This storyline has really kept my interest up: Kate’s difficult choice, everyone telling their secret origins, and Giant Fuckoff Evil. Nice one.
APR060015 CONCRETE VOL 6 STRANGER ARMOR TP $12.95
I think this is supposed to be “Strange Armor,” as that’s the name of the original storyline.
Here’s “The Black Cougar” to tell you about Stranger Danger!
I hope you feel like your brain has died a little bit – I certainly do. Is the Black Cougar blind? I mean, look at how he paws through the air like Daredevil at a cymbals and gongs convention.
Also: holy shit. Marvel’s totally missing the boat with their character appearance program. If Asshole McGee and his crew can do a knock off of T’Challa and get paid by gullible school districts, why hasn’t The House That Jack and Steve Built For Stan, Who Sat In His Air-Conditioned Hovercraft And Sipped Lemonade done anything similar?
There was never a Robocop trilogy. This toy set is the work of lying liars.
DC Comic
JUN060155 BATMAN SON OF THE DEMON NEW PTG $5.99
Not very good, really, but an interesting artifact. Jerry Bingham is not Neal Adams, even if he wants to be. Still, it’s better than Tom “Lightbox” Grindberg. Maybe they’d be better if they didn’t wash their hands after using the restroom, a technique I witness Neal Adams himself apply at SDCC.
JUN060241 BATTLER BRITTON #2 (OF 5) $2.99
I have no real connection to the British comics characters this and the related series have tackled, but I quite enjoyed the first issue. I mean, Garth Ennis, planes, dead Nazis – the only thing making it better would be an appearance by The Punisher and Nick Fury, who have been hurtled through the Guardian Of Forever to murder Edith Keeler’s twin sister.
Uh.
JUN060191 JONAH HEX #10 $2.99
After the last two issues, I find my interest waning a bit. I hope this picks up the pace.
Marvel Comics Outside of the kid-friendly books, the only material coming out of Marvel this week that interests me one iota is…
JUN061943 AGENTS OF ATLAS #1 (OF 6) $2.99
…a comic done in a distinctly retro style by Jeff Parker, a man of fine, fine writing abilities and…
MAY061986 MARVEL MILESTONES MILLIE THE MODEL & PATSY WALKER $3.99
…reprints from the period that Agents Of ATLAS mines. Go figure.
Other Comics Companies
JUN062970 DAVE JOHNSON FC SKETCHBOOK 2006 $9.99
I got a look at this at SDCC, and if you like Johnson, this is a must-have. I am not just saying this because Ross Richie has incriminating photos of me and a metal bikini Leia.
OK, so Gianluca has those.
MAY063437 I AM GOING TO BE SMALL GN $14.00
Tiny comics by Jeffrey Brown! Sure to be something I’d say is quite excellent, you should buy it because I say so, especially at 384 pages for $14.
MAY062766 KAFKA TP $14.99
It’s Crumb, and while I’ve never quite gotten into his work on its own merits, the shadow he’s cast is long and mighty.
JUN062865 MOUSE GUARD #4 (OF 6) $3.50
I sold issue #1 on eBay for enough money to get the trade when it comes out.
Twice.
Still, beautiful stuff and well worth a gander if you’ve not.
JUN063239 NAT TURNER VOL 1 TP (RES) $10.00
Where’s my goddamn issue 3? The first two blew me away, dammit, and I want more, more, more.
FEB063010 SKIBBER BEE BYE HC (MR) $19.95
I’m not really a Ron Rege Jr fan, but this insightful Amazon review may just sell it to me:
the book is a gorgeous object. the glue binding is not fun. it’s a fascinating book, but i’m sure i don’t get all of it. beautiful artwork though. make sure you check out his full-color work in drawn & quarterly 4. it’s a beautiful story, but difficult to comprehend even for me, and I’m used to hard comic books. this book has two very impressive quotes on the back from chris ware and daniel clowes, though, and that should motivate anyone to try it. this might be highwater books’s best product so far. -yak.
I’m not going to reveal which of my spies handed me the drinks list for Hasbro’s 2006 Vault Party that was held in San Diego during the con, an event held only to show off some of the new Marvel-based toys. There’s certainly no tacit understanding that the entire endeavour is held so that comics people and toy people can get ‘faced together and try to hit on the same three scared women from marketing.
I’m just going to make a few notes.
The “Silver Surfer” just sounds nasty to me and I’ve been known to drink rubbing alcohol with a bit of Lemon Pledge in a pinch.
“Comicazee?” Seriously, people. Between that and “Marvelita,” you’re not even trying.
“The Fantastic Four” better give me some kind of superpowers with all the goddamn ingredients that are listed.
Easiest drink ever: Molson’s, cold mug. Call it a “Hey, Bub.”
You’ve got a Russian Spy called The Black Widow and vodka – you couldn’t do some math here?
There’s not a single drink named after Iron Man or his alter ego? Idiots.
“Maid Of Orleans” by OMD. Very few other synthpop bands have done songs about Joan of Arc for some reason or another.
“Promised You A Miracle” by Simple Minds. I have a special loathing for their biggest hit (the one from the movie with Ringwald,) but this is an example of fine, fine new-wave pop that doesn’t sound like a U2 b-side.
“Transmission” by Joy Division. Ian Curtis haunts me, and songs like this are the reason why. Amazing front man and while I love New Order wholly, Joy Division captures a certain magic.
“#1 Song In Heaven” by Sparks. Sure, they’re miming for Top Of The Pops, but check out Ron’s amazing Hitler moustache.
“Opportunities.” by Pet Shop Boys. Awful, digital, and Chris Lowe looks like a male prostitute. I love it.
“Can U Dig It?” by Pop Will Eat Itself. “We dig Marvel and DC, we dig Run DMC.” What else need I say besides “Alan Moore knows the score!”
I broke a cardinal rule by relettering this for the web, but Photoshop sharpening and recoloring left the entire thing a mess. I’d punch a nun for good black-and-white Kirby art to give this treatment to…
Maybe more later. I’ve got some self-imposed deadlines to blow.
I’ve reviewed Rob Vollmar and Pablo Callejo’s sprawling Bluesmanpreviously, but it’s worth noting that the third and final installment came out this week and it’s a satisfying ending to a story I could have easily kept reading for another two or three volumes. Vollmar’s scripting is lean but full of character while Callejo draws some of the most expressive figures I’ve seen. Watching Lem Taylor walk to his apparent ultimate fate at the end, singing a spiritual and embracing his future made me get a rather large lump in my throat.
Gilbert Herndandez’s Sloth is easily in competition for best graphic novel of 2006. Casually odd, beautifully drawn, and compelling as all hell, Sloth lets the Palomar half of Los Bros Hernandez explore magical realism and alternate universes a bit more explicitly than what we’ve seen in the Love And Rockets material. There’s some stunning linework in this – minimal figures against psychedelic, almost etched skies and his writing is frightfully sharp and inventive. Between this, The Fountain and Can’t Get No, I’m wondering if this is the year that Vertigo tries to stake its claim in the OGN market instead of being more trade paperback oriented.
I’ve mentioned Tim Fish’s work here before and as a fellow Somerville resident, I am legally obliged to point out that the complete Cavalcade Of Boys is now available. While I may be on the “straight” end of the target market, this gay romance comic has consistently impressed me when I grabbed an issue and getting an omnibus is ideal. Fish is a great cartoonist and I certainly hope this gets him more noticed in a marketplace where work like this is a bit marginalized.
Batman #655. Such an inauspicious, dull number to kick the dust off the title that bears my favorite non-Kirby character’s name. I’ve been waiting, quite literally, more than a decade to read a Batman comic book that’s this enjoyable, this pure, this true to everything I associate with the character. Yes, I love me some modern-era, Frank Miller Bat-dicketry, but the Bruce Wayne that inhabits these pages is a typically Morrisonian example of a creative hybrid. He’s cited the O’Neil / Adams version of the character as a touchstone, but I can also see an older version of the determined young man from Batman: Year One and hints of the sci-fi swashbuckler that Morrison let loose upon the public in JLA.
The story is a thing of lean beauty – after being away from Gotham for a year, Batman cleans up the town in a remarkably short period and is left with…less to do. Alfred takes this opportunity to introduce him to the concept of being Bruce Wayne again and, of course, things go awry to the tune of “Talia.” There’s many moments that will make even embittered, embattled Bat-fans like me crack a grin: Batman and Commissioner Gordon sharing amusement over a particularly grim headline; Alfred informing Robin that he never forgets certain dietary arrangements; Bruce Wayne as playboy again. I don’t know if Morrison’s taken deliberate steps to minimize the jarring transitions and hailstorm of ideas that have typically marked his superhero work, or if Pete Tomasi has some sort of electro-prod that keeps him in line, but between this and All-Star Superman, he’s got to be impressing more people than ever with unconventional, if deliberately friendly stories.
Special note should be made of Andy Kubert’s artwork here, too. His Ultimate X-Men work never really impressed me and I thought Origin was downright ugly, but with this, Kubert takes the Jim Lee Batman and one-ups him with clear, vibrant storytelling and what may be my favorite modern-era, non-Bolland version of the character. (Michael Lark comes very, very close, of course.)
This is the first morning that’s felt remotely normal in a week – no air travel, comics conventions, casino hotel rooms, or first-days-back-at-work are involved – and, frankly, I’m a little put out. What am I supposed to do with my time?
I know, I’ll tell you all that the new Bumperboy book, Bumperboy and the Loud, Loud Mountain is well worth picking up. Debbie Huey’s second full-length featuring the adorable, bodysuited hero is a surprisingly sophisticated all-ages book that should appeal to kids and adults in equal quantities. Bumperboy and the Loud, Loud Mountain performs this balancing act perfectly: the art is a masterpiece of cartoonish minimalism with never an extra line, even while conveying humor and fairly complex ideas about working to help the environment and the tone is educational and sweet never managing to be very cloying or resorting to easy lectures.
I’ve been thinking about comics I like more than they deserve lately. 1995’s Superman/Aliens is one of them. I reread it last night (shut up) and even when Jurgen’s scripting is particularly atrocious (who says “tough time” instead of “rough time,” anyway?), Kevin Nowlan’s inking and the appearane of a Kryptonian-speaking young woman named Kara from Argo almost make up for the slightly cheap feel of the crossover. Who really thought Superman was going to die in space with a Xenomorph bursting out of his chest, anyway?
Another comic I have a stupid amount of affection for is Alan Moore’s WildCATS run. It’s bog-standard work by the bearded mage, with very little subtext and unremarkable narrative, but I can practically hear Moore happily humming along, writing slightly-clever bits that Scott Lobdell would have given his eyeteeth for. There’s also the art, which is generally uneven but manages to feature a Travis Charest shaking his Lee-and-Liefeld-isms off and doing something new among other niceties.
Then there’s Marvel Two-In-One, which is, in general, a very stupid comic. Still, Ben Grimm is a character I have no small amount of affection for (even if our love will never hit the dizzying heights of the Sterling/Swamp Thing affair) and getting to see the Marvel Universe parade through his title gives me a bit of a giggle. I would gladly argue that material such as Project Pegasus and the fairly clever anniversary issues deserve collecting. When are we going to get a second Essential volume, anyway?
I’m sure there’s more (Atari Force and Johnny Ryan’s work spring to mind) – maybe even enough to function as a semi-regular feature that will die pretty quickly. Hmm.
Speaking of the Essential line, I noticed that Billy Tucci had a very-similarly-designed cheap omnibus for the Shi comics he’s managed to eke out a living from for the last decade and change. In fact, it was so similarly designed that I think Marvel should have a little talk with him. There’s “capturing the zeitgeist” and then there’s “shamelessly copying.” All told, it’s pretty deceptive, in my mind.
I’ve been rereading the first Fu-Manchu novel and Our Band Could Be Your Life concurrently. The idea of Nayland Smith joining Big Black and fighting the yellow peril of corporate rock appeals to me more and more As in: I want to figure out how to make something similar work on paper.
Without the white superiority, of course. I’d leave in the drum machine, though.
Finally, we have this video from Tim Leong of ComicFoundry.com. Interesting in its own right because Tim is one of the good ones fighting the good fight, this features certain moderately-known comics blogger at the 3:34 mark talking about a very well-known comics creator’s bathroom habits. You can also hear the moderately-known comics blogger encourage Spurgeon to throw a chair on stage.
Panoramic photos from my San Diego Comic-Con trip are yours for the clicking below.
The lobby of the Luxor, where I stayed before hitting the road with Josh.
The hotel room that Josh and I called home for a few days. Note the swell kitchen, where breakfast was made every morning and the bottle of Knob Creek’s Famous Tension-Reducing Elixir that was consumed after long hours on the floor.
The view I had from my spot in the BOOM! Studios booth. Ross Richie’s real face can be seen in this photograph.
Finally, I made Josh pull over to the side of I-15 so I could capture this bit of desolate beauty. I’m glad we got going before that hobo could shiv us.
My feet still ache, my voice is shot, and I’m stupidly tired, but here I am, uploading a few photos to Flickr and killing email messages left and right. Here’s a quick look at SDCC by my reckoning.
The Size The Good: Always something to take a gander at, even after three days. The Bad: Oh my fucking feet oh god oh god oh god.
The People The Good: I got to meet a lot of people that I’ve only talked to on the internerd and catch up with some that I’ve only seen briefly in the past. The Bad: I didn’t get to spend enough time with any of them. We were all too busy running around.
The Stuff The Good: Honestly, I didn’t spend that much at all. I picked up the new Bumperboy book, got some minis (including two issues of Snake Pit from the awesome folks at Young American Comics,) and that was it. The Bad: If I were not a luggage-conscious consumer, it would have ended in tears.
Agreeable Comics The Good: I sold quite a few, and gave a huge group of them out to People Of Taste And Quality. I even got a little bit fanboyish handing them over to certain professionals. The Bad: I have about 60 left…but that means that you’ll be able to order them soon! So, that’s not bad at all.
BOOM! Studios The Good: They’re lovely people, seriously. The Bad: We have to wait for Pirate Tales and Ninja Tales, but they’re going to be so freakin’ good that you won’t mind.
In the hotel in San Diego, where I Just got back in from sitting by the sea, wherein I made a lighting pylon thing into my personal throne of illumination and pontificated about many things, including my upcoming Hulk epic “Hulk Fights Molecules,” which will certainly owe nothing at all to the Kochalka strip about Hulk fighting rain. I didn’t have the time to make it to anything besides the comics blogger panel and take a late lunch with Jenn and convince her that yes, I should get to walk away with one of her two awesome children. (Two problems with this plan: she likes them both and she says they’ll get larger, making them less like puppies and more like people. Bah.)
About the comics blogger panel: Spurgeon wins the grand prize by positing that, in fact, comics blogging is not hard work, especially compared to the foundry work performed when he was younger. Butcher wins the Slightly Bitchy But Really Quite Charming award for calling people on their not calling bluffs from publishers. Graeme gets the I Am Very Nice And Don’t You Love My Accent award for being nice and having an accent, and Heidi wins for keeping things moving pretty darn nicely. It was a panel that could have lasted another hour, easily.
BOOM! Studios has been great. If you’re reading this and plan on being on the floor of San Diego Comic-Con, swing by booth 1531 and give them shekels, drachmas, pennies, or whatever else you have around. Ross Richie is not proud, people! He’ll cash anything!
I am seeing double, so I must retire. Thanks to my dinner and drinking company – I adore you all, especially Ms. P, who was once the only woman I didn’t know that read my blog, but now is not so unknown!
Matt Maxwell was fascinated by my wallet. Apparently, I forgot to bring any kind of cord to connect my “camera” to the “computer” that Josh has, so you people have to wait a few days for photos from Nerd Prom.
Ross Richie and everyone at BOOM! have been exceedlingly excellent so far. I expect something will happen to ruin this peaceful accord that has been reached. It will most likely be my fault.
If you’re in the area, please stop by booth 1531 and say hi and pick up the Agreeable Comics sampler! It’s only a buck! .
Off to San Diego, which makes this post’s title a misnomer immediately. Staying overnight in Vegas and spending some time with Josh, Kathleen, and Svea before Josh drives my carcass across Death Valley and the fabled show of shows.
I expect to see a few of you people and if you spy a large, surly guy that looks like this, don’t hesitate to walk up and demand the five bucks I owe you.
(Notice how I didn’t mention that you could get the first dose of Agreeable Comics for only a buck at BOOM! Studios (Booth 1531) or Tired Girl Collective (Q3 in the small press area)? Aren’t you proud of me for avoiding my inner huckster, true believers?)
Sorry about the lack of a list this week – things have been far too hectic with SDCC, laundry, planning, finally getting my pro registration cleared up, work, drinking, putting together a pitch for an animated thing, drinking, trying to remember to get all my ducks in a row for the trip in general, etc.
I currently only plan to attend a few panels – the blogging one and the Snakes on a Plane Q and A, so you should be able to find me at the BOOM! booth (#1531) most of the time if you plan on being in the convention center. Email me if you’d like my phone number and feel the need to ply me with fine beverages.
I’d really like to see the marketing materials that DC supplied to potential advertisers in the 1970s. “Do you want to sell your products to complete losers? I mean, we’re talking wastes of flesh? Then give Sanford Schwarz & Company a call today!”
Take a gander at these ads I pulled from a single issue of Our Fighting Forces (#150, if you’d like to check). Between getting their asses regularly kicked, being criticized for their flabby physique, trying to find work, or getting the skills to actually make money, I’m surprised any of the potential audience had the time or wherewithal to actually, you know buy the books featuring these gems.
OMAC was stupidly left off the list of reprints I’d like to see from DC. To make up for this grotesque oversight, I present the first issue. Make sure you click on the second image to see the two-page spread in all its glory.
The following is an incomplete list of collections that DC Comics should make available to me posthaste. Please note that I am aware of legal and financial issues surrounding several of them, but I care very little for Man’s Law in a case like this. Only Ape Law must prevail in the grim battlefield that is the published future.
Showcase Presents: Sugar And Spike – Sterling and I will hold onto this dream until our dying days. So much of this material could be collected in digests or, ideally, Showcase volumes and be thrown at small children (not literally) and adults with a stunted maturity level and filthy money would be waiting in their grubby paws. I don’t want an Archive of this material : I want it cheap and accessible.
Showcase Presents: The Losers – I’m a nut for this war team, especially as Kirby handled their adventures, and as they’re featured heavily in the opening of New Frontier, which is getting a direct to DVD movie, now is a perfect time to give the readers a slab of black and white awesome.
Swing With Scooter – Let me get this straight. DC has a mod comic complete with scooters, awesome fashion, and cute girls and they’ve not tried to capitalize on this? Seriously. Sell it as a kitsch item aimed at the same people who buy romance comics collections “ironically.” Speaking of…
Romance Comics – Marvel did it and got pretty highly praised for their efforts. While DC could neatly avoid the whole “remixed story” thing that wore thin after 3-4 issues, they’ve go a large enough library that can be cherry-picked for series of “Best Of” volumes.
The Adventures Of Jerry Lewis and The Adventures of Bob Hope – Not just for Will Pfeiffer do I wish such a thing to happen. I enjoy these goofy, lighthearted romps very much. That sort of gag-driven writing in actual stories is increasingly rare and, again, a cherry-picked “best of” may find an audience outside of comics fans.
Jack Kirby’s Fourth World Archives – No, not the Byrne series, ass. Give me three or four volumes of beautifully reprinted material collecting everything The King did with his most ambitious creation and I will gladly hand over stacks of money belonging to myself and others. I’ve got the black and white reprints, the Mando paper reprints of the late 80s, and a few original issues. Help me consolidate this material, please.
Showcase Presents: The Challengers Of The Unknown (September 27th! Witness my power!) – Four men living on borrowed time, again featured heavily in New Frontier, desperately in need of a collection that isn’t an Archives edition. Lots of fun stories and some great Kirby art, even ifhe was in a bit of a slump at the time.
Crime Comics – I’d love for DC to revive the Pulp Fiction line of trades (which failed after the Mystery In Space volume, sadly) and take on crime. I mean, it’d mean more people actually got to own the amazing story of Little Joe Little, and isn’t that a public service that will do more good than any stupid ad where Green Arrow tells kids to not piss on the third rail or knife hobos or whatever? Seriously.
Showcase Presents: The Flash – Just do it. Give me massive, cheap doses of Carmine Infantino in his prime. Please. This Elongated Man volume is good, but I want more. Much more.
Third Eye Mojo DMT: The Collected DC Universe Stories of Grant Morrison – Stories from Secret Origins and other odds and ends, put together nicely. Hell, do a few volumes and give people Aztek so I can finally send Doug the copies I’ve had for over a year.
Warlord – I don’t even like the character and think he’s getting short shrift in paperback. Pitch him to the Conan and Red Sonja crowd. I dare you. I double dare you.
Dan Didio: I’ll be at SDCC this year. Ask for me at the BOOM! booth or look for the man holding a flask, demanding to know why the hell that fat dude can dress like Spider-Man but they won’t accept me, The Amazing Flask Holder.
BeaucoupKevin.com presents: actual comments made by Marvel fans on Tom Brevoort’s blog.
On Covers: causeitwasfunny:
I’ll be perfectly honest, sometimes the artwork on the cover is more interesting than the story inside. A few years back I managed to grab up all the Maximum Carnage issues for fairly cheap because I had fond memories of playing the video games and was always interested in the symbiotic villains of Spider-Man. I read through it, and althought it’s a memorable storyline, it wasn’t really written all that well. So many editor’s notes of which issue referred back to another one that I didn’t have or didn’t read through me off (by the way, I’m really glad those are used sparingly or as jokes nowadays), and I couldn’t enjoy the story as much… but the covers were still awesome.
eddiecho:
As a fan though I really wish those awesome covers would return, I remember when comics used to have Holographic covers. I miss those awesome covers. I still have Spiderman vs Venom “Final Confrontation” It was so cool with the holograms.
On Spider-Girl reaching an end and getting a new title: Tarhuan:
yeah i herad bout girl spidey good work u guys r doin
On Continuity Gaffes in Civil War: songofthesiryn:
If you are the Executive Editor of Marvel, I would expect a less defensive attitude about mistakes made on the part of your staff vis a vis continuity betwixt issues of all the Civil War tie ins in this Mega Event.
(I have the feeling songofthesiryn spends a good deal of his time in the basement, alone, crying.)
On DC vs Marvel: Bearpod91:
You guys gatta find a way to compete with DC’s 52 which comes out each week. Maybe something with 42 from Civil War? I would love to be able to get something every single week from marvel that follows one storyline. We all hate waiting every month so you guys need to find a way to fix it.
Peace!
OK. I can’t do this anymore.
Bonus Link Doc keeps on giving me hell for not linking to this, but check out the first Comicazi podcast. It’s entertaining, features guys I like cracking wise, and Young Aaron comes off as the most mature person in the room a good deal of the time.
My lord, a ship labeled the USS Giant Margaritas docked in my belly last night and apparently, all of the sailors decided that my cerebral cortex would be a fine, fine place to get in a few fights, make a little love, and generally get down as I slept. Let’s see if I can pry open the other eye enough to take a look at a few of this week’s comics as well as bitch a bit about things worthy of bitching. You’ll know it’s time to turn the page when you hear Artoo Detoo beep like this…
I think 52 and I might have to break up soon. It’s not that it’s not good for what it is, but this week’s issue indicated that, no, not much is going to change for the mainline DCU material as far as storytelling goes. There’s a double-page spread of Black Adam addressing a large group of villains this week and there’s not a single bone thrown to the reader who may not know who Sonar or Starfire’s Crankier Sister, Whatshername are. It’s this lack of taking care of a non-initiated reader that puts me off. With very little effort, you could make it so that somebody got brought up to speed quickly. Do I want everyone speaking like Jim Shooter crapped in their mouth? No, but an arrow or balloon pointing out the name, if nothing else, of that Guyver-looking motherfucker, would help me feel like I wasn’t walking into a Super Sekrit Fanboy Society meeting.
Boy, I really like this new title, The Escapists. Brian K Vaughan is not my favorite comics writer (I believe the phrase “one-trick pony” has come up in past references I’ve made to his work on Y: The Last Man), but there’s this sense of momentum, of joy in this title that I found infectious. Yes, I’d already read this issue’s story in the predecessor series featuring Kavalier and Clay’s most famous creation, but I didn’t care. It was like hearing a pitch-perfect pop song and it niggling the back of your head for months before the single magically lands in your lap. What’s The Escapists about? Comics, boy meets girl, taking a chance, and letting Philip Bond just draw the heck out of the entire thing. Just buy it. Discover that enthusiasm that’s been beaten out of you. First hits only $1 and has a fun Frank Miller cover.
Speaking of Miller, there’s some of his energy in Riccardo Burchielli’s art in DMZ #9. I’ve never noticed it before, but the itchy lines and … er … beautifully done blood splatters that crop up in the latest issue recall the Sin City auteur’s work without aping it or even resembling it very much. I really am becoming more of a fan of this book every month and remembering what happens from issue to issue, which is supremely rare for me. The latest is no exception to this upward trend, with the last page placing Matty and Zee in a position that is going be very, very difficult to recover from without it feeling like a….Brian K Vaughan comic.
Heh.
Again with Miller here: Christopher Mitten’s art on Wasteland is….very familiar in places that involve things like cloth, motion, chains, and rocks to the side of the head. In fact, if those were Spartans in the first four or five pages of this comic, I’d think it was an outtake from 300. While I’ve never liked Mitten’s unfocused art before, this new style is too derivative to not distract me from Antony Johnston’s decent, if fairly typical script about a post-apocalyptic world.
To work, I go now. I’m sure there will be more later.
Gilbert Herndandez’s Sloth is easily in competition for best graphic novel of 2006. Casually odd, beautifully drawn, and compelling as all hell, Sloth lets the Palomar half of Los Bros Hernandez explore magical realism and alternate universes a bit more explicitly than what we’ve seen in the Love And Rockets material. There’s some stunning linework in this – minimal figures against psychedelic, almost etched skies and his writing is frightfully sharp and inventive. Between this, The Fountain and Can’t Get No, I’m wondering if this is the year that Vertigo tries to stake its claim in the OGN market instead of being more trade paperback oriented.
