FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight's FNF features Robert E. Howard's dour Puritan swashbuckler SOLOMON KANE, as reimagined by Roy Thomas and Howard Chaykin in Marvel Premiere #34. It's not quite uppercuts as in fisticuffs, but Kane gets in a nifty aerodynamic upperthrust as he deals death to the unctuous smuggler, rapist and murderer Le Loup.

I was moved to dig these out because first, I've always loved the Kane character- he's one of my top three favorite Howard creations- and I really liked Chaykin's unorthodox rendition, as Kane sports what looks like a rugby shirt and mismatched brown leather boots rather than dressing him in black from head to toe like most illustrators have done, and because of the recent news about another forthcoming series, this time from Dark Horse, featuring the character. I'll be watching that one closely...


BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!

THURSDAY NIGHT THINKING!

Time once more for TNT! Tonight's entry features Junior, one of the Young Heroes in Love, as he ponders his way out of a predicament he's found himself in. I know, I know, he's not actually thinking thoughts via thought balloons...but I looked through all 18 issues of that much-missed series, and did not find a single example of any character indulging in an inner monologue! Not one! Perhaps that's why it got the axe, who knows. Anyways, this is from the 15th issue of YHiL, written by Dan Raspler and illustrated by Dev Madan and Keith Champagne (or "Cham-paggan", as Zapp Brannigan would say).


Comics reviews will be finished soon, pinky swear.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS, ROUND 10!

Hoog! Tonight's miscellaneous mayhem comes courtesy of ADAM WARREN- it's a page full of facekicking badassery from his upcoming Empowered #2. He recently posted it on his DeviantArt site, and I thought it would be perfect. Hope you don't mind, Mr. Warren- look at it as advance publicity!

(I need to get #1 someday...)


BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT.

Wait a...WHAT?!?

Will somebody help me pick up the pieces of my brain from where my head just exploded?

Ganked from this Gaspar Saladino appreciation. Just shows to go ya that no matter how many comics things you may think you've seen, there will always be something that you haven't.

I guess this qualifies for THURSDAY NIGHT THINKING, doesn't it?

Art appreciation time once more. This time a blog- A Soviet Poster a Day, which features, well, a Soviet poster a day, many in the Russian Constructivist style which I have a sincere fondness for, deep within my tiny, shriveled graphic designer soul.

#2 in a series of comics that I used to have as a kid but no longer own, and remember with affection. This is (as you can tell) BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY #15, which came out probably early summer of, since it's cover dated September, 1966. The cover story is the one that left an impression on me, although I honestly don't remember the details of the story. According to the GCD database info, it was drawn and written by Joe Orlando, which might explain why I found it memorable. I also see where Reed Crandall did a story as well, which indicates that Warren wasn't the only publisher putting this fine work out there. While looking this one up, along with another for someone's LJ post, I was struck by all the really good painted covers (a Gold Key/Dell trademark) on both the Karloff series and the Ripley's Believe it or Not title as well.

Here's part one in the "series".

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS IS BACK!

Since I'm no longer hiatizing, then that means it's time around these parts once more for that weekly beatdown showcase which has taken the Comics Blogosphereiverse by storm!

Tonight's four-color free-for-all is from GEMINI BLOOD #4, by Christopher Hinz and Tommy Lee Edwards. In this scene, two members of the Paratwa-killing team, Gillian and Laura, find themselves in a battle against some of the Shraddhan, augmented cannibals who spend a great deal of their existence living upside down and descending to prey upon normal humans- and they're some of the more conventional of Hinz's creations. You don't even want me to get started on the whole Paratwa concept...but I heartily encourage you to pick these comics up if you ever find them in the quarter boxes. This is a good little brawl by Edwards, early in his comics career. I wish I could find a good webpage which details Hinz's concepts; they're difficult to explain quickly and easily. They're using "flash daggers" and "cohe (stands for "coherent light") wands", by the way...

BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT!

CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE.

That semi-popular feature in which I opine upon various works of sequential fiction that I have perused in the interval since the last time I inflicted said opinions upon one and all, or to be specific, the period from approximately 24 July to 15 August, some of which may even still be on sale at finer comics selling establishments worldwide if you're lucky. Or not, as the case may be.



Many of these are going to be even briefer than usual and all will streamlined somewhat; I'm way behind and I need to do this quickly or not at all. If you want in-depth, go read Jog or Spurgeon or someone who Deppey links to once in a while.

AMERICAN VIRGIN #17
Aha! I KNEW something would happen to cause new character Vanessa to be phased out, and sure enough it's begun right here. Sad, but that's the way it goes. Still, in a lot of ways this continues the modest winning streak that Seagle has going on this inconsistent title; the tattoo scene was a hell of a good idea and it was very well executed by Becky Cloonan and Jim Rugg. A-

BLACK ADAM #1
Doug Mahnke's always-solid art, even inked to distraction as it is here, is the sole reason to pick up this oh-so-serious slice of unpleasantness, which is sadly pretty much par for the course for most mainstream DC efforts these days. I like serious superheroics as much as the next guy, but there are limits. This is not Bad Comics necessarily, just dreary, and life's too short for this twaddle. C+

BOOSTER GOLD #1
I've never really cared one way or the other for Booster; the only thing that's ever really been distinctive about him was his oddball origin, in which he was a 25th century pro football player who threw ballgames. Never bought his original series, just didn't impress me much one way or the other. I tolerated him in the bwah-ha-ha Justice League; he had a nice rapport with Blue Beetle, kind of the Dean Martin to Ted Kord's Jerry Lewis. I understand that he got the Standard 2000's DC Make-Me-Serious treatment via Countdown, and while it made him less of a comedian, like Dino, being serious wasn't necessarily his strong suit. So now, in the wake of Countdown and all that other stuff which I haven't really been following all that closely, we get a new Booster comic- and actually, it starts out OK, with BG trying to get back into the good graces of the JLA. But then Rip Hunter shows up, and this thing devolves into utter time-travel chaos. If time travel in your stories, not to mention the incomprehensible bedlam that is DC continuity these days, doesn't bother you as much as it does me, there's much to like here- mostly thanks to Dan Jurgens and Norm Rapmund's solid art, and in all fairness Johns writes some decent dialogue before everything blows up in the readers' face. So caveat emptor. B-

BRAVE AND THE BOLD #5
This series remains a tonic of sorts for what ails the latter-day DC reader; it's fast and furious and the character interaction is first rate. So entertaining that you don't even think about how improbable the notion of two beings, one cyborg and one Batman, merging and un-merging as easily as pulling apart two different-colored lumps of Play-Doh actually is. Just because Fox and Broome got away with it forty years ago, doesn't always mean it's a good idea in 2007, and that goes for you, too, Morrison. Still, the best Legion story I've read since Abnett and Lanning were committed, and Perez does a nice job drawing everybody's favorite futuristic teenage superhero team. It's so good, that it's no wonder that sales are anemic. A-

CATWOMAN #69
Another series which manages to be down-to-earth but not as middlebrow-leaning crass as so many DC titles seem to be. Easy to follow even though it crosses over with Amazons Attack; not surprising because Pfiefer's writing 'em both but still sometimes tricky. The highlight of this issue is the wonderful Batman scenes, especially the Bat-child safety seat. A-

DOKTOR SLEEPLESS #1
If you've read any Warren Ellis at all, you've read this already; it could be subtitled Warren Ellis' Greatest Hits. Fortunately, I like the way his brain guides him to write, so as far as I'm concerned it's just fine. Your mileage, as the saying goes, may vary. It's interesting to see Ivan Rodriguez drawing comics these days, I'd think that catching for the Tigers would keep him busy. What? Oh. Sorry. Anyway, this Rodriguez's work is detailed enough, I suppose, and it's certainly busy, but there's a lifeless, awkward quality to it that keeps me from really liking it. Oh well, I didn't like Darick Robertson's art all that much either but found Transmetropolitan interesting enough for the first few years...which is just about what I see for this, too. B+

THE GRAVE ROBBERS' DAUGHTER
This reminded me of a magnet I saw once at my comics shop; it said "Can't sleep; clowns will eat me" and sported some creepy clown illustration. Yeah, I know, you've heard that one before. I've never been one of those who thought clowns were "scary" and all that; it's become such a cliche since, oh, Stephen King's It that it just smacks of trendy, shallow me-tooism rather than any genuine fear or dread when confronted with painted actors who only seek to entertain. Oh well, I digress. Nice to see the return of the anti-Nancy Drew, Judy Drood, as she gets involved with a mystery in a typically Salaesque deserted small town, tangles with a group of teenage juvenile delinquents and the evil clown doll army they seem to command, and encounters a strange little girl that holds the key to the whole thing. If you've read any Sala at all, you'll know how this all turns out, but as always with him it's the telling as much as the tale, and his quirky style is as fascinating as always. A-

GREEN ARROW: YEAR ONE #2
Ollie re-enacts Cast Away here in chapter two but the Diggle/Jock synergy is intact, making this another great read. I'm just happy he didn't get a volleyball to talk to. A-

HELLBLAZER #234
Street punks seem to be getting possessed by demons in this excessively bloody, and not very well drawn, first chapter. I'm used to Manco being apparent Artist for Life on this title, but this one's poor, even by his current standards, which are light years from his mid-late '90s work on another character with Hell- in the title. Regardless, this arc could be interesting, even if I believe we've seen this sort of thing before, and storywise it's a good enough start. In Diggle I trust. For now. B

HIGHWAYMEN #2
The first issue was surprisingly good; this one's unsurprisingly competent. We get the standard Ellis-style dialogue, some improbable stunts, the standard wise-ass hottie to complete the character triangle, and for our trouble the occasional amusing dialogue exchange. Artwise, Garbett continues to ape Quitely but doesn't quite have it perfected yet, and I seriously doubt that hitting someone with a tire iron like that would cause such a large explosion of blood. Not that I care to find out for sure, mind you. I didn't get quite the rush in this, the second chapter, as I did the first- but I'm going to hang around and see what happens. B-

IMMORTAL IRON FIST #7
Not exactly in Fables' league when it comes to folklore pastiche, because the humorous vibe felt heavy-handed. But anything which gets me such a sweet cover and nine pages of Khari Evans artwork is aces with me. B+

LOVE & ROCKETS VOL 2 #20
Another issue of L&R, in which I continue to admire Jaime's economical, expert storytelling style and inkline, despite the fact that I've read most of what we get this issue, even as I continue to wonder why I just don't see what everyone else seems to see when it comes to the contributions of his brothers. Note to whoever did the prepress on the Maggie/Rena story: convert the lettering from CMYK to K only- it was a chore to read because the letters were slightly out of register and thus blurry. B+

METAL MEN #1
Rouleau the artist, with his appealing-looking figure drawings and dynamic poses and perspectives (despite a young Doc Magnus who appears, apparently, has the facial structure of a 12-year-old on the cover and in places inside), bails out Rouleau the writer, who tries to cram six issues' worth of text into one, a feat only really carried off by Don McGregor in his salad days and precious few others. It's not Rex Libris text-heavy, but still it's too talky by half, but somehow enjoyable in spite of itself. The tweaks to the Men, both artistic and scriptwise, are neatly done, and even though she's not given much in the way of personality yet, I'm already finding myself really liking new robot Copper. B+

THE RIDE: DIE VALKYRIE #2
Another fine issue of this, my guilty pleasure title- good art covers a multitude of sins, I've always held, and Brian Stelfreeze's propulsive, fine-line illustration looks mighty damn good to me. A-

SHAZAM: THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL #4
Between Sivana, Mr. Mind, new takes on Mary Marvel and the wizard Shazam, talking cockroaches, the whole mythology of the talking animals including Mr. Tawky, giant hairball-looking aliens, the employees of WHIZ-TV, and even a dash of real-world style political commentary, it certainly seems like Smith has tried to cram too darn much into one series- double-sized though it may be. Fortunately, he plotted it out very well, and nothing seemed forced. I'm still surprised that DC let Smith do this in the first place, but I'm glad they did; it isn't often that you get such an appropriate match of creator and character. That said, I won't stand on one leg waiting for the sequel. A

THE SPIRIT #8
Eight issues in, and Cooke gives us his most Eisner-ish Spirit adventure yet. Unfortunately, it falls kinda flat, but I believe the reason is less that it isn't good but only that it isn't 1949 anymore. And of course, it's brilliantly illustrated- few penciller/inker teams are as good a match as Cooke and J.Bone are. Oh, and here's a nitpick, for what it's worth- "Gainesborough" as a nickname for Denny Colt is not clever, and sounds clumsy- the sort of thing that only a writer would imagine that a character would say. B+

Wow! Done in one night!

BEST IN SHOW: SHAZAM VS. THE MONSTER SOCIETY OF EVIL. The whole series gets an A.

DOG OF THE WEEK(S): BLACK ADAM #1. Not even Doug Mahnke's art makes this grim exercise enjoyable.

I absolutely must interrupt my hiatus to pass this sad news on- according to Blog@Newsarama, MIKE WIERINGO has passed away.

What a shock. While I only own one or two comics he drew, I've enjoyed seeing his work posted regularly on his blog/website; he had a fluid, dynamic, graceful, clean style that was a joy to behold, and he brought it to everything he drew, be it a childhood reminisce or cheesecake illo or Fantasy series work like his co-creation, Tellos. I also would comment once in a while, and he was always friendly and pleasant to converse with.

I can't say I really knew him like many of you out there may have, but I definitely think the world will be a poorer place for his passing.


EDIT 11:02 CST: Here's a post on Mike from about three years ago, with some art. Just remembered it, thought I'd share.

Hello, everyone. Taking a little vacation from blogging, even more so than usual, hence the video. I'll be back eventually, I promise, and I'll be even more behind in reviewing comics than I already am, which I'm sure will trouble absolutely no one.

I'll still update the Elton John blog, for what that's worth.

Cheers.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight, we have none other than the pride of 4000 AD, MAGNUS, doing what he does best, i.e. ROBOT FIGHTING. From Magnus, Robot Fighter (Gold Key) #5, cover dated February 1965, art and script by the great Russ Manning. When I was a kid, I couldn't get enough Magnus, Turok or Doctor Solar, not to mention Magnus' backup feature The Aliens...

My only disappointment with this great page of mayhem is that the robot didn't go "squeeeee", like nearly every other robot Magnus dispatched, but a disappointing "whiiiine..." instead. Bah.

BAHLACTUS said knock you out...

THURSDAY NIGHT THINKING!

That wild and crazy comics blog meme! Tonight's cogitation is from none other than the late, unlamented by most Jared Stevens, AKA FATE, also guest starring the Phantom Stranger in his oddball semi-Vertigo Amish farmer hat period. Anyway, after skimming through darn near the entire run, I noticed that inner monologues were as close to thinking as Jared ever came; the writers never bothered with traditional word balloon-type thoughts. It provided a sort of narration, but it was also (as I said) an inner monologue, so I believe that constitutes "thinking", so here it is.

This may also be as close to a Fate overview as you'll get from me; after rereading the lot of them, I just didn't find that much to write about. It started out really awful, in that early-Image way, then kinda found its bearings about 14 issues in when Len Kaminski took over as writer and artists Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning began to channel their inner John McCrea. It still had its moments, especially if you imagine Stevens speaking and thinking in Bruce Campbell's voice (just try it with the page above!)...but overall it was a somewhat-better-than-the-norm collection of mystical superhero cliches, and I suppose it was just as well that it got canned. I still liked the character, though, and I hated to see him get killed.

Diamondrock's thinking it over!

I see via the indispensable WhatGoesOn.com where EMI/Capitol is/are releasing four classic Apple-era Ringo Starr albums, Sentimental Journey, Beaucoups of Blues, Ringo, and Goodnight Vienna, in digital format later this month. Anything which gets the solo Fabs on iTunes is all right with me, and while I already own the near-classic Ringo on CD, I wouldn't mind cherrypicking from the other three. Now, if only they'd make George's Dark Horse available...

Also, I see where the above-pictured compilation CD will be released as well, along with a bonus DVD with some cool stuff included. Here's the tracklist:

PHOTOGRAPH: THE VERY BEST OF RINGO STARR (CD & Digital Album)

1. Photograph (1973)
2. It Don't Come Easy (1971)
3. You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're Mine) (1973)
4. Back Off Boogaloo (1972)
5. I'm The Greatest (1973)
6. Oh My My (1973)
7. Only You (And You Alone) (1974)
8. Beaucoups Of Blues (1970)
9. Early 1970 (1971)
10. Snookeroo (1974)
11. The No-No Song (1974)
12. (It's All Down To) Goodnight Vienna (1974)
13. Hey Baby (1976)
14. Weight Of The World (1993)
15. A Dose Of Rock 'N' Roll (1976)
16. King Of Broken Hearts (1998)
17. Never Without You (2003)
18. Act Naturally (with Buck Owens) (1989)
19. Wrack My Brain (1981)
20. Fading In and Fading Out (2005)

PHOTOGRAPH: THE VERY BEST OF RINGO STARR (Collector's Edition) CD/DVD

1. Sentimental Journey (1970 promotional film)
2. It Don't Come Easy (1971 promotional film)
3. Back Off Boogaloo (1972 promotional film)
4. You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're Mine) (1973 promotional film)
5. Only You (And You Alone) (1974 promotional film)
6. Act Naturally (with Buck Owens) (1989 -- music video)
7. Goodnight Vienna (1974 -- promotional film for album)

First 14 songs, I have no complaint. Included in this number is the wonderful B-side of "It Don't Come Easy"- "Early 1970", and I even agree with the inclusion of the mostly-wretched Ringo's Rotogravure's best cut, "Hey Baby". You'd think that there would be room for Journey's "Bye Bye Blackbird", but that's the way it goes. But it gets REAL problematic for me with #15- two tracks from Rotogravure and none from Ringo the 4th is way too many and way too few. Plus, here was a chance to get another track from 1981's damn good but unfortunately out of print Stop and Smell the Roses besides "Wrack My Brain", the album's single. It's a great track, but there are two or three others that would have been a better fit than "King of Broken Hearts", like "Attention", which should have been a big hit. I realize that to be inclusive, they needed to put a lot of comparatively recent Ringo on there- and "Weight of the World" and "Never Without You" are good choices. I would rather have seen the bouncy, fun "Mr. Double-it-up" or "La De Da", instead of "Fading in and Fading Out", which I've only heard once and wasn't impressed. Oh well. There's some great stuff on the DVD, though- the "Only You" clip (if it's the one I've seen) is Ringo and Harry Nilsson (in bathrobe) on top of the Capitol building, fun, the cover of "Act Naturally" with the great Buck Owens is fun, and I'm not sure that I've seen all the other ones (I think I've seen "Back off Boogaloo", but I forget)- but they sound great. I think I'd get a copy just for the DVD, a first for me!

CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE.

That semi-regular feature in which I opine upon various works of sequential fiction that I have perused in the interval since the last time I inflicted said opinions upon one and all, or to be specific, the period from approximately 9 July to 23 July, some of which may even still be on sale at finer comics selling establishments worldwide if you're lucky. Or not, as the case may be.



100 BULLETS 84
S: Brian Azzarello; A: Eduardo Risso. (DC/Vertigo, $2.99)

The Standard Review: Another well-done issue what will engage the already engaged, baffle the uninitiated, and even baffle the initiated upon occasion. I think I'll just cut and paste this review for the next 16 issues. Kudos this time to Azzarello for confounding expectations in the resolution. Small brickbat to Risso for making one of the female characters look so much like cast member Dizzy Cordova that it took me a minute to realize what was going on. B+

ACTION COMICS 851
S: Geoff Johns, Richard Donner; A: Adam Kubert. (DC, $2.99)

My first reaction to seeing this was "Is this storyline still going on?" It was, after all last December when I received an earlier chapter to review. It's incongruous that such a pretentious, dreary narrative should be tricked out with a 3-D passage; 3-D is a FUN gimmick, redolent of Saturday afternoon matineés back in the Eisenhower years- this is akin to having a casket decorated with a Hello Kitty motif or something. The gimmick itself is undermined by the choice to color all the scenes in a color that can best be described as "warm concrete"; an occasional shard of fractured reality or an arm or leg sticks out sometimes, but mostly it looks like mud and isn't helped by the decision not to 3D-ize the word balloons, making them hard to read. Kubert does a decent enough job on art; there's a nice dynamism to his figures and layouts that has the unfortunate effect of intensifying the melodramatics, which is the last thing it needs. Like I said before, this is not the Superman I want to read. Your mileage may vary. C+

ALL-FLASH 1
S: Mark Waid; A: Karl Kerschl, Ian Churchill, Norm Rapmund, Manuel Garcia, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Daniel Acuna. (DC, $2.99)

Pretty much a hodgepodge, featuring what seems to be a dozen different artists and designed to bridge the gap between the old Flash series and the new one. Most of the issue deals with the newly returned (from where I don't know) Wally West and his assumption of the Flash mantle once more, as well as his getting a measure of payback for the murder of Bart Allen; it's not exactly entertaining reading but then again its not supposed to be, is it? Out of the Legion of Comics Artists that are assembled, Kerschl stands out- his lively, streamlined art puts all the others involved to shame, and that includes Acuna, whose Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters art was I liked but sometimes had the tendency to devolve into murk, and that happens on his two-page spread here. Looks rushed. I must admit something straight up here; as indifferent as I am to the dreary dramatics of DC these days and the Flash character in general, I could totally see me getting the ongoing title because I like Kerschl's work here that much. Probably won't happen, but ya never know. Also on the art tip, the majority of the print run is graced with a beautiful Joshua Middleton cover and some with a variant: a nightmarishly bad Bill Sienkiewicz effort. Guess which one I got. I mean, that thing looks like he drew it lefthanded with his eyes closed after a half dozen tequila shots. B-

ALL STAR SUPERMAN 8
S: Grant Morrison; A: Frank Quitely. (DC, $2.99)

The conclusion of this two-part story disappoints somewhat, but I really can't put my finger on why. Grant's Zibarro character, a Bizarro with nobility, taste and intelligence as opposed to the rest of the moronic Bizarros whith whom he's forced to share a planet is valid enough, although if Grant is speaking through him then that's a bit more problematic, and the interaction between him and our Superman, turns out to be more engaging than you'd think. Perhaps I got a bit tired of all the slapstick; perhaps I'm just not inclined to like Bizarro stories in general, no matter how cleverly Grant spins them. I was gratified to see that the "Superman is dying" plot thread from the first couple of issues had not been forgotten; it hasn't been brought up lately. Quitely once more shines by developing the body english of all the characters so well; he's outstanding at bringing out all the subtleties that Morrison's scripts suggest. Gee, sounds like I found a lot to like after all, doesn't it? Which is why I always say that mediocre Morrison/Quitely is better than some creators' best work. B+

AMERICAN VIRGIN 16
S: Steven T. Seagle; A: Becky Cloonan, Jim Rugg. (DC/Vertigo, $2.99)

With the introduction of new, almost too-good-to-be-true character Vanessa, suddenly this scattershot story has found its focus, and for my money, this is the best issue yet. Set against the background of a fertility festival in Japan, there's a lot of social commentary and for once the humor works- the sight of Vanessa, her friend, and Adam sucking on penis-shaped popsicles is cheeky and funny, and there's a lot of humor in the bits devoted to East-West custom differences. If this is going to stay this good is anybody's guess, but for now I'm enjoying. B+

BLACK METAL Vol. 1
S: Rick Spears; A: "Chuck BB" (Oni B&W advance, $11.95)

Two black-clad, Metal-worshiping kids play the latest Frost Axe album (on vinyl! Yeah!) backwards, a portal opens, and they are given a mighty magical sword as they discover that they are the reincarnation of a demon lord named the Roth, who was killed by he evil Von Char and are charged with fulfilling the ancient prophecy of the Hell Baron and gain revenge! It's like Glenn Danzig, Ozzy Osbourne, Robert Plant and J.R.R. Tolkein collaborated on the third Bill and Ted movie. If this was done with a smirk, it would be unbearable, but Spears and Chuck play it completely straightfaced, and it's a hoot and a half- a fun and exciting Black Metal/D&D quest tale that rises above its origins and demonstrates a lot of love for not only the metal genre, but gaming and just the simple state of being a misfit teenager. It's more enjoyable than any five episodes of Metalocalypse you can name. Chuck BB's art helps a lot, it's all square chins and expressionism, reminding me of Marc Hempel or late '90s- early '00s Andi Watson, and it maintains a lively edge throughout, as at home with mundane scenes of mall shopping as it is with huge demonic battle scenes. I was really surprised by this one, folks. It's good. you should check it out. A

B.P.R.D. GARDEN OF SOULS 5
S: John Arcudi, Mike Mignola; A: Guy Davis. (Dark Horse, $)

Appropriately apocalyptic finale to the whole "Garden of Souls" thing, which I do believe featured more weirdness per page than any previous Hellboy story. Arcudi is a writer who is often prone to blending into the woodwork on any given project. Here with Mignola, however, he's managed to blossom once more and bring some of that old Major Bummer mojo back into bear. Guess it's just a chemistry thing. Oh and once more with feeling: Guy Davis is a freaking genius. A-

DORIS DANGER SEEKS WHERE URBAN CREATURES CREEP & STOMP 1
S: Chris Wisnia; A: Wisnia and others. (Tabloia, $11.95)

More of Wisnia's hilarious tabloid-size sendups of those old Lee/Kirby/Ditko/Ayers giant monster sagas of yore, featuring at least one out-loud laugh per page. And if that's not enough, there are some absolutely outstanding pinups by some truly legendary names, usually preceded by "The Great...", like Russ Heath, John Severin, J.H. Williams III, "Shag", and a truly awe-inspiring and insanely detailed two-page spread of King Kong fighting the Tyrannosaurus by Art Adams. Oh, and best of all there's a pull quote on the back by...ME! My first! A momentous occasion for all, no doubt about it. I just wish that it made a little more sense, but that's the way the giant monster stomps, I guess. Anyway, the price tag is a bit giant-sized as well, but you're getting a lot of bang for your buck so it's worth it I suppose, especially if you're a fan of this period of Marvel history. B+

DMZ 21
S: Brian Wood; A: Riccardo Burchielli (DC/Vertigo, $2.99)

The "Day 204" investigation saga continues as Matty is lured into yet another interview, which turns out to be a diversion as the tribunal's verdict comes down, and points to what will surely be an explosive finale next issue. Burchielli's back for the entire issue this time, and while it still looks as if he's rushing to get, or stay, caught up with something it's still solid. His style is beginning to remind me of Ian Gibson or Colin Wilson. I've enjoyed this arc as much as I've enjoyed any to date...hope the ending doesn't disappoint. B+

FAKER 1
S: Mike Carey; A: Jock. (DC/Vertigo, $2.99)

Less Than Zero meets The Twilight Zone as we get a not-particularly-likeable group of college students who get together one evening, get wasted in a chemistry lab, pass out, then are awakened by another of their group, who only just arrived...and it turns out that this fellow doesn't seem to exist, except to the members of the clique. And then it gets stranger from there. I don't know...Carey's gonna have to do some work to make me want to care about any of these people, but the premise is intriguing enough and holds promise for better, so we'll see for now. Jock, for his part, proves himself as capable of handling more mundane settings as he is action-thriller type stuff, not a big surprise to anybody who's read The Losers. Time will tell about this one. B-

FABLES 63
S: Bill Willingham; A: Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha (DC/Vertigo, $2.99)

Sirs Flycatcher and Lancelot do a little recruiting at the bottom of Frau Totenkinder's well, and we see the return of some long-gone characters (some for better, some for worse) as the big buildup to what certainly appears to be the Fable war to end all wars continues. Willingham is doing such a great job of moving this along just slowly enough to allow time for characterization (one of his best jobs- Prince Charming, believe it or not) but not so slow that it drags (this has been in the works for over a year now, but it sure doesn't seem like it). Still digging Buckingham and Leialoha too, something I would have never thought I'd say, oh, two years ago. A-

GREEN ARROW YEAR ONE 1
S: Andy Diggle; A: Jock. (DC, $2.99)

I've never been a big fan of the character they used to call the "Battling Bowman"- he worked pretty well in the long-gone 70's Justice League and of course the Green Lantern/Green Arrow series, as well as the Von Eeden-illustrated 80's miniseries that, to be honest, I bought for the art (this was just pre-Thriller) more than anything else; there's just never been anything about him that really grabbed me and made me want to read his exploits on a regular basis. But I loved The Losers, y'see, and there was no way I could resist the reteaming of their creators, even on a Green Arrow comic. So here I am. And what did I think? Well, it read like an issue of The Losers. Wow, three Losers mentions in one review column! What is this, 2005? Anyway, this issue is pretty much all setup; a couple of nice character-defining exchanges at the beginning as we meet spoiled rich kid Ollie Queen, who's got a hole in his heart that goes all the way to China or something like that, and his valet Hackett, who seems to suffer this fool with only a little exasperation showing...but no Alfred he! And then, after Ollie pretty much invites himself along on a business trip with Hackett, we get a "sudden but inevitable betrayal" and soon Mr. Q will be getting his character built on a remote, deserted tropical island. Diggle does a great job of scene setting and showing us all facets of Ollie's personality, both the good and bad sides- of course, we all know that OQ will end up on the side of the angels anyway, but rounding him out as a character, and doing it with nuance, is not as easy as it seems. On art Jock is in his element- giving us an excellent ice bridge scene early on and doing really well on the scene in the middle in which Ollie makes a drunken fool of himself. Only once, when he has Ollie leap at Hackett, super-hero style, on the boat does he misstep, I think. All in all, a good start. A-

THE LAST CALL Vol.1
S/A: Vasilis Lolos. (Oni Press, $11.99)

If Black Metal was reminiscent of a sequel to Bill and Ted, well, this isBill and Ted Take a Train, directed by Ingmar Bergman or perhaps a collaboration between Miyazaki and Tim Burton. Two young slackers "borrow" a parent's car and take a joyride, then seem to run out of gas and pass out. When they awake, they're on a train which just happens to be carrying a passenger list of weird, demonic/ghostly figures...and not all of them are benign. Altogether well done, with Lolos' art being the most impressive; seems like there's a lot of Paul Pope-inspired illustrators popping up lately, and Lolos is certainly another...but his work is tighter, and looks a lot like early Demo-period Becky Cloonan- lots of thick, black, reckless lines and black, black shadows. He gets the mood across very well as things get more and more surreal for our hapless pair. Another strong Oni publication; hope I get to read the next book in the series. Here's a 38-page preview, if you're curious. A-

MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS 3
S/A: Mike Allred. (Image, $2.99)

Mr. Allred: Navel gazing is one thing, I suppose, but for the love of God do you have to masturbate in front of us as you do so? D+

MONSTER ATTACK NETWORK**
S: Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman; A: Nima Sorat. (AiT/PlanetLar, $12.95)

Hey, somebody got their Japanese giant monster movie in their romantic comedy! Moonlighting meets Gammera the Invincible and perhaps Marvel's old '80s series Damage Control as we get the adventures of a group of men and women who deal with crises involving oversized behemoths, who tend to level cities at the drop of a hat. We center on Nate Klingler, head of our particular branch, and the new recruit, a gorgeous young lady from the island nation of Lapuatian. They meet cute, fight creatures, bicker, and have a little bit of the old in-out in-out until the frequency of monster attacks causes suspicion to fall on a visiting industrialist...and perhaps even the new recruit as well. A wise man once said, "Creativity is the art of disguising your sources", and while there are many sides to this we've all seen before, they're presented in such a breezy, fast-paced fashion that one is inclined not to care and just go along for the rollercoaster ride. Between this and The Highwaymen, I believe Bernardin and Freeman are looking like rookies of the year as far as giving us entertaining comics so far. Sorat's art reminds, as so many these days seem to, Paul Pope or a looser Becky Cloonan- in fact, he's often too loose and coherence is often sacrificed at the altar of swooshy speed lines and exaggerated anatomy during the course of the story. It's a problem, but not a big one, and I expect him to get better as time goes on. Inoshiro Honda would be proud, I'd bet. B+

MULTIPLE WARHEDZ 1**
S/A: Brandon Graham. (Oni, $5.99, reviewed from B&W preview copy)

Engaging, imaginative fantasy which reminds me a lot of Vaughn Bodé or even Moebius and Miyazaki, ever so slightly. I'm not familiar with Graham's other work, such as Tokyopop's King City, but if it's as clever as this, I might just have to check it out. Heaven knows I'm tired of dystopic future scenarios, but this manages to transcend that and become quite its own thing. His art is mostly thin-lined and open, with lots of white space and the occasional solid blacks, there for visual balance more than anything, and even more rare gray tones...sometimes it's a bit simplistic, but his figures are almost always graceful and attractive, and once in a while he busts out with some impressively detailed machinery or spaceships, just to show he can, I suppose. Anyway, here's yet another talent worth watching, and this series might just be as well. A-

THE PROGRAMME 1
S: Pete Milligan; A: C.P. Smith. (DC/Wildstorm, $2.99)

Milligan casts coherence to the wind as he gives us the opening chapter of some sort of Sci-Fi/Military Tech thriller, with myriad plot threads encompassing a myriad of time frames, from WWII to the present day, and what seems (at least right now) to be a tale of some sort of long-buried WWII super-soldier project that has been revived today, with consequences yet to be revealed. But by steadfastly refusing to give us anything more that brief glimpses of what's going on in any time frame, he makes this more of a slog than it should be. However, Milligan's too good a writer to let it go at that; I'm sure he'll eventually rein it in. I hope so, anyway. Smith, for his part, does a good enough job on art; his style looks like a clone of Alex Maleev, and fortunately I'm disposed to like that style. He does a lot towards evoking the mood of imminent disaster that Milligan's shooting for, especially when combined with Johnny Rench's garish colors. I don't know- this just feels like it's going to be decent, but that's just a hunch and not based on this one issue. Might be one to wait for the trade on. More than anything, though, it makes me long for the return of The Winter Men. B-

STEPHEN COLBERT'S TEK JANSEN 1
S: Jon Layman, Tom Peyer, Jim Massey; A: Scott Chantler, Robbi Rondriguez. (Oni, $3.99)

On TV, Colbert's arched-eyebrow satire of TV political pundits works pretty well, although I've never found it as funny as he, or his followers, seem to think it is. And this from one who does not skew Red-stater. In comics, however, especially recast in a Sci-Fi setting, it comes across as Duck Dodgers, only not as clever. Nicely illustrated by Chantler and Rodriguez, but a disappointment nonetheless. C

BEST IN SHOW: Honestly, BLACK METAL. It was tons o'fun.
DOG OF THE WEEK(S): MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #3. I was not impressed.

Art appreciation: Chris Sanders.

While looking through his sketch section, I kept thinking "Now HERE'S someone who thought Lilo's sister in Lilo and Stitch was as sexy as I did!" Then I read the bio, and it turns out that he was the man who came up Lilo and Stitch in the first place for Disney. How d'ya like THAT!

I got an interesting email the other day from Katherine Thoresen, of HeavyInk.com, a new online comic book store which is going live this Fall, quote unquote. She asked if I'd be willing to pass the news on to all of you, and I thought "Why the heck not"...so here's the significant text of her message, copied and pasted so's I don't lose something in translation:

We hope to deliver a user interface full of innovative features, good customer reviews to help folks find material they like, and great prices. The initial version of our service will carry the full inventory of comic books from Diamond, but within a year, we intend to start doing outreach to smaller/independent publishers that aren't carried by Diamond or most existing stores.

As we develop the website, we want to get feedback from comic enthusiasts to help us shape the business and website, so we put a short survey online.

HERE'S THE LINK TO THE SURVEY! CLICK AWAY!

To encourage participation, one lucky respondent will receive 5 graphic novels valued at about $100. Also, everyone who participates in the short survey will receive one year of *any* comic book title, for free, when you subscribe to another comic book at our regularly discounted prices.

So go, take the survey. It will be quick and painless, and you might score some free GNs!

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Tonight, it's the sadly missed Jack Knight Starman kicking his brother's murderer's boo-tay up in the sky. From the Sins of the Father TPB.

Bahlactus said knock you out!

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.

It's Thursday night once more, and that means
THURSDAY NIGHT THINKING!

Tonight, we have a Very Special TNT. Our inner monologue this time comes courtesy of one Artimus Finn- one of seven brothers known collectively as the Seven Deadly Finns, who ran afoul of the Shadow, in that notoriously sublime, or perhaps sublimely notorious 1980's version by Andrew Helfer and Kyle Baker.

To describe exactly what's going on in these two pages would take some doing, but let's just say that in the climactic showdown with the Master of Men, he is in dire straits indeed- having been placed in the bottom of an elevator shaft in the Empire State Building by the rogue terrorist Colonel Mustafa, who doublecrossed Mr. Finn when the latter hired the former to run an army of nutjob psychopaths against their adversary. In desperation, the surviving Finn tries to climb up twenty feet out of the shaft, to get out between the elevator and the floor...and his thoughts as he does so are our Thursday Night Thoughts for this evening.

Also in this scene, Shadow agent Twitchkowicz, an expert chemist who uses his abilities to, shall we say, create performance-enhancing drugs for his wrestler wife Gwendolyn, is escorting one of Mustafa's psycho group out, one Doctor Flax, a creepy old pusbag who is obsessed with creating killer germs. This comes into play in a big way in the climactic events of this, the final issue in the story arc.

If you've heard about this excellent series but haven't been able to find it, and realize that it will never be collected just because, well, it won't, well, here's a small sample. Script by Helfer, Art by Baker, from The Shadow #13 (August 1988).

Bacardi Show Birthday Greetings are in order today for Thriller artist TREVOR VON EEDEN.




Also, My dear Mrs. B...but she said not to write about it on the blog. Oops!