So, yes, I did leave you all for North Carolina. And the fact that I came back with something of a tan, (for me, it is a tan, for most people, something of a tan), and not burnt to a crisp as possible, makes my guilt all the heavier to bear. Thus, as penance, I tried to make this column and chock full of stuff as possible. DC was not exactly supportive of that endeavor, but I have Convention news (slim pickings to say the least), the umpteenth Rags Morales interview, sales numbers, a Legion announcement, and a look at DC’s brand new Previews layout. All that, plus sneak peeks of future DC issues and my reviews of titles from the past two weeks. If that does not get your heart all flutter then, frankly, I don’t know what will.
Before we get to the news and views though (you know, the REAL column, not this mindless drivel) I have to apologize to the Ex Machina team, from Vaughan on down. I was in a hurry, so, sadly, I didn’t pay nearly enough lip service to my excitement for the new title. So, to reiterate, I can barely wait for Ex Machina to be released. It is the comic I am most excited for in June. Oh, and register to vote.
Better Late Than Never: Philly Con News
Although there weren’t a lot of new details revealed about DC and WildStorm since their last panels at April’s Wonder Con, Rob Staeger got some bits and pieces from the Question and Answer section at the end about Firestorm, Doom Patrol, the New Gods, Jeff Smith, the Metal Men, and more!
So little news to be seen at The Pulse
Lots of Vertigo news was revealed at yesterday’s Wizard Philadelphia Vertigo panel. Seaguy, We3, Y: The Last Man, The Originals, Sandman, and Fables were just a few of the projects discussed.
Vertigo does not slack as much as the main DCU at The Pulse
I remember months ago when I was whining about how at least once a week, DC was making an announcement about acquiring some new creator boy, I argued that one can only say, “Good job, DC,†so many times. Turns out, I’m a big dick (like you didn’t know that) who can’t appreciate a good thing when it is given to him. Well, here this convention is to remind me.
My hope is that DC is saving up some big announcements for San Diego, in part because I plan to be there (selfish, I am) and in part because if they don’t…well, it won’t be good. They seem to have been treading water on really hot news since the April convention and that concerns me. I’m not saying they need to have brand new news for every convention, I’m just saying that I think it is a good idea.
Dealing with the news we do have: umm, Mr. Miracle and the New Gods, and Metal Men…yay?
On the Vertigo side, nothing really new there either. Still, the coolest imprint though. Ooh, and Doom Patrol reprints. That’s good stuff.
SHOCK!: Waid/Kitson on Legion
The future gets a makeover later this year as the long rumored and now, finally confirmed Mark Waid/Barry Kitson Legion of Super-Heroes revamp hits. Newsarama got in touch with both for some of the details, but first, a road map:
In August, the current Legion sees issues #37 and #38 ship. Issue #38 will be the final issue of the arc entitled “For No Better Reason,†written by Gail Simone and penciled by Dan Jurgens.
It will also be the final issue of the current incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes.
But, endings always mean new beginnings.
Sure, the headline is sarcastic. You still should check out the article at Newsarama
Apparently, Waid once wrote Legion. And, apparently, no one liked it. That strikes me as odd, as I have pretty much enjoyed every time Waid puts pen to paper. So, what’s the deal with that?
Anyway, Waid and Kitson are a hot team right now, with the lovable first Empire miniseries completed and just collected and a second on the way (at some point) so this should be good news for Legion. Nothing in the article really convinced me that the old series needed to be cancelled and relaunched with a new #1 issue, but hey, that is the way of things. DC and Marvel do love that sort of thing so I say go for it. Go crazy. Good stories make me happy if they are issue #6 or issue #600. It confuses my comic collection, (is this issue #2 from volume #3 or volume #4?) but there are certainly worse things.
I am a touched distressed to hear that Superboy is still kicking around with the Legion in the 31st Century. I am not sure if he is clone Superboy or Silver Age Superboy or what. All I know is that there is too many damn Super people in the DCU (Superman, about 8 Supergirls, possibly two Superboys, a dog, some robots, and maybe a dragon of some sort. Okay, I made the dragon up…although that would be cool.)
So, long diatribe short, will Legion remain one of my favorite titles that I never buy and barely read. I’d like to say no, that this time will be different, but…realistically, I doubt it.
DC’s Extreme Makeover, Sans All That Plastic Surgery
With the June issue of Previews (Volume XIV #6), DC Comics unveils the new DIRECT CURRENTS. The section has been redesigned for greater ease of use by both retailers and consumers.
Embrace the newness at Newsarama
The new layout thankfully follows Marvel’s example, but not too closely. The art has been given more prominence and seemingly higher resolution (better quality), which is good news. However, they have not gone whole hog and reduced their next issue synopses to little more than two sentences blurbs that do little to entice the casual fan into picking up something new. This, I believe, is also good. All in all, a good makeover. Bravo, DC, bravo. (the emphasis…the emphasis)
Chaykin Redefines the Unknown for the Aughts
With the miniseries debut less than a month away, we caught up with Howard Chaykin again to talk Challengers of the Unknown as well as show some art from the first issue.
As Chaykin explained when Newsarama spoke with him last summer, this ain’t your daddy’s CotU (or your earlier one, from that ill-fated revamp in the ‘90s either).
Because alliteration rules, check out Chaykin’s Challengers at Newsarama
I do think Chaykin on any established property has the potential to be very cool so I applaud DC for this. However, I think the whole “living adventures on borrowed time without an agenda†is a very cool angle and one that could still play today. Sure, going against a common enemy is great, too, but doesn’t everybody kind of do that already. I would love to see a Fearless-type approach to the concept which would be something of a return to the roots of the Challengers. For those unfamiliar, in Fearless Jeff Bridges plays a character who survives a plane crash (saving several others along with him) and spends most of the rest of the movie defying death because he essentially believes that God already took a swipe at him and failed. In other words, even God couldn’t kill him. Since it was a Peter Weir film it was all very genius and not so action/adventure oriented, and thus probably not the right fit for Challengers. However, taking that vibe and twisting it for the action/adventure format would, I think, yield a very cool, interesting book. Still Chaykin gets paid for this sort of thing and clearly knows his stuff, so Challengers remains a book worth taking a look at.
This Week in “Careful What You Wish For: A New Exclusive Contract
Over the weekend at Bristol, it was announced that Dave Gibbons has signed a two-year exclusive contract with DC. Newsarama caught up with Gibbons late last week to talk about the new deal.
For the creator, this is his first exclusive contract with any publisher, but, as he said, times change. “I’ve tended to be a bit resistant to them in the past, but I actually found myself in a place now where I like the idea of knowing what I’m going to be doing for the next two years,†Gibbons said. “Particularly because I’m trying to take my career a little more in the direction of writing, and when you’re writing stuff, it’s good to have a consistent amount of work planned, and the ability to see it through.â€
The agreement came as a result of Gibbons looking to streamline his workload a little, and not find himself buried under a mound of projects he couldn’t say “no†to.
Enjoy the art (and result of the deal) at Newsarama
See, this is what I get. Just one week after basically declaring my longing for the return of the exclusive contract happy DC of a few months ago, DC goes and calls my bluff. I didn’t REALLY want to write about exclusive contracts again, it seems. I just wanted more news.
But, here it is anyway.
Gibbons, as we all know, is a great artist. He also happens to be one of the creators on the Citizen Kane of Comics, Watchmen. So, yeah, not a bad pickup for DC. Plus, it could be illuminating to see what he does on the writing side of the fence.
200th Birthday Brings Back Old Friends
Anniversaries and reunions – both are in store for John Constantine in September with issue #200 of the Vertigo series. Newsarama spoke with Hellblazer writer Mike Carey for more on what’s been going on, the upcoming anniversary and what follows.
September’s issue #200 follows the conclusion of the three-part “Stations of the Cross†arc, true, but going even further back, Carey laid out the roadmap for those who may not have picked up an issue of Hellblazer in a while.
Artists come home to Newsarama
At this time I will forgo responding to this article to instead mention the Constantine teaser currently in theaters. Man, could that teaser have been any more opaque. So, it has demons and supernatural stuff and Keanu, right? Hell, I know the character and I couldn’t tell you the first thing about the story.
Willingham’s Fractured Fairy Tales
Last week, THE PULSE spoke with writer Bill Willingham about his plans for the new Robin, Stephanie Brown (Spoiler). This week Willingham gave us some details about his plans for the world of Fables.
Green ogre? We don’t need no stinking green ogre at The Pulse
This is one of those books that I do not talk about a whole lot that I truly have a ton of love for. The work Willingham has done with Prince Charming alone (who Willingham himself singles out in the interview) is reason enough to recommend the trades. What began as a pleasing (poor word choice, I know) murder mystery amongst fractured fairy tales (his writing on Bigby is another highlight of the series) has evolved into one of the densest comics on the market. The stories are steeped in politics, but never drowned in them and every character cries out for their own larger piece of the spotlight. I may not mention it much, but that does not mean you can afford to ignore it.
Rags, Close to Disclosure Exhaustion, Sits Down for Yet Another Interview
Rags Morales has been in the comics business since 1989, but even he admits his work on this summer’s DC miniseries, Identity Crisis is “without a doubt the biggest thing I’ve done yet!” The artist is excited to be tackling such a big project set to have lasting ramifications on the entire DCU.
He is suffering for his work, the least you can do is go to The Pulse
So, to avoid redundancy, let me just say: great looking art. Even the coloring looks beautiful.
And that, hopefully, will be my last words on the series until it is released. Can’t wait because I want to read it and because I simply cannot write about another vague Identity Crisis article or my head will explode.
My Specialty: Numbers
April’s another month DC should be fairly happy with. Apart from the extraordinary success of Brian Azzarello and Jim Lee’s SUPERMAN #204 and the continued high sales of Michael Turner’s SUPERMAN/ BATMAN, quite a bunch of the company’s critical darlings, including BIRDS OF PREY, Y: THE LAST MAN, GOTHAM CENTRAL and MY FAITH IN FRANKIE show some solid increases as well.
Take a look at all things that might as well be Greek to me at The Pulse
A 581 percent increase for Superman?! 581!!!? Wow…I feel like with numbers like that it should be clocking in at like a billion copies. Sadly, not the case. Still, an over 200,000 copy print run is nothing to sneeze at these days. I just hope the generally less enthusiastic tone than the one that met Hush does not undercut sales too badly.
On the flipside, the missing Jim Lee bad Batman title continues to hemorrhage readers and is now posting numbers below Superman prior to Lee’s arrival. Ugh.
Good news on the Flash front, up 50 plus percent. Nice to see the book is still gaining momentum (pun not intended) as it most certainly deserves it.
I’ll leave Gotham Central’s numbers alone considering I have already promised to stop flogging that dead horse (but damn, read the book already).
No, my real cause for concern is Human Target. Every issue has dropped in copies sold since its release, but the book has been getting better and better. It has moved beyond the psychological trappings (which I dug anyway) to become a genuine slice of American life as observed by a man who has no real life of his own. The latest three-issue arc is the best to date and the one off this month (read my review later in this column) is a ton of fun.
So, I want you to do me a favor. Go to a bookstore and buy a copy of the trade. Keep the receipt. Read it. If you don’t love it, you can return it to the bookstore with that receipt for your money back. No one’s hurt. If you do enjoy it, check out some back issues at your comic book store. Then, not only is no one hurt, you’ve got a great new title to follow and your local store is moving some product. Get the trade, give it a fair shot. You’ll dig it huge. It is very much boss and not the slightest bit beat. And if you don’t dig? Well, you get your cash back. No lose situation here people. Do it for me, ‘kay?
Levitz’s Post Humous 60th Anniversary Means Its Tribute Time
As previously announced, this July DC will begin paying tribute to the late Julie Schwartz with a series of cover inspired specials. Newsarama spoke to Paul Levitz, DC Comics President & Publisher and Dan DiDio, DC’s VP — Editorial about this tribute back in March. Levitz told Newsarama then that the project was to pay tribute to Schwartz on his 60th anniversary of working with DC.
“We actually were developing this project in celebration of Julie’s 60th anniversary with DC,†says DiDio “It’s an opportunity to show our appreciation for his many accomplishments, working with some of the greatest talents in comics,†DiDio said. “This project is truly a labor of love for all involved in DC editorial.â€
Get in on the wacky cover madness at Newsarama
A nice tribute to be sure. I hope people enjoy it. Sadly, it holds little interest for myself. Tune in to the talkback if anyone has interest in peeking at a forum thread careening out of control.
SNEAK PEEKS LIVE AT DCCOMICS.COM
Follow the Trail at BATMAN/CATWOMAN: TRAIL OF THE GUN #1 (of 2) – JUN040196
Mmm, taste the oddness at JSA: STRANGE ADVENTURES #1 (of 6) – JUN040407
Because you love famous authors as much as I do, check out THE AUTHORITY: HUMAN ON THE INSIDE HC – JUN040804
Sure, it’s obscure. But it is also Alan Moore at TERRA OBSCURA VOL 2 #1 (of 6) – JUN040813
If I haven’t heard of it, it must be from Humanoids (and it must mean I’m an ignorant American). For confirmation on both fronts, head over to THE HOLLOW GROUNDS TP – JUN040818
If you value me at all, you’ll head over to WE3 #1 (of 3) – JUN040953 because if you don’t have any interest in cybernetic cute animal killing machines, then I have no interest in you. Harsh, I know, but true.
OPINIONS ON THE WORK OF PEOPLE FAR MORE TALENTED THAN I
RICHARD DRAGON #1
All those months, waiting, in eager anticipation. All those months for a Dixon/McDaniel original. Was it worth it? In a word, no. But then, that is the problem of out of control expectations. Is it an entertaining start, one that will have me back for the next issue? Yes, that it will.
Essentially one big fight issue (Dragon beats down some thugs in something akin to the steal cage matches Wolverine was involved in at the beginning of the X-Men movie, then later faces off against the Bronze Tiger), we get little by way of explaining how exactly this young guy jives with the bearded tutor last scene in Huntress: Cry for Blood, but I am not really expecting to ever have the mystery resolved. That’s okay with me. I can live with ambiguity.
Sadly, there is also little in the issue that justifies its page count. By the end, there is little to convince me that Dixon and McDaniel could not have accomplished the same results in half the pages. The art looks great so it is not as though I resent the trip, but Dixon is one of the best and stuffing issues chock full of goodness. Perhaps as Dragon’s portion of the DCU evolves the storytelling will open up some. I certainly hope so, in any case.
FLASH #210
I need to first mention that Johns nails the best friend dynamic of Flash and Nightwing in a single series of word captions so well that I was taken aback. It made so much sense that I was surprised that I had not read it before. The best friend who is closer than a brother who you still, somehow, almost never find the time to speak to. I get that.
This issue pushing forward all the subplots quite nicely and I can feel the last vestiges of Ignition finally falling away. I like the storyline, but I am also pleased to see that the title has dealt with the immediate fallout of it in the past three issues to begin to move forward. The Rogues (Captain Cold, Weather Wizard, Mirror Master, etc)-Anti-Rogues (Heatwave, Pied Piper, the original Trickster Jesse James) faceoff is gearing up. The Top seems to know something, but he might just be too crazy for anyone to care. Mirror Master is bleeding, but is quick to brush it off. Penguin makes a brief attempt at becoming a presence in Keystone City to be quickly undone. Finally, one of Flash’s scariest villains returns and a past storytelling injustice from The Outsiders looks to be dealt with by it.
The art looks great, even if Porter decided to go with that Batman Returns interpretation of the Penguin. The writing is top notch as always. The coloring fits the issue nicely, dark but still showing off the colors of all the characters.
Really, my only complaint is the James is back in his hideous old school stripes. I prefer him in his FBI duds, a new costume with a nod to the old, heck, even his striped pant ensemble from Underworld Unleashed is preferable to the old totally striped with cape job.
Really, a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things
GREEN LANTERN #177
Well, okay. So that gives us some resolution to the Kyle/Jen (Jade for those of you unaware of secret identities) breakup. But man, so unsatisfied.
The thing is this, if comic time is to be believed, Kyle was really only gone for 6 months, tops. I know that is awhile, but is it really all THAT long? I don’t buy the whole premise behind Jen’s infidelity (or moving on, whatever) so I don’t care if they have a heart to heart about it an issue later. It just seems so…I don’t know. A minor thing, to be sure, but it just sticks in my teeth.
Having not bought into the heart to heart, the rest of this was a bit tedious. Unlike a lot of online reviews I have read, I actually dig the fight between Kyle and Sonar. For me, it was the only time Marz seemed to be at ease with the character he created all those years ago. The rest of the time it feels like Marz is trying on an old shirt. It still fits and all, but, somehow, it just does not sit on your skin the way it used to. His Kyle is not the Kyle he returned to and he seems to still be settling into that.
Beyond the Sonar fight, Marz does still manage some nice moments. The return on Fatality and her relationship with her mysterious benefactor (I don’t want to say Luthor, but it feels like him. Just, please don’t let it be Major Force. Please.) is intriguing. Kyle’s return and departure from Radu’s is far more successful at plucking the heartstrings and getting me in the mindset of a man moving on then the issue’s centerpiece conversation.
In the end, it is nice to have Marz back. I just wish he had a little more time to find his footing before the series calls it quits.
BIRDS OF PREY #67
Gail Simone’s work of this title is so different that Chuck Dixon’s and yet, still as perfect a fit for the characters as his approach was.
The full mobilization of all of Oracle’s contacts to save her is great fun. Savant’s treachery and the consequences it may reap are a great way of breathing new and interesting life into a character I feared would be played out long before the first story arc wrapped. Even last issue’s trek back in time does not feel so much like filler after we see how the information is brought into the present. I can still live without the majority of it, but at least the diversionary trek feels less like a stalling tactic after reading this issue.
The biggest success of the arc, however, has been Simone’s ability to humanize Lady Shiva while keeping her plenty terrifying. Shiva’s attempts at humor jive nicely with her brutality with Cheshire on a helicopter earlier and her nobility in passing along the Sensei’s belt to his favorite student. None of the situations or her reactions to them seem out of character even as they tread places that most writers have not bothered to go with Shiva before.
Two storylines in, Simone is hitting on all cylinders and Birds of Prey has quickly risen to the top of my “gotta read†pile.
ROBIN #126
Sadly, Willingham’s biggest problem on Robin continues to be his writing of Batman. Veering from dead on to frustratingly and strikingly out of character, Bats bops through the pages of Robin something like a manic depressive cipher. He is all mood swings, going back on prior decisions seemingly at the drop of a hat. Alfred introduces an interesting possibility, that this is all just some game to get Tim back in the fighting togs and out of the streets again, but I don’t like the implications of taking that out to its logical end. So Batman is using an inexperienced woman/girl to make Tim jealous and realize who much he misses fighting crime? Batman, the man who hates risking anyone’s life but his own, is willingly risking the life of Stephanie as part of some sort of scheme that would not be out of place on an episode of Saved by the Bell (minus costumes of course)? God, I hope not.
All of this is a shame since there is a lot of good Willingham is doing here. He has shook up the status quo (even if it is temporarily) and shown Tim to be a stand up man in and out of the costume. Alfred’s dry humor is as good as it has ever been. Steph’s enthusiasm for the job is nicely conveyed. All the pieces are there, but the cornerstone, Batman, is all soft and ill-formed. If he can managed to finally nail the Dark Knight’s characterization, I expect this book will get a whole lot better.
SUPERMAN BATMAN #10
There is a death this issue, but it is one of little significance or purpose. So little of each that it might make you question what exactly its purpose is. To this I can offer no answer.
Beyond the demise of a third tier character, the rest of the issue is still better than the latter episodes of the first arc. A lot of the over analysis of one another that Batman and Superman engage in on an issue by issue basis has toned down to a normal level since its record high of out of control-ness at the conclusion of the Luthor arc. Thus, what insightful nuggets that Loeb does offer up are appreciated and not washed away in a tide of excessive wordage (excessive wordage? Like most of my stuff?).
I am touch frustrated by the character shorthand that has developed at this point (Batman is always paranoid and prepared, Superman is always naïve and easily frustrated) as I think the two leads are a lot more layered than that and Loeb is more than capable of bringing those layers to life. A comic book can still be action-oriented and fun if its characters are portrayed as human, not just a set of characteristics genetically bred for perfect conflict chemistry.
Still, as I eluded to above, this arc has a lot more to recommend than the first one and I find myself more willing to accept its Silver Age trappings. I may still think that the DCU is overburdened with Supergirls, that Superman would never be so quick to wrap his hands around someone’s throat, or that a lot of Doomsdays is no less lame than one, but it is interfering with my enjoyment of the story a whole lot less than I expected it would.
HUMAN TARGET #10
I cannot sing this book’s praises enough (although, clearly from its sales records, I need to do it more often). This issue is no exception. A one off tale of an old friend of Christopher’s busting out of prison and satisfying all of his old flames one last time while Christopher commits more and more elaborate crimes in the man’s guise to keep the focus firmly away from the real escaped convict. Smart, funny, and oddly touching at points, this issue of Human Target is a great showcase of how much the series can do and how well it can do it all. Part crime drama, part glimpse of masculine pride and friendship and what we do because and for both, part sex comedy and all of it good. Pick up that trade, read it, fall in love with it and then pick up the rest of the series.
SEAGUY #1 (OF 3)
Let me be the first to offer this particular opinion online in reference to Seaguy: the satire is obvious. While many have been singing the praises of this story for many-leveled approach, especially the layer involving smart social satire, I can only scratch my head. Don’t get me wrong, I like it a lot as I like most of what Morrison writes. But subtle? Hardly.
Mickey Eye could not more obviously be Mickey Mouse. The society being portrayed is obviously an allusion to the West (as in hemisphere) and its ostrich like tendency to bury its head in entertainment to ignore the real troubles of the world.
In fact, I would argue the social commentary is the issue’s weakest point. The goofy fun of long put out to pasture superheroes still wandering around wearing their costumes or portions of them as they ride the rides at an amusement park or grocery shop is worth a chuckle or two. The mystery of the moon rocks and the living Xoo (thankfully, Seaguy does not have to shout out, “It’s people. Xoo is peeeeeeeooooooooooppppppppllllllllllllleeeeee!†all Charlton Heston in Soylent Green esque.) are suitably intriguing. And really, can you beat a chess playing Grim Reaper in gondola gear who does not relieve he’ll never win because he is too colorblind to figure out Seaguy is cheating him? No, I expect you cannot.
There you have it. My penance. I hope you can accept my apologies for last week and that, with counseling, we can all move on to an even more fruitful and beautiful relationship in the weeks to come.
By the way, starting this Wednesday, check out www.brendanloy.com/complaint for consistently updating reviews of this summer’s movies. This Wednesday will be Shrek 2, Supersize Me, and The Day After Tomorrow. Updates will continue throughout the summer. Hope you guys check it out.
Un Gajje: The Choice of the Next Generation
