The San Diego Con is underway as I type these words. So far the big news out of the Con is that Marvel Comics has bought the rights to Marvelman (published previously in the States as Miracleman). The rights have been tied up in a legal knot for years, but Marvel has bought the rights from the original creator of Marvelman, Mick Anglo. It'll be interesting to see what Alan Moore thinks about all this. Marvel claims to be in talks with all the former writers and artists discussing the character, but it's reported that one of the reasons Moore refuses to do any work for Marvel is that they sued back in the day and made the name change from Marvel to Miracle a necessity. Hopefully we'll see a good hardcover reprint of the old stuff. Moore's take on the character is brilliant.
I haven't picked up the second issue yet, but I loved the first issue. I'll talk more about each story, but have to add that I really liked the Supergirl story.
I'm really excited about this comic. It's done like the old Sunday Comics in the newspaper. The lineup includes:
• BATMAN, WEDNESDAY COMICS' weekly cover feature, by the Eisner Award-winning 100 BULLETS team of writer Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso • ADAM STRANGE, by writer/artist Paul Pope (BATMAN: YEAR 100) • METAMORPHO, written by New York Times best-selling writer Neil Gaiman with art by Eisner Award-winner Michael Allred (Madman) • THE DEMON AND CATWOMAN, written by Walter Simonson (Thor, MANHUNTER) with art by famed DC cover artist Brian Stelfreeze • DEADMAN, written by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck, art by Dave Bullock • KAMANDI, written by Dave Gibbons (WATCHMEN, GREEN LANTERN CORPS) with art by Ryan Sook (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, ARKHAM ASYLUM: LIVING HELL) • SUPERMAN, written by John Arcudi (The Mask) with art by Lee Bermejo (JOKER) • WONDER WOMAN, written and illustrated by Ben Caldwell (Dare Detectives) • GREEN LANTERN, written by Kurt Busiek (TRINITY, ASTRO CITY) with art by Joe Quiñones (TEEN TITANS GO!) • TEEN TITANS, written by Eddie Berganza with art by Sean Galloway • SUPERGIRL, written by Jimmy Palmiotti (JONAH HEX) with art by Amanda Conner (POWER GIRL) • HAWKMAN, written and illustrated by Kyle Baker (PLASTIC MAN, Special Forces) • SGT. ROCK, written by Adam Kubert (SUPERMAN: LAST SON), ilustrated by legendary comics artist Joe Kubert • THE FLASH, written by Karl Kerschl (TEEN TITANS YEAR ONE, THE FLASH: THE FASTEST MAN ALIVE) and Brenden Fletcher, illustrated by Karl Kerschl • METAL MEN, written by Dan DiDio with art by Ian Churchill (SUPERGIRL)
I've made mention of the fact that I once did a little writing in the comic world and would like to attempt another go at it. But being a writer in comics without an artist puts you at a severe disadvantage. I've talked about my search for artists before on this blog and will bore you with results or lack of results in the future.
In the day when I first made my attempts at finding artists one of the best places to discover said talent was the Comic Buyer's Guide. They were weekly than and ran a classified ad section in the back that for mere pennies on the word I could advertise my plight. And what's more I had people, no not just people, actual artists, answer. I met Ron Wilber, who illustrated the run of Lizards in CRITTERS. I met other artists.
Nowdays CBG is a monthly. (I'm assuming, I hate to say this but I haven't seen an issue in a long time) and I'm not even sure if they still run a classified section. Back than there just seemed to be more places to advertise for the need of an artist or writer. You would think with the internet there would be even more oppertunaties to find a working partner, but if there is I must just not know where to look.
So in addition to this blog (and the others) I've started another blog. This one is geared towards finding an artist. It's called I NEED ARTISTS! A Writer In Search of Artistic Colabration. My ten cent description of it is:
Imagine this blog as my resume for interested artists. I have plenty of ideas that could fill up a lot of comic books, but what I don't have are artists to help bring those ideas to life. Thus this blog is born. In it I will attempt to chronicle my brief and meager existence of a somewhat published comic book writer back in the day. Any interested artists (or publishers) can contact me at JohnH985@yahoo.com.
I recently posted a short story that I did with the wonderful artist Craig Boldman. Craig today is the writer on the Jughead comic.
Go check the site out. Better yet, if you know an artist tell them to go check it out
Tyrese Gibson is an actor and musician and now he's getting into comic writing. Coming from Image comics in August is MAYHEM by Tyrese Gibson and co-created by Mike Le and Will Wilson with artist Tone Rodriguez. Mr. Gibson is taking advantage of his large Twitter following and urging them to go out and pre-order the comic. After starring in the new Transformers movie Mr. Gibson has a lot of people out there following him, so even if a small portion of that can be turned into readers of his comic book it should be a big help. I don't know if this is the first effort on Twitter to help sell a comic or not, but I'm all for taking different approaches to getting the word out there. I'll be interested to see how it works and if it makes a difference. From the word over at THE BEAT it's got a lot of people interested and has even convinced some store owners to order a few copies of the comic that they normally wouldn't have.
I'm for anything that can help get the word out and that is unique from the normal paths. The comic industry needs to find alternate methods to publicize their work. As an industry the comic book business seems to advertize mainly just for itself. Unless there's a big movie pushing the comic, you don't really see a lot of pr being driven towards people that aren't already picking up the latest issues of their favorite comics.
Granted a lot of Transformers fans might be into comics, but Mr. Gibson's apparel goes way beyond that. He's a singer and actor with a lot of diverse material under his belt, so it's a good bet that a lot of his fans may not be a comic buyer. So hopefully with his twittering it will introduce some of these fans to comics and maybe even persuade them to go give them a try.
I used to be a once a week buyer. I used to be there on Wednesday without fail, waiting for the new shipment of comics to be put out. Now I get there whenever I can. Very rarely will I make it within a week's time of my last visit, sometimes a month will go by before I can make it. But I also don't try and buy every comic that comes out anymore either. I'm a lot more selective in what I buy. I figure if I buy a comic and after I get home I don't want to read it, than that's a comic that I won't be picking up the next trip to the comic store.
I picked up a few comics on this last trip. I've already talked about Batman and Robin and Detective Comics, so I won't repeat that here, except to say both are excellent and you should pick them up.
The New Avengers: Bendis is what pulled me back into Marvel Comics with his run on Daredevil after I had pretty much given up on it. His run on the Avengers has been so hit and miss. Part of the problem is that with all the events lately the Avengers seems to be just a spin off on whatever big even is going on. But this issue is Bendis at his best, setting up a new Sorcerer Supreme.
Daredevil: Still one of my favorite comics. I've been a fan of Daredevil almost since his inception. But the last few years have been my favorite version of the man without fear. I think it's better than Miller's run since Bendis and now Burbaker have been on it.
Echo: I was a fan of Terry Moore and his Strangers in Paradise, but in the end I wasn't that satisfied with that series. This series has suffered none of what I found wrong with that series. This is in fact one of my top comics that I pick up. I can't wait to see where he's going with it. And while I'm not sure what the frequency of its publication has been, I do know it's been pretty reliable.
Captain American: Reborn: Very well written and drawn but pretty much just a set up for the next issue. Not sure how I feel about the fact that Steve Rogers wasn't shot and killed now, he was shot with a gun that threw him a time statsis, where he now is tumbling through time. But than we all knew that Steve Rogers was coming back. (Not that I mind that, I am a big fan of the Steve Rogers Cap and am looking forward to his re appearance. Even though Burbaker did a good job with Buck as Cap.)
The Boys and Herogasm: Not for kids, but I love this series. Ennis is another writer I either really love and the opposite. And I'm loving this.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Maybe it was just me but I found some of the transitions between scenes to be confusing. I had to go back and re read some pages to figure out where I was supposed to be. Still it's Buffy.
Detective Comics: This was the second half of Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert's "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" I am a big fan of Gaiman but this book really didn't do it for me.
When I picked up the first issue of this title I didn't realize it was a limited series. And sadly now all six issues have come and gone. But this is still one of my favorite titles of the last half year. This was such a fun read. DC please bring this version of Supergirl!
In the previous post I mentioned how much I'm liking some of DC's comic again. My favorite right now would have to be the new Batman and Robin comic by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly. I am loving this comic.
I think very highly of Grant Morrison as a writer, but just as there is a lot of his stuff I think is some of the best comic writing out there, there is also a lot I don't care for. His most recent work on Batman and Final Crisis I didn't care for. I tried to read Final Crisis but gave up after three issues.
But this series is GREAT! I love it! Everything about it is so good. Frank Quitely brings the pages to such a life. This is the type of comics that makes me think of how I felt when I was a kid and reading comics.
Within two issues this has become one of my favorite comics out there right now. It's one of those comics that I can't wait for the next issue to come out.
I've never made a secret in these posts about my current dislike of most DC product lately. But recently I've picked up a few titles and have to report back on how much I am enjoying them. The first I want to talk about is Batwoman.
I know this character was introduced a year or so ago in the pages of 52. I never read an issue of that maxi series, so I had no idea of the character. Of course I had read and heard of all the buzz about her. That she was a lesbian. At the time that seemed to be what the whole point of the character seemed to be. I'm too much a fan of Greg Rucka, who was one of the creating voices behind the character, to believe that to be true, but that's all that was talked about. That she was a lesbian.
Now, however long ago since she was introduced, I'm not really sure because like I said I haven't been too involved in very many stories at DC for the past few years, they're bringing her back. It seems like the fuss of her sexual orientation has died down somewhat.
Instead of giving her own book they're putting her as the lead feature in Detective Comics. I had no plan to pick up her debut in the title, but when I was at the comic book store I saw the cover and was intrigued. The cover and the interior art is by JH William III and all I can saw is that it is incredible! The cover reached out and grabbed me. I picked up the issue and flipped through it. The art was so good I couldn't put it down. I love the red that is part of her costume, it makes the costume jump out at you.
I still didn't know how the story was, but I am a big fan of Greg Rucka's novels so I was at least hopeful. I was pleased overall, by both the art and the writing. Even though I know nothing of Batwoman's past or origin I was pulled into the story and found myself liking the character and wanting to know more about her.
I will definitely be continuing with this series. If they can keep up the quality of this issue they'll have me hooked. I really like this so far.
When I first started reading comics and recognizing the names of the creators the first names I noticed was Stan Lee. Later Roy Thomas started popping up in a lot of the comics I read. But after that when the seventies hit two names started popping up in most of the comics I read and enjoyed. Marv Wolfman and Len Wein. Those two names seemed to be connected for a lot of reasons, but taking over the writing for a lot of the comics that I once enjoyed by the aforementioned Mr. Lee and Thomas were these two new and coming gentlemen.
At the time I was pretty much a Marvel Zombie so I missed their work when they would go to DC. When Len created Swamp Thing I was reading Man Thing. But than he came back and helped to create the New X-Men. I remember buying the first issue of the New X-Men. I wasn't even that big a fan of the old X-Men, but at the time I was buying most anything with the Marvel logo on it. This was an interesting group, different than most of the other groups out there at the time.
And I still remember that issue of Hulk that introduced that little runt named Wolverine. I was a big fan of Hulk and was buying every issue so when number 181 came out it was just another in a long series of Hulks stretching back to issue 102 when he took over Tales to Astonish and the book was renamed. At the time I have to admit I didn't see the future for the Candian mutant. If I had I would have purchased about a dozen copies of that issue.
All this is leading up to the fact that Len Wein's house was recently destroyed by a fire. Everyone but their beloved dog got out safely. The insurance is fixing the house, but Len lost a lot of other things in the fire that either the insuarance won't cover or will be almost impossible to track down. One of these things is a collection of all the comic books he has written over the years. Mark Evanier has organized a site to help get these missing comics for Mr. Wein. Go to this site and check it out and do what you can to help.
I've had this book sitting on my bookshelf for a long time. I'd pick it up and read a story here and there. When Love and Rockets was first published back in the early nineties I picked it up and fell in love with the stories immediately. I loved both Jamie and Gilbert, but to me Gilbert's work was always a bit more special. His stories of the city of Palomar was unlike anything in comics. In the last week or so I've been re-reading the saga of Palomar. This book is five hundred pages and collects all of the stories Gilbert did between 1993 and 2002. This book will take your breath away. It's that good. This isn't comics, it's literature.
A companion volume Luba is scheduled to come out soon. This five hundred page volume collects the stories since the end of Palomar. I can't wait to get it. These are stories that I missed on their first time out for the most part. After the brothers suspended their regular publication of Love and Rockets I found it hard to keep up with them. So I'm excited that most of these stories will be new to me.
New Orleans is getting a comic con! This month in fact. It's not a big star studded event, but at least it's a start. I've always thought New Orleans would be a great city for a comic con. About ten years ago the people behind the Mid-Ohio Con tried it, but it didn't take. I'm not sure why, they seemed to have made a good go of it. Hopefully this could be the start of something. It's on April 25 and last from 11-5 at the Pontchartrain Center in Metairie. See the flyer here. And I'm going to be one of the guests! Been a long time since I've been at a con, sitting behind a table.
I went to the comic store today and picked up a few comics. Actually it was just a few. I bought the new issues of The Boys, Greatest Hits, Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam and the latest two issues of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade. (I didn't realize that Supergirl was only a six issue mini series. That's a shame because it's one of my favorite reads.)
After I got home I realized that my comics this week were pretty much on the two extremes. Kid comics and about as adult except for X rated as can be with The Boys and Greatest Hits.
Back in the day Bill Loebs created what I consider one of the greatest comic books of all time in Journey. It was set in the Michigan frontier during the 19th century and its main character was Wolverine MacAllister. Bill did the writing and drawing on this comic and it was one of the best comics of its time or any time for that matter. IDW recently collected the first half and published it in a trade. Now the second half has been collected and is out. Do yourself a favor and go out and find these two books. If you've ever thought that comics could be about more than superheroes than you owe it to yourself to read this series. I've mentioned this series before when the first collection came out, but feel I need to mention it again. Go out and buy this book. It's really a good comic book and Bill Loebs is a nice guy and could use the support.
I'd love to see a new series continuing Journey. Is there any chance of that happening?
With the economy the way it is and probably not going to get better before it gets worse I've cut back on some of my comic book spending. And with certain companies (Marvel) raising the prices on some comics to four dollars an issue (ok, really $3.99) it's getting easier to decide what to drop. I'm a big fan of Brian Michael Bendis, he got back to reading Marvel Comics with his Daredevil issues, but it's hard to walk out of the comic book store after spending twenty dollars and have only four comics to show for it. Yes, it's only a dollar increase over what we were paying, but it's just getting so hard to justify spending that much on comics every month.
I did pick up an issue of Mighty Avengers and found it basically unreadable so that will be an easy one to drop. I haven't picked up Secret Warriors, even though I'm tempted. I'm on the fence with the New Avengers. Dark Avengers I passed on, even though Bendis is writing it. At the moment I'll probably continue to buy it, but it won't take much for me to drop it.
I've dropped Captain American, even though I was enjoying Brubaker's writing it was starting to lose some interest for me. Daredevil is about to change writers soon, so I'll probably buy a few with the new writer, Andy Diggle, before I make any decision to continue or drop it. Daredevil has always been one of the cornerstones of my collecting so it'll be hard for me to drop it.
At the moment comics that I buy every month (or whenever they come out):
Echo The Boys Buffy the Vampire Slayer Walking Dead Daredevil New Avengers Spiderman Loves Mary Jane Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam
And that's about it. I might have forgotten a few, but I don't think so. I'll pick up an odd issue here and there of something that might look interesting. Right now I've been buying Greatest Hits but that only has one more issue to go and than that's over.
I find myself buying trades of books that I don't pick up on a monthly schedule. I was buying the trades of DMZ but have missed the last two. I plan to go back and get them, that is a title I've been enjoying. I just ordered the hardcovers of Swamp Thing and the second volume of Starman. I also just picked up the second and final volume of Bill Loebs' collected Journey.
Buying these hardcovers and trades is costing me the money I could spend on montly comics, but I feel like I'm getting a better deal with these volumes. And I'm enjoying the comics more.
If there's anyone out there that's still reading this blog after my terrible absence of not blogging for so long, tell me if the economy has made you cut back on your purchases. Or tell me about a comic that I just have to buy because it's so good. I'm always looking for that comic that I can't live without.
I haven't been a fan of much recent DC Comics so I'm glad to say that I'm looking forward to their new summer weekly series called Wednesday Comics. Read more about it here. I also like the fact that they're not tying it down in continuity, so the creators can just do the best story they can and not worry about if it fits in with what's happening in the rest of the DC Universe, which is not a place I'm too happy with currently.
This is the one that I'm loving. Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in Eight Grade! This book is fun, fresh and just overall neat. Landy Q. Walker writes it and Eric Jones draws it. I don't know which I like more, the writing or the art. Both are great! It may be told for kids but that doesn't mean it's written down. The stories have a lot of feeling and depth to them. And like I said, I love the art. I haven't been a big fan of much that DC has been publishing lately, but this is one book I plan to continue to pick up.
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