Random Notes From Some Of This Week's Comics
So, the big buzz book for this week has been DC's 52 and not even I, Captain Contrarian in these matters, can complain overly much about the end result. Sure, there's some clumsy bits here and there (wallowing in Ralph's misery may be necessary for later events, but I really didn't appreciate it for whatever reason) but overall, this is a very competently done, not flashy-at-al book that does exactly what I expect. Dan DiDio should get some sort of special Stan Lee Hypermeister Award for his afterward to this issue, though. Saying "redefining what readers should expect from comics" instead of "tweaking a superhero universe yet again while trying a different storytelling technique than the bog-standard norm" indicates that he's learned valuable lessons from his marketing team. For a much smarter and more in-depth look at the book, check out Douglas Wolk's dedicated blog.
Speaking of bog standard, Jonah Hex had another issue that was meaner'n a sack a' cut snakes. Maybe with Luke Ross's departure from the title, Palmiotti and Gray will experiment a bit while (hopefully) maintaining the quality that has made this a series a favorite among right-thinking individuals such as myself.
The other day, I described BOOM! as a company that produced high-quality pop comics. While not everything they produce manages to capture that blockbuster-with-brains mentality that follows the mold created by movies like Aliens and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, I am generally impressed with their output. The latest venture from the company, Cthulhu Tales takes the Lovecraftian mythos and lets guys like my internet pal John Rogers loose on them. It's to Rogers I want to direct a question: What the fuck is wrong with you, amigo? Man alive, I wanted to crawl under a table and hug myself after reading "Quality Time," where you and Andy Kuhn managed to make sure I never, ever attend a school play, ever.
Besides Rogers, two other highlights include Andrew Cosby's collaboration with Lee Carter, "Witch Hunter," which read like a first issue for the medium's next Hellblazer and the hilarious "Cthulhu Calls," where Mark Badger cartoons the living hell out of a hilarious Casey Grey script. I don't think either participant in the latter would have hit the heights they did without the otherand I look forward to future collaborations.
I also got a chance to look at the FCBD books and I've got just one thing to say to publishers about the whole lot: I don't care if you're giving me the goddamn comic for free, I just expect the copy to have been given at least one pass before the book went out to print. Many books were sprinkled with misused words, where "it's" and "you're" replaced their soundalikes and even a basic spell check seemed to elude the staff. Still, Free Scott Pilgrim was a hoot and Fantagraphics and Adhouse made fantastic showings.
Speaking of bog standard, Jonah Hex had another issue that was meaner'n a sack a' cut snakes. Maybe with Luke Ross's departure from the title, Palmiotti and Gray will experiment a bit while (hopefully) maintaining the quality that has made this a series a favorite among right-thinking individuals such as myself.
The other day, I described BOOM! as a company that produced high-quality pop comics. While not everything they produce manages to capture that blockbuster-with-brains mentality that follows the mold created by movies like Aliens and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, I am generally impressed with their output. The latest venture from the company, Cthulhu Tales takes the Lovecraftian mythos and lets guys like my internet pal John Rogers loose on them. It's to Rogers I want to direct a question: What the fuck is wrong with you, amigo? Man alive, I wanted to crawl under a table and hug myself after reading "Quality Time," where you and Andy Kuhn managed to make sure I never, ever attend a school play, ever.
Besides Rogers, two other highlights include Andrew Cosby's collaboration with Lee Carter, "Witch Hunter," which read like a first issue for the medium's next Hellblazer and the hilarious "Cthulhu Calls," where Mark Badger cartoons the living hell out of a hilarious Casey Grey script. I don't think either participant in the latter would have hit the heights they did without the otherand I look forward to future collaborations.
I also got a chance to look at the FCBD books and I've got just one thing to say to publishers about the whole lot: I don't care if you're giving me the goddamn comic for free, I just expect the copy to have been given at least one pass before the book went out to print. Many books were sprinkled with misused words, where "it's" and "you're" replaced their soundalikes and even a basic spell check seemed to elude the staff. Still, Free Scott Pilgrim was a hoot and Fantagraphics and Adhouse made fantastic showings.
