoff Johns seems to have handled everything satisfactorily so far.
Peter Milligan returns to Vertigo with a new HUMAN TARGET series! Accompanied again by Javier Pulido, the series follows Christopher Chance’s adventures directly following last year’s HUMAN TARGET: FINAL CUT graphic novel, which is also reprinted in softcover for the first time the same month. Christopher Chance is a master of disguise who takes over the identities of people whose lives are threatened. But Christopher is a true cypher and ends up forgetting his real identity!
Marvel hires the Midnight Nation creative team of J.M. Straczynski and Gary Frank to reimagine the JLA for the new millennium. Yeah, you heard me: Marvel, JLA. All under the banner of SUPREME POWER #1, which might as well have been titled Ultimate Superman #1. Unsurprisingly, considering the talent involved, this is a masterful story, but one I would have hoped DC would publish. Superman arrives on earth in his trademark metal cocoon and is discovered by the Kents. In this version of the story though, the government tracks down the young alien and decides to raise him as their own weapon of mass destruction.
Giffen, Dematteis and Maguire prove that you can indeed recapture the old magic, in the most successful 80s revival: FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE JUSTICE LEAGUE #1. The original creative team of the goofball Justice League title reunite and bring with them all the lovable f*ck-ups of the superhero set: Fire, Blue Beetle, Elongated Man, Booster Gold, Captain Atom, joined by the ridiculously innocent Mary Marvel, who now form the laudable Super-Buddies!
SEPTEMBER
NEIL GAIMAN is the lucky recipient of September’s ‘Best and Worst’ double award for his work on SANDMAN: ENDLESS NIGHTS and 1602. The first is a deluxe hardcover featuring work from the best talent in comics today, and stories that show the scope of Neil’s talent. It’s also a graphic novel that made it into the N.Y. Times best-selling books list! The latter, on the other hand, is Neil’s weakest work to date, on par with certain Image assignments from the early 90s. Marvel’s superheroes are thrown into a contemporary Elizabethan era setting, while the plot webs slowly along. It’s not that it’s bad, but it’s hardly what you’d expect from such a talented writer.
Fables also have an impressive showing this month, though. FABLES: THE LAST CASTLE features enchanting art by P. Craig Russel and details the last exodus of the Fables from their Homelands, chased by the Adversary’s forces. The story also introduces Red Riding Hood into the title, and leads directly into the current Fables storyline. FABLES #17 is the longest death scene in comics history, as Bigby and Snow-white try to finish off Goldilocks once and for all. The issue ends with another amazing cliff-hanger, as Snow-white discovers she’s pregnant with the Wolf’s baby/cub! “Holy Bestiality, Batman!â€
The HULK MOVIE premieres around the world, causing snores and cringes on its path. Brilliant cinematography and acting, coupled with a horrid plot and mediocre CGI. All that, and the Hulk poodle too!
Gail Simone and UDON Studios make their triumphant return on AGENT-X #13 to wrap up their run, because we, the fans, demanded it!
Grant Morisson pulls the rug from our collective feet in NEW X-MEN #146, as he unmasks Xorn to reveal a senile-yet-scheming Magneto underneath. I still haven’t made my mind if Planet-X was an utter flop or the best Magneto story ever told, but I
can safely say that this big reveal didn’t really impress me so much. Xavier as Onslaught was way cooler, back in the day ;).
WILDGUARD: CASTING CALL #1 stars the first ever reality game superhero team. A flock of aspiring superheroes flock to the /wildguard auditions, but only six will make it in the end, and the fans get to decide on one of the members by online voting! I voted for the Wandering Eye, but I don’t see the ol’ cutie making it through L.
HUMAN TARGET #2 is the first part of the “Unshredded man†storyline, featuring a man who faked his death during 9/11. This is my favorite Human Target story so far in the run.
OCTOBER
Ah, we’ve finally reached the most significant events this year, in my opinion. The October “chicken-shit†award goes to Avi Arad and the marvel board of execs for wussing out at the last moment and scrapping the DI ANOTHER DAY storyline from X-Statix. The storyline was supposed to introduce Princess Diana to the X-Statix roster and examine the power of celebrity. After some bad press though, the order came from above and all likeness of Diana from X-STATIX #13-15 was altered, and the princess was replaced by “pop sensation Henrietta Hunterâ€. This could have easily been the “storyline of the year†award, but alas… Although the issues were originally scheduled for September, the extensive nose and hair corrections resulted in the issues being published in a weekly schedule in October.
GOTHAM CENTRAL #12 sees Gotham City terrorized by a rash of sniper murders of important city figures. The culprit will be revealed to be the Joker, and the GCPD detectives will begin a race against time to stop the lunatic, while always feeling that they’re just expendable pawns i the ongoing batman-joker demented checkers game.
RUNAWAYS#7, part one of “Teenage Wastelandâ€, sees the kids survive the first storyline, and on the run from their supervillain parents. When they engage in some superheroics they will meet another teen runaway who will play havoc with their interpersonal relationships. INHUMANS #7 features a stand-alone love story (“Surfaceâ€) between the deformed inhuman San and a human girl that takes some surprising twists and turns, and stands as the most memorable issue of the series so far.
AMAZING SPIDERMAN #500 sees Spidey trapped in the time-stream, and taking a very New Marvel-friendly tour through the most important events of his life and his greatest battles. Not a peek of the previously mentioned abortion of course. The issue ends with a special discussion between spidey and the ghost of Uncle Ben. The issue had a severe polarizing effect on Spiderman’s fandom.
In H-E-R-O #7, “world made of glass†begins, showing what happens when the powers-distributing HERO device falls in the hands of a petty Gotham City supervillain wannabe.
“Staring at the Wallâ€, starting with HELLBLAZER #189, brings together plot points and characters from throughout Mike Carey’s tenure on the title, as John Constantine decides to attack the menace of the Devil Dog head on! Little does he know…
NOVEMBER
Ask any Catwoman fan. ANYone. Ask them what they think of the title, and they’ll say that it was the best darn comic out there… up until CATWOMAN #25. This issue marks a 180 degrees turn in artistic style for the title, with Cameron Stewart leaving and the art chores being handed to Paul Gulacy and Jimmy Palmiotti. With this move, the art style shifted from the minimalist noir cartoon vibe established in #1 by Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred, to more traditional (albeit slightly kinky) superhero visuals. It’s not too late to reconsider, dear DC editors! Until then, you get to keep the shiny November “don’t fix it if it ain’t broken†award on your trophy case.
Speaking of dumb-witted moves, back when Joe and Bill first set up shop in Marvel, they removed Brian Wood from the Generation-X title during their big X-relaunch, and later on scrapped his NYX series. This left Brian with a lot of unused superhero writing energy, which he decides to let loose on the world with the help of art goddess Becky Cloonan, starting with DEMO #1. The stories of DEMO star teenagers plagued with superpowers. To imagine that the best examination of the mutant condition can be found outside the actual mutant books! Your loss, Marvel!
SMAX THE BARBARIAN #1 sees Alan Moore finally return to his Top Ten characters, accompanied by the previous title’s inker, Zander Cannon on solo artistic duties. Smax and Toybox return to the former’s homeland to take attend a funeral, and find themselves immersed in a traditional quest! Moore pokes delicious fun at the fantasy genre here, and makes his imminent departure from comics all the more unbearable.
EMPIRE #5 serves a truly shocking twist (think New X-Men #146, but effective), as the murderer of Golgoth’s wife is revealed, and the series heads to its conclusion. Props to Mark Waid for pulling this twist off so eloquently and catching all readers with our pants down!
DECEMBER
2003 closes off in style, and the last award of the year, the December ‘you’re holding it all wrong’ award goes to Vertigo’s VERTICAL oneshot, courtesy of Steve Seagle, the Allreds and Philip Bond. Vertical has twice the page-count of regular comics, and half the width, and is read, well, vertically! Taking full advantage of the peculiar format, Steve Seagle writes the story set in the 60s, about a man obsessed with falling, falling in love with an aspiring actress in the backdrop of Andy Warhol’s Factory. In several instances through the issue, a double page splash panel format is used, showing the characters falling in freeze-frame. I keep this by my study all day and browse through it from time to time. Will 2004 mark the release of ‘’horizontal”, then?
In the final page of SPIDERGIRL #67, Tom DeFalco can’t resist the urge no more, and May greets her dad (Peter) at the door with ‘Dad, did we hit the jackpot?’, brandishing her new redhead look. I was drawn back in this title during the past year, and I can’t believe I had let myself wander off it in the first place!
Mark Millar launches his Millarworld cross-company battleship with WANTED #1 from Top Cow. This whole deal stinks of Vanity project for me. Millar clearly (and not without cause) considers himself the hottest current creator in comics (after Bendis) and launches a series of title in different companies, united by the Millarworld logo on the cover and cross-company advertising. Wanted features a thinly veiled Eminem clone, meeting an even-tinnier-veiled Halle Berry impersonator. She tells him his father was a big honcho member of the evil underground supervillain society that rules the world, and now that he’s been shot to kingdom come, Eminem gets to take his place. The tag ‘Watchmen but with supervillains’ has been often used in the pre-press of this title, but I honestly don’t see the connection. Watchmen is THE classic comics story, and this is a springboard for Mark to sell his movie project (which he did ;) ).
2003 has been a very good year for Gail Simone, who is shaping into a creative force to be reckoned. Gail closes her breakout year with the release of another oneshot of GUS BEEZER AND SPIDERMAN from Marvel, the start of ‘Sensei and student’ in BIRDS OF PREY #62, and the launch of ROSE AND THORN #1 from DC, who has now snatched her from Marvel with an exclusive contract. In Rose&Thorn, Gail writes an intense psychological thriller about a girl locked in a psyche ward who is subjected to an experimental treatment. The treatment allows her to separate her ‘dark thoughts’ into a separate personality she locks away. When she is finally released though, the dark persona will cease control.
Grant Morison finishes his tumultuous X-men run with NEW X-MEN #150, in which he proceeds to kill Jean Grey again, for the second consecutive issue, and has Wolvie behead Magneto. Joe Quesada actually commented that this
isn’t supposed to be a permanent death for Mags. How the heck is anyone gonna bring him back now? Only Fabian Nicieza could realistically pull it off, but it would probably include both clone technology and parallel futures. Morisson fails to wrap up many of his dangling plotlines, like what was the deal with the Phoenix returning, what Logan saw on that satellite, who really killed Emma (i lost count, really).What he did achieve though, was to make a powerful statement about rehashing old storylines and post-humous fame. With so many major characters dying in the space of a few pages, it was really the death of Stepford upstart Esme that had an emotional impact on me, and that scene is the one I will remember Grant’s run by.
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Coming up next week: New PreviewScope with all those pesky muties hogging the spotlight and Dave Graham returning to his old stomping grounds!
As always, I’m waiting for your comments through email or in the official LYS@D discussion thread.
Manolis Vamvounis
a.k.a. Doc Dooplove
