Friday, August 24, 2012

COMICS READING FOR JULY: “Legionnaire’s disease”


* NOW WITH STAR RATINGS (ala Wrestling Observer Newsletter PPV reports) *

 
HOW I RATE THE COMICS VIA THE ALAN MOORE SCALE
*****   Watchmen, Marvelman, V For Vendetta
****     From Hell, Supreme, Swamp Thing, Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?
***        League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the first two series), Axel Pressbutton, Tom Strong
**           Promethea
*             LoEG: Century: 1969
DUD  (or lower)     anything he’s written for Avatar or any of the non-comics drivel he shits out on a regular basis

 
1.-6. Angel & Faith #6-11 (Dark Horse, 2012) ***½

Writer: Christos Gage/Artists: Rebekah Isaacs, Chris Samnee (#10 only)

A few patchy moments during the “Drusilla is now sane” saga, but the story’s picked up nicely with the arrival of Rupert’s amoral great-aunties. Better than Buffy right now, I suggest.

7. Hell Yeah #4 (Image, 2012) ***¼

Writer: Joe Keatinge/Artist: Andre Szymanowicz

This better be a miniseries ’cos I’m growing tired of the story and Andre’s sub-manga art. It better pick up next issue or I am gonski.

8. Hit-Girl #1 (Icon, 2012) ****¼

Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: John Romita Jr

As good as Mark Millar says it is.

9. Fatale #6 (Image, 2012) ****¼

Writer: Ed Brubaker/Artist: Sean Phillips

10. Batman Incorporated #2 (DC, 2012) ****

Writer: Grant Morrison/Artist: Chris Burnham

11. Get Jiro! (Vertigo, 2012) ****½

Writers: Anthony Bourdain & Joel Rose/Artists: Langdon Foss with José Villarrubia   

A great mash-up of spaghetti western, insane Japanese gangster flick and the Lifestyle Food Channel! Foss is channelling Chris Burnham channelling Frank Quitely. An exquisite, completely nutty, very tasty slice of sci-fi goodness.

12. The Hypernaturals #1 (Boom!, 2012) ****

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning/Artists: Brad Walker, Andres Guinaldo

BOOM! gave Abnett and Lanning a clean slate and a new universe to create in and what did they give us? The Legion Of Super-Heroes. Thank fuck it’s very good version of LoSH, in fact probably the best we’ve seen since....oooooooh, the last time Abnett and Lanning wrote LoSH. In the far future, the latest version of the Hypernaturals go missing (presumed dead) and it’s up to two rookies and two retired members to form a new team and find out what happened. A great start to what promises to be another great title from BOOM!

13.-18. The Complete First Six Issues Of Mad (Russ Cochran, 1985) ****

- originally published in Mad #1-6 (EC Publications, 1952-53)

19.-20. EC Classics #10 (Panic) (Russ Cochran, 1987) ***½

- originally published in Panic #1-2 (EC Publications, 1953-54)

Writers/artists: various

21. LoEG: Century: 2009 (Top Shelf, 2012) ****

Writer: Alan Moore/Artist: Kevin O’Neill

Give the devil his due, this is a return to form for the league and a fine ending to an otherwise unsatisfactory trilogy.

22.-37. Strangers In Paradise Pocket Book 1 (Abstract Studio, 2004) ****

- originally published in Strangers In Paradise Volume I #1-3 (Antarctic Press, 1993-94), Strangers In Paradise Volume II #1-13 (Abstract 1995-96)

Writer/artist: Terry Moore

I picked up all six pocket book omnibuses of this award-winning indie series at Elizabeth’s Bookshop in Sydney for $84. Bargain! This romantic, comedy/action series details the tangled lives and loves of Francine, her friend/wannabe lover with a dark secret Katchoo and Katchoo’s boyfriend with a darker secret David. The first three issues is a basic tale of Katchoo avenging Francine after she’s jilted by her douchebag boyfriend Freddie. The next 13 issues go into more detail about Katchoo’s sordid past as an escort and, possibly, an assassin employed by the evil Darcy Parker (her former lover and, shockingly, David’s sister). It all moves along at a rollicking pace and any gaping plotholes are quickly papered over by slapstick violence and some interesting storytelling techniques, including a few nifty prose sequences. All in all, I enjoyed this first volume a lot and can’t wait to get to Vol. 2.

38. Free Comic Book Day: The Hypernaturals (BOOM!, 2012) ****

Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning/Artists: Brad Walker & Tom Derenick

39.-41. Worlds’ Finest: Huntress & Power Girl #1-3 (DC, 2012) ***½

Writer: Paul Levitz/Artists: George Perez, Kevin Maguire & Scott Koblish

42.-44, Earth 2 #1-3 (DC, 2012) ***¼

Writer: James Robinson/Artists: Ncola Scott & Trevor Scott

The rebooting of the JSA is starting slowly but surely. Not sure about a gay Green Lantern, but y’know..whatever.

45. FCBD: Worlds of Aspen 2012 (Aspen, 2012) ***

Writers/artists: various

46. FDBD: Lady Death: The Beginning (Boundless Comics, 2012) **

Writers: Brian Pulido & Mike Wolfer/Artists: Marcelo Mueller, Jason Eden (cover)

Nice tits.

47. FCBD: Jurassic Strike Force 5 (Silver Dragon Books) *

 Writers: Joe Brusha & Neo Edmund/Art: Pasquale Qualano

48. FCBD: Witchblade (Top Cow/Image) *½

Writers: Ron Marz, Tim Seeley/Artists: John Tyler Christopher, Diego Bernard & Fred Benes

Nice tits.

49. FCBD: The Ride/Anti (12-Gauge, 2012) ***

Writers: Nathan Edmondson (The Ride), Peter Calloway (Anti)/Artists: Paul Azaceta (The Ride), Daniel Hillyard, Brian Stelfreeze (Anti)

50. FCBD: The Smurfs/Tinkerbell (Papercutz, 2012) *

Writers/artists: various

51 FCBD: Bongo Comics Free-For-All/SpongeBob Comics (Bongo, 2012) ***

Writers/artists: various

52. FCBD: The Transformers: Regeneration One (IDW, 2012) *

Writer: Simon Furman/Artists: Andrew Wildman & Stephen Baskerville

53. FCBD: Dinosaurs & Aliens (Liquid Comics, 2012) ***¾

Writers: Grant Morrison & Barry Sonnenfeld/Artists : Mukesh Singh & Liquid Studios

Surprisingly good. It intrigued me enough to buy the graphic novel.

54. FCBD: Sonic The Hedgehog (Archie, 2012) **

Writer: Ian Flynn/Artists: Ben Bates & Terry Austin

55. FCBD: Star Wars/Serenity (Dark Horse, 2012) ***

Writer: Zack Whedon/Artists: Davidé Fabbri & Christian Dalla Vecchia (Star Wars), Fabio Moon (Serenity)

56. FCBD: Bad Medicine #1 (Oni Press, 2012) ***½

Writers: Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir (Bad Medicine), Antony Johnston (Wasteland)/Artist: Christopher Mitten

57. FCBD: Mega Man (Archie, 2012) DUD

Writer: Ian Flynn/Artist: Patrick Spaziante (interior), Chard Thomas, Fabio Redivo and Evan Stanley (cover)

58. FCBD: The Intrinsic (Arcana, 2012) DUD

Writers: Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Casey Jones & Erik Hendrix/Artist: Allan Otero

59. Blackguard #4 (self-published, 2012) **½

Writers/artists: various

The usual hit-and-miss anthology strips from the usual crew. This time, the topic is “fear”.

60. Richard Stark’s Parker: The Score (IDW, 2012) *****

Writer/artist: Darwyn Cooke

 61.-65. Mystery Society #1-5 (IDW, 2010) ***½

Writer: Steve Niles/Artist: Fiona Staples

66.-68. Seaguy: Slaves Of Mickey Eye #1-3 (Vertigo, 2009) ***½

Writer: Grant Morrison/Artist: Cameron Stewart

69.-71. Beautiful Killer #1-3 (Black Bull, 2002) ***½

Writer: Jimmy Palmiotti/Artist: Phil Noto

72. Angel & Faith #12 (Dark Horse, 2012) ***½

Writer: Christos Gage/Artist: Rebekah Isaacs

73. Hit-Girl #2 (Icon, 2012) ****

Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: John Romita Jr

74. Before Watchmen: Comedian #2 (DC, 2012) ***

Writer: Brian Azzarello, Len Wein (The Curse of the Crimson Corsair)/Artist: JG Jones, John Higgins (The Curse of the Crimson Corsair)   

75. Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre #2 (DC, 2012) ***¾

Writer: Darwyn Cooke, Len Wein (The Curse of the Crimson Corsair)/Artist: Amanda Conner, John Higgins (The Curse of the Crimson Corsair)   

76. Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1 (DC, 2012) ***

Writer: Len Wein/Artist: Jae Lee, John Higgins (The Curse of the Crimson Corsair)   

77. Before Watchmen: Minutemen (DC, 2012) ****

Writer/Artist: Darwyn Cooke; Writer: Len Wein/Artist: John Higgins (The Curse of the Crimson Corsair)

78. Supurbia #4 (BOOM!, 2012) ***¼

Writer: Grace Randolph/Artist: Russell Dauterman

79. Secret (Image, 2012) ***¾

Writer: Jonathan Hickman/Artist: Ryan Bodenheim

80. The Secret Service #3 (Icon, 2012) ***¾

Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: Dave Gibbons

81.-82. The Infernal Man-Thing #1-2 (Marvel, 2012) ***

Writer: Steve Gerber/Artist: Kevin Nowlan  

83. Extermination #2 (BOOM!, 2012) ***½

Writer: Simon Spurrier/Artist: Jeffrey Edwards

Edwards’ art leaves me cold, but there’s at least one disturbingly horrific scene that would make Mark Millar and Garth Ennis proud.

84. Gen 13: Ordinary Heroes #2 (Image, 1996) ****

Writer: Adam Hughes/Artists: Adam Hughes & Mark Farmer

A really cool conclusion to this micro-series that makes me want to check out more of Gen 13.

85. Sebastian O #1 (Vertigo, 1993) ***½

Writer: Grant Morrison/Artist: Steve Yeowell

Intriguing.

86. The Psycho #1 (DC, 1991) *½

Writer: James D. Hudnall/Artist: Daniel Brereton

Nice art, shame about the dull story of super-spies and betrayal. Brubaker did this so much better in Sleeper.

87. Rocketeer Adventures 2 #4 (IDW, 2012) ***½

Writers/artists: various

88. Buffy The Vampire Slayer season 9 #11 (Dark Horse, 2012) ***½

Writer: Andrew Chambliss/Artists: Georges Jeanty & Nathan Massengill

89. Mind MGMT #2 (Dark Horse, 2012) ****

Writer/artist: Matt Kindt

90. The Freedom Collective #1 (Rough Cut Comics, 2009) ***

Writers: Colin Barr & El Sloano/Artist: Dominic Regan  

A nice Jack Kirby-esque pisstake from the UK.

91. Punk Rock Jesus #1 (Vertigo, 2012) ****¼

Writer/artist: Sean Murphy

The return of Christ as a cloned reality TV star. Awesome concept.

92. Fury MAX #4 (Marvel, 2012) ****¼

Writer: Garth Ennis/Artist: Goran Parlov

The best Nick Fury comic ever written.

93. Dial H #3 (DC, 2012) *

Writer: China Mieville/Artists: Mateus Santolouco (interiors), Brian Bolland (cover)

A confusing mess. I can’t be bothered trying to follow this title anymore.

  

 

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Kirby Your Enthusiam 22: Serious reviews time!





A BIG reviews episode beginning with three new(ish) books by Fantagraphics: Is That All There Is? by Joost Swarte, The Sincerest Form Of Parody and The Hidden by Richard Sala.



And I wrap up proceedings with a surprisingly positive review of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III (Century): 2009, published by Top Shelf.
It's 24 minutes of extremely positive reviews. So please enjoy.
http://kirbyyourenthusiasm.libsyn.com/webpage/kirby-your-enthusiam-22-serious-reviews-time

Marvel Universe Redux


Well, this is interesting. Check it out if you're a fan of those old Marvel Universe handbooks...
http://ohotmuredux.blogspot.com.au/

The Comics Journal lives...


And it's still as annoying and opinionated as always. God, I've missed reading it. :)

http://www.tcj.com

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Kirby Your Enthusiasm, ep. 21: When Dann the Mann met Stan the Man!

 

YES, I'm finally back with a biiiiiiiig wrap-up of the inaugural Oz Comic-Con, held in Melbourne on the weekend of June 30 and July 1. It was a huge two days, where the definite highlights were meeting Marvel legend STAN LEE and, on a more personal level, extraordinary Aussie artist FIL BARLOW (of Zooniverse infamy). The lowlight was the lack of organisation by Oz Comic-Con and its merry band of uninformed, hapless volunteers.
This 31-minute podcast showcases all my thoughts - both good and bad - about the weekend.


Just in case you're wondering who all the voices are, I kick off the podcast with a few brief words of wisdom from Stan Lee himself at his panel on the Saturday.
It's followed by a series of interviews conducted on the Sunday with various Aussie creators: Burger Force writer/director Jackie Ryan; Scarlette Baccini (Zombolette), Fil Barlow (Zooniverse), Ben Hutchings (Walking To Japan) and Milk Shadow Books bossman James Andre; Steve Parke from FEC Comics, publishers of Kranburn (http://www.feccomics.com/); and Tom Taylor, the writer of The Deep from Gestalt Publishing. It's all interspersed with thoughts from myself. Enjoy!

http://kirbyyourenthusiasm.libsyn.com/webpage/kirby-your-enthusiasm-ep-21-when-dann-the-mann-met-stan-the-man

And please check out the links below to see and buy some great locally made comics and graphic novels.
http://burgerforce.com/
https://www.milkshadowbooks.com/blog/
http://kranburn.thewebcomic.com/
http://www.gestaltcomics.com/store/the-deep/

Monday, July 9, 2012

COMICS READING FOR JUNE: “Who watches the pre-Watchmen?”


* NOW WITH STAR RATINGS (ala Wrestling Observer Newsletter PPV reports) *

HOW I RATE THE COMICS VIA THE ALAN MOORE SCALE

*****   Watchmen, Marvelman, V For Vendetta
****     From Hell, Supreme, Swamp Thing, Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?
***        League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the first two series), Axel Pressbutton, Tom Strong
**           Promethea
*             LoEG: Century: 1969
DUD  (or lower)     anything he’s written for Avatar or any of the non-comics drivel he shits out on a regular basis

1. Tales From Swafford Creek #1 (Swafford Creek Studios, 2008) ***
Writer/artist: Brent Bowman
2.-5. Courtney Crumrin And The Night Things (Oni Press, 2003) ****
- originally published in Courtney Crumrin And The Night Things #1-4 (Oni Press, 2002)
Writer/artist: Ted Naifeh
6. Silver Comics #1 (Juan Ortiz, 2004) ***½
Writers: Juan Ortiz, Dan Beltran, /Artists: Juan Ortiz, Mark Prudeaux, Vince Musacchia, Chris Roberts Frank Brunner (cover)
7. A Complete Lowlife (Black Eye Books, 1997) ***
Writer/artist: Ed Brubaker
With thanks to Paul Rebec for lending this rare gem to me.
8. Cracked Party Pack #1 (Globe Communication s Corp., 1987) **
Writers/artists: various
I love the classic artwork by John Severin, Bill Ward, etc, but MY GOD this comic is lame! I grew up with Cracked (it was more easily available in newsagencies than Mad), but it really was a second-rate humour mag. What makes this comic even lamer is that it features reprints of a ton of 60s and 70s strips that kids in 1987 just would not understand. Kruschev? Frisbee-mania? Happy Days? Hell, this stuff was outta date in the late 70s.
9. Super Pro K.O.! #2 (Oni Press, 2011) ****¼
Writer/artist: Jarrett Williams
10.-14. Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #6-10 (Dark Horse, 2012) **¾
Writer: Andrew Chambliss/Artists: Georges Jeanty & Karl Story
The “Will Buffy get an abortion?” storyline was completely undermined by a naff dues ex machine ending that revealed Buffy was actually a robot! Dumb. It’s almost enough to make me quit the series. Almost.
15. The Silver Surfer (Fireside Books/Simon And Schuster, 1978) *
Writer: Stan Lee/Artists: Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott (interior art); Earl Norem (cover)
I bought this original graphic novel ages ago, then decided in January to take it to Oz Comic-Con in Melbourne for Stan Lee to sign. I read it on the plane trip down and...well, it was pretty damn horrible. Kirby’s art is fine in his usual cosmic manner, but Lee’s writing is sub-standard. And the retelling of the Silver Surfer and Galactus’s first visit to Earth is kinda lame. Pity. But at least Stan signed it for me, which was cool.
16.-28. The Sandman Vol. 9: The Kindly Ones (Vertigo, 1996) ****¼
- originally published in Vertigo Jam #1 (Vertigo, 1993), The Sandman #57-69 (Vertigo, 1994-95)
Writer: Neil Gaiman/Artists: various
29.-35. Severed (Image, 2012) ****
- originally published in Severed #1-7 (Image, 2011-12)
Writers: Scott Snyder & Scott Tuft/Artist: Attila Futaki
Coolest name for an artist ever!
35.-39. Criminal Vol. 2: Lawless (Icon, 2007) ****¼
 - originally published in Criminal Vol. 1 #6-10 (Icon, 2007)
Writer: Ed Brubaker/Artist: Sean Phillips
40.-42. Criminal Vol. 3: The Dead And The Dying (Icon, 2008) ****¼
 - originally published in Criminal Vol. 2 #1-3 (Icon, 2008)
Writer: Ed Brubaker/Artist: Sean Phillips
43.-49. The New Avengers Vol. 2 (Marvel, 2011) ***¾
- originally published in The New Avengers #7-13 (Marvel, 2011)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis/Artists: #7: penciller Stuart Immonen, inker Wade Von Grawbadger; #8: Daniel Acuña (interiors), Mike Deodato (cover); #9-13: Mike Deodato (interior & cover); Howard Chaykin (interior 1959 segments)
Squirrel Girl! 1959 Avengers (different ones)! Howard fuckin’ Chaykin! Awesome!

50. Sour Candy Comics #1 (Lucky Stone Press, 1995) **¾
Writer/artist: Riel Aarons
51. Guard Dawgs #2 (Cosmic Barn Publishing, 2010) **¾
Writer/artist: Gary Gibeaut
52. Hot Mexican Love Comics #1 (self-published, early 2000s?) **½
The above three comics were self-published and you gets what you pays for: some good, some bad, some indifferent. HMLC features stories and art by animators who were involved with a bunch of mainstream TV cartoons like Duckman, Johnny Quest, Ren & Stimpy, Rugrats, The Simpsons, Rocko’s Modern Life and more. It’s surprisingly uneven in quality. Even more surprising, the mag is still published on an annual basis.

53. My Name Is Mud (Incognito Comics, 1994) ***
Writer/artist: Brian Denham
This is a four-page comic-con preview featuring a superhero called Mud. Denham’s art looks nice – he’s probably best known nowadays for the pin-up work he does for Antarctic Press. There was an actual first issue of this mag published, which I’ve bought and will be reading soon.
54.-56. Fury: My War Gone By (Marvel, 2012) ****½
Writer: Garth Ennis/Artist: Goran Parlov
Ennis writes the best war comics around. Just ’cos this features Nick Fury doesn’t change the fact it’s more war comic than superhero yarn. Good stuff.
57.-61. Avengers 1959 (Marvel) ***½
Writer/artist: Howard Chaykin
62.-65. Rocketeer Adventures #1-4 (IDW, 2011) ****
Writers/artists: various
62.-65. Rocketeer Adventures 2 #1-3 (IDW, 2011) ****¼
Writers/artists: various
Awesome covers by  Darwyn Cooke!
66. Mars Attacks #1 (IDW, 2012) ***½
Writer: John Layman/Artist: John McCrea
A trashy good read and I love the old Mars Attacks! trading card cover, but I ain’t buying all 55 in the set.
67. Extermination #1 (BOOM!, 2012) ***¾
Writer: Simon Spurrier/Artist: Jeffrey Edwards
Can’t argue with the one buck price tag – and it’s an interesting premise: what if tropes of Batman and the Joker were forced to work together in the wake of an alien invasion? A promising start.
68. Suicide Girls #4 (IDW, 2011) **
Writers: Steve Niles, Missy Suicide, Brea and Zane Grant/Artist: Cameron Stewart
Nice art, shame about the shit script. Too many cooks and all that...
69. Mystery In Space #1 (Vertigo, 2012) ***
Writers/artists: various
70. Super Crooks #3 (Icon, 2012) ****¼
Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: Leinil Yu
71. Supreme #64 (Image, 2012) ***¼
Writer: Erik Larsen/Artist: Larsen & Cory Hamscher
And now we’re back to the old Supreme. Aaaaaaand I’m done.
72. 3 Story: Secret Files Of The Giant Man (Dark Horse, 2012) ***½
Writer/artist: Matt Kindt
73. Grace Randolph’s Supurbia #3 (BOOM!, 2012) ***½
Writer: Grace Randolph/Artist: Russell Dauterman
74. The Secret Service #2 (Icon, 2012) ***¾
Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: Dave Gibbons
75. Hell Yeah #3 (Image, 2012) *** ¼
Writer: Joe Keatinge/Artist: Andre Szymanowicz
76. Fatale #5 (Image, 2012) ****¼
Writer: Ed Brubabker/Artist: Sean Phillips
77. One Year In Indiana (self-published,2008) ***½
Writer/artist: Kurt Dinse   
78. Comeback Kings #2 (Ardden, 2011) **¾
Writers: Matt Sullivan and Gabe Guarente/Artist: Ethan Young
79. Epic Kill #1 (Image, 2012) **
Writer/artist: Raffaele Ienco
Boring and needlessly violent. I won’t be buying any more issues.
80. The Avengefuls #1 (BOOM!, 2012) **¾
Writer: Rich Johnston /Artist: Joshua ovey
81. Mondo #2 (Image, 2012) **¾
Writer/artist: Ted McKeever
82. Loose Ends #3 (12-Gauge Comics, 2011) ***¾ 
Writer: Jason Latour/Artist: Chris Brunner
83. America’s Got Powers #2 (Image, 2012) ***½
Writer: Jonathan Ross/Artist: Bryan Hitch
84. Mudman #2 (Image, 2012) **
Writer/artist: Paul Grist
85.-86. Ragemoor #3-4 (Dark Horse, 2012) ***
Writer: Jan Strnad/Artist: Richard Corben
87.-88. Dial H #1-2 (DC, 2012) ***½
Writer: China Miéville/Artist: Mateus Santolouco (interiors), Brian Bolland (covers)
89. Creator-Owned Heroes #1 (Image, 2012) ***
Writers: Steve Niles (American Muscle), Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (Trigger Girl 6)/Artists: Kevin Mellon (American Muscle), Phil Noto (Trigger Girl 6)
I bought this for the Neil Gaiman interview.
90. Hero Comics 2012 (IDW, 2012) ***
Writers/artists: various
All for a good cause for the Hero Initiative, but this is a patchy comic. However, there’s added poignancy from the piece written by down-and-out 90s writer Robert Washington, who died just after this mag was published.
91. Deadpool Max X-mas Special #1 (Marvel, 2012) **¾
Writer: David Lapham/Artists: Dve Lapham, Kyle Baker and Shawn Crystal
 

BEFORE WATCHMEN
92. Minutemen #1 (DC, 2012) ***½
Writer/artist: Darwyn Cooke
93. Silk Spectre #1 (DC, 2012) ****
Writer: Darwyn Cooke/Artist: Amanda Conner
94. Comedian #1 (DC, 2012) ****¼
Writer: Brian Azzarello/Artist: JG Jones
95. Nite Owl #1 (DC, 2012) ****
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski/Artists: Andy and Joe Kubert
Reviews coming in an upcoming podcast.