Taste the Irony...

Recently (as in yesterday) I walked into Ye Olde Comic Shoppe with a list of titles that I had decided to drop from my monthly pulls, after much soul-searching. One of those titles was DC's (well, in all honesty most if not all of the titles dropped were from DC... but I digress.) Among those titles was DC's The Brave and the Bold.

The relaunch of The Brave and the Bold was relaunched with an awesome story, told in a tag-team fashion like a campfire story. We went from Batman and Hal Jordan to Hal Jordan and Supergirl to Batman and the Blue Beetle, spiraling out in ever widening arcs of coolness. But subsequent stories were less and less cool, until I realized I was no longer excited about the title. That of course meant it was time for it to go away.

Enter today, as I'm reading Newsarama and see that J. Michael Straczynski will be writing the title come November. Now, folks that know me well enough, know that I'm a big fan of JMS. I discovered Babylon 5 late, but fell head over heels in love with it. I was a big fan of his run on Amazing Spider-Man... well, up until editorial mandates such as The Other and Civil War hijacked the book from him. And now I find that he's going to be taking over the book I just dropped. Figures. At least I'll have time to put it back on my sub form before it comes out.

Free Comic Book Day 2008

I challenge anyone to say that they got a better Free Comic Book Day than I did. When you get a genuine piece of Chris Sims artwork, signed by the master himself, life gets no better.

I've been neglecting blog posts as I settle into a new work routine, but as I said I'm also working on a writing project. I'm speaking to a couple of artists, which has me enthusiastic. I've wanted to try to write something with the goal of seeing it published, and to actually be moving in that direction is a great feeling. And with a few exceptions, the world of comics has been just making me sad, as Fraction and Brubaker prepare to wrap up their run on The Immortal Iron Fist, as the Order ends, and as Amazing Spider-Man continues a very mediocre Brand New existence.

But there is one thing I feel the need to weigh in on, and that's the new Iron Man movie. If you like comic books, you have to see this movie. I'm not an easy person to see a movie with, because my mind loves to pick apart the things that I DON'T like about it, rather than focus on the things that I do. And I'm saying, quite sincerely, that I could not find anything in Jon Favreau's interpretation of Iron Man that I did not, at the very least, like. Much of it I loved. This is easily on the level of Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man movie... but the more I consider it, the more I put it on the level of Spider-Man 2. I'm quite possibly on the way of declaring it the highest mark for a comic book movie out there.

To help put this all in perspective... I don't care for Iron Man in comics. I have purchased precisely 8 issues that have 'Iron Man' somewhere in the title. Eight. And if anybody hasn't told you, wait until the credits are done. There's a brief, but very exciting reward for doing so.

Better Late Than Never... The Secret Six Receive an Ongoing Series!

Several powerful staffing changes (The end of The Order, removing Matt Fraction from Iron Fist, Removing James Rodgers from The Blue Beetle, etc.) had drained my will to post for awhile. But this piece of news has finally revitalized my will to live.

The Secret Six were probably the best thing to come out of Infinite Crisis. (Though looking back, it seems that there wasn't much worth taking out of that particular event.) Nevertheless, a book that can make Catman as cool, or perhaps even cooler than Batman on some levels, has something very strong going for it.

I'd been actually wondering where these characters had been lately, going so far as to wonder if I needed to look for them in Salvation Run. But the news has come out from NY ComiCon... the Secret Six will receive a new ongoing book with Gail Simone as writer.

What else have I been up to? I'm still working with Jim Shelley on developing two interesting teams of characters for Flashback Universe. I'm also finally getting moving on trying to obtain the help of an artist in developing one of my concepts as a pitch. The concept is one I'm really excited about. It's very much a comic I'd want to read myself, and while I can think of one or two issues that work in kindof the same way, I don't think I've seen anything on the stands that's really like what I'm picturing. I posted requests for an artist/partner last night on a few artist sites, and I've already gotten a couple replies to look at.

I'll post more on that as things fall into place!

Things I Shouldn't Have To Complain About

Many times, my experiences with the various and sundry forms of entertainment that help to occupy my waking hours pass without negative incident. (Or to put it simply, most of the time when I'm having a good time, everything goes as planned.) But every so often, little annoyances pop up. As solitary incidents, I can usually overlook them... but occasionally the same thing happens one time too many... and that means that you, gentle reader, get to listen to me complain about it.

Tonight's complaint? Staples.

We're all familiar with the way a comic book is put together... it's usually about 16 long sheets of paper with pretty pictures, folded across it's width held together by two staples near the edges. Simple, right? I thought so too. With a greater and greater frequency, I'm finding that the innermost sheet isn't bound by one of the staples. It's pulled free. I certainly didn't do it... I have more care for my comics than that, certainly. (My file cabinets, and bags/boards should attest to that fact.)

Now, I'm a person who can deal with minor issues. I wound up purchasing two copies of the same issue of Gargoyles a few months back. It was pulled when it originally came in, and then apparently a reorder pulled another copy. I didn't notice until I got home, but hey... mistakes happen. And interestingly, this issue was already the subject of a mistake... apparently on the first printing, there was an error... a page of art was re-used. But it's no biggie.

However, when at least one of my books every other week has the very middle almost ready to fall out, it starts to get annoying. Maybe this is just another sign that Jim Shelley's Paper Comic DeathWatch is winding down time for the industry. But I can't see any good reason for repeated quality issues like this. The culprit this week was my issue of The Mighty Avengers.

Maybe I need to start tracking which books have this issue. The two that leap immediately to mind are both Marvel publications. Please fix it. Contrary to what others might think, I really don't like to complain. Every moment I'm here pounding away at my keyboard like a demented monkey struggling with the finer points of King Lear is a moment I'm not enjoying my comics... and isn't enjoying comics the whole point of reading them?

New Comic Day 03/12/08

Well, this week looks to be the quiet after a few very busy weeks. A break will be nice, and possibly give me a chance to better acquaint myself with Super Smash Brothers Brawl. While my own tastes are more grounded in the traditional 2-D fighting game (particularly those of the SNK variety), I'm starting to see the appeal of the game as I actually learn what it is I'm trying to do in it.

Nevertheless, I'm here to talk about comics, not games. Here's the anticipated shopping list. On the DC side of the tracks, we have:

• BOOSTER GOLD #7
• GREEN LANTERN CORPS #22
• SUPERMAN #674

Meanwhile, adds to my list the following offerings:

• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #553
• ANNIHILATION CONQUEST #5 (OF 6)
• AVENGERS INITIATIVE #10
• MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS #7
• MIGHTY AVENGERS #10
• X-FACTOR #29

Regarding Marvel Comics Presents, I'm learning over the years that I'm actually a fan of the Anthology format. I even read the anthology-formatted US edition of Shonen Jump for awhile. Yes, I gave money to the vile terrorists that funded Naruto and Yugioh attacks on our great pastime. Primarily I was doing this in the hope that Ruroni Kenshin would be added to the roster, but I learned through the readng that there were a few titles that were enjoyable.

An anthology is a great book when you're not quite in the mood for a full on meal, so you order the appetizer platter. You might not like everything they bring you, but you're going to enjoy at least some of it. In the case of Marvel Comics Presents, Marvel has done the admirable job of cooking up a couple of pretty good staples in the form of Weapon Omega and Vanguard, two twelve part stories to anchor the more adventurous additions to the book... stories from lesser known (or unknown) writers, stories that are a little more 'out there'... On the whole, I've been rather pleased. Pleased enough, I suppose to continue to pay a $1 premium for it, but hey... so far I feel I'm getting my money's worth.

Gnashing of Teeth? Check. Commence Wailing!

Newsarama broke the story that John Rogers, the writer who has consistently stunned me with the new Blue Beetle, is leaving the book.

Newsarama: Right up front, John, are you leaving Blue Beetle?

John Rogers: It's temporary, although I don't know exactly when I'm coming back to the book. What happened is, essentially, Keith and I always wanted to tell the origin story and #25 wraps up that origin for Jaime.

This continues the trend where I post about something I'm feeling enthusiastic about, and the universe (oh so subtley) reminds me that I'm not supposed to. In the Newsarama interview, Rogers states that he'll be working on a big crossover mini-series (I wonder what that might be part of?) and an ongoing series.

I do want to say that the past 24 issues have been excellent... and at this point, I'm willing to give the 25th issue a pass... but I don't see how this could avoid being an awesome issue.

Long term plans on the book aren't specified, beyond Wil Pfeiffer is doing at least the first story arc following Rogers' departure. Rogers does sthate though, that he'd like to return to the book when he can, but wants to focus on his new projects.

Thanks, John, for one of the best DC-produced superhero comics in recent memory.

New Comic Day 03/05/08

Well, due to a work week that's working out pretty far from my own expectations, I don't think I'm going to be able to pick up my new comics on Wednesday this week. Another part of the less-than-ideal is that because my boss is on vacation, I'm finding myself with plenty of extra time on the non-Wednesday parts of this work-week.

Enough that I'm actually going to get back to posting my shopping list, at the very least.

So here it is... what I plan to spend my hard-earned scratch on this week:

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER #12

DC SPECIAL RAVEN #1 (OF 5)
DETECTIVE COMICS #842
GREEN LANTERN #28
NIGHTWING #142
NORTHLANDERS #4

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #552
DARK TOWER LONG ROAD HOME #1 (OF 5)
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #17
TWELVE #3 (OF 12)
UNCANNY X-MEN #496

The return of the Dark Tower in comics is something I greatly look forward to. (I was quite happy with the previous adaptation.) While I don't doubt that there are plenty who took issue with it, I though it portrayed the meat of the story very well. And while these early chronicles of Roland Deschain's life don't convey the bizarre post-apocalyptic fantasy that fills the novels, it's still some great reading.

The Twelve is also an interesting project. The timely coincidence that caused it and Dynamite's Project Superpowers is interesting in and of itself. But I'm particularly amused to see that some characters are actually shared between the two. The one that comes immediately to mind is Dynamic Man, Curt Cowan.

I'm still kicking a few story ideas around. A few of them are for Flashback Universe, and one or two of my own devising. In particular, I think I've got a neat angle on a comic story based on the Terminator movies and TV show. If anybody has any clue as to who has the license, I'd be appreciative if you could kick it over to me.