New Comics: January 25th 2005

I realize as I write this post that I’m being counter productive. The new understanding of the comics that I intend to present could be seriously hindered by these "picks" I’m presenting. While everyone has favorite aspects about anything they enjoy, I find that my "picks" post barely scratches the surface of comic books and detracts from the serious, relevant discussion I intend to engage. This having been said, I will, after this week, be radically reformatting these posts so that we may delve deeper into the possibilities of the comic art medium.

For this week, however, we will have one last comic geek hurrah. The truth is, to the uninitiated, your general fan boy (or girl) loves an inside joke and revels in comic trivia. The more obscure the reference, the harder we laugh… and the further freakish stigmatism outsiders attribute to comic geek-ness. I’m afraid I can’t hold back the inside jokes this week, but I will do my best to let you in on the joke.

Top Pick: Amazing Spiderman #528 (Marvel Comics)

To begin with, Amazing Spiderman #528 is the final chapter of The Spider-Man: the Other event. This event simply is the future of Spider-Man.

Spider-Man is perhaps the most accessible off all heroes; Peter Parker is a fragile-hearted every-man with an indomitable will, gifted with amazing powers and burdened with self-imposed world-crushing responsibility. Any good Spider-Man story, as does Amazing Spiderman #528, offers a near-perfect blend of humor, pathos and adventure.

Page three of Amazing Spiderman #528 has an excellent moment that employs a subtlety that is typically obscured in the medium of comics. Three identical panels, one devoid of dialogue, that allowing the reader to grasp the quite intensity of the scene. While I’ve heard criticism of the use of repeated images as lazy, I appreciate the occasional use of repeated static images. The downside of the unlimited possibility comic storytelling offers is that one might be tempted to lean towards constant movement and the unrelenting excess of visuals at the risk of glossing over the stillness of life. I appreciate beats of silence, stillness and other common subtleties of life when they are recognized by comic creators.

The bottom line is that Spider-Man: the Other is unequivocally the most important development in the history of the character, barring only his inception in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August, 1962), and even if you missed the other eleven chapters of The Other, Amazing Spiderman #528 will fill you in on the most important details. If you don’t find that Amazing Spiderman #528 alone does not answer all your questions, the other key issue for understanding Peter Parkers self-perception, nature and rebirth is Amazing Spider-Man #527, if you can get your hands on it.

Best Lines of Dialogue: Batman #649 (DC Comics)

This is who the Joker is: Bound, beaten bloody, held captive with a knife literally at his throat, and still incensing his aggressor, all for a good laugh.

Joker: Didn’t I kill You? (for "Kill" link scroll to Death in the Family item)
Jason Todd: We’ve been over this already.
Joker: I know, but I like talking about it.

Funniest Moment: Robin #146 (DC Comics)

Robin (III), a.k.a. Tim Drake, is leading three other Teen Titans members through one of Lex Luthor’s secret labs in hopes of finding a cure for fellow Titan Kon-El, the modern Superboy. Robin takes the id signal pods from defeated security droids to keep further droids from identifying the Teen Titans as threats. As another regimen of security droids fie past the quartet unsuspecting, Beast Boy, a.k.a. Garfield Logan, waves his hand and tells the droids, “This is not the titan you were looking for.” Unamused, Cassie Sandsmark, a.k.a. Wonder Girl, says, “Gar, stop bothering the killer robots.”

Although not funny, except in the sickest way, it is ironic that Speedy II, Mia Dearden, asks the others too look for a “speedy fix,” referring to the fact that she is infected with H.I.V, which is unfortunate choice of words for writer Bill Willingham, since the first hero who took that name, Roy Harper, who had been at one time addicted to heroin.

Best Artwork: New Avengers #15 (Marvel Comics)

I’ve been reading Liberty Meadows since it’s syndication in 1997. I knew who Cho was before Wizard Magazine scrambled to explain who Frank Cho was and what Liberty Meadows is when in issue 102, it listed Liberty Meadows #1 as number eight of the top ten Hottest Back issues. The unaccredited author could only question “What the hell is Liberty Meadows?” Frank the monkey boy Cho is a fan boy’s fan boy; better at rendering iconic heroes and idealistic heroines having never officially studied art than many of the Joe Kubert School Alumni.

Best Writer: Revelations #6 (Dark Horse Comics)

Jenkins concludes his this mini-series and finally delivers on all the contradicting evidence and the blessing of lost faith. The conclusion surprised me, no easy feat, especially considering I had figured out the Reveal of DC’s Vigilante #5 by issue three. I found the concept of faith as damnation, or at least an understanding of impending doom as intriguing, even if the case is closer to irrefutable truth and an inability to refuse to believe. Perhaps Detective Charlie Northern explained it best, “I’ve just found out what happens when a man gets given the very thing he thinks he wanted. Not faith. Proof. If you get proof. You lose hope.”

Best Cliffhanger: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #4 (DC Comics)

Something tells me this book is the unmentioned link in the Infinite Crisis chain of universally disastrous events. Lines have been crossed, truces rescinded, and now Oa’s under fire. Is this once again the end of the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps, coming so soon after the reforming of the corps? Of course not. That’s just silly. Geoff Johns is writing the series. Batman will get sucker punched for inexplicable reasons, but Hal will swoop in and save the day. What else can you expect from Hal Jordan’s biggest fan?

Best New Series: Next Wave #1 (Marvel Comics)

I almost didn’t buy this book. With as much as I spend on comic books monthly, you don’t want to was it on books you aren’t enjoying. My first clue that this series would not be as trite and boring as a synopsis indicated was the tag line. Even though the encouragement “If you like anything, you will LOVE NEXTWAVE!!!” seemed to beckon the standardless reader, the tongue-in-cheek humor of the slogan “healing America by beating people up,” indicated otherwise. Further confirming the sarcastic spoof was worth $2.99 was Dirk Anger’s speech to his new recruits.

“I’m Dirk Anger, director of H.A.T.E. I’ve been director of H.A.T.E. for longer than you’ve been alive. Except maybe you. You look old…

“I’m older’n you. I’m ninety years old. You know how I look so pretty? I take drugs. Special H.A.T.E. drugs. Life-extending drugs. H.A.T.E. has the best drugs. Because H.A.T.E. loves me. And I love H.A.T.E. Every day of my horrible drug extended terrorist fighting life.

“Everyday I smoke two hundred cigarettes and one hundred cigars and drink a bottle of whisky and three bottles of wine with dinner.

“And dinner is meat...raw meat. The cook serves me an entire animal and I fight it bare-handed and tear off what I want and eat it and have the rest buried. In New Jersey! For H.A.T.E.!”

As icing on the cake, not four panels later, when Anger is called away to a communications room and request that the “etheric loop Recall Televocometer” be deployed, a giant telephone receiver descends from the ceiling above him a la the cone of silence.

Back Issue: Polly and the Pirates #3 (Oni Press)

I like the concepts that Ted Naifeh offered, but have hard a hard time recommending the book to others. The pace is painstakingly slow and redundant at times. Issue three is a good place to start, giving you most of the pertinent information and begins to pick up the pace, although one might prefer to wait for issue four.

New Comics: January 18th 2005

Finally having finished my stack of comics this week, I present you with the notable issues:

Top Pick: Infinite Crisis #4
The events that lead up to this crisis are revealed to have all bee orchestrated by one individual. Despite DC’s claim that one of the mini-series that chronicled the events would be a direct catalyst for the crisis, the Omac Project, Day of Vengeance, Villains United and Rann/Thanagar War each only provided peripheral and uniformly important understandings of the crisis.

Readers finally learn who will bee the next Spectre, although anyone who hasn’t been reading Gotham Central is left scratching their head.

Booster Gold discovers the identity of the inevitable new Blue Beetle.

Barry Allen returns for three panels, and the speed force disappears, as does Wally West and his entire family, apparently . Speed fans get a treat when Bart Allen beats the snot out of Superboy-prime, who had literally been tearing the Teen Titans, JSA members and Doom Patrol apart before the Kid Flash’s intervention.

Last but most certainly not least, Alexander Luthor succeeds in recreating Earth 2.

Best Line: Freshman#5
I’m not going to set this up. If you are not reading Freshmen, you should be.

Elwood Johns, a.k.a. the Intoxicator : “It’s 106 miles to the dam, I have a pound of weed, two six packs of beer, it’s broad daylight, and we’re wearing super hero costumes.”

Trust me, it’s a lot more heroic and inspiring than it seems when you understand the context.

Favorite Moment: Birds of Prey # 90
Dinah Lance, a.k.a. Black Canary, uses some new moves she learned from the Lady Shiva correspondence course(TM) on Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke the Terminator, and nearly puts his remaining eye out. She is forced to admit to herself, however, that even if she did blind him, Deathstroke could kill her with relative ease if he were so inclined.

Best Cover: Freshman#5
Yeah, the cover features nice artwork, but it also prints a quote from Mila Kunis threatening to sue Hugh Sterbakov. Seriously, they could have followed Emily the Strange #2 simplistic cover’s lead and just used the quote.

Best Artwork: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #4
The truth is, I’m biased. I love Mike Wieringo’s work on everything. While his work isn’t flashy or really even remarkable, it is clean, efficient and most importantly, proportional. To me, Wieringo’s art shows what most other artist’s work lacks; a basic understanding of anatomy and proportion. Some of the books I read always leave me wondering how the pencilers passed basic drawing classes. Unfortunately, style has surpassed fundamental rendering skills such as realistic representations of the human body. If you still don’t follow, compare any issue of any series illustrated by Rob Liefeld to any issue illustrated by Mike Wieringo.

Best New Series: Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy
One of my guiltiest pleasures is a Silver-Age story. Yes, the silver-age was full of campy, clichéd writing and it embodies practically every negative aspect that detractors attribute to comics, but something about the flat colors, ridiculous dialogue and trumped-up crisis’s in those stories appeal to me. The only way I can explain it is that you have to love the Silver-Age for it’s flaws.

I think the first trade-paperbacks (TPB) I ever purchased was The Greatest 1950’s Stories Ever Told. The book itself opened up the world of comic books to me. Yes, I had heard of horror, romance, spy and war comics, but I hadn’t read any stories from such genre books.

One story from the TPB stood above the rest, and that was Sgt. Rock: Calling Easy Company. I challenge any critics of the Silver-Age to read this story. It will change how you think about the Silver-Age. Joe Kubert, one of the greatest living comic legends, returns to Easy Company for a six issue mini-series which he both writes and illustrates. The rock steady E. Company begins another action-packed WWII mission in the middle of a hotly contested No-Man’s land between Russia and Germany in hopes of returning with a valuable package in tow, as it turns out, a very important person, that may hasten the end of the war.

Based on a true story, Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy, marches double-time, giving the reader more story in 23 pages than most series give in 3 issues, and, as if with military precision, refuses to stop for even a single advertisement until the first chapter ends.

One last note: Personally, I suggest you skip Uncanny X-men #468 and Batman: Gotham Knights #73 and save your money. Most of those two books seem to be filler and set-up for later stories. Save your money and think about jumping back on next issue. A lot came out this week and that five dollars would be much better spent elsewhere.

All you need to know from Batman: Gotham Knights #73: After being beaten by hush, Joker nurses his wounds at a closed down circus and for no apparent reason, horns in on the Penguin’s shtick by gaining command of an army of homing pigeons.

All you need to know from Uncanny X-men #468: As seen in #466-7, The Shi’ar Death Commandos have killed all of Rachel Grey’s family, and then kill her grandmother. Understandably, Rachel is upset.

New Comics: January 11th 2005

Yesterday was Wednesday, and we all know what that means; New Comic Day. Seriously, if you don’t collect comics, you should, simply for that fact collecting gives you the feeling of a weekly mini-holiday every Wednesday.

In the future I’d like to highlight weekly some categories such as Top Pick, Best Line (dialogue), Favorite Panel, Best Cover, Best Artwork, Best Writing, Best New Series (when applicable), Funniest Moment, and Best Value, but frankly, it was slim picking’s this week.

Top Pick: Captain Atom: Armageddon #4
I’m a fan of this book for the exact same reasons I’m not a fan of the WildStorm Imprint; that is, Nathaniel Adam confirming the lack of heroic behavior and the elitist, cavalier attitudes meta-humans of the WildsStorm Universe have for their effect on humanity.

Bumped into the next Universe over in a catastrophic explosion, Captain Atom finds himself in a world where every meta-human is feared, villain and hero alike, and for good reason. With no respect for collateral damage or public safety, each meta-human lines up to take a crack at Captain Atom, sometimes employing trivia games to decide pecking order. The then DC Hero cleans each one of their clocks.

Bonus: In this mini-series, we see the first in-continuity use of Alex Ross’s costume design of Captain Atom from Kingdom Come.

Best Line: Hawkman #48, Page 12, Panel 2.
After assisting Hawkman and being told to essentially keep his quips to himself, Kyle Rayner responds “Excuse me, but I just saved you from uncertain death.” Honestly, whether Kyle saved him or not, whether Carter Hall dies or not, we all know Hawkman will be back… again, and again, and again, et cetera, ad nauseum.

Favorite Panel: Ultimate Extinction #1: Page 7, Panels 3, 4
This might be better described as “Best Moment,” since it’s technically two panels long. Captain Carol Danvers, a very strict and serious woman, is assigned to Mahr Vehl, the alien Pluskommander of the Kree Void Navy, who is presently in S.H.E.I.L.D custody.

Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four greets Danvers by asking, “How’s it going with you and Marvel?” Captain Danvers replies, “I’m his security detail.”
“You know what I mean,” prods Susan, to which Carol Danvers glibly responds, “I don’t.” Giddily pressing the issue, Susan Storm informs Danvers that Mahr Vehl is her “alien boyfriend,” and in turn, Capt. Danvers angrily glares at the Invisible Woman and informs her that “I have a gun.”
Undaunted, Susan ventures, “After this? We need to go shopping and you can tell me all about it.”

Also, I loved Brandon Peterson’s hedcut style of inking throughout this issue. For another great moment by Warren Ellis, dig through your local comic book shop’s back issues for Ultimate Secret #2, page 8, panels 4-6.

Funniest Moment: JLA #124.
I’m sure it was not meant to be funny, but it’s laughable when Green Arrow calls Batman gimmicky in a heated dispute. “Kal and Diana… I get! They have powers. But you… You’ve got nothing but your gimmick and you’re treated like a god,” says the man who shoots boxing glove arrows.

Best Cover: Ghost Rider #5.
I could spend hours staring at Clayton Crain’s digital paintings. The mind boggles at how long it takes him to render the artwork. Kudos to Crain for giving Ghost Rider subtle, convincing expressions, or at least broadening Ghost Riders appearance beyond “grim.”

Best Artwork: Chris Moeller for Justice League of America, JLA Classified: Cold Steel #2.
You have got to love a book that’s painted, even if the concept for the mini-series is another Voltron wannabe.

Best Writing: Craig Kyle and Chris Yost for New X-Men #22.
I wouldn’t have really considered this book for best writing, since, as far as plot goes, the book has been meandering around for several issues without any clear focus. There is one reason to read this book, however; the addition of X-23 to the team. X-23’s presence generates several humorous, powerful, and awkward moments throughout the book.

Humors Moment: When jokingly ridiculed by Hellion, a.k.a. Julian Keller, for her association with Wolverine, that is, the fact that X-23 is a female clone developed from Logan’s DNA, X-23, a.k.a Laura Kinney, responds with ambivalent silence. Seeking to further his joke, Julian adds, “Down, girl.” To this comment, Laura expressionlessly extends her claws, presumably too close to Hellion’s manhood for his own comfort, and walks away. No longer fearing the immediate danger of the possibility that he might spending the remainder of his life as a eunuch, Hellion retorts, “Didn’t they clone you a sense of humor?”

Powerful Moment: X-23 is confronted by a vision of her dead mother, whom she was brain washed into killing. The apparition is revealed as a hoax telepathically created by Virginia Frost. Frost, no less dangerous or dubious than the programmed killing machine that X-23 was created to be, uses the confrontation to express her perception of Laura Kinney as a “cold-blooded killing mahcine who know’s nothing but death and murder,” and her own intent to coerce Laura to leave by any means necessary, including apparently causing further emotional damage to X-23.

Awkward Moment: Laura, meeting her new roommate at Xavier’s School for the Gifted for the first time makes the accurate observation that Dust, a.k.a. Sooraya Qadir, is Sunni. When Sooraya asks Laura if she is familiar with her home country, X-23 responds, “Yes. I have killed in Afganistan,” as easily as one might mention that they had visited Connecticut, only to be trapped in a moment of awkward silence with Dust.

Best New Series: Daughters of the Dragon #1.
Misty Night and Colleen Wing are showing up everywhere these days, from a recent reprinting of their original adventures in Daughter of the Dragon: Deadly Hands Special to Ultimate versions of Misty and Colleen slugging it out in Ultimate Extinction #1.

For the very first time, Colleen actually looks remotely Asian, as is her heritage, and Misty’s hair is bigger than ever! Oh, and the Rhino gets a cherry ’68 Mustang dropped on him. Or a cherry ’66 Mustang, depending on the panel and reference Palmiotti decided to use.

"Raise your right hand."

"Do you swear to buy comic books monthly, let them corrupt you fully and defend them fearlessly? ... Do you promise to never let anyone tell you that you're too young, too old, or that you can't [buy comic books]?"

" ... Then, I welcome you to the Comic Book Liberation Army."

If you answered yes to Rick Spear's oath, then you are in the right place, and even if you didn't, stick around. We'll do our best to convince you.

Here at CBLA, we may not ride off into the Sunset like Macon and Madison of Rick Spear's and Rob G's Teenagers from Mars to become a Bonny and Clyde duo making it safe for fan boys and fan girls across the nation, but we will take a serious look at oft disregarded medium of comic books.

We'll leave the trivial fan boy arguments to movies such as Mallrats and Comic Book Villains, but we will examine the conception, evolution and influence that comic books have had on American culture. Still, this wouldn't be a legitimate Comic Book Army if we didn't get on the front lines and give a weekly report on new issues as they hit the shelves.

Last but not least, since Infinite Crisis are the buzz words on so many fan girl’s and fan boy’s lips, we'll look at the foundation of this saga, from the first meeting of Barry Allen and Jay Garrick, all the way to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Don't forget your Poly-bags and Acid-free boards.