Dirk's Comic Book Corner

Baltimore - Bantam Books

2010-07-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

A first rate read steeped in atmosphere.

If not for a three issue mini-series soon to be released by, Dark Horse comics, Baltimore, The Plague Ships, I would never have heard of this novel. If not for my fondness for the creative team of, Mike Mignola, (writer) and, Ben Steinbeck, (illustrator) I'd have simply dismissed, Baltimore, The Plague Ships, as yet one more vampire story in a market already over-saturated with tales of the blood-sucking night-stalkers. Only because of my fondness for, Mike Mignola and Ben Steinbeck, did I decide to add the mini-series, based upon a novel I'd never heard of, to my pull file.

Not wishing to read a comic book based upon a novel I'd never read in the first place, I looked it up on, Amazon.com, found a copy of it for a fair price and ordered it forthwith. I started reading the novel the day it arrived in the mail and didn't put it down until I'd finished it. Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, is as good a read as I've enjoyed in a very long time. This novel took me back to the days of my youth when the tales of, Edgar Allen Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft, introduced me to the horror genre. Like all good classic horror tales, Baltimore, begins on a moonless night in a field covered in fog. Men are at war, a human endeavor already fraught with unimaginable horrors, but on this particular night one soldier is about to come face to face with a horror that will change his life forever.

Wounded, slipping in and out of consciousness as he lies in a tangled heap of dead and dying soldiers, Baltimore, looks on in mounting terror as a strange flock of flying creatures descend upon the bodies strewn across the recent battlefield and begin feeding upon them. After drawing the attention of one of the winged monstrosities, Baltimore, finds himself fighting for his life against an ancient and fearsomely strong vampire. During the ensuing struggle, Baltimore, manages to inflict a terrible, but non-lethal wound to the face of his adversary. The enraged vampire leaves a wound of his own upon the thigh of, Baltimore, that will eventually cost him his leg.

Thus begins a tale I can only best describe as, Captain Ahab, versus the, Great White Wraith, that took his leg. Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire is a tale of revenge and retribution and the toll such pursuits take upon those who seek such bitter satisfactions. It is a good read that echos many of the great tomes that have preceded it in the genre of horror. The novel pays homage without copying or cloning other works. Once again, it is a good read and if you're planning on picking up the upcoming, Dark Horse mini-series, Baltimore, The Plague Ships, I would encourage you to find this book and read it in advance of, Mike Mignola and Ben Steinbeck's return to the world of, Henry Baltimore. If the comic book is even half as good as the novel, this will be a tale you won't want to miss.

Brody's Ghost - Mark Crilley

2010-07-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Just plain fun and entertaining.

It was through MDHP (MySpace Dark Horse Presents) that I first came into contact with, Brody's Ghost. There was just something interesting enough about the premise of the story that led me to pick up the first graphic novel in what will be a six book series. All I can say is that this little book gives substance to the cliche, "good things come in small packages." If you overlooked this wonderful gem while shopping in your local comic book store I strongly encourage you to call your local shopkeeper and ask him or her to pull a copy of this book from their shelves and put it in your file before there are no more copies to be found. You just don't want to miss this story.

Mark Crilley can draw. I must admit to being a newcomer to his work, but I'm a fan now and I'll be looking up some of his earlier work as soon as possible. Even in black and white his illustrations breath with vitality and life. I was immediately drawn in to Brody's world from the very first panel and held there until the last panel of the story. Judging from the youthful look of the main characters this story is aimed at the young adolescent market, but anyone could read this book and find it entertaining.

The story revolves around a young man named, Brody. He's till steeped in the throes of a broken heart and living a very shallow and depressed life. Plainly put, he's a slacker. Everything in his life is going from bad to worse until one day he encounters the ghost. Her name is, Talia, and she's been temporarily locked out of heaven until she performs A life task--think, really good deed. Being a ghost she's somewhat limited in her ability to manipulate the corporal world and she needs the help of a, ghostseer, an individual with psychic powers capable of seeing, hearing and talking with ghosts.

Brody, up to this point in his life, has remained blissfully ignorant of his latent psychic abilities. In his current slacker-state of being he isn't going to be of much use to, Talia. She decides he needs training to awaken his abilities and she arranges for him to meet, Kagemura, a ghost sensei with the wisdom to educate young, Brody, in the ways of his psychic skills. The game is then "afoot" as they say...

One of the aspects of, Brody's Ghost, I found most refreshing was that I didn't find myself having to shove aside an overabundance of female cleavage or don a welder's mask to protect my face from the flash burn of a nonstop barrage of the F-Bomb to enjoy the story. It was nice to read a book without feeling assaulted or challenged. It was more than entertaining, it was refreshing.

Mark Crilley has crafted a beautifully illustrated and delightfully written story that promises to deliver five more installments of quality entertainment. I can recommend this book without either hesitation or reservation to readers of all ages and genders. There's something here for everyone and I can't wait for more of, Brody's Ghost, to hit the shelves of my local comic book store. Well done, Mr. Crilley! I'm a fan for sure...

Mog World - Yahtzee Croshaw

2010-07-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

I do like the cover art.

Fortunately I was spared the tragic mistake of picking this up as an impulse buy by reading the extended nineteen page preview of the book at, Dark Horse Publishing's website. Make no mistake about it, whatever qualities you might find appealing about the online antics of, Yahtzee Croshaw, you'll be hard pressed to find a single one of them between the covers of this book. Unfortunately, this is one of those marketing team projects designed to make money solely on the basis of name recognition. You know how it goes...

Marketing team: "We love what you've got going here with the whole, Yahtzee, thing and we're here to help you capitalize on it while the iron is hot. Celebrity is fleeting, Mr. Croshaw. Especially the Internet kind and if you're going to benefit financially from your current popularity we've got to act fast before the opportunities available to you right now disappear faster than the video games you review."

Yahtzee: "Well, this is all kind of new to me. What do you have in mind?"

Marketing team: "We've already started production on a series of tee-shirts, coffee mugs and buttons, none of that cheap crap mind you, this is all first rate material, assembled in the, United States, and produced to order. All it requires on your part is a link on your website and a small percentage of each sale to cover shipping, handling and manufacturing costs."

Yahtzee: "That's all there is to it?"

Marketing team: "That's just the beginning! Have you ever thought of writing a book?"

Yahtzee: "I read one once, Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, or something like that."

Marketing team: "Don't worry about it. Just throw something together, we'll clean it up in editing, slap a, Grateful Dead, looking cover on it and find a small publisher to sell it online."

Yahtzee: "Well, I'm really not much of a writer per sey..."

Marketing team: "Yahtzee, my man, don't worry about it. You see, we're not selling the literary contents of the book, we're selling the name on the book, Yahtzee Croshaw. Besides, your fans are primarily gamers, not exactly top of the food chain, if you know what we're talking about. They'll probably never even bother to read it once they get it home. It's an impulse purchase..."

Yahtzee: "So that's it?"

Marketing team: "Why, that's just the tip of the iceberg! We're in the final steps of negotiating the closing details on a deal with an online hemp-jewelery company out of, Korea. We're very excited about the, Yahtzee, one hit wonder, line of glass bongs and we just received an email from our perfumer in, China, that they've just begun human testing on the first in your new line of cologne for men called, Joystick."

Sorry, Yahtzee, but in the words of, The Beatles, "You may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer."

Better luck with your cologne...

R.E.B.E.L.S. - D.C. Comics

2010-07-15T01:00:00.000-07:00

The best book nobody knows about.

This is one of the very best comic book titles being produced right now. Tony Bedard is just flat out writing his arse off. Issue after issue he's creating perhaps the most original book to come out of the D.C. talent pool and he's doing it with a cast of characters no one else really seems to care about working with. Tony seems to have found a way to circumvent the stranglehold, Geoff Johns seems to have over the creative process at D.C. and is producing original work that is both engaging and entertaining. R.E.B.E.L.S. is a book you can read without needing a degree in molecular engineering to understand it. There is an elegant simplicity to Tony's story telling that is a breath of fresh air in the current age of convoluted obscurity that passes itself off as dark and edgy adult entertainment.

R.E.B.E.L.S. has managed to do in just eighteen issues what, Geoff Johns has failed to do in series after seemingly endless series of crossover events involving an average of thirty titles each. Tony Bedard has advanced his premise, developed his characters and provided genuinely poignant and compelling moments of story telling in the process. And most impressively of all, he's managed to do it without dropping the F-Bomb in every other sentence, covering up gaping plot holes with with bucketful after bucketful of T&A and offering more adult examples of creative problem solving than, "My powers-penis is bigger than your powers-penis!".

Before I journey much further along I'd like to point out how wonderfully the illustrations of the artistic team of, Claude St. Aubin (Pencils) and Scott Hanna (Inker) enhance this book. This team manages to flesh out more than breast size. The worlds and environments they create are beautifully rendered and a joy for the eye to behold. Theirs is a vision of the universe containing more than nipples, breasts and camel toes. Every time I turn a page I'm treated to alien landscapes filled with lush flora, fauna and architectural designs that spark my imagination and take my breath away. Truly this team engages the highest intellectual functions rather than stimulating the basest part of human nature.

Tony Bedard and his team are creating a genuinely articulate and intelligent piece of work. It is truly sophisticated and adult in every way. Unlike the elitist, pseudo-intellectual group of bohemian extremists currently in charge of the industry who're more concerned with force-feeding their vision of morality and artistic integrity upon the marketplace, Tony is doing what matters most to a real writer. He's telling a story in a manner that engages and entertains as many people as possible rather than alienating all, but the most narrow of demographic. Tony is using the art form to entertain, not to engage in some ludicrous, political crusade against the moral windmills of imaginary censorship.

If you're a reader seeking content more substantial than titillating pinup art to decorate your school locker with, R.E.B.E.L.S. is the book for you. This is a title that shows the very best of what comics can be. It may not be getting the push that some of the bigger projects at D.C. are receiving, but it delivers far more quality for the dollars you'll spend on it than just about anything else you can find in their catalog of books.

Doctor Solar - Dark Horse Publishing

2010-07-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be so good...

At last a book has come along worthy of my leaving poolside to come inside, get on the computer and write about. Three times I've read this book now and it just gets better with each and every read. No, it isn't a perfect book. Yes there's a bit of rust around the corners of the dialog and yes, there were some ponderous moments where exposition around minute details seemed to get in the way of the story's pacing, but damn this is a book that we'll all be talking about once this title gets off the ground and running. This book was about laying the foundation for things to come and if you look at the things hinted at in this first issue there's a lot of very cool things coming down the road. Did you catch some of the awesome goodness in this issue?

Secret therapy? How cool is that!? Phillip Solar gaining unbelievable abilities and in the first few nano-seconds of possessing those goodies screwing up the world because he tried to save himself some personal humiliation? Doh! Or how about the, Captain Kirk, poster on the wall of, Whitmore Pickerel's, apartment? (Yeah, there's all kind of goodies in this issue.) Just who was, Bently, working for? And just what is, Tanek Nuro, CEO of Lovejoy International Inc. up to? And exactly what does happen when a hack writerreally can bring his characters to life? And poor, poor, brokenhearted, Gail...

If the foundation laid in this issue is any indication at all there's gonna be a fine house built by the time it's all said and done. And you know what? Jim Shooter's right. How the hell are you supposed to write a good book when most of the characters in the big two companies are so damn tied up for the next many years in plot lines revolving around "major event" stories? At, Dark Horse, Jim Shooter, gets to write without character restrictions fouling up every good idea he comes up with for them. Bravo, Jim! I'm excited and I'm looking forward to some real creative story telling.

This is a book that will suffer initially because of the teasers released to promote it. I too thought the book looked pretty hokey as far as the preview teaser went, but seen now in full context with the rest of the story the book looks pretty damn good. Let me be the first to tell you in no uncertain terms, don't be fooled by the previews, this book is pretty darn good and it's only going to get better as future issues are released.

Compared to other offerings in the marketplace this summer, this one really did manage to"brighten" my day. Nice job, Jim! Now, I'm off to lounge by the pool again. Ciao!

Comics for Cures 2010 - The afterglow...

2010-05-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

Lobster Johnson
by Carla Rodriquez

I felt pretty good going into this event. I'd scouted things out in advance, I'd set up my watch list and with an ingenious setup of browser tabs in place I was feeling quite confident as crunch time grew closer and closer. Both the upstairs P.C. and the laptop I keep on the end table beside me in the television room were warmed up and ready to go. A fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen and a cooler full of Red Bulls assured me of a state of alertness until the wee hours of the night in case I needed to be ready for a last minute bid. I was confident, organized and ready to work a master plan I believed would guarantee me a maximum acquisition of treasures.

Days earlier I'd gone through page after page of sketch cards making a detailed list of the ones I liked and would be interested in acquiring. I carefully listed the cards by the hour and minute the bidding on them would close. Once the information had been properly organized in a data base and printed out on paper I began making the hard decisions which of the three hundred chosen cards I could live without if I didn't win the individual battles of the bid. This was a process I repeated until I was down to a twenty card pool of my absolute favorites. By Saturday evening my clipboard contained a fifteen card list of the sketch cards for which I would put up a good fight. The battle was about to be joined.

Early on in the evening (Saturday) I scored an easy acquisition when I picked up three Tiki themed cards by an artist named, David Fletcher. At ninety-nine cents each I was just ecstatic. I think so many people passed on them because they weren't superhero cards, but the detailing was exquisite and they were beautifully drawn. They were on my list as cards I'd go for if the price was right and at ninety-nine cents apiece, the price was right.

For the next several hours I watched as cards I was interested in acquiring, but wouldn't bid my hardest for came and went, and I may not have won any of those cards, but I know I drove the price up higher than the buyer had originally hoped to pay for them. (Whoever wound up buying the, Adam West card knows what I'm talking about.) My plan was to force the early evening bidders into spending as much money as possible so that by the time my late night cards hit the block they'd be out of money. Hey, it was for charity...

As the evening progressed I picked up another great ninety-nine cent card by an artist named, Earl Geier. Again, this was a beautiful drawing of an Amazon, but in a more realistic rendition than so many of the other modern "stylized illustrations" favored by so many people right now. It really reminded me of the illustrations that used to accompany the, Ripley's, Believe It Or Not, pieces in the Sunday funny pages. Again, a wonderful piece so many people passed by in favor of Superhero drawings. At this point I'd picked up four very solid pieces and I still had the funds at my disposal to go for the last two cards I really wanted to acquire.

The two cards I wanted to come away from the auction with were, Carla Rodriguez's, Lobster Johnson and Guy Davis', Sandman Mystery Theater. I'd fallen in love with Carla's interpretation of, Lobster Johnson, since the moment I'd seen it. Not only was the illustration amazing, the coloring was simply brilliant. It was simply the best interpretation I've ever seen of the character. I had to have it. I put the ninety-nine cent bid on it to see if I could draw any one else interested in it out into the open. Sure enough, someone answered the bid. At two dollars and ten cents I let it ride until the last possible minute and then put in a max bid of six dollars and seventy-five cents. My theory was that the other bidder was going for the five dollar bargain and bidding what I did would beat their six dollar and fifty cent bid when it came and sure enough, I got one of my top two cards for six dollars and seventy-five cents.

Guy Davis is a favorite of mine. I love his art and I wanted the, Sandman Mystery Theater, card more than any other single card in the auction. Once I'd managed to grab the, Lobster Johnson, card at the bargain price at the bargain price I knew I could go all in for the card and most likely come away with it. With under a minute to go in the bidding for it I placed a max bid of fifty dollars. I took it home for twenty-eight dollars and sixty-five cents. My evening was complete.

I went into the auction looking for what I felt were some of the better art pieces as opposed to who were my favorite comic book characters. In the end I got a little bit of a number of things from the auction, I got a piece by a favorite artist, a favorite character piece and some cards I just plain liked as pieces of art. For the first time I'd ever participated in the event I couldn't help, but feel I'd come away from it in pretty good shape. I came away with the top two cards I really wanted and six of the fifteen I'd gone into the event willing to bid on. It was well worth staying up until three in the morning for.

If you've never participated in this wonderful event I'd recommend you watch for it next year. Comics For Cures, sponsored by, Comic2Games, is a worthwhile event where everyone comes out a winner. The, American Cancer Society, is the big winner of course, but the little pieces of art are real treasures that make anyone who takes one or two of them home a winner too. I won't be missing this annual event from now on and I hope you'll be adding it to your calender too. Thanks, Comics2Games, you guys rock!

Comics for Cures 2010

2010-05-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

How many of our lives have been touched by cancer? Whether it was a friend, a family member or a loved one the feelings of helplessness are always the same. How many times have you wished you could do something to help someone with cancer? Maybe you'd just like to find a way to repay a debt of gratitude for support that came your way when you or someone you cared for experienced cancer in their life. Tonight and tomorrow you have that opportunity, thanks to the good folks at, Comics2Games, in Florence, Kentucky.

This weekend will wrap up the third annual, Comics for Cures Sketch Card Benefit Auction & Gallery Show (In association with Relay For Life, The American Cancer Society.) with the conclusion of their online sketch card auction and a Gallery show at their store, Comics2Games located at 8470 US 42 in Florence, Kentucky. You'll find all 1100 cards in the online auction on display and there will be snacks and beverages served throughout the evening. If I'm not mistaken, I believe they'll have laptop computers set up at the store so you can bid on any card or set of cards that catch your eye. It sounds like a really good time and I'm sure they'll have a surprise or two in store for those who show up to join them for the evening's activities.

If you're not familiar with sketch card art work you can see what all the excitement is about at the online auction site and maybe purchase one of these small treasures for your very own. With 1100 cards available, if we each spend an average of at least three dollars, we can all help to make a significant contribution to, The American Cancer Societies, Relay for Life. Please visit and bid generously. Make a difference, you'll be a better person for it.

Suggested for mature adults...

2010-05-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

Fun for the whole family?

Labeling the content of a comic book, mature and adult, doesn't necessarily make it one or the other. More often than not the comics I read with the, "suggested for mature and adult readers" label on the front cover are anything but mature and adult. Most of the material in these books is aimed at teenage boys and is designed to titillate the senses rather than stimulate the intellect. The books are often little more than panel after panel of pinup art with the written part of the story doing little more than teasing future story lines and dropping the F-Bomb at every opportunity.

A good story appeals to an audience wider than a single demographic. Male, female, young or old, if a story is truly good it will cross gender and age barriers and offer a little something to a wide variety of readers. Can comic books make that claim right now? Are women reading comic books? The numbers would say they're not. How about young kids? Again, the numbers would say not. Judging from the message and comment boards at the websites I visit, teenage boys are the overwhelming demographic reading comic books these days and their interests are in anything other than intellectual content.

I talk to women in comic book shops and again and again they say the same thing, "Why would I be interested in books filled with half naked women and enormous breasts?" I talk to countless women who find little to read in a market dominated by books bearing the label, suggested for mature and adult readers. Women know what that warning means just as well as I do. It means that in a market increasingly dominated by such labeled books there's less and less for us (the reader looking for more than eye candy) to read.

And it just gets worse every day. Using the justification that comic books are now written primarily for adults both the writing and illustration aspects of today's comics are becoming more and more objectionable to larger and larger numbers of mature adults. The undeniable reality is that the audience for the type of book being produced right now is shrinking. The industry can offer up any number of excuses it cares to, but the reality is that if the product was worth buying, we'd be buying it.

Claiming to be the champions of "free speech" the modern crop of comic book creators are leaving a stain of profanity and sexual objectification upon the landscape of comic books that will deter a wide variety of people from picking up a comic book for a very long time. There is a line that can be crossed. When a so called defense of free speech becomes nothing more than how many times you can fit the F-bomb into a book before it becomes the only word in a book, the line is crossed. When the number of panels in a book devoted to nearly nude women posed in a manner designed to highlight no other female attributes than breast, nipple or camel toe, the line has been crossed. There is a point where stretching the boundaries breaks down into nothing more than sexual titillation and profanity.

The rebuttals to those who question the increasingly objectionable materials taking over the marketplace today run from complete dismissal, either in the form of, "If you don't like it, don't read it." to ridicule for believing in moderation. If you don't one hundred percent, without questioning one single aspect of the content in a comic book, applaud the artistic vision of both writer and illustrator you are denigrated as either, "too stupid to get it" or "too prudish to appreciate it".

The I-Pad isn't going to save the comic industry if all it continues to force feed the market is anatomical exercises in female body parts and profanity. The comic book industry is turning its back on the reader. It is so currently enamored with Hollywood and television deals and is suffering under the delusion that these new "viewers" are the industry's real future. As we've seen with the number of comic book and superhero projects getting canceled lately, the home viewer is no more interested in sexual tension that never resolves, plot lines that endlessly meander with never an end or explanation in sight than is the average comic book reader. This kind of product is no more satisfying on a screen (of any size) than it is upon a printed page.

The industry leaders need to take control of the talent and reign them back in. The blush has worn off the rose and no matter how good the sex was at the beginning of the relationship, it's time to move on to more substantial things. Too much of anything eventually becomes a bad thing and what's being done to comic books right now is turning far more readers away than its attracting. The current group of creators may indeed have won the war against censorship, but in the process they've lost the hearts of a great many people. Where is this in the best interests of anyone? Readership is down. Profits are down. Nobody seems happy with the state of the industry right now. How can this possibly be good for business? Yes, its time for a change, but the behavior and the attitude of the reader isn't where it needs to begin.

Veggie Dog Saturn - Buyer Beware Comics

2010-05-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Jason Young, marching to the beat of a different drummer.

Its taken me a couple of issues to warm up to Jason Young's homespun existential ruminations, but with issue four of, Veggie Dog Saturn, I've finally started to cozy up to his style of story telling and I'm starting to become a fan. I don't normally read existential comics. Especially those by younger writers who tend to feel that every lesson has to be a hard one exposing yet one more of life's darker lies. Oftentimes it seems as if every existential writer today is a disciple of the Goth school of disillusionment where each and every day is viewed as little more than one more agonizing step along the slow and tortuous path towards the inevitable darkness of death. Frankly it gets a little tedious.

Jason Young is a refreshing young existential writer simply because he sees the inconsistencies of life as a series of practical jokes in a divine comedy. The most important lesson Jason appears to be learning from life is to see the wonderful humor of it all, even when that humor is dark. There is a genuine warmth to his work and the life lessons he offers avoid falling prey to the trap of appearing pedantic or preachy. Jason shares with us instead of presuming to teach us. (His is an old soul's voice in a young man's story.)

I think Jason Young really hits his stride in issue four of, Veggie Dog Saturn. For the first time he presents us with a series of vignettes around a central theme instead of attempting to fill a book with a single story. There are a total of six vignettes in this little gem of a book, each of which is like a facet of a jewel reflecting a color of light different than the one before it. Like a jeweler cutting a larger stone into smaller carats Jason strikes with swift sharp blows bringing the deeper beauty of a moment into the full light of realization. You will laugh, cry, nod your head in agreement and in the end you'll have learned a little something about the humanity inside us all. That's a lot more than you'll get from a lot books on the shelves these days.

Issue number four of, Veggie Dog Saturn, is a damn fine book and a heck of a bargain at only two dollars. You can find Jason Young and his book at Mavericks Card and Comic Shop or you can purchase it online at Buyer Beware Comics. I highly reccomend Jason's book and I hope you'll give it a try. The kid's got some talent and a whole bunch of heart, always a winning combination in my book.

Wannabes - Gonzo Goose Productions

2010-05-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

The Wannabez just shouldn't be...

Did you ever have one of those ideas when you and your buddies were sitting around smoking a big fatty of, the-chronic-that-killed-Elvis-and-his-evil-alien-clone-baby-weed that just seemed so, totally awesome? You probably talked about it for hours upon hours and then once the buzz wore off you forgot all about it and thankfully the world was spared the delirious remnants of your THC induced reefer madness. (Luckily I've never actually been there myself, but I do have friends who've shared the "awesomeness" of such transcendental experiences with me.)

Unfortunately, there are also those Cannabis induced lapses in judgment where those very same stone-headed ideas actually manage to get beyond the stage of conception and are in fact acted upon and brought to fruition in the real world. Those of us in the business refer to these lapses in judgment as, YouTube videos. Indy films, cable television pilots, sex videos and sometimes even literary efforts can sometimes come back to haunt a celebrity for many years. They are humiliations to be avoided at any and all costs.

If the creators of the comic book, Wannabez, are reading this I have some very important words of advice for you; collect all copies of this book and destroy them immediately before you are forced to live with the humiliation of this book for the rest of your professional careers. Stop whatever work you're doing with this concept and go back to the drawing board before its too late. Break out the bong, boys, and try again...

Normally I'd go into specific details about what it is about the book I didn't like, but in this case I'm just going to show some restraint and do my best to spare you the public humiliation such critical analysis would expose you to. Let me just say that this book goes beyond bad and would best be released in a "trashcan" format. I really tried to enjoy this book. I dropped six hits of LSD, downed a fifth of Tequila, drank a twelve pack of Bud and smoked enough Primo to reanimate both, Elvis and his evil-alien-clone-baby, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get past the wrongness of this book. Sorry, but there are indeed some ideas that just should never see the light of day and, guys, this was at least five of them.

Hellboy In Mexico - Dark Horse Comics

2010-05-05T13:07:00.001-07:00

Boom, boom, out go the lights!

Time to put the big boy panties on and put the whining to bed. For anyone who hasn't figured it out yet, Mike Mignola and Richard Corben are one of the best teams working in the comic book industry today. Now, I'm a longtime fan of Mike Mignola and of course nothing makes me happier than Mike illustrating one of his own stories, but its time to stop thinking that no one but Mike Mignola can illustrate a Hellboy story. Richard Corben is smokin' hot and every issue of Hellboy he illustrates just gets better and better. Its time for the naysayers to just shut up, get on the bandwagon and start handing out some well deserved kudos to the guy.

Seriously, what more does Richard Corben need to do to earn some respect? Have you read, The Crooked Man? How about, The Bride of Hell? And now, Hellboy in Mexico or, (A drunken Blur). Clearly Mike Mignola has complete confidence in the man's skills or he wouldn't be a part of what is clearly one of the finest collections of talent working on the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. line of books. I understand we're all resistant to change and new things scare us. Its especially scary when it comes to messing with a winning formula like Mike Mignola and Hellboy, but its time to put aside the hostility, take an objective look at what Richard Corben is producing and go with the flow of something really good.

There's just not a lot more for me to say, the man's work speaks for itself. From the very first panel in, Hellboy in Mexico or, (A Drunken Blur) you are drawn into the desert and by the end of page two of this book you're reaching for a water bottle. Richard Corben's illustrations live and breath. And he takes my breath away with every single panel he draws. Get off the man's case and show some respect. And while you're at it, show a little a trust in the judgment of mike Mignola. Judging from what I've seen so far, he knows exactly what he's doing.

Richard, you rock! I hope to see a lot more of your artistic styling gracing the pages of Hellboy for quite some time to come.

Confectionaries - Ringtail Cafe

2010-05-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

Sweet and satisfying.

Among the treasures I brought home from my visit to SPACE (Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo) 2010 is a comic book called, Confectionaries, from the good folks at, Ringtail Cafe. I found the idea for this book intriguing the moment it was first explained to me by Darren and Krista Mueller, as cover artist Jackie Hernandez sketched a drawing of a "Strawberry gum drop" cat in the back of the comic I'd just purchased at their table on my Sunday afternoon visit to SPACE 2010.

Once upon a time there was a wizard. This wizard was unique in that he also possessed no small amount of talent as a confectioner. This "kitchen magician" would create the most wonderful of candies and share them with all of the people in the village. He was a kind and gentle soul and everyone agreed that there was something special and magical about the treats he created. Now the wizard had a wife. She too was a kind and gentle spirit and the two of them shared a deep and abiding love. They had many blessings, but one thing eluded them. They simply had no children. And they wanted a family so very much. Since nature didn't seem to be taking it's course, the wizard decided to take things into his own hands. He and his wife would use their unique confectionery skills and make themselves a family. And that's how the story begins...

Although there will be stand alone issues, (including the introductory zero issue and an upcoming holiday special), Confectionaries is set to release as a series of three graphic novels. Not only that, but due to the anticipated length of time between the graphic novel releases, Ringtail Cafe, will be using their mailing list to send "bite sized fun" one page, Confectionaries, comic strips to tide us over until the books arrive. Is that sweet or what!?

The book is very kid friendly which is important to me as a parent of a three year old boy. As I stated earlier, I liked the concept for the book as soon as it was explained to me at, SPACE 2010. The critical test for me as a parent was whether the book would engage my three year old or not. We sat down together and I took the opportunity to substitute, Confectionaries, for his normal bedtime favorite, Mr. Brown, and he loved it! Nothing is more rewarding to me as a father than capturing the imagination of my son and answering those innocent questions all children ask when they're excited about something; "Who is that, daddy? Do they live in the castle too? Are they sad? Is it something spooky?". (I'm hoping more, Confectionaries, arrives before the single issue I've got wears out from repetitive reads .) Yes, this is a story I can't wait to begin sharing with my son and I'm willing to bet you and your children will enjoy it too.

If you're not on the mailing list yet I'd suggest going over to Ringtail Cafe and sign up as soon as possible. Go ahead, I'll wait here until you get back.

Now wasn't that easy? Better yet, why not visit the friendly folks at, Comics 2 Games, located at 8470 US 42 in Florence, Kentucky and pick one up today. Tell em', "Dirk sent me." and enjoy the puzzled look on their faces as they try and figure out just who in the heck you're talking about.

Owly and Friends - FCBD

2010-05-03T12:34:00.001-07:00

All that is bad in books for kids.

Without a doubt in my mind, this was the single worst book in this year's offerings for FCBD (Free Comic Book Day). It was so bad in fact that it provided me with the perfect example of what's wrong with the majority of comics being produced for kids these days. Lets begin with this book specifically. First off, who was the genius that had the brilliant idea of grabbing kids attention with a bright and colorful book of black and white illustrations? Seriously? Is there no one working at, Top Shelf, who has children of their own? Not one single person realized that black and white illustrations hold a child's attention span for about three nano-seconds?

And thanks for the stories with no words to accompany the illustrations. Again, nothing teaches a child to "read" like picture books. Duh...

My experience with this book went something like this.

Micah: "Who is that, Daddy?"

Me: "That's Owly, son."

Micah: "What's that, Daddy"

Me: "I'm not really sure. I think it might be a worm."

Micah: "A worm? What's he doing? Why? What's his name?

Me: "I don't know what his name is. I'm not sure what he's doing."

Micah: "Can we read, Toy Story, now?"

And enough of making books for kids made out of newspaper stock. I could care less about the collectible potential of the book, but how about the durability of it? Try throwing one of those books into a room with a couple of four year old boys and timing how long it lasts before shredding into a pile of confetti. Fragile paper stock does not hold up well in young hands still in the process of developing fine motor control.

It just shows the approach the industry is taking to comic books for kids. The efforts are perfunctory at best. The books are considered a throwaway product and they're manufactured as one. Kids comics are being produced to silence critics, not to engage and entertain young readers. The critics are right, comic books aren't being written with young people in mind. Kids comics don't produce movie deals. Why would anyone want to waste time, effort and resources in developing and producing them? In my opinion this is a complete lack of long term vision. If you don't get kids reading comics when they're young, what are the chances they'll pick them up when they're older whether the comics are available on an I-Pad or not.

Since the industry doesn't seem interested in researching and developing a well thought out product I'd like to take this opportunity to offer them a few tips. Maybe this will help create a more marketable product if nothing else.

1. Stop treating children as if they're mentally deficient and incapable of doing more with a comic book than sit in a corner and drool over it. (And no, this isn't permission to drop the f-bomb in every other sentence and take it upon yourselves to educate my child about the diversity of human sexuality.)

2. Stop making kids comic books out of newsprint paper stock. No parent is going to pay for a comic book that shreds to pieces in minutes. I pick up freebies at the front counter made from better paper stock. These are the books I give to my son and they take a beating and still hold together. That's right, your freebies are a better value than the crap you try to get me to buy for my youngster. Duh...

3. Treat kids like their comic book purchases matter just as much as their parents. If you try to palm off an inferior product on them they know it. You may fool them once, but the next time they spend their allowance money it won't be on one of your completely lame and boring books.

Owly and Friends was shiny on the outside and filled with nothing but second rate content on the inside. The book wasn't even worthy of the bird cage. The only purpose the book served was to insure I don't ever bother wasting any of my hard earned money on, Top Shelf, products.

(Thank goodness for FCBD so I didn't have to throw away good money to learn this lesson.)

FCBD 2010- Mavericks Comic Shop

2010-05-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

What!? I thought kids didn't read comic books any more!

Judging from the turnout at Mavericks Card and Comic Shop in Dayton, Ohio Saturday afternoon for FCBD (Free Comic Book Day) the rumors regarding a lack of interest in comic books by today's children have been greatly exaggerated. Kids love comic books and the excitement in their eyes as they look for that one special book is still the same as I experienced as a youngster looking through the spinning wire rack at the drug store when I was a boy. The problem isn't a lack of interest on the child's part, it's a lack of follow up on the industry's part. it just sees as if once they've given one token day to providing children with an age appropriate comic book there's no follow up. One day for the kids and then its back to the ultra violence and the harsh language of a dark and angry world.

Kids love comic books and parents like the cost of providing them to their kids when compared to items like video games and electronic gaming machines. In an economy like the one our country is currently experiencing comic books are a wonderful entertainment alternative for children, if only there were more of them available in the marketplace. And I'm not talking about the ones costing twice the price of a regular book, but printed upon the worst quality of paper and containing material that treats children as though they are mentally deficient instead of just young developing minds.

One day a year parents can enjoy a day at the local comic store with their children. One day of light and then the darkness descends upon the landscape once again and everything good and wonderful about comic books is buried beneath a ton of ultra violence and sexual titillation. Three-hundred and sixty-four days of emptiness and silent shops and yet the industry continues to miss the message of FCBD. There's nothing like kids in a comic book store. They are the future of the comic book industry and it's lifeblood.

As I visited website after website and blog after blog the images I saw sent a message that was loud and clear, but no matter how loud and clear any message is, if it falls upon deaf ears and blind eyes it goes unheard, unseen and unheeded. From the ivory towers in New York to their counterparts on the west coast the future of the comic book industry isn't just ignored, it's viewed as an inconvenience. Comic books for young readers are viewed as a waste of time. Movie deals don't come out of comics geared towards young readers. There are too many restrictions to deal with when writing books for young readers. These excuses only hold water to those whose minds are closed and to those who have no interest in young readers. Those living in the ivory towers of the comic book industry have become blinded by the gold in the hills of Hollywood. Potential movie producers are now the main audience being catered to instead of comic book readers and the children we wish to pass our passion on to.

FCBD is a wake up call if the industry chooses to heed it. The comic creators need to come to their senses and shake off the madness of gold fever before the foundations of their industry crumble beneath their feet and their house of cards collapses upon their heads. The truth, the elephant in the room that no one in the industry wants to acknowledge is that we, the comic book reader, haven't abandoned you, it is you who have abandoned us. It isn't the fanboy suffering from the disease of gold fever, it is the comic book creators. The gold you chase in the Hollywood hills is a fool's gold. Just as freely as it flows one day, it dries up on the next and there quickly comes a day when the name on the party guest list belongs to someone else and you are no longer a welcome guest.

FCBD at Mavericks in Dayton, Ohio was a warm and wonderful afternoon. It was good to see so many kids in the shop. Their excitement was infectious and a reminder of the joy we experienced as children when comic books were written with us in mind and weren't yet considered the sole property of mature adults. It was good to see those bygone days again, even if only for an afternoon. Maybe we'll see them again one day, when the gold rush ends.

SPACE 2010

2010-04-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

A friendlier entity I've never encountered.

Have you ever set out on a journey with one goal in mind only to reach the intended destination and discover something entirely different, but even more satisfying than anything you could have ever imagined possible? Such was the case when I spent a delightful Sunday afternoon at SPACE (Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo) 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Now, the tale of how I came to be at this event is worth recounting so bear with me for a moment or two. Like any good story, this one begins with a woman...

My wife is worth any sacrifice. Even when that sacrifice is missing C2E2 in Chicago, Illinois. Yes, I wanted to go so bad I could taste it, but my wife had the opportunity to attend an event in Indianapolis that was equally important to her and since she is always the most important part of my life I made the decision to stay home. Now, she tried to compromise and find a way for both of us to make our trips, but no matter how many obstacles we overcame another would come along to take it's place. The universe just refused to give me a break...

Knowing how disappointed I was at missing C2E2, Jason Young, a friend from Mavericks Comics and Cards in Dayton, Ohio informed me that Guy Davis (B.P.R.D. artist extraordinaire) was going to be at an event I'd never heard of before in Columbus, Ohio called SPACE. Just as my spirits lifted at the prospect of meeting one of my favorite comic book artists, they were brought crashing back to Earth when he told me the dates of the show, April 24th & 25th. My son's birthday is April 24th and I just can't put anything before his happiness any more than I can his mother's happiness. Again, it just seemed as if the universe was actively conspiring to make this one of the worst comic book convention seasons of my entire life.

That night, after all the remnants of my son's birthday celebration had been picked up and taken out to the trash, the dishes done, dried and put away I sat down to rest for a minute. It came to me that I'd fulfilled my obligations to my wife and son and I had earned at least a taste of the convention season in full swing around me. If nothing else, I would have my signed book from Guy Davis and a photo of our moment together. I simply would not be denied. At that moment it became a quest. Together my wife and I began Googling and Map Questing. I threw together a bag, filled my wallet with my available cash reserves and made sure there were fresh batteries in the digital camera and made ready for my journey the following morning.

So I've already blogged about my moments with Guy Davis here and I've also blogged about one of my favorite encounters at SPACE here. (As I continue reading through the pile of comic books I brought home from SPACE there will be be more reviews.) Now I'd like to say a few words about SPACE 2010. First, it doesn't matter how many plasma screen televisions or eight thousand dollar booths or celebrities or movie and television premiers you have, if you don't have a passionate love for comic books you don't have what SPACE has to offer to those who make the annual pilgrimage to Columbus, Ohio.

SPACE is love made visible. It is a fellowship between those who create comic books because they love them, not for the riches they can reap from them. Those who have been in the business take those who are new to the business under veteran wings to offer guidance and encouragement. It is a communion of souls who just want to share their craft. SPACE is a charging of batteries and the opportunity to reinvigorate the creative drive. The energy of the event engulfs you the moment you step into the room and you can't help but be swept up and carried away.

This is one of those events that those in charge of D.C., Marvel and other such giants of the industry need to attend and rediscover what comic books are really all about. For those who have lost their way (and perhaps their creative integrity) among the marinas of San Diego and the bright lights of Hollywood SPACE could serve as a wake up call to what really matters to the viability of the industry, the every day working people who love comic books. Too many creators these days are far more interested in making comic books geared towards the pockets of the shareholder than they are the reader. Too many of these same creators are also more interested in celebrity adulation than customer appreciation. Whereas most comic book conventions have become little more than Hollywood parties and self aggrandizement, SPACE is all about the joy of making and reading comic books.

This was my first year attending SPACE, but it certainly won't be my last. Next year I hope to spend some time with Bob Corby and learn more about the guy who has been putting this show together for eleven years now. I don't know the man yet, but judging from the gathering I witnessed last weekend he's got to be a pretty special kind of person. This event is a labor of love on the part of every single individual who participates in it from the top down. Bob, you're an inspiration. I look forward to meeting you and attending Space again next year.

A Tale Of Two Robots - Wishtales Publishing Studio

2010-04-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

A very warm and decidedly "human" story...

Among my favorite moments during SPACE (Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo) 2010 were those spent in conversation with Tom Dell'Aringa and Steve Ogden of Wishtales Publishing Studios. Along with an obvious bond of friendship and a mutual respect for the talents of the other these gentleman share a profound love for comic books. Their creative philosophy is refreshingly "retro" in that they believe in quality books that can be enjoyed by adults without being age inappropriate for younger readers at the same time. To put it simply, they believe it is possible to engage younger readers without enraging their parents. They believe in books father and son or mother and daughter can sit down and read together, enjoy together with each one taking something of value from the experience.

Since our time together at SPACE 2010 I've now had the pleasure of reading several of the titles available from, Wishtales Publishing Studios. In A Tale Of Two Robots, (Wonderful reading for young children.) Tom Dell'Aringa presents two tales about love and searching for that special someone to share our lives with. The stories are short, to the point and reminded me of one of my favorite books from my own childhood, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's, The Little Prince. This is a book I'll be reading with my son again and again.

Steve Ogden's, Moon Town is a campy science fiction story about a group of miners working on the moon. I don't want to give away any spoilers in issue one, but someone or something is stealing ore and they're not above hurting those who get in their way. This book is perfect for either teens or adults. The story is fun, mature and adult without relying upon profanity or sexual content. I found Moon Town entertaining and will definitely be going online at moon-town.com to read more as it becomes available.

Another offering from Steve Ogden is, Croakers Gorge. Imagine Calvin and Hobbs meets Bloom County amidst the cerebral and scenic beauty of a polluted swamp and you've just introduced yourself to the world of Croaker's Gorge. Yeah it's just that funny...

Now, even though I didn't get to meet the new kid, Eddie Pittman, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention his hilarious web comic, Red's Planet. Again, I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the very first thing I learned from my first visit to Red's Planet is how to get abducted by aliens. Tom Dell'Aringa has promised to send me a copy of Red's Planet and I can hardly wait for it to show up in my mailbox.

Oh, just for poops and giggles, go here. Then come back and tell me what you think. Funny stuff, huh.

Thanks to SPACE 2010 I got to meet a couple of fine gentlemen who introduced me to a great new publishing company. Tom and Steve, Wishtales is now book marked on my computer and I'll be spending a lot more time there in the upcoming days. Thank you for the books, they've become instant treasures in my humble collection.

Guy Davis - Artist and enlightened being...

2010-04-25T16:44:00.000-07:00

Dirk and Guy Davis at SPACE (Small Press And Comic Expo) 2010

Only one time in my life have I ever sat in a room filled with the spirit of genuine enlightenment. It was when I attended an evening with Ram Dass at the Victoria Theater in Dayton, Ohio. He filled a room with his presence and every person in attendance knew that every word he spoke was given straight to them as a gift from the source of all wisdom. I've never felt such presence emanate from another individual in all my life. Until this afternoon when I sat and watched one of the kindest, gentlest souls I've ever witnessed handing out agape love like he had access to an endless supply of it.

Guy Davis has paid his dues. I can't even begin to imagine the hours he's invested in developing his craft, let alone the number of miles he's traveled to sit behind eight foot tables to ply his wares. The man has earned the right to pass over all but the largest of conventions in the most culturally enlightened of metropolitan cities. Yet there he was on a Sunday afternoon in the overcrowded basement of a Columbus, Ohio Ramada Inn with the lights flickering and threatening to go completely dark at any moment, not as a big fish in a little pond, but as one of a group of regular people gathered together to share a common love of comic books.

Pilgrim after pilgrim handed him small drawings, hoping for nothing more than a positive word of encouragement and he treated each offering as if it was a treasure he'd been blessed to receive and he would not allow a single soul to leave his table until he'd traded them for a shirt, a book or a drawing of his own. He made friends, not fans and it was something magical and wonderful to watch. He made each one of us who visited his table feel as if we were the most important person he'd spent time with during the entire afternoon. It was an experience I'll never forget.

I went to SPACE (Small Press & Alternative Comics Expo) in Columbus, Ohio to meet the Legendary, Guy Davis. I could have paid my monies to enter the event, walked to his table, got my photo and autograph and left the convention a completely happy and satisfied man, but Guy gave me something far more valuable than a celebrity photo and a signed book. Guy Davis reminded me how special and unique we all are and that each and every one of has a gift that only we can share with everyone else in the world around us. His gift enabled me to share an afternoon with a wonderful group of people, each one of which enriched the experience of the day and sent me home feeling refreshed, renewed and invigorated.

Space turned out to be far more than I expected it to be. It wasn't just a gathering of small press dealers hawking their wares. It was a fellowship of people who share a genuine passion and love for comic books. We held church and it was indeed a religious experience. SPACE is an event for anyone who reads comic books whether they ever become a collectible item or not. Every collector of comics should make a pilgrimage to this show at least once in their lifetime and experience comic book love in its purest form. This is a convention stripped of plasma screens, Hollywood celebrities and thousand dollar booths. It isn't about major announcements, movie premieres and internet lounges. SPACE is about the books, the people who make them and those of us who read them. It is about shaking hands, exchanging contact information and making new friends. This was my first trip to SPACE, but it certainly won't be my last. My thanks go out to Guy Davis and all of the great people who made this such a wonderful day. See you all next year?

Open letter to Mike Richardson - Dark Horse Comics

2010-04-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

Consumers want answers!

Dear Mr. Richardson:

First off let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Dirk Bauman and I live in Dayton, Ohio. I am a card carrying Liberal and in no way affiliated with any religious organization either conservative or otherwise. I am a loving husband and parent. I am considered an instigator and a rabble rouser by by friends. I don't just question authority, I browbeat it. I believe in asking the tough questions, even of the things I'm most passionate about. I believe in answers, not excuses, justifications or rationalizations.

Let me now say that I consider Dark Horse Comics to be the best publishing house in the business today. I think the titles you produce are consistently among the most original and entertaining books in the marketplace. Dark Horse books are different. What I would like to know from you is, why?

When so many of your competitors books are filled with scantily clad super vixens why are your books so often showcasing regular looking people? Your books are filled with people who look like me. Is this a conscious decision? They dress like me too. Why is that? Why aren't your characters festooned in spandex, spaghetti straps and thigh high boots? Sex sells, why aren't you selling it? Is there something you think is more important in marketing than sexual tension and titillation?

Why are your books so free of profanity? Isn't profanity a natural part of human communication? Don't we all use profanity in the course of our daily conversations? Isn't it important for our children to be exposed to profanity in comic books so they'll be more efficient in it's use as they enter their teenage years? If not comic books, where will our children learn to handle profanity in a mature and adult manner? I'm very concerned that the rational discourse between characters in your books will confuse my child into thinking such communication techniques are an effective method of problem solving in real life.

Why do so many of the stories in your books revolve around what the characters are doing instead of who they are doing? Isn't sexual intrigue and conquest a natural part of the human experience? Again, I'm a parent who cares about my child's intellectual and emotional development- How can I teach him about the importance and value of sexual intercourse without comic books to use as visual aids? Aren't you concerned with educating children? Isn't what they learn important to you?

There are so many questions that need answering. Why aren't you doing major crossover events, don't you believe in making money? Why, when all of your competitors are selling books for $3.99, do you not have a single book in that price range? I'm just confused...

How can you hope to succeed in this industry, at this particular time, during this particular economic climate by ignoring the sensationalist business tactics of your competitors? Surely you don't think the satisfaction of the consumer is as important as the happiness of shareholders? What kind of business model is that? As a concerned consumer, I think we deserve answers.

Sincerely:

Dirk Bauman

Dayton, Ohio

Jim Shooter - Man Of The Atom

2010-04-19T14:46:00.001-07:00

They just keep getting better...

As far as I'm concerned, so far this has been the year of Dark Horse Comics. Week after week as 2010 unfolds, the titles that consistently deliver the most original stories without leaving me feeling angry or disappointed are Dark Horse comics. In an age where shock and awe seem to have replaced genuine character development and legitimate plot lines, Dark Horse refuses to jump on board the bandwagon of sensationalism and is producing quality books where story rules the day and strong characters prevail over strong language and even stronger sexual overtones.

As other companies continue to stock their stables with ever raunchier purveyors of sleaze and soft core porn merchants, Dark Horse continues to provide a home for writers and artists who see the world as something more than a crap-hole that only looks good when filled with half naked women. Don't get me wrong, Dark Horse understands the nature of our imperfect world. Their books don't shy away from the realities of snakes feeding upon kittens or or the fallibility of the human species. Unlike other companies producing comic books these days Dark Horse also understands that in spite of the worst in the world there are moments of nobility and sacrifice that are just as valid as the muck and mire in which we spend much of our collective time.

Dark Horse recognizes the need for balance. Simply because nothing exists in a pure state doesn't negate the truth, reality or value of good. Even if the world is little more than a crap-hole, the real story is in the rising above and not in the wallowing within. I for one am tired of the wallowing stories where only the torment of the players and the final bloody body count are what matter to the tale. These stories may be sensational, but they are not the true story of the human condition. Yes, we may be less than the best we can be, but we are certainly more than the worst we can be. I want stories about more than the dark side of humanity. I want Doctor Solar.

Like Doctor Solar, each one of us contain the spark of divinity. Each of us possesses the ability to perform the miraculous and the power to change daily moments in ways that can change the world. Each of us also contains a dark spark of the ravenous beast that seeks only to feed upon the world and perpetuate no other survival but that of our own. And then there is our humanity; ignorant and unsure, trying to find our truth and purpose with little more to guide us than an insatiable curiosity about all things and a thirst for knowledge. For all his outward appearance of God like power Doctor Solar is still a man. He is an imperfect being with great power trying to make sense of the world and find his place in the universe.

Like all of us, Doctor Solar wields the power of the divine with the less than fully enlightened intellect of the common man. Sometimes he performs miracles and other times, in spite of his best intentions, he produces terrible tragedy. And just like every single one of us, Doctor Solar lives with memory of his actions and tries to make peace with himself and the world around him as best he can. This is the real story of the human condition and not the sleaze filled crap-hole where the only truth is: Abandon all hope, all ye who enter within. I don't care how many hip, young writers at D.C. and Marvel try to convince me that the only real story is that of us wallowing in the crap-hole. I don't care how often they promote the only truth as, nobody gets out of the world unscathed or alive. I've seen better and I know better.

Jim Shooter is the perfect writer for Doctor Solar. In many ways Jim Shooter is Doctor Solar. Jim's a great talent who has produced some amazing comic book work and yet there have been moments where he's stumbled over his own imperfect humanity and produced some incredible tragedy and disaster in both his personal and professional life. Jim has walked through the heavens and he's wallowed in the muck with the best of us. If anyone truly understands Doctor Solar, Jim Shooter is that man.

It is often said that a writer should write what he knows best. If that's really true, Jim Shooter should tell his own story through Doctor Solar- The story of great talent and fallible humanity learning from experience while surviving both great success and soul crushing tragedy and how he's come to make peace with both himself and the world around him. I'd pay money to read that story. And in the end, neither the character's past nor his potential future would matter as much to me as where he stands now. I would not ask of him the ultimate truth, I would only ask of him the truth he knows right now.

Whatever Jim has in store for Doctor Solar I'm just glad the two of them are back. I'm a big fan of both characters and the comic book world is a better place whenever they're a part of it.

Unwritten - Vertigo Comics

2010-04-15T19:24:00.001-07:00

Unnecessary...

This book has been one of my favorite reads since I first picked up issue number one for ninety-nine cents. It has proven consistently well written and woven a sophisticated and engrossing story. I couldn't have been more surprised and disappointed in the crass and vulgar tale that to all appearances seems to have been some sort of ill conceived attempt to set a record for the most times the F-bomb has ever been dropped in a mainstream comic book.

I'll let the book speak for itself.

1. Twenty-two pages of story, only seven of which do not contain the F-Bomb at least once. (One of the seven pages contains the word, shit.)

2. A full list of curse words includes: ass, bastard, bitch, bullshit, cunt, f**k, f**king and shit.

3. Some of the most sophisticated and well written lines of dialog include: "Seriously, Bitch, do not get in my way." "--if you know what's--CUNT!" "You hairless f**king retard." "You flea bitten f**k." "Hey you. Cunt whisker." "Jesus f**king wept." "F**k, f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k, f**k." (Yes, it was seven straight times.) and more...

Seriously, this broadens the comic book base and encourages new readers to pick up and start reading comic books in what way? How many potential readers do you cost the industry for every potential reader you think you're attracting with this kind of content? Artistic integrity? Freedom of speech? At what cost to the vitality of the industry upon which your livelihood depends?

Mike Mignola is creating some of the most engrossing and sophisticated comic books in the marketplace today and you won't find him using such a list of profanity in his dialog. Mignola's stories do not suffer in the least because he makes a conscious choice to reach as many readers as possible without also offending as many of them at the same time.

Scott Allie when asked why he used symbols instead of expletives stated that he doesn't feel the need and that by not using them he isn't sending angry mothers racing down to their local comic book stores to rail at hapless clerks and store owners.

There is a time and a place for everything. Are mainstream comic books really the venue for the type of content some of these young writers are shoving down the throats of the American public? Since when did our only interest in comic books become to be shocked or outraged by every other page of content? Look, I'm a Liberal and an atheist, I believe in the importance and the need for a free press. I read periodicals including The Hightower Lowdown and Mother Jones. Why is it that the only place I'm being assailed by an avalanche of profanity is in the comic books I read? I read copious amounts of printed material including online articles and of all the reading I do on a daily basis only the comic book seems determined to shock and anger me. Why? To what possible benefit to me the consumer?

Telling me that if I don't like it, I'm free to walk away is not an answer that sells more comic books. Disregarding the opinions of others and aggressively alienating people have never been recommended sales tactics in any school of business theory I've ever studied. The industry is suffering because of the attitude of a group of writers who are far more concerned with their rights as individual creators than they are in fostering growth in the industry of which they are but a small part. These writers care about the opinions and interests of fewer and fewer people with every passing book and for all their best efforts they're killing the industry and blaming everything and everyone other than themselves and their childish infatuation with erotic and profanity riddled nonsense.

Its time to grow up and realize that being adult is more than liberal doses of breasts and curse words. Comic books don't need profanity to be sophisticated, hip or entertaining. This was an unnecessary exercise in profanity that wound up crapping all over what could have been a pretty good story. It was immature and childish and I expected better from what has up to this point been a mature and adult read.

Victorian Undead- Wildstorm Comics

2010-04-11T13:27:00.000-07:00

"Alimentary Watson, alimentary."

There's been a lot going on lately so I've been a little too busy to blog. Things are finally calming down a little so it's time to catch up on some of my favorite comic books. Outside of the very cool things going on over at Dark Horse with the Agents of the B.P.R.D. program and the Hellboy/B.P.R.D. titles, Groo and Hellcyon this is being a rather lackluster year for comic books. One of the few exceptions I've found is a book called, Victorian Undead.

Okay, I picked this book up on a whim one day and I've been reading it ever since. Even though I'm normally not much of a zombie fan I am a lifetime fan of Sherlock Holmes and I guess that's what first attracted me to this title. What keeps me reading it is the wonderful little story written by Ian Edginton and tastefully illustrated by Davide Fabbri. This is just plain and simple, a fun and entertaining read. Seriously, this is exactly the kind of tale I think is so lacking in the industry today. Without impossibly endowed bimbos squeezed into ridiculously revealing costumes and the f-bomb dropping like raindrops upon the printed page Victorian Undead manages to provide an engaging and entertaining read.

This is a comic book anyone of any age can read and enjoy. My son and I can share this book without me having to worry about "adult" content that's just inappropriate for a youngster his age. And best of all it isn't ridiculously oversimplified infantile crap that he finds insultingly banal and boring. How interesting are kids comics that offer little more in a storyline than, "See Spider Man. Run, Spider Man, run." Duh...

Victorian Undead is good clean family fun and I recommend it highly. Again, zombies, Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty as the zombie lord combine for a great tale. Well worth reading!

Now, for those of you going to the big Chicago Con this weekend I'd strongly suggest you take the time to sign up for Dark Horse's Agents of the B.P.R.D. program. They've got some wonderful activities planned for you and you don't want to miss out on the fun.

Turn and face the strange...

2010-03-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Cha, cha changes...

After spending the entire weekend and the first two days of this week reading the entire Hellboy/B.P.R.D. series I'm ready to venture a couple of guesses as to what I think is coming in the months ahead for Hellboy and friends.

1. After walking parallel paths for so long it is time for one character to fight for what he's worked so hard to gain and another to regain what he's forgotten for so long. I think we're about to see the awakening of Abe to his true self and I don't think its gonna be pretty. Just as Hellboy will ascend to the light, I believe Abe Sapien will fall from grace. These two friends are about to do battle. Fire versus water. Its a Yin/Yang sort of thing...

2. Kate Corrigan is going to die. Come on, she's wrapped up most of her lines in the story and she now has a love interest. Need I say more? About all she's got left to finish is making her peace with Hellboy and she'll die in his arms when she's done. It'll serve as motivation for Hellboy to do what he's gotta do.

3. Abe is going to kill a lot of the people Hellboy loves in the B.P.R.D. as a misguided effort to anger Hellboy into forsaking his humanity and turning him to the dark side. Fans of the series are going to be screaming bloody murder.

4. I think we're finally going to learn the purpose of the secret organization that created Abe Sapien to be their tool at the end time. Just as we've seen those groups fighting against Hellboy's ascension to the throne so now we'll see the machinations of those who seek to goad him towards fulfilling his original purpose in destroying the human race. They'll serve the purpose of those in the bull ring who inflict any number of small wounds untill the bull is enraged and striking out at anything in front of it.

5. The time has come for Liz Sherman to die. She's been through enough and she's tired. Frankly, I'm ready for her to go. She's always been rather self absorbed and self-centered. She's never really paid much attention to the pain and suffering of those around her. Even though she's one of the most human of the gang she's also one of the least human too. She's isolated and disconnected. I think she'll go down in an act of self sacrifice that will finally raise her above the self adsorbed state of self pity and self loathing she's always waffled between and she'll finally understand that being a part of humanity is serving humanity. She'll discover her connection just as she's dying.

6. We're going to see the big reset button pushed and pushed hard. I think the only real mysteries remaining now are who will be the new stars and whether or not the B.P.R.D. survives the recession. Will there be two titles remaining after the bloodbath or will Hellboy take over the mantle of leadership on a temporary basis and bring the B.P.R.D. and Hellboy titles back together under one banner until such time as the economy rebounds?

We're in for some real changes folks and I think we're gonna see some real attention generated by a title willing to kill off so many of it's flag ship characters in one massive event. I'm not sure who or what will be remaining once the smoke clears, but I'm fairly certain we'll be hard pressed to recognize it as the B.P.R.D. or Hellboy books we've come to know and love.

I don't care what it looks like on screen!

2010-03-12T18:08:00.001-08:00

Long live the king?

It was a little too quiet. Everything was resolving nicely and there were sighs of satisfaction as the good things happened to the good characters and bad things happened to the bad guys. And then came, King of Fear number three and everything you thought you knew about B.P.R.D. and Abe Sapien got turned upside down and turned inside out. If this is the beginning of the new things to come I'm locked, loaded and ready to roll. I've been thinking about this book for a couple of days now and it's finally dawned on me why I love Dark Horse comics so much.

You see, I love stories where the plot revolves around what the characters are doing instead of who they're doing and Dark Horse is one of the few places where those kind of tales are still being done. To me, it just seems that whenever I look at any of the mainstream superhero titles anymore its all about the soap opera drama. I spend more time watching the characters go on and on about their personal lives and whatever they're supposedly doing in the story gets bogged down in psychological minutia. This whole idea of making the characters as "real" as possible has gotten completely out of control.

Somehow a group of young writers have managed to grab the attention of company board members and convinced them that they know what we as comic book readers are interested in reading and they've turned our superhero fantasy world into a paper bound soap opera. And if these young guns are so correct in their assumptions and are indeed giving us, the reader, what we really want in our comic books why are sales dropping so hard and so fast? Why aren't we (the reader)buying more and more comic books if these guys are so zeroed in on what it is we want?

Maybe it's because they don't care about the comic book reader anymore and the only audience they're targeting and catering to is the film industry. Maybe they're so busy catering to what the corporate board members are concerned with, landing big name movie projects, that the real audience for comic books has fallen by the wayside. Readers don't seem to matter much to the new writers making books today. They're so busy writing stories designed towards the eventual film viewers that what they're giving us to read right now just isn't very interesting to us.

Look, the elements that work so well on the big screen just aren't the same as the elements that make a good comic book. The tension between emotionally involved characters that rivets the attention of the movie voyeur isn't the same as the action generated conflict that drives the reader towards a pulse pounding conclusion. Viewers want one thing from a story and readers want something else. The current crop of writers driving the industry right now just don't seem to understand this fact.

Dark Horse is about comic books first and movie deals if they come along. They make books for readers first and it makes their titles so enjoyable to those of us who want our characters doing things and not just talking us to death. There's nothing wrong with a little characterization, but when it becomes the entire focus of the story it bogs down the action and ruins the pace of the comic book. Enough of the screen plays already. Sales figures should be sending the message loud and clear. I don't care what the writers are saying to the board members, they're wrong and what they're doing right now isn't fixing anything. Someone needs to start writing with something more in mind than, "Wouldn't that make a cool movie?"

Dark Horse is publishing books where things happen and stuff gets down. Whether it translates onto the silver screen isn't as important as how it works in the book right now. Their stories keep the reader engrossed and coming back for more and that's what a real comic book should do. I for one am glad they don't have more screen writers working for them, those guys don't know crap about what makes a good read.

Go and read B.P.R.D. King of Fear number three and you'll know what I'm talking about.

Jim Shooter, he's back...

2010-03-09T19:30:00.000-08:00

Free Comic Book Day, 1992

Thanks to Dark Horse Comics Jim Shooter is returning to the game and bringing with him both Solar, The Man Of The Atom and Magnus Robot Fighter. I couldn't be more excited about this fact and in preparation of his return I broke into the great white cardboard vault of my humble collection of books and broke the scotch tape seals upon the plastic storage containers of one of my all time favorite comic book reads; Unity, Time Is Not Absolute the Valiant Comics crossover event of 1992.

In my humble opinion this is still the best crossover event ever produced in the history of modern comics. For those of you who've never had the opportunity to read this eighteen chapter story you just don't know what you're missing. What made this crossover event so unique is that every single issue in the event really mattered. Each and every book in the crossover event was completely dedicated to the Unity, Time Is Not Absolute storyline and as the tale unfolded it was truly majestic in both scope and content. It was special and so were the group of creators who put the event together.

One of the key individuals responsible for this wonderful work was a young man named Jim Shooter. Called bad boy by some, maverick by others and visionary by most of the rest of us, this guy brought something to comics that hasn't been seen since the magical days of Valiant Comics. He brought excitement and promotions that had people waiting outside the doors of their local comic book stores drooling with anticipation. Valiant comics rocked the comic book world in their day. And Jim Shooter was the front man of the organization.

I've always thought of Jim Shooter as one third snake oil salesman, one third carnival barker and two thirds creative genius. Jim is one of the very rare artistic types who knows how to take care of business too. And he loves making money. And he's a bit ruthless. And people seem to think he's a loose cannon and dangerous to work with. I think if Jim Shooter had gone into politics he'd be Carl Rove, but man, I just love the guy. When he's on his game he brings a real excitement to comics.

I hope he just rocks with Doctor Solar and Magnus. I want to see Jim Shooter work his amazing mojo at Dark Horse and show the comic book fans of today what a real writer and a real promoter are all about. I think Dark Horse could use a little Jim Shooter magic. You see, the only complaint I've ever had about Dark Horse is that they're too darn humble and low key. Jim Shooter on the other hand has stones so big you could use them for Olympic Curling. He's got Chutzpah! And he isn't ashamed of the act of promotion like so many people at Dark Horse seem to be. He's loud and proud to be a promoter and he's darned good at it too.

Dark Horse could use a good front man. Don't get me wrong, they've got some talented names on the Marquee, but they're like the original members of the band, Van Halen. Each is extremely skilled in their own right, but they lack the real charisma of a David Lee Roth. Jim Shooter is a David Lee Roth kind of guy. He's got charisma and he draws attention and he holds it like a trained professional. He's star quality and I hope Dark Horse gets him out on the comic con circuit and let's him do what he does best. Jim Shooter will generate interest. Fans like myself would kill for a chance to shake his hand and say hello. Seriously, I'd much rather meet Jim in person than Stan Lee.

Thank you Dark Horse for bringing Jim Shooter, Doctor Solar and Magnus back to my comic book table. I couldn't be happier for everyone involved.

Jim, knock us all dead, Dude...

B.P.R.D. agent man...

2010-03-05T19:22:00.001-08:00

Professor Trevor Bruttenholm needs you!

Good evening Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea. We interrupt our normally scheduled bog entry this evening to bring you a special news bulletin. Once again our country stands upon the precipice of war and the clarion call of patriotic duty now rings out across this great land. Paranormal activities are at an all time high and supernatural forces are preparing even at this very moment to launch attacks of unparalleled ferocity against the world and the human species that call it home. Now is the time for all good and courageous souls to come to the aid of mankind.

Do you have what it takes to fight the supernatural forces threatening not only our freedom, but perhaps even our continued existence upon the Earthly plane as well? Do you possess psychic abilities including but not limited to telekinesis, psychokinesis, or astral projection? Are you able to communicate with undead spirits? Are you currently a practicing psychic or medium? Do you have magical abilities? Are you skilled in the mystic arts of alchemy?

If you've answered yes to any of the questions above you may have what it takes to don the uniform of the the B.P.R.D. and fight side by side with the few, the proud, the elite against evil and the forces of darkness. If you think you've got the physical stamina, the spiritual fortitude and the purity of heart to stand toe to toe with the endless hordes of demonic denizens from Hell and prevail in the face of overwhelming adversity, don't hesitate another minute.

Contact
Trevor Bruttenhold

Hurry

The B.P.R.D. Needs You!

(Additional Secret Benefits will be revealed upon a need to know basis.)

And did we tell you the name of the game, boy...

2010-03-03T19:36:00.000-08:00

So many hands in so many pockets...

Yes, Nick Simmons is responsible for the contents of the book that bears his name. He claims to be the creator of the work and I'll leave it to the courts to determine what part he played (if any.) in any illegal acts of plagiarism he may or may not have have committed in the production of his book, Incarnate. Whatever the case may be with Nick Simmons I have serious issues with the number of hands this book passed through before it hit comic store bookshelves without a single person in the process asking the same questions so many others in the marketplace are now asking. After all, these people are supposed to be the "professionals".

H-m-m-m...

Professionals like those at Studio Il? Now, I don't know how familiar you are with the Radical format Nick's book was designed under, but here's the quick skinny. The Radical Publishing comic book is actually two books worth of material in a single book. They charge a bit more up front of course, but the reader gets more material and I guess even saves a little money in the long run by only having to buy three books instead of six. This means there were a lot of pages of Nick's artwork in the hands of the Studio Il crew who were doing inks, backgrounds and color for the book. (See their blog entry dated 09-03-09)

If you visit their website, as I've done numerous times in the last week since this story first broke, you'll quickly come to notice that these people are all about the Manga style of art. Take a look at the examples of their work listed here or here. Admittedly I'm no expert on the subject, but it seems to have a very distinct Manga flavor to me. No one noticed that the panels they were working on had a familiar feel to them? What, they love drawing Manga, they just don't read it? Either the company doing the work for Nick Simmons was very stupid or very sloppy. Or was it something else entirely?

Clearly from the blog entry posted above Studio Il was working hard to meet deadlines. They publicly expressed how much they were enjoying working on the Incarnate project for Radical Publishing and how much they were looking forward to future opportunities. Is it possible corners were cut and short cuts taken? So far StudioIl has chosen to remain silent and have issued no statement on what may or may not have happened in regards to their efforts on Nick Simmons behalf.

Personally, I don't know if 'd ever entrust my son's career to a group of "professionals" who proved so inept at helping someone as high profile as Nick Simmons avoid potential career ending pitfalls, including those of his own making. That's part of what professionals are paid to do. Why did these people fail him so completely?

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd like to hear what they have to say, but so far they aren't talking.

Don't even get me started on Radical Publishing. All I keep seeing in my mind is a yacht full of corporate executives smoozing it up with big daddy Gene Simmons while his son's career drifted off into the sea of oblivion and ruin. They wind up with a wall full of celebrity handshake photos and Nick Simmons winds up on a wall of shame. I want answers. I want to know how they fell asleep at the helm and let such a fiasco happen. I really do...

We may never get answers. Unfortunately it's looking like no one's interested in raising much more of a stink over this than has already been raised and this is just another ugly little dust bunny the industry would rather sweep under the bed and forget than use as an opportunity to improve the standards by which the artists work and the publishers produce their product for the marketplace. Make no bones about it, I think Nick Simmons may have made a mistake and he is being punished in ways I'm sure he never imagined possible. That being said I also think it's a crime the way Nick's being used as a human shield by corporate executives who filled their office walls with cheesy photographs of themselves posing with Gene Simmons and carted off as much of the family fortune as they could line their pockets with until the gravy train ran off the tracks.

There are those who believe the actions of Nick Simmons to be inexcusable and criminal. I won't argue with them, they have a right to their opinion. But I think Nick was also a victim here too. He was in the hands of professionals whose job it was to keep such a disaster from ever happening and they failed him miserably. Even if it was just a matter of criminal stupidity on their parts, they failed him and they're getting away with it completely unscathed. Sorry Nick, but that's how the wolves roll...

Voices carry....

2010-03-02T14:23:00.001-08:00

I know who Bleach is now...

I've never been much of a fan of Manga. I've just never had anything in the genre catch my interest and the artistic styling just isn't my cup of tea. That being said I have to admit a new found respect for the fans of Manga and their willingness to stand up in defense of the characters and the artists who create them when it appeared that someone may have copied some of the works and attempted to pass them off as his own.

As many of you may be aware of by now, Nick Simmons has been accused of plagiarism in his recently released book, Incarnate. Now, I'm not going to go into the allegations here because that's not the focus of this piece. (You can however go here and find any number of helpful links to catch up on the story.) What I'd like to talk about here is the group of people who've reaffirmed my belief in the power of individuals uniting around a common cause and fighting for something they believe in.

Make no bones about it, the individuals at this Facebook site have rallied around a common cause and they're fighting mad at Nick Simmons. This group of individuals share a passion for Manga/Anime that up until a few days ago I had no idea existed in this country. Thousands of individuals from all across America have banded together to voice their outrage at what they perceive to be heinous criminal act against manga creator Tite Kubo. (I say "perceive" because nothing has yet been proven in a court of law.) This group of united spirits have managed to draw attention to an issue in a way I'll bet dollars to doughnuts a whole lot of corporate executives thought could never happen or would ever happen. This group has proven that the market is not nearly as stupid as they thought we were and I applaud their efforts for having made this point perfectly clear to the publishing industry.

I hope those of us throughout the entire comic landscape, whatever our favorite genre or flavor may be, take heed of this group and the shear size of the number of voices they brought together to speak their minds about what they will and will not tolerate in the books they spend their hard earned monies for. They have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt the power of the comic book consumer; When we combine our voices we can make a difference. Instead of swallowing everything they feed us and thanking them for inferior product we can speak out and say, "Enough is enough! We do know crap when we see it and we're not going to take it anymore!". Bravo and well done!

Whatever winds up happening or not happening in the judicial system concerning Nick Simmons and his book Incarnate, this group of individuals have shown me something I thought no longer existed in the nation of comic book readers. They've shown me an active, interested and fully engaged fan base that isn't as easily fooled as some in the ivory tower of the corporate elite believed us to be. This group has earned respect and I'd like to go on record and say, "Well done good souls! I like your style and you've got my respect no matter what Nick Simmons, Radical Publishing or anyone else might think of you."

On a personal note: I'd like to thank Ross Cameron, Dianne Pacheco and Silena Buckelew for taking the time to help me learn a little bit about Manga, Anime and Cosplay and showing me what great people Manga fans really are. (Yes Silena, I did visit your Facebook page and when I saw the cosplay reference I googled and researched what it meant...) Ross, send me your web comic link so I can add it to my links. Dianne, you are a great person to burn the midnight oil talking to. Thanks to all of you!

Oh, can anyone recommend a book or two to read so I can see if I've missed something in Manga I might want to read and expand my horizons a bit?

I think I'm a bit more open to it now than I used to be...

Nick Simmons and Incarnate...

2010-02-26T19:23:00.000-08:00

WTF was I thinking?

I've never been a big KISS fan. I am however a big fan of the A&E reality show, Family Jewels featuring KISS front man Gene Simmons and his family. My wife got me to watch a couple of episodes and it wasn't long before we were both regular viewers thanks in no small part to Sophie and Nick, the two children of Gene Simmons and his romantic partner Shannon Tweed.

Unlike so many reality shows revolving around celebrities and their families Family Jewels hasn't been a dysfunctional tale of alcohol and drug induced delirium. Gene Simmons and his family have been a shining example for those of us in the "Nation of Rock" to rub in the faces of christian conservatives and gleefully proclaim, "We're not all pot heads and wastrels! See, we have values too." Sophie and Nick Simmons have served as proof that we of the Nation of Rock are just as capable of raising good children as any of our bible thumping counter parts.

When I heard that Nick Simmons was producing a comic book under the Radical Publishing banner I was more than a little interested in seeing what he had to offer so I added Incarnate to my pull file and waited to see what he had to offer the comic book world. I liked the series from the very first book even though I'm no lover of Manga and by the end of the third book I was a fan of Incarnate and looking forward to more of Nick's work. I'd been impressed with both his pencil work and writing abilities.

Then came the story this afternoon of his plagiarism. I've seen the panel comparisons and the overlays and yes, the evidence is pretty damning. I don't know what Nick was thinking or why he did what he did, but if he's an individual of even half the character he appears to be he's regretting the mistake and wishing he'd never made the errors in judgment he's being publicly vilified for at this moment. It sucks to be Nick Simmons right now and I'm sure no one is torturing him more than himself. Well maybe his sister, Sophie or his famous dad, Gene...

Jesus, it must really suck to be Nick Simmons right now.

I think this mistake is the exception to his character and not the rule of it. He's young and who among us did not pull some fairly boneheaded stunts of our own when we ourselves were young? Unlike a lot of people I don't think Nick Simmons is either a douche or a scum bag. He's a good kid who made a dumb mistake, but he certainly isn't evil incarnate. I think people need to call him out for his actions, but let's not forget that at the end of the day he's still just a kid who did something stupid and there's no need to crucify him for it.

I'm still a fan of this kid and I hope he mans up to his actions and apologizes for his lapse in judgment and grows on to have a good career in the comic book industry or whatever endeavor he undertakes with the rest of his life.

Look, I'm a lot older than Nick Simmons and I'm still making mistakes. As much as I hate to admit it, I still haven't figured everything out and I still manage to stumble over the simplest of things on a daily basis. I guess I can take some measure of solace knowing I'm just as human as someone as famous as Nick Simmons.

Nick, hold your head up and don't let this keep you down. Be humble, be truthful and the furor will die away. Just learn from this mistake and don't let it happen again. Okay?

After all, what's wrong with a little kiddie porn?

2010-02-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

Laura Hudson
(Fighting for our right to own and enjoy child pornography.)

I recently found myself engaged in a difference of opinion involving Ms. Laura Hudson (Comics Alliance) and her support of Lolicon Manga. Ms. Hudson is seemingly of the opinion that free speech and personal liberty are in danger of forever disappearing if a genre of Manga involving illustrated tales of sexual activities between adults and children are deemed illegal and possessing such materials made punishable by imprisonment. Ms. Hudson also appears to believe that those of us who disagree with her "educated" opinion would use such a ban on lolicon Manga as a starting point to strip away all of the civil liberties we in America enjoy today.

Thankfully such extremist beliefs did not win the day when our country was creating laws to abolish slavery, child labor or rape. Each of these laws striped away a personal liberty from any number of individuals and yet far from being diminished, the character of our country was actually strengthened and the quality of our democratic union greatly improved by these restrictions.

Ms. Hudson says, "Thoughts are not actions, drawings are not people, and believing that someone might commit a crime is not the same thing as someone doing it." (Italics mine.)

I would agree with her up to a point, but even the most rudimentary of psychological schools of thought will agree that thought and action are connected. Ask any black person or Jewish Holocaust survivor if the impact of a racially motivated action is lessened because it is "only an illustration". Ask any therapist in America what they'll do if an individual begins handing in drawings entitled, I want to kill my wife and children. The patient may not actually be committing the crime, but the attending therapist will treat the drawings as a sign of potentially harmful action and they'll call the police. There are many institutions that understand what Ms. Hudson does not, "some ideas are very dangerous" and that whatever form of media they manifest themselves in they are not a sign of healthy attitudes.

Ms. Hudson continues, "The most important difference between child pornography and drawings, of course, is that making child porn involves the abuse of real children, while drawings are not people and so creating them involves no abuse. Real people also have actual ages, whereas drawings do not, and thus the difference between an adult and a child." (Italics mine.)

Now, I'm not sure what actual people having actual ages and drawings not, have to do with the difference between an adult and a child, but birth certificates have no affect upon the impact either filmed or illustrated pornography is intended to have upon the viewer. Pornography is pornography. Creating Manga designed to cater to a taste for sexual intercourse with children is obscene, exploitative and degrading. It is abusive in nature and perverse in content. There is nothing nurturing, educational or scientific about it. Its sole purpose is titillation and to suggest other wise is lunacy.

Ms. Hudson says, "This is obviously adult X-rated content, and no one is suggesting that it be made available to children."

Duh, thanks for understating the obvious. Of course no one is suggesting selling this type of material to children. The producers of kiddie porn know who their target demographic is and they write the words and provide the accompanying illustrations to reach their intended reader/viewer. I doubt there are very many children looking to spend their weekly allowance monies on kiddie porn instead of Pokemon cards. Any idiot knows this, well almost any idiot.

Ms. Hudson states, "the fundamental principle of free speech is that people have the right to express and read what they choose whether other people like it or not."

Maybe to the adolescent mind this might appear to be a valid interpretation of the "First Amendment" but clearly she's neglected to research either the amendment or the history about its creation. Intelligent scholars and informed adults understand that the amendment is just as concerned with what is considered acceptable speech and what is not considered acceptable speech.

Last but not least, Ms. Hudson says, "And I'm secondarily concerned because it can be a very subjective thing to decide whether an imaginary character is a minor or adult. How do you tell the difference between a character who is 17 or 18, particularly in a genre with the "younger" artistic conventions of manga? No one should go to prison over such a subjective judgment."

In Japanese culture where Manga is an accepted artistic and literary device, Lolicon Manga is looked upon with disdain because the average Japanese citizen, unlike Ms. Hudson, has no difficulty in understanding the illustrations contained in Lolicon Manga. They know kiddie porn when they see it. For Ms. Hudson to assert that We're just to ignorant to reach the same decision with our own eyes is ludicrous. And I'm not sure what intellectual limitations Ms. Hudson may suffer from, but even if I wasn't one hundred percent sure of exactly what the illustrations were portraying, I could probably read the written content and confirm my suspicions one way or another. Duh...

Right now the comic book landscape is dominated by individuals in their early to late twenties. I am continually perplexed by their opinion of what constitutes adult behavior and interests. Apparently Ms. Hudson seems to believe that the average American citizen loves nothing more than sitting down after a hard day at work and enjoying a warm slice of apple pie and a rousing book of kiddie porn. She seems to believe that this activity is such a normal part of American life that she has decided to champion the cause and fight for our right to possess and enjoy as much child pornography as our hearts may desire. I'm sure the vast majority of us feel ever so grateful for her actions on our behalf.

Well, maybe just a very small percentage of select individuals...

We are family...

2010-02-11T21:07:00.001-08:00

Seriously, people are gonna start talking...

And when they do, I hope they realize just what a great bunch of people are running the Dark Horse organization. Is anyone starting to get it yet? They really do care about us; the readers of comic books. And it isn't just any one particular demographic either. From the youngest to the oldest amongst us. Male and female alike. Dark Horse truly understands that our shared love for comic books is a common bond that brings us together as a family.

Isn't that what we are when you think about it? Who else gets us but each other? Who else can you sit around and talk too for hours about all things Star Wars or Buffy? Issues? We've got hundreds of them bagged, boarded and tucked away in long white boxes. It's a passion with us and it's something that gets beyond the individual differences between us and sits us down together to share a common experience, the reading of comic books.

Let me tell you something about my brothers and sisters at Dark Horse. They don't just love their comics, they love everybody's comics. In almost every conversation I've ever had with anyone at Dark Horse they're as quick to mention their competitors books as they are their own. I'm always amazed on Wednesdays when I'm talking about what Dark Horse books I'm planning to pick up that day just how many suggestions they offer about books that aren't even their own. That's a genuine love for comics. I can't imagine Dark Horse ever asking me to rip the cover off of a competitors book because that's just not something family does to family.

What Dark Horse is doing right now isn't just a contest, it's the creation of a family album. It's a tribute to the most important member of the comic book family, we the readers. I'm proud to be a member of the family and I'd like to meet as many others of you as possible in the upcoming months. Please send in your photos and introduce yourself. As for me, my name is Dirk Bauman, I love Dark Horse and I love comic books.

Even grizzled old bikers know...

2010-02-08T14:48:00.000-08:00

Dark Horse, when you care enough to read the very best.

"Top Ten Reasons Why Dark Horse is my favorite Valentine."

10. They still have room in their books for fan letters.

9. They have lots of great contests with cool prizes.

8. They love talking comics with their readers.

7. They have the best website.

6. They have rockin' free comics at Dark Horse Presents.

5. They have amazing talents like Mike Mignola, Scott Allie, The Hernandez Brothers, Guy Davis and many others working to produce the very best comic books in the world on a monthly basis.

4. They're really easy to follow on both Facebook and Twitter.

3. They're a fine bunch of bowlers. (Who knew!?)

2. They're home to the legendary, Diana Schutz and she knows excellence when she sees it.

1. Because I say so! And I know what I'm talking about...

Applegeeks...

2010-02-06T21:00:00.000-08:00

Smart, contemporary and darn funny!

Okay, I'm a big enough man to admit I'm wrong. It doesn't happen often, but when it does I'm perfectly willing to man up and admit it. So here goes. I was wrong, not all web comics suck. Thanks to a new buddy of mine who's been making some pretty good recommendations about things I might be interested in checking out, I have at long last been directed to a truly well written and illustrated web comic, applegeeks.

Written by Ananth Panagariya and illustrated by Mohammad F. Haque, applegeeks is a sophisticated and polished running commentary on everything Hip in American culture today. From the latest in technological toys to what's hot on television or in the movie theaters applegeeks has something to say about a variety of hot topics. And they're laugh out loud funny!

At the heart of applegeeks is a story about a group of young kids trying to find their place in the world while mastering the technology driving the culture around them. Armed with an impressive array of Apple hardware, laptops and cellphones there's no problem too big for these stalwart adventurers to handle. This is social networking at it's best and an adventure not to be missed. Teen angst has never been more fun.

Thanks go out to my bud, "The Sock Monkey of Love" for pointing my browser in the direction of this amazing web comic. Dude, you always seem to know where to find the good stuff...

If you're like me and just can't get enough of the goodness that is applegeeks online you can always check out these amazing TPB collections of applegeeks here and here. Trust me, it's the most fun you can have with your I-Pad turned off.

"Hey, buddy. Wanna buy a cheap comic?"

2010-01-31T09:27:00.000-08:00

Adult yes, but is it mature?

Now admittedly I've been out of the comic game for awhile and I've missed some things, but I've also been a part of the comic game for a long time and I remember some things too. As I reengage and work to catch up with the comic book landscape I've noticed some significant changes, some which I consider to be positive and some of which I consider to be negative. One important change I've noticed is the effort to have comic books recognized as a serious and legitimate literary art form. It's become very important for comic books to be seen as more grown up and adult and as much as I applaud this effort I think its having an unintended consequence that's hurting the industry and killing sales in the marketplace. Comic books just aren't fun anymore.

Everywhere I look its Noir and brutality, sex and infidelity. If the language in comic books doesn't offend you the amount of blood and savagery will. Comic books may indeed be more adult and graphic than they've ever been, but there isn't a lot of fun in them these days. And for all of the warning labels plastered across the front of the books there isn't a lot of maturity between the covers. Oh, there are plenty of breasts, barely clad women and f-bombs dropping like cluster bombs in Afghanistan and even though this type of content may be considered adult in content it's certainly far from mature in nature. And it certainly isn't fun because its so hard to share them with anyone.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be embarrassed to leave my comic books laying open around the house. Never did I think I'd have to wait until my son turns eighteen before we could sit together and read a comic book. And I never thought I'd have to explain to my son that I read comics for the articles inside and not the pictures of half naked women plastered throughout them. By the time my son's old enough to appreciate my comic collection he won't have any interest in them because we weren't able to share them due to the graphic nature of the content inside them. It's not fun not being able to share something I love so much with my son simply because a group of young writers in the industry right now can't seem to tell a good story without liberal doses of nudity and vulgar language.

How about bringing a little fun back to comics. How about writing some Batman stories I can sit down and read with my youngster. How about writing some stories my youngster can read without filling his vocabulary with words like shit, fuck, Hell, and damn. (And don't give me any crap about going to Disney books if I don't like it. That's just a stupid and simplistic rebuttal.)

I'm tired of reading comic books and feeling dirty afterwords. I'm tired of having to keep comic books out of my child's hands instead of putting them into them as a way of encouraging him to read. The future of the industry is dying because so many of us who are parents can't develop and nurture the same love for comic books we knew as children because they're not appropriate for young readers anymore. Young kids aren't reading comics because they lack interest, they're not reading them because they're being discouraged from doing so by parents like me. Parents who grew up with and still maintain a love for something that is now completely inappropriate to share with our sons and daughters.

It's time for the comic book industry to grow up. It's time to ease up on the adult content of nudity and course language and bring back the more mature elements like good story telling and language suitable for anyone in the whole family. In the meantime I'll continue to encourage my child to read anything but comic books. That saddens me, it really does.

There's no place like home...

2010-01-29T12:30:00.000-08:00

Baseball cards and comics!

2312 E. Dorothy Lane
Kettering, Ohio 45420
(937) 294-4900

It was the day the music died for those of us who'd been traveling to the Bookie Parlor for so many years in search of our weekly comic book fix. I'll never forget the day when an anxious knot of us gathered outside Hal's establishment and for the life of us couldn't imagine why his shop was locked up tight and dark inside on a Wednesday afternoon. On a Wednesday!? We waited. And we waited. And Hal never showed. Not that day or any day thereafter. Hal had died.

Eventually everybody began to accept the reality that the Bookie Parlor wasn't going to open and conversation inevitably turned towards alternative supply sources for the acquisition of our comic book fix. That's when a young man turned to the group and said, "There's a little store down the street at Dorothy Lane and Woodman called, Mavericks." And that's how I started a nearly twenty-five year relationship with the store where I still buy my comics today.

Although Mavericks has been in operation since 1981 I tend to believe that it's continued success began when current owner, Jack Poland took over the store in the late eighties. Jack is a throwback to the days of the "mom and pop shop" where customers were treated as members of a family rather than interchangeable cogs in the great machine of commerce. You'll always get as warm a welcome from Jack whether you spend a hundred dollars or simply window shop.
Jack brought heart to Mavericks and a love for comics as deep and abiding as the passions of the most fervent of reader. His knowledge of character and story lines is second to no one's and talking comics with him is always a joy. But the one thing I like about Jack the most is his love for kids. I don't think I've ever seen a youngster with any sum of money in his pocket less than a nickel walk out of Mavericks without something that didn't have his eyes aglow with wonder. Jack Poland nurtures and encourages children in ways I wish more of us took the time to do with our own sons and daughters. I love taking my son to Mavericks and I love introducing him to a part of the family I hope he'll enjoy spending time with for many years to come.

Just as one single ingredient doesn't make a successful dish so Jack Poland isn't the only reason for the popularity of Mavericks. Jack has surrounded himself with quality people who are as enthusiastic about comic books and collectibles as he is himself. Between the minds of Jason Young, Jeremy Hoyt, Matt Brassfield and Glenn Mason I don't believe there is a single topic from comic books to Magic the Gathering to sports memorability that this brain trust can't help you with. I trust these individuals to make recommendations for my pull file and that's about the highest compliment as a comic book reader I can give them. (They always seem to suggest something new and interesting instead of pushing something commercial upon me.)

Mavericks is more than just a store where I buy my comics, it is the home of my friends. Every Wednesday is a family get together where everyone in attendance comes together to share in the camaraderie that only those who share a common passion can know. Yes, we do love our comics, but we also love this homey shop and the good people who keep it going year after year. If you're looking for a comic home, I'd suggest giving Mavericks a try. We'd love having you join the family.

Don't marsh my mellow, Dude...

2010-01-28T22:55:00.000-08:00

And the truth will set you flee...

One of my favorite Dark Horse titles in 2009 was the Hernandez brother's, Citizen Rex. It was a black and white title that took me back to the days of my youth where most of my favorite characters were of the underground variety: Captain Pissgums, Wonder Wart Hog, Fritz the Cat and Cheech Wizard. Man, you sure don't find many comics like those in the mainstream market today...

Or so I thought until I sat down to read Scott Allie's, Exurbia. Set in a world whose inhabitants are more likely closer to their television sets than the people around them, writer Scott Allie weaves a complex tale of one man's wounded spirit and his eventual redemption with the help of a rodent messiah.

Disillusioned and disenfranchised slacker Gage Wallace finds himself thrown into the crucible of self analysis and change when his world is turned upside down and he suddenly finds himself a hunted criminal on the lam accused of crimes he did not commit. During his flight across the mean streets of Exurbia Gage relives an incident from his past that scarred his conscious leading him to give up the good fight and surrender to the apathy so prevalent in the city around him. Dealing with his past issues allows him to grow beyond them and in the end return to the one thing that brings to his life a true sense of meaning and purpose.

Sporting a cast of characters including Brenda, the girlfriend, Nor and Zero, the dynamic duo of boredom and self absorption and a rat who may or may not be a messiah, Exurbia presents a madcap and sometimes scathing examination of the culture of culture and the electronic medium upon which it plays out in our daily lives. It is a satisfying and entertaining read and the Rat's final "answer" left me chuckling for hours.

Dark Horse Spoiler Alert!

2010-01-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

You saw it here first...

Words simply can't convey the level of excitement that coursed through my entire body when I received this gem in the mail. I swooned, I trembled, I think I may even have done something in my pants I hadn't done since the night of my honeymoon. (My first honeymoon.) Just look at the cover! Is that the coolest thing since William Shatner or what? And the (Censored) stories inside are awesome.

Let me back up for a minute. I guess when you get all loud and proud about your feelings for the many fine people and the wonderful products they work so hard to produce at Dark Horse, they take notice and aren't shy about letting you know how appreciated your words are to them. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened my mailbox to find the enclosed copy of the AVP Special Edition Hardbound Book containing the stories (Censored) and (Censored).

Yes, I may have been asked not to scan, photograph or publish images to my blog, but c'mon, you don't just send out goodies like the one pictured above and expect exuberant fans like myself to be quiet about it. I'm telling everyone! "Look what I got!"

And if you haven't seen it yet; you're gonna love it when you open your copy of AVP Special Edition Video Game and find this awesome little book inside. It really is very cool and damn if it isn't a brand new kind of Dark Horse product I'd like to see a lot more of...

Thank you good people at Dark Horse for the wonderful surprise. I'll be sure to continue blogging about what I believe to be the very best publisher of comic books in the marketplace today.

I hope to see many others in the blogosphere joining me.

Until then, Make Mine Dark Horse!

And I'm gonna make Hanna Montana my ho...

2010-01-22T21:03:00.001-08:00

"Sup, Bitches?"

What's the real message here? Is this Disney's way of saying they're not Mickey Mousing around anymore? Is this the new team logo for the Marvel/ Disney franchise, Deadpool flanked by Snow White and Cinderella? Or is this Marvel's way of showing us what could have been if only we'd bought more of their product line?

And what's up with the stupid headband bearing his name on it? Is that a souvenir from a recent trip to a certain theme park?

"So Deadpool, what are you going to do now that Disney has completed it's purchase of Marvel?"

"I'm going to Disneyland!"

I don't care how anyone tries to spin this fiasco, it's one of the worst promotions I've ever witnessed. The only thing stupider I heard today was the new Minnesota Viking fight song written by Prince.

(And I'm starting to think I know who provided him with his inspiration...)

Homegrown goodness.

2010-01-21T12:39:00.000-08:00

Don't let the name fool you.

Every Wednesday I make the weekly pilgrimage to my local comic book store, Mavericks in Dayton, Ohio to pick up the latest releases of my favorite comic books. One of the many things that keep me returning to this shop is the nice selection of small press comic books they keep on hand. Often times while waiting for the store's shipment of mainstream books to arrive I'll spend some time perusing the small press selection of titles looking for something to catch my eye. That's how I stumbled across my first issue of, Scrap.

From the moment I started reading this book I was immediately drawn in to the world of Scrap. Barely more than a large crater, the skies overhead filled with electrical storms (Believed by some to be portals.) whose appearance always heralds a rain of debris from the sky it is a harsh and hostile environment. The general population is divided into two groups, the Foragers who live within the walls of Centre City and, the Scrappers who live in and search the piles of debris for salvageable materials .

The first story arc revolves around Il'Eigha and the Ceraf who first attacks and then establishes a symbiotic bond with the young girl. Il'Eigha once lived within the relative safety of Centre City until circumstances forced her out into the debris fields to begin a new life as a scrapper. Taking pity upon a child younger than her own tender years she is herself attacked by the same Ceraf, (A creature who feeds upon energy sources to sustain itself.) after it drains the boy of his life energies. The ensuing battle between Il'Eigha and the Ceraf, first for her very life and then for her own individual identity and self awareness is a compelling story.

I'd almost forgotten all about the harsh world of Scrap and the struggle of Il'Eigha to find balance in the symbiotic relationship she now shared with the Ceraf. I 'd never seen another issue on the shelves of Mavericks until this past Wednesday when lo and behold there it was, issue number two. I grabbed the single copy available and joyfully added it to the stack of goodies I' d already gathered and couldn't wait to get it home.

Now, the creative team of Cris Martin/pencils, Cris Hoskins/inks and grays, and Brandon (BJay) Johnson/writer may not be as familiar to you as the creative teams behind such popular titles as, Darkest Night, Siege, Batman or Thor, but their efforts are no less creative or entertaining to read. I have thoroughly enjoyed the first two issues of Scrap and will continue to follow this book as long as they continue to produce it. Everything about this book is good, except for the regularity with which it appears on store shelves, but as good as this title is I can certainly find it in my heart to forgive such a minor flaw.

In an age where the "Big Two" are more often than not the "Big Pee-Yew" and I find myself turning to other sources for comic book pleasure, Scrap is a delightful find. The book is unique and a very refreshing change from the endless monotony of crossover events and "Rainbow Bright" superheroes that seem to dominate the mainstream landscape today. And it is a homegrown product made right here in Dayton, Ohio my very own hometown.

Every week I talk to fellow comic book readers who do nothing but complain about the sorry state of the comic books they're spending their hard earned dollars on. When I ask them why they're still buying the titles I always get the same response, "I've been collecting the book my whole life and I just can't stop picking up issues now!"

That's no reason to buy a book! Look, I've been around long enough to learn that just because you've been doing something stupid, doesn't mean you have to keep on doing it. There are alternatives to the "Big Two" line of comic books. You don't have to keep buying bad books just because you've been doing so for a long time now. You can try something new. I'd suggest, Scrap. It's a smart choice...

Following my muse...

2010-01-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

It was probably just the wind...

If I was a camp counselor gathered around the final campfire on the last night before the kids were to leave for home in the morning and I wanted them to have that one magical moment they'd never forget for the rest of their lives, I'd ask Scott Allie to tell a ghost story. I close my eyes and I can hear the sounds of a crackling fire and crickets chirping in the night. I can hear the voice of Scott as he begins a tale with, "It was a night where the mist upon the moors seemed to writhe and coil around our legs like a living beast..."

Wherever he'd take the tale from there I'd know for a certainty that by the time he reached the end of it the kids would be taking home the story they'd never forget. That is the magic of Scott Allie. The way he tells a story captures the imagination and holds you spellbound from start to finish. And he does it in that quiet voice that has you holding your breath and hanging upon every word. He doesn't horrify or terrorize. He doesn't send you screaming into the night. He simply fascinates and mesmerizes his audience with the well crafted tale.

In an age where so many seem to believe that bigger and grander is better, Scott Allie weaves wondrous magic from the simplest of threads. And he does it in every story he tells. From the scraggiest of moors to the humble streets of Exurbia Scott always manages to lift the most ordinary of moments into the realm of poignancy. Don't believe me? Go here and read his wonderful piece on Myspace Dark Horse Presents. Go ahead, I'll wait...

Nice, huh? A return for deposit bottle. The simplest of items become the vehicles for the most profound of adventures. Scott has a real gift for it. He tells our stories; the tales of the everyday Joe. And the way he does it makes our tales as wondrous as any space opera to be found in the world of comics today. He makes me feel good about us when so much else only seems designed to make me feel bad about us.

What does this have to do with Solomon Kane you ask? I'm not sure, but sometimes a writer just has to follow wherever the muse leads him and tonight she beckoned me into the deep waters of one fine writer, Mr. Scott Allie. Now go enjoy the beginning of a good scary story, read Solomon Kane, Death's Black Riders part one. And when you've finished with that, go out and buy Exurbia the TPB. I think you'll like that too...

Go, Speed Racer...

2010-01-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

"Gentlemen, start your engines."

Action is not the only ingredient in a good story. Right now comic book plot lines remind me less of good stories to read than they do Nascar races to watch. Every book begins with all the racers lined up with their engines revving and waiting for the flag to drop. As soon as the flag drops they begin frantically racing around the track jostling for position while doing all they can to eliminate the competition from getting to the finish line first. Every now and then an announcer says something like, "There's been bad blood between these two since the Talladega incident last season." and that adds motivation and drama to the spectacle.

I dare say you could take any Nascar race, assign character names (IE: Hulk, Batman, Thor, Superman or any combination of heroes for the team concept.) to each of the cars on the television screen and whatever crashes, bumps, scrapes and lead changes occur during the event, convert them to action panels in a comic book story board and you've got yourself a "Major Crossover Event" that can run for twenty or thirty issues. There's just that little of difference between the two forms of entertainment right now. Change the name of the event, slap a new coat of paint on the cars and they're off again. Going round and round and round in circles.

Every time monthly sales figures are released the numbers speak for themselves. More and more readers are walking away from the spectacle of watching the vehicles go round in circles. The big explosions, the fights between drivers and the spectacle of the fatal crash have run their course and no matter how well announcers like Johns and Bendis narrate the race, the spectacle has become repetitive and boring. Excuses aren't changing this fact...

The real reason for the decline of the comic industry is that (for the moment) the kids are running the house and no matter how cool things look to each other inside the walls, those of us standing outside and watching aren't buying it. Figuratively and literally. What the kids need to learn (and they need to start learning in a hurry) is that their demographic of "cool" is far too narrow in scope to sustain one house let alone an entire industry. You can only say, "Your opinion doesn't matter or you're not who we're trying to reach." for so long until your entire audience is gone.

You may not care about my opinion, but you sure as hell should care about my dollars because if I'm not willing to part with them for my own comic books, I'm sure as hell not going to part with them for my kids books either. I've got much better things I'd like to do with my children than watch your vehicles go round and round in circles.

Besides, I've got enough quality comics stored away they won't be lacking good reading material for a very very long time.

Could you make that a double?

2010-01-13T16:35:00.001-08:00

The Savage Sword?

This is the kind of story I've been waiting for since Dark Horse first announced the nine book series of "one shots". Hands down this was the very best book of the series so far and it couldn't have come from a more unexpected title. Conan? The barbarian? The savage sword guy? No way! And yet here I sit having just finished one of the best books I've read so far in 2010.

Darick Robertson's illustrations were as well rendered as his story. He gets Conan and his portrayal of the barbarian and the brutality of his methodology were spot on. There was violence, blood and gore aplenty, but it didn't overshadow an intelligent and thoughtful tale. I found it remarkably refreshing to read a comic book in which the words, mature and adult weren't used as licenses to draw as many pairs of naked breasts as possible while dropping the F-bomb in every other sentence.

When I'm looking for a book to hand someone and say,"Here, this is the Dark Horse difference." this is the one I'll be reaching for. Smart, sophisticated and capable of telling a great story without having to drag twenty-five other books along for the ride. I've really enjoyed the one shots and I'd very much like to see them become a regular part of the Dark Horse line.

Conan, huh? I may just have to try another shot...

Bringing it back home...

2010-01-09T21:23:00.000-08:00

Better with every read...

After being snowbound for several days my wife and I decided it was time to shovel the walk, clear a path to the car, remove the white stuff covering it's windows and journey out into the world to resupply our dwindling larder. On the way home from said journey we stopped at the comic shop to resupply my reading stockpile in case the snows returned.

As I perused the well picked over remnants from the previous Wednesday I didn't find anything that particularly caught my eye. It saddens me that its so hard to pick up a comic book these days without finding myself somewhere in the midst of a major event crossover. If I spend twenty bucks for a stack of comics I'd like to get a complete story arc in there somewhere. Realizing such was not going to be the case on this day I moved on to the trade paperbacks. After dismissing any number of lackluster offerings I ran across the TPB for Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips mini-series, Incognito.

Incognito was one of my favorite reads in 2009. From beginning to end it pulled me in and kept me coming back for more with a gritty storyline and a fascinating cast of characters. Its one of those pieces I can share with friends and say, "This is why I read comic books." and not have to hang my head in embarrassment. This was a trade paperback that met my two biggest requirements when considering the worth of a TPB purchase, it collected a truly great story arc and would keep the original comic books out of the hands of my two year old and comic challenged friends. I bought it...

Later that evening I sat down in my favorite reading chair and started reading the book. I was tired from a long day of entertaining a two year old and hours of snow removal so I figured I'd only read a part or two and then go to bed. The next thing I knew I was turning the last page and wishing there was another book waiting for me so I could continue reading on. I was really caught by surprise. Not so much by the fact that I enjoyed the story, after all I'd already read the series once before so the element of original surprise was no longer a factor. It was something more and I soon began leafing back through the book breaking down the characters and the milieu that framed them and their conflicts.

First off the story begins in "Anytown" U.S.A.. Not a small rural farm community in the middle of Tumbleweed, Arizona or a major metropolitan city Like New York, New York. Incognito started off in a city a lot like the one I live in, Dayton, Ohio. Which may not be the worst place to live in America, but it certainly goads one on lackluster days to look for bigger and greener pastures in which to prove one's mettle. I understood the town where Ed Brubaker began his tale. I'd grown up in it. It wasn't like trying to identify with a place where Ma and pa worked the fields and apple pies cooled on window sills. This origin story was outdated when I was a kid...

Even more than the location of the story it is historical context that pulls me into the tale. This is not a post world war environment where the threat of the red menace threatens to destroy every thing good and decent in the world including our very own democracy. It is not about the danger of nuclear energy and the bomb. Incognito is set in aworld where the real battle is for economic superiority and the power of wealth. Genetic engineering, science and technology are the agents of change, not the accidental vagaries of atomic explosions, radioactive insect bites or serums. I can relate to the milieu because the issues in it are the ones I watch on television news programs almost every night.

Zack Overkill used to enjoy a high-powered career until the organization decided it was time to phase him out and replace him with new blood. Suddenly finding himself working a meaningless dead end job far beneath his skill level left him feeling unfulfilled and depressed. Now why does that seem so familiar to me? Oh yeah, its a lot like my own since the great recession began. I understand Zack Overkill. He's not the sharpest tool in the box perhaps, but Zack once knew a life that made him feel vital and alive. Hey, I know this guy and that's when it dawned on me...

Incognito is such a good story because it is so easy to relate to. It doesn't happen in some far flung galaxy or some inter-dimensional parallel universe. It happens where I live and work, right here in Anytown U.S.A.. It doesn't involve high tech body armor sporting the latest in micro-miniaturized weaponry. It isn't about teams of super-powered beings invulnerable to almost every known threat in the known universe. It isn't about living in luxurious secret headquarters or private schools. Its a story about a schmuck in a dead end job who dreams of bygone glory days. I relate to this guy.

If the truth be known, I just don't care about the cosmic coming and goings of Hulks, Avengers, Lanterns, Skrulls or Norman Osborn's war on Asgard. Their cowboy and Indian stories have nothing in common with my daily struggles. It is simply too hard to suspend my system of disbelief long enough to tolerate the absurd foundations of their stories let alone accept them. They are no longer from or of my world. They are aliens and strangers to me and the further they journey from my world the more difficult it is for me to justify spending my hard earned money on the many, many books they expect me to buy just to watch their sagas unfold.

Ed Brubaker brings it all back down to Earth. He simplifies things. His stories are our stories and not the caped and cowled ones of the super-powered beings who have nothing in common with us. Times are tough in our world and they're tough in the stories of rough and tumble characters like Zack Overkill. Like him the most important thing in our days is survival. Its a story I relate to and somehow Ed manages to tell it in six parts instead of twenty-six parts like some other writers. I like that...

After all, there are limits...

2010-01-07T15:13:00.001-08:00

Down, dirty and sexy up to a point...

Don't get me wrong, I like this title (Greek Street) and have enjoyed the story to date and hope the book continues for many issues to come. That being said, I have to admit to being just a little bit cheesed by issue seven and the promotional teasers leading up to its release. (See titillating quote below.)

"While Chantel the chorus girl agonizes over whether she should take a more active role in the story, Eddie and Sandy are forced to play starring roles in a monstrous porn movie."

Cool!? Monstrous porn movie!? I don't think I've ever heard of such a thing, but what the hell, my curiosity's piqued.

So let's get right to the story so far as related by our sinuously writhing seductive pole dancer. Eddie, the protagonist of story arc number one has searched out his long lost mother, engaged in sexual coitus with her and then killed her afterwords in a drunken rage. Shortly thereafter he attempted to carve his own dick off (His words people.) while wallowing in a tortured miasma of self loathing and guilt. He winds up being lured into the den of an attention starved gangster's moll who does everything shy of hooking him up to a slow drip I.V. bottle of Viagra in a failed attempt to get her sexual groove on with him. (Eddie just can 't seem to get it up.)

Making a long story short, the old bag passes out drunk and being the stand up kinda guy he is, Eddie goes wandering about the mansion looking for something to steal. In the process of casing the joint he encounters the old bat's daughter and in a whirlwind courtship lasting all of thirty or forty seconds they consummate their new found attraction. Shortly thereafter they are on the road hitching a ride to only the Muse knows where.

Now cut to the end of issue six where Eddie and Sandy (The drunken old bat's daughter.) are luxuriating in the after glow of a big phat fatty of the chronic. (We're talking the s**t that killed both Elvis and his alien love child.) In walks a scantily-clad-busty-babe wielding a knife in one hand and a hand held video camera in the other. In no uncertain terms she informs the star-crossed lovers that the bill has come due for the hospitality they've been shown and its time to pay up. After a little bit of the old,, dice and slice persuasion on Eddie he decides it might be best if he and Sandy just play along and get the payment completed as soon as possible. And cut, fade to black and we're at the cliff hanger waiting with baited breath for issue seven.

(See again titillating promotional quote above.)

So issue seven finds us back in the studio waiting for the start of the "monstrous" porn film. Once again Eddie is performing below expectations and the scantily clad, knife wielding director is not happy at all. After a few not so subtle threats Eddie begins to make a move towards Sandy.

Suddenly Sandy is up in the face of the see-through-teddy wearing director speaking in tongues, prophesying and carrying on all crazy like until without warning, or a wielding of her knife in the least of threatening manner, the director gives the old, "Cut, that's a wrap for the day and we're done."

What the f**K!? That's it? The only monstrous thing about this porn film is the huge letdown.

I mean, I understand we're dealing with the potential violation of a fifteen year old girl (Captured on film no less.) and god knows the last thing D.C. comics needs right now is to bring down the wrath of the Christian Conservative community across the land in a frothing boycott of anything and everything bearing the D.C. label, but come on. Where was this consideration of moral standards when Sandy was in the midst of getting plumbed by Eddie in the upstairs bedroom while her drunken bag of a mother was passed out on the floor downstairs? Where was this consideration of community standards when Eddie was crossing state lines with an underage piece of tail? Does D.C. condone the transportation of minors across state lines for illegal purposes? Do they support the the use of minors in porn films? Are they supporting the use of illegal drugs?

If the answer is no, then why use the possibility of "monstrous sexual porn" with an underage girl as the teaser for the next issue? It was lurid and suggestive... It may have even crossed the line into sleazy.

It was a great-big-hot-steaming-pile of B.S. and as much as I like this book I was really disappointed with this moment in it. It was gratuitous and unnecessary to the development or movement of the story. It was pure and simple, sexploitation. I'm disappointed...

Healthy Choices...

2010-01-06T14:38:00.001-08:00

Satisfying and low fat!

Going lean seems to be as much a movement right now as going green. Counting calories, carbs, grams of fat and sugar are becoming an important part of a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind I asked my team of researchers here at Dirk's Comic Book Corner to examine my comic book diet to make sure I'm making healthy choices. Here's some of the things I learned.

1. The average Super-sized Crossover event contains nearly 16,000 grams of saturated fat, 170,000 calories and nearly two pounds of processed sugars. This would explain why issues one through three of a crossover event provide an initial increase in energy and excitement followed by the inevitable crash and feelings of event fatigue by issues fifteen and sixteen.

Compare this to the healthy choice of a B.P.R.D. six issue mini-series which contains only 12 grams of fat, 150 calories and only 3 grams of sugar. (As an added bonus my experts confirmed that an ectoplasmic character like Johann Kraus contains zero grams of fat!) Not only does a B.P.R.D. mini-series provide an initial lift of energy in issues one through three there is no crash or feelings of event fatigue in issues four through six.

When you read the labels and compare the facts it becomes clear that not only is a six issue B.P.R.D. mini-series a better choice, it is the healthy one too.

But wait, there's more. By choosing the healthy choice there's also room for a delicious Dark Horse one shot! (Always tasty and satisfying.)

If you're like me and looking to start the new year by breaking old habits and creating a healthier lifestyle, there's no better place to begin than by adding a little B.P.RD. to your comic book diet. Trust me, you'll feel better for it.

2010 and time to take a look at the pull file...

2010-01-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

What, you were expecting Spiderman?

A new year is upon us and since most of the short run books that were a major part of my pull list have run their course it is time to take a look at the core titles in my pull file and perhaps see if there's anything of interest I might consider adding or subtracting to it.

B.P.R.D. I can't imagine not reading this title right now. 1947 was as good as a comic book can get and I can't wait to see what new directions Mike Mignola and his merry band of co-creators have in store for this band of characters.

Hellboy Everything foretold about the future of Hellboy is coming to pass right in front of my awed eyeballs. Destiny is being fulfilled, but will it be one so many hope to manipulate towards their own ends or will Hellboy at long last free himself from the shackles of predestination and set off on a new path of his own making? Bring it on!

R.E.B.E.L.S. Blackest Night is coming to an end and with it the intrusion will too pass and Tony Bedard can return to crafting one of the most enjoyable reads of 2009. Be gone foul Lanterns! Return to your rainbow bright worlds and leave good characters to their own devices. I really like this book... (It will be nice to have it back in 2010.)

Criminal Yeah, I'm a bad boy. A very bad, bad boy... Only this time it isn't Wonder Woman and her magic lasso in my fantasies. This time its gangster molls and back alley bars with strippers and carnal trysting where the climax might peak in gunfire and possible death. These are big boy tales with grownup themes and adult illustrations. Sometimes the stories are so good, I have to have two cigarettes afterwords...

The Unwritten Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune...

Greek Street He got drunk and did what with his mama!? Then he killed her!? And you're telling me the story only gets weirder from there. No way! You're telling me the whole thing is narrated by a stripper? Dude, I got a wife and kid. I'm not sure I should be reading this book being a family man and all. Based on a classic you say. Well, I guess its alright if you say its based on a classic...

Well, that's about it. Remember, I'm on a twenty dollar a week budget. I do like to leave a little budgetary space for the occasional miniseries so I'm pretty picky about what I add to the pull file.

I'm already looking at Solomon Kane and of course, there's that one shot Conan that looks pretty tasty...

I have a feeling its going to be an interesting year.

Avatar

2010-01-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

Simply the best Science Fiction film of all time.

Move over George Lucas, there's a new sheriff in town. With all due respect to George Lucas who produced three wonderful Star Wars movies, the science fiction genre has just been taken to heights he never imagined possible. This was not just the very best science fiction movie I've ever seen, it was perhaps one of the finest films period I've ever seen. Okay, let's get started...

The special effects can't be ignored so I'll start with them first. There's never been 3D effects like this ever produced. I've never been pulled into a world as completely as I was Pandora. Every single aspect from the diversity of flora and fauna down to the tiniest insect was rendered with perfect attention to detail. Yes, there were a couple of, "Hey, look what I can do." moments, but they don't take over the entire movie. The special effects enhance the film without being the star of it. Unlike so many movies these days (Star Trek and Speed Racer) where storyline, plot and characterization are completely disregarded in favor of the computer generated awesomeness of the spectacular effect, Avatar tells a wonderful story.

If you truly want to get the most out of the Avatar storyline I'd suggest reading Robert Heinlein's, Stranger In a Stranger Land before seeing the movie. Stranger In a Strange Land is one of my favorite science fiction reads of all times. Avatar echos many of the ideas from Heinlein's book beginning with nesting and being an eggling all the way to grokking in fullness and being becoming one with the old ones when you pass from this plane of existence into the next. Avatar wasn't just a movie for me, it was a sharing of water and a spiritual experience. James Cameron is not just a film maker, he is a water brother. I'll be shocked if this film wasn't a foreshadowing of a film we can expect to see from him in the very near future. "Stranger In a Strange Land" a film by James Cameron...

I went to see this movie with a friend of mine named, Julie. The two of us are pretty tough birds and we're more likely to wonder why the hunter didn't use a bigger gauge gun when killing Bambi's mother than to get all mushy over the suddenly orphaned fawn. In fact, if memory serves me correctly, we were Googling for venison recipes and emailing them back and forth on our I-phones when saw the movie, Bambi. When Julie and headed out to the theater all we were interested in seeing was the 3D technology. Tears were the further things from our minds and the most unexpected when we both turned to look at each other with tear stained faces.

This movie engages the heart, mind of soul of the viewer as well as the senses. Don't get me wrong, Avatar has plenty of pule pounding action sequences, but once again, they enhance the story rather than command the focus of the movie. Pardon me while I have a movie moment here. "You're not the only one with a gun, Bitch." Yeah, this movie rocks...

This movie is for those of us not ashamed to be called, Tree Hugger. And the tree in this movie is the mother of all trees. Avatar gives balls to the Green movement and brings pride to those who've stood in the corner of the environmentalists waiting for our fighter to land the big punch. This movie changes hearts, lives and minds. It is a wake up call to the spirit and a call to action of the community of man. The message of Avatar is loud and clear, you can only take for so long before the bill comes due. We've taken a lot of energy from this world of ours, now its time to start paying the bill. There are more important decisions to be made than which pair of designer jeans are the best or which light beer best defines our character. There's nothing wrong in standing up to those who believe such things are weighty issues and saying, "Hey, you're full of shit. Sit the f**k down and shut up." Avatar is a wonderful movie with an important and legitimate message. Go see this film. Do it now. You'll thank me...

I didn't see anything I liked, so I didn't buy anything...

2009-12-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

A curious collection of stories by a number of talented folk.

Today was "skip week" in the comic book industry. Don't ask for an explanation because its one of those inside horrors those of us who read comic books suppress conscious awareness of until the event rears it's ugly head once every blue moon or so and we are forced to deal with the horrible reality of it. Simply put, it is a Wednesday where no trucks arrive at the local comic book store laden with their shipment of the "paper crack" we addicts of the four color print books live for from week to week. (I'm having difficulty writing a post this evening as the cold sweats of withdrawal ooze forth from the pores of my tormented and clammy flesh.)

I didn't know what else to do today so like one of the mindless zombies who shambled about the mall in that Romero movie I still made my way to the comic book store of my choice, Mavericks, in Dayton, Ohio and whimpered my way through the aisles looking for something, anything that might keep me going until the chronic arrives again next week. I found myself standing in front of the TPBs', (Trade Paperbacks) a place I would normally assiduously avoid, actually perusing the damnable things for potential purchase consideration. I can't begin to express how dirty I felt as the depth of the depravity of my addiction dawned upon me in that moment.

Let me illuminate...

I don't like trade paperbacks because they are a graphic disregard for anything even resembling respect, let alone even passing consideration for the "Green Movement". Many of the trade paperback books being produced are collections of comic book titles that were dreadful to begin with and are better off left to die and then fade away into a well deserved obscurity. Not every comic book story arc deserves to be collected and turned into a trade paperback release. Some comic book story arcs should be collected, recycled and turned back into usable paper upon which more deserving story lines could be printed and distributed to the general public. I think the comic book industry would do well to take a page as it were from the video game industry when it comes to producing trade paperback books.

Video game companies produce a limited number of any particular new game and wait to see how well it is received in the marketplace before producing more units. If a game proves to be a flop they're not losing large sums of money. If a game proves popular enough, by reaching a certain number of units moved, they release the game as a greatest hits release. Yeah, it minimizes the initial investment risk and maximizes back side profit by correctly meeting actual market demand as it actually materializes.

Most comic book companies are producing tons of titles in the hopes that if you throw enough stuff against the proverbial marketplace wall something will eventually stick and they'll make some money. The trouble is that with the economy being what it is right now they're spending more money than they can reasonably hope to recoup on the process of throwing a ton of crap at a wall that only a pound or two will stick to.

Trade paperbacks may produce a certain amount of sales, but are they selling at a rate capable of covering the cost of both producing and storing them in warehouses in the event one creates the big market demand? How many of those units produced are now winding up on after market shelves (like those at Mile High Comics) where it is hoped they will sell at a reduced price rather than continuing to eat up valuable warehouse space? According to the newsletter I received from Mile High Comics, Dark Horse just unloaded a ton of trade paperbacks upon them. And trust me, Mile High is working awfully hard to convince me just how much I need to think about starting my collection today.

So, I'm standing in front of the trade paperback selection when my eyes fall upon, "Weird Tales" Volumes one and two. Now, I have the original issues and consider them gems in my humble collection of books I wouldn't part with to save my soul. It is a rare occasion indeed that I pull them from the boxes they are stored in and only then to prove to a sceptic that I do indeed have them all in my possession. (I never take them out of the bagged and boarded preservation units that protect them from wear and tear. Would you?)

This is a series worthy of being collected and released as a trade paperback. As are all of the early works of Hellboy produced by Mike Mignola. They are historical and significant. They are artistic wonders and deserve preservation. As trade paperbacks they are books I can put into the hands of those less trained in the art of proper comic book handling and say, "Read this and behold the greater glory of comicdom." My originals are safe from harm and I can read and enjoy the stories without fear of ruining a classic comic that one day may bring my great grandchildren tens or twenties of dollars.

So many times when I attempt to share my love of the comic book art form with my younger friends I am rebuffed with, "Dude, how many trees do they cut down each week to feed your habit?" I may never be able to fully overcome this objection, but the argument's impact could certainly be minimized if the industry reduced the volume of books produced each month and focused on producing a higher quality of book. I dare say that a company launching a marketing campaign around the concept of producing fewer titles in order to go green would find a new and younger audience, to whom these things do matter, receptive and willing to invest their hard earned dollar in their product.

The times are tough. Everyone is fighting for survival right now. As Thoreau would say, "Simplify, simplify simplify. Instead of a hundred, make of your affairs fifty. Instead of fifty, make of them ten." Crossovers? Trade paperbacks? Multiple character titles? Gentlemen, the times should be forcing you to rethink and re approach your tactics. The real key to survival right now is simplification, not the old market saturation tactic made so popular by Coca Cola. I go to the comic book store each and every week. Tons of books not worth the paper they're printed upon vie for first my attention and then in turn for my dollar. Quality always wins out over volume...

And yes, I also have Hellboy Junior, both in original release and trade paperback...

Oh, can anyone name the song the title of this post is from?

A rededication...

2009-12-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

Perhaps my single favorite comic book issue of 2009

After finding myself spending far too much time on FaceBook playing Mafia Wars I've decided to return to the blogosphere and to an activity I've been missing an awful lot lately, blogging. In particular I've really missed blogging about comics and the industry that produces them on a weekly basis. My New Year's Resolution for 2010 is to return to posting, at the least, one article per week about one of my favorite pastimes, comic books.

With that said, here is my year end, Top Ten List of the books I enjoyed the most in 2009.

10. R.E.B.E.L.S. (D.C.) With the exception of the two "Darkest Night" crossover books this has been one of my favorite titles of 2009. Tony Bedard handles the writing part of the book with a true aficionado's appreciation of the original L.E.G.I.O.N. title while at the same time creating a new and interesting storyline. Unlike Hannibal Tabu over at CBR (Who in my humble opinion wouldn't know a good comic book if it came up and sat on his hip hop face.) I think Tony handles the character Vril Dox with perfect understanding. While Vril Dox and his motivations for doing whatever it is he decides to do at any given time are central to the book, it is the antics of the front line characters who are manipulated by him that provide the center stage action of the series. Vril Dox is a behind the scenes puppet master. Tony understands this and handles Vril Dox with subtly and finesse. The best annual of the year too...

9. Greek Street (Vertigo) Again, a book that Hannibal Tabu dismisses as incomprehensible is to me a sophisticated and well plotted read. (It simply proves to me that being hip doesn't make one literate.) Peter Milligan's writing is elegant and gritty at the same time. He's produced a book that I can can only describe as a beautiful portrayal of the grand ugly. I'll miss the artistic stylings of Davide Gianfelice when he moves on, but for the time being these two have teamed up in a great book. This is a book I put my big boy panties on to read...

8. The Unwritten (Vertigo) If you enjoy something more in your comic book diet than capes, cowls, rings or super powers this is a book you'll look forward to reading every month. Mike Carey has created a marvelous world with a slowly unfolding story line that keeps me coming back for more with each new issue. I thought issue five, "How The Whale Became" was as good a story as I read in 2009. Again, this is a grownup book that requires the reader to engage their mind as actively as they engage their eyes. If you enjoy reading, you'll like this book.

7. Incarnate (Radical) Nick Simmons (Son of Kiss front man, Gene Simmons.) makes his comic book debut with this book. I have to admit that I was surprised and in no small way impressed with his abilities in handling both the writing and pencils of this book. Nick has talent and I hope he continues to contribute to the Radical line of comics in 2010. This three issue mini-series really entertained me and I'd like to see more of the characters he spawned in this series.

6. Citizen Rex (Dark Horse) I'm normally not the biggest fan of black and white titles. I just don't think many of today's artists understand how to make the genre work and the books just don't do it for me. The Hernandez brothers are masters of the genre and Citizen Rex was as good a read as there was to be found in 2009. The six issue mini-series was entertaining, well paced and a damn fine piece of science fiction extrapolation. This book is the ideal of what I think comics can be at their best. The story was well written and I enjoyed book six as much as I enjoyed book one. (I'm so sick and tired of mini-series titles that work for five of the six issues and then collapse into unresolved piles of spaghetti in the final book of the series. ) This story was seamless and complete. Period... The covers were sweet, the inside panels too. In a nutshell, the best damn black and white book I've read in a very long time.

5. Solomon Kane (Dark Horse) Spooky and dark. I simply couldn't believe what a great storyline Scott Allie managed to pull out of the scraps left to us by Robert Howard. This is another book that left me wanting more when I finished the mini-series and I'm very happy to report that a new Solomon Kane book is coming in 2010. And it will be illustrated by Guy Davis! I love Guy's work and can't wait to read the next installment of this title.

4. Incognito (Icon) Sean Phillips and Ed Brubaker produced one of the best six issue mini-series titles of the year. I didn't want this series to end and as far as I'm concerned they could start a company of their own with the characters in this story and I'd buy every book in the line. Seriously, this was story telling at its most engaging and entertaining level. I want more...

3. The Dream Hunters (Vertigo) Neil Gaiman and P Craig Russell produced the most beautiful book of 2009. Visually one of the most engaging books I read this year and at the same time one of the most intelligent and sophisticated comic books I've ever read. Short run titles have become my favorite books these days. I like stories that have a beginning, a middle and an end. I'm tired of the infinite cliff hangers that were the staple of the industry for so many years. Give me a story that runs a good course and isn't afraid of ending. I'm tired of characters that never die. Books like this prove that a character can die and a story end without bringing down the company. I wish there were more books like this on store shelves today.

2. B.P.R.D. (Dark Horse) Both the story arcs, "1947" and the conclusion to "War of Frogs" were great pieces of story telling. I'll never forget turning the page in issue four of 1947 and seeing poor Simon covered in bites and drifting away on the sea of oblivion while the succubi fed upon him. Mike Mignola is a god, plain and simple... Just as I will never forget issue four of 1947, I will probably be haunted forever by the final panels in book four of, "War on Frogs". I don't want to ever pass into the great beyond and find something like that waiting to carry me home. Gross and ugh! I still shudder when I think about it...

1. Hellboy (Dark Horse) The Wild Hunt was Hellboy at his best and I can't wait to see what Mignola has in store for 2010. Hellboy has begun to fulfill his destiny, but will it be the one everyone else has in mind for him or will he finally free himself from a predestined path and begin a journey solely of his own design? Mike Mignola represents what I believe to be the best of Dark Horse and the majority of the books they produce. Mike Mignola does whatever Mike Mignola wants to do and if the fan likes it, so be it. If the fan doesn't like it, so what, Mike remained true to his vision and his work carries a real integrity for doing so. And Mike knows how to relegate responsibility to quality people to work with his creations and trust in their ability to deliver quality goods. Scott Allie, Guy Davis... Need I say more?

Comics on a budget...

2009-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

A bargain at double the price!

As I stated in my last entry, I have a twenty dollar a week budget for comic books. What did I buy this week? Let's take a look and find out.

First off, I passed on the Incognito double issue containing reprints of issues one and two. I mean for God's sake, this series is only three books into its run and already we have a second print variant cover of issue number one and now a reprint "special" of issues one and two. C'mon! Talk about milking the cash cow...

I took a look at D.C.'s new Vertigo title, The Unwritten. I liked what I saw and with a price tag of only one dollar I decided to give it a try. Once I got home and read the book I was glad I'd decided to take a chance and picked it up. I'd be willing to read this book for a few more issues and see if it becomes file worthy. Not bad, not bad at all...

I also picked up issue four of R.E.B.E.L.S. and with every passing book this title just gets better and better. This is good science fiction and a fine comic book. Seriously, if you're not reading this book you need to find the first three issues and give it a read.

I also picked up B.P.R.D. and as always enjoyed a good read. I am really looking forward to the third arc of this story line. I'm also so pumped for 1947 and Witchfinder.

Nothing else caught my eye, so I didn't buy anything else...

I spent eight dollars of my twenty dollar budget and tucked twelve dollars into the petty cash fund. H-m-m-m... Could there be an action figure in the near future?

This is how I do it...

2009-05-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

I'm ready for the Rapture.

Every Wednesday I walk into my local comic book store with twenty dollars in my pocket. (Hey times are tough and money is tight.) I look for the titles I think are going to give me the most bang for my buck and I refuse to go over my twenty dollar budget. No, I don't always get every book I want, but I do manage to acquire a good number of pretty decent books. Whatever I have left over of my twenty dollars when I leave the comic book shop comes home and goes into my petty cash box. (I use that money to buy back issues or trade paper backs.)

Having a twenty dollar a week comic book allowance has forced me to make some rules about what I will or will not consider purchasing when it comes buying time. The easy rules; no crossovers whatsoever, books costing $3.99 or higher, annuals, black and white books and no movie titles.

(1.) Crossover events rarely live up to their advance hype and half the books involved in them almost never have any major role in the story being told. Crossover events rarely manage to get the books out in chronological order. I hate that! Crossover events get none of my money.

(2.) When cigarettes reached the four dollar a pack price tag I quit smoking. I've yet to see a comic I feel is worth a consistent four dollar an issue expenditure. Have you? I'll make an exception for a really good book once in awhile, but four dollar titles hold no ongoing spots in my pull file.

(3.) Annuals, how many have you ever read that just rocked your world? How many annuals con you count on your fingers right now and truthfully say, "Man, those are classic books!"? Yeah, that's what I thought. Annuals are for suckers who don't read comics on a regular basis and think they're getting a really good book because its thick.

(I consider most Christmas books to be a mutant form of the annual.)

(4.) Black and white books are okay in very rare instances. I just don't think there are enough artists who understand how to do it right. Rendering a book in black and white is art form within the art form of comic books. Not everyone can pull it off and I hate seeing a black and white book that is nothing more than uncolored pages. (Yes, you can tell the difference.) Black and white books lack artistic consistency and I think they're best when done as a one shot only now and then. As a general rule; black and white books show a lack of confidence in a project. It's a cost cutting method that minimizes investment risk and maximizes potential profit.

(5.) I hate movie title video games and I hate movie title comic books. I've never been satisfied with either, ever. They never get the best of either genre, comics or video games. We're talking second rate artists, designers and writers at best and the only thing they ever seem interested in is capitalizing on whatever hype surrounds any given movie.

So what do I spend my money on? First off, stand alone titles. I like self contained books that don't force me into spending money on other titles just to make sense of the book I'm currently reading. Next, I like the short four and five book series. Right now they deliver bang for the buck because they get a good story up and running fast. If you're like me and buying comics on a budget the short run titles give you a wide variety of goodies to enjoy and also let you familiarize yourself with a lot of artists and writers. Yeah, if I find someone I like, I start looking at other pieces of their work. Short run titles make it easy to clean out a pull file too. They kinda do the job for you...

Good writing always wins out over fine art for me. Yes, I do enjoy a well illustrated book, but I really enjoy well written prose and well handled story elements. I look for depth to a story, cardboard characters performing cliched actions just don't cut it for me. If characters aren't fleshed out, if plot lines are predictable or completely lacking in some cases I'm just not interested in wasting my time on pretty drawings. (No matter how well rendered.)

Now, based on these and other criteria here's where my money goes.

(1.) Dark Horse gets the lion's share of my comic book dollar because their books are affordable. They also offer a large number of short series titles showcasing work by some of the best and brightest artists and writers working in the business today. They also have enough long run titles like, B.P.R.D. and Goon to give me a regular running title each month.

(2.) D.C. comics gets the next share of the pie. Between Wildstorm and Vertigo I've always got a nice short run series to read. I must say I'm growing fond of The Mighty and R.E.B.E.L.S. too. Both are proving to be keepers.

(3.) Marvel gets almost nothing from me. I just think they're doing everything wrong and apart from Criminal and Incognito they're not involved in anything I consider worth reading.

(4.) Alternative small press titles are gobbling up more and more of my comic book dollar. The books tend to push my envelope for price, but sometimes they're worth it.

Times are tough and money has go a long way. Bills, food on the table and family come first. You can still collect comics, but you need to be smart about it. This is how I do it.

(This week I purchased, The Mighty and Demon Cleaner. $13.00 went into the petty cash fund.)

The Mighty - D.C. Comics

2009-05-06T19:35:00.001-07:00

A Flawed Hero?

One of this Wednesday's biggest surprises for me was issue four of D.C. Comics, The Mighty. I like a story that unfolds like a exotic flower. As petals open more and more details emerge slowly revealing a blossom rich in color and subtle details. Issue four made me want to see more of this flower unfold. Which surprises me because I really didn't think I'd care much for this book.

Issue one was the much hackneyed radioactive accident turns normal guy into the super powered do-gooder who becomes the savior of mankind origin tale. (How many times have I read this story in my lifetime?) The book certainly didn't impress me, but my local comic book store guru, Jason, swore the book had legs so I stuck it out for a couple of more issues.

Issue two still didn't do much for me even with the death of the kid at end of the book. (Yeah, I'm a heartless bastard.) I wasn't even affected with the poor lonely super hero shtick who just needs a friend storyline. I mean come on, this guy was turning out to be as cliched a character as any I've ever seen. Let me tell you, this title was losing my interest fast and I was seriously considering jerking it from my pull file.

Issue four starting unfolding and the story began to blossom. Did you catch Alpha One's lie about the number of people trapped in the chemical plant fire? Have you noticed how often he saves the ladies? Did you notice him leaving a dead female behind in the fiery wreckage to replace the live one he snatched from the tragedy he created? Yeah, something ain't right with this guy...

Demon Cleaner lived up to my expectations too. A guy starts summoning demons from Hell and serving them up as tasty treats in his restaurant? What the Hell? I'm starting to become a real fan of Miles Gunter. He's got something to say and I like the way he's saying it. He makes me laugh...

My pull file...

2009-05-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

Big time fun!

A good pull file is one that constantly evolves to incorporate new titles. It also requires pruning to remove the dead limbs from an otherwise healthy reading tree. I've been looking at a number of titles lately, some I've been thinking about adding to my pull file and a few I've decided it's time to weed out of the garden to make way for healthier additions.

First off, I've decided its time to weed Fathom from the garden. I've given this title six issues and it just bears no fruit whatsoever. Aspen books are so pretty to look at, but I'm a reader too and pretty pictures just don't cut it for me. Snip...

I think I'm going to add Rapture to Fathom's spot and hopefully add a bit of vitality to my file. Earth abandoned by both super heroes and super zeros. Lovers separated by a continent willing to do anything to be reunited. A mysterious being laying the mantle of responsibility on a young woman. Does she choose destiny over love? So many tasty story elements...

Incognito stays right where it is basking in a prime ray of sunshine filling the garden with an almost tropical array of color. Three books into the run and I'm hooked like a junkie on the good brown heroin. I don't care who you are, you need to be reading this book. (Criminal too.)

Gotham after Midnight has finished its run. I had such high hopes for the series, but it fizzled out about book three and never recovered. I'm not sure what to add in its place yet. Aliens? Predators? I just don't know...

Books like that are basically Cowboys versus Indians stories. The planet Earth are the cowboys and the aliens are the Indians. You get a lot of: "Quick, pull the community into a circle!" "The Aliens have got little Billy!" "Pesky gray varmints.". You can take any Zane Grey story, turn the horses into spaceships, Indians with bows and arrows into aliens with ray guns and replace cowboy hats with space helmets and you've got an Alien or Predator best seller. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, I just like my science-fiction with a bit more substance.

I'm looking real hard at Demon Cleaners. I loved Yeti versus Vampire (What there was of it. Thanks, you bastards at Diamond.) and just want to give Miles Gunter and Victor Santos a little love. I'm a sucker for humor...

Citizen Rex and rapture are going into the pull file for sure. Witchfinder is a given, as well as 1947 and War on Frogs #3.

I don't know...

Any other recommendations?

Witchfinder - Darkhorse Comics

2009-05-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels

Does it get any better than Mike Mignola? The body of work he's produced under both the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. banners is simply incredible. I'm not just talking about his skill as an artist either. Mike Mignola has become a formidable story teller. To paraphrase a story from the bible, "Every man at the beginning brings out the good wine; when everyone is well drunk, then the box wine; but you have saved the very best brew until this moment."

I can't think of any other words to best describe Mike's work right now. Have you been reading Hellboy: The Wild Hunt? Did you happen to catch Hellboy: The Crooked man? These books are story telling at its best. It has been a long time since I've read a comic book that just made me sit back afterwards and go, "Wow.". Mike's stories are just amazing right now and right up there with the best anyone is producing at the moment. Mike makes me go wow with almost every book he's producing these days.

Are you reading B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess? So far this story has sent me back to the boxes and has me rereading every single Hellboy and B.P.R.D. book I own. Mike is about to produce a really big wow moment. I can feel it coming and I'm just chomping at the bit for the story to unfold. Mike's taking his work to the top of the mountain and stretching the boundaries there in search of new plateaus. He is in every sense of the word, a creator. I am continually amazed by the variety of supernatural themes in Mike's work. He understands the regional flavors of myth, folklore and superstition from around the world and uses these ingredients to create a rich buffet of story lines.

Mignola's universe is filled with such a diversity of the occult; He gives us samplings of Nazi techno evil, Appalachian witching, Russian folklore and at times even a dash of the old God's of Lovecraftian horror. I never know what I'm going to get when I enter a Mignola story and I like that about his work. And you'd best be on your toes in Mike's world too because characters die. Sometimes in lightning quick and brutal manners. It makes his stories scary because I care for the characters in his books and knowing they are in continual peril makes turning every page an adventure in horror. Turn too many pages and blam, somebody buys the farm. I like it!

For every character he kills off Mike always seems to have another body waiting in the wings. Lobster Johnson, Roger the Homunculis, Captain Benjamin Daimo and others have come and gone in the Mignola universe. I have celebrated their lives and mourned their passing. And every time a character I've loved has been taken from me and I'm sure mike's world will be diminished, he introduces someone new or fills in the background on a character seemingly mentioned in passing and then forgotten. Enter Edward Grey.

We've seen glimpses of Edward Grey, but never a clear look. Until now. We know he's a nineteenth century occult investigator and he's worked for the Queen of England. We have a couple of other pieces of information, but nothing that gives us a real understanding of the man and his like. That is about to change with the upcoming series, Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels. Yeah, I can hardly wait. But at the same time I'm a little scared too, because I'm starting to get this eerie feeling that someone is going to die. And I'm starting to think it might be someone big too because Mike is also giving us B.P.R.D. 1947 too.

Something big is coming in the Mignola universe. Forces are at work the likes of which I don't think we've ever seen before. If your not reading B.P.R.D. or Hellboy right now your missing something real good. Don't say I didn't try to tell you...

Dark Horse Presents

2009-04-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hands down, the very best.

I've made no bones about my preference for Dark Horse Comics over every other company in the business today. Their books rock, they still have room for a letters page, they maintain the best web presence of any company out there and they are home to both Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. which happen to be my two favorite comic book titles. Today I'd like to take a look at what makes them the best web presence of any comic book company on the internet.

Dark Horse has taken the novel approach of using the internet to supplement their books instead of using it to supplant their books. The Dark Horse method seems to be one of integration instead of elimination with both components working together to compliment each other rather than compete against each other. Comic books and the internet working together to enhance the overall experience of each other? What a novel concept!

Until the day comes where comics are exclusive to the internet why shouldn't the two mediums work together? Two of my favorite comic book websites are D. H. P. and the Hellboy Zone. Both offer free material and both are updated on a regular basis. There's always something fresh online and I've numerous times found myself reading something there first before adding a new title to my pull file. (Rapture for one.) Yeah, I hear those voices asking the question that always comes up when talking about an internet website; How much money are you making from it?

Let me tell you a little secret about making money. (I think it's one Dark Horse knows very well.) Are you paying attention? Here it is. If the only thing you care about is the customer's money, it's the last thing you'll ever get out of him. Did you catch that? Dark Horse gets my comic book dollar because they make me feel as valuable as my money. Who else in comics today has a letters page? What other comic book company offers email addresses where fan questions and comments receive actual responses?

Go here, here, here and here. What do these websites all have in common? They all talk at you about their product, but they don't give you an address to talk to them about it. They don't care about the fan. All they care about is our money. The message is loud and clear. And most of these websites rarely update their content. Again, they just don't really care...

The Dark Horse message seems to be, "What do you think and what do you want?". They care about comic book readers like the big two used to do. Visit Dark Horse. Visit some of the zones and check out the reading material offered on Dark Horse Presents. You'll find a fan friendly environment that welcomes both you and your input. You'll find yourself part of a dialog where fans are encouraged to participate, give voice and not just told to shut up and purchase.

Dark Horse Comics earn my money, they don't expect it. I think there's a lot to be learned from the Dark Horse business model right now and I wish some other companies would take a long hard look at how they do things and learn from the way they treat their customers. Respect is a two way street. Dark Horse gives as good as they get.

Seriously, go give these guys a look. Do it for no cost on "Free Comic Book Day" this Saturday May 2nd, 2009 at a comic book store near you. Aliens versus predator! Good stuff.

Rapture - Dark Horse Comics

2009-04-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Rapture

The more I see of this project the more I like it. I'd normally give a comic book involving cannibals an inferior rating as the genre isn't one of my favorites, (Not to my taste.) however, I think this book has legs and will prove to be an interesting read.

Check out the preview at Dark Horse Presents, Rapture and I think you'll see what I mean. Also take a look at the sneak peeks of the art pages here too. See what I mean? Tasty goodness from the team of Michael Oeming and Taki Soma.

After a century of war between the great villains and the great champions of Earth they suddenly vanish. The planet is trashed and we the people are left to pick up the pieces. Two young lovers, Evelyn and Gil, are separated by the distance of a continent, but they'll do anything to reunite again. The situation gets complicated when a being called "The Word" turns Evelyn into a champion and gives her an angelic spear. Yeah, I like it too!

Love versus destiny, which one wins out? I guess we'll just have to read the series and find out.

C'mon, give these kids a break and buy the damn book!

Skaar, Son of Hulk - Marvel

2009-04-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

"Have, Skarr?"

"Thanks, but no thanks, Hulk, no smoke!"

Really, this is the best the great house of ideas has to offer these days? Jack Kirby must be laughing in his grave.

Well, I've gotta run, there's a crew of guys putting in my new windows today.

Not those kind of windows! House windows...

God, what a bunch of geeks...

Cinnamon El Ciclo - D.C. Comics

2009-03-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

"Reach for the sky, Sistah!"

For every lesbian teenager that ever wanted to be a cowgirl when when she grew up.

That's right, six gun toting lesbian cowgirls at high noon. "You killed my daddy, now I'm gonna kill you."

Yeah, another one of those bargain bin goodies that will warm your heart and fill a previously unrecognized niche in any good comic book collection. Seriously, even though there isn't one single overt lesbian moment in the entire story the sexual tension is undeniable.

Okay, don't believe me; find this five book series and read it for yourself.

In fact, I may just read it myself before I go to bed tonight...

Lobo Paramilitary Christmas Special - D.C. Comics

2009-03-29T11:41:00.000-07:00

Ya bastiches!

Who cares whether you like it or not?

I still read it to my family every Christmas and I love the tears it brings to the children's eyes.

Man, do I miss Lobo...

Caper - D.C. Comics

2009-03-27T20:51:00.000-07:00

Good clean fun!

One of the best short run books Ive ever read, period. There are three vignettes spread over twelve issues each of which is better than the one preceding it. My personal favorite is arc three which had me laughing from the very moment it started to the moment it ended. This series is representative of why I started reading comic books and as good an answer to those who ask why I'm still reading them today. Good stories are good stories, no matter what genre you find them in.

This is one of those bargain bin gems you'll be more than satisfied to find at a convention or your local comic book store. I don't care if it ever increases in value, its a book I'll always be glad to have as a part of my humble collection. Seriously, if you find this series intact, pick it up. You won't regret it.

Most of my current collection is short run books. They get up and running quickly and I like how fast paced the shorter books are. At the current price for comic books, anywhere from three to four dollars (and sometimes even more per issue) I don't like books that take three and four issues to get into a storyline. Don't make me spend twenty bucks for little more than character introductions.

N.C.A.A. basketball is on so I'm out of here.

The Dead, Kingdom of Flies - Berserker Comics

2009-03-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Zombie-z-z-z-z-z-z...

I really wanted to like this book. I really did. Alan Grant and Simon Bisley working together again, how could this title go wrong? Three issues later, I'm just stunned how dreadful this comic book is turning out to be. First off, I've always enjoyed Alan's ability to take a tired old storyline and breathe new life into it. (Alan is usually so good with the twist.) I've always enjoyed his ability to take the tried and true and turn it into something twisted and new.

Sadly, this book is offering nothing new or twisted at all. The storyline is as generic as any zombie tale is capable of being and Alan's storyline offers nothing new to the genre whatsoever. I mean its got zombies-but I've been there and done that-its got a group of people isolated in a building who seem far more interested in fighting each other than they are in battling the plague around them, but again, I've been there and done that. You shoot the zombies in the head to stop them. Scratches and bites infect healthy flesh and create new zombies. Okay, I've seen this tale a gazillion times of late and this book is just a rerun of a worn out theme at four dollars per issue. I can take the same four dollars and buy another zombie movie at, Blockbuster-and the pace of the action will be much faster and scarier.

Bisley's artwork is disjointed and uninspired at best. You can just sense how uncommitted he is to the project and it feels as if he's doing the book for no other purpose than busy work. I'm used to finding a visual commentary in Bisley's illustrations and so far he just hasn't seemed to find the visual hook yet that makes the work enjoyable for him. Aside from a penis drawn provocatively close to Jesus and a naked shower scene there just isn't the running gag running through the book that marks it as a Bisley work. (To me Simon has always been a social commentary artist. His artwork usually says more in background illustrations than most writers get out of their primary story words.) The potential is there, but so far the spark hasn't caught and this book is more smoke than fire and it bothers the eyes instead of lighting them up.

I still want to like this book. Its Alan Grant and Simon Bisley for God's sake! One more issue... I'll give this book one more issue and something really cool better happen or its going into the dead pile. And trust me, once a book goes into my dead pile it doesn't get up and walk again.

Sorry, but right now I'm bored of the flies.

The Watchmen

2009-03-20T17:27:00.000-07:00

Why this movie crashed and burned...

Okay, I'm on vacation with my wife and son in Gatlinburg, Tennessee celebrating five wonderful years of marriage so this will be quick. (A wife and a child, kinda voids my geek membership card doesn't it.)

First off, at a time where people are looking to the movies to provide a temporary respite from the problems of the day, a story stripping away the glitter of our super heroes and leaving us even one less thing to believe in was sure to be a hit. ("Hey honey, we need a break from all this bad news about the economy, let's go watch a movie about the Alamo!") See what I mean?

Second and I think most important; What guy wants to take his girl to a movie where she gets to look at a bigger-than-life-swinging-blue-schlong for nearly three hours that he knows the one he hopes to bang her with later will never compare to? ( "Oh, Charles, I guess we'll never have to worry about you becoming a super-villain now will we?") Like us geeks don't have enough problems with girls as it is. Duh...

Last but not least, I've seen better actors in porn flicks and they didn't have the benefit of costumes to hide behind.

This film was doomed from the very beginning.

Now if you'll excuse me I've got a family vacation to enjoy.

Fathom-Aspen Comics

2009-03-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Nice eye candy, but not much else...

Aspen Comics produces some of the most beautifully illustrated, God awful comic book titles I've ever seen. Even the non-stop gnashing of teeth and lamentation over the death of Michael Turner fails to elicit in me the faintest of reason to continue buying their product. Slow, tortuous and lacking in plot to the brink of mind numbing boredom as any ongoing title I've ever 'read'. And the entire line is like that! The Aspen motto must be, "Writers? We don't need no stinking writers!' because they don't mince words when it comes to storytelling. Hell, they hardly even use them.

One of my pet peeves with a comic book is using the artwork to tell the entire story. When I'm ten or twelve pages into a book and the only thing I've read is, "Look out!", "Jump!", Over here!", "Careful!" "sh-h-h... they'll hear you." I'm not a very satisfied reader. I always feel like I've regressed back to a time in childhood where the books I read contained sentences like, "See, Fathom. Swim, Fathom swim." Duh...

Every book I've looked at in their line is the same. By the time I've invested three dollars per issue for five or six books in a row where nothing happens and I'm no further into the development of a plot line than, "See, Soulfire. Run, Soulfire run." I'm outta there! Seriously, if you're not going to use words in telling a story, stop using them all together. I'm tired of having to purchase five or six issues of an Aspen book in order to get one full sentence of storytelling.

Comic books are a unique literary form where a balance of illustration and dialog come together to present a cohesive drama. Fathom is not a comic book by this definition, it is a picture book and quite frankly I outgrew those a very long time ago.

Using nautical terms to create a rating scale for this title I'd find myself speaking pirate as in, "Thar she blows!" and trust me, this book really does.

Warrior Nun Areala, Ben Dunn

2009-03-16T10:24:00.001-07:00

Warrior nuns, Nazi evil and the occult!

As much as I've always enjoyed the books produced by Antarctic Press, and yes they are still putting out quality titles, I've always enjoyed reading the editorials nestled between the covers of their magazines. When I look back at their thoughts, reflections and opinions on the state of the comic book industry during the early and mid-nineties I'm struck how much more relevant their comments are today than they were then.

The relationship between those who produce comic books these days and those who read them is as dysfunctional and abusive as that between Cris Brown and Rihanna. Somehow the dynamic between creator and reader has devolved into a love hate relationship where all the comic book companies, irregardless of size, seem to love is our (the readers) money and they hate everything else about us. What the heck happened? When did we become nothing more than bitches to be pimp-slapped and abused? When did purchasing your products become a reason to ridicule and a license to treat us as the lowest possible forms of life on the planet?

With that in mind I reprint the following editorial by Ben Dunn originally published in, Warrior Nun Areala: Portraits, March 1996.

The Politics of Fanboy

Fanboy!
Doesn't sound very nice, does it?
Why is it that in this industry we are in the mood to quickly label those that have a genuine passion for the hobby? Do we feel the need to exercise our own superiority or is it a way to cover our own inner passion? Why is it so many professionals in the comic industry need to label comic readers as 'fanboy'? You'll notice there is little regard to call someone a 'fangirl'. Probably because there are so few of them we are afraid to chase off females who actually enter the hobby of comic collecting.

I remember a time it was a badge of honor to be called a 'fan'. I was passionate about comics because I loved the medium. I loved anime, manga, and science-fiction. I loved it so much I created a company. As time went on and I came to know more and more people in the industry , I began to encounter prejudices: the accepted practice of calling comic readers 'fanboys'. Why is that? You wouldn't call a Jew a 'kike', you wouldn't call an Asian a 'chink', you wouldn't call an African American a 'nigger'-unless you were a racist. So why is it okay to call a comic reader a 'fanboy'? Isn't that labeling someone because of what they are? Let's face it, nobody would want to admit in public that he or she is a fanboy, but isn't that what all of us are? Isn't the appreciation of comics the reason we are in this industry to begin with? I have not seen any other industry that treats its own customers with with such utter contempt. Through its own actions and its own words it continues to play these readers, thinking they are fools-i.e., 'fanboys' "Lets go exclusive!" was the rallying cry , and to hell with the readers, "Who cares about them? They will follow us because they are 'fanboys'" was the mantra in the industry. "Let's flood the market with as much similar product as possible because they are fanboys and will buy what we feed them," continued the industry. Just how long did they think the readers were going to fall for it? Now the industry is in the midst of almost collapsing and they have no one to blame but themselves...or do they? Perhaps, in some nameless comic company boardroom, an executive is blaming the fall on those stupid 'fanboys'. They did not realize it was these 'fanboys' that were supporting them for years, and now the truth comes out that they never cared for them to begin with.

I am a comic reader. I like reading comics and I like talking about them. I am not afraid to admit that. I think the industry needs to take a hard look at itself and its readers and try to understand that the passion of collecting and reading comics comes from within. Sure, there are those who try to manipulate it, twist it and take advantage of others to enrich themselves in this industry. It is those I consider the real threat.

Ben Dunn, 03/96

Like any bad relationship the abused victim will stick around for awhile because of the feelings of love they have have for the abuser. Eventually however the bruises become too much to bear and the return on investment diminishes beyond the ability to endure. Even the name calling becomes too much...

To paraphrase an old saying, "If you torture us, we will leave."

This post is dedicated to, Marc Hansen, who needs to read his blog, then ask himself if he were a prospective customer would he purchase his own product, given what he thinks of comic book reader/collectors regardless of whatever format he offers it?

C'mon, Dude, even Cris Brown treats his bitches better...

Flash Gordon- Arddeen Entertainment

2009-03-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

Pure beauty?

This is one of those books where it all comes together in perfect harmony and balance. The artwork is stunning and the coloring masterful. I could sit and do nothing more than look at this comic for hours on end.

It would be so easy to lose the story in artwork of this quality, but Brendan Deneen more than holds his own against the artistic splendor of Paul Green. Each element of the book holds my attention and I find this just as good a read as it is eye candy to look at.

Unfortunately, I find the marketing techniques to be as crass as the book is polished. Clearly Arddeen Entertainment believes the planet to be composed of an endless forest of paper producing trees because they're producing an endless number of variant covers for each and every issue of the book they've produced to date. Five issues and each one has had no less than five variant covers. Not only is this marketing technique unfriendly to the planet and the environment, it's also unfriendly to comic book buyers at a time of economic hardship.

These guys are asking top dollar for their product and the only interest they seem to have in producing comic books is making as much money as inhumanly possible off what they perceive to be paper-crack addicted Fanboys. If there was a single shred of integrity remaining to this company they'd change their name to, Greed and Avarice Entertainment. I haven't seen such money grubbing since the early days of the Image label.

I bought the first four issues of this book in hopes that they'd settle down and ease up on the print runs and variant covers, but every time I visit their web site they're alredy hawking hardbound collections of the first four issues, included the over hyped New York comicon zero edition that I just get fed up and want nothing more to do with Arddeen Entertainment no matter how good their books are.

Corporate greed on the level displayed by these guys ruins the quality of their product and is comparable to spray painting graffiti on the Mona Lisa. Sorry, but with the economy the way it is right now I've got much better things to do with my money than line your excessively greedy pockets with it.

From this point forward I'll be waiting to pick these books up in bargain bins where every other over printed and over variant covered title winds up.

R.E.B.E.L.S Bedard and Clarke

2009-03-14T14:06:00.000-07:00

Vril Dox returns!

One of only two long run comic book series remaining in my collection today is L.E.G.I.O.N. which began its run in 1989 and ended in 1994. I always enjoyed this title and I still admire the series for the number of characters who were carefully shaped and molded for eventual starring roles in the D.C. universe. (Need I say anything other than Lobo?) Vril Dox was the main character in this series and for anyone who's never heard of him before he was the quintessential control freak and all around inconsiderate horse's ass. The only two things in the universe he had respect for were his own abilities and personal vision of how things "should" be. Everything and everyone else around him were seen as little more than raw materials and tools to be used as he saw fit to accomplish his personal goals. Vril Dox had many associates, but very few friends. I liked him.

To make a long column short, Vril Dox put together a mercenary police force that kept the peace over about eighty-five planets at it's height. L.E.G.I.O.N. was the story of this band of peace keepers, held together more by a mutual desire to keep Vril Dox in check than anything else, and their adventures throughout the galaxies under their protection. R.E.B.E.L.s is not a revitalization of the L.E.G.I.O.N series nor is it a continuation of it although it does indeed hearken back to the original epoch of that particular storyline. I've been rereading the original title, refreshing my memory of Vril Dox and trying to gleam a clue or two (If possible.) on just who it is that may have stolen control of L.E.G.I.O.N. away from him.

Which brings me to the story line overview...

Issue one opens with Vril Dox landing on Earth with a group of nasty bounty hunters hot on his intergalactic heels. It isn't long before he's managed to manipulate Supergirl into playing the role of unwitting bodyguard and maneuvering her into position in a plan only Vril is aware of. This is classic Vril Dox! No one ever knows what role they're playing in Vril's schemes until his machinations are completed and they're lying bruised and confused on the ground wondering just what the hell just happened to them. Issue one is like a fuse on a bottle rocket, it sets the eventual fireworks into motion without stealing the upcoming show.

Issue two explodes in a pyrotechnic display of lightning fast action and plot advancement. Supergirl is used and abused in a typical wham, bam, thank you, ma'am Vril Dox fashion that brilliantly foreshadows what is about to happen to the next female character he encounters in this new tale. By issue's end I knew what he was going to do, but I just couldn't look away. I won't spoil the moment for you if you haven't read it yet, but suffice it to say, "Be careful what you ask for around Vril Dox, cause you won't believe the sick and twisted way he gives it to you."

Two issues into this series so far and I'm hooked. Tony Bedard has shown an excellent grasp of Vril's personality and written a masterful story to this point and even though I'm not all that familiar with the artwork of Andy Clarke, I like what I see so far. I think this is a sleeper title this year and by the time September rolls around everyone will be looking for the early issues of this book.

My pull file...

2009-03-13T16:41:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'd do Hellboy. What of it?

As any comic book reader knows, Wednesday is the best day of the week. From the moment our eyes open on the very bestest day of the week our only thought is on what awaits us in our pull files at our local comic book retailer. I live for Wednesdays. Weekends are for alcoholics and sports fans. For me and my friends it's all about gathering around the big table as the new books are checked in and we share reviews and opinions about the previous week's offerings. Yeah, it's just how we roll. Anyway, each and everyone of the true aficionados keep what is known as a pull file. It's like a reservation in which you're guaranteed to have copies of particular titles pulled by the staff and held for you until you're able to visit your favorite comic book dealer and pick them up in person. If you're lucky, like me, you have a good relationship with a staff member who also pulls special releases or low print run books just in case you might wish to try something new and puts those in your pull file too. Here's a list of books I consider worth reading and always look forward to finding in my pull file.

Icon

Icon is a sub title under the Marvel banner and is home to their primarily creator owned projects. I collect two books from this line; Criminal and Incognito. Both books are produced by the same creative team and I don't think many better titles exist anywhere else in the industry.

D.C.

I just finished a four part Sandman series entitled, The Dream Hunters. If you've never read a comic book this would be the series to start with. Comics like this are rare these days and you'll be hard pressed to find a better creative duo than that of Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell.

I just added a new title, R.E.B.E.L.S. to my pull file and if the first two issues are any indication the team of Tony Bedard and Andy Clarke are working on a winner. Issue one was like the fuse on a bottle rocket, it sparkled and set the stage for the fireworks to come, but issue two ignited the rocket and launched the story skyward. Vril Dox is back with a vengeance...

Dark Horse

Hellboy is just plain smoking right now. He's currently halfway through a story arc entitled, The Wild Hunt and so far I get the feeling this story just might be headed back to things first hinted at in an earlier two book series, Makoma. Something is brewing in this series and it's spinoff, B.P.R.D. and I can't wait to see what Mike Mignola's got up his sleeve.

The B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Psychic Research and Development) is another read I just can't wait for month to month. The Black Goddess is the name of the current story arc and you can just feel it building towards something extraordinary and I'm biting my nails to see what it is. Seriously, Mike Mignola is a genius of the horror genre and his work is getting better and better with every passing year. He's also surrounded himself with a very talented group of people like; Guy Davis, Richard Corben, John Arcudi, Duncan Fregredo and Scott Allie. (Yes I did just list an editor as a creative force.) If you're not reading Hellboy you're missing a master of the craft in his prime and you'll regret it someday. This guy is Jack Kirby good...

Is anyone else reading, The Cleaners? I'm not sure what's happening with this book just yet, but I like it.

Solomon Kane... The first story arc just completed and I'm already looking forward to the next one.

Radical

I just finished reading the final book of five in the, City of Dust series and am looking forward to this title becoming an ongoing book. Written by, Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) this is a post apocalyptic tale about one man's search for his place in a world stripped of imagination. It's dark, adult and maybe not a good book for the kiddies, but I liked it and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a damn good read.

That's a pretty good look at the kind of books I enjoy reading right now. I won't pay $3.99 for a run of the mill title or books involved in crossover after crossover event so there won't be a lot of Marvel titles in my pull file.

If you have any suggestions please be advised that offering them may subject you to ridicule. Nuff said...

Brubaker and Phillips, "Incognito"

2009-03-13T10:00:00.001-07:00

Goodness with a capitol G!

Of all the titles in the Marvel catalog I read only two these days, both are by the same creative team and both are among the very best books being produced in the industry today. They are, Criminal and Incognito. I'll save a review of Criminal for another day and focus on Incognito this afternoon. First off, the balance between story and art work is perfect and, Icognito is a book I enjoy reading as much as I enjoy looking at. This is a title for grownups and I don't recommend it as appropriate for small children. That being said, I really think that's one of the reasons I like this book so very much. The story line is about a twin who watches his brother gunned down in the midst of a battle with police after a robbery effort goes terribly bad. He is offered a deal if he turns on the brains of the outfit he's working for which he readily accepts. He is then entered into the government's witness protection program.

This is a tale that will grab you firmly by the cojones and command your attention from the very first panel of the story. The colors used to create mood are lurid and psychedelic in intensity. I always feel as if I'm being assaulted by garish signs offering titillating XXX promises of nude girls and twisted sex acts. I know it's dirty and I shouldn't be going into that kind of shop, but its got me by the balls and I just can't help but enter a peep show booth for one quick glimpse of a forbidden world of cheap physical gratification. Yes, the artwork and the color schemes used to enhance it are just that visceral and enticing.

Ed Brubaker knows how to tell a story. He's one of those writers who knows how to make characters and the world they inhabit come alive without going into verbose descriptions of setting and character motivation. He knows how to keep it real too. The main character in Incognito is in spite of his super abilities little more than a thug. His task is to pull off the job rather than think about it. He is a muscle boy and there's not much effort to ennoble him whatsoever. You won't be bothered with rationalization and justifications here, this guy is just as liable to do whatever he does for beer and babes than for any other reason. He loves the fighting and he loves the thrill of the action. I shouldn't like the guy at all and I don't, but I can't help but be fascinated by the things he does. He's a like bug I'm watching under a magnifying glass. Eventually I'm going to focus the sun's rays on him until he lays in a writhing mass of smoking ruin, but in the meantime I 'm getting a kick out of watching him crawl all over the dead bird.

I know, so far I keep thinking, "If not for the calming grace of illegal drugs there go I." Reading Incognito is like sleeping with that freaky hottie of a crack whore where you have a thousand and one good reasons for not going anywhere near her, but you'll never be able to forget that one thing she did with her tongue in the bad place for the rest of your life. You know what I'm saying...

Hey, as long as my buddies and the wife never find out about it, and I ain't telling no one, what's the harm?

Dark Horse

2009-03-12T20:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite titles.

Dark Horse comics has been in the business of producing quality comics since nineteen eighty six. You'd think that after nearly twenty four years of surviving in an industry that's still dominated by the original big two of the industry, Marvel and D.C. they'd be a well respected name and well recognized for their achievements, but such is not the case. Why this is so is a mystery to me and no matter how hard I try to figure it out I never seem to arrive at a satisfactory answer. These guys put out a truly superior product in what I believe to be a truly unique format. Dark Horse is a master of the short run series. You won't find a title in their catalog running into the two and three hundred digits. Granted, "Dark Horse Presents" ran into the one hundred number, but it wasn't the same as a single character title running as long because the book showcased any number of characters during it's long run.

Dark Horse has introduced some fine characters to the comic book world. My favorite has to be Hellboy followed closely by B.P.R.D. (Bureau for Psychic Research and Development) and the various books that relate to them. I'm always carried back to the Sunday newspaper comic section and characters like Steve Canyon when I read these these books and I feel like I've gone back in time to a better day. Hellboy and B.P.R.D. are earth bound books. There aren't any space battles involving fleets of massive battle stars and cosmic heroes saving the galaxy from evil hordes of space demons. You will find creatures of a subterranean origin and the remnants of races from the earliest moments in the creation of the earth and mankind. Oh yes, there will be monsters.

Creator, writer and illustrator, Mike Mignola has grown and matured almost as much in the years he and his creation, Hellboy have traveled the realms of myth, world folklore and Jungian archetypes in his abilities as an artist and storyteller. I never cease to marvel at his ability to dip his creative brush into the paintbox of well known story lines and produce fresh tales at the same time both familiar in origin yet new in color and context. His work is a continual reminder of what I like most about Dark Horse comics. The artist's story is always more important than the creation of a new character to market for the next ten or twenty years.

At Dark Horse it doesn't matter if a story is four books long or a thirty issue series. Creative integrity matters more than creative marketing and it shows in the way their books are crafted and placed into the marketplace. I look through my collection of Dark Horse books and the diversity of stories and artistic styles never ceases to impress me. Books like: White Like She, Egon, The Hammer, Zombie World, Amazon and new tales like The Cleaners or Solomon Kane have created a world of rich variety in which anything is possible at any given moment instead of a continuity line in which characters are forced to conform to existing time and story arcs in what are more often than not contrived and convoluted ways rather than natural and creative manners. Stories are fresh and interesting because they're not forced to extremes by a character that's been around for decades and yet is still a teenager or has faced every arch-enemy in every imaginable situation for every possible reason or motivation.

Dark Horse isn't afraid to let a story end or a character fade away. They seem to trust the artistic communities ability to produce fresh material instead of forcing it to breath life into old characters that should have been allowed to die years ago. I mean, come on, the radioactive spider bite may have given Peter Parker incredible physical powers, but did it make him immortal too? Don't get me wrong, I loved Spider-man when I was a teenager, but as I've matured I've watched his story become more juvenile and fantastical than I'm capable of accepting as an adult.

I grew up on the big two comic book companies. I loved anything Marvel and characters like Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, The Hulk and Captain America were more than good friends to me, they were role models to look up to and faithful companions to me no matter how many times my family moved back and forth across the country. These characters were consistent and familiar to me no matter how strange and alien any new neighborhood appeared to my young adolescent eyes. Now a days I pick up my old favorites only to find out that in an attempt to squeeze out a few more years and a lot more money from them their entire story lines have been distorted into aliens wearing their skins as disguises or secret clues revealing a true purpose and nature none of us ever guessed at or their life stories revealed as a complete sham because of the true evil beings in the background pulling and manipulating strings they never knew existed.

It does not entertain or satisfy me because I recognize it for the great pile of steaming excrement it has become. Having run out of believable and plausible story ideas for characters that have continued on long after their allotted shelf life has expired, the big two have turned to the bizarre and the extreme in a desperate attempt to keep their readers attention. There is nothing fresh in their content, it is purely absurd. Dark Horse keeps me entertained with new and challenging material on a monthly basis. I can't recommend them highly enough to the new reader or the old collector looking for something fresh to revitalize a waning appetite for comic book goodness. Remember, Dark Horse and Hellboy for satisfaction guaranteed reading, you won't be disappointed.