DC's SOLICITATIONS FOR JUNE are out- say, I've got an idea...why don't I go through them and comment on what I find interesting?

Trying something new this time- click on the cover images for a larger image. We'll see how it works.

First of all, the Bat-books. Since I am now committed to picking up Dave Lapham's "City of Crime" 12-issue arc, here's Lapham's cover DETECTIVE COMICS #807. I like the composition.

I'm not interested in getting the BATMAN: WAR GAMES trades, but they have nice James Jean covers, and I'm always up for posting a Jean cover. Makes my humble page look better.

Upon first glance, the color scheme for the cover of BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #192 is really eye-catching. Upon closer examination, though, I'm not especially impressed with artist Seth Fisher's rendition of the Caped Crusader. The story here is written by Chase's D.C.Johnson and J.H. Williams III, but Fisher's on art. If Chase were appearing in this, I'd buy.

Sean Phillips does the cover for GOTHAM CENTRAL #32, and it's very nice. I wonder if they're gonna leave the crop marks and stuff on the printed book? Anyway, if Phillips were to assume the art duties on this comic it would be hellasweet. That said, I think new penciller Kano (whose work I liked a lot on H-E-R-O will be just fine.



Now, I'm a firm believer in that hoary old saying "You can't go home again"- how many times have we seen, in the past, a creator or creators returning to the scenes of past glory only to turn out mediocrity at best and downright dreck at worst? And the covers I'm seeing for BATMAN: DARK DETECTIVE #'s 3 & 4 are proving that old saying true yet again- those are two butt-ugly illustrations by the Marshall Rogers- Terry Austin team. Was a time when I thought Rogers was one hell of an interesting artist and eagerly awaited his infrequent appearances; now, after a long hiatus, it seems like he hasn't gained a thing or advanced an inch. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt to this for now- even though these covers do nothing for me, it may be that Steve Englehart is perfectly able to craft an interesting story out of the long-ago discarded building blocks of his 70s Detective stint. I won't get my hopes up, though, 'cause let's face it...that synopsis doesn't sound like the freshest thing to come down the pike in the last three decades, does it?

Despite the regrettable decision by new cover artist Adam Hughes to outfit our heroine in pleather- or is it shinyl vinyl?- on CATWOMAN #44, impressive for the fetish crowd, I guess, but annoying to me- it's still a great drawing and the new creative team of Wil Pfiefer and Pete Woods is promising. I dove off the bandwagon when Gulacy came aboard, but I might just have to climb back on.



Despite Pfiefer's presence, I fully intend to pass on John Byrne's Demon book. But after looking at the first three covers, as well as the cover for BLOOD OF THE DEMON #4, I gotta ask- what's up with Byrne's wrinkly, pruney Etrigan? Did he stay in the bathtub too long? Does he need some Oil of Olay? Wassup wit dat?

I'm used to a lot of oddball things in comics these days, heaven knows, but Detective Chimp? In DAY OF VENGEANCE #3? What the F-? I'm kinda on the bubble with this title as well; I don't remember signing up for it but I may have because I'm such a Spectre geek, along with the rest of DC's supernatural posse. Those Simonson covers, though, have all uniformly been blandly drawn and the color has been U-G-L-Y.

I've seen a few negative remarks, around the ol' Comics Blogosphereiverse, about Kevin Maguire's sexist-seeming and female-objectifying cover for JLA CLASSIFIED #8, which sports a black leather-clad Mary Marvel putting a beatdown on Guy Gardner. And y'know what? It's true. But y'know what else? I don't care. The next issue, #9, comes out the same month and features a much less offensive but even funnier cover, with a giant G'Nort on a rampage. Bwah-ha-ha!

All three SEVEN SOLDIERS covers look great this month, but the one for KLARION THE WITCH BOY #2 really stands out. Looks like they're reprising the late-90's closeup cover stunt DC used on all their books for the month.

A sketchy, sloppy portrait of Slam Bradley on the cover of SOLO #5 lets us know that the spotlight is on none other than Darwyn Cooke. I love Mr. Cooke's art, so I'll be getting this.

SON OF VULCAN #1 . SON OF VULCAN #1 ? What the-? Who the hell greenlighted this? The umpteenth revival of a D-list Charlton character, and we all know how well THAT'S worked for DC in the past. Who's next- Wander? Anyway, this doesn't look terrible, but I pass just the same. Son of Vulcan. Gimme a break.


Big, epic multi-issue limited series continue to be all the rage at National; this month we have, among others, THE RANN/THANAGAR WAR #2 and VILLAINS UNITED #2 . Rann/Thanagar at least has Dave Gibbons scripting, but I dunno. Life and money are short.

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #10 features the Animated-style Creeper. I've always liked the Creeper, and I really liked his appearance on the cartoon, so I might just consider picking this up.

THE BALLAD OF HALO JONES TP is something that each and every one of you reading this should consider reading, if you haven't already. It's an older Alan Moore work, for sure, but it's completely fascinating, nicely drawn by the underrated Ian Gibson, and I liked it a lot when I got the three collections that someone (I forget who) released in the 80s.

ASTRO CITY: THE DARK AGE consists of four 4-issue arcs stretching across Astro City's darkest era. AARGH! Why do all these comics publishers assume we have money to burn?

CITY OF TOMORROW #3 Speaking of sexist, objectifying covers, here's cleavage a la Chaykin. Of course. This is the man that gave us Black Kiss, and he does it so well! I'm definitely going to be picking this up.

Ladies and gentlemen, for your entertainment pleasure, another spectacular James Jean cover. From FABLES #38 .

Let's just get it out in the open right now: Mike Kaluta's cover for LUCIFER #63 is not one of his best. God knows I love me that MWK, but even the mighty stumble once in a while.

NEIL GAIMAN'S NEVERWHERE #1 could be interesting, or it could be a pretentious trainwreck. We shall see.

Of course, you all know that you should get the WE3 TP, especially if you haven't read it yet. Others may disagree. I showed you the cover the other day.

Finally, all I can say is that if I'm gonna cough up 90 bucks for a gorram statue of the Black Canary, then she damn well better be wearing fishnets! Hmph!

And that'll do it for another month.

Congrats to U2 for being inducted in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

But.

Don't get me wrong, I still like U2, really- or I still want to like them anyway...but the last album I really wanted to hear more than once by them was 1994's Zooropa.

And it's a JOKE that they're in and Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper and Group, and Jethro Tull are not. And I'd put Marc Bolan in there as well, but that's just me. And what about Nick Drake?

Bah.

Once again- my haul Wednesday according to the new Diamond shipping list!

100 PERCENT TP (Actually supposed to be coming via DCBS. Don't know when it will arrive)
ANGELTOWN #5
LUCIFER #60
QUESTION #5
ULTIMATES 2 #4 (Believe it when I see it)
LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #13
SHAOLIN COWBOY #2

And leave us not forget the overdue STREET ANGEL #5.

I really want to pick up OWLY, VOL 2: JUST A LITTLE BLUE, but I'll probably have to stick that one back in the ol' folder until later.

Been watching some trailers over at Apple's movie trailer site, many of which have been much-discussed in certain circles, you all know the ones. What did I think? Read on, MacDuff.

SIN CITY Fanboys everywhere are holding their collective breath after seeing the trailers and advance images for Sin City. And to be honest, I don't really understand why there's so much apprehension. To be sure, one is immediately reminded of the prosthetic-laden Dick Tracy, which I (incidentally) didn't hate, but it doesn't seem to be as broad and cartoony as Beatty's oddball flick was. The cast looks great and reasonable faithful to their comic-book originals, even Mickey Rourke- who (rumor has it) only needed a minimal amount of prosthetic work done for his turn as Marv. Hee hee. Jessica Alba looks great, so does Rosario Dawson and Bruce Willis, always good to see Frankie Fucking Four-Fingers, I mean Benecio Del Toro, do his thing. I suppose the make-or-break of it will be how positively audiences react to Robert Rodriguez' attempt to ape the conventions of comic-book storytelling in general (a la Ang Lee's Hulk) and Miller's grotesquely blockish work in particular...and as someone who likes, doesn't love, Miller's stuff I think he pulls it off in a lot of these scenes. Now when it's viewed all stuck together, that's a different story. But I like what I've seen so far. I caught the trailer before viewing Constantine a couple of weeks ago, and thought it looked smashing on the big screen. I was a bit surprised to realize that I haven't really had the chance to write about or review anything Miller's done, comics-wise, except a brief post about his DK2 book(which I absolutely despised), because he hasn't put any out since I started blogging! Anyway, I've got most of the single Sin City comics, and like the series overall; Miller's cynical tone isn't as offputting when he's aping Raymond Chandler and I can tolerate his art well enough to remain interested. However, I liked the comic Sin City a lot more at the beginning; the last couple of series have been a slog, especially Hell and Back. I find his art grotesque, but I can't deny his gifts at storytelling. So, while I reserve the right to be skeptical, right now I'm looking forward to Sin City the movie.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is a film that I can't believe anybody was clamoring to see a remake of; leave it to Tim Burton to think he can pull it off. And judging by the hyperactive, singsongy trailer, he just might do it, at that- even though it doesn't look like he's done anything but copy the look of the 1971 flick. Poor Johnny Depp- as gifted and as talented an actor as he is, and he is- he's gotta know that he'll never better Gene Wilder's perfect take on Willy Wonka. What a thankless task. Of course, I know he'll be fine, great even, and will be generously compensated monetarily for his trouble...but I seriously doubt that he'll make anybody forget the original. This is really looking like a rental, unless I figure out a way to get in the theatre free. Here's the official website.

FANTASTIC FOUR is another one that's got the comics community all a-twitter. Frankly, I think this LOOKS like an interesting film. Michael Chiklis looks better than I expected in his lumpy Thing makeup, and the ubituquous Jessica Alba is almost as hot here as she is bumping and grinding in Sin City. The FX I saw from the trailer looked reasonably well-done, as well. I suppose that the script will make or break this one, and if it screws around with the characters too much, or relies on stupid contrivances, or is just plain condescending and campy, then it could be a disaster. I don't think I'll go out of my way to see this one, but if it plays the $1.50 theatre and I have an evening to kill, who knows. I used to love the FF back in the day, the Lee-Kirby days that is, but haven't really been too interested in them since, even though I bought the Byrne run for quite a while back in the 80's. The heart of Lee & Kirby's FF wasn't giant planet-eating space beings or megalomaniacal supergeniuses dressed in armor, it was the personalities of the Richardses, Storms and Ben Grimm that made you like these characters and care about them. Well, that and the fertile imaginations of Stan and Jack, which could put these characters in situations that you hoped they'd be able to escape from. If the filmmakers can manage this trick then this could be good. It looks like they've done the requisite Hollywood tweaking, but I'll try to keep an open mind.

Speaking of Burton, there's also a trailer on the site for his latest attempt at stop-motion puppet animation, a la Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, THE CORPSE BRIDE. It looks like it could be diverting, even though I think everybody else in the world likes this stuff from him better than I do. There's just something about the visuals that don't quite connect, moreso on this and Nightmare than Giant Peach.

Finally, I checked out the featurettes for CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, and it looks like a lot of skill and care is going into this adaptation. This being said, I don't really think I'm seeing anything that's much of an improvement on the animated version I saw years ago. Out of all of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books, this one (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe) is the only one I've read. I keep thinking I'll read the others someday, but as with so many things I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Yeah, I know, I said I'd have my final Spawn of Frankenstein overview up over the weekend, but I didn't get around to it. Kinda took the day off from blogging yesterday. I'll get it done eventually, I promise. One thing I did yesterday afternoon after I was done playing ringmaster at the Holy Roller Circus at the radio station was catch Nickelodeon's Nicktoons marathon of a new show that I had seen a few minutes of on Friday, and was curious about, Avatar-The Last Airbender.

Avatar is an anime-style show which chronicles the exploits of Aang, who appears to be 12 but is actually at least a hundred years older. He lives in a world in which people have the ability to manipulate the basic elements of fire, air and water, hence the "bender" part. They're divided into tribes, each named after their sphere of influence. There's a fourth- the metal benders, the leader of which is a gray robot and their battle cry is "Bite my shiny metal ass!" Aw, I'm kidding. Anyway, as the prologue tells us, for centuries the tribes were kept in balance by one being, who could master every element, called "the Avatar". Our boy Aang is, by all appearances, the current avatar and the last surviving Airbender- but disappeared over a hundred years prior, enabling the Fire tribe to become aggressive and branch out, waging war on the other tribes. Aang was actually in a huge ball of ice that he created when he fell into the ocean during a battle, where he has slept for that whole duration. Two young Water tribespeople named Katara and Sokka accidentally discover and awaken him, along with his flying bison, Aapa. Meanwhile, Firebender Prince Zuko (no, his first name's not Danny) has been on a quest to find the Avatar, like his father and his father before him, to prevent his reappearance and further the goals of the warmongering Firebenders. After they realize what Aang is and how he could restore the balance to the land, Sokka and Katara offer to journey with Aang and help him out. The first four episodes have mostly dealt with the company trying to evade Zuko while Aang finds out what has happened to his people and how he can come to terms with his destiny.

First off, I realize that this isn't true anime but is done by Western animators in an anime style, so perhaps it's not as "legitimate" in some way, but that doesn't matter to me at all. Avatar is a heck of a lot of fun, and is well written, clever and imaginative, and well animated, too. It often reminds me of much of Studio Ghibli's output, even though it's not that well animated- but the Ghibli vibe is indeed strong. The scripts are written for a younger audience, true, but it doesn't condescend. Each episode has had wonderful visual depictions of the powers that these characters use, from Aang using his staff to guide air currents and slam Zuko into a mattress on his wall, then when they both hit the floor he gestures upwards and slams them both into the ceiling, and the waterbending abilities of Katara, as she creates twisting geysers of water to fend off attackers. The Warriors of Kyoshi Island, in episode four, were wonderfully realized- a group of young girls who gracefully fight using fans, all dressed up in traditional warrior armor and white makeup. They run between the huts of their village as blurs, as they move to confront the Firebender's invading troop. Which is not to make this sound like a Dragonball-whatever type constant-fighting cartoon; there's plenty of character stuff here as well, and it's nicely done with humor and pathos, when necessary.

Is you can probably tell, I was very impressed with this relatively new show. It usually airs on Friday nights at 7 central, so you might want to give it a look and see if you agree!

I couldn't find a lot of images and such with a Google search (I was really hoping for a screen cap or something of the Kyoshi Warriors, whom I loved), but here's the Nick.com official site.

Everybody else is doing it so why not me?



This image is making the rounds right now, and it's just so gorram beautiful that I had to post it too. From the upcoming trade collection, which I don't need to buy but just might.

Stolen from here and from the mighty mighty PoMoBee.

BEST OF THE WEEK
COMICS COMMENTARY
What I bought and what I thought, week of March 2!

VIMANARAMA 2
I always mention writers first, so I'll be different for once and inform you all that Philip Bond and colorist Brian Miller once again compliment each other very well and give us another great job. Bond's just-cartoony-enough style is perfect, and his Sofia is every bit as sexy and likeable as she's intended to be. Grant Morrison sometimes just can't help himself, I guess...once again, he gives us a dizzying array of clever and interesting characters, ideas, and concepts- some set up meticulously and some thrown away, and plunges right in at full speed ahead, hold on for dear life, and don't stop to ask "But what about...?". Maybe part of the problem, if you want to call it that, is that he only has 3 issues when you just know he could get 12 out of this whole concept without breaking a sweat. But three issues it is, and maybe this won't seem so supercompressed when its collected, so we could have it a lot worse, for sure. A

GOTHAM CENTRAL 29
I don't read The Flash, so many of the characters we meet this time out are ciphers to me...but Greg Rucka works them in here seamlessly so we get an interesting look at Keystone Central (if you will) as the GCPD searches for help for an unfortunate policeman who has run afoul of a body-mutating booby trap set by Flash baddie Dr. Alchemy. Solid dramatics as well, especially with Detective Renee Montoya, whose sexuality has caused her estrangement from her family. Former tracer-only Steven Gaudiano does a great job in illustrating the proceedings, making a strong case for letting him remain in this capacity for the duration, which would be fine with me- but I have a feeling we'll get someone with a little higher profile down the road. This story arc is shaping up to be the best one in quite a while. A

SEVEN SOLDIERS: SHINING KNIGHT 1
It's Grant Morrison's world, and we're just living in it. I'm beginning to think perhaps DC should just give him his own imprint, like they did Alan Moore and ABC, and be done with it- and wouldn't that be cool? Anyway, Seven Soldiers chapter two/miniseries 1 continues in the same strong vein as the opening issue two weeks ago, giving us an updated, rethought Sir Justin of Camelot, along with the Ultimate Knights of the Round Table versus the apparent Big Bads of this whole thing, the Sheeda, which results in our Shining Knight being magically transported to the present day. Again, fast, breezy and sharp, with Justin's talking horse Vanguard coming across as the most immediately likeable member of the cast. This is my first look at artist Simone Bianchi's work, and while he's a little inconsistent with his figure drawing overall and just loose enough to be distracting, he's fine, imaginatively realizing Grant's involved script. So far, as they say...so good. A-

ADAM STRANGE 6
Apparently the fast pace is all the rage now, perhaps a reaction to complaints about decompression, because like Morrison before him, Andy Diggle is following suit, stretching a thin plot as far as he can with a lot of action and DCU cameos and hoping nobody gets bored. I'm not bored, but I'm beginning to wonder if this couldn't perhaps have been done in 6. Anyway, I was never a L.E.G.I.O.N. reader, but I kinda like the uptight V'ril Dox and how he and Strange (a bit of a stick himself, let's face it) rub each other the wrong way from the outset. Artwise, fine, as Pascal Ferry keeps things moving along smartly and does nicely by Dox, conveying his personality with facial expressions and body english (otherwise not a strength for him, I'm afraid). I'm finding this series enjoyable- not Losers enjoyable, mind you, but it's compelling just the same. I don't think I'll ever list it in my 100 things, though. A-

FABLES 35
Another nice art job by David Hahn graces this rushed "Jack B. Nimble Becomes a Major Player in Hollywood" finale, which (unlike Adam Strange) I wish could have been drawn out another issue or two perhaps. One also wishes that Willingham was up for a little more of an Action-style Tinseltown snarkfest, but apparently he just doesn't have it in him. B+

DETECTIVE COMICS 801
OK, now this makes more sense. Impatient cuss that I am, I bought the latest issue of 'Tec (#804) last week, knowing that it was part four of the multi-issue "City of Crime" storyline written by David Lapham, and read it first. And didn't really understand a frigging thing that happened in it. But after reading this, the first in the series (I have the others on hold, to buy later), at least I now have some of the whys and wherefores. Lapham gives us some excellent urban prose as Batman gets pulled this way and that on a busy night in Gotham, and the seeds of the C of C storyline are planted. My opinion last week still holds when it comes to the art, by Ramon Bachs and Nathan Massengill- competent, very good in places, but a bit distracting because it keeps reminding me of more accomplished artists. The backup feature, "The Barker" by Lucifer's Mike Carey and artist John Lucas, is sort of a non-supernatural Carnivalé premise, but Lucas' Wrightsonish art is not that interesting and Carey's script reads like he was experimenting in automatic writing. B+

CONCRETE: THE HUMAN DILEMMA 3
I realize that Paul Chadwick is a heck of an artist and puts a lot of thought and time into his work. And I also realize that Chadwick is trying, in his own way, to fight the good fight and raise our consciousnesses about the pressing issues of the day. But each issue in this series has been progressively duller, despite #2's admittedly diverting "sex" scene, and this issue is about as lively as reading the Journal of American Medical Practice while listening to one of Brian Eno's ambient albums. Even the spectacle of Concrete's hopelessly clueless assistant Larry getting some strange doesn't enliven the proceedings. Overpopulation may be the Human Dilemma, but the Johnny B dilemma is "how do I stay interested enough to last six issues with this earnest and well-done but desert-dry comic book?" B

THE AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS 3
Another title which has squandered whatever interest I had in it at the beginning, featuring hijinks that aren't very high, adventure that isn't very adventurous, and jokey dialogue that just lies there on the page, shackled to the busy but pedestrian MignolaNaifehisms of artist "Hipp". I liked last issue enough to look forward to this, thinking it would at least reference it if not continue it right away, but inexplicably the (you'd think) world-changing events aren't even mentioned- instead we get a lame Hollywood satire which isn't even as sharp as Bill Willingham's. One of these days somebody's gonna make a witty, entertaining comic about a diverse group of musicians, but this ain't it, folks. C+

MIA: STREET ANGEL 5.

JOHNNY B, DOIN' THAT MANGA SHUFFLE PART THREE!

A while back, I reviewed a couple of manga titles from Digital Manga Publishing, and in that review I happened to mention another title I saw whilst perusing their website, by the name of BAMBI AND HER PINK GUN, by Atsushi Kaneko, thought it looked interesting, and made a note to check it out someday. I didn't notice on the webpage that it wasn't coming out till June, though. However, unbeknownst to me, the Schwartz was with me. Tom Schwartz, that is, my connection over at DMP, who sent me an advance copy since I mentioned wanting to read it. Whatta guy! He fell for my evil plan to wheedle books out of unsuspecting publishers! Hm. I wonder if I can get Larry Young to send me copies of the two Electric Girl trades that way...?

Anyway, shameless panhandling aside, I hope you're sitting down...because I LIKED this one. A LOT. I liked it a lot more than many of the Western comics I've been buying lately. Now, if you need a moment to compose yourself after that amazing revelation, then sit back and I'll explain.

Bambi is a Tarantinoesque (a bit of a cliche these days, but really, that's the best way I can think of to describe it) rollercoaster ride of a story in which our bounty hunter heroine, she of the titular pink gun, takes on a job for a mysterious group known as the "Old Men"- to rescue a child from an enormously bloated evil Elvis-style vampire rock star named Gabba King and return him safely. King is not pleased when he discovers the kid is missing, and puts a five million Yen price on her head. Of course, that sets a legion of other mercs on her tail, and much of the book is made up of Bambi's bloody encounters with a variety of thugs ranging from the usual Yakuza types, to a really novel character: a meek male schoolteacher, who, in order to maintain his calm exterior and be a good instructor to his kids, works out his violent urges as a bounty hunter- and he's a scarily efficient one, at that, with his weapon of choice, weighted bolo-style razor wires. His encounter with Bambi in the middle of the book is a memorable and exciting one because he's the first real threat to our girl, who's easily capable of dealing with your average goon. We don't really get a lot of backstory on Bambi; how she came to be such an accomplished badass and so on- maybe that will come in later volumes. She's given a number of quirks that serve as sort of a personality surrogate- she's absolutely adamant on only eating organically grown food, for example, and she has an extreme attraction to a weird kid's show which she will watch faithfully no matter what. Despite her unpleasant edge, she's still a fun and likeable character.

It's art-wise where Kaneko grabs me the hardest- his bodacious style, with its fat, sinuous lines and painstaking detail, reminds me of some sort of hellish hybrid of S. Clay Wilson, Geoff Darrow, Gilbert Hernandez, and Linda Medley. He's (or she's- again, I was unable to find much info on this artist) as comfortable doing quiet time scenes as he is with the old ultra-violence, and often is called upon to shift from one to the other at the drop of an empty case shell. His Gabba King is an amusing Fat Elvis stab; he draws older people as well as he does young pretty people, and his tomboyish Bambi is very sexy. Click on the thumbnail at right for a closer look at a key page from her battle with the killer teacher.

Honestly, about the only complaint I can make is that she keeps saying "Me Bambi..." a lot, and it is supposed to sound cute, I guess, but after a while it gets a little annoying. Maybe that's the point, who knows. And, as always with any manga, I wonder about the translation veracity. I freely recognize that just like Pulp Fiction and the like, many will be repulsed by the constant gore and carnage in her fights, not to mention the occasional nudity (no sex, though)...so if you're tempted to get this by all means keep that in mind. It's definitely for adults only. But me, I like that QT type stuff, and Bambi resonated deep in my black, black soul. Even though my preview was in black and white, you can color me impressed and bet your ass I'll be keeping an eye out for future volumes. A

Just read that Dave Allen, of Dave Allen At Large fame, has died. For a while there in the mid-to-late 70s, in the wake of Monty Python, it seemed like a lot of TV stations around me would show a lot of British comedies, like Benny Hill and The Goodies, and I would always be right there watching. I think I liked Allen the best- he had a really dry wit, sitting there smoking like a chimney and knocking back whiskey in that tall chair. Anyway, RIP, Dave, and may your God be with you.

By the way, in case you don't know, the super-duper scintillating ADD has a new 5 Questions up over at Newsarama, and it's with James Kochalka, he of the upcoming SuperFuckers...I mean SuperF*ckers. Sorry 'bout that. Go read it now, while I wash my mouth out with rum.

Like much of the Comics Cognescenti, I've been following the recent Funky Winkerbean strip, which finds the fellow who runs the "Comix Corner" in deep doo-doo for selling an adult comic to an undercover cop. One thing bugs me, though- the most recent high-profile real-world account of a shop owner getting in trouble for this sort of thing involved said owner selling an adult manga, I think it was, to a juvenile. But the Comix Corner guy sold his copy to an adult, admittedly incognito but definitely over 21, and the whistle was blown by an adult. How come he's in trouble? Unless there's some sort of decency standards in effect...

I'm no lawyer, nor do I have any experience with this sort of thing, other than what I've read. Whassup wit dis?

Update: The ever-vigilant Johanna sets me straight on the details of the case I was referring to in the comments; looks like my faulty memory has let me down again!

Spawn of Frankenstein, part 3

Continuing the look back at the most obscure of the Seven Soldiers...


If you recall, last issue the Spawn of Frankenstein had decided to try and revive the man who had recently died bringing him back to life, Victor Adams. As part 3 begins, in Phantom Stranger #25, we see artist Mike Kaluta indulging himself in a little Charles Addams-by-way-of-Alberto Vargas pinup art featuring Victor's widow, Rachel. As Rachel fumes about the death of her husband, she is approached by a huge lout wearing some sort of odd Egyptian-style, or Cimmerian-style, or something clothing. The man demands that Rachel go with him, and Rachel refuses.


Then, of course, the big lout (name of "Mammon", by the way) takes Mrs. A by force, like any loutish flunky worth his salt is wont to do. Meanwhile...


Later that evening, Spawny digs Victor up and carries him off, looking for somewhere to stash his body and begin the restoration process. As fate would have it...


...he comes upon the very same menacing-looking towered structure to which Mammon has carried Rachel, in order to truss her up on a big wooden cross and be used as a sacrifice which will open a gate to Hell so that Mammon's master, a shriveled-up little bald fella named Mordecai, can be reunited with his master Satan.


As the ritual proceeds, Spawny arrives just in time to break it up, free Mrs. A and brawl with Mammon. The Mam man gets in a lucky punch or two, and knocks our "hero" out. Mordy decides that the only way they can ensure that the SoF doesn't interrupt the proceedings again is to sacrifice him instead of the woman. Problem is...


Spawny's not down with that plan at all, and breaks free- slugging Mammon with a hunka hunka burning wood. Mordecai, for his part, is lying in the pentagram on the floor, and is "almost there", and Mammon, again like any good lackey, offers to throw himself into the hellfire that has magically sprung up, to complete the ritual. Of course, the big dumbass jumps in too late, and they both get burned to ashes for their trouble.


Spawny takes Rachel downstairs, and parks her passed-out body in the same room as Victor's corpse, much to her displeasure when she revives. The SoF, in the meantime, leaves to get the necessary equipment to perform her hubby's resurrection.

Which we never get to see, because next issue is the crossover with the Phantom Stranger, then a new creative team assumes the reins in #'s 27-30, conveniently ignoring the "Resurrection of Victor Adams" plot. Not exactly up there with Buckaroo Banzai vs. the World Crime League when it comes to unresolved storylines, but hey. Wolfman's writing is as overwrought as ever, but actually I kinda liked the idea behind this one; it has a very strong pulp magazine flavor. I never realized until many years later how inconsistent the coloring was in comics in those pre-Photoshop days...last issue Spawny had a dark blue cape and brown pants, in this issue he has on blue pants and a purple cape. He lost his hat somewhere down the line. His skin color so far has fluctuated from yellow-blue to blue to yellow to, in this chapter, green. Oy. Kaluta, for the most part, doesn't seem to be trying very hard either but it was still early in his career. If I recall correctly, he was beginning to do the Shadow at about this time as well, and was probably rushing through this anyway.

Next up, Phantom Stranger #26 and the big crossover teamup! And lots of scans, so it will be this weekend sometime. Stay tuned. All images © DC Comics.

Made my usual Wednesday pilgrimage to get my four color fix, and got almost everything I listed on Monday. The missing book was Street Angel #5, damn it. I haven't called yet to find out if they got any copies, and they ran out before they got to me, or if it didn't ship, or if they will need to call Nashville to get my copy. Sigh. That's not always a guarantee I'll get my book, either...they never did get me a copy of Temporary. I also picked up Detective 801, the first of the Lapham "City of Crime" issues. This weekend, my LCS has 25% off on all trades and graphic novels, and that's when I'll finally get that Bill & Ted TPB that came out several weeks ago. But. There's a small complication...I saw Project Superior.

Friends, that's a hell of an amazing collection! My LCS got one rack copy in, and I looked it over and was blown away by page after page after page of art by creators I love like Paul Pope, Tara MacPherson, Dean Haspiel, James Jean, Ronnie Del Carmen, Paul Rivoche, and that's not half! Problem is, it costs twenty bucks, and I just couldn't do it. The most logical thing for me, I suppose, is to try and get it Saturday, but I've also got that B&T book staring at me like unfinished business...what's a poor boy to do. I could go through my CDs and see if I could weed any of them out, or sell plasma, or roll some poor old lady. Who knows. Anyway, I'm fiending for it something awful...!

More later, hopefully.

A quick note to let everybody know that two fine folks have stepped up and claimed the two issues of Top Shelf Tales I was giving away. So you can email me if you like, but I don'ts gots no more copies!

Hellboy succumbs to the promise of Latin hedonism. From a preview page of Hellboy: The Island posted at Comics Continuum.

Spawn of Frankenstein chapters 3 and 4 will have to be delayed for a little while; I couldn't get back to it last night, I'm at work today and don't have my comics with me, and I have to engineer a ballgame tonight so one plus one plus one equals no chance to scan and post. Judging by the underwhelming response I've received so far to this, life will go on.

In the meantime:

The Comicbookslut is rockin' tha house with a fine article on why comic book movies nine and one half times out of ten leave a lot to be desired.

I should have announced this a day or two ago, but hey, better late than whatever. Go here. That irrepressible Dara Naraghi is giving away comics again. However, unlike me, he actually stands a chance of achieving his goal.

Sunday night's episodes of Deadwood and Carnivalé were so damn good, especially Deadwood, that I watched 'em again on Monday night! Adding to the fun is the addition of Sarah Paulson (Merlyn from JBS favorite American Gothic) to Deadwood and Glenn Shadix, Otho from Beetlejuice (he's been in a hundred thousand films, but I always think of him as Otho) as Brother Justin's hand picked senator-to-be in Carnivalé.

From a site I had forgotten about, FootnoteComics.com, comes this look at kinda-sorta recent issues of Gotham Central.

That's all I got right now. Hopefully more later.

We now interrupt the Spawn of Frankenstein- blogging in order to bring you that weekly feature you all know and love as

WHAT I'M GETTING THIS WEDNESDAY PER THE NEW DIAMOND SHIPPING LIST!

STREET ANGEL #5
VIMANARAMA #2
GOTHAM CENTRAL #29
FABLES #35
ADAM STRANGE #6
SEVEN SOLDIERS: SHINING KNIGHT #1
CONCRETE: HUMAN DILEMMA #3

Looking forward the most to Vimanarama; Hoping to not be as disappointed by Street Angel #5 as I was by #4, and I'm hoping that Grant Morrison can stay on his roll with the Shining Knight book. We shall see...

Spawn of Frankenstein, part 2

PART TWO! from Phantom Stranger 24, Mar.-Apr. 1973, by Marvin Wolfman and Michael Wm. Kaluta.



The second chapter opens with Dr. Thirteen and Rachel swearing vengeance on the monster, who they blame for the death of their friend and husband, Victor. Unbeknownst to them, the object of their hatred is nearby and is eavesdropping. He also overhears another conversation, between the gravediggers:






Even though the monster hates this man for bringing him back to life, he has no desire to see his grave and body desecrated. He plans to deal with them, but first he needs clothes, because let's face it- an eight foot tall bluish-green skinned naked man is a bit conspicuous, but perhaps a clothed eight foot tall bluish-green skinned will be a bit less so. Anyway, later that evening he breaks into an Army-Navy surplus store, and while he's rummaging around looking for something that fits him, he is interrupted by a couple of policemen who happened to be driving by and heard the noise.



Needless to say, they get the worst of the encounter.

The monster heads back to the cemetery now, all decked out in a stylin' Zorro hat, khakis, and a black cape, but no shirt. He makes short work of the grave robbers-



So much for you, "Gink"-and then Spawny gets an idea: if Victor can bring him back from the dead, then why can't he bring back Victor using the same technology that his original creator used?



Next issue in two months!

But fear not- you won't have to wait that long. I'll try to get it scanned and posted later tonight. All images © DC Comics; all are scanned from my personal collection.

Spawn of Frankenstein, part 1

I'm sure most of you are familiar with many of the major players in Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers event; Klarion the Witchboy has made several past appearances, as has the Guardian in whatever incarnation, and I dare say that there are very few comics fans alive that aren't aware of Our Lady of the Fishnet Stockings and Top Hat, Zatanna. One player you may not be all that familar with, however, is the Spawn of Frankenstein. Now, I know, who hasn't heard of the Frankenstein Monster, one of the oldest and most durable fictional characters ever? Well, not too many people, that's for sure. But I'm thinking that not too many people are all that familiar with DC's version of the Monster, which appeared as a back feature in eight issues of the Phantom Stranger comic back in 1972-1974. As the Comics Code relaxed, both Marvel and DC went monster-happy in the early 70's; there were very few of the classic archetypal monsters (and other, less derivative beasties) that both companies didn't rethink and present in updated form. DC had been featuring horror and supernatural stories in its anthology comics like House of Mystery and House of Secrets since the late 60s; they had been publishing the adventures of a character first introduced in a short-lived title, the Phantom Stranger. Another character that had been appearing here and there, and was eventually worked into the Stranger's comic as a supporting character, back-feature and foil was Dr. Terrence Thirteen, a professional skeptic and debunker who was totally convinced the Stranger was a fraud and a charlatan, and was determined to expose him as such. This went on and off and on for the first twenty-odd issues, but writer Len Wein had seemed to grow a bit tired of the cat-and-mouse game, because Dr. Thirteen found himself a non-participant in the big "Stranger vs. the Dark Circle" arc that had begun sometime around issue 19 or so. After a couple of non-PS related Dr. Thirteen backup stories, it was decided that with issue 23, the Stranger would get a new backup feature, with an all-new character of sorts:



What I hope to do is provide an overview, with scans, of the first four Spawn of Frankenstein appearances, from Phantom Stranger #'s 23 through 26. There were four more SoF stories, in issues 27 through 30, by a different creative team which I don't own. The first three were written by Marv Wolfman and illustrated by Mike Kaluta, the next one, a crossover event with the Stranger and the Monster, was written by Wein and illustrated by PS's regular artist at the time, Jim Aparo with a Kaluta cover. The last four stories were written by Aquaman and Hawk and the Dove (among others) scripter Steve Skeates and illustrated by Bernard Baily, the artist and writer of the Golden Age Spectre in what surely must have been his last work in comics, because his skills had eroded significantly- and the last story arc suffered because of it.

In the first appearance, in Phantom Stranger 23, we are taken to the Arctic and introduced to someone named "Victor", no last name given, who makes the discovery he's searched for for five years- the frozen body, preserved in a block of ice, of the Frankenstein Monster. In the caption, we are informed that this is August 6, 1972, so we know right off the bat that this is taking place in the modern day. When Victor returns to the university where he works, where he confronts a review board about his experiments in the duplication of cellular structure, and presents his discovery. The Board doesn't see how his ambition to revive the monster coincides with his cloning experiments, forbids him to continue, and Victor quits in a huff.



He goes home to his wife Rachael, angry at the pigheadedness of the University suits, and informs her that he's going to the lab despite her pleas to stay home tonight. Frightened, Rachael phones the one person she believes will listen to her story and be able to speak to Victor- Dr. Terry Thirteen. Dr. Thirteen and his wife Marie agree to travel to Victor's lab, in a "crumbling manor", and talk to him. When they arrive, they're unsure where Victor's lab is- Rachael has never been there, even though she knows where it's located- so they decide to split up and look for him. Victor, unaware of the new arrivals, continues with his experiment, and bombards the creature's body with "modified laser beams" to bing him to life 70's style. Problem is, Vic needs more power, and as it occurs to him to harness the lightning from the convenient thunderstorm outside, lightning obliges and strikes a lightning rod on the roof, sending a power surge into his laser cannon, which causes it to overload- electrocuting Victor and jumpstarting the monster enough to enable him to sit up and break his bonds. And it's at that precise moment that Marie Thirteen enters Victor's lab.



Victor's dead body, slumped over the laser cannon, causes it to swing over and zap Marie. The Monster sees her pain, leaps off the table, hits the cannon and causes it to shut off. It's at this time that Doc Thirteen and Rachael, hearing the commotion, find Victor's lab and see the Monster standing over Marie's body. Dr. Thirteen, erroneously assumes (as he so often did) that Franky has harmed his wife and attacks him with a steel bar. Rachael, for her part, assumes the Monster has killed her husband.



Even though Dr. T is whaling away on him with that rod, Franky looks up, sees the ceiling is collapsing, picks up a steel grate, and holds the ceiling up until the Thirteens and Rachael can get away.



Dr. Thirteen, ever the stick, vows vengeance on the creature he believes responsible for the death of his friend and the injury to his wife, who is now in a coma. And so, we're off! Next issue: the SoF goes clothes shopping! I'm not kidding!

All in all, a not-bad opening chapter despite Wolfman's often florid prose (in all fairness, this was the style the Stranger was written in as well, and Wolfman went on to take the same approach in his run on Tomb of Dracula) and some classic comic-book science. Kaluta's art was kinda rough in places, as this was still early in his career, but he was proving as suited for gothic stories as we was the sci-fi of DC's Burroughs books of the time where he first got noticed. I hope to do these as soon as possible, as fast as I can scan the panels anyway- so the plan is to get chapter two posted today. Stay tuned!

This is all ©DC Comics, by the way. Pages scanned from my personal collection.

Took the day off yesterday, so many bloggers have beaten me to the punch with this announcement. But since I've been reading and writing about their books lately, I think I'll mention it anyway. And now, here's a message from Chris Staros, of Top Shelf Productions:

Hey Comics Fans,

For the next ten days -- from Sunday March 6th thru Tues March 15th --
Top Shelf is having its biggest web sale ever. When you visit the site,
you'll find over 90 graphic novels and comics on sale, with fifty titles
marked down to just $3 (!), twenty titles marked down to just $1 (!), and a
slew of other key titles just slashed! All we ask is that you hit a $30
minimum on sale and/or non-sale items (before shipping). It's a great
opportunity to load up on all those graphic novels you've wanted to try,
but just never got around to picking up. Get 'em while supplies last!

Please note that this sale is GOOD for "direct market" retailers as well,
and comic book shops will get their wholesale discount on these sale
prices. Certain minimums apply, so retailers please email us for details.

For the list, with prices, go here.

And don't forget, I'm giving away two copies of the Top Shelf Tales, their 2004 Free Comic Book Day offering. James Kochalka! Jeffrey Brown! Scott Morse! Free! I'll even pay shipping! And for your part, you don't have to do anything. No essays, no artwork. Girls can send me naked pictures if they like, but it's not required. Just email me your snailmail address, that's all you gotta do. First come, first served.

Whaddaya say we go back to the Top Shelf and see what I can find?

I became aware of Scott Morse's THE BAREFOOT SERPENT at about the same time I became aware of Morse's work itself, via his Marvel project Elektra: Glimpse & Echo which I liked a lot (mostly art-wise; I didn't care for the way he chose to end it) and set out to see more of his work. I had my eye on this for quite some time, but just never seemed to get around to picking it up until Brett Warnock came to my rescue. Serpent has a twofold purpose; on the surface it's a tale about an unusual little girl (who sees Hawaiian spirits) from a family which has recently experienced the death of her brother and is trying to cope, and who meets a streetwise (beachwise?) young boy. Bookending this tale is an illustrated bio of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, whose work dealt with many of the themes that Morse is working with in his story. I've seen one or two of Kurosawa's films, and enjoyed them, but much of what Morse was trying to do eluded me because I wasn't fluent in his work. That's not as big a problem as I'm trying to make it sound- you can still read this and get a lot of pleasure at Morse's innovative art, and there are plenty of poignant moments throughout. Serpent is a work worthy of your consideration, especially if you're a Kurosawa fan. A

DAYDREAM LULLABIES is a collection of stories by Dean Haspiel featuring his Billy Dogma character, and the best way I can think of to describe these is that they're like the Tick as written by Nietzche or Sartre. Haspiel, who did one of my all-time favorite comics panels ever in his Captain Marvel story for Bizarro Comics, has an appealing clunkiness to his artwork, all thick lines and action, that I like very much. I liked these Billy D stories at first; they're kinda clever as he and his girl Jane Legit get into odd situations and go on long philosophical discussions as they shoot and hit their way out of them. But eventually all the talk, talk, talk, and the predictability of the stories themselves, wore a little thin before I was done. I'm always up for Haspiel art, wherever it appears, but I think for me Billy Dogma is a character best experienced in short intervals, rather than all at once. B+

I thought I'd take a flyer on Renee French's hardcover kinda-sorta children's bookTHE SOAP LADY because I liked the meticulously shaded art and the story sounded interesting. It's inspired by, so they say, "an actual mummy that resides in the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia", it's a don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover tale of a young boy who's befriended by the title character, who arises out of the water of a lake, but is soon threatened by hostile, frightened adults. It gets its message across in its quirky way, with an underlying melancholy which is created by French's graytoned illustrations. Not for everybody, but a unique experience that you won't soon forget after you've read it. A

VAN HELSING'S NIGHT OFF is an amusing collection of gag strips featuring classic horror movie monsters and characters, illustrated in a very odd, minimalist style by Nicolas Mahler. Mahler's work reminds me a lot of Randall Enos, who used to do the "Chicken Gutz" strip in the National Lampoon. Sometimes Mahler's work is a little difficult to follow, but more often as not the punch lines are worth the effort. A-

Later- a look at issue 7 of Comic Book Artist Vol. 2, with the Howard Chaykin interview (my copy, sadly, was missing several pages) and another pass at Same Difference.

BEST OF THE WEEK

COMICS COMMENTARY
What I bought and what I thought, week of March 2!

SEVEN SOLDIERS 0
The opening round of the eagerly awaited Morrison multi-book happening gets us off to a great start as a sad-sack group of has-beens and never-wases is recruited by the original Vigilante, ostensibly to hunt down a giant spider that's been terrorizing "Miracle Mesa"- but of course there's more there than meets the eye. Morrison is once again in fine form, giving us realistic reworkings of several old C-list DC characters (if any of these have been introduced before, like the Whip or Gimmix, I'm unaware of it, but then again I'm hardly a DC expert) with honest-to-goodness well-rounded personalities and quirks, and a dash of the good old trademark Morrison weirdness in the form of the behind-the-scenes organizers of this event, the "Seven Unknown Men". And there's an air of grim fatalism that runs through the book entire, like the age lines in grizzled Greg Saunders' face. The most impressive thing here is, as usual, the art of J.H. Williams III- who gives us his always-innovative page layouts, moody atmospherics, stellar figure drawings, and even works in some sly homages to the likes of Gil Kane and Howard Chaykin. Frankly, I'd have been happy to read a 12-issue series about this Six Soldiers team by this team, but Morrison has bigger fish to fry so it's not to be. I can't help but wonder who the seventh person, who got cold feet and turned the Vig down, was. Anyway, a great start to what promises to be a (for once) memorable multi-book crossover event. A

SLEEPER SEASON TWO 9
Brubaker slips in a little mainstream WildStorm universe on us in the form of the Grifter, a character which I have a slight knowledge of through my brief period of reading W.I.L.D. Cats when Alan Moore was writing it. Typically, he's used in an interesting way and is ten times as interesting as Jim Lee could have ever made him. Well, all I can say otherwise about this issue is that the twists get twistier, the plot gets thickerer, we get an unsurprising but still disappointing betrayal, and this just in- Sean Phillips is good. Real good. In related news, heat is hot and water is wet, and the sun will set in the west. A

JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE 9
Just when we think that Joe Kelly has put his worst tendencies behind him and is now dedicated to telling stories clearly, he whips out about five pages of classic Kelly incoherence to start things off in this issue. Fortunately, he settles down after that and we get a lot of Ellis-lite stuff that furthers all the ongoing plot threads, including some from Kelly's previous tenure on Superman about somebody named Manchester Black, which excites me not at all. Thank goodness Doug Mahnke and Tom Nguyen are so damn good that they can draw me in to all this and I don't feel cheated afterwards. And we get to see the return of their über-sexy version of Wonder Woman! Yeah baby! B+

DETECTIVE 804
Upon the recommendation of commenter "bg", I decided to take a flyer on this, the fourth chapter of the David Lapham-scripted story arc entitled "City of Crime", and by some amazing stroke of luck my comics shop had the first three issues as well, an event of Red Sox-winning-World Series-type frequency. So what did I think? Well, I'm not quite sure. There's a lot going on here, but not having read the first three issues, I'm absolutely clueless about the significance of it all. Robin is fighting some guy who's apparently under some sort of mind control or something and is trying to kill his kid, Mr. Freeze is running amuck and has apparently kidnapped some young girl and is keeping her prisoner in a meat locker with the dead workforce of the processing plant hanging upside down on hooks above their heads, the Penguin seems to have been killed in an explosion, Batman goes to Arkham and asks some questions, the Mob seems to be trying to kill Freeze and Batman gets in the middle of it and is later apparently threatened by some sort of street gang...and all I can do is shake my head and go "...whuh...". I'm sure this will make more sense when I get the first three. Artwise, we get the team of Ramon Bachs (too bad Bernard Sachs is no longer with us, a Bachs-Sachs art team would be kinda fun) and Nathan Massengill (if he had been in the Marvel Bullpen back in the day, would Stan have nicknamed him Nathan "Disposable" Massengill? Nah, I don't think so either.), whose art reminds me of about a half dozen other artists such as Phil Winslade, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon, and Bart Sears...and while this cuisin-art style is very adequate, it's not terribly exciting either and the whole damn thing is colored too dark by Jason Wright. So I suppose I'll give this an incomplete, or a tentative B.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL 2
Boy, that Frank Cho is a hell of an artist, isn't he? What- do you mean there was a story accompanying this? Get out! C+

Pleased to report that there are NO MIA books this week! Whoo-hoo!

Time now for the first-ever JBS Giveaway! I have two, count 'em, two copies of Top Shelf Comix's 2004 Free Comic Book day offering, Top Shelf Tales, and that's approximately two more than I need. So if you missed out on it last year, and would like to get a copy, email me at the address in the link bar at right, and I'll send it to ya- if you provide a mailing address! This is a first-come, first served deal, as Butt-Head once said.

Sending out a big ol' BSBdG to occasional JBS commenter Alexa of A New York Escorts Confessions! She's always an interesting read, and I'm sure she's interesting in other ways as well...not that I would know...

Heroes
Jill Sobule, Robin Eaton
Why are all our heroes so imperfect
Why do they always bring me down
Why are all our heroes so imperfect
The statue in the park has lost his crown

William Faulkner drunk and depressed
Dorothy Parker mean, drunk and depressed
And that guy in Seven Years in Tibet turned out to be a Nazi
The founding fathers all had slaves, the explorers slaughtered the braves,
The Old Testament God can be so petty

Paul McCartney jealous of John, even more so now that he's gone
Dylan was so mean to Donovan in that movie
Pablo Picasso cruel to his wives
My favorite poets took their own lives
Orson Welles peaked at 25, ballooned before our eyes
and he sold bad wine

Heard Babe Ruth was full of malice
Lewis Carroll I'm sure did Alice
Plato in the cave with those very young boys
T.S. Eliot hated Jews, FDR didn't save the Jews
All the French joined the resistance after the war
Raymond Chandler drunk and depressed
Tennessee Williams drunk and depressed
Think I'll just get drunk and depressed.

Just finished reading the memoir that May Pang wrote with Henry Edwards back in 1983, originally titled Loving John, but retitled John Lennon: The Lost Weekend upon its rerelease in 1992, why only God knows. And y'know what? It was a dismaying and depressing experience.

Now don't get me wrong here- I know that Lennon was not perfect, and he often went out of his way to remind us of that very thing almost every chance he got. And as someone who has read everything he could get his hands on about all the Fabs (except the Goldman book- more on that later), I was fairly knowledgeable about the quirks, foibles, and misadventures that they chose to make public. But even as steeped in Beatlelore as I am, I wasn't quite prepared for this account of the emotional dysfunctionality of not only John but Yoko as well.

As the title suggests, Lost Weekend is Pang's first-hand account of about 18 months (and a few years after that, encapsulated) in Lennon's life, from the period that began with the recording of the Mind Games album, and ending in 1975 when Lennon returned to Ono and sequestered himself in the Dakota. Pang was working for ABKCO, the Allen Klein- helmed management company which managed Apple and the Beatles' affairs for a few years in the late 60s and 70s, when she was assigned to work with John & Yoko, assisting them with the filming of some of their early 70s avant-garde movies. The pair took a liking to her because she was able to surf the wave of craziness that always accompanied them, so she was soon assigned to handle their affairs full-time. That dynamic changed one day, according to Pang's account, when Yoko approached her with a proposition: She and John had grown distant, and were considering a trial separation; Yoko asked May to become Lennon's mistress and keep an eye on him. At first, she says, she was reluctant and didn't want to get involved in J&Y's problems, but John (who had taken a shine to her) wouldn't take no for an answer and in spite of her better judgment, she soon was accompanying John everywhere, and they fell in love. She went out to Los Angeles with John when he wanted to get Phil Spector to produce an album of oldies for him; and the pair eventually took up residence in a series of apartments and houses loaned by friends. Didn't take long for things to go insane after that- the sessions for what eventually became the Rock 'n' Roll album, with Spector at the helm (John just wanted to kick back and sing, and let Phil do the rest with his famous "wall of sound), soon devolved into a drug-and-liquor-fueled melee, and one thing this book makes clear is that the late Mr. O'Boogie was not someone that should be encouraged to drink alcohol to excess. It made him a paranoid, infantile, raving, violent maniac more often as not, and there are several accounts of housewrecking and violence towards Pang and others. We get detailed accounts of the chaotic and booze-soaked next year and a half, as John literally behaves in Jekyll-and-Hyde fashion- when sober, he and Pang are happy as can be whenever they're together; only the constant phone calls from Yoko, checking up on John, mar their life together...but when John's out drinking with the likes of Harry Nilsson and Jesse Ed Davis (Pang had little use for the late guitarist), anything could happen, from the notorious heckling incident at the Troubadour to a violent interlude in a Palm Springs hot tub in which Nilsson saved Pang's life, and a brutal housewrecking in a house formerly owned by record producer Lou Adler. Eventually, Lennon and Nilsson decide to work together on an album and begin to dry out and settle down. John and May stick together through thick and thin, and for the first time in years John seems happy and eager to record music, even to the point of planning a trip to New Orleans to record with Paul McCartney during his Venus and Mars sessions. But late in 1974, Ono decides that this has gone on long enough, and summons John back to the Dakota, ostensibly for a "smoking cure", and the upshot of this is that he returns to Pang, disconcerted and ready to break off their relationship. What happened that caused Lennon to return to his wife is a mystery. Perhaps she tied John to a chair and forced him to listen to "AOS", who the hell knows. Anyway, Pang is left to get on with her life, now single, still in love with the ex-Beatle, and now out of a job and on top of that, dealing with her apparent blackballing in the industry by Ono. And the kicker is that John still continues to see Pang on the sly, until he eventually retires from the public eye in 1977. The rest of the book details her few and far between encounters with John until his murder in 1980, her job search, and her eventual relationship with T.Rex and Bowie producer Tony Visconti.

Pang pulls no punches in her accounts of the behavior of Mrs. Lennon; It's always been fairly apparent to anyone who's cared to pay attention that she could be manipulative and eccentric; but in this book she's portrayed as a scheming harpy, constantly manipulating John through labyrinthine head games and deceit; sometimes hateful and cruel, sometimes impish and flighty, sometimes giggling like a maniac when confronted with the latest accounts of infidelity or drunken mishaps- in the context of Pang's account, it's easy to see how she could have wormed her way into Lennon's head as she saw a way to further her ambitions on the coattails of one of the most famous men in the world, then become unhappy and jealous as her art was greeted with indifference and tolerated only because she was John's wife. One could easily see her suggesting to John that the other Beatles were jealous of him, that he was the only true artist of the four, and they were holding him back. Even the separation which brought Pang into the picture was apparently a plan of Yoko's to further her career as a musician and an artist; she had become infatuated with Mind Games guitarist David Spinozza and had taken up with him, and had played several solo dates in New York while Lennon was in California. I had always been inclined to give Ono the benefit of the doubt in her role as an artist and John's companion; I have enjoyed a lot of her music, and she has done her share of innovative things in her performance art. I even rationalized her role in the Beatles' breakup; John was, after all, a grown man and the other Fabs were growing tired of the grind as well, except perhaps McCartney. I still think that you could no more point to Yoko as the one who "broke up the Beatles" than you could blame Woodstock for showing George that he didn't have to play second fiddle anymore and had the respect of the Band and Bob Dylan. But my higher-than-many regard for Yoko has taken a serious hit.

John, for his part, behaves erratically throughout the whole book; unable to cut the cord with Yoko, insecure, unpredictable, paranoid, jealous, violent when drunk...even though Pang loved John deeply and in spite of everything, one still can't help but wish after a while that she would pack her bags and get the hell out of LA when nobody's looking. It's never been a secret that Lennon was equal parts good and bad, and he was always quick to remind us all of this when he had the opportunity- but nobody, but nobody (except for the surviving Beatles, and maybe not even then) will be able to understand or appreciate what this man had been through. Still, I suppose I just wasn't quite prepared for the Lennon we get here- he's very hard to admire or even like as he behaves boorishly, even when he wasn't intoxicated. I don't think this was May's intent- she's always quick to point out John's good side as often as the bad, but she doesn't paint a very flattering portrait of the man she loved either.

Pang, for her part, portrays herself as the longsuffering, levelheaded victim; often she seems too good to be true as she deals with the Lennons and their insanity. Even though she cops to what she's doing, essentially sleeping with a married man, and admits to some drug use, she mostly comes across as the center in the eye of a rock'n'roll hurricane. Some of John's drinking buddies she gives more slack than others; sometimes she has no use for Nilsson but seems to like him more towards the end, and recognized his musical talent from the start; and it's a fact that he did sober up and get his life in order not long after his time with John in LA. The other Fabs pass in and out of the narrative as well- Paul shows up a few times to re-connect with his former bandmate and friend, and usually Pang describes these meetings in with a humorous tone, even getting a dig in at Linda McCartney, the American girl who acquired a clipped English accent when she married a Beatle. George is described as having a love-hate sort of thing going on, and this comes to a head during his disastrous 1974 tour, when John offers to make an appearance during his two New York shows and Harrison angrily declines, seething with resentment and spite. Eventually they reconcile, but the encounter is telling. Ringo is treated nicely, apparently he's always likable. She doesn't seem to know what to think about Phil Spector, whose predilection for firearms and chaos has taken a recent nasty turn. I give her account more credence than the likes of Albert Goldman; she was there and didn't have to rely on second-hand, often bitter sources, and doesn't seem to have a particular axe to grind one way or the other, except perhaps towards Yoko. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but after this book's over I found myself wishing that John could have remained with Pang, could have kept his enthusiasm for making music, and could have somehow found contentment and happiness. And perhaps, in caring for his son and his eventual comeback before his death, he did...but we'll never know.

I picked this up looking for insight on a period of John's (and Nilsson's) life which has always fascinated me, and certainly got more than I bargained for. To say I'm a bit disheartened after reading this wouldn't be unfair- and it's going to be a while before I dig out Mind Games, Fly, Feeling The Space, Pussy Cats, or Walls and Bridges and give them a listen. Of course, all these events took place over 25 years ago, and hell, this book is 22 itself. My copy was released with an added coda in 1992. It doesn't really matter, I suppose, what John was like as a person in the end; the music is what we should remember him by. But I'm afraid it's gonna take me a long time to listen with pleasure. As George once wrote, "It's All Too Much".

I've been a bit behind- I meant to link to this days ago. Anyway, here's Mystery Lad's "Calling The Roll" Legion World message board thread on issue #3. Yea verily, it be-eth fine reading.

Them what can, does, them what can't, link. Isn't that how the saying goes? Anyway, for your dining and dancing pleasure, the outstanding illustration stylings of one Kate Craig.

I got an email from Amber yesterday. I like getting emails from Ambers, as long as Mrs. B doesn't find out...here's what she had to say:

I've started a new site that is committed to be a community to help and
educate comic artists and writers who want to breakout. It's called
www.comicfoundry.com. You can post your art and writing in a portfolio for review from your peers, go to our MATCHUPS section and post for a collaborator to work with, and network on the message boards. We also feature helpful articles and interviews with the pros. Right now we
feature extensive interviews with Greg Land (Phoenix Endsong, X-Men),
Terry Moore (Strangers In Paradise), Clay Moore (Hawaiian Dick) and Jacen
Burrows (Dark Blue), all chock-full of advice and useful tips.

We would greatly appreciate a mention of the site on your blog, a link to
our site, or even posting a banner, and we invite you to join the fray on
Comic Foundry, as well. Please help our community grow!

Done!

It's a mighty long way from Bumfuck, Kentucky to Toronto, Canada, but as a member in good stead of the Comics Blogosphereiverse I feel like it's my civic duty to inform each and every one of you wondeful reader-type people that all the skinny, the 4-1-1, the in-fo-may-shun is now available for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival at the web page that you, yes you, can visit by merely clicking on the link in this very sentence about 18 words previous. Lotsa cool guests will be there including Darwyn Cooke, James Jean, JBS Favorite Jason (Mutant, Texas; Alison Dare) Bone, Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, and many many more including some Flight contributors such as the radiant and hellacool JBS Favorite Vera Brosgol.

Don't go out of your way to look for me there, but if you're able you should go. So saith I!

Two Toronto-related things I'd love to have: A Toronto Maple Leafs jersey (classic and classy, and you remember hockey, don't you?), and a copy of the TCAF Free Comic Book Day offering, Comics Festival!. I hope my comics shop gets some copies, but you never know about them.

This cover makes me laugh. Just thought I'd share. Poor Robin- like they say at Superdickery.com, they sure do give him a hard way to go.

Well, hello dere.

It occurred to me the other day that I review comics and give 'em letter grades, but I've never bothered to explain what distinguishes an A- book from a B+ book, for example, in my mind. To address this problem, I have attempted to explain these distinctions in my all-purpose, handy-dandy guide to my grading system, which I have placed in the linkbar for all to see. I'm not sure if I should leave it there, though, since it pushes all the links further down, so I might move it...but for now it stays where it is.

More later, I hope.

By the way, are any of you from Pittsburgh, or have lived there previously?

Time once again for that weekly look at what I'll be getting Wednesday, hopefully, according to the new Diamond shipping list!

JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE #9
SHANNA THE SHE DEVIL #2

aaaand...that's it!

Well, I'm hoping the missed-last-week

SEVEN SOLDIERS #0 and
SLEEPER SEASON 2 #9

show up.

I'd get that BILL & TED trade, but I think my shop is having a 25% off sale next week, and that's when I'll pounce. We shall see.

Isn't this a gorgeous panel by Jaime Hernandez? I was clicking around this morning and checked out the Fantagraphics site, and there it was. So I stoled it.

Anyway, I was thinking about how cool it would be to have a Comics Cosmic Cube, that would instantly make anything I wished for, comics-related, become reality...and I thought that one of the millions of things I'd like to see, after he did the Amazing Joy Buzzards-style Adventures of Los Lobos, would be a Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels-style gangster story. Besides his obvious mastery of the female form, JH is excellent at depicting young guys in black tie, jacket, and shades, and a Guy Ritchie-pre-Madonna yarn would really play to his strengths. Not that I'm tired of the Hoppers crew, but sometimes I kinda wish he would stretch out a bit and do other stuff.

What do you think? Mi comments section es su comments section...

OK, Oscar® time tonight. Of course, I've seen very few of the nominated films, but I've never let that stop me from taking a stab at picking the winners before. So, here goes nothing!

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: Jamie Foxx - RAY

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Morgan Freeman - MILLION DOLLAR BABY

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Hilary Swank - MILLION DOLLAR BABY

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Virginia Madsen - SIDEWAYS

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: THE INCREDIBLES

ACHEIVEMENT IN DIRECTING (Why they call it this I'll never understand): Martin Scorsese for THE AVIATOR

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND by Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth

BEST PICTURE: THE AVIATOR

That's all I'm picking. I'll probably watch the first hour, then go over to HBO for Carnivalé, then go back when that's over. More than anything, I'm looking forward to seeing Chris Rock as host- even though he's gonna have to tone his material down to a PG-13, he's usually always good.

How to get my attention, exhibit no. 425796876.

I present to you the cover for the recently-released-stateside album by dear little Emma Bunton, aka Baby Spice, titled Free Me. Even though what I do for a living now bears little resemblance to what I dimly remember as "graphic design", I think this is an elegantly simple design, with an appealing choice for a font and excellent composition.

Hell, I might even try to get this one of these days. I've only heard one cut, the giddy (and giddily titled) salsa workout "Crickets Sing for Anamaria",and it was OK. Still, it's way down on the ol' wish list- but I do like this cover. This is why, not to sound like a Luddite or anything, I would hate to see the mp3 file and the iPod-type player become the dominant music format. When you download songs from a site, that's all you're doing- downloading the music file. There's no art or packaging. And I love album cover art way too much to ever want to see CD's phased out like vinyl has been. Of course, if I could afford an iPod I might f eel differently...but I doubt it.

Gee, I remember back in the day when no self-respecting comics or otherwise bloggers blogged on Sunday. Now everybody's doin' it!

New comics blogs are just like Rasputin's demon Sammael in the Hellboy movie, which I watched on DVD last night- (the first time I've seen it since I watched it through an allergy-medicine induced haze in its initial theatre release...I got the director's cut DVD box for Christmas and watched all the bonus features but hadn't viewed the actual movie) kill (or link, actually, to) one and two more spring up to take its place! I try to check out nearly all of them via Chipper; but I just can't seem to keep up when it comes to linking, and I apologize to those who've linked to me and I haven't returned the favor yet. I'll try to get you on eventually, and if you are among the few and the proud who bear my unworthy name upon your site, and I don't have yours, by all means leave a comment or shoot me an email and inform me of my egregious mistake.

I'm long overdue to re-organize my links list somehow anyway- right now I've got some vague categories, with comics bloggers mixed up with non-CB's, and that's just not satisfying to my anal nature. Complicating things is that so many blogs these days are hard to classify one way or the other, making it difficult to decide where to put them. I'm sure this one falls under that description! Anyway, as soon as I get the time and the moxie and a clue about how to go about it, I'll sit down and come up with some way to categorize my links and make them make sense for once.

A hearty "welcome back" to our old chum Sean T. Collins, who can't comics blog for fairly obvious reasons but has launched a ginchy new music blog called the Outbreak. Sean is an excellent writer about just about anything, and music is no exception. I'm looking forward to checking it out on a regular basis. I've been thinking hard and long (hey, here we go with boners again!) about trying to start a music-only blog myself- I like writing about music (and film) as much as I do comics, but I tend to let the comics stuff push all the other stuff to the back burner. Time constraints is my biggest problem. I do have that LiveJournal page I started so I could post comments on other LJ's, and that is one possibility. I must ponder this further.

I usually don't post on Sunday very often because I usually do my comics reviews on Saturday, and I don't want a host of posts (hee-poetry) to push them farther down the page, where the attention-span challenged among us are unwilling to go. So if you've made it this far, be aware that new reviews of manga, Scurvy Dogs, and what I bought in comics last week are further on down, m'kay?

I've had the stereo on all morning. Just in case you care, here's another edition of that all-too-infrequent semi-regular feature at the JBS-
MUSIC LISTENED TO TODAY!
Beatles For Sale; Pentangle-Solomon's Seal (brand-new, on CD! Whee!); Roy Wood-Exotic Mixture; U2-The Unforgettable Fire; Bonnie Raitt-Streetlights; Mary Travers-Circles; Manfred Mann's Earth Band-The Roaring Silence; Wet Willie-Dixie Rock; James Taylor(Apple records, 1969); Frank Zappa-Waka/Jawaka; Mick Ronson-Slaughter on Tenth Avenue; and Debbie Harry-Rockbird.

Later today- I've seen very few of the nominees, but I'm not going to let that stop me from predicting OSCAR® WINNERS!

Update, 10:53 CST Sunday night: Sean has corrected my misapprehension about his new blog; he will write about a variety of subjects, not just music. But not comics. And politics. Duly noted, and pardons are begged for.

This is old news, I know: Dark Horse is supposed to be releasing a prequel comic book to the eagerly-awaited (by me, anyway) Joss Whedon Firefly film Serenity. It's supposed to be written by Whedon with someone named Brett Matthews, which immediately makes me think of the Howard Chaykin/David Tischman collaboration-in-name-only situation, and art by another who-dat named Will Conrad.

Longtime readers know that I gots nuthin but mad love for Firefly and am all fired up about its big-screen second shot, but comic book adaptations of film and TV properties are, as far as I can tell, hit-and-miss, mostly miss- so this will be very much a game time decision for me.

BWAH-HA-HAAAAH! Woo hoo hoo...

Ow, my sides hurt. I've spent a fair amount of the morning over at the already-linked-to-by-everyone-else-in-the-Comics Blogospehereiverse Superdickery.com, in which they simply reproduce a 50's-60's-70's era DC Superman, Lois Lane, or Jimmy Olsen (among others) cover and make a snarky comment. Sometimes these are funny, sometimes not so, but more often as not these covers are funny all by themselves. Then there's this delerious series of panels from some old issue of Batman or Detective, in which Batman and the Joker seem to be trying to see who can make the other screw up in public in the most embarrassing fashion- but using the parlance of the day, Bill Finger or Bob Kane or Shelley Moldoff or whoever the hell wrote these back then keep referring to them as "boners", and of such is hilarity made. Go look, whydon'cha?

In the "similar but different" department, I've also been reading (and even commented) on a CBR Forum thread by Gail Simone about how much she hates that form of sarcastic hipper-than-thou-ness dubbed "snark". She makes some great points; I hate it too, even as I occasionally laugh at it.