Comic Pick of the Week (sort of): July 29th, 2009

I haven't written anything in a few weeks, I'm on holidays, it's hot... sue me. I figured, rather than doing a pick of the week this week, I'd just write a little bit about the two major comic "events" that everyone else seems to be talking about. Which are, of course, "Wednesday Comics" and "Blackest Night".


First up, "Wednesday Comics"!

This has been a LOT of fun to read! It's DC's new weekly feature after the end of "Trinity". I hate weekly comics, they're expensive, and they never seem to be particularly good. "Trinity" never really managed to capture my imagination like a lot of the other books I read. Now, that being said, I am due to re-read the whole thing now that it's finished, and maybe I'll like it better? But it seems like the year long, weekly books are MUCH more about profit than story, and you end up with a story that feels like a lot of unnecessary bullshit has been crammed into it to fit the schedule, rather than letting the story dictate the length of the book.



The set-up is pretty straight forward, a throw-back to the old serials from the 40's/50's, there are 12 single page stories in each issue, which, over the course of it's 12 week run, will give us a complete story for each character. It comes as a standard comic book size, but folds out into a newspaper sized book. It manages to make me feel SLIGHTLY more adult when I read it than a standard comic. I don't think I'd want to read a regular series with this set-up, comics are already a jarring form of story to read. You get (in the best case scenario) single chapters, with a month or more in between each one. With "Wednesday Comics" it's more like reading a story one paragraph at a time. Since it's weekly rather than monthly, and for only 12 issues though... it works! This is a great read for anyone unfamiliar with the DCU (DC Universe) or comics in general. You get a little taste of everything, and can then go pick up whatever monthly titles have inspired you. The art and writing varies from story to story, with so many differing styles of both, that everyone will find several things to enjoy. The Superman art blows me away, and the Azzarello Batman story is fantastic. I'm VERY much looking forward to seeing where this is going.


Now... the story I've been waiting YEARS for has FINALLY arrived!

When I got back into comics, I picked up an issue of Green Lantern and glanced through it, very briefly. I was impressed by the art, it seemed like more of a Sci-Fi book than anything else, and as I love Sci-Fi, I thought, "I'll give THIS a try." After that first issue (can't remember what number it was, early twenties?" I went on a mad quest to find all the back issues of Geoff Johns' run, finding all but issues #4 & #9. It has since become my favorite book, the one I am chomping at the bit to read every month. Geoff Johns was planting the seeds for "Blackest Night" right from issue #1 and it has been a slow and maddening build up, with the last year being nothing but hype about DC's answer to "Marvel Zombies"

"Blackest Night" is now in FULL swing, we've been treated so far with:

• "Blackest Night:Tales of the Corps" Issues #1-3 (of 3)
• "Blackest Night" Issues #0 & #1
• "Blackest Night:Green Lantern" Issues #43 & #44

I'll admit it, I've become a bit of a Green Lantern fanboy... and I may be a bit biased toward this first major Green Lantern event after "The Sinestro Corps War" but this whole thing kicks ass! The "Tales of the Corps" are unnecessary, but extremely enjoyable. They flesh out some of the new Corps, and Corps members, both old and new. Doug Mahnke has taken of the art in the main Green Lantern book, I wasn't a big fan of Philip Tan, who was the temporary guy who took over for Ethan Van Sciver. Doug Mahnke has always been one of my favorites, and the idea of him working on my favorite book has had me innappropriatley stroking my inner thigh for months! And I have not been let down. Issues #43 & #44 are GORGEOUS!!! And although we haven't been given much of the story yet, it's got me hooked. We've been teased with who may show up as a Black Lantern, as well as seeing the first few who get rings. Issue #43 was the origin of Black Hand, and was harsh... fucking harsh. Awesome full page spread of his suicide that hits you like a train, along with the terrifying last page. I think "Blackest Night" may turn out to be the best thign ever, not just in the world of comics, but in ALL the world.

Comic Pick of the Week: July 1st, 2009

Reading List;

• Batman:Streets of Gotham #1
• Green Lantern Corps #38
• Dark Tower:Fall of Gilead #2
• Batman & Robin #2
• Irredeemable #4

Pick of the Week;

Batman & Robin #2

Written by: Grant Morrison
Pencils by: Frank Quietly
Colours by: Alex Sinclair



I'll admit it, I'm in love with Dick Grayson. I'm secure enough in masculinity to say that I think. I had never read Batman until Bruce Wayne's death... I was, of course, familiar with Batman, what living breathing human being is not? But I had never read any of the comics, other than the occasional issue I managed to find lying around wherever I happened to be killing time. But when I heard the they were going to kill Bruce, and that it would be Grant Morrison doing it, I was fully on board. At the very least, I thought, it would be an interesting story arc that I could drop afterwards. Much to my surprise though, it hasn't been the death of Bruce that's been interesting, but how the people around him have dealt with it.

For anyone who doesn't already know, Bruce is dead. Now in the reality of the comic book universe, we all know he'll be back some day. He only has to stay dead long enough for "Blackest Night" to finish. But in the meantime, we get Dick Grayson as Batman, and Damien (Bruce's asshole son) as Robin. It's been a fascinating story to follow, Dick wants anything except to be Batman, he has spent a very long time carving out a separate existence as Nightwing and this issue gives us some real insight into how much he hates the idea of giving that up to follow in his "father's" footsteps, to take several steps backwards and in so doing filling some enormous shoes. Page one is a full page of a very defeated looking Dick, sitting on the steps. In front of him is a discarded Robin symbol and Alfred asks "May I ask what happened?" We then get the story of Dick and Damien taking on an attempted prison break at Arkham, which turns out to be an assassination. After it's over, both Dick and Damien have a palpable sense of failure about them, Damien, clearly frustrated, says to Dick "Look at you! This pathetic impersonation of my father makes a mockery of his memory!" and dissapears.

The relationship between Dick and Damien is intense, and a refreshing departure from the Bruce/Dick relationship. Bruce was Dick's father, and now Dick has to rise to become Damien's father, but unlike Dick... Damien has no intention of needing a father figure. Dick is struggling with having to re-build the trust that a superhero needs, the cops suspect he's not Batman, Gordon doesn't know what's going on. There's a great scene where Alfred convinces Dick it's like performing a great character, Hamlet, Willie Loman, or even James Bond. Dick admits that the show must go on and takes off after Damien.

Everything about this book is spot on, all of the relationships are intense and convincing in every way. When Alfred admits he's not okay, I literally leaked three tears. The art is stunning, the panel layoust during the prison break is very cool and lends itself to a fight. The only other Frank Quietly I've seen is the All-Star Superman stuff, which is VERY different. That style suited that book very much, as does THIS style suit Batman.

I had every intention of dropping the book after the death of Bruce, but Dick is a much more interesting Batman than I ever imagined, and I'll keep reading this as long as it stays that way.

Getting "Weepy" with Malibu's run of DS9

In the process of sourcing out some local music for the shop I ran in Victoria, I met the proprietor of a local comic shop, Gareth. He kept recommending the same comic to me, one "The Watchmen" by Alan Moore. I finally relented and read it, devouring the epic 12 issue series in a mere two or three nights. It has become one of my favorite books and, as was intended by the creators in the early eighties, proved to me that comic books can indeed be "literature".

After reading (and enjoying so intensely) "The Watchmen" I dug out my old comic collection. I had no REAL interest in comics as a kid, but being "somewhat" of a Star Trek fan I had a large collection of Star Trek comics. Deep Space Nine premiered in 1993 when I was twelve years old, a fresh consumer unfettered on Paramounts marketing blitz. Riding the popularity of ST:TNG (now in it's sixth season) Paramount had licensed the franchise to Malibu, who released a schwack of Trek comics. The most heavily produced and longest running was DS9.

I sat down with my white cardboard box of comics, alone late one night after Jesse and Emma had gone to bed. And pulled out the first issue of Deep Space Nine... wait... it was the "special preview editions" I had forgotten about. I bought them from Peter Greaves one day on the bus for $5. I found out later he'd stolen them... I liked Richard, I suffered insufferable guilt for weeks, but wasn't going to let go of those books. I flipped through all the issues. The TNG/DS9 crossover... the one where Dax, Bashir, and O'Brian sit in Quark's with Worf presenting the various theories they've heard, about why the Klingons spontaneously developed the head ridges (my favorite being the result of a biological weapon used in a war with the Tribbles, some kind of gene re-writing virus or something). I remembered Blair (don't remember his last name... I worked with his mom at the Caprice... hmm...) stealing issue number eight from me at the old Courtenay Junior and running away with it. I'm chubby... I don't like to run. I remembered neglecting to buy the Sept, Oct, and Nov issues, so that Mom and Dad could get them for me for Christmas, and how much fun it was to read ALL of them Christmas morning...

And I got a little weepy. I'm man enough to admit it. Comic's made me cry a little.

Since then, much to Jesse's dismay, I've regained my love for comics. Thanks to Garreth and his fine staff at Legends Comics I've discovered a previously disregarded source for pungently fascinating stories, and far more beautiful art than I had ever expected. Geniuses like Allan Moore, Warren Ellis, and much to my surprise... some adaptations of one of my favorite authors Harlan Ellison.

I haven't revisited the DS9 again yet... as a "man" I am only allowed to let out one tear... WHILE I FAKE COUGH... once per quarter, so I have to wait until December before I have another look.