This is Leave Your Spandex @t the Door number 123. It’s no illusion, we’re really weekly again.
• Panel of the Week Voting
• April ’08 H-O-T Grade
• Herculean Homages
• Nunchuck Nuns
• Jason Aaron Tribute Week
• Emo Rapunzel
• Costume-Changing 101
• Cupid’s Arrows
• Real Men Don’t Cry
• Slammed with the Book
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This week in comics…
Panel of the Week Voting
Facing tough competition, Groening’s Yellow Rock n Roll Heaven won over the competition with a tight 27% last week.
This week, rounding up the rest of the catch-up weeks (finishing April 2008) in a titanic show-down. Vote for your favourites:
Panel A:
Sailor Stinky Farts (Power Pack Day One #2)
Panel B:
‘Bovinsult (v): To insult one’s family by turning them into cows’ (New Avengers #40)
Panel C:
The Orrgo Show (Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four #35)
Panel D:
A Pink Purse with THAT outfit? (JSA Classified #37 )
Panel E:
The Yip Yip Puppy Stampede (Teen Titans #58 )
Panel F:
Lex Luthor vs The Joker: Slapfest! (Salvation Run #6)
April ’08 H-O-T Grade
Each month HOT Grade represents LYSAD’s stamp on what titles stood out as the best of the best.
1. CASANOVA #13 (Image Comics)
2. LOGAN #2 (Marvel Comics)
3. BATMAN #675 (DC Comics)
4. WOLVERINE #64 (Marvel Comics)
5. GHOST RIDER #22 (Marvel Comics)
6. SCALPED #16 (Vertigo)
7. X-MEN LEGACY #210 (Marvel Comics)
8. MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #35 (Marvel Comics)
9. THE ORDER #10 (Marvel Comics)
10. THOR AGES OF THUNDER (Marvel Comics)
11. X-MEN DIVIDED WE STAND #1 (Marvel Comics)
12. SECRET HISTORY THE AUTHORITY HAWKSMOOR #2 (Wildstorm)
13. X-MEN FIRST CLASS VOL 2 #11 (Marvel Comics)
14. THOR #8 (Marvel Comics)
15. GREEN LANTERN #30 (DC Comics)
16. SUPERGIRL #28 (DC Comics)
17. MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN #38 (Marvel Comics)
18. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #555-557 (Marvel Comics)
19. YOUNG LIARS #2 (Vertigo)
20. LOCKE & KEY #3 (IDW)
A very interesting month, with trends clearly showing up, now that I’ve caught up on my to-read pile from certain titles. This month we’ve got all three Jason Aaron titles breaking the Top 10 (Wolvie, GR and Scalped – which should really be retroactively injected into every Top 10 list thus far), and Matt Fraction grabbing the top spot and #9-11. Lots of favourites (including last month’s #1 Criminal) were pushed down just below #20 by the sheer enjoyment of this month’s Marvel Adventures offerings. Good going!
The breakdown: Marvel (12), DC (3), Vertigo (2)
Herculean Homages
Is it a swipe if you’re homaging yourself, in a way -and character- someone has already homaged you earlier that year?
Meet mr Jim Steranko. He is an unquestionable talented creator and a comics, famous for his bold compositions, his striking covers and creating a standard that artists have adhered to and often homaged for decades even to this day!
Exhibit A:
King Size Hulk Special #1/v.1 Annual #1 (October 1968, Marvel Comics)
Cover artist: Jim Steranko. The original cover that set the trend. Hulk dominating the cover from edge to edge, straining to hold the weight of his own name/logo like a monstrous Atlas. The massive feat is accentuated by the cracking of the ground/letters that Hulk is standing on. The title is made of solid rock, crumbling away as Hulk with his enormous strength clasps at it with his arms. A very claustrophobic cover that has stood the test of time, very evident by the amount of homages to it even in the last decade:
Exhibit B:
The Incredible Hulk v.2 #34 (November 2001, Marvel Comics)
Cover Artist: Kaare Andrews. Kicking off the then celebrated run by writer Bruce Jones, Kaare makes a tribute to the Steranko original, keeping the same composition but using a painted/computer illustrated technique.
Exhibit C:
Incredible Hulk Herc(ules) #113 (February 2008, Marvel Comics)
Cover Artist: Arthur Adams. With the closing of World War Hulk, Bruce Banner is in custody, there’s a new monthly (adjectiveless) Hulk title launching, and the Incredible Hulk title is passed over to classic Marvel hero Hercules. To commemorate the first issue of the name switch, Arthur Adams cleverly homages Hercules (a Greek demi-god like Atlas himself) bulking under the weight of the Hulk’s title which he has now inherited, with his own name sprayed on top of it.
Exhibit D:
Hercules #2 (announced June 2008, Radical Comics)
Cover Artist: Jim Steranko. Coming full circle, Steranko returns to comics and cover artwork with the new ongoing Hercules series from Radical Comics, following the adventures of Hercules – now a warlord leader of a mercenary team- in Ancient Greece after the completion of the Twelve Tasks. Steranko replaces the hulk of his classic cover with the new Radical Hercules.
Any more homages to the original that I’ve missed? Reply below :)
SuperHero Training Week: Changing Costumes 101
Source: Wolverine First Class #1 (Marvel Comics)
Love-Struck
Cupid’s arrows have a hurtful sting.
Source: Birds of Prey #116 (DC Comics)
Real Men Don’t Cry
Source: Erik Larsen / Fantastic Comics #24 (Image Comics)
Don’t Just Throw Him The Book…
It’s 2008. SLAM him with the book!
Source: Catwoman #78 (DC Comics)
Emo Fairytales: Rapunzel
JASON AARON WEEK!
Logan: My Life As a Suicide Car Bomber
Source: Wolverine #64 (Marvel Comics)
Small – Town Sheriff – My Life As a Cannibal’s Supper
Source: Ghost Rider #21 (Marvel Comics)
Mystique: My Life As Miss December Centerfold
Source: Wolverine #64 (Marvel Comics)
Nunchuck Nuns
NRAMA: Last time I interviewed you about Ghost Rider, you gave us a good tease about the nurses with guns. Anything you can tease about what’s coming up in future issues?
Jason Aaron: How about nuns with nunchucks? Nunchuck nuns. We’ll see that at some point.
Jason Aaron talking to Newsarama during NYCC
Video(s) of the week
Alanis Morissette – Moratorium
Eye Of The Tiger – Marjane Satrapi
Wolverine & The X-Men 2nd Trailer
That’s a wrap for today! I’m waiting your comments and feedback through email to Manolis@gmail.com or through the site’s comments feature
If you self-publish your own comics or represent an Indy comics company, add me to your press release list, and I will run your news in this space every week.
Manolis Vamvounis
