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

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/

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.  

COMICS READING FOR MAY: “Free comics? Yay!”

* 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.-4. Fatale #1-4 (Image, 2012) ****

Writer: Ed Brubaker/Artist: Sean Phillips
The usual noir greatness, this time with a HP Lovecraft horror twist.
5.-6. Grace Randolph’s Supurbia (Boom, 2012) ***½
Writer: Grace Randolph/Artist: Russell Dauterman
I’ve heard it described as the JLA meets Desperate Housewives. Seems accurate. A promising start.
7. The Secret Service #1 (Icon, 2012) ***¼
Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: Dave Gibbons
Too early to tell where this  will go, but it’s a solid start to the series.
8.-9. Hell Yeah #1-2 (Image, 2012) ***¼
Writer: Joe Keatinge/Artist: Andre Szymanowicz
Everyone’s doing superheroes-in-the-real-world type tales this year, it seems. This title seems to have a strong mysterious premise – slacker superhero discovers alternate versions of himself are being murdered (last-page reveal...by his superhero mother!)  and has to man up to save his life. And why did superheroes suddenly appear 20 years ago? Are they evil aliens (my theory). I’m intrigued enough to stick with it for another issue or so.
10.-11. Super Crooks #1-2 (Icon, 2012) ****½
Writer: Mark Millar/Artist: Leinil Yu
Supervillains travel to Spain to avoid an America chockers with superheroes. And they plan to rob the world’s greatest supervillain in the process? This looks like violent fun, with shades of The Italian Job and Ocean’s 11 thrown in for good measure. Great stuff!
12. America’s Got Powers #1 (Image, 2012) ****
Writer: Jonathan Ross/Artist: Bryan Hitch
A very English take on the reality TV genre. Fantastic art by Hitch (as always), but Ross’s tale is a bit “seen it all before”. Still, his dialogue is fun and I’m interested to check out the next issue.
13. Secret #1 (Image, 2012) ***½
Writer: Jonathan Hickman/Artist: Ryan Bodenheim
14. Heart #4 (Image, 2012) ***¼
Writer: Blair Butler/Artist: Kevin Mellon
A surprisingly downbeat ending to this reasonably entertaining MMA-themed miniseries.
15.-16. Ragemoor #1-2 (Dark Horse, 2012) ***¾
Writer: Jan Strnad/Artist: Richard Corben
Corben!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17. Annihilators: Earthfall #4 (Marvel, 2012) ***
Writers: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning/Artist: Tan Eng Huat
A flat ending to a series that I was enjoying to this point. The Rocket Racooon back-up was also less than fabulous.
18. Supreme #63 (Image, 2012) ****
Writer: Alan Moore/Artists: Erik Larsen & Cory Hamscher
Supreme is back! And I’m kinda intrigued to see where Erik’s gonna take this Superman-pastiche series now that he’s running with the ball handed to him by this old Alan Moore script (who wrote it back in the late 90s before Awesome went belly-up and it was never published). Could be fun to see how Supreme handles having his world overrun by a legion of evil Darius Daxes. 

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

19. My Favorite Martian (Hermes Press, 2012) **¾
Writers/artists: Dan Spiegle & ???
Reprints from the early 60s. The big question is, “Why?”
20. Barnaby And Mr O’Malley (Fantagraphics Books, 2012) **
Writer/artist: Crockett Johnson
21. Yo Gabba Gabba! (Oni Press, 2012) **
Writers/artists: various
22. Mouse Guard, Labyrinth And Other Stories (Archaia Entertainment, 2012) *****
Writers/artists: various
23. Burt Ward: Boy Wonder/Wrath Of The Titans Classic (Bluewater Comics, 2012) DUD
Writers: Darren Garnick & Burt Ward (Burt Ward); CW Cooke (Titans)/Artist: Ramon Salas
24. The Incredible Rockhead/Zinc Alloy (Capstone, 2012) ***
Writers: Scott Nickel (Rockhead); Donald Lemke (Zinc Alloy)/Artists: CS Jennings (Rockhead); Doug Holgate (Zinc Alloy)
25. Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Alabaster/The Guild (Dark Horse, 2012) ****
Writers: Andrew Chambliss (Buffy); Caitlín R. Kiernan (Alabaster); Felicia Day (The Guild)/Artists: Georges Jeanty, Dexter Vines & Michelle Madsen (Buffy); Steve Lieber (Alabaster); Jonathan Case, Adam Rex (The Guild)
26. Top Shelf Kids Club (Top Shelf, 2012) ***
Writers/artists: various
27. Overstreet’s Comic Book Marketplace (Gemstone, 2012) *½
28. World’s Most Dangerous Animals (Animal Planet, 2012) ½*
Writers/artists: various
29. Spider-Man: Season One (Marvel, 2012) **¾
Writer: Cullen Bunn/Artists: Neil Edwards & Karl Kesel
30. Image 20 (Image, 2012) ***¼
Writers/artists: various
31. Zombie Kid (Antarctic Press, 2012) ***½
Writer: Fred Perry/Artists: Brian Denham, Fred Perry (cover)
32. Peanuts/Adventure Time With Finn & Jake (Kaboom!, 2012) **¾ 
Writers/artists: various
33. Donald Duck Family Comics (Fantagraphics, 2012) ***¼
Writer/artist: Carl Barks
34. Voltron: Shelter From The Storm (Viedia, 2012) DUD
Writer: Brian Smith/Artist: Jacob Chabot
Utter shit.
35. The Stuff Of Legend/Finding Gossamyr (Th3rd World Studios, 2012) **** (Legend)/** (Gossamyr)
Writers: Mike Raicht & Brian Smith (Legend),  David A. Rodriguez (Gossamyr)/Artists: Charles Paul Wilson III (Legend), Sarah Ellerton (Gossamyr)
The latest sneak peek of The Stuff of Legend – about children’s toys searching for a missing child – is beautifully illustrated and written. Finding Gossamyr might have some promise, but it didn’t really grab me. The sub-Harry Potter plot kinda left me cold.
36. Moomin Valley Turns Jungle/Anna & Froga (Drawn & Quarterly, 2012) **
Writer/artist: Tove & Lars Jansson (Moomin), Anouk Ricard (Anna & Froga)
Just plain weird. And not really something that kids would dig, I imagine.
37. Graphic Elvis (Liquid Comics, 2012) **½
Writers/artists: various
38. Valiant 2012 (Valiant, 2012) **
Writers/artists: various
39. Superman: Family Adventures/Green Lantern/Young Justice (DC, 2012) **
Writers/artists: various
Kinda yawns-ville.
40. The New 52! (DC, 2012) **½
Writers/artists: various
Terra’s alive? Fuck this shit!
41. The Avengers: Age Of Ultron 0.1 (Marvel, 2012) ***
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis/Artists: Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary
Looks nice, but I won’t get drawn into another Bendis-helmed brainfuck that goes nowhere and signifies nothing.

STUFF THAT WASN’T FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMIX, BUT I SCORED FREE ON THE DAY

42. Countdown #16 (DC, 2008) **½
Writers/artists: various
Completely irrelevant now, which explains why it was free.
43. Gen 13: Ordinary Heroes #1 (Image, 1996) ***½
Writer: Adam Hughes/Artists: Adam Hughes & Mark Farmer
I’ve never read Gen 13 before but...c’mooooooon! It’s Adam fuckin’ Hughes! Big-breasted women! This comic is sweet! And I’ve already ordered the second ish of this two-parter to see how it ends.
44.-45. Army Of Darkness: Shop Till You Drop Dead #2, #4 (Dynamite, 2005) **
Writer: James Kuhoric/Artist: Nick Bradshaw
46. Avengers Sampler #1 (Marvel, 2012) ***
- originally published in The Avengers #1 (Marvel, 2010)
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis/Artists: John Romita Jr & Klaus Janson
47. Ultimate Spider-Man Premiere Comic #1 (Marvel, 2012) **
Writers: Chris Eliopoulis & Paul Dini/Artists: Rich Ginter & Jeff Suter
More a storyboard of an animated episode than a real comic. Underwhelming and pointless.
48. Daredevil #66 (Marvel, 2004) ****
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis/Artist: Alex Maleev
49. Freshmen #1 (Image/Top Cow, 2006) *½
Writer: Hugh Sterbakov/Artists: Lenoard Kirk & Andrew Pepoy
Considering Sterbakov co-created this “superheroes-in-college” miniseries with Seth Green, I expected more. But it was pretty meh.

MINI-COMIX MADNESS FROM POOPSHEET SALE

50. Fork Frenzy (self-published, ??) **
Writer/artist: Levon Jihanian
Bizarro mundane superheroics (with added bloody murder) plus robot/monster mayhem. Disturbing.
51. Nuts! #2 (Bantam Books, 1985) **
Writer/artists: Harvey Kurtzman, etc.
52. Legion Of Super-Heroes Sketchbook (self-published, 2004) ***½
Writer/artist: David King
This was pretty cool. Glad I scored this.
53. Rattletrap #1 (self-published, 2000) ***
Writer/artist: Jerry Smith
Classic Miracle Force fun and action. I loved this superhero team and I wish Jerry would produce more issues.
54. Eight Pages Until I Die (self-published, 2005) ***½
Writer/Artist: Dan Lauer
55. The League Of Mikes (self-published, 1983) ***
Writer/artist: Matt Howarth
56. Star Jaws by Will Eisner (Scholastic, 1978) **½
Bad Star Wars and Jaws-related gags. But, hey, it’s Eisner!
57. U-Comix #146 (??, 1992) unrated
It’s all German to me. But, hey, some nice Euro-art in it and there’s also Tank Girl (also in German).
58. One Thursday (self-published, ??) **½
Writer/artist: Lara Miller
59. The Plot Thickens (Armchair Comics, 1997) **¾
Writer: Gavin Burrows/Artist: Adrian Stapleton, Simon Gane & Pete Doree
60. Monkey Squad One #7 (self-published, ??) **½
Writer/artist: Doug Michel
61. Pater Contrarius (Robot Publishing Co., 1999) ****
Writer/artist: Cathy Malkasian
62. Va Va Va Voom!! (Schwing !comix, 1994) **¼
Artists : various
63. Estrogen #5 (self-published, 2006) **½
Artist: Tom Brinkmann
64. Da Soopa Tooth ‘N’ Flossie #1 (self-published, 1988) *
Writer/artist: Scooter

AND PROVIDED FREE WITH MY PACKAGE OF VINTAGE MINICOMIX, RICKO GAVE ME—

65. The Ren & Stimpy Show #23 (Marvel, 1994) **½
Writers: Barry Dutter & Scott Benson/Artists: Ken Mitchroney & Buz McKim
The “wrestling” issue. I actually have the Aussie reprint published by Trielle Comix, but this is the original. Nice stuff.
66. Transvestic (Sorceror Studios, 2012) ***
Writer/artist: RastaWayneo
Famous trannies of our time.

MORE STUFF

67. The Guild: Fawkes (Dark Horse, 2012) ***¼
Writers: Felcia Day & Wil Wheaton/Artist: Jamie McKelvie
68.-74. Red Rocket 7 (Image, 2008) ***¼
- originally published in Red Rocket 7 #1-7 (Dark Horse, 1997)
Writer/artist: Michael Allred
75. Victorian Secret: Girls Of Steampunk (Antarctic Press, 2011) **¾
Artists: Brian Denham, Rod Espinosa, David Hutchison, Ben Dunn and Kelsey Shannon
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to orgasm while looking at this collection of girly pin-ups.
76. Sidekick #7 (Future Publishing, 2012) ***½
Writers/artists: various
Free with Comic Heroes #11, this sampler comic is the best one yet, featuring some classic Anderson Psi Division by Alan Grant and Romero, Hellraisers (featuring Oliver Reed) and more.
77. Batman Incorporated #1 (DC, 2012) ****¼  
Writer: Grant Morrison MBE/Artist: Chris Burnham
Yes, as good as everyone says it is. And, yes, Burnham’s art looks impressively similar to Frank Quitely. And, yes, it DOES make me wanna buy the original series in TPB. Fantastic!
78.-80. Seaguy TPB (Vertigo, 2005) ***¼
- originally published in Seaguy #1-3 (Vertigo, 2004)
Writer: Grant Morrison MBE/Artist: Cameron Stewart
Not as bad as I’d been led to believe, but somewhat confusing at the end. I guess it can be explained away as this is really just the first volume in a trilogy. I’m intrigued to read more.
81. Mind MGMT (Dark Horse, 2012) ****
Writer/artist: Matt Kindt
82.-87. Red Hulk: Scorched Earth TPB (Marvel, 2011) ***¾
- originally published in Hulk #25-30 (Marvel, 2011)
Writer: Jeff Parker/Artists: Gabriel Hardman, Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines, Mark Robinson, Ben Oliver, etc
88.-91. Green Arrow #12-15 (DC, 2002) ***½
Writer: Kevin Smith/Artists: Phil Hester & Ande Parks  
The first appearance of Onomatopoeia. “Snap.”
92.-94. Stormwatch #10-11 & WildC.A.T.S./Aliens #1 (Image, 1998) ***
Writer: Warren Ellis/Artists: Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary, Michael Ryan & Luke Rizzo (S); Chris Sprouse & Kevin Nowlan (W/A)
The death of Stormwatch and the birth of The Authority. Of historical interest only.
95.-99. The Iron Age Alpha, The Iron Age #1-3, The Iron Age Omega (Marvel, 2011) ***
Writers/artists: various
Iron Man travels back to the 70s and 80s-style Marvel era. A fun idea but it lacked something in the execution.
100. The Hidden by Richard Sala (Fantagraphics Books, 2011) ***½
Very nasty horror tale about a mad Frankenstein-like scientist creates a monster-fuelled Armageddon.

COMICS READING FOR APRIL: “Over the Rainbow (but I didn't make 50 issues for the month)”

* 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. Axa 5 (Ken Pierce, Inc, 1984) **½
Writer: Donne Avenell/Artist: Enrique Romero
This collection of newspaper strips starring the sexy – often nude – future warrior woman Axa wandering Earth following an age-old catastrophe brought back fond memories for me reading her weekly adventures in The Melbourne Truth during the early 80s. The strip was written by Englishman Avenell, but was the creation of Spanish artist Romero. It ran for years in The Sun in England. This collection is a rollicking read – as most daily adventure strips have to be – and Romero’s art (generally) is a stand-out. He sure knows how to draw naked women.
2. Gun Nut Funnies (self-published, 2011) DUD
Writer/artist: Karno
A truly disturbing, paranoia-filled, pro-gun rant masquerading as a self-help manual. Yep, if you spend your life walking round a’feared that you may have to shoot someone dead one day, then deal with “the corrupt system” afterwards…well, this comic’s for you. Befriending lawyers on gun ranges, carrying a video camera pen on your person, life’s just a bed of roses for this idiot. I don’t know what happened to “Karno” in the past, but it’s totally fucked up his outlook on life – I would NOT want to live inside his head. For contact details, email author Kjartan Arnorsson at kjartana@comcast.net.
3. Showman? The Bret Braddock Adventures, Vol. 2: Overtime Approved (self-published, 2012) ****
Writer/artist: David Blumenstein
The probably true story of hideous “entrepreneur” Bret Braddock continues in David’s biting, absurd look at the making of a children’s animated TV series. Bret is an arrogant idiot and he surrounds himself with highly paid sycophantic idiots. But the biggest idiots are the nice folk who work long hours for little pay to make Bret’s stupid TV show, The Magic Kofta, come to life. If it wasn’t so funny, it’d be pathetic. There’s a happy ending…of sorts. To order your copy, write to Nakedfella Productions, PO Box 361, Flinders Lane, Vic, 8009, AUSTRALIA, email office@docklandsentertainment.com,or head to www.nakedfella.com.
4. Hilly Rose’s Space Adventures #1 (Astro Comics, 1995) **
Writer/artist: BC Boyer
Nice Eisner-style art by the guy behind Eclipse’s The Masked Man, but it’s ruined by pedestrian scripts and lame humour. Meh.
5. Kill The Face #3 (ACE Comics, 1987) DUD
Writer: Joe Gill/Art: Steve Ditko & Rick Altergott
The nice Alex Toth cover saves this from negative stars, but this terrible comic single-handedly destroyed any interest I have in Ditko’s post-Spidey work. I gather he had a heavy hand in these scripts and it shows: ineptly written, heavy-handed and nonsensical in parts. This by-the-numbers superhero vs drug dealers shite was clearly written by dudes who’ve never touched the stuff. Cocaine users are depicted as the worst kind of heroin junkies. And clearly Gill and Ditko don’t know how police procedure works either. Godawful on every level. Even Ditko’s pencils are rudimentary and inker Altergott sucks arse. The back-up strip Who Dunnit (anonymous writer/art by Fred Guardineer) is nicely rendered, even if the murder mystery storyline is boring. Not sure if it’s a reprint or not. ACE Comics was clearly an ambitious line that promised way more than it could deliver. The Face (a public domain superhero from the 1940s) now resides in the Dynamite universe.
6. OMAC #1 (DC, 1991) **½
Writer/artist: John Byrne
Pleasant B&W art, but I can’t think of a single reason why I’d buy any further issues of this prestige-format four-issue series.
7. Nexus: The Origin (Rude Dude Productions, 2007) ***
Writer: Mike Baron/Artist: Steve Rude
I think I’ve already read this before. The Dude’s art is nice as always and Baron does a good job recapping the origin of the superhero with a tragic destiny. Of course, whenever I see Rude’s work I think to myself, “Oh how the mighty have fallen.” Arrogance will only take you so far, arsehole.
8.-9. Loose Ends #1-2 (12-Gauge, 2011) ****½
Writer: Jason Latour/Artist: Chris Brunner
I fucking love this southern noir tale of desperate drug runners and fallen women in dead-end towns. Hell, I drove through a few of those when I travelled round the States. Love this comic. Brunner’s art is sensational. Word is the fourth and final issue will be published soon. Bloody hope so!

TIME OUT FOR...

A quick whinge. Colourists are just dudes with fancy crayons who colour in between the lines. They don’t deserve their only credit on the fucking cover of a comic book. Jesus!

10. Red Rocket 7 #1 (Dark Horse, 1997) ****¼

Writer/artist: Mike Allred
Fucking sensational comic about an alien and his experience living through the birth and growth of rock’n’roll in America. It’s a sci-fi epic and rock history tour spun into one trippy tale by Allred. I cna’t wait to read the rest of this series.
11.-33. Marvel Essential Captain America Vol. 1 (Marvel, 2010) ***¾
- originally published in Tales Of Suspense #59-99, Captain America #100-102 (Marvel, 1964-68)
Writer: Stan Lee/Artists: Jack Kirby, Gil Kane and friends
I fucking love Kirby’s artwork, but too much Stan Lee bombast in one sitting did my head in. Repetition was the key to Stan’s writing. And while this is fine in monthly 10-page doses, it wears thin when you read four years’ worth of material in one sitting. Still, Kirby’s art is brilliant as always and this collection features some classic moments: the introduction of Batroc The Leaper, The Red Skull, Agent Sharon Carter and so much more. There’s also a hidden gem in the heart of this massive volume: Gil Kane’s delightful run from #88-91, relating a Red Skull encounter in fine style. 
34. Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: Free Special Edition Preview (Vertigo, 2012) **¾
Writer: Denise Mina/Artists: Leonardo Manco & Andrea Mutti
You’ve read the books, you’ve watched the original Swedish films, you’ve seen the inferior American version. Now, read the comic! Actually, it’s not too shabby and, as I’ve not had anything to do with the books and films, caught my interest. I may get this title.
35. Gearhearts Steam-Punk Glamor Revue #1 (Antarctic Press, 2011) **
What the world needs – steampunk porn. What the world DOESN’T need – softcock steampunk “glamma”. Get your tits out, ladies! I hate any softcore porn mag where the articles are more interesting than the pictorials.
36.-38 WE3 (Vertigo, 2005) ****¼
- originally published in WE3 #1-3 (Vertigo, 2004)
Writer: Grant Morrison/Artist: Frank Quitely
A quick read (I read the graphic novel twice in a half-hour train trip), but insanely good. And weirdly moving (especially if you own a pet dog, cat or rabbit).

39. Legends Of Arzach: Gallery Four: The Rock Of Everlasting Despair (Tundra, 1992) ****

Not really a comic, but I read it in honour of the late, great Moebius. This set of portfolio prints features full-colour pin-ups by the likes of Richard Corben and John Buscema. Plus there are B&W illos by Moebius himself in a prose section that chronicles theongoing adventures of his iconic sci-fi hero. Good stuff.
40. Lady Mechanica #3 (Aspen, 2012) **½
Writer/artist: Joe Benitez
I buy this comic for the steampunk imagery and the good-girl pin-ups of the title character. I don’t buy it for the plot, especially when it degenerates into page after page of long-winded, repetitive dialogue that leads nowhere. Benitez is no writer, that’s for sure.

41. The Rainbow Orchid Vol. 1 (Egmont, 2009) ****¼
Writer/artist: Garen Ewing
I’ve hear about this Tintin-like pastiche adventure yarn forever, and loosely followed Ewing’s trials and tribulations in getting it published. Well, Volume 1 came out quietly and I stumbled across it in Adelaide at a remaindered bookstore. Picked it up, read it and bloody loved it. Tintin fans would approve, but me? I can’t stand Tintin and I STILL loved it. Anyway, after reading the first volume I was moved to buy the next two volumes off Amazon.co.uk. Can’t wait to read them.