Sketch of the Week: Pete Woods

This week's sketch is by Mercury Studio's own Pete Woods....alas they had to go before I could get a sketch from his wife. Maybe next time. Hmmm...I need to check and see if the guys at Mercury do commisions. Oh and sorry for the bad scan there in the corner.

What I Thought: Best of the Bunch

Batman & Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows
This was a very interesting read. I've been a big Ann Nocenti fan since the daredevil days. Here she works her magic with another mental patient much like she did with Typhoid in Daredevil. As expected Poison Ivy takes the spotlight again, light being the key word as it becomes the focus of this story. Ivy, stuck in the dank halls of Arkham Asylum cherishes what little sunshine she gets from the outside world. When an industrious businessman decides to put up a new skyscraper in Gotham it casts a long shadow and blots out what light Ivy has remaining. What follows is a look into how light affects our society, both real sunlight and the light, or love, of others, cast in the guise of a Batman story. Ann Nocenti does a wonderful job of attaching the subject both to the shadows of Batman's world as well as Ivy's fixation. She does this by letting us know what is happening in the characters heads as well as in the physical world. Speaking of the physical world, John Van Fleet illustrates this book beautifully. I had the pleasure to see some of the original pages for this series at last years San Diego Comicon and they are reproduced nicely here. His use of shadows and light in his work fit perfectly with the story. His rendition of Ivy is particularly stunning. I highly recommend this book even with the $6.95 price tag.

Arrowsmith #6
Hard to believe this is the end of the first series already. That’s part of the allure of this series for me. Every issue has me wanting to know more and more about this world and the characters that dwell within it. Fletcher Arrowsmith dreamt of becoming an airman (a flying soldier-wizard) and heading to the great war and fighting for his country. Like most soldiers he wasn’t prepared for the horrors he would face once he reached the war. What follows is a world trapped in a war which Busiek and Pacheco portray in great detail both in the story and in back ups that contain maps and assorted articles. Some feel that Astro City is Busiek’s strongest work to date. I disagree. Read this for yourselves and make your own conclusions.

The Flash #208
Much like Lucy, Wally may have some splainin’ to do. The repercussions of the Spectre’s manipulation of Wally’s secret identity continue to be felt this issue as Wally realizes that not only is his own identity not known, but Barry’s as well. After a quick fight with Abracadabra which Wally wraps up with the help of the Golden Age Flash and Kid Flash, the Flash’s are shown to a museum in their honor. There they see exhibits showcasing the villains of the various Flash’s as well as The Golden Age Flash and even Kid Flash. To the world at large Wally and Barry are seen as one person so know one knows of the sacrifice that Barry made for them. To Wally who has spent his life trying to live up to that great sacrifice that Barry made, this is a very big deal. Wally begins to ponder this as he is whisked off via teleporter to the JLA headquarters. Looks like this as well as the recent storyline in Robin may lead straight into Identity Crisis folks. Hang on to your hats.

Planetary #19 and Ultimates #13 were good as always, but do to their infrequency I’ll skip the reviews so as not to inadvertently spoil anything.

Best/Worst Superhero Movies

The Oregonian lists it's best, as well as the worst, superhero films.

5. "The Castle of Cagliostro" (1979): Hayao Miyazaki is best known on these shores for vast, poetic cartoons like "Princess Mononoke" and "Spirited Away" -- but his feature debut was this action-packed adaptation of a Monkey Punch comic, about a master thief trying to steal counterfeiting plates from an impregnable citadel.

While I've seen Mononoke and Spirited Away, I haven't seen this movie. I'll have to check it out.

PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE: "Catwoman" (2004): If Halle Berry's ludicrous Catwoman costume is any indication, one-name director Pitof's "re-imagining" of the Catwoman myth could be the worst comic-book movie of all time.

Amen.

Via the wonderful site :Thought Balloons

Pictionary

Interesting site here, called Drawn in Sixty Seconds. It's basically pictionary. These are a collection of drawings where people are given a word and have to draw it and have it recognized in sixty seconds.

Herb Trimpe and Marvel

Silver Bullet Comics' Clifford Meth tracks down where Herb Trimpe has gone since his days at Marvel in this most recent Past Masters article. I always wondered what made him change his style to the awful Rob Leifeld impersonation evident in Fantastic Four Unlimited. It turns out it was mandated from above.

Within a year, a new wave of artists and writers had supplanted older pros, and Herb was getting less and less work. I spoke with him several times back then, when they’d just switched him to Fantastic Four Unlimited. I looked at the book and couldn’t believe my eyes. “Why the hell are you drawing like Liefeld?” I asked.

“That’s what they want now,” said Herb. I could hear it in his voice. He could smell it coming a mile away.

From Beyond the Unknown Part 3

Peiratikos has part three of the From Beyond the Unknown #23 review. This time “World of Doomed Spacemen” is the story being showcased.

A deserted Earth spaceship with no sign of its crew—a fantastic giant who was the only living thing on a far distant planet—! Had the giant destroyed the Earthmen? Or was there a stranger menace waiting to doom the rescue ships from Earth?

Oh and Happy April Fools Day!

Due to the prankish nature of the day I'm taking the day off from blogging so as not to spread misinformation around the net. Not that it's really too different than any other day, but I digress. Enjoy the day. You'll get all your news tomorrow. Go on, get to work, go outside, have a picnic, go to the beach if you're near one, do something. Go on...Get outta here...shoo...nothing to see....

Upcoming Reviews

Specials Reviews:
Secret Origins #50
Marvel Team-Up Annual #4

Mini Reviews:
Ulitimates #13
Punisher #4
Spectacular Spider-man #12
The Pulse #2
Superman #203
Flash #208
Planetary #19
Batman #625
Legion #31
Avengers/JLa #4
Catwoman #29
JLA #95
Batman/Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows
Human Target #3 and #5
Star Wars:Return of the Jedi Infinites
Lore #2
Darkness #8
Arrowsmith #6
and finally the Madman King Size Super Groovy Special.

Until Then...Peace.

The Genius that is Alan Moore

I feel a need to try and hone or evolve my work towards a deeper level of intimacy with the reader, by which I don’t necessarily mean friendliness. Intimacy isn’t always comfortable. I suppose what I mean is that I simply ‘want ‘to extend the reach and potency of my work. By "extending the reach" I don’t mean that I want more people to read it or for it to sell more copies, but simply that I want the people who are exposing themselves to the work to feel it reach further into them than similar work has managed to reach before.

That my friends is why Alan Moore produces great works.

Link courtesy of Edward Liu in the comments section at Fanboy Rampage.

Links, Links, Links, and a few more Links

Ever wondered if your favorite artist has a personal site out there? Well here are a few who do.

Mike Allred
Sergio Aragones
Kyle Baker
Brian Bolland
Timothy Bradstreet
M.D. Bright
Bob Burden
Nick Cardy
John Cassaday
Frank Cho
Dave Cockrum
Gene Colan
Kieron Dwyer
Will Eisner
John Estes
Glenn Fabry
Gene Ha
Fred Hembeck
Adam Hughes
M.W. Kaluta
Igor Kordey
Peter Kuper
Bob Layton
Andy Lee
Scott McCloud
Scott McDaniel
Bob McLeod

Stay tuned...I'll post more when I get bored another day. :)

Comic Book Memes and Raymond Chandler's Fantastic Four

I Am NOT The Beastmaster posts an excellent article on comic book memes, but what takes the cake for me is the rendition of Stan Lee's FF done in Raymond Chandler detective noir narration.

"The dame walked into my office wearing a skintight blue catsuit and gams that just wouldn't quit. She had long blonde hair and an ice-queen complexion but the frost melted the second she hit me with her megawatt smile. Or at least, it might have. I couldn't tell on account of she was invisible.

"She threw herself across my desk and pleaded for me not to send the report back to my client. Hit me with the usual tearful-wife routine, but I'd done more than catch her playing hide-the-minnow with some lost prince of Atlantis. My pictures said it all: the surging oceans, the lava flows, the biosphere teeming with life - pretty sexy stuff. It was going back to the client and there was nothing she could say to stop me. I'm not proud of my job, but when a man takes a case he's supposed to finish it.

"My name's Surfer. I pimp worlds."

Interesting Things I've Found

Did you ever want to know how an acid trip would affect your art? Well this site will tell you.

This happened way back in January, but is too crazy not to post again. Talk about blubber.

Back in december the Gaurdian reported about a group of scientists that have learned how to implant false memories into humans.

I'm confused. Is Jesus for or against raves? I wonder if the early Christians dealt with such perplexing questions.

Have you ever wanted to know the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Take a look at some bad translations that have lead to some marketing mishaps.

Oops bad link.

Ah...the life of a ninja.

Want to take a look at released governement documents?

These obscure sexual terms aren't for the faint of heart.

Villian Supply is your source for everything evil.

Learn how to cuss in Mandarin Chinese with the help of the show Firefly!

And finally, if you need some music to listen to at work, I recommend this station.

New Batmobile

Take a look at the new Batmobile at the official site here.

Kinda looks like it lost the hood or something. I'm not too sure about this one.

More of the "Gorilla" comic at Peiratikos

Peiratikos is back posting the next installment from "From Beyond the Unknown #23". This stroy is titled "Language-Master of Space!" and looks to be a fun read.

Gideon Karr had mastered a hundred different planet-languages—but he wouldn’t be satisfied till he had increased that number ten times as much! Then one day on the planet Klyara he was forced to do some “straight talking” with the strangest weapon in the galaxy—to save his own life!

Oeming on Thor

Silver Bullet Comics has an interview with Michael Avon Oeming about his upcoming run on Thor.

We wanted this to be a touchstone for the series. It will look back much of the history; from the forming of the Avengers to the end of Dan Jurgens run. We'll see LOTS of characters from Thor’s past whom we haven’t seen in a long time, plus some new ones. I promise there are things being done in this arc that we have not seen in Thor before. It’s also self-contained, so those of you curious about Thor can check it out without the pain of investing in an ongoing story arc.

This is overall, about Thor, Loki and the family. Sopranos with winged helmets. Someone gonna get wacked.

Damn TV!!!

Why oh why do my friends introduce me to shows like The Sheild (and Stargate, 24, Deadwood, Oz, Sopranos, etc.) they know if I get into them I have to watch them every damn week. Damn it!!! Thats some good TV!!

Amen Miraclo Miles

Miraclo Miles responds to Jamie Rich's post about how the mainstream world is rolling backwards.

he seems to be battling with the very essence of comics as a business, venting his irritation that the fans aren't buying what he wants them to buy. Honestly, I feel his pain, as does anyone who's seen excellent material abandoned because it simply wasn't financially viable, and more lucrative avenues were calling. (For instance, I would dearly love to see Bill Loebs have the financial freedom to comfortably return to producing more Journey.) There have been times when the label "critically acclaimed" seemed to be tantamount to stamping "terminal" on a series. Still, the realities of the marketplace ultimately return to... the marketplace. Anyone who wants to see talented people aspire to making a living from their creator-owned and controlled work should be choosing those projects to hype. And that's not just hyping them to comics fans, but to everyone.

My view is that there's nothing in the least unusual or particularly damning about the current situation, where many aspiring talents have tripped to the idea that in a very real way the independent comics market has become the farm team from which the mainstream publishers draw new talent. If an artist or writer's aspiration is to work on Batman or Spider-man, I see no shame in that. If an artist or writer responds to "the call" as a means to establishing a broader name for himself, making more money from a one-year contract than he likely would have made in ten of working on an exclusively creator-owned, small press title, (presuming it wasn't simply a money pit) looking forward to when he has the financial resources to return to his dream, I don't see any shame in that either. A nice example of that is Erik Larsen, who worked on Marvel's comics for some years and then was able to get out into the marketplace in a more independent fashion, where he was able to bring out Savage Dragon, a character and series that is plainly very dear to him.

I suppose we have different idealized futures for the comics industry. Jamie Rich has the view that the worker's paradise, where all is owned by the creators and subject solely to their whim, is what the industry should be aspiring to. While I would like to see that end of things flourish, I would be lying if I were to say that I wanted to see the end of corporately-owned comics universes. The notion of what the 1960s comics scene would have been like with creator ownership and control... my fondest comics of the 60's and 70's wouldn't have happened. I saw what gyrations and, frankly, decline Jack Kirby's work went into as he "evolved", and the notion that Thor, the Fantastic Four, etc. might have been subject to his vision over all the subsequent years doesn't appeal to me.

Maybe it comes down to what one thinks of as "progressive", and whether or not one chooses to see it as a positive thing.

Zombie Comics

Ken Lowery of Ringwood was asking about Zombie comics so I did some research. Here is a big list of zombie comics:

Wake The Dead by Steve Niles and Chee
The Remains by Steve Niles and Keiron Dwyer
The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard
Fleshrot:Tales From The Dead Foreword by Romero
Carnopolis
Reign of the Dead
Bogus Dead
Zombie Commandos From Hell
Fabulous Corpses
Dead Folks
The Official Night of the Living Dead comic series
Night of the Living Dead:London by Clive Barker
King of the Dead
Night of the Living Dead:The New Series
Legends of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Tales of the Zombie
Zombie World
Army of Darkness
Re-Animator: Dawn of the Re-Animator
Zombie War
Lenore
Deadworld
Dead King
Dead@17
and finally a comic tailor made for Ken:
Dead in the West

That enough for ya?

Seinfeld and Superman

If you haven't seen them yet check out these commercials featuring Superman.
via Johnny Bacardi.

Posted: For Your Pleasure

You can find the entire issue of Action Comics #1 online here.

Remember those Plastic Toys I posted a while back? They're back.

Take a look at the new X-ray Scanner here.

Those wacky Japanese.

Each artist was sent a outlet face witht he text "You Are Beautiful" to install and add something to. These are the results.

Be sure to check out Devilman the movie.

Check out this site to see who steals designs from who.

This gun speaks several languages, broadcasts the conversation to the police, fires lethal and non-lethal bullets and is activated only by the grip of the registered owner.

Learn how to lift a dog for only $99.99.

Getting bored with your taskmanager in your system tray? Want to kill a program so your computer doesn't crash? Try using the new Doom Sysadmin Tool.

Get yourself some cool pixelated fonts here.

Check out some anime goodness with Steamboy.

Finally check out tons of design work here.

Peace and I'm out!

Takeshi Miyazawa on Mary Jane

Is it just me or does this look a little like Matt Fraction (his actual physical appearance) from AiT? At least the clothing style seems the same. This is from an article on Newsarama on the new MJ series from Marvel. I may check this out for the art alone if nothing else. It kinda reminds me of Becky Cloonan on Demo.

Secrets of the Man Ape!!

You may remember the comic making the rounds a while back with a Gorilla pointing a gun at a librarian while checking out three books. Well Peiratikos has found that issue and posts the story for all of us to read. Enjoy.

Fanboy Rampage Strikes Again!

Once again I point you over to Fanboy Rampage! for another intelligent conversation, this time about art. Steve Lieber weighs in on the subject with these posts:

I can't speak about Lee or Turner's work becuase I just haven't looked at much of either of them. What I've seen from them is far from photo-realist.

Photo-realism in comics art came from newspaper strips, who got it from magazine illustration and advertising art.
Here's an excellent webpage looking at the history of photo-realistic comics art:
http://profmendez.tripod.com/index.html

Photo-realistic art is at it's best when it works transparently. It's purpose, like any other art, is to attract the eye just long enough to lure in the reader, then get out of the way and tell the story as clearly and compellingly as possible. Such art has a tendency to upstage the story It can take a lot of conscious restraint on the part of an illustrator to keep the pictures working strictly in the service of the story.

Why is this important? When story isn't served, the result is spectacle, which is to story as candy is to food. The storyteller becomes an "entertainer." His audience becomes a bunch of rubberneckers. People begin to develop a taste for stupid things. Teens listen to amplified music and touch each other's bathroom parts in the back seats of parked cars. The foundations of Western civilization crumble and the Baby Jesus weeps hot, salty tears. An attentive artist wouldn't let that happen.

Want to judge an artist? Here are a few basic questions to ask yourself.

Look at the movement of figures, and how well gestures are commuincated. Analyze the way space is divided in the panels and on the page. Is the result clarity ? Is it expressive? Does the placement of elements within the panel create a satisfying illusion of depth? If not, is there a good reason for flatness? Notice the details of clothing and set-design. How much can we tell about characters from the objects and places around them? Are the details convincing as drawn, or does it require the suspension of disbelief just to believe in the buildings in the background? Look at the rhythms of panel progression. Are they appropriate for the tone of a scene? Look at how the artist has cast the story. Are these people likely to say these words and do these things? Are the characters immediately distinguishable from one another? Is the artist displaying the appropriate levels of subtlety and clarity for individual moments and for the story as a whole?

He was then asked to expand upon his thoughts when Jamesmith3 asks:

"Look at the rhythms of panel progression. Are they appropriate for the tone of a scene?"

How does this work? I mean, how do you figure out how to break this down?"

He then posts this answer:

I wish that panel rhythm was something as easily analyzed as rhythm in music, but it's a much more instinctive matter. Shane and Ken are on the right track, but it's also a matter of elements within the panels. There's no proper vocabulary to discuss this, and why you try, it tends to lapse into the sort of hopelessly vague hand-waving you get when stoners talk about music. That danger acknowledged, here's my attempt at explaining how it works for me.

Every element within an image strikes a beat, "catching" the eye for a certain amount of time. Certain compositions lead the reader's eye in certain ways, taking the eye on a path along these elements that might be slow, sinuous, staccato, dissonant, or explosive. How these sorts of panels are juxtaposed creates panel rhythm.

A cartoonist can introduce changes in the rhythm of a page. When you deploy significant changes, you can make the reader take a beat to reassess what just happened. What kind of changes? They could be changes in value (light versus dark), in rendering style, in the content of a page (a surprising plot development, a jump to an unexpected camera angle or a cut to a new scene), or in the amount of detail (moving from a complete and environment to a vignetted figure). Or they could be changes in panel shape or panel border weight-- the sort that Shane and Ken referred to.

Now this is all done on instinct. No one counts out the rhythm a background provides. But if you spend enough time thinking hard about comics, experimenting with layout and reading analytically, you'll find that you are as aware of their rhythm as a synesthesiac is of the sounds of a series of colors.

Some virtuosos of comic page rhytmn: Chris Ware, Dave Sim, George Herriman, Jaime Hernandez.

Check out the comments section for some other great posts.

Diamond's Shipping List

DARK HORSE
DEC030024 STAR WARS INFINITIES RETURN OF THE JEDI #4 (Of 4) $2.99
Ryan Benjamin's art in this series is really good. The only thing I found I didn't like is the use of a CG Slave I in a few panels last issue which was so bad it threw me out of the comic.

DC COMICS
NOV030258 ARROWSMITH #6 (Of 6) $2.95
I'm actually sad this is ending.
OCT030233 AVENGERS JLA #4 (Of 4) $5.95
Well...I liked the art.
JAN040204 BATMAN #625 $2.25
The conclusion to this arc should be interesting. Then I can go back and read the whole thing over. I didn't think it worked very well reading the story issue by issue.
JAN040215 BATMAN POISON IVY CAST SHADOWS $6.95
Beautiful art by Van Fleet on this. I saw some of the originals at SDCC last year.
JAN040218 CATWOMAN #29 $2.50
I must buy anything by Ed Brubaker even if I don't think the art fits the title.
JAN040236 FLASH #208 $2.25
Howard Porter turned in some strong pencils on the series last issue. Lets see if he can keep it up. Johns should have an interesting story for us as well.
JAN040240 GREEN LANTERN #175 $3.50
Yay! No more Raab!
JAN040246 JLA #95 $2.25
We'll see. The first issue didn't have me wanting more.
JAN040250 LEGION #31 $2.50
Usually an entertaining read at the very least.
JAN040251 LIGHT BRIGADE #2 (Of 4) (MR) $5.95
The art is beautiful and there were some good character moments in the story in issue 1. I'll try out this issue.
JAN040278 MAXX BOOK TWO TP (MR) $17.95
I'll be getting this to fill in the gaps in my collection.
JAN040298 MIDNIGHT MASS HERE THERE BE MONSTERS #3 (Of 6) (MR) $2.95
JAN040281 PLANETARY #19 $2.95
Wow. I'm suprised (and delighted) to see this.
JAN040224 SUPERMAN #203 $2.25
I'm biding my time until the new creative teams.

IMAGE
DEC031353 DARKNESS VOL 2 #8 $2.99
I've liked Jenkins work on this series. Keown is really showing his stuff as well. It's too bad they are both leaving the series soon.

MARVEL
JAN041528 PULSE #2 $2.99
I'm a sucker for Bendis. Plus I really like Jessica Jones.
JAN041532 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #12 $2.25
JAN041586 THE PUNISHER #4 (MR) $2.99
I'm told by Ken Lowery I have to pick this up.
JAN041541 THOR SON OF ASGARD #2 (Of 6) $2.99
I'll pass on this. The first issue was ok, but not to my taste.
NOV031486 ULTIMATES #13 (RES) (Note Price) $3.50
I believe it when it's in my hands.
JAN041569 WOLVERINE PUNISHER #1 (Of 5) $2.99
This i'll pass on.

WIZARD
FEB042003 WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE DAREDEVIL CVR #151 $4.99
When choosing between Daredevil and Wolverine I'll always choose DD.
FEB042002 WIZARD COMICS MAGAZINE WOLVERINE CVR #151 $4.99

COMICS
JAN042157 ALAN MOORES NIGHTJAR #1 (Of 4) $3.50
May be worth a look.
DEC032497 BOOTIE PARTS COLLECTORS ED (A) $20.00
I don't even want to know.
DEC032296 BRIAN PULIDO LADY DEATH WILD HUNT #1 $2.95
As much as I love Jimmy Cheung's art I can't bring myself to buy this.
JAN042340 GI JOE RELOADED #1 $2.95
Might give this a try.

Not much else that seems to interesting. Let me know if you think there is something I should try.

Blue Beetle Sketches: Michael Avon Oeming

Taking a cue from Laura at Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog who showcases her Aquaman sketches she recieves at cons, I've decided to post the few Blue Beetle sketches I have. For those that would like this in an SAT style statement: Aquaman is to Laura what Blue Beetle is to Shane. So without further ado here is my prized sketch from Powers artist and upcoming Thor writer Michael Avon Oeming.

The Retailer Problem: UPDATED

Thought Balloons and Fanboy Rampage both posted a link to an article at ICV2 anbout Marvels recent deal with Source Interlink.

"I find it ridiculous that we as an industry decided to move Free Comic Book Day to time with the release of Spider-Man 2, a Marvel movie, when Marvel is willing to take the bread and butter of comic book stores away and pass it off to the corporate chains.

"I feel no need to support Marvel in the way that I have been in the past. Their decision just doubled or tripled or quadrupled the number of competitors that I and other independent comic specialty shops have to work against. It is a clear signal to me that Marvel DOES NOT have our best interests at heart."

Over at Fanboy Rampage there is a great discussion going on about retailers in business today. Here are some examples:

Augie De Blieck Jr. posts:

"Quick show of hands here: How many of us are planning to desert our local comics retailer to go buy our comics off a rack at Barnes and Noble?

Nobody? Not a surprise.

It's another hysterical retailer. This is a move on Marvel's part to find new readers, in an industry where distribution and a lack of retail outlets to distribute to is a real problem.

Maybe it's time for the retailer to try additional outreach to combat the evil scourge that is B&N.

BTW, how does the retailer feel about the way the manga producers have sold him out and placed shelves upon shelves of their books in major chain bookstores?

This is a retailer who, it would appear, now wants to support the Diamond monopoly with an additional monopoly of his own: Comics for comics shops only. That way lies madness and self-destruction.

He really destroys his whole argument at the end when he identifies himself as a fanboy instead of a retailer. There's another big problem with comic shop owners. It shouldn't have been a big surprise, though, when so early on he decries Marvel for acting like -- gasp! -- a publicly owned corporation."

My response in the comments section of the post:

"The Direct Market still offers a lot of services that the bookstores don't. They can hold comics for you with subscription services. They carry back issues of titles. They can get specialty books and products that book stores can't or won't get. The problem I see with a lot of stores is that they aren't willing to change with the times in order to satisfy the current market. This doesn't always equal spending more money. Sometimes it's as simple as changing how you think about things."

"I'd love to see a Border's style comic shop. I dream of a shop that you can walk into and relax in. A store that has indy music playing in the background and may even include a music section. A place that has books as well as comics, but specializes in the comics. I guess what I'm looking for is more of a Culture store than a comic store. I could see a store like this succeeding in a busy downtown area or at the beach with a lot of walk in traffic. Keep the door open and music playing. Make the place inviting. Have places to sit. Couches and coffee tables."

The idea of subscription services and if they are good or bad for retailers was also brought up:

"It's a service though and shouldn't be manditory. I think the service should be there for those that want it. I subscribe to books I know I'm going to want and the stores I happen to go to carry enough stock for me to try out those i'm not sure about when they come in.

There are two things you have to concentrate on when running a business though. Pleasing your customers you already have while at the same time drawing in new customers. The subscription services are for those customers you already have and are good for shops because they are a "guaranteed" (to an extent) source of income. The danger is when you make this service your whole business."

Go over to Fanboy Rampage to read the rest of the responses there. There are some very intelligent and well reasoned people posting there with a lot of good ideas.

John Osen of Comic World News notified me of a column by Ed Cunard that explains in more detail the exact comic shop I was thinking of. Thanks for the heads up.

Paul O'Brien on Superhero Comics

Paul O'Brien over at NinthArt brings up some good points in the superhero argument.

"It always surprises me how non-superhero comics are so often discussed as though they were competing for readers against superhero comics. The reality is far harsher for them - they're competing in genres already cornered by other media who have been there for decades"

Thanks to Thought Balloons for the heads up.

Two Creator Interviews at CBR

CBR has two very interesting interviews today:

First up is a very surreal interview with Sam Kieth about his new DC project, Scratch.

Then after you've read that check out this interview with Kurt Busiek about the excellent Superman:Secret Identity.

American Power

Looks like American Power isn't a satire book and is supposed to be read straight as Rich Johnston reports:

"American Power," by Chuck Dixon and Greg Land, also looks like the kind of book that may raise a few eyebrows. From the Free Comic Book Day solicitation for American Power: Prequel... "America's new living weapons in the war against terror! They bomb civilians, hurt innocents, and spread fear. But those that have chosen to inflict pain will reap what they've sown! Now, the world's modern monsters will face a new, devastating and living arsenal! Supported by the technology, muscle and brainpower of the U.S. Armed Forces, the next stage in human evolution will scour the globe and deliver justice! Lock and load for high-stakes, high-explosive military action as the enhanced soldiers code-named Ivictus and Scapel"

I've heard comparisions made to that monstrosity of bad taste and bad thinking, "Civilian Justice" and there are some internally at CrossGen who aren't best pleased. Even artist Greg Land has been heard to voice displeasure at the work he's now been given to write. CrossGen are going for controversy on this one, this isn't intended as an ironic piece of comment. The content of this book is intended to be read as-is, and more in line with Chuck Dixon's political thinking.

The first issue of the ongoing series was to have been given a publicity push by coming out very close to the Free Comic Book Day prequel, but its schedule has slipped.

What I Bought: Back Issue Extravaganza Part 2

I'm on a roll this week as I picked up:

Elektra Assasin TPB
Swords of Cerebus Vol.1 (reprints #1-4 with bonus story)
Swords of Cerebus Vol.2 (reprints #5-8 with bonus story)
Secret Origins TPB (collects Man of Steel #6, Secret Origins #32,#35-36, Annual #2, and a Batman story titled "The Man Who Falls")
True Faith by Garth Ennis and Warren Pleece
The New Fantastic Four: Monsters Unleashed
The Sensational Spider-man by Dennis O'neil and Frank Miller (reprints Amazing Spider-man Annuals #14-15)
Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr and Brian Bolland
Supervillian Classics- Galactus: The Origin by Lee and Kirby

What I Thought: DC Universe

Robin #123 and #124
I wasn't too impressed with the villian in this arc in #123. We were promised a Joker level villain for Robin to contend with. We get a psycho crazy demonicly possesed hitman that can throw people around with tendrils of energy. Consider me let down. The next issue titled "Unmasked" is a different story. Wow! This will have huge ramifications. Someone close to Tim finds out his identity and thus finds out Batman's. The last panel in this story had me wanting more. Supposedly the ramifications from this story lead into the Identity Crisis event in a few months. Pass on #123 and pick up #124.

Hawkman #26
I didn't think i'd miss Johns this soon. After the events of Black Reign we get a story about Hawkman fighting Vampires. I enjoyed the bit about Hawkman's past lives, but overall this is just filler. John Byrne turns in some goodart though. I love the his art witht he right inker, but his writing has gone the way of the dodo. I'd pass on this one unless you're a die hard Hawkman fan.

What I Thought: Marvel Universe

The Incredible Hulk #69
I thought this story would never end. This book is the poster child for longified (decompressed) storytelling. It takes four issues to say what could be said in one. That being said. I liked the run. I'm ready for a change though. It seems we may get one when Iron Man guest stars in an upcoming arc that promises a knock down drag out fight between the two powerhouses. Mike Deodato has really come into his own on this book during these last few arcs on this series and I look forward to seeing his future work.

Hulk: Gray Book 6
Is it just me or has Loeb and Sale's work for Marvel been decidedly lacluster. It doesn't seem to live up to their strong work on the Batman and Superman titles at DC. I wonder if it's the fact that they weren't given as much freedom to work with the characters or the fact that they adhered to the whole color as mood thing too much.

Avengers #80/495
The return of Captain Britian. Did I miss something? When did Brian Braddock and Megan replace Merlin and Roma as caretakers of Britian? If someone could fill me in I'd be grateful.

X-treme X-men #44
Looks like this issue leads directly into the new Uncanny X-men title as the team deals with Bogan and learns the identity of the mysterious villian. I for one am glad of the outcome. Long time X-fans will be pleased. Igor Kordey's art remains competent, but looks rushed as usual. I'm wondering if things weren't going to well with Marvel before the bottom fell out because his art on Cable was pretty strong. Then again it could be the difference in tone between the two books.

Cable and Deadpool #1
Not much to say here. Just a fun little book. Very nice art by Mark Brooks, decent script by Fabian Nicieza, but nowhere near the previous Deadpool series with Gail Simone. There seems to be something missing from the book, but i'm along for the ride for this arc at least.

What I Thought: DC Expanded Universe

Kinetic #1
Wow, not much really happens this issue, but we get a good overview of the main character's life and the problems he has to deal with. It looks like the super-power aspect of the series should start next issue as our protaganist ends up in a jam at the end of the issue.
Wildcats v3.0 #19
Less business and more fighting this issue as the Coda War hits the Wildcats full force. Nothing but action here as we see the return of Zealot, a fight between her and the ultimate Coda warrior in what looks like Boba Fett's armor. Agent Orange kicks Coda ass and doesn't crack his cold lifeless stare while doing it. All this and the FBI caught in the middle. If you thought this series was moving slowly well it sure isn't moving slow now.
The Losers #10
Johnny Bacardi said it better than I ever could.

Looks like the first story arc in issues 1-6 was just a prelude to even more complicated goings-on as Andy Diggle sheds more light on the CIA agent that he introduced in #9, and the Losers themselves get closer to finding out what's in the volcano that the enigmatic Max wants. Diggle deftly weaves in a lot of great character interaction, including some conflict between leader Clay and loose cannon Aisha that you just gotta believe is going to come to a head at some point. It can't be an easy thing to come up with such a complicated storyline, with multiple players each with their own agendas and none knowing everything they need to know about each other, with sharp dialogue and even humor in places (best example, the blackly funny scene in which Aisha tasers the guard), and not have it devolve into a jumbled mess. If it was, then more people would be doing it. Artist Jock is doing a great job of giving us what we need to maximize the depth of Diggle's script, with his jagged, heavily black-spotted ink style and random perspective shots- and the cover for this issue is modestly brilliant. Honest, folks, words fail me- this is one remarkable comic book, and maybe all who agree with me should go get tasers of our own and "suggest" to our unconverted friends that they go get a copy of Ante Up. Anything to get sales up. And they'll thank us- you wait and see.

If you only buy one book, buy this one.

What I Thought: Others

Lone #4
Seems like an interesting book. I love the western/scifi/horror theme to the book. Kinda reminds me of that one Garth Ennis book for Black Bull, but with a much more interesting main character. I wish I could find more issues of the series though. Back issues of this book, and even the current issue, are pretty scarce here.
Conan #2
Considering I've never been a Conan reader before I picked up the first trade of the old material that was published recently, I'm really digging this book. Conan is a man's man. He's like the John Wayne of Fantasy. He follows his pride to his folly, but always comes through. Very well written and the art by Nord is perfect for this series. I'm on this for the long haul.
Devil May Cry Book One
Haven't read it yet, but damn if it doesn't look pretty.
Phantom Jack #1
I've liked what I've seen so far. The pacing could be a little better though. It seems that the first part of the book flew by and the last part, even the fight scene crawled. I'm going to give this another issue before I pass judgment, but this has promise. And just a word on the circumstances of this being published. If you have friends in an industry and you didn't use them and all your assets including your skills, then you aren't too smart. I don't believe he's riding on any coat tails. It seems like he really wants to tell his story. I commend Mike San Giacomo, Mitchell Breitweiser, and Jaime Jones for getting their book published. I hope they learn from their experiences and can have time to improve their work. As an aside the cover is a magnificent piece of work.
Common Grounds #3
This issue features two stories. The first, and strongest, focuses on a young superpowered girl who is helped out of a jam by a Jewish superhero known as the The Acidic Jew. The art by Chris Bachalo is excellent and matches the feel of the story perfectly. The story also provided an interesting take on the moral "be true to yourself" that I enjoyed. The second story focuses on a brother/sister crime fighting team that is trying to regain their lost heritage. To me that story, while ok, seemed a little on the corny side. The two story format helps this book as the first story was enough to buy the book on it's own. The second story is just a plus in this case.
Wanted #3
I love the opening line to this book, "Look! Up in the sky! Fuck!" That sums up the tone of not only this issue but Mark Millar's writing in general. The over the top action continues as the political machinations come to the forefront of this series. Looks like our young Eminem lookalike is in a lot of trouble after this issue's events. As Johnny Bacardi describes this comic, "It's kinda like Astro City as a Penthouse comic."