* The last week of the year brings news that notorious, much-despised shyster Rick Olney has apparently died. Given how much energy Olney expended over the years trying to rehabilitate his utterly soiled reputation in comics (yes, comics, which tolerates racists, homophobes and scam artists like fish tolerate water), I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Olney's untimely demise ended up being another one of his lies. But in the event that he has actually passed from this mortal coil, let's remember his many contributions to comics culture.
* 180 degrees from that story, best wishes for a speedy recovery to writer Peter David, who has apparently suffered a stroke. I've always enjoyed David's Star Trek novels, feeling that he and the team of Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are among the few writers who can capture the voices of Trek's many characters in every work they produce, not the easiest of tasks. David's Imzadi and The Rift are two of his best Trek novels, if you want to give them a look.
* Highly recommended is Tom Spurgeon's interview with writer-about-artcomix Rob Clough. They talk intelligently about dozens of comics that I haven't read, but that a few years ago I would have probably been keenly interested in. I'm glad someone is writing, and writing well, about that corner of comics.
* Christopher Allen responds to my take on a recent(ish) Grant Morrison interview.
* Tony Isabella looks at some recent movies, including The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. I agree with his views on both of those movies.
* The uni-named cartoonist Jason says goodbye to American Elf. Scroll down to the second strip on this page to see another cartoonist named Jason say goodbye to James Kochalka's daily diary strip. (Pro tip: Putting that strip on its own page might have gotten a few more links from the elite, Jay.)
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - December 30th, 2012
* From Disney's John Carter movie debacle, to its acquisition of the Star Wars franchise, to the success of The Avengers movie, Disney was like a ravenous and unstoppable monster in calendar year 2012. In a justifiably angry and embittered end-of-the-year post, Steve Bissette pulls no punches in looking at how monstrous a year it truly has been, especially for freelancers hoping to find gigs in the current corporate environment. This is a long and depressing assessment of creative media and how it treats the human beings it requires in order to exist, and it is absolute must-reading.
* An interesting counterpoint to the above-linked Steve Bissette piece is Tony Isabella's Tribute to Stan Lee, on the occasion of Stan's 90th birthday. I have found it fascinating how Lee, who served Marvel to the detriment of freelancers and their rights for many years, later became as much a victim as anyone, when Marvel tried to screw him out of royalties he was entitled to as a result of the first Spider-Man movie. It's always interesting to me how people like Jim Lee and Brian Bendis can allow themselves to be utterly co-opted by comics corporations and apparently imagine they'll always be taken care of, in an industry that has fucked over Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and virtually every other name that matters as well. In that light, writer Ed Brubaker's move not only to reclaim his old work (Scene of the Crime) but by all apparent evidence re-dedicating himself mostly to work he owns himself (Fatale), makes perfect sense. You'd think more writers and artists would see the logic and benefit of conducting their careers in a similar manner, but that all-encompassing passion to write compromised cape comics for capricious corporations seems to die very hard, indeed. Well, look how Straczynski's stint at Marvel ended up for him. I'm sure that could never happen to Jonathan Hickman or any of the new breed. I'm sure things are different now. Yeah. Go read the Bissette piece.
* Oh, and I should note, I really did enjoy Tony Isabella's personal and joyous reflection on working for Stan Lee. It's all the more interesting to me both because of the irony I noted above, and because Tony is a guy who has been screwed by corporate comics more than once himself, and yet is still positive and decent enough to acknowledge the good parts of his career, such as his relationship with Stan Lee, and knows the difference between the personal and the professional.
* I wrote a farewell to James Kochalka's American Elf (which is scheduled to end at the same time 2012 does), although I didn't write it as well as I should have, clearly, as James took it in a way I really did not intend. You can see our brief back-and-forth on the subject on the AE forum.
* I bought a new desk lamp yesterday. It only handles up to 40-watt bulbs, but it does better illuminate my laptop's keyboard when I am using it at my desk at home. So yes, after nearly a nearly three-month break, I am thinking of writing a little bit, here, now and then in the new year. As noted in a previous post, writing about comics really became NOT FUN for me over the course of 2012 (which I wrote a bit about in my 2012 year in review), but I am hoping to find a new angle from which to approach the subject. We'll see how that works out.
* Happy new year, by the way. I hope you and yours enjoy a peaceful and prosperous 2013.
* An interesting counterpoint to the above-linked Steve Bissette piece is Tony Isabella's Tribute to Stan Lee, on the occasion of Stan's 90th birthday. I have found it fascinating how Lee, who served Marvel to the detriment of freelancers and their rights for many years, later became as much a victim as anyone, when Marvel tried to screw him out of royalties he was entitled to as a result of the first Spider-Man movie. It's always interesting to me how people like Jim Lee and Brian Bendis can allow themselves to be utterly co-opted by comics corporations and apparently imagine they'll always be taken care of, in an industry that has fucked over Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and virtually every other name that matters as well. In that light, writer Ed Brubaker's move not only to reclaim his old work (Scene of the Crime) but by all apparent evidence re-dedicating himself mostly to work he owns himself (Fatale), makes perfect sense. You'd think more writers and artists would see the logic and benefit of conducting their careers in a similar manner, but that all-encompassing passion to write compromised cape comics for capricious corporations seems to die very hard, indeed. Well, look how Straczynski's stint at Marvel ended up for him. I'm sure that could never happen to Jonathan Hickman or any of the new breed. I'm sure things are different now. Yeah. Go read the Bissette piece.
* Oh, and I should note, I really did enjoy Tony Isabella's personal and joyous reflection on working for Stan Lee. It's all the more interesting to me both because of the irony I noted above, and because Tony is a guy who has been screwed by corporate comics more than once himself, and yet is still positive and decent enough to acknowledge the good parts of his career, such as his relationship with Stan Lee, and knows the difference between the personal and the professional.
* I wrote a farewell to James Kochalka's American Elf (which is scheduled to end at the same time 2012 does), although I didn't write it as well as I should have, clearly, as James took it in a way I really did not intend. You can see our brief back-and-forth on the subject on the AE forum.
* I bought a new desk lamp yesterday. It only handles up to 40-watt bulbs, but it does better illuminate my laptop's keyboard when I am using it at my desk at home. So yes, after nearly a nearly three-month break, I am thinking of writing a little bit, here, now and then in the new year. As noted in a previous post, writing about comics really became NOT FUN for me over the course of 2012 (which I wrote a bit about in my 2012 year in review), but I am hoping to find a new angle from which to approach the subject. We'll see how that works out.
* Happy new year, by the way. I hope you and yours enjoy a peaceful and prosperous 2013.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Sunday, September 16, 2012
(Just Like) Starting Over
Jack Kirby reportedly once said “Comics will break your heart.” It’s certainly understandable how the thievery, contempt and indifference Kirby often received from his publishers (and sometimes from comics readers themselves) could have led him to make such a statement. It’s all the more damning of comics as a whole (speaking both of the industry and the readership that supports it) both when you consider that Kirby was one of the medium’s most talented creators, and that he came of age in an era when men did not generally discuss their feelings publicly, and certainly never spoke of having their hearts broken. So monumental was the failure of the industry to treat Kirby properly that he felt the need to warn others. “Comics will break your heart.”
I don’t know if comics has broken my heart, exactly, but it’s certainly driven me crazy the past year or so. Having observed the industry for forty full years now, and having written about it for over twelve years, I found this past year to really test the limits of my patience and my restraint. My utter and complete disgust regarding the unethical and unnecessary Before Watchmen filled me with rage and disappointment – rage at publisher DC Comics for doing it against the explicitly stated wishes of Watchmen writer Alan Moore and the original intent of the contract signed by Moore, DC and artist Dave Gibbons, all of whom expected that the ownership of Watchmen would revert to the comic’s creators after the trade paperback had been out of print for a year. Unfortunately for Moore and Gibbons (but especially Moore), the book’s unprecedented quality and sales figures allowed DC to keep the book in print for a quarter of a century and counting, violating the spirit of the contract, but of course hewing to the letter of the law. It must be so comforting to know that you can legally do something to obviously wrong and ethically contemptible. Good for you, DC fuckers.
You’re probably aware that my feelings about this wretched situation led to an abhorrent and ill-timed post upon the death of Joe Kubert, a legendary comic book artist who collaborated with DC in creating some Before Watchmen comics in the months before his passing. I got more angry and hate-filled comments, emails and even phone calls about that post than probably every other thing I’ve written about in the last twelve years combined. People were really pissed off, and although I didn’t appreciate the threats and name-calling, the vast majority of commentators were right that I said a really spectacularly stupid thing, at precisely the wrong time. If it’s any comfort to those still feeling anger toward me, the number of people reading my blog after that post sank deep into previously unplumbed sub-basements of Comic Book Galaxy HQ. Daily I deal with an utter lack of sunshine and the acrid stench of sulfur wafting through the halls.
But despite all that, after a few days of contemplation I had decided to keep the blog going. Some great friends and key industry figures assured me that I still had something of value to say, and unbelievably, eventually the kerfuffle seemed to quiet down. I kept on blogging, offering up a daily “Galaxy Newsbrief” with what Paul Harvey was fond of calling “News and Commentary.” But within a week or two, I realized my heart was no longer in it. It felt more like work than the joyous exercise in writing it had previously been. Yes, I saw that the pageviews remained dismal, but if that had been the only factor, I would have kept going. I’ve never cared if I was read by 10 people or 10,000, as long as I was providing something of value to my readers, and as long as I enjoyed what I was doing.
Recently, a good friend in comics – someone I’ve only met in person once but shared many intimate emails with and consider a true friend – sent me a comment from his blog that he had not approved in the moderation process. It was vile, dredging up rumour and innuendo about this person’s past and casting some pretty cruel and baseless aspersions at their present circumstances. It led to me tweeting about how comics as a community really fails to police itself and tolerates toxicity and cretinism on every level, from the fanboys spouting off in the comic shops to the psychotic nerd writers appointed to the highest levels of the corporate comics publishers.
The comment that was shared with me in my email hit me like a gut-punch, coming as it did just weeks after I was sent some pretty extreme threats and comments myself. And this, along with my ongoing despair (no, it’s not too strong a word) toward the marketplace’s acceptance of Before Watchmen has, if not broken my heart, well, it’s certainly made me sick. Sicker than I have ever felt about something that once gave me joy on a daily basis. I can barely contain my disgust for the thuggish cretins that run much of the industry, and the toxic assholes that seem to be a majority of the people who comment on it on websites, blogs and social networking sites.
I apologize for being so long-winded about this, but I thought the few dozen of you still reading this blog might be interested in knowing why I haven't updated in a while. If you still love comics, or at least some aspect of it, good for you. I remember well the joy and delight comics has brought me in its best moments, but I’ve been chasing that dragon for too long now, and lately with no good return at all on my investment. I hope comics does more than just break hearts and make people crazy in the months and years ahead, but for me, that’s about all that’s been happening for the past few months, and I need a break.
The real break began at the beginning of September, when I began returning my comics and graphic novels back to the world via eBay. You may have been aggravated by the number of tweets I posted letting people know about my auctions. Sorry about that. But I needed to get the word out that I was off-loading, as writer Tony Isabella has named his vast accumulation of stuff, my Vast Accumulation of Stuff. As I write these words, I'd say I've shed 95 percent of the 3,000 or so comics and graphic novels that were in my possession this time two years ago.
It’s a strange sort of conclusion, in that I have numerous blogs and websites dedicated to the subject of comics in one way or another. And I can’t quite bring myself to just shut them all down, despite feeling nearly certain that it will be a very long time before I have anything at all to say about comics, if indeed I ever feel the desire or need to ever again, at all. But there are other writers involved, like Chris Allen at Trouble With Comics, and Bubba at A Criminal Blog, and they are both better and and far more dedicated writers about comics than I have ever been. I hope they'll keep up their outstanding efforts, and maybe I'll even weigh in sometime, if the spirit moves me. But it won't be soon, because honestly for the first time in decades I have no idea what is going on in comics. I've stopped reading virtually all of them, and virtually every blog or website that I previously followed.
At the moment, I find myself unable to even imagine myself entering a comic book store, never mind actually browsing the comics available for purchase or worse yet, having to have a conversation about the industry or the artform, both of which I feel the need to shut myself off from.
This purge has its origins in practical reality. During a recent, lengthy period of time in which I was jobless, I found myself occasionally selling off some of my nearly 1,000 graphic novels to make ends meet. I found by bundling a few dozen and taking them to a used bookstore, or putting them up on eBay, I could make enough to cover the difference between my expenses and what I was collecting in unemployment insurance. Of course, I started with the books I re-read the least, or perhaps never imagined wanting to read again, and just writing those words I wonder why in the hell I would have kept stuff like that as long as I did. When I began this long, slow purge a couple of years ago the first books to go were graphic novels that had sat on my bookshelves for a decade or more, read once, perhaps reviewed, and then onto the shelves, never to be thought of again, except as part of an obsessive Excel spreadsheet I maintained, which is how I know at its most well-stocked, my graphic novel collection (just softcovers and hardcovers, no floppy comics included) numbered somewhere in the vicinity of 945 books.
As my connection to comics as a community and as an entertainment medium began to crumble this year, I felt the need to speed up the purge. In a weeks-long series of eBay auctions, probably over a hundred or more books went flying out my door, and into the hands of readers and collectors around the country, at sometimes rock-bottom prices, just to get them out of the house. The actual straw that broke the camel’s back – by which I mean, when I sold it, I knew I was done with collecting comics and loving and caring for that collection as a part of my daily existence – was the day I decided to auction off as a set both hardcover Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus editions along with the Amazing Fantasy Omnibus. This mammoth lot of three books collects a huge amount of Steve Ditko stories including the entirety of Amazing Fantasy and all his Spider-Man stories, and the first ASM Omnibus is a book I often thought would be the one I would grab if I only had time to grab one in a hypothetical fire that conveniently allowed me the time to save my entire family, cats included, but then somehow warned me there was only time to save one graphic novel. So when I found myself feeling virtually no regrets at all as I took pictures of those three massive hardcovers, posted the auction on eBay and then quickly sold them off with Buy It Now for less than half what all three go for separately on eBay, I knew my comics collecting days are over. There’s a life-sized Spider-Man head bust in my living room designed by Alex Ross that goes for anywhere from $175 to $300 on eBay that would already be gone if not for the fact that my wife inexplicably seems to love it and would beat me to death with it if I tried to sell it. I do have a few shortboxes of comics and a few dozen GNs left that I would like to get rid of, but none of them seem worth the time and effort of posting on eBay. If you would like to see a list in the hopes something might interest you, email me at alandaviddoane AT gmail dot com and I'll send you the list when it's complete.
Yes, my mantra has become “Everything Must Go,” just like the movie inspired by a Raymond Carver short story. Deluxe hardcovers, limited edition statues, long-held runs and sets of floppy comic books, go, go, unwanted reminders of a 40-year marriage that ended not with a bang but a whimper. Will I regret it someday, when I come out of the manic desire I have right now to shed my existence of all this crap? Perhaps. I know that if I want to read every Steve Ditko Spider-man story, a few clicks on the computer will allow me to do that any time I want, even as I recognize that that’s not the same thing as physically possessing a beautiful hardcover book collecting all those great old stories between two sturdy, hard covers. But at the moment I find myself not caring. Indeed, I find myself for the first time in forty years not really sure what to do with my leisure time. For the past few weeks it has been consumed with off-loading as many comics and graphic novels as I can. It feels something like a fever-dream, a furious need to act on the desire to end this phase of my life. After that, I wonder what will occupy my time. As a result of my withdrawal from comics, I’ve gone from subscribing to hundreds of blogs to subscribing to less than a dozen, one of which is about comics, and even that one may be deleted soon. So I find myself not even sure what to read on the internet for entertainment, for information, for my vast desire to know more. I still want to know more, but for the first time in a long time, I am not sure what I want to know about, if indeed I want to know about anything. My reading habits feel irrevocably altered, just like starting over, but I don’t know where to start.
Man, this is long. Sorry about that. It's actually a combination of two posts I've been sitting on for a few weeks but decided to combine into one. What it really all is about, though, is this:
The best advice I can give you is, if you find yourself in a similar place as me, unable to enjoy comics and outraged, disgusted or made crazy by the industry and the community, take a breath. Step away. Do something else. Do anything else. You might find it feels better than you could ever have guessed. For me, I am starting to feel free from something that was really becoming bad for me. I feel like I can breathe a little better. It's a start.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - September 5th, 2012
* Joss Whedon's Avengers movie as seen through a Firefly filter. Related: This triptych reveals the new Avengers lineup of of the forthcoming Hickman era. Additional deets here.
* Sean Kleefeld writes about friendship and hatred in comics fandom. Because of that guy everybody is shunning that thankfully isn't me, this week. It's hard to imagine being such an asshole that the writer of Kick-Ass and Wanted seems like a hero, but there it is. Welcome to comics.
* Apparently Professor Xavier was a jerk long before Kitty Pryde figured that out.
* My eBay auctions, for your perusal. Great comics and graphic novels at reasonable prices. Some ending today. Your purchase helps me pay the high cost of school clothes, school supplies and other ridiculous fall expenses, so take a look and bid with passion, won't you?
* Sean Kleefeld writes about friendship and hatred in comics fandom. Because of that guy everybody is shunning that thankfully isn't me, this week. It's hard to imagine being such an asshole that the writer of Kick-Ass and Wanted seems like a hero, but there it is. Welcome to comics.
* Apparently Professor Xavier was a jerk long before Kitty Pryde figured that out.
* My eBay auctions, for your perusal. Great comics and graphic novels at reasonable prices. Some ending today. Your purchase helps me pay the high cost of school clothes, school supplies and other ridiculous fall expenses, so take a look and bid with passion, won't you?
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - September 4th, 2012
* Oh Danny Boy looks back to when John Byrne allegedly tanked Marv Wolfman's legal efforts against Marvel Comics to retain his creator rights. I say "allegedly" because I wasn't there, but I followed the case closely at the time, and I believe Wolfman's story about Byrne in the courtroom. I also believe Wolfman had a very good case that Byrne went way out of his way to derail because of his misguided love for a company that he can't even bring himself to call by its name, now. (Byrne always refers to Marvel as M****L, supposedly because it's not Marvel anymore, or some crazy Byrne bullshit like that.) The Oh Danny Boy post includes Byrne's testimony on the stand, and is must-reading for anyone interested in the struggle for creator rights in the comic book industry.
* At Trouble With Comics, Christopher Allen explores the second issue of The Invisibles, as his tour of the omnibus edition of Grant Morrison's long-running Vertigo series continues; Chris also looks at Locke and Key: Grindhouse.
* You know, with one thing and another, he said evasively, I totally forgot to note the 12th anniversary of Comic Book Galaxy. That was on September 1st. 12 years ago on that date I started this site with a bunch of more-or-less like-minded folks who joined up, fulfilling my vision of a site-about-comics that combined the very best writers about the artform and industry at that time all together in one place. Scores more great writers came along since Day One, and I'm grateful for each and every one of them. Since we started in 2000, RSS feeds and blogs have pretty much eliminated what I saw as the need back then for such a site -- I get all the best writers about stuff I'm interested in in one place, Google Reader -- but at the time it was a real treat to have all those folks together and for me to be able to read their stuff first every day, since I was hand-coding, editing and uploading everything myself. These days even most of that isn't necessary, since blogging platforms and easy-to-use software or websites make uploading a breeze. Editing? That's still a lost art for most websites, as it is in most media, frankly. If it sounds like it was a lot of work, it was -- it really was -- but it was well worth it, I loved it, and I don't regret it at all. These days, of course, Comic Book Galaxy is just me and these little newsbriefs, but if I've learned anything about this site in the last 12 years, it's never to try to predict what it will be a year or two down the road. Don't forget that CBG spinoff Trouble With Comics is still alive and kicking, currently featuring Christopher Allen and myself writing about comics.
* I know I'll forget a name or two in saying "thank you" to everyone who wrote for or otherwise helped this site over the last twelve years, but off the top of my head, I am eternally grateful to Christopher Allen, Rob Vollmar, Jason Marcy, d. emerson eddy, Neilalien, Johanna Draper Carlson, Marshall O'Keeffe, Brian Florence, Chris Hunter, Anthony Schiavino, Marc Sobel, Tony Isabella, Derik Badman, Klaus Janson, Eric Reynolds, Chris Staros, Brett Warnock, and Mick Martin. Special thanks to my wife Lora for her patience in putting up with many hundreds of hours spent working on this site when I should have been spending time with my family. You can read more about the history of this site and the people who've contributed to it over the years in this fourth-anniversary piece written by myself and Chris Allen.
* I'd also like to express my profound gratitude to everyone who ever helped the site out financially. We've had a fire sale or three in the past twelve years, and you, the reader, have always been extraordinarily kind in donating or buying stuff to help me keep this thing going. Thank you.
* Speaking of which, I do have some eBay auctions currently underway, and I'd love it if you clicked over to see if there's anything there that interests you. If you do make a purchase, mention Comic Book Galaxy at checkout and I'll throw some fun extras in with your stuff.
* At Trouble With Comics, Christopher Allen explores the second issue of The Invisibles, as his tour of the omnibus edition of Grant Morrison's long-running Vertigo series continues; Chris also looks at Locke and Key: Grindhouse.
* You know, with one thing and another, he said evasively, I totally forgot to note the 12th anniversary of Comic Book Galaxy. That was on September 1st. 12 years ago on that date I started this site with a bunch of more-or-less like-minded folks who joined up, fulfilling my vision of a site-about-comics that combined the very best writers about the artform and industry at that time all together in one place. Scores more great writers came along since Day One, and I'm grateful for each and every one of them. Since we started in 2000, RSS feeds and blogs have pretty much eliminated what I saw as the need back then for such a site -- I get all the best writers about stuff I'm interested in in one place, Google Reader -- but at the time it was a real treat to have all those folks together and for me to be able to read their stuff first every day, since I was hand-coding, editing and uploading everything myself. These days even most of that isn't necessary, since blogging platforms and easy-to-use software or websites make uploading a breeze. Editing? That's still a lost art for most websites, as it is in most media, frankly. If it sounds like it was a lot of work, it was -- it really was -- but it was well worth it, I loved it, and I don't regret it at all. These days, of course, Comic Book Galaxy is just me and these little newsbriefs, but if I've learned anything about this site in the last 12 years, it's never to try to predict what it will be a year or two down the road. Don't forget that CBG spinoff Trouble With Comics is still alive and kicking, currently featuring Christopher Allen and myself writing about comics.
* I know I'll forget a name or two in saying "thank you" to everyone who wrote for or otherwise helped this site over the last twelve years, but off the top of my head, I am eternally grateful to Christopher Allen, Rob Vollmar, Jason Marcy, d. emerson eddy, Neilalien, Johanna Draper Carlson, Marshall O'Keeffe, Brian Florence, Chris Hunter, Anthony Schiavino, Marc Sobel, Tony Isabella, Derik Badman, Klaus Janson, Eric Reynolds, Chris Staros, Brett Warnock, and Mick Martin. Special thanks to my wife Lora for her patience in putting up with many hundreds of hours spent working on this site when I should have been spending time with my family. You can read more about the history of this site and the people who've contributed to it over the years in this fourth-anniversary piece written by myself and Chris Allen.
* I'd also like to express my profound gratitude to everyone who ever helped the site out financially. We've had a fire sale or three in the past twelve years, and you, the reader, have always been extraordinarily kind in donating or buying stuff to help me keep this thing going. Thank you.
* Speaking of which, I do have some eBay auctions currently underway, and I'd love it if you clicked over to see if there's anything there that interests you. If you do make a purchase, mention Comic Book Galaxy at checkout and I'll throw some fun extras in with your stuff.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - September 3rd, 2012
* Tony Isabella talks about what he would do if he rebooted the Marvel and/or DC universes, thus laying out an actionable plan that those companies could use to redeem a lot of wasted characters and ideas. Not that they will take that action. Tony also talks about Dylan Horrocks's Hicksville, which may not be totally unrelated to his ideas about reforming the corporate superhero comics universes.
* At The Comics Reporter, readers respond to a Five for Friday asking what are five superhero stories from five different decades that they like? This is one of those FFF that gave me a brain freeze, so I did not send anything in. Of all the stories listed, though, my favourites include Batman: Year One, Top 10: The Forty-Niners, Daredevil: Born Again, The Coming of Galactus (why is there no nice hardcover of this Lee and Kirby classic?), and This Man, This Monster (would make a nice supplement to the aforementioned yet non-existent HC, coming as it did one issue after the Galactus trilogy).
* Please take a moment today to take a look at the eBay auctions I have running at the moment. Very good prices on some great and hard to find comics and graphic novels by creators like Alan Moore, Ed Brubaker, Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Darwyn Cooke and others.
* At The Comics Reporter, readers respond to a Five for Friday asking what are five superhero stories from five different decades that they like? This is one of those FFF that gave me a brain freeze, so I did not send anything in. Of all the stories listed, though, my favourites include Batman: Year One, Top 10: The Forty-Niners, Daredevil: Born Again, The Coming of Galactus (why is there no nice hardcover of this Lee and Kirby classic?), and This Man, This Monster (would make a nice supplement to the aforementioned yet non-existent HC, coming as it did one issue after the Galactus trilogy).
* Please take a moment today to take a look at the eBay auctions I have running at the moment. Very good prices on some great and hard to find comics and graphic novels by creators like Alan Moore, Ed Brubaker, Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Darwyn Cooke and others.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - September 2nd, 2012
* Sorry for the lack of an update yesterday, but yes, we had no bananas. Today? Bananas.
* Writer of-and-about comics Tony Isabella discusses why he wishes Steve Ditko really were attending a comic book convention, and also delivers a sensible and convincing argument for re-electing Barack Obama, in a lengthy and diverse Bloggy Thing.
* At Robot 6, we see even a self-professed fan of Geoff Johns can eventually begin to sense how shitty he is for comics.
* Uncomics: Benedict Cumberbatch talks about his role in 2013's Star Trek movie. Roger Ebert analyzes Clint Eastwood's dazed and confused RNC performance.
* Uncomics: Bob Lefsetz talks about David Letterman's appearance on Alec Baldwin's podcast. Buried in the middle, Lefsetz says something every would-be comics creator should print out and post over their workspace: "[Letterman] and Merrill Markoe create his own show, which he thinks everybody is waiting for, but they’re not. That’s the arrogance, you think everybody is waiting for you, when you show up they’re gonna drop everything and pay attention. You’ve been woodshedding off the grid and now you’ve arrived. Huh? Most people just don’t care." Burn that into your brains, folks, then reflect on it when you're wondering why things don't seem to be developing they way you thought they would, or worse, they way you think you "deserve." Then work harder. Get past it, get better. Get so goddamned good that it hurts, and work at it every day. Eventually, if you have what it takes, that magic mix of talent, will and perseverance, you will get noticed. But don't make comics to get noticed (Mark Millar), make comics to communicate ideas and share experiences. And entertain, sure, do that too. Those are the motivations that matter.
* Writer of-and-about comics Tony Isabella discusses why he wishes Steve Ditko really were attending a comic book convention, and also delivers a sensible and convincing argument for re-electing Barack Obama, in a lengthy and diverse Bloggy Thing.
* At Robot 6, we see even a self-professed fan of Geoff Johns can eventually begin to sense how shitty he is for comics.
* Uncomics: Benedict Cumberbatch talks about his role in 2013's Star Trek movie. Roger Ebert analyzes Clint Eastwood's dazed and confused RNC performance.
* Uncomics: Bob Lefsetz talks about David Letterman's appearance on Alec Baldwin's podcast. Buried in the middle, Lefsetz says something every would-be comics creator should print out and post over their workspace: "[Letterman] and Merrill Markoe create his own show, which he thinks everybody is waiting for, but they’re not. That’s the arrogance, you think everybody is waiting for you, when you show up they’re gonna drop everything and pay attention. You’ve been woodshedding off the grid and now you’ve arrived. Huh? Most people just don’t care." Burn that into your brains, folks, then reflect on it when you're wondering why things don't seem to be developing they way you thought they would, or worse, they way you think you "deserve." Then work harder. Get past it, get better. Get so goddamned good that it hurts, and work at it every day. Eventually, if you have what it takes, that magic mix of talent, will and perseverance, you will get noticed. But don't make comics to get noticed (Mark Millar), make comics to communicate ideas and share experiences. And entertain, sure, do that too. Those are the motivations that matter.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 31st, 2012
* Greg Rucka's Stumptown is returning. Stumptown and Criminal are the two comics you should be reading if you say DC never should have canceled Gotham Central.
* Christopher Allen begins reviewing every issue of The Invisibles, beginning with #1, at Trouble With Comics. My immediate reaction to Chris's review: Morrison definitely skimmed some Robert Anton Wilson, although I don't sense a drop of Moorcock in his stuff. More importantly to me, ALL Morrison's influences seem facile and more nodded-at than absorbed or understood (by him). I don't doubt he did/does a lot of drugs and maybe even performs magickal rituals in the creation of his comics (which I hesitate to call "art"), but he strikes me as much more interested in what magick can do for him than what he can do for the world THROUGH magick, as I think Moore is interested in doing. I think that's a pretty striking (perhaps THE) difference between them. That, and 40 IQ points.
* Is Marvel NOW! a reboot? A jumping on/jumping off point? Is it meat? Is it cake? Is it meatcake? WTF is it? Tom Spurgeon has thoughts.
* Doctor Who Season 7 stuff. Looking forward to it. Doctor Who is weird in that, when it's not in the middle of new episodes I barely miss it, but when a new season starts, I am rabid for it.
* Uncomics: The 20 worst hipster bands. Roger Green points to an article on how public libraries are "weathering the storm." A storm created by short-sighted politicians who want the populace to be even more ignorant and uninformed than they already are.
* Uncomics: Mark Evanier posts some amazing video of Las Vegas in the 1960s.
* Christopher Allen begins reviewing every issue of The Invisibles, beginning with #1, at Trouble With Comics. My immediate reaction to Chris's review: Morrison definitely skimmed some Robert Anton Wilson, although I don't sense a drop of Moorcock in his stuff. More importantly to me, ALL Morrison's influences seem facile and more nodded-at than absorbed or understood (by him). I don't doubt he did/does a lot of drugs and maybe even performs magickal rituals in the creation of his comics (which I hesitate to call "art"), but he strikes me as much more interested in what magick can do for him than what he can do for the world THROUGH magick, as I think Moore is interested in doing. I think that's a pretty striking (perhaps THE) difference between them. That, and 40 IQ points.
* Is Marvel NOW! a reboot? A jumping on/jumping off point? Is it meat? Is it cake? Is it meatcake? WTF is it? Tom Spurgeon has thoughts.
* Doctor Who Season 7 stuff. Looking forward to it. Doctor Who is weird in that, when it's not in the middle of new episodes I barely miss it, but when a new season starts, I am rabid for it.
* Uncomics: The 20 worst hipster bands. Roger Green points to an article on how public libraries are "weathering the storm." A storm created by short-sighted politicians who want the populace to be even more ignorant and uninformed than they already are.
* Uncomics: Mark Evanier posts some amazing video of Las Vegas in the 1960s.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 30th, 2012
* Much as I hate virtually every move DC has made in the last, oh, decade? And especially the past couple of years? I have to admit Greg Rucka is right in his assessment of the publisher's latest announced big-deal storyline. I also especially agree with his conclusion, which is, if you hate it, stop buying it. To do otherwise is genuinely pathological.
* It's official, Joss Whedon is making a SHIELD TV pilot for ABC along with members of his usual gang of writers. I'm sure ABC/Disney is completely unaware of this, but the only thing that has to happen for the pilot to go to series and be successful and entertaining is, let Joss be Joss. Probably won't happen, but it would be nice to see what develops if he and his people are given the freedom to go where their muse takes them.
* The Hooded Utilitarian evaluates the recent Marie Severin tribute book published by TwoMorrows, accurately gauging its strengths and weaknesses. It's a fun book, but it could have been better and more worthy of its subject's talent and long experience in comics.
* R. Fiore writes for The Comics Journal on superhero movies in general and The Dark Knight Rises in particular. He makes a great point about Nolan Batman Money versus Whedon Avengers Money.
* Yesterday there was a claim that Steve Ditko is attending a London comic book convention next year. If it had been true, it would have indicated a sudden change in Ditko's policy regarding public appearances that begged explanation. Turns out the story was false, and someone should get punched in the mouth, hard.
* Graeme McMillan on why creators go to Image instead of Marvel or DC, and what it means for the future, which is where we will all be spending the rest of our lives.
* Uncomics: Seven steps to improve your critical thinking. Chris Pine, the new Captain Kirk, turns 32, prompting an examination of his suitability as the new captain of the Enterprise.
* It's official, Joss Whedon is making a SHIELD TV pilot for ABC along with members of his usual gang of writers. I'm sure ABC/Disney is completely unaware of this, but the only thing that has to happen for the pilot to go to series and be successful and entertaining is, let Joss be Joss. Probably won't happen, but it would be nice to see what develops if he and his people are given the freedom to go where their muse takes them.
* The Hooded Utilitarian evaluates the recent Marie Severin tribute book published by TwoMorrows, accurately gauging its strengths and weaknesses. It's a fun book, but it could have been better and more worthy of its subject's talent and long experience in comics.
* R. Fiore writes for The Comics Journal on superhero movies in general and The Dark Knight Rises in particular. He makes a great point about Nolan Batman Money versus Whedon Avengers Money.
* Yesterday there was a claim that Steve Ditko is attending a London comic book convention next year. If it had been true, it would have indicated a sudden change in Ditko's policy regarding public appearances that begged explanation. Turns out the story was false, and someone should get punched in the mouth, hard.
* Graeme McMillan on why creators go to Image instead of Marvel or DC, and what it means for the future, which is where we will all be spending the rest of our lives.
* Uncomics: Seven steps to improve your critical thinking. Chris Pine, the new Captain Kirk, turns 32, prompting an examination of his suitability as the new captain of the Enterprise.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 29th, 2012
* Here's an alternate opening to Joss Whedon's Avengers movie. It certainly feels Whedonesque. Unlike Spinoff, I'm not sure this wouldn't have improved the movie. I would love to see a Director's Cut or expanded edition or whatever so I can make up my own mind.
* Roger Green talks about the forthcoming FantaCon, a revival of the Albany, NY comic book conventions originally started by the late, great FantaCo comic book store in the very late '70s. I think the 1981 convention was my first. The new show, organized by FantaCo's Tom Skulan and including guests like Fred Hembeck and Steve Bissette, is happening in a little over a year, in September, 2013. Much more info in the link.
* The more they talk about Marvel NOW! the less I understand it. When I thought it was three books, I was somewhat excited about a couple of them. Now it seems like it's every book, and my interest has plummeted. Ah, it's probably just as well. For my wallet, I mean.
* Uncomics: The Collapse Wager. Which side are you on?
* Roger Green talks about the forthcoming FantaCon, a revival of the Albany, NY comic book conventions originally started by the late, great FantaCo comic book store in the very late '70s. I think the 1981 convention was my first. The new show, organized by FantaCo's Tom Skulan and including guests like Fred Hembeck and Steve Bissette, is happening in a little over a year, in September, 2013. Much more info in the link.
* The more they talk about Marvel NOW! the less I understand it. When I thought it was three books, I was somewhat excited about a couple of them. Now it seems like it's every book, and my interest has plummeted. Ah, it's probably just as well. For my wallet, I mean.
* Uncomics: The Collapse Wager. Which side are you on?
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 28th, 2012
* Diversions of the Groovy Kind commemorates Jack Kirby's birthday by posting some of The King's amazing 1970s Captain America splash pages. Groovy indeed.
* Dan Nadel looks at the David Mazzucchelli Daredevil: Born Again Artist Edition, at The Comics Journal, with some great images from the book that will make you want it more than you already do, if you haven't got one yet.
* Here's a bunch of Spider-Man news, centered in the 700th issue of ASM. Related: Everybody seems to like Dean Haspiel's back-up story in the recent 50th anniversary issue.
* Uncomics: Christopher Allen looks at Grosse Point Blank, which I remember liking when I saw it in theaters. Chris's analysis of John Cusack's character type is terrific, and reminds me of a guy I knew in college who both looked a bit like Cusack and carried himself in the same manner. He had a somewhat affected way of speaking that, combined with his somewhat Sgt. Pepper-inspired wardrobe, prompted someone at a party once to ask if he was British; he responded, after a pause, "No, I'm just lazy."
* Uncomics: The Art of Manliness on how to shop for groceries. It took me years to figure out many of the strategies and tips you'll find here. If you have an Aldi in your area, use it. As the post says, the quality on most items is as good or better than more familiar brands, and you can save a huge amount of money. Just remember to bring a quarter for your cart (you get it back when you return the cart) and your own shopping bags (although they have some available cheap if you forget). One thing the post doesn't mention is that you'll sometimes find items that are very hard to find anywhere else; my son loves Jaffa Cakes, having heard them referenced on Spaced and in YouTube videos. Aldi is the only place I've ever found these delicious treats, and super-cheap, too.
* Uncomics: Seven reasons to publish a blog.
* Dan Nadel looks at the David Mazzucchelli Daredevil: Born Again Artist Edition, at The Comics Journal, with some great images from the book that will make you want it more than you already do, if you haven't got one yet.
* Here's a bunch of Spider-Man news, centered in the 700th issue of ASM. Related: Everybody seems to like Dean Haspiel's back-up story in the recent 50th anniversary issue.
* Uncomics: Christopher Allen looks at Grosse Point Blank, which I remember liking when I saw it in theaters. Chris's analysis of John Cusack's character type is terrific, and reminds me of a guy I knew in college who both looked a bit like Cusack and carried himself in the same manner. He had a somewhat affected way of speaking that, combined with his somewhat Sgt. Pepper-inspired wardrobe, prompted someone at a party once to ask if he was British; he responded, after a pause, "No, I'm just lazy."
* Uncomics: The Art of Manliness on how to shop for groceries. It took me years to figure out many of the strategies and tips you'll find here. If you have an Aldi in your area, use it. As the post says, the quality on most items is as good or better than more familiar brands, and you can save a huge amount of money. Just remember to bring a quarter for your cart (you get it back when you return the cart) and your own shopping bags (although they have some available cheap if you forget). One thing the post doesn't mention is that you'll sometimes find items that are very hard to find anywhere else; my son loves Jaffa Cakes, having heard them referenced on Spaced and in YouTube videos. Aldi is the only place I've ever found these delicious treats, and super-cheap, too.
* Uncomics: Seven reasons to publish a blog.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 27th, 2012
* At our sister blog A Criminal Blog, Bubba discusses the details of the planned Scene of the Crime Deluxe Hardcover by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark and Sean Phillips. Along with forthcoming hardcover releases of Criminal (a second deluxe HC) and Incognito, plus a rumoured Sleeper Deluxe HC, it's a good, if expensive time to be a fan of Brubaker/Phillips crime comics.
* At Trouble With Comics, Christopher Allen reviews Mike Dawson's Troop 142 graphic novel and mentions Gabagool, the grand and hilarious and much-missed comic book Dawson co-created.
* I forgot John Romita redrew one of his covers from the late-'60s Sensational Spider-Man Magazine for a comic-sized reprint in 1973. It's too bad the magazine was so short-lived; it was an interesting experiment, and might have taken the characters in a more mature direction had it continued. If nothing else, Gwen and MJ were hella sexy in this story.
* Tom Spurgeon compiles a few suggestions of what you could do with the $140.00 Before Watchmen will cost, if you'd rather read good comic books that aren't ethically tainted. Tom also points readers today to this extensive gallery of Frank Robbins-drawn pages, which makes me wonder whatever happened to the two pages of original Robbins Captain America art I bought for five dollars each from Jim Ivey's Cartoon Museum in Florida in the late 1970s. They were from the Nomad era, written by Steve Englehart and lettered by Tom Orzechowski. Honestly I was in my early teens and bought them because they were the first originals I had ever seen, and I stupidly later sold or traded them away, but now I wish I had them because every noun involved -- Captain America, Nomad, Englehart, Robbins, Orzechowski -- is awesome. Shit.
* More and more, DC reminds me of an angry guy who's gotten lost and instead of stopping and asking for directions, he drives more and more aggressively, upsetting his wife in the passenger seat and the kids in the back, and scaring off every other car on the road, all the while getting further and further from his intended destination. In related news, Geoff Johns will be writing a second Justice League title, with someone who draws kind of like Jim Lee, only worse.
* Uncomics: Star Trek's Chekov, Walter Koenig is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
* At Trouble With Comics, Christopher Allen reviews Mike Dawson's Troop 142 graphic novel and mentions Gabagool, the grand and hilarious and much-missed comic book Dawson co-created.
* I forgot John Romita redrew one of his covers from the late-'60s Sensational Spider-Man Magazine for a comic-sized reprint in 1973. It's too bad the magazine was so short-lived; it was an interesting experiment, and might have taken the characters in a more mature direction had it continued. If nothing else, Gwen and MJ were hella sexy in this story.
* Tom Spurgeon compiles a few suggestions of what you could do with the $140.00 Before Watchmen will cost, if you'd rather read good comic books that aren't ethically tainted. Tom also points readers today to this extensive gallery of Frank Robbins-drawn pages, which makes me wonder whatever happened to the two pages of original Robbins Captain America art I bought for five dollars each from Jim Ivey's Cartoon Museum in Florida in the late 1970s. They were from the Nomad era, written by Steve Englehart and lettered by Tom Orzechowski. Honestly I was in my early teens and bought them because they were the first originals I had ever seen, and I stupidly later sold or traded them away, but now I wish I had them because every noun involved -- Captain America, Nomad, Englehart, Robbins, Orzechowski -- is awesome. Shit.
* More and more, DC reminds me of an angry guy who's gotten lost and instead of stopping and asking for directions, he drives more and more aggressively, upsetting his wife in the passenger seat and the kids in the back, and scaring off every other car on the road, all the while getting further and further from his intended destination. In related news, Geoff Johns will be writing a second Justice League title, with someone who draws kind of like Jim Lee, only worse.
* Uncomics: Star Trek's Chekov, Walter Koenig is getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 26th, 2012
* Artist Frank Santoro writes about drawing, for The Comics Journal. I love the way he thinks about comics, about how we see art. And I love Chimera, one of his comics that he talks about in this post.
* Since there's virtually nothing else of note to talk about at the moment, here's an edited message board post I wrote about Ed Brubaker's Marvel tenure, prompted by the news that he is leaving The Winter Soldier (and all corporate-owned comics, for the time being, anyway):
* Books of Doom was okay, just. Iron Fist I liked at the start, but it lost direction somewhere between the second and third trade collection. Uncanny X-Men was gawdawful, but it has been since Paul Smith stopped drawing it, so I assume that's how Marvel prefers it to be. You can hardly blame Brubaker for that, anymore than you can blame even the best creators on the New 52 stuff for how disappointing the entire line is. Editor-driven comics are just like that. When the backseat driver has the actual steering wheel and pedals, you can't blame the guy in the front seat for the bad driving, other than recognizing he was a fool to get into the front seat knowing he was never going to be in control anyway.
Despite being coloured largely with mud, I think story-wise Captain America was very strong most of the way through, running completely off the rails at Road to Reborn, although I didn't hate Reborn itself as much as some. It did what it was supposed to do, pay homage to the various eras of Cap and bring him back to the present day yet again. But it's hardly a must-read, either. When Marvel split Cap off into two titles I lost all interest or ability to follow what was going on. I popped in on some Alan Davis issues, was not convinced to stay.
Winter Soldier reminds me more than anything of Brubaker's work on Sleeper, and as such I'd have read it forever. While I am pleased Brubaker's at a place where he can go strictly creator-owned if he wants, I admit I am a bit sad that such a fun book has to end. But that's the never-ending frustration of corporate-owned comics: Quality is only one small factor among the many that go into how long a book continues, almost never the main concern. If it was, Ditko would still be doing Amazing Spider-Man, Barry Windsor-Smith would still be doing Storyteller, and Waid and Garney would still be doing Captain America.
* Since there's virtually nothing else of note to talk about at the moment, here's an edited message board post I wrote about Ed Brubaker's Marvel tenure, prompted by the news that he is leaving The Winter Soldier (and all corporate-owned comics, for the time being, anyway):
* Books of Doom was okay, just. Iron Fist I liked at the start, but it lost direction somewhere between the second and third trade collection. Uncanny X-Men was gawdawful, but it has been since Paul Smith stopped drawing it, so I assume that's how Marvel prefers it to be. You can hardly blame Brubaker for that, anymore than you can blame even the best creators on the New 52 stuff for how disappointing the entire line is. Editor-driven comics are just like that. When the backseat driver has the actual steering wheel and pedals, you can't blame the guy in the front seat for the bad driving, other than recognizing he was a fool to get into the front seat knowing he was never going to be in control anyway.
Despite being coloured largely with mud, I think story-wise Captain America was very strong most of the way through, running completely off the rails at Road to Reborn, although I didn't hate Reborn itself as much as some. It did what it was supposed to do, pay homage to the various eras of Cap and bring him back to the present day yet again. But it's hardly a must-read, either. When Marvel split Cap off into two titles I lost all interest or ability to follow what was going on. I popped in on some Alan Davis issues, was not convinced to stay.
Winter Soldier reminds me more than anything of Brubaker's work on Sleeper, and as such I'd have read it forever. While I am pleased Brubaker's at a place where he can go strictly creator-owned if he wants, I admit I am a bit sad that such a fun book has to end. But that's the never-ending frustration of corporate-owned comics: Quality is only one small factor among the many that go into how long a book continues, almost never the main concern. If it was, Ditko would still be doing Amazing Spider-Man, Barry Windsor-Smith would still be doing Storyteller, and Waid and Garney would still be doing Captain America.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 25th, 2012
* Ed Brubaker is ending his run on Winter Soldier. That's too bad in the sense that it was a massively fun Marvel comic you didn't need to read anything else in order to understand. But bravo for Brubaker taking full control of his career and his creations, ad for not only successfully bringing Bucky back but injecting genuine drama and interest into Marvel's universe in the process.
* I forgot about Robocop vs. Terminator, a Frank Miller/Walter Simonson joint. It's 20 years old now.
* The headline says Mark Waid is talking about grimness in comics, but he's really talking about lazy writing.
* Uncomics: 10 things you probably don't know about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bob Lefsetz says "Thank God we've got these records." Roger Ebert recalls Gene Siskel in an essay on "Lip Flap." Quotable Republicans fighting their War on Women.
* I forgot about Robocop vs. Terminator, a Frank Miller/Walter Simonson joint. It's 20 years old now.
* The headline says Mark Waid is talking about grimness in comics, but he's really talking about lazy writing.
* Uncomics: 10 things you probably don't know about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Bob Lefsetz says "Thank God we've got these records." Roger Ebert recalls Gene Siskel in an essay on "Lip Flap." Quotable Republicans fighting their War on Women.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 24th, 2012
* At Comic Book Galaxy's sister blog Trouble With Comics (why do we have to be sisters? Can't we be brothers?), Christopher Allen talks about Spider-Man, and his (Chris's) experiences reading about him in the 1970s, occasioned by the 50th anniversary of the character's creation by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. In a related note, I read that 50th anniversary overpriced Amazing Spider-Man issue that came out this week. The lead story by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos was pretty good and appropriate to the occasion, but the rest of it felt like filler (Steve Rogers still in his Bucky-is-Cap-era Super Soldier outfit?!?) to pad out an unnecessarily-long comic book priced twice as high as it was worth, just because they could, True Believer. Pretty poor form, coming directly on the heels of an excellently written and drawn multi-part story featuring Spider-Man dealing with the return of The Lizard and the blood-lust of Michael Morbius. In his post, Chris mentions the Spider-Mobile, which had to be Gerry Conway's F-U to product placement, right? Full disclosure: I had the Spider-Mobile and my Mego Spider-Man drove in it regularly.
* Here's writer Dan Slott talking about current and near-future Amazing Spider-Man storylines.
* If you're anywhere near Medina, Ohio today and tomorrow, go to Tony Isabella's garage sale. I think he's talking about having his excellent Captain America rose paperback (with a Jim Steranko cover) on sale for a buck. That's crazy cheap. And I bet he'd even sign it for you. Related: Tony comments on Rob Liefeld's unceremonious exit from DC.
* Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley is creating a graphic novel that will be out next year, called Seconds. I wish I loved anything today as much as I loved the first volume of Scott Pilgrim.
* Here's writer Dan Slott talking about current and near-future Amazing Spider-Man storylines.
* If you're anywhere near Medina, Ohio today and tomorrow, go to Tony Isabella's garage sale. I think he's talking about having his excellent Captain America rose paperback (with a Jim Steranko cover) on sale for a buck. That's crazy cheap. And I bet he'd even sign it for you. Related: Tony comments on Rob Liefeld's unceremonious exit from DC.
* Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley is creating a graphic novel that will be out next year, called Seconds. I wish I loved anything today as much as I loved the first volume of Scott Pilgrim.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 23rd, 2012
* I'll take the Frank Miller art from this minor piece from 1980 over almost anything he's drawn since. I really miss the obvious passion and desire to tell a story that you see on display there. It more than makes up for the occasional awkward body language (which I enjoy as being part of his style back then) or stock pose in the piece. It seems unlikely that Miller will ever again deliver something that purely comics. Bonus: That gorgeous Tom Orzechowski lettering. Did you know they wrote the lettering right on the artwork back in those days? Crazy, I know, but it made the end product more purely -- wait for it -- comics.
* There must be someone who cares that Rob Liefeld has quit DC Comics. Brian Wood makes a cryptic comment following the post, or at least a snarky one, indicating there's more to the story than that "Rob sucks." Well, sure. There might be more to it than just that.
* This just in: Geoff Johns apparently read Buffy Season 8.
* Wally Wood inks Gil Kane. Two of my all-time favourite artists. Wood inking almost anyone was always visually interesting (see his inks in the 1970s All-Star Comics, for example, reprinted a few years back in a Justice Society TPB); I think the first time I remember being intrigued by Wood-as-inker was that Daredevil cover he inked over Frank Miller's pencils, which you can see at the bottom of this post, or a larger version here.
* Uncomics: Here's my review of B.J. Mendelson's new book Social Media is Bullshit.
* There must be someone who cares that Rob Liefeld has quit DC Comics. Brian Wood makes a cryptic comment following the post, or at least a snarky one, indicating there's more to the story than that "Rob sucks." Well, sure. There might be more to it than just that.
* This just in: Geoff Johns apparently read Buffy Season 8.
* Wally Wood inks Gil Kane. Two of my all-time favourite artists. Wood inking almost anyone was always visually interesting (see his inks in the 1970s All-Star Comics, for example, reprinted a few years back in a Justice Society TPB); I think the first time I remember being intrigued by Wood-as-inker was that Daredevil cover he inked over Frank Miller's pencils, which you can see at the bottom of this post, or a larger version here.
* Uncomics: Here's my review of B.J. Mendelson's new book Social Media is Bullshit.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 22nd, 2012
* A Brazilian music blog loves James Kochalka's Fantastic Butterflies as much as I do, and other Kochalka stuff to boot.
* Mark Waid talks to Newsarama about Indestructible Hulk.
* Is Ant-Man the worst superhero in the world? Me, I've loved him since Avengers #161. I came into comics just in time to think Yellowjacket was Hank Pym's only alter ego.
* Uncomics: Roger Green goes to the movies. It's a long post in which Roger makes 100 notes on movies. I can understand why you'd eschew Star Trek movies after the fifth one, but the most recent J.J. Abrams-directed outing, I bet you'd like that one, Roger. Speaking of Star Trek, you'll find William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart in this gallery of actors re-imagined as historical military leaders or something. I don't know, maybe they're all Napoleon. Here's the gag reel from The Avengers. Christopher Allen reviews Compulsion, a minor-but-noteworthy film featuring the great Orson Welles.
* Uncomics: Mick Martin runs rings around Todd Akin logically. Not that that's any great feat. In other Mick news, he's resumed his reviews of my 21 great episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now that some time has passed, and having read Mick's comments, I am more ambivalent about "Sarek" being on my list. Because Mick makes some good points about the weakness of the episode, which seems great to me because I love Vulcans, and I especially love Mark Lenard as Spock's dad. So my own shadings affect my viewing of that particular episode, which is not as strong as most of the others on the list, when considered purely from a narrative standpoint.
* Mark Waid talks to Newsarama about Indestructible Hulk.
* Is Ant-Man the worst superhero in the world? Me, I've loved him since Avengers #161. I came into comics just in time to think Yellowjacket was Hank Pym's only alter ego.
* Uncomics: Roger Green goes to the movies. It's a long post in which Roger makes 100 notes on movies. I can understand why you'd eschew Star Trek movies after the fifth one, but the most recent J.J. Abrams-directed outing, I bet you'd like that one, Roger. Speaking of Star Trek, you'll find William Shatner and Sir Patrick Stewart in this gallery of actors re-imagined as historical military leaders or something. I don't know, maybe they're all Napoleon. Here's the gag reel from The Avengers. Christopher Allen reviews Compulsion, a minor-but-noteworthy film featuring the great Orson Welles.
* Uncomics: Mick Martin runs rings around Todd Akin logically. Not that that's any great feat. In other Mick news, he's resumed his reviews of my 21 great episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Now that some time has passed, and having read Mick's comments, I am more ambivalent about "Sarek" being on my list. Because Mick makes some good points about the weakness of the episode, which seems great to me because I love Vulcans, and I especially love Mark Lenard as Spock's dad. So my own shadings affect my viewing of that particular episode, which is not as strong as most of the others on the list, when considered purely from a narrative standpoint.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 21st, 2012
* New at Trouble With Comics, my review of Rick Geary's A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: Lovers' Lane - The Hall/Mills Mystery.
* Here's a deleted scene from Joss Whedon's Avengers movie, featuring Mark Ruffalo and Harry Dean Stanton. I thought that scene felt like there was something missing. Not that this deleted scene adds anything to it of substance.
* The Mindless Ones begins a long look at Doctor Who in comics, beginning with the era in which I first started watching the show (and reading the comics in imported Doctor Who magazines), 1979. Did anyone ever draw Tom Baker or Peter Davison better than Dave Gibbons?
* Man, I love Joe Staton's work at Charlton in the 1970s. Diversions of the Groovy Kind serves up a short story that looks just great to my eyes.
* Uncomics: I found this interview with Michael daughter and McKenzie Westmore fascinating, for the way that McKenzie sort of accidentally got involved with Star Trek and it ended up being really important to her.
* Here's a deleted scene from Joss Whedon's Avengers movie, featuring Mark Ruffalo and Harry Dean Stanton. I thought that scene felt like there was something missing. Not that this deleted scene adds anything to it of substance.
* The Mindless Ones begins a long look at Doctor Who in comics, beginning with the era in which I first started watching the show (and reading the comics in imported Doctor Who magazines), 1979. Did anyone ever draw Tom Baker or Peter Davison better than Dave Gibbons?
* Man, I love Joe Staton's work at Charlton in the 1970s. Diversions of the Groovy Kind serves up a short story that looks just great to my eyes.
* Uncomics: I found this interview with Michael daughter and McKenzie Westmore fascinating, for the way that McKenzie sort of accidentally got involved with Star Trek and it ended up being really important to her.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 20th, 2012
* Sorry for the short newsbrief today, I was in Vermont over the weekend and didn't have much time to work on the blog. It was sunny and in the mid-70s with low humidity, the perfect weather for a day in Vermont. Visited Northshire Bookstore, probably the best bookstore in 250 miles. Didn't buy anything, but I enjoyed browsing, and feel like if I had tried harder I would have found the perfect book to end the summer with. It was still a nice day, though, and if you're ever in Manchester Center, I can highly recommend Thai Basil on Main Street. Just about the best Thai food I've ever had.
* Well, I've stalled all I can. Here's my one comics-related link: Official Hulk Fan #1 Mick Martin looks at Hulk: Season One (not a DVD, as I expected, but a comic book). I haven't looked at any of these Season One projects (or DC's version, Earth One) because they seem intentionally irrelevant. They're out of continuity with the in-universe version of the characters, they are usually by creators with little or no experience with the characters, and they seem specifically designed as short-term profit generators, not deliberate attempts to make good comic books with a new angle on long-established comic book icons. But I'm glad Mick liked this Hulk one; he deserves a good Hulk comic to read now and again.
* Uncomics: The man who played Commodore Matt Decker on one of the most memorable episodes of the original Star Trek, William Windom, has died. I never here the phrase "Don't you think I know that?" that I don't think of Windom's exquisite performance as Decker. Mark Evanier remembers William Windom. Mark also analyzes last week's shakeup at The Tonight Show. At Spinoff, Graeme McMillan has five questions about the new season of Doctor Who. Christopher Allen looks at a biography of The Psychedelic Furs. My favourite album by them, Heartbreak Beat, apparently is not fondly remembered.
* Well, I've stalled all I can. Here's my one comics-related link: Official Hulk Fan #1 Mick Martin looks at Hulk: Season One (not a DVD, as I expected, but a comic book). I haven't looked at any of these Season One projects (or DC's version, Earth One) because they seem intentionally irrelevant. They're out of continuity with the in-universe version of the characters, they are usually by creators with little or no experience with the characters, and they seem specifically designed as short-term profit generators, not deliberate attempts to make good comic books with a new angle on long-established comic book icons. But I'm glad Mick liked this Hulk one; he deserves a good Hulk comic to read now and again.
* Uncomics: The man who played Commodore Matt Decker on one of the most memorable episodes of the original Star Trek, William Windom, has died. I never here the phrase "Don't you think I know that?" that I don't think of Windom's exquisite performance as Decker. Mark Evanier remembers William Windom. Mark also analyzes last week's shakeup at The Tonight Show. At Spinoff, Graeme McMillan has five questions about the new season of Doctor Who. Christopher Allen looks at a biography of The Psychedelic Furs. My favourite album by them, Heartbreak Beat, apparently is not fondly remembered.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 19th, 2012
* Designer Chip Kidd talks to NPR about whether book covers are a dying art in the age of the eBook (there's a bit of text, but you can listen to the entire 5 minute interview, too). I certainly admit I didn't know what the hell to put on the covers of my three eBooks, but what the hell, they're free, right? I hope Kidd is right that there will always be a market for hardcover books, because I love them for their durability and heft, and sometimes for their design, too.
* More Frank Santoro thoughts on Klaus Janson; Santoro is really drawing a clear mental line between Janson's artwork and Santoro's own style. After reading this post, I can see it. I hope Santoro goes ahead and interviews Janson soon. Also, Frank: The all-Daredevil 'zine you're thinking of was Back Issue #21 from TwoMorrows, which coincidentally reproduced the great Daredevil pinup Klaus donated for a Comic Book Galaxy fundraiser a decade ago.
* Uncomics: How to run a problem-solving meeting. What the future of health care for women in America looks like if conservative, anti-choice candidates like Romney and Ryan are calling the shots. And in a guest post for Bob Temuka's Tearoom of Despair, I write about why I love Donald Westlake's novel Trust Me On This.
* More Frank Santoro thoughts on Klaus Janson; Santoro is really drawing a clear mental line between Janson's artwork and Santoro's own style. After reading this post, I can see it. I hope Santoro goes ahead and interviews Janson soon. Also, Frank: The all-Daredevil 'zine you're thinking of was Back Issue #21 from TwoMorrows, which coincidentally reproduced the great Daredevil pinup Klaus donated for a Comic Book Galaxy fundraiser a decade ago.
* Uncomics: How to run a problem-solving meeting. What the future of health care for women in America looks like if conservative, anti-choice candidates like Romney and Ryan are calling the shots. And in a guest post for Bob Temuka's Tearoom of Despair, I write about why I love Donald Westlake's novel Trust Me On This.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 18th, 2012
* David Brothers on maturity in the first fifty issues of Amazing Spider-Man. Related: Tony Isabella reviews recent Spidey comics, and I agree with him about the quality of Dan Slott's recent Ends of the Earth and Lizard storylines, both really felt like modern-day classics to me. I'd be hard-pressed to explain when the current-day Spider-Man comics started feeling "like Spider-Man" again, but Dan Slott's recent issues really deliver the goods.
* Writer Ed Brubaker talks about Fatale and his career in general at CBR. If I could only buy one comic book right now, it would be Fatale.
* Current-day DC comic that looks like Stormwatch from 1998. Which would be fine, if it were half as entertaining as Stormwatch was in 1998.
* Uncomics: Wishing a very happy birthday today to Christopher Allen.
* Writer Ed Brubaker talks about Fatale and his career in general at CBR. If I could only buy one comic book right now, it would be Fatale.
* Current-day DC comic that looks like Stormwatch from 1998. Which would be fine, if it were half as entertaining as Stormwatch was in 1998.
* Uncomics: Wishing a very happy birthday today to Christopher Allen.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 17th, 2012
* I think I bought every one of the comics pictured in this gallery of George Perez Marvel Two-in-One covers. That era was pretty much the sweet spot of my appreciation for Perez's level of detail and focus on storytelling.
* A Scene of the Crime deluxe hardcover is on the way in November. Very good news for Brubaker/Lark/Phillips fans. I wouldn't mind Brubaker and Phillips's Sleeper getting the HC treatment too. 25 or so issues would make a nice omnibus.
* Tony Isabella reviews The Amazing Spider-Man movie with glowing praise for the actress playing Gwen Stacy; Tony should know from Gwen Stacy, he wrote the excellent What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived? back in the day for Marvel, illustrated by the superb Gil Kane and available in the Gil Kane TPB collection Marvel assembled a few years ago. That one also included that great Avengers What If issue with Kane and Janson art, one of the best-looking and most dramatically drawn Marvel Comics ever published.
* Booksteve delivers up a Field Guide To The Wally Wood Artist's Edition, so you can know which printing is which. This will be helpful if you're looking to score a copy on eBay. I got my orange-covered copy back in April at Earthworld Comics in Albany, NY. Owner JC Glindmyer knew me well enough to know that if I saw it with my own eyes, it would be coming home with me. Somehow he seems to have known I'd just gotten my tax refund, too. He's a smart one.
* Uncomics: Probably not work-safe, but Christopher Allen highlights a funny (and hot) faux movie trailer that is just ten percent too ridiculous to be real. David Byrne makes shrimp tacos. Jaunty Sean T. Collins runs down his list of the top 100 albums from 1996-2011. I wish I liked and knew as much about music as Sean and Chris Allen.
* A Scene of the Crime deluxe hardcover is on the way in November. Very good news for Brubaker/Lark/Phillips fans. I wouldn't mind Brubaker and Phillips's Sleeper getting the HC treatment too. 25 or so issues would make a nice omnibus.
* Tony Isabella reviews The Amazing Spider-Man movie with glowing praise for the actress playing Gwen Stacy; Tony should know from Gwen Stacy, he wrote the excellent What If Gwen Stacy Had Lived? back in the day for Marvel, illustrated by the superb Gil Kane and available in the Gil Kane TPB collection Marvel assembled a few years ago. That one also included that great Avengers What If issue with Kane and Janson art, one of the best-looking and most dramatically drawn Marvel Comics ever published.
* Booksteve delivers up a Field Guide To The Wally Wood Artist's Edition, so you can know which printing is which. This will be helpful if you're looking to score a copy on eBay. I got my orange-covered copy back in April at Earthworld Comics in Albany, NY. Owner JC Glindmyer knew me well enough to know that if I saw it with my own eyes, it would be coming home with me. Somehow he seems to have known I'd just gotten my tax refund, too. He's a smart one.
* Uncomics: Probably not work-safe, but Christopher Allen highlights a funny (and hot) faux movie trailer that is just ten percent too ridiculous to be real. David Byrne makes shrimp tacos. Jaunty Sean T. Collins runs down his list of the top 100 albums from 1996-2011. I wish I liked and knew as much about music as Sean and Chris Allen.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 14th, 2012
* Late to the table, here are my thoughts on Kickstarter, and talent, and comics.
* Comic Book Alumnus Joe Rice on why he loves the current Marvel Universe.
* Tim Callahan on two aborted Alan Moore projects, Youngblood and Glory.
* Uncomics: An extended cut of the beloved ST: TNG episode The Measure of a Man is planned for Blu-Ray release. Related: If this is the 2013 Star Trek movie's U.S.S. Enterprise, I'm in. I mean, I was in anyway, but...wow.
* Uncomics: Christopher Allen thinks out loud about one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs (and there are many), Tusk.
* Comic Book Alumnus Joe Rice on why he loves the current Marvel Universe.
* Tim Callahan on two aborted Alan Moore projects, Youngblood and Glory.
* Uncomics: An extended cut of the beloved ST: TNG episode The Measure of a Man is planned for Blu-Ray release. Related: If this is the 2013 Star Trek movie's U.S.S. Enterprise, I'm in. I mean, I was in anyway, but...wow.
* Uncomics: Christopher Allen thinks out loud about one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs (and there are many), Tusk.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 13th, 2012
* You'll find me at the bottom of yesterday's Five for Friday at The Comics Reporter, who asks who are the great underappreciated North American cartoonists? My response might not shock anyone who's been reading me any length of time, although I've never talked about exactly why I feel the way I do, as I do in the post at TCR.
* Also at TCR, Tom Spurgeon rounds up links to all his site's Spider-Man coverage from Friday.
* Tom Spurgeon also wants to know about older comic shops. Above is a photo of the rack of new releases from the long-defunct Unicorn Comics in Saratoga Springs, New York. I believe the photo is from 1981, the year the store opened. Probably too late to fit into the era that Tom is asking about, although Unicorn Comics was definitely an early comics shop that had no clear model it was working from. The only other shop in the region at the time that I was aware of was FantaCo in Albany, and Unicorn did nothing like FantaCo did it. Unicorn used an actual cigar box as a cash register, for example. (Electric City Comics in Schenectady was probably around by this time, but I was unaware of it at the time.) I worked at Unicorn Comics for $15.00 a day in trade the summer of 1982. There was an issue of Penthouse in the bathroom that featured a photo-spread of a young woman with three breasts, who did the shoot supposedly to be able to afford the plastic surgery to reduce her to the standard number of breasts. Store owner Jack Mintzer later owned a sports memorabilia shop in Lake George, and these days works in the education field. Occasionally I would walk over to The Red Barn (a hamburger stand later replaced by Borders on Broadway in Saratoga Springs) and pick up Jack's lunch. I first bought Nexus and Cerebus at Unicorn Comics, and certainly bought the all-important Daredevil #181 there. I first learned about Unicorn Comics from my mother, who spotted an article in the paper about the store opening. The first things I learned about comics retailing, I learned from Jack Mintzer, and I remain profoundly grateful for those experiences.
* One time, somewhere in-between those two dates, the store bought a collection of Silver Age DC and Marvel comics like Broome/Infantino Flash, O'Neil/Adams GL/GA, and Thomas/Adams Avengers issues, all with the logos stripped off. These were comics that had gone unsold and had supposedly been destroyed after the logos were stripped and returned to the distributor for credit. I was browsing through them and picking the ones I wanted when a slightly older customer who was at the time a wannabe comics artist, tried to elbow me out of the way, realizing what a treasure trove that box held. We ended up in an actual fight, but in the end I got the comics.
* Frank Santoro, at the Comics Journal, writes a bit more about artist Klaus Janson.
* At The Beat, Todd Allen apparently is the last man on earth that thinks there's still any difference at all between DC and Vertigo.
* Also at TCR, Tom Spurgeon rounds up links to all his site's Spider-Man coverage from Friday.
* Tom Spurgeon also wants to know about older comic shops. Above is a photo of the rack of new releases from the long-defunct Unicorn Comics in Saratoga Springs, New York. I believe the photo is from 1981, the year the store opened. Probably too late to fit into the era that Tom is asking about, although Unicorn Comics was definitely an early comics shop that had no clear model it was working from. The only other shop in the region at the time that I was aware of was FantaCo in Albany, and Unicorn did nothing like FantaCo did it. Unicorn used an actual cigar box as a cash register, for example. (Electric City Comics in Schenectady was probably around by this time, but I was unaware of it at the time.) I worked at Unicorn Comics for $15.00 a day in trade the summer of 1982. There was an issue of Penthouse in the bathroom that featured a photo-spread of a young woman with three breasts, who did the shoot supposedly to be able to afford the plastic surgery to reduce her to the standard number of breasts. Store owner Jack Mintzer later owned a sports memorabilia shop in Lake George, and these days works in the education field. Occasionally I would walk over to The Red Barn (a hamburger stand later replaced by Borders on Broadway in Saratoga Springs) and pick up Jack's lunch. I first bought Nexus and Cerebus at Unicorn Comics, and certainly bought the all-important Daredevil #181 there. I first learned about Unicorn Comics from my mother, who spotted an article in the paper about the store opening. The first things I learned about comics retailing, I learned from Jack Mintzer, and I remain profoundly grateful for those experiences.
* One time, somewhere in-between those two dates, the store bought a collection of Silver Age DC and Marvel comics like Broome/Infantino Flash, O'Neil/Adams GL/GA, and Thomas/Adams Avengers issues, all with the logos stripped off. These were comics that had gone unsold and had supposedly been destroyed after the logos were stripped and returned to the distributor for credit. I was browsing through them and picking the ones I wanted when a slightly older customer who was at the time a wannabe comics artist, tried to elbow me out of the way, realizing what a treasure trove that box held. We ended up in an actual fight, but in the end I got the comics.
* Frank Santoro, at the Comics Journal, writes a bit more about artist Klaus Janson.
* At The Beat, Todd Allen apparently is the last man on earth that thinks there's still any difference at all between DC and Vertigo.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 12th, 2012
* Booksteve picks his top 10 favourite Ditko Spider-Man splash pages. I can't argue. That's what comic splash pages are supposed to look like, all right.
* When do you give up on a creator? Mighty God King asks this in the wake of giving up on Frank Miller. I gave up on Frank Miller after reading The Dark Knight Strikes Again. I gave up on everyone involved with Before Watchmen the moment I knew they were low enough to be involved with Before Watchmen. In the first case, the work dictated my revulsion to Frank Miller's modern comics creating, and the crap he's crapped out since then justifies my decision. In the latter case, the clear, inarguable ethical failure of Before Watchmen's perpetrators make it impossible for me to continue to support their work, past, present or future.
* Tom Bondurant looks at the lack of a cohesive universe in the New 52.
* A look at the implications of Foggy Nelson's decision to dissolve the firm in the most recent (and most excellent) issue of Daredevil.
* Uncomics: The 13 most disturbing vintage ads for household products. Tim Young investigates which food are gay.
* When do you give up on a creator? Mighty God King asks this in the wake of giving up on Frank Miller. I gave up on Frank Miller after reading The Dark Knight Strikes Again. I gave up on everyone involved with Before Watchmen the moment I knew they were low enough to be involved with Before Watchmen. In the first case, the work dictated my revulsion to Frank Miller's modern comics creating, and the crap he's crapped out since then justifies my decision. In the latter case, the clear, inarguable ethical failure of Before Watchmen's perpetrators make it impossible for me to continue to support their work, past, present or future.
* Tom Bondurant looks at the lack of a cohesive universe in the New 52.
* A look at the implications of Foggy Nelson's decision to dissolve the firm in the most recent (and most excellent) issue of Daredevil.
* Uncomics: The 13 most disturbing vintage ads for household products. Tim Young investigates which food are gay.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 11th, 2012
* Tom Spurgeon has some thoughts on Spider-Man at 50. While you're there, poke around. Lots of good Spidey coverage at The Comics Reporter right now.
* Although there's something off about Hulk's head in many of the images, this gallery of Ron Wilson Hulk artwork at Diversions of the Groovy Kind is nonetheless impressive. Check out that Alcala-inked splash page.
* Fatale #7 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips arrives in comic shops this coming Wednesday. Here's a preview.
* Rick Remender talks about his upcoming Captain America run with John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson. I'll definitely give that a look, although that cover image seems to have some wonky anatomy. Need more Marvel NOW talk? Kiel Phegley talks to Marvel's Axel Alonso.
* This review of Spider-Men #3 and 4 highlights many of the problems in Brian Michael Bendis's superhero writing. The art is pretty, though.
* Uncomics: If you're wondering what was said at the San Diego Comicon earlier this year about the upcoming season of Family Guy, apparently now it can be told. You'll find a remarkable number of typos given the lead time they had for posting this piece.
* Although there's something off about Hulk's head in many of the images, this gallery of Ron Wilson Hulk artwork at Diversions of the Groovy Kind is nonetheless impressive. Check out that Alcala-inked splash page.
* Fatale #7 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips arrives in comic shops this coming Wednesday. Here's a preview.
* Rick Remender talks about his upcoming Captain America run with John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson. I'll definitely give that a look, although that cover image seems to have some wonky anatomy. Need more Marvel NOW talk? Kiel Phegley talks to Marvel's Axel Alonso.
* This review of Spider-Men #3 and 4 highlights many of the problems in Brian Michael Bendis's superhero writing. The art is pretty, though.
* Uncomics: If you're wondering what was said at the San Diego Comicon earlier this year about the upcoming season of Family Guy, apparently now it can be told. You'll find a remarkable number of typos given the lead time they had for posting this piece.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 10th, 2012
* Matt Brady reviews Harvey Pekar's Cleveland and asks "What Harvey Pekar book was ever perfect?" Bob and Harv's Comics
comes to mind, Matt. The only thing not perfect about it, at least my copy, is that it's not a hardcover.
* Studygroup looks at Damage Control Vol. 3 #1 by Dwayne McDuffie and Kyle Baker. Interesting art there.
* Someone who doesn't understand apostrophes or know how to spell "Quatermain" interviews Alan Moore.
* Uncomics: It's funny how Aaron Cross in The Bourne Legacy is declared "not a superhero," by critic Roger Ebert, and yet his origin is pretty much the same as Captain America's. "Aaron Cross" seems like such a great action hero name that I'm surprised no one has used it before. Anyway, here's Ebert's review of The Bourne Legacy. I like Jeremy Renner, and I kind of liked the previous Bourne movies, but I'm pretty ambivalent about seeing this one. On the other hand, summer's almost over and I like going to the movies in the summer. So it could go either way.
* Does your favourite movie (or comic, or novel, or...) pass the Bechdel Test? Fiction writers would do well to apply this to their works in progress.
* Chris Sims writes about optimism and cynicism in two of the biggest superhero movies. Sims makes some good points about The Avengers that I hadn't thought of. I'm not sure Whedon intended the moral implications, but that's a better interpretation than my suspicion that a little more thought going into the script might have made the movie a genuine classic instead of just a really entertaining summer superhero movie.
* Mark Waid demonstrates what's wrong with a lot of superhero comics these days in four panels (via The Beat.)
* Thanks to Tony Collett for his kind words about this blog.
* Uncomics: Watch the 25 greatest improvised moments in movie history.
* Uncomics: An incorrect list of the 50 greatest science fiction TV characters. Uh, Mulder is not greater than Spock. In fact, Kirk is not greater than Spock. Related: Here's a pretty great interview with Jonathan Frakes, of Star Trek The Next Generation.
* Uncomics: Which number Doctor was Peter Cushing again?
comes to mind, Matt. The only thing not perfect about it, at least my copy, is that it's not a hardcover.* Studygroup looks at Damage Control Vol. 3 #1 by Dwayne McDuffie and Kyle Baker. Interesting art there.
* Someone who doesn't understand apostrophes or know how to spell "Quatermain" interviews Alan Moore.
* Uncomics: It's funny how Aaron Cross in The Bourne Legacy is declared "not a superhero," by critic Roger Ebert, and yet his origin is pretty much the same as Captain America's. "Aaron Cross" seems like such a great action hero name that I'm surprised no one has used it before. Anyway, here's Ebert's review of The Bourne Legacy. I like Jeremy Renner, and I kind of liked the previous Bourne movies, but I'm pretty ambivalent about seeing this one. On the other hand, summer's almost over and I like going to the movies in the summer. So it could go either way.
* Does your favourite movie (or comic, or novel, or...) pass the Bechdel Test? Fiction writers would do well to apply this to their works in progress.
* Chris Sims writes about optimism and cynicism in two of the biggest superhero movies. Sims makes some good points about The Avengers that I hadn't thought of. I'm not sure Whedon intended the moral implications, but that's a better interpretation than my suspicion that a little more thought going into the script might have made the movie a genuine classic instead of just a really entertaining summer superhero movie.
* Mark Waid demonstrates what's wrong with a lot of superhero comics these days in four panels (via The Beat.)
* Thanks to Tony Collett for his kind words about this blog.
* Uncomics: Watch the 25 greatest improvised moments in movie history.
* Uncomics: An incorrect list of the 50 greatest science fiction TV characters. Uh, Mulder is not greater than Spock. In fact, Kirk is not greater than Spock. Related: Here's a pretty great interview with Jonathan Frakes, of Star Trek The Next Generation.
* Uncomics: Which number Doctor was Peter Cushing again?
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 9th, 2012
* A wartime letter from Jerry Siegel. A fascinating glimpse at Superman's co-creator in 1944.
* I'm loving Mark Waid's Daredevil, so it's entirely possible I'll love his Hulk comic book too.
* Check out the Jack Kirby Sale at TwoMorrows Publishing, in celebration of The King's birthday later this month. Few have done as much to keep Kirby in the forefront as TwoMorrows has, so take a look and see if there's some stuff on there you're missing from your Kirby collection.
* Christopher Allen pointed me at Alan Sepinwall's thoughts on which Marvel characters Joss Whedon should bring to TV.
* I hope Tony Moore wins his Walking Dead legal action. Count on me to take the side of the guy named Moore every time.
* Uncomics: "The verb of my life is learning." Louis C.K. interview at The Onion's A/V Club.
* I'm loving Mark Waid's Daredevil, so it's entirely possible I'll love his Hulk comic book too.
* Check out the Jack Kirby Sale at TwoMorrows Publishing, in celebration of The King's birthday later this month. Few have done as much to keep Kirby in the forefront as TwoMorrows has, so take a look and see if there's some stuff on there you're missing from your Kirby collection.
* Christopher Allen pointed me at Alan Sepinwall's thoughts on which Marvel characters Joss Whedon should bring to TV.
* I hope Tony Moore wins his Walking Dead legal action. Count on me to take the side of the guy named Moore every time.
* Uncomics: "The verb of my life is learning." Louis C.K. interview at The Onion's A/V Club.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 8th, 2012
* Daredevil writer Mark Waid (whose runs on Captain America and Fantastic Four are some of the best comics Marvel has ever published, not that his Daredevil isn't awesome, because it is) marks 25 years in the comics industry by reflecting back to his first day of work as an editor at DC Comics.
* Sean Kleefeld on how to not get reviewed. Seriously, creators and publishers, if you want to be reviewed, it's PDF or CBR/CBZ files, or hardcopies through the mail. Anything else is begging to be ignored.
* Joss Whedon writing and directing Avengers 2? Yes, please. There's a Whedon-involved Marvel TV series in the works too. Newsarama speculates about what characters might get the small-screen treatment.
* Uncomics: Here's my rundown of My Favourite TV Series, in case you were wondering.
* Uncomics: Why is food always flying through the air in advertising?
* Sean Kleefeld on how to not get reviewed. Seriously, creators and publishers, if you want to be reviewed, it's PDF or CBR/CBZ files, or hardcopies through the mail. Anything else is begging to be ignored.
* Joss Whedon writing and directing Avengers 2? Yes, please. There's a Whedon-involved Marvel TV series in the works too. Newsarama speculates about what characters might get the small-screen treatment.
* Uncomics: Here's my rundown of My Favourite TV Series, in case you were wondering.
* Uncomics: Why is food always flying through the air in advertising?
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 7th, 2012
* At Trouble With Comics, Christopher Allen reads three recent Marvel comics that come up a bit wanting. Two of which I would have expected that from, the third I would have thought might not be bad, but apparently I was wrong. Chris also has some comments on the recent "Essential Batman" post at Rolling Stone by Sean T. Collins, rightly pointing out a couple of serious omissions from The Jaunty One's list.
* Nick Caputo finds some artwork in a 1960s Marvel comic book that he suspects is by an uncredited Barry Windsor-Smith. Well, he suspects it's by "Barry Smith," so he probably didn't get the memo about his name, you know, 30 years ago.
* Steven Thompson talks about his first underground comix. I think the first one I ever read was probably Cherry Poptart, which explains why I was so late immersing myself in underground comix.
* Newsarama runs down what they expect to see from the Marvel NOW! event/branding/whatever. I remain hopeful that Avengers comics won't suck for the first time in a decade.
* Tony Isabella looks at the Super-Obama issue of Grant Morrison's Action Comics. I wish Morrison's entire run on Action was as interesting.
* My Darwyn Cooke eBay auction has been REBOOTED! More stuff, cheaper. Have a look.
* Uncomics: Thanks to Graeme McMillan for his recent kind words on the return of Comic Book Galaxy. Like Graeme, I miss all the voices he talks about in that post, but none more than Dick Hyacinth. His sudden disappearance mystifies and troubles me to this day.
* Nick Caputo finds some artwork in a 1960s Marvel comic book that he suspects is by an uncredited Barry Windsor-Smith. Well, he suspects it's by "Barry Smith," so he probably didn't get the memo about his name, you know, 30 years ago.
* Steven Thompson talks about his first underground comix. I think the first one I ever read was probably Cherry Poptart, which explains why I was so late immersing myself in underground comix.
* Newsarama runs down what they expect to see from the Marvel NOW! event/branding/whatever. I remain hopeful that Avengers comics won't suck for the first time in a decade.
* Tony Isabella looks at the Super-Obama issue of Grant Morrison's Action Comics. I wish Morrison's entire run on Action was as interesting.
* My Darwyn Cooke eBay auction has been REBOOTED! More stuff, cheaper. Have a look.
* Uncomics: Thanks to Graeme McMillan for his recent kind words on the return of Comic Book Galaxy. Like Graeme, I miss all the voices he talks about in that post, but none more than Dick Hyacinth. His sudden disappearance mystifies and troubles me to this day.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 6th, 2012
* At The Comics Reporter, Tom Spurgeon is compiling a canon of underground cartoonists. As a very young comics reader, my earliest exposure to underground comix scared the living shit out of me; so familiar, and yet so obviously blasphemous and forbidden. In a metaphorical sense, I ran like hell. It was stuff like what we once called "ground-level" comics like Star*Reach and FantaCo's Gates of Eden that served as a bridge to the undergrounds for me in my middle teens. Some of the people on Spurgeon's list I've never heard of; others, like Crumb, Gloeckner and Jaxon, I hold in the very highest regard. Interestingly, I first discovered Eisner and Kurtzman in what could be called underground comix, although obviously neither of those two greats was truly an underground cartoonist. Despite the plethora of reprints and books about the undergrounds, I feel like there's still a great deal left to be said about the underground comix movement. Certainly without it comics would be very different today, and far more creatively bankrupt as a whole.
* Joe Casey explains how easy it is to do the right thing: "If I were offered one of the Before Watchmen titles to write...I would’ve turned down the gig simply on the basis of Moore having stated unequivocally that he’d rather this specific project didn’t exist." See how easy that was, scabs?
* Courtesy of Sean Kleefeld, check out the censored Mark Waid Captain America issue as it was intended to be read. When you look back, it's kind of astonishing how much Marvel fucked with Waid's two Cap runs; someone must have really hated how good the comic was under Waid's tenure. I hope to hell Marvel leaves his Daredevil run alone; last week's issue was one of the best yet, featuring great guest appearances by Hank Pym and Tony Stark, a plot recalling a classic Marvel storyline and yet feeling as fresh as next week, and spectacular art by Chris Samnee.
* At The Comics Journal, Frank Santoro sings the praises of artist Klaus Janson, one of his current comics obsessions: "[H]e is more responsible for the look of Daredevil during Miller’s run than we all tend to remember. He was inking and coloring the book before Miller signed on and so already had a hand in the tone and feel of the book." I couldn't agree more. Whenever I refer to Miller's run, I always refer to it as the "Miller/Janson" era of Daredevil, because without Janson, you'd have had a very different book, and I'm not entirely certain it would be remembered the way it is today without his contributions.
* Martin Wisse responds to my comments on his dismissal of EC Comics. Okay, I feel a little dizzy.
* Bob Temuka on why Batman will always beat Superman. Coincidentally, you'll find some Janson inks in that post.
* Uncomics: Ever wonder what my favourite 16 movies are? Now you can find out, just make with the clicky. And it's almost uncanny how quickly my buddy Chris Allen responded to the list, with some apt psychological profiling added in as a bonus. Dude, you will love Dark City AND The Station Agent, no question. (He already loves Ed Wood, and wrote about it last night.)
* Also uncomics: My thoughts on three movies I rented from the Redbox this weekend.
* Joe Casey explains how easy it is to do the right thing: "If I were offered one of the Before Watchmen titles to write...I would’ve turned down the gig simply on the basis of Moore having stated unequivocally that he’d rather this specific project didn’t exist." See how easy that was, scabs?
* Courtesy of Sean Kleefeld, check out the censored Mark Waid Captain America issue as it was intended to be read. When you look back, it's kind of astonishing how much Marvel fucked with Waid's two Cap runs; someone must have really hated how good the comic was under Waid's tenure. I hope to hell Marvel leaves his Daredevil run alone; last week's issue was one of the best yet, featuring great guest appearances by Hank Pym and Tony Stark, a plot recalling a classic Marvel storyline and yet feeling as fresh as next week, and spectacular art by Chris Samnee.
* At The Comics Journal, Frank Santoro sings the praises of artist Klaus Janson, one of his current comics obsessions: "[H]e is more responsible for the look of Daredevil during Miller’s run than we all tend to remember. He was inking and coloring the book before Miller signed on and so already had a hand in the tone and feel of the book." I couldn't agree more. Whenever I refer to Miller's run, I always refer to it as the "Miller/Janson" era of Daredevil, because without Janson, you'd have had a very different book, and I'm not entirely certain it would be remembered the way it is today without his contributions.
* Martin Wisse responds to my comments on his dismissal of EC Comics. Okay, I feel a little dizzy.
* Bob Temuka on why Batman will always beat Superman. Coincidentally, you'll find some Janson inks in that post.
* Uncomics: Ever wonder what my favourite 16 movies are? Now you can find out, just make with the clicky. And it's almost uncanny how quickly my buddy Chris Allen responded to the list, with some apt psychological profiling added in as a bonus. Dude, you will love Dark City AND The Station Agent, no question. (He already loves Ed Wood, and wrote about it last night.)
* Also uncomics: My thoughts on three movies I rented from the Redbox this weekend.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 5th, 2012
* The Hipster Dad looks at Esperanza, a 2011 Love and Rockets paperback.
* If you're in or near Ohio, drop by Tony Isabella's comic book garage sale next weekend. I'm starting to believe his accumulation of comics stuff is as vast as he's always said.
* Galaxy Flashbacks: With James Kochalka's American Elf Vol.4 now available, here's my 2005 interview with the cartoonist/musician. The awesome new Marie Severin tribute book from TwoMorrows includes a photo of Marie and Joe Sinnott from a 2000 convention in White Plains, New York. "Hey, I was at that show," I thought to myself. Here's what I had to say about it a couple days later. With writer Sean T. Collins talking about Batman in Rolling Stone this week, here's a flashback to 2004, when he wrote for Comic Book Galaxy about some of the comics he was reading that summer.
* Pre-Galaxy Flashbacks: I think this is the first comic book review I ever wrote, from 1999: Hulk #1 by Byrne and Garney. Sorry about the font colour, not sure what's up with that.
* Uncomics: Seth Godin solves a problem Twitter will someday face in the difficult challenge of media alignment. Here are some good Star Trek novels no longer canonical because of later developments in the movies and various TV series. Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens's Federation is a huge favourite of mine. They, along with Peter David, are the only Star Trek authors who seem able to capture the voices of all the characters naturally and with wit and flair, every time they write them. (Including the "Shatnerverse" novels, since Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens ghost wrote those.)
* eBay: Take my Darwyn Cooke comics, please.
* If you're in or near Ohio, drop by Tony Isabella's comic book garage sale next weekend. I'm starting to believe his accumulation of comics stuff is as vast as he's always said.
* Galaxy Flashbacks: With James Kochalka's American Elf Vol.4 now available, here's my 2005 interview with the cartoonist/musician. The awesome new Marie Severin tribute book from TwoMorrows includes a photo of Marie and Joe Sinnott from a 2000 convention in White Plains, New York. "Hey, I was at that show," I thought to myself. Here's what I had to say about it a couple days later. With writer Sean T. Collins talking about Batman in Rolling Stone this week, here's a flashback to 2004, when he wrote for Comic Book Galaxy about some of the comics he was reading that summer.
* Pre-Galaxy Flashbacks: I think this is the first comic book review I ever wrote, from 1999: Hulk #1 by Byrne and Garney. Sorry about the font colour, not sure what's up with that.
* Uncomics: Seth Godin solves a problem Twitter will someday face in the difficult challenge of media alignment. Here are some good Star Trek novels no longer canonical because of later developments in the movies and various TV series. Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens's Federation is a huge favourite of mine. They, along with Peter David, are the only Star Trek authors who seem able to capture the voices of all the characters naturally and with wit and flair, every time they write them. (Including the "Shatnerverse" novels, since Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens ghost wrote those.)
* eBay: Take my Darwyn Cooke comics, please.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 4th, 2012
* Abhay Khosla excoriates the "comics press" in a way only he can -- like a supersmart, sarcastic lawyer who does the homework and presents an iron-clad case. The willingness of the "mainstream comics press" to go along to get along with the corporate superhero publishers is really blatant, and kind of gross. How about we put the truth before the hype?
* Cartoonist John Roberson is offering up some goodies if you can help him raise money for a good cause.
* Did you notice the new Family Guy dancers?
* I own four of the current Amazon top 50 graphic novels. And a couple of them I have in larger collections, like The Killing Joke and Days of Future Past, but I don't think that counts. There's a lot of mediocre DC on there. How is it quality Marvel stuff like Waid's Daredevil and Rucka's Punisher aren't in the top 50? I guess America loves Batman and zombies, whether the comics themselves are any good or not.
* Galaxy Flashbacks: If you liked my Trouble With Comics post Seven Funnybooks That Changed How I Saw Comics earlier this week, you might like My Inner Child's Favourite Comics, originally posted in 2004. With Alternative Comics making a comeback, here's a 2001 look at some of the previous iteration of the publisher's then-new releases. And with Top Shelf getting ready to release Alan Moore's mammoth new project Unearthing, set aside some time to listen to the MP3 of my 2004 interview with Moore, occasioned by the release of his extraordinary prose novel The Voice of the Fire (speaking of which, here's Marshall O'Keeffe's 2004 review).
* Uncomics: Literally the Worst Word on the Planet.
* Cartoonist John Roberson is offering up some goodies if you can help him raise money for a good cause.
* Did you notice the new Family Guy dancers?
* I own four of the current Amazon top 50 graphic novels. And a couple of them I have in larger collections, like The Killing Joke and Days of Future Past, but I don't think that counts. There's a lot of mediocre DC on there. How is it quality Marvel stuff like Waid's Daredevil and Rucka's Punisher aren't in the top 50? I guess America loves Batman and zombies, whether the comics themselves are any good or not.
* Galaxy Flashbacks: If you liked my Trouble With Comics post Seven Funnybooks That Changed How I Saw Comics earlier this week, you might like My Inner Child's Favourite Comics, originally posted in 2004. With Alternative Comics making a comeback, here's a 2001 look at some of the previous iteration of the publisher's then-new releases. And with Top Shelf getting ready to release Alan Moore's mammoth new project Unearthing, set aside some time to listen to the MP3 of my 2004 interview with Moore, occasioned by the release of his extraordinary prose novel The Voice of the Fire (speaking of which, here's Marshall O'Keeffe's 2004 review).
* Uncomics: Literally the Worst Word on the Planet.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Galaxy Newsbrief - August 3rd, 2012
* Tim O'Neil on motivation in superhero comics, in which Mr. O'Neil nails down quite elegantly why Spawn comics have always been lousy. My nephew gave me the first fifty issues or so once when he was giving up comics, and it took me two days to read them. All I got out of the experience was a headache.
* The Doctor vs. The Thunder God? Okay, I'd probably watch that.
* Speaking of things I'd probably watch, a movie adaptation of X-Men: Days of Future Past? Talk about things I'd never live long enough to see happen. What a shame artist John Byrne has closed off his message board to non-sycophants. I for one would love to see his year-long excoriation of every aspect of the production, especially keeping an eye out for which actress he would deem a slut or whore because she doesn't meet his standards for portraying this or that character. The next year could have been absolutely wonderful in that regard.
* Tom Spurgeon has an alternate plan for Read Comics in Public Day, August 28th. This is one of the biggest days of the year in my house; not because it's RCIPD or Jack Kirby's birthday (it's both), but because it's my wife's birthday. She's away on vacation with her parents this year, so maybe The Boy and I will read some comics in public. If I can twist his arm into reading comics. He's more into the videogames these days.
* Also at The Comics Reporter: I like how Tom Spurgeon genuinely doesn't give a shit about Batman. I like the idea of Batman more than I like 80 percent of the comics and 95 percent of the movies he's been in, with the only real Batman thing I love being the character as he appeared in Batman Animated through Justice League Unlimited and all the iterations between those series. If it weren't for Kevin Conroy, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie and the other creators of that animated version, I probably wouldn't give a shit about Batman either. (Related: This guy sure likes Nolan's Batman movies. I wish I got that much out of them.)
* Alan Moore is attending a comics convention. I hope someone puts his presentation/panel/whatever it is online. There's one comics-related video I would make time for.
* Jaunty Sean T. Collins runs down what he says are 15 essential Batman graphic novels. First, sincere congratulations to The Jaunty One for having a gig with the same magazine that once employed writers I hold in the highest esteem, like James Howard Kunstler and of course Hunter S. Thompson. That said, I think #2 (Batman Year One) is a vastly superior and more satisfying graphic novel than his #1 choice, but I understand most comics fans would probably agree with Sean's choice for the top spot because of the kicksplode and the impact it had on comics both at the time it came out and ever since. Frankly I'd consider the entire Jim Aparo run on Brave and the Bold more essential as Batman stories than anything on the list other than Batman Year One.
* Uncomics: An interview with actor Gregory Itzin, probably best knows for playing PresidentNixon Logan on Fox's 24. The interview is mostly about his five appearances on various Star Trek spinoffs, and he notes with sadness that "The thing I want to say is how much I miss this great playground, that Star Trek is missing from television." He seems to know more about Trek than most actors, whose main interest in it seems to be the paycheck. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but the enthusiasm that he demonstrates is nice to see, and I suspect why he was always so much fun to watch on Trek.
* Uncomics: Duncan Crary begins preparing for his exit from The Kunstlercast, the only podcast I've ever listened to more than one edition of. I think I've probably listened to 75 percent or so of the over 200 that Crary has recorded with author and social critic James Howard Kunstler, and Crary has always delivered a smooth and engaging show that gives my favorite living writer that's not Alan Moore a bully pulpit from which to explain how the world is going to hell. I'll miss Crary's participation in the show as he moves on over the next few weeks or months, but I'm genuinely excited to see what Kunstler will be able to do on his own with the thing. I like the idea of renaming the podcast with his Clusterfuck Nation brand.
* Also uncomics: Today marks the end of my second full week of posts here on the revived Comic Book Galaxy. The day I wrote my first post, I knew what I wanted to do but had no idea if I would have the ability to bring it to you every day. I'm quite delighted to find I've gotten back into a bit of a groove with this daily dose of, as Paul Harvey would have called it, "news and commentary." I'm grateful that quite a few people seem to be reading it every day, and I want to thank folks like Mike Sterling, Tom Spurgeon, Augie De Blieck, Brigid Alverson, John Jakala and Tim Hodler (apologies if I've forgotten anyone) for linking to my little effort here and letting people know I'm doing it. I'm literally taking it one day at a time, but so far, here at the end of Week Two, it feels very good to be back, exploring what fascinates me in comics and comics journalism, and sharing that fascination with you. Thanks for coming along.
* The Doctor vs. The Thunder God? Okay, I'd probably watch that.
* Speaking of things I'd probably watch, a movie adaptation of X-Men: Days of Future Past? Talk about things I'd never live long enough to see happen. What a shame artist John Byrne has closed off his message board to non-sycophants. I for one would love to see his year-long excoriation of every aspect of the production, especially keeping an eye out for which actress he would deem a slut or whore because she doesn't meet his standards for portraying this or that character. The next year could have been absolutely wonderful in that regard.
* Tom Spurgeon has an alternate plan for Read Comics in Public Day, August 28th. This is one of the biggest days of the year in my house; not because it's RCIPD or Jack Kirby's birthday (it's both), but because it's my wife's birthday. She's away on vacation with her parents this year, so maybe The Boy and I will read some comics in public. If I can twist his arm into reading comics. He's more into the videogames these days.
* Also at The Comics Reporter: I like how Tom Spurgeon genuinely doesn't give a shit about Batman. I like the idea of Batman more than I like 80 percent of the comics and 95 percent of the movies he's been in, with the only real Batman thing I love being the character as he appeared in Batman Animated through Justice League Unlimited and all the iterations between those series. If it weren't for Kevin Conroy, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Dwayne McDuffie and the other creators of that animated version, I probably wouldn't give a shit about Batman either. (Related: This guy sure likes Nolan's Batman movies. I wish I got that much out of them.)
* Alan Moore is attending a comics convention. I hope someone puts his presentation/panel/whatever it is online. There's one comics-related video I would make time for.
* Jaunty Sean T. Collins runs down what he says are 15 essential Batman graphic novels. First, sincere congratulations to The Jaunty One for having a gig with the same magazine that once employed writers I hold in the highest esteem, like James Howard Kunstler and of course Hunter S. Thompson. That said, I think #2 (Batman Year One) is a vastly superior and more satisfying graphic novel than his #1 choice, but I understand most comics fans would probably agree with Sean's choice for the top spot because of the kicksplode and the impact it had on comics both at the time it came out and ever since. Frankly I'd consider the entire Jim Aparo run on Brave and the Bold more essential as Batman stories than anything on the list other than Batman Year One.
* Uncomics: An interview with actor Gregory Itzin, probably best knows for playing President
* Uncomics: Duncan Crary begins preparing for his exit from The Kunstlercast, the only podcast I've ever listened to more than one edition of. I think I've probably listened to 75 percent or so of the over 200 that Crary has recorded with author and social critic James Howard Kunstler, and Crary has always delivered a smooth and engaging show that gives my favorite living writer that's not Alan Moore a bully pulpit from which to explain how the world is going to hell. I'll miss Crary's participation in the show as he moves on over the next few weeks or months, but I'm genuinely excited to see what Kunstler will be able to do on his own with the thing. I like the idea of renaming the podcast with his Clusterfuck Nation brand.
* Also uncomics: Today marks the end of my second full week of posts here on the revived Comic Book Galaxy. The day I wrote my first post, I knew what I wanted to do but had no idea if I would have the ability to bring it to you every day. I'm quite delighted to find I've gotten back into a bit of a groove with this daily dose of, as Paul Harvey would have called it, "news and commentary." I'm grateful that quite a few people seem to be reading it every day, and I want to thank folks like Mike Sterling, Tom Spurgeon, Augie De Blieck, Brigid Alverson, John Jakala and Tim Hodler (apologies if I've forgotten anyone) for linking to my little effort here and letting people know I'm doing it. I'm literally taking it one day at a time, but so far, here at the end of Week Two, it feels very good to be back, exploring what fascinates me in comics and comics journalism, and sharing that fascination with you. Thanks for coming along.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)