Since it is, after all, Talk Like a Pirate Day today, and I don't really feel like actually doing so, me bucko here's a splash page I found online for a pirate story I'd love to reread again- CAPTAIN FEAR, by David Michelinie and Walt Simonson, a three-part backup story which ran in, of all places, Unknown Soldier #'s 254-256 waaaay back in 1977. Of course, I was buying the Soldier back in those days, so I was very excited to see this pop up, and tempered my growing disenchantment to the lead, which was past its Michelinie/Talaoc heyday by then.

Stay tuned, Friday Night Fights tonight, and reviews coming this weekend.

Also, why not go here and help me to pay off my fantasy baseball debt?

Odds and ends:

Sometimes I think I should enable titles here; since I've started using Google Reader to read everyone's blogs (well, not everyone, but you know what I mean) it does make one's posts stand out a little bit more. Still, after five (almost six!) years, I'm kinda "what's the point" about it.

Holy gosh, I haven't posted here since Wednesday! I was doing better there for a while, but real life has been very busy lately and I haven't really had anything particularly pertinent to say about anything anyway. As always, I appreciate those who hang with me.

While I'm going on and on about me, did you know I had a Flickr account? Well, now you do. Believe me, it won't be as impressive as those by the likes of Kevin Church, Katie West or Zoetica Ebb, but recently I've had access to a good camera and have been moved to take a shot or three, and thought it would be a good place to put them. I am no photographer, and have no pretense towards being one, but many of these shots will be of a more personal nature (i.e., me, things and places around me and stuff that informs my personal life) so if you're curious, then by all means check it out. And leave a fricking comment, whydoncha- no one has done so yet. I won't get mad.

The Flickr account isn't in the sidebar yet; actually, lots of things aren't, and that's just sheer laziness on my part. I used to simply go in and edit the template, and in some ways that was quicker, but when I changed to this look, I started using the new tables or whatever you call them, and hate to mix and match. The new way of adding links is not all that much more difficult, but for some reason I kinda procrastinate about adding stuff using it, and that's why my link list is so incomplete. So honest, it's not because I don't like you if your link isn't included at right, it's just because I'm a lazy bastard. Chances are I follow you on Reader, and one of these days I'll get around to completing (or at least updating) the list. I hope.

It seems like much of the stuff I could be using for blog fodder, I'm posting on Twitter instead. I will do some linky stuff shortly; if you follow me on Twitter, some of this will be familiar (I hope) but bear with, please. If you're on that highly addictive messaging service, and you don't follow me, well please feel free to do so- I need all the followers I can get if I'm going to rule the world someday.

OK, since at odd times in the last five plus years this has, much of the time, been a TV/Movies/Music/Comics/Sports (not necessarily in that order) blog, here's a little about each:

Last night was the big two-hour grande finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and all things considered it was an appropriate sendoff to a series which has been often frustrating, but more often wonderfully imaginative and sometimes moving, in spite of everything. Of course, none of it turned out like I thought it would, which just further proves that I'm not so smart. While Nickelodeon, on the one hand, has seemed to do everything in its power to dumb the show down and drive away viewers via its scheduling, at least they did air the show in the first place, and I suppose they should get credit for that even though it seems like they never really understood what made it special in the first place, preferring the more conventional likes of Spongebob Squarepants and The Fairly OddParents, lively and entertaining cartoons but neither possessing or requiring the amount of depth and attention that Avatar needed. Nick just never really seemed to like the show, as if they were confused and intimidated by the attention it got from many critics and fans outside the preteen and tweenage demographic that is their purview. Anyway, last night's episode resolved many longstanding plot threads, but maddeningly left many dangling, even creating a couple of new ones. I have it on good authority that one reason was because "they didn't get the originally planned, full four seasons" and why? "...the film that canned the series early. Timing and all that.". This motion picture, set to be made by none other than that Happening guy M. Night Shyamalan, is to be a live action version, which would seem to be counter-intuitive to the appeal of the concept, at least as I relate to it, but you never know. MNS has a lot to prove after the lackluster box office of his previous film, and that may motivate him to excel- if he's got it in him. His last attempt at full-blown fantasy, The Lady in the Water, was a bizarre disaster. I will say this- it's going to be a little strange to not be anticipating the next episode; it's an odd feeling to know that the Nick series is now done. In a strange sort of way, I almost hope they don't show reruns all that much; it just won't seem fitting, somehow, to see the "Sozin's Comet" episodes come on on a Thursday afternoon, out of order with no buildup or context to speak of. I get the same feeling from seeing reruns of Justice League Unlimited, more on that later.

Other TV shows I've been spending some time on include The Middle Man, which is still enjoyable in fits and starts but the arch tone wears me out after a while. It wants to be a hip, quirky and lighthearted adventure story, and sometimes gets pretty close, but often it just tries too hard. Venture Bros. is still going strong, showing remarkable depth and complexity while remaining as absurd and fun as ever; if you're not watching this show, you really should be. Netflix or rent the first two seasons on DVD, and you can even get caught up with season three via adultswim.com. My NCIS viewing remains consistent, even though it's not really must-see TV anymore. Should be interesting to see what happens with the cast; looks like they're trying to break them up but that seems like a remarkably bad idea. I still watch the occasional Justice League Unlimited episode on Cartoon Network; while they seem to be perpetually stuck in episodes from late in the penultimate and the final season, many of those are highly watchable and have their share of classic moments, such as the Flash's super-speed dismantling of the Braniac-possessed Luthor, and Batman dodging one of Darkseid's Omega beams. I'm pretty much caught up with previous seasons of HBO's Entourage; new episodes begin in September. It's not exactly essential, but it has a great cast with good chemistry, and is often very funny. I started out watching AMC's Mad Men, and was quite enamored of it, but missed something like the third and fourth episodes, figured I'd be lost and decided to catch up via DVD in time for the season 2 premiere. Uh...didn't happen. There's still time, although I think the second season begins this week or next. I also kinda got interested in HBO's Big Love, about a polygamist and his attempts to live a normal (well, relatively speaking) life in the monogamous world, as well as the various situations that arise within his sect. It's got a good cast, too, with Bill Paxton as the lead and Harry Dean Stanton, Chloe Sevigny, and others in supporting roles. I rented the first DVD of season one, but never could really get the time to sit and watch it so I sent it back so I could get further down my Netflix queue. I'll get back to it someday. It's got a really nice intro, which features the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows"- you can see it right here. Anything else? Hm. Dirt's second season was a strike-truncated disappointment, and then it got canned, too bad. I find myself watching reruns of Two and a Half Men in the afternoons sometimes; it's surprisingly funny and nasty in equal measures, with a cast of pros playing the material well. The CW Saturday morning Spider-Man series overcame a tentative beginning to become a surprisingly good watch; the script is often witty and is often fast-paced and fun. I think that's it. Almost worthy of Tom the Dog, huh!

Movies? I've seen a few lately. Iron Man, Hellboy II of course; and I also caught a showing of WALL-E a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't as nuts for WALL-E as many were; it was entertaining and very well animated (I expect no less from Pixar) but I found myself second-guessing the science and logistics constantly. For example, the film expects me to believe that the former residents of Planet Earth, having evolved into still-somewhat-human blobs, could immediately begin to walk, and survive the turmoil on the ship in the movie's resolution, as well as rebuild their planet- I didn't think these people even had much in the way of bone in their legs, especially enough to support all the weight they had put on! And one tiny plant is enough to convince the ship that Earth is habitual again? What about the obviously-still-depleted ozone layer? The winds that were still coming up at regular intervals? Sure, we got a look at some more greenery as the film wound down, but color me skeptical. I've yet to go see Dark Knight; everybody and their uncle is praising it to high heaven, but I wasn't all that enamored of Batman Begins, not enough to drop six bucks towards seeing its sequel, no matter how good Heath Ledger may or may not be. I also viewed the new Watchmen trailer online; it's very impressive although it does kinda look like all the other recent comic-book based films lately; the Billy Corgan music was somewhat disconcerting as well. Just a little too 90's for a property that's still associated with the 80's in my mind. I think Ozymandias looks like a dork in that black domino mask; IIRC he spent most of the comics (which I haven't read in ages) without it. Yeah, I'm nitpicking. Recent Netflix rentals include Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Black Snake Moan, Crank, and the Aqua Teen movie- the first was very good but marred somewhat by a contrived ending, the second was marvelous, the third was ludicrous but kept my attention, the fourth entertaining, and the last became too much to take after a while- 15 minute doses of absurdity can be fun; two hours of same was just too much, and I bailed on it. I plan on doing a proper movie post soon; stay tuned.

Comics? The usual suspects that I've been enjoying, and I hope you've been reading my reviews to know what I'm talking about. One which really grabbed me was Hellboy: The Crooked Man #1, the first chapter of what promises to be another excellent miniseries. Set in Appalachia in 1958, and dealing with witches and hillbillies, it shows Hellboy as almost peripheral to the events displaying a detachment that Ron Perlman couldn't begin to portray. Richard Corben is on art, and he's excellent; people forget, I think, that he was first and foremost a horror artist back in the day who used to sign his work "Gore". I'm a sucker for that backwoods supernatural stuff anyway; this reminded me a lot of Manly Wade Wellman's excellent tales of Silver John, aka John the Balladeer, who encountered various ghosts, witches, and demonic creatures as he wandered the hills with only a silver-stringed guitar and a little bit of experience in dealing with such matters. I don't know if any collections are available, but if so I give them my highest recommendation. Ah! Here's one- a bit pricey, but worth it I think if you can afford it. Also, thanks to Bully, I've been reading Blake Bell's new bio of Steve Ditko- fascinating stuff, and it reproduces a LOT of great art at a bigger-than-normal size...and the effect is somewhat breathtaking, especially if you revere Ditko's 60's work as much as I do. Of course, I'll write more about these, and the other comics I haven't reviewed yet, later this week. On a related note, here's info about some mighty sweet art books by a number of talented artists- here's a couple of samples:



Yep, that's Darwyn Cooke and Cam Stewart! Each of them has their own collection available. I really would like to get a copy of Stewart's The Apocalypstix, but I thought I was still on Oni's comp list so I didn't preorder. I haven't received anything from Oni in months now, so I guess that's no longer the case, and as a result I'm going to have to find a copy somewhere. Such is life.

Music? I haven't really picked up anything new lately- mostly it's just finding old stuff that I haven't heard in ages or haven't heard at all here and there on the Interwub. Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue came out before I got interested in the Beach Boys; having made up for lost time since then (1977) it was inevitable that I would get around to it eventually, even though to be honest I wasn't crazy about the songs Dennis had on 70's Boys LPs like Carl and the Passions. Much to my surprise, it sounds nothing like those cuts at all; it's consistently tuneful and clever, and Wilson uses his croaking vocal to his advantage a la Tom Waits or hoarse Harry Nilsson circa Pussy Cats. I also have obtained XTC's Wasp Star (Apple Venus Vol. 2), now eight years old- better late than never and well worth the wait, the only question being why the hell did I wait so long?!? Also, the two most recent issues from Lindsey Buckingham and Fleetwood Mac, Under the Skin and Say You Will; Skin is stripped-down but tuneful, Will is overlong, and suffers from being in actuality a Buckingham/Nicks album with Fleetwood and McVie as the rhythm section and Christine McVie barely present except for a few lost-in-the-mix felt-but-not-heard backing vocals, but there are some very good cuts by both singer/songwriters. Been also listening a lot to Rosebud, the self-titled debut, and only release by, a contingent of LA musicians from 1971 that came out on Reprise and featuring Judy Henske and Jerry Yester, who as a couple released the noteworthy Farewell Aldebaran a yer or so earlier. I had heard one cut on a Warner/Reprise Loss Leader, a lovely tune called "Lullabye II (Summer Carol)", previously and was very interested in hearing the rest of this hard-to-find release. Never did find it on vinyl. It's OK, if unremarkable, kinda-country-pop-rock stuff and so far the aforementioned track is the standout. I fully intend to give it time to grow on me. Otherwise, it's been a panoply of stuff; I listen to several CDs on average every day of every week.

Boy, this is a long post, huh!

Sports? Beseball season has been pretty good so far; my White Sox are hanging in there in first place, managing somehow to hold off the Twins and Tigers in the AL Central, with smoke and mirrors, seemingly, sometimes. I think they have what it takes to win that division, and even make it to the Series if they can stay focused. My beloved Atlanta Falcons are just trying to regroup and rebuild after one of the worst NFL seasons ever with a new coach, who strikes me as somewhat vanilla but if he can get this team tougher and playing smarter, then I'm all for it, and a new rookie quarterback who probably won't see action right away, plus a new feature running back who was impressive in the backup role in San Diego, but is unproven as in the feature role over the course of a season. They've lost a ton of other players on both sides of the ball, as cleaning house was the order of the day in ATL. Hate to say it, but a 6-10 season would be a minor miracle. That said, I think they'll be at least competitive- their division isn't the strongest. The University of Kentucky is gearing up for a new football season with high hopes, and of course basketball isn't far from anybody's mind in Lexington, even in September.

One more thing- by all means, check out the "Items of Interest" box in the sidebar there at right; it's where I select other blog posts that I run across in Google Reader and want to share. I think most of them will be of interest to a lot of you!

OK, now I'll wind this up and get on with the rest of my Sunday. Thanks for reading, if you've made it this far, and stay tuned for more later!

BEHOLD! The slightly iconic and somewhat classic cover for Marvel Super-Heroes #20, which (if memory serves) was the first time one of Marvel's 60's badguys got a feature story and cover. Well, "Madame" Medusa was featured in #15, but by then she was more of an Inhuman and less one-quarter of the Frightful Four.

Something's bugging me about this cover, though, and I'll get to it in just a minute, after I set it up.

Someone over at scans_daily posted the story in its entirety this evening, giving me occasion to read it again for the first time in ages...probably since I first picked it up on the magazine rack at Caverna Drugs in Horse Cave when I was age 9 out of curiosity. Looking at it again, it's really not the best sort of showcase that Marvel's (arguably) premiere arch villain deserved. Written and penciled by Stan's bro Larry Lieber, with pencil assistance from longtime inker Frank Giacoia, and with inks credited to Vince (the Eraser) Colletta, it's a grubby-looking, episodic story which assays an attempt by B-list badguy Diablo to blackmail Doom into joining up with him to steal his time machine (under military guard) and, of course, conquer the world. It reads like Lieber's making it up as he goes along, and ends with a bit of a fizzle rather than a bang. I can see why I most likely skimmed over it when I was a lad and didn't buy. In fact, I don't think I've ever actually owned a copy.

Also somewhat interestingly, this was the last issue of this title to feature an all-new lead story; the title began as Fantasy Masterpieces, which featured mostly Golden Age and Atlas/Timely stuff, and for about a year served to showcase several second-string characters in the hopes one of them would stick like the Black Knight and Ka-Zar. The next issue, #21, began X-Men reprints, paired with Daredevil, then Iron Man and DD, then ended up being a vehicle to reprint Hulk and Sub-Mariner until it got cancelled in 1982.

OK, now that I've rambled a bit, here's my question. This cover. Who drew it? There's no credit on the cover itself; GCD info says it was Lieber and Giacoia. Thing is, it doesn't look like Lieber and Giacoia, especially when you compare it to the interior art. It's just too dynamic, too striking an image with its slightly receding, camera-on-the-floor perspective shot of Victor Von exulting in some sort of real or imagined triumph, his outstretched arms partially obscuring the logo- a lot more indicative of the type of covers that the innovators of the era there were doing, your Sterankos, Adamses and your Gene Colans. In fact, if you ask me, I think that's who did this cover in the first place- Colan. It's got his trademark fluid perspective and loosey-goosey rendering style, and all the celestial spheres and orbs remind me a lot of the types of covers he was providing for Doctor Strange at about that time. John Buscema is another suspect. Aaah, for all I know it may be Lieber, but...I just don't know.

Anyway, what do you think? Any comics historian-types out there that might have an educated guess?

I'd be floored if you haven't already read about this on a hundred other blogs, but just in case you accidentally missed it, Dark Horse has announced plans to reprint the exploits of the Little Fat Nothing himself- HERBIE. Retailers everywhere will be asked to "make way" for the Fat Fury this Summer, if all goes according to plan.

This is great news because these are some seriously weird little comics stories, and it's a crime that they haven't been more accessible to a wide audience, no pun intended. Remember that "straightfaced absurdity" and "whimsy" I'm always going on about in regards to Street Angel, Scurvy Dogs, and Flaming Carrot? Well, here's a big part of the direct inspiration, at least in the comics medium, for all that sort of thing. Now, I know you all will find this hard to believe (since we all know I'm older than God), but I have never personally owned a single issue of Forbidden Worlds or Herbie, nor have I ever possessed a copy of any of the rare reprints that have come and gone over the last four decades. But my Pal Dave has had many copies (hell, I'd bet he's had complete sets at one point or another) and has let me read them whenever I did so desire, so I know whereof I speak. I've also read them online and have seen them in comics shops.

Anyway, like Tom, I have reservations about the format- you know me, Mr. Cheapskate. No way I can drop 50 bills on this thing, but perhaps next Christmas I can get a good price via Amazon or the eBay. Also, there's something that's just a little off to me about seeing these stories reproduced on nice, white stock; I suppose this comes from a lifetime of reading them on yellowed paper in coverless and beat-up copies. Me, I'd prefer a more affordable softcover and could live with the better paper.

Submitted for your consideration, at left: a cover by British artist Warren Pleece, from the 1994 Vertigo series Mobfire, a cheeky mix of black magic and London gangsters, very underrated and pretty much by now forgotten. Pleece did the art for all six issues, and it was there that I was won over by his unorthodox style, with its oddly placed emphasis lines (not so much in evidence on this cover, I'll admit) that ever so slightly reminded me of expressionism, perhaps even something of a cubist approach. His panel to panel sequential pacing skills were also strong. It was a style that I hadn't seen before- or at least I couldn't spot too many other influences- and I liked it. I had seen his work on the previous year's Tattooed Man miniseries, Skin Graft and while I liked it OK, this one really grabbed me. Apparently others, including his editors, didn't. After Mobfire came out to low sales and less than widespread acclaim, it seemed like everything else Pleece drew for Vertigo (such as the Deadenders series) was heavily inked by a succession of embellishers that while on a person-to-person basis were very good inkers indeed, they sanded off the rough edges and smothered everything I thought was unique and distinctive about his work, to the point that I no longer cared to pick up anything that sported his increasingly-rare byline. In the case of Deadenders, that may have been a mistake; that's an interesting looking series to me now.

Anyway, hadn't thought of Pleece for a while until I started seeing solicits for a new hardcover Vertigo graphic novel that was coming up, called Incognegro. I was a little interested, because Pleece and Pleece alone was credited on art. I thought to myself, "Self", thought I, "You should perhaps check that out". Well...this morning, I followed a link to this site, which featured a few unfinished sample pages, and much to my surprise and dismay I saw (and so will you, if you make with the click on the image at right) that this art, purportedly by Pleece, bears little to no resemblance to the work which impressed me 14 years ago- in fact, it looks more like that style which I have come to refer to as "Vertigo House Style", an anonymous-looking sort of not-cartoonish but not-realistic art whose best practitioners are the likes of Peter Gross, Mark Buckingham, Pia Guerra, and many others. It's bland and tedious (although Gross and Buckingham tend to liven theirs with some designerly panel arrangements) and I don't care for it at all. So this makes me very sad to see, because it certainly seems like Pleece has subjugated his natural style in order to conform to some sort of editorial whim, in order to get work...and that's, as Paul McCartney would say, "a bit of a drag, innit?" Oh well, it's not like I was gonna drop 20 on this anyway, but if the Pleece art had looked like Pleece art, I would have been sorely tempted for sure.

Well, whaddaya know- in a move which would seem to be the complete antithesis of what DC stands for these days, they're BRINGING BACK AMBUSH BUG! And not only that, but it will be by original creative team (well, on the miniseries, anyway) Keith Giffen and Bob (little series called Thriller) Fleming. Inks will be by the redoubtable Al Milgrom, who takes over from the late Bob Oksner.

You just never know sometimes, do ya.

I haven't read the books, nor I haven't seen the film, but I am becoming utterly fascinated with Persepolis. No doubt you've already seen these links via Tom and Journalista, but in case you haven't, I'd just like to pass on the word that the redoubtable M.E. Russell has a great illustrated interview as only he can do, as well as an even longer text Q & A with creator Marjane Satrapi.

I think you should read it! But be warned- if you are inclined to have tender sensibilities about politics and abortion rights, you might not find it to your liking.

Imonna getsum comeeks today.

Assuming DHL does their part, here's my bi-weekly haul:

POWERS #27
SPIRIT #11
CATWOMAN #73
BRAVE AND THE BOLD #8
HELLBLAZER #238
HAWAIIAN DICK #1
UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #3
AMERICAN VIRGIN #21
FAKER #5
CASANOVA #11
DAREDEVIL #102


And that's it! Really, the only one I'm looking forward to much at all is the new Hawaiian Dick miniseries- Clay Moore and Scott (Northwest Passage) Chantler, two great tastes that should taste great together. Or something like that.

Anyways, I'd say I'm going to review them here, but I probably won't. I am considering doing a big monster head-crushing year-end review spectacular edition of Confessions of a Spinner Rack Junkie, in which I just lump a whole buncha books together with a general statement about if I liked 'em or not, then a day or so later put up a best of 2007. Then maybe get back into the review saddle in full force in 2008. Maybe.

I should post that Nilsson song, "Maybe" here.

Anyway, that's my haul. Actually, I haven't completely finished my shipment of two weeks ago, especially if you consider the overwrought League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier with its endless text pieces and diversions. For what it's worth, I have read the main story and certain passages of the rest. I don't think I'll ever read it cover to cover; that imitation Kerouac/Ginsburg section is frightening. If I was going to review it anytime soon, I'd say that Moore has finally completed the journey straight up his own ass that he began when he took the wheel of Promethea, made a hard left, and drove it straight through the Obfuscated Metaphysical Desert. But I'm not.

My favorite in the big Wonder Woman redesign contest that the Project: Rooftop guys held recently, by Jemma Salume. It just looks more practical for fighting evil and stuff. It's not necessarily my favorite illustration; that would be this one:



By Ming Doyle, whose work I've been following via her blog for a little while now. She's güd, as We3 wüd say.

The winning submission is a lively design, but the big shoulder pad looking thingies seem like they'd be hell of uncomfortable and annoying.

If you haven't seen it and the others already, go here.

Y'know, there was a time when I would go through the monthly new comics solicitations for DC, Marvel, Image, and others, and devote a long post to them, even posting cover images and everything. I'm finding that as with so many other things, I'm just not finding a whole lot of time, desire, or energy to do that anymore. Combine that with the predominant apathy I feel towards much of DC, Marvel, and others' published output, with about $50 worth of monthly exceptions, and that explains a great deal. To my satisfaction, anyway.

However, finding myself with a modicum of all three tonight, I did notice a few things as I scrolled through January's DC offerings...and they are as follows:

First and most notable to me is the DIANA PRINCE: WONDER WOMAN VOL. 1 TP, something I never ever thought I'd see, Hell, I figured they'd put out a Thriller collection before they'd reprint these late 60's-early 70's stories, in which they let Mike Sekowsky (with DC 70's MVP Dennis O'Neil scripting) totally revamp the Amazon Princess into something more like the Avengers' Emma Peel, played with aplomb by Diana Rigg. As I'm sure most of you know, she lost her superpowers, depended on martial arts skills instead, mentored by an elderly blind Asian man who went by the sobriquet "I Ching". She was also given an assortment of Emma Peel-esque groovy 60's outfits to wear. Wonder Woman fans, the ones who have actually read them that is, are mixed in their opinions about this relatively brief period in the characters' history. Me? Well...I'll be honest here, I've never read any of them in their entirety. Well, that's not exactly true- I used to own a copy of #202, the penultimate Diana Prince... issue, and that was because it featured Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, whom I had discovered a few months after this one hit the stands in 1972. I picked it up in the back issue bin. That said, I have read a few pages here and there via such sources as the scans_daily LJ community, Wonder Woman-devoted websites and so forth, and have always been fascinated by them.

Now, I should add here that I am not particularly a fan of the established Wonder Woman character; when I was a kid growing up, I did have an issue or two as I recall, and did enjoy her in the Justice League stories of the day...but she never grabbed me as hard as many of the other DC/Marvel superheroes, male or female, did. Many of those wild-ass Kanigher/Andru/Esposito stories were just too childishly weird for my childishly weird tastes. Since I wasn't really a fan of the character, I didn't care much when they altered her so drastically (coincidentally, if you clicked the last link above, you'll notice that one issue I owned as an 8-year-old was the last issue before the change) but neither did I want to read about a de-powered superhero (even though I loved watching The Avengers, strangely enough)...so I didn't buy a single issue of the entire Diana Prince run. Don't really even remember seeing them on the spinner racks, come to think of it. As I got older, despite some sweet Nick Cardy covers, the 1970's and most of the 80's were made up of a ton of bland, uninspired comics, a real waste of trees like so many of DC and Marvel's main licensed properties were in that long-lost decade. Perez and Byrne in the 80's and 90's left me cold. I loved the Bolland and Hughes covers, and Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke's take in JLA in the mid-late 90's and Aughts. And that's about it. But I've always been fascinated by that 20-something issue run that I barely saw, that took what has always been (sorry, everybody) an uninteresting and somewhat silly character IN MY OPINION, (and don't get me started about that costume) for the most part and reimagined her in a radical way. Of course, O'Neil was golden in the 70's and I've always enjoyed Sekowsky's...unique...take on anatomy and action depiction. Problem is, back issues are hard to find, and expensive when you can find them on eBay or wherever.

So what I'm trying to work my way up to is that I am delighted to see this is scheduled to come out, all in one place for easy readin', (well, a good chunk of the run, anyway, up to issue #184- tempers my excitement a bit- I wish it was more but I couldn't afford it if it was) and I am going to drop coin on this as soon as possible.

Other stuff I'm amazed to see is that Bob Haney-scripted TEEN TITANS: THE LOST ANNUAL that DC did their best to bury a year or two ago. Too bad that Bob won't be around to see it come out, although I don't really think he gave a shit one way or the other by the time he passed on, from what I remember reading. Even so, this looks very cool.

BAT LASH #2 is solicited; I recently reread all of his 60's appearances, and am apprehensively awaiting this one. It is my carefully considered opinion that no one has managed to find the right tone for the character since O'Neil stopped doing him in the 60's- the great Sergio Aragones is on hand, true, but the strength of those originals was never in the plotting alone, but in the synergy between Sergio's plots and O'Neil's dialogue style. No one else has even come close, and I hold out no hope for "acclaimed Western novelist" Peter Brandvold. I keep threatening (in my mind) to scan pages from all nine original issues, and post a few pages from each along with an overview...the spirit is willing but the flesh is soft and spongy, or something like that.

Sorry to see that AMERICAN VIRGIN is shitcanned with #23; I almost dropped it twice, but it has been pretty good lately, for the most part. I hope that it will get a satisfying resolution of some sort, and that Seagle will pick a tone before he's done.

That's about it for DC. Oh, and dear Mr. Unidentified Solicitation Copy Writer: THANKS for spoiling major events in the text for FABLES #69. Punk.

On the Marvel side, I'll be getting Daredevil and Iron Fist, as usual, and not much else catches my eye. Oh- Iron Man-Enter the Mandarin #5, because I like the art. I'm undecided about Omega, but I may get that too.

And, that's about it!

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And speaking of 1980's vintage series which grabbed me hard, by all means go read Jog's typically erudite take on Starstruck, one of my all-time favorites and another, like Zot! which kept me in the four-color funnybook habit as I navigated my way unsteadily throughout my twenties and beyond.

Interesting news today, via the Publishers Weekly website- Scott McCloud has announced that his 1980's series Zot! will be reprinted, enabling those who weren't fortunate or prudent enough to buy it when the singles were coming out, or those who saw the error of their ways too late and to weren't able to find back issues, to read most of one of the best series that decade had to offer. I say most, and more on that later.

Zot! was (at least early on) a fast-paced, light-hearted (which is not to say that there wasn't a fair amount of drama to be found, far from it) adventure series about a young adventurer in the alternate-dimension futuristic world of 1963, and the young girl who accidentally encounters him in our time and eventually joins him on the other side. It was bright, colorful, and quite imaginative, and well illustrated, even though you could tell that McCloud was growing into his craft early on. Originally published by Eclipse Comics, it was one of a handful of comics that re-ignited my interest in the early-mid 80's, when I was just about ready to find another way to spend what I laughingly referred to as my "discretionary income".

The first 10 issues were in color, and told a complete story; the book then got axed due to low sales but eventually Eclipse decided to give it another chance, this time in black & white. The next twenty-six issues came out in that format, and while, to me, they weren't always as enjoyable, due to McCloud's decision to steer away from superhero-style adventuring to more of an Afterschool Special-style approach- perfectly valid, but just not as entertaining.

And the "most" I referred to involves McCloud's decision to NOT include the first ten issues in this new collection, due to the fact that, according to him, "(He) believes the series really came together when he focused on working in black and white." Of course, I couldn't disagree more. The series, in my opinion, lost a lot of luster when it first went to B&W, necessary I know, and then went the "normal teen drama" route. Which is not to say that I don't recommend that you get this new collection, far from it...but I really regret and hate to hear that McCloud feels this way. Of course, the series has been reprinted before, in the '90s, and the first ten issues were among those collected. But they've been out of print for ages now, due to Kitchen Sink Publishing folding, so rotsa ruck finding them.

I also have a feeling that reprinting #'s 1-10 in color is a cost issue, hence their exclusion, although better in B&W than not at all.

The price point, $23, will keep me from buying, of course, but in spite of all this I encourage you to consider giving it a shot if you aren't thinking about it already- they're good comics, and all in one place. And perhaps someday McCloud will see the light about those early issues. I still have my complete run of all 36 (you wouldn't believe how much trouble I went to to get #36, though), but I can't believe the uninitiated wouldn't like the first ten as much as the last 25.

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Sometimes you never know what you're going to run across whilst surfing the Intarweb- over at the scans_daily LJ community, someone has posted a Venus story, from something called Marvel Valentine Special #1- which I've never seen before, and it sports art by none other than Dan DeCarlo of Archie Comics fame!

The story itself is no great shakes- it's got some of the worst dialogue I've read in ages (and I say as much in the comments) but it does have a nicely done happy ending, especially if you're familiar with the character's history.

So go read it already!

Don't expect any in-depth, extensive analysis of all the SDCC news, (and tell the truth, you weren't anyway, were you?) but I did spy a couple of things so far that fall into a good news/not so good news sort of thing, and they are as follows:

Matt Wagner will do Madame Xanadu as a Vertigo character.. Although more often as not any attempted DCU-to-Vertigo crossover is made of disaster (see: Deadman), Wagner is saying all the right things in that interview, and I really like the above art sample, by Amy Hadley, whose previous work was on the manga Fool's Gold...which explains why I'd never heard of her. Also playing a prominent part in the series will be the Phantom Stranger, which is, as you may recall if you've read me for any length of time, a favorite character of mine. Even though I haven't been crazy about the Vertiginous PS as he was prtrayed in the '90s, I don't think they're inclined to do him that way anymore so I guess we will see what we will see.

In the not-so-good category: Darwyn Cooke's announcement that he will be leaving The Spirit comic after issue #12. Honestly, I've been a bit disappointed with Cooke's take; it's been far from bad, and he certainly has had a hard act to follow, but it certainly hasn't been as good as I hoped when the book was announced. It also means one less venue by which I can see J.Bone's work, a bad thing for sure. Anyway, no word as to who will replace him- I wouldn't be unhappy to see someone like Jeff Smith have a shot, though.


Later- FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS! And maybe even more reviews...I'm still not caught up, and I got a new box today! I am so behind...

Oh, and just for shits and giggles, I started a DeviantArt page. Don't worry, I haven't done anything new, it's got the same old bunch of crap you've all seen before. I just was curious to see if I would get any comments. Besides "YOU SUCK!", that is.

I've already seen, here and there, where certain parties are already trying to make this the next controversial cover. Me, I like it. I can see the issues with the others, but I think this is a very strong illustration, and if people are going to try and play the sexist card on this one, I think they're barking up the wrong Batcave.

Now, as I understand it, this is an upcoming cover for the Superman/Batman series. Apparently the female in front is named Bekka, and she's Orion of the New Gods' wife, girlfriend, something. I don't recall this relationship being a part of Kirby's Fourth World books; she was Scott Free's Apokoliptian mentor Himon's daughter. Perhaps this is something I've forgotten from Walt Simonson's outstanding Orion, or maybe it's new for this title (which I've never read an issue of). Anyway, apparently Batman has the hots for Orion's wife/girlfriend/something, and that's a big part of the storyline. Me, I'd think that the prospect of sex with a New God would be daunting to mere mortals, even our Bruce, but what the hey. Dodging Darkseid's Omega Beams would be child's play compared to doing the horizontal mambo with a strong woman who could tear your head off when she's feeling really amorous.

"But, look how scantily clad she is! And there's a boob window!" You may say. "And Bats has his hand in a very conspicuous place! What's up with that!" And that's true. But to my eyes, anyway, her garb isn't terribly revealing, no more so that the run of the mill DC or Marvel supersuit; it doesn't look terribly practical as battle gear, but compared to Big Barda's original bikini outfit or Red Sonja's chain mail bikini ensemble, it's practically a one-piece unitard. Sure, Batman's hand is in that place...but it seems as if he seeks to shield ("Don't you be lookin' at these" is the impression I get there) or embrace, rather than grope, her. It's a passive pose- only his left hand, with the batarang, is tensed. And look at Bekka's stance. She's got a heads-up, guns at the ready, typically Apokolipsian "Don't screw with me" look on her face. No dripping goo or meek facial expressions. If she's being exploited, I just don't see it.

And it's a really nice piece from a design standpoint, reminiscent of Mike Kaluta's recent covers with emphasis on symmetry. It also reminds me of tarot card illustrations, and I'm always interested in those.

Anyway, to wind this up, if this is in poor taste or exploitative, I just don't see it. Of course, I've been known to be wrong before...but I don't think this is one of those times.

The last thing DC needs (or I need, for that matter) is for me to be shilling for them via Con announcements, especially since I am a utterly disinterested in about 85% of what they're issuing right now...but there were a few things that I noticed in this Con report at CBR that caught my eye:



Left to right: the return of Tommy Monaghan, aka HITMAN!

Jordi Bernet is back on Jonah Hex! I had decided to drop Hex after #20, but #20 (which I read yesterday, yeah, I'm that far behind in my reviews) wasn't half bad so I may reconsider. I wish DC would cancel this and American Virgin so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore...

And that's Uncle Sam in that Dave Johnson cover, which would suggest a new Freedom Fighters series. I'm all about Graymiotti's Uncle Sam.


Rouleau's Metal Men is also cited, so it looks like I'll still be getting my fair share of National Periodical Publications, doesn't it!



Today is the day I finish Spinner Rack Junkie, I swear this on the Hammer of Grabthar.

I suppose it speaks to how out of sync I am with the conventional wisdom, but I find this far more repulsive and offensive than I do all the Heroes for Hentai and MJ "comiquettes" put together.

Guess I prefer titillation to rotting flesh. Call me crazy.


Found at Chris Butcher's, and also the Manstream LJ Community.

Just in case you care...

Here's my upcoming DCBS shipment, which should find itself upon my doorstep Friday afternoon.

LOCAL #8
POWERS #23
IMMORTAL IRON FIST #3
CATWOMAN #64
SPIRIT #3
DMZ #16
JACK STAFF #13
STRANGE GIRL #14
100 BULLETS #81
HELLBLAZER #229
DAREDEVIL #94
DOCTOR STRANGE: THE OATH #5

A couple of months ago, I decided to drop Local, so #9 will be my last, I guess. That was before I realized that it is a 12 issue series. Now, I'm reconsidering, but as with American Virgin, I guess I'll get the last three at my LCS.

And I thought last issue was my final Strange Girl! Looks like I have one more, an epilogue if you will.

Nice to know that I already have my review of 100 Bullets written.

And, any week with a new Jack Staff and Paul Grist, is a good comics week. Also looking forward to/sad to see the final issue of Doctor Strange: The Oath; and as usual I'm looking forward to The Spirit, Catwoman, Powers, (which has been on the upswing although it's really beginning to feel stretched) and of course Daredevil. Plus, we get an issue of Hellblazer that isn't by Denise Mina! First in what seems like a couple of eternities!

I already have Brave and the Bold #1 and Alter Ego #64 (Free! Gotta love free), which I will review next time.

My friends at Boom! have cut me off, looks like, because I have received no new comp of the Boom! title I like the most, Hero Squared, #5 of which came out today. Guess they don't like me no more. Cry me a river, I know. However, yesterday I received a copy of a Boom! title that I am less enthusiastic about, Warhammer 40,000: Damnation Crusade #2, so go figure. Hopefully, they'll have a copy for sale at my LCS, never a given when it comes to indie books, and I'll pick it up in addition to the aforementioned American Virgin #12.

I'm beginning to wish I'd ordered the 52 trade; DCBS had it for $10. Then again, it's 52. Do I really want that? Even at a discount?

Oh, and as you know, I managed to avoid picking up Civil War...but everybody and their comics-blogging uncle has put their two cents' worth in about the ending, so here's mine: It doesn't sound all that out-of-character for Cap to stand down because of the danger to those around him and his allies. But the bigger picture, the ramifications of Cap's action and what it means both as plot event and as allegory, is far more problematic. Besides, you know that this is just all stage-setting for the next big event, right?

Well, whaddaya know! We get five more issues, looks like!

If only this had happened to Chase...