October 2006
My head is still spinning from Comic-Con, so this will be "Best Bets: The San Diego Edition."
Here are a few books for each week in October 2006 that I think will be worth our time and money:
October 4th:
The All-New Atom #4
(DC Comics, $2.99)My favorite thing to do at conventions is to get comics signed by creators. It's usually pretty quick, especially on the first day of a con. The first creator I found was Gail Simone (Birds of Prey) at the DC booth. She signed six issues for me (even though the official DC booth limit is three) and told me about her upcoming work with Wildstorm Comics. The title that intrigued me the most is called "Tranquility", the tale of a weird little town tucked in a corner of the Wildstorm Universe. Her recent re-launch of The Atom has been the best written series to come out of DC's Brave New World line. The writing is classic Simone: funny, action-packed, and a little weird. Speaking of weird, John Byrne will be leaving the title as of issue four, replaced for the moment by Eddy Barrows (a fill-in penciler at DC who has helped with a few Birds of Prey issues). Byrne was slated to do as least six issues on Atom, but has either quit or been fired from the series. J. B. pulled out of a Superman Returns tie-in gig, which apparently irked DC's editors who in turn canceled his upcoming runs on Tales of the Unexpected and JLA Classified. On top of all this, Joe Quesada (EIC of Marvel) recently stated: "Mr. Byrne has made it very clear on more than one occasion that he has no desire to work for this current regime at Marvel." He's "Byrned" every possible bridge in the industry (I know... <groan>). When did this 80's comic god become a weird old guy? I know all of this Byrne info has nothing to do with Atom #4, just thought it was interesting. Simone's writing has been the real star of this book. No matter which artist Gail gets paired with, I won't be missing this title.
Criminal #1
(Marvel/Icon Comics, $2.99)Writer Ed Brubaker (Uncanny X-Men) and artist Sean Philips (Marvel Zombies) return to their "noir" roots with this gritty, real-life title. Brubaker handed me a short preview of Criminal #1 at the Marvel booth at Comic-Con after he signed a pile of my books saying, "Please buy my creator-owned comic." Marvel set up the Icon imprint to give their big name exclusive guys a chance to do "indie" comics. In the past, the Icon books have seemed more like a gift to the creators than to readers. Fortunately, this won't be the case with Criminal. It reminds me a lot of Brubaker and Philips' work on Sleeper (check out the TPB's if you missed that series!), one of my favorite books of all time. For an impressive PDF preview, check out: http://www.edbrubaker.com/current/criminal.html
Detective Comics #824
(DC Comics, $2.99)Writer Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series) allows Bruce Wayne to do what he does best, detective work. Since the beginning of Dini's run, each issue has been a stand-alone mystery tale, and each case gets solved before the end of the issue. I enjoy long, drawn out story arcs with cliffhangers galore, but this one shot format is refreshing. You don't need any information going into these books, so every issue is a fine jumping on point. Don Kramer's (JSA) artwork is clean and evokes a timeless feeling for the Dark Knight. With Grant Morrison writing the stellar sister book (Batman), this a great time for fans of the character. This issue of Detective Comics features the pesky Penguin stirring up trouble in Gotham City.
October 11th:
The Escapists #4
(Dark Horse Comics, $2.99)I finally know what this series is about! Well, reading the first issue helped. A writer acquires the publishing rights for a forgotten hero (the Escapist), and decides to launch a comic book featuring the character. To help drum up interest, the writer convinces one of his friends to dress up as the Escapist to start new, real-life adventures of the hero. The extra "s" is added to the title because the writer has a whole team of people helping him with his plan. The cast of characters are due for a dangerous situation in this fourth issue, a face-off with a lawyer! Brian K. Vaughan's (Runaways) innovative writing is wowing me as usual. Steve Rolston's (Queen & Country) artwork won't blow you away, but it works for Vaughan's story. For more info about The Escapists and a glimpse at the artwork, check out: http://www.steverolston.com/escapists
Ultimate Power #1
(Marvel Comics, $2.99)Writer Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers) and artist Greg Land (Ultimate Fantastic Four) bring us the meeting of two Marvel universes, Ultimate (the home of rebooted Marvel characters) and Supreme (the home of Squadron Supreme). Reed Richards stumbles across the Supremeverse while searching for a cure for Ben Grimm's rockiness. I don't mind the Ultimate Universe, but the book's ties to Squadron Supreme will be what draws me to purchase this book. I love that team, even if they are a knockoff of DC's JLA. One more plus for me is Greg Land's photorealistic artwork. Two beautiful pages from the first issue are shown in Marvel Previews. Ultimate Power has the rare asset of interior artwork that matches the level of the detailed cover. Marvel promises that a character will be left behind in the "wrong" universe by the end of this nine issue mini-series.
Tales of the Unexpected #1
(DC Comics, $3.99)I might be reading this double-sized issue while driving home from Pulp Fiction. Writer Dave Lapham (Stray Bullets) brings us the further adventures of the Spectre, a creepy entity whose only purpose is to punish deserving sinners for their heinous acts. No one captures that "abandon all hope" feeling quite like Lapham. Check out the brilliant Stray Bullets TPB "The Innocence of Nihilism" for a taste of his dark style. Besides Lapham's presence on writing duties, we have a dead character from Gotham Central, Crispus Allen (one of my favorite DCU characters) serving as a host for the the Spectre. Even though DC killed Cris off and canceled his series, he lives on in TotU! Three scary pages from this first issue are presented in previews, showcasing the haunting artwork of Eric Battle (Green Lantern). Writer Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) will be on hand to write short backup stories about some DC oddities like Captain Fear, Freedom Beast and the Gentleman Ghost. The title of the book is reminiscent of classic pulp comics that featured a rotating cast of characters. This gives DC a chance to explore the dark corners of their universe. The one problem is that the series is only planned for an eight issue run. Number one ships with two covers, one by Mike Mignola (Hellboy), and a special variant by comics veteran Neal Adams (Batman, Superman, X-Men).
October 18th:
The Authority #1
(Wildstorm Comics, $2.99)Writer Grant Morrison (The Invisibles) and artist Gene Ha (Top Ten) re-launch this team book, this time with a more serious tone than previous incarnations. This reminds me of a story called "A Tale of Two Comic Creators."
Chapter One:
A comic fan lugs his hardback copy of Top Ten to Comic-Con with the hope of visiting Gene Ha's booth in Artists' Alley to have an original sketch drawn on the inside cover. First attempt: Ha says, "I'm busy, come back at 3 pm." Second attempt: Ha is a no-show at 3 pm. Third attempt: Ha says, "Not now." Comic fan says, "I can pay you. I've been to your booth three times and I have to leave soon." Ha says, "No."
Chapter Two:
On the other side of the packed convention hall, the same comic fan waits in a long line to meet superstar Grant Morrison at the DC booth with a pile of comics for him to sign. Grant is friendly and polite and signs everything the comic fan has brought. They have a short but friendly conversation about the fascinating panel with Deepak Chopra. This titan of the industry shows great respect to his lowly fan.
The end.
What have we learned? Not much, just don't schlep your hardcovers down to San Diego next year. Anyhoo, Authority #1 should be great. I'll be buying this for Ha's stunning artwork, even though he treated me (I mean "the comic fan") like crap. I also have never read anything by Morrison that I disliked. The only problem is the dreaded B-word. Bimonthly!
Bomb Queen Vol. 2 #1
(Image Comics, $3.50)I love Bomb Queen! And no, it's not because of the gratuitous T & A shots in the book. If you're turned on by cartoon characters, I'm sure there's a website out there for you. Bomb Queen governs her hometown in her own unique way, not with lengthy political discussions, but by blowing up people who disagree with her. Jimmie Robinson delivers hilarious social commentary in the pages of BQ. Writing and art duties are handled by Robinson as they were in Vol. 1. The four pages from this issue presented in Previews show a marked improvement in the quality of the artwork. Plenty of words are blacked out, so kids, hands off on this one. For more info check about Jimmie Robinson and Bomb Queen check out: http://homepage.mac.com/jimmykitty/BQ_index.html
Conan #33
(Dark Horse Comics, $2.99)The comic retailers at Comic-Con were a bit of a disappointment this year. They either sell really old stuff (for collectors, not readers) or relatively new stuff (which if I already own). With my money burning a hole in my pocket, the title Conan jumped out at me at one of the "new-ish" comic vendor's tables. I knew there was a critical buzz about this book a couple years ago, but I thought, "Who wants to buy a book about Ah-nuld?" I bought issue #1-6 out of desperation to purchase something. Man, was I wrong about this series! Dark Horse's mission is to bring the vision of Conan's original creator Robert E. Howard to comics. Howard, who committed suicide at age thirty, is seen by many as the father of the sword and sorcery genre. Kurt Busiek (Superman) and Cary Nord (Daredevil) delivered fantastic tales in the early issues I bought. Short comics (maybe a few panels) about Howard's life are included at the end of each issue, fascinating Harvey Pekar-ish stuff. This issue marks the start of a new writer's run, Timothy Truman(Scout), but Cary Nord's breathtaking artwork will remain. Give Conan a shot, you'll be glad you did.
October 25th:
Action Comics #844
(DC Comics, $2.99)Richard Donner (director of the 70's Superman movie) teams up with writer Geoff Johns (Green Lantern) and artist Adam Kubert (Ultimate X-Men) for a blockbuster of a comic book. This arc will coincide with the highly anticipated DVD release of Donner's version of Superman II. Donner showed some lost clips at Comic-Con that the producers (in their infinite wisdom) cut from the original film. I liked Superman Returns, but seeing new footage of Christopher Reeve in the blue suit was awesome. The comic is a bit of a role reversal for the writers, since Johns used to be Donner's intern (gopher) back in the day. Johns is the clear top dog here in the realm of comics. Adam Kubert's fan-friggin-tastic take on Supes can be seen in this month's issue of Wizard magazine. This six issue arc will be kicked off by a new Kryptonian landing on earth. There is no way for this book to suck.
Sandman #1 Special Edition
(Vertigo Comics, $0.50)In November, Vertigo is releasing a massive (Absolute) Sandman tome reprinting old material, this time with newly colored artwork. You might be feeling: been there, done that. Me too. The week before the release of this huge book (612 pages), Vertigo is offering a taste of the recolored artwork with this new edition of Sandman #1 for half a buck. If we're wowed, maybe we'll be willing to drop a hundred bucks on Sandman. If you've never read Sandman, this is a great place to find out what all of the hubbub is about.
Star Wars: Dark Times #1
(Dark Horse Comics, $2.99)This series covers a gaping hole in Star Wars continuity: the reign of Darth Vader. He's the best character Lucas ever created, and both trilogies are about his birth and death. Where are the nineteen years of Vader kicking butt? Right here. I don't really care about the creative team, just that the artwork is decent (impressive samples of the artwork are shown in Previews). Sure, there's the starwarsgeekboner factor here that may be clouding my judgment, but I have faith that this series will be a winner.
By the way, I'm copyrighting the term "starwarsgeekboner."
Odds & Ends:
Check out these great websites for a few smaller publishers. I bought some terrific books from them at Comic-Con. I'd tell you all about them, but I'm sure you've stopped reading by now.http://www.boom-studios.com
http://www.topcow.com
http://www.virgincomics.com
See you in thirty!
Cory Johnson
cmjmusic@yahoo.com <TOP>