The OS Hot Ten For 1/31/08

10. Catwoman Lip-Ripping Cat-Fight Cover

9. Batman: Rest In Peace?


8. Marjorie Satrapi


7. Spider-Bitch
6. Joe Quesada on Colbert Report



5. LEAVE TIGRA ALONE!!!!!!


4. Transformers Anniversary Ad: "They Were Always Real To Me"


3. Return Of Ambush Bug

(If only Ambush Bug had his own series on the Cartoon Network! *sigh*)

2. Y: The Last Issue / Season Four of "Lost"

(Picture of Matthew Fox barely trumps picture of the awesome Brian K. Vaughan)

1. The Return of Captain America



There it is, the Hot List
Let the debating begin...

Uhhhhh...Am I Supposed To Care About This Batman Death?

Help me out here. Am I supposed to care about this death? This Batman #500,000 from Earth Pi, right? Or is this a Batman I'm supposed to feel emotion for?

Is this one of the old Batmen? Kingdom Come? Is that it? Is that why he looks so fat in this issue?


And Jason Todd finally got his revenge on the Joker...


Wow, this is really emotional. Let's have a moment, shall we?
...
...
...
...
...
...

In all seriousness, this series could have been much better, could have moved past the more cartoonish elements, had the art not looked so rushed. The art on this series has looked continually rushed. DC was better of just literally having 20 different artists working on issues at the same time, 20 different artists.

And, as someone on scans daily pointed out,
"Brain punching does not work that way!"

What Should Be On The OS Hot List This Week?

What comic news moved you?

Is there a hot artist or writer who deserves attention this week?

What comic is burning up the charts?

I'm open to suggestions, the list goes up tomorrow!

Occasional Interviews: BUCKAROO BANZAI's Amin Amat

Amin Amat is the new artist on Moonstone Books' BUCKAROO BANZAI series, based on the classic cult film. I had a chance to catch up with Amin and discuss Banzai, Kolchak The Nightstalker, and more.



Were you a big comic book fan as a child?

Yeah I was. My first comic books were the Marvel GI Joe comics. Loved those. From those I ended up getting Conan and Transformers. Years later, I transitioned to Avengers which got me to view comics as a possible career but I didn't take that seriously until much much later. I still read the occasional issue here and there, although most of the time I may just pick up a graphic novel instead.
Who are your artistic influences?

My top tier influences are Klaus Janson, John Romita Jr., Marc Silvestri, Jim Lee, Travis Charest, Moebius, Dan Barry, Alex Toth and Alex Raymond. Of course this list expands depending on what project I'm working on and my mood and could include Amedeo Modigliani, Tiepolo, Edward Gorey, Toulouse Latrec, John Singer Sargent, to name a few.

What was your first professional comic book work?


My first pro work was doing a graphic novel for Cyberosia Publishing called "Second Soul". It was also my first real world dealings on what one can and cannot do as an artist and my limitations at the time in terms of achieving particular goals within a set time frame. That little novel taught me a lot about myself as an artist. Yet all in all it was a lot of a fun.


Acclaimed inker Klaus Janson taught you at SVA -- what was that like?

One of the best experiences of my life. Hell I'm still learning stuff he taught me, that's how good he is. Learning form someone with the professional and artistic caliber that is Klaus Janson was and still is incredibly rewarding. Even now when I draw I can feel him looking over my shoulder and making me question my decisions on design, composition, line work, why is this here and that there, layout, everything. I also owe a lot of my persistence and motivation to his brutal honesty when it came to improving one's work.

What brought you to Moonstone Books?

Well I had been doing smaller projects and pinups for sometime with Dave Ulanski at Moonstone. I did a short story for them that ended up being unpublished and I kept in touch with them over the years. After I came back from my 2 year sabbatical, they were doing a talent search for Captain Action. I sent in some pages I recently did for a local magazine and instead of getting Captain Action they offered me to tryout for Kolchak which I did. A short time after I became the
new Kolchak artist. While I was waiting for an approved script, Joe Gentile Moonstone's Editor in
Chief emailed me and asked if I'd be interested in doing Buckaroo Banzai. And, of course, I said "yes"!

You have worked on adaptations of TV & movies like Kolchak and now Buckaroo Banzai. Do you have to draw the original likenesses of those characters? Is that hard to do? Is there an approval process involved?


For any type of project where there is an established likeness, look or style you need to be true to the source. On both Kolchak and Buckaroo I kept all my sketches and studies using the actors as my main guideline. There is some room for one's interpretation but that room is very small. I personally don't find it hard, it's just a matter of drawing and sketching until you find your own click and everything makes sense. For both projects I have to get everything submitted for approval. On the Buckaroo Banzai book I'm working on, the character designs as well as every page has to be approved by not just my editor (Joe Gentile again!!) but of both the writer and director of the Buckaroo Banzai film, J.D. Richter and Earl Mac. I actually enjoy the approval process so if they
ask for changes or not, it's ok with me and besides they really like what I'm doing.

What advice would you give an aspiring young comic book artist?

I would say draw/sketch like there's no tomorrow. Study not just anatomy and other comicbook artists but artists from other fields/mediums. And be open to criticism. I've seen and heard of artists whose ego's were so inflated that any criticism made to their work was treated as an act of aggression against said artist. I guess I'm lucky enough to be able to separate myself from my art and look at it from another point of view other than just my own. Always keep an open mind and to not cease learning or questioning every decision you make when it comes time to draw.

What is your impression of the industry at the moment, in terms of opportunities for artists?
From where I'm at, it depends. The industry is definitely not able to offer a lot of work to artists as in the 90's. Then again a lot of the talent has maintained a higher level of quality than a majority
of the published work from the 90's. It's also a cutthroat industry as is any industry related to
entertainment. Your best bet besides talent is to be persistent, consistent and have good human relations (knowing how to communicate and work with others). All in all there are opportunities it's just realizing that each one is unique and what one did may not be the best for another to utilize.

Do you do other work besides comics?

Yes I work as a full-time web designer with a small design boutique in Ocean Park, Puerto Rico. Most of the time I'm swamped but I do sketch a lot during the day which has helped me to work better at night since my brain and hand have been in sync all day. Yet as those like me and those that came before me I do plan on illustrating comicbooks full-time in the near future.

If you could draw any character, who would it be?

Batman or anything Gotham city related, if DC asked; Spider-man, Cloak & Dagger or Power Pack if Marvel asked; and anything from the Valiant universe.

What's next for Amin Amat?

Right now, I'll be finishing up A Tomb with a View, the new Buckaroo Banzai book for Moonstone. Then hopefully some Kolchak and after that whatever

You can check out more art at http://aminamat.blogspot.com/

Comicon.com's The Pulse Plot Point In Comic Mix's EZ-Street

click for full-size

Okay, this is a first --

Comicon.com's The Pulse, a popular comics news website, was recently featured as a plot point in Comic Mix's webcomic EZ-Street,

Plus, Neil Vokes is called an "asshole" by one of the characters.

You know what this means, don't you?

Petition Comic Mix to get my blog on EZ-Street as a plot point!

LEAVE TIGRA ALONE!!!!!!

Occasional Links: The Capdickery Edition

Capdickery:



Rags Morales: "I'm More Than Just Identity Crisis!"


New Nightwing artist Rags Morales laments to Newsarama about being pigeonholed as "that Identity Crisis guy":

"But I try to do better with every new project, so maybe you're seeing it like I feel everyone sees me -- as Identity Crisis. Please don't get me wrong, it's been a Godsend, and I loved what it's done for me. In some ways though, I feel like I may have failed the story a bit. That's something that kind of bug's me a little. I think most people don't think beyond that series when it comes to my work. I have a body of work, and there were some chances I took with Identity Crisis that I wouldn't want to do again, like the whole "casting" thing. From now on, I'm gonna think "character" instead of "who can play this character."

In Defense Of Tigra

Calvin Pitt writes:

"Bendis, please, stop writing about Tigra. I know Yu said she was gonna get a moment in the sun to make up for all the crap lately, but I have no faith in you to do right by the character. No faith whatsoever. If it was your pets, Luke Cage and Jessica Drew, then I might believe you were doing this with the purpose of showing what true heroes they are, and how they persevere. But since it's a character you've professed to hate, a character you have Edwin Jarvis, of all characters, calling an obscenity, I can't give you that benefit of the doubt (and we're gonna talk about that Jarvis thing tomorrow). Because you've given no indication you deserve it. The funny thing is, once upon a time (in Mexico) I wasn't prepared to buy that you did hate Tigra, thinking you just said that as a joke. I believe it now."

So what obscenity did Jarvis call Tigra, anyway? No cussing, please -- you can answer with the first letter and a dash and the word "word."



Tina Fey As "Tinkerbell"


From a Diesel Advertisement

She's a quirky, self-effacing fairy. Sexy because of her non-sexiness. Funny but like in this way that you don't really think she's funny, like you forgot she was funny.

Giving Tinabell a run for her money:



Meet "Duke" From "G.I. Joe"


Actor Channing Tatum has joined the 'G.I. Joe' team -- signing up to play Duke in the upcoming movie.

In other news, here is my pick to play "Zarana" --




Video: Super-FRIENDS

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: Dan Grendell

Name: Dan Grendell

Website/blog: www.comicpants.com

Comics you read: Oh, boy. I work in a comics store, and review them for a website, so it might be easier to ask me what I *don't* read. I tend to read as much as I can from publishers large and small each week, to best serve our customers. What I actually buy is much more limited, though. I tend to be pretty picky about what I'll actually take home. Current books that make it include:

Marvel Adventures: Avengers, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, various Power Pack mini-series, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Immortal Iron Fist, Incredible Hulk, Nova, Annihilation: Conquest, The Order, She-Hulk, Thor, Thunderbolts, X-Men: First Class, X-Factor, Kabuki, and Criminal from Marvel.

Brave and the Bold, Blue Beetle, Birds of Prey, Manhunter, Batman and the Outsiders, Wonder Woman, Fables, and Northlanders from DC.

Hellboy, BPRD, Empowered, Grendel, Usagi Yojimbo, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Satsuma Gishiden, and Path of the Assassin from Dark Horse.

Proof, Invincible, Special Forces, Age of Bronze, Godland, Dynamo 5, True Story Swear to God, and Fell from Image.

Punks, Scott Pilgrim, Courtney Crumrin, Love and Rockets, Arsenic Lullaby, Finder, Order of the Stick, Nocturnals, Queen and Country, Fallen Angel, Local, Wormwood, PS 238, The Killer, Robotika, Mouse Guard, Artesia, and Modesty Blaise from various indy publishers.

Kindaichi Case Files, Yotsuba&!, Miki Falls, Hollow Fields, Monster, Pantheon High, and King City by various manga publishers.

Fave artist: Dan Brereton. His creepy style of painting has always just done it for me.

Fave writer: This is a tough one. It's a toss-up between Gail Simone and Jeff Parker right now, I think, though this changes all the time as I discover new people.

Fave character: Probably Lady Shiva, from DC. Somewhat obscure, and not all that important, but I've just always liked her. Can't really explain why.

First comic you ever read: I dunno about the first one I read, but the first one I actually remember reading was "Saga of the Swamp Thing" #21, 'The Anatomy Lesson', by Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, and John Totleben. I was maybe ten when I read it, and it had a huge impact on me. The issue scared me, intrigued me, and delighted me, all at the same time.

Your favorite comic book "memory": (either related to comics or actually in a comic) The scene from near the end of "Lone Wolf and Cub", where Daigoro protects the swords of his father and Yagyu from all comers, including a runaway wagon, showing such devotion that he inspires the surrounding people to form a ring of protection around the blades.

Most frustrating comic book "moment": When I realized that most comics fans are not into the same things I am, and as a result many of the books I enjoy will be canceled early due to low sales.

Where/how do you buy your comics?: At the store where I work each week.

Floppies or trades?: Both, though I prefer trades.

Marvel or DC?: Again, both. I don't care who publishes a comic so long as it's good.

Star Wars or Star Trek?: Star Wars.

Non-comic book hobbies: Reading 'real' books, watching movies, playing role-playing and board games

Personal motto: Be honest, with yourself and everyone else.

How did you start reading "Occasional Superheroine?": I followed a link from Tom Beland's blog.

Occasional Previews: What I'm Buying This Week

Use this handy-dandy list from Diamond and add your picks to the comments section!

AVENGERS INITIATIVE #9 $2.99

CAPTAIN AMERICA #34 $2.99

SPIDER MAN SWING SHIFT DIRECTORS CUT ONE SHOT $3.99

SPIDER-MAN WITH GREAT POWER #1 (OF 5) $3.99

PROJECT: SUPERPOWERRS #0 $1.00

Oddball Comic Of The Week:

ADOLESCENT RADIOACTIVE BLACK BELT HAMSTERS #1 $3.50

God, I remember this book...it was like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles parody, right?

No, there aren't any DC Comics on the list, but I'm open to suggestions...

Occasional Links: The Surprising Spider-Man Edition

Your friendly Neighborhood Occasional Links


Wonder Woman Vs. Namor In A Swordfight


Who would win?

Highlights:

"She can decapitate with her tiara."

"I meant for this to only be a swordfight. No other weapons (like tiaras and lassos and such.)"

Got that? Stop screwing around. This is a serious debate!



Fortuna: Another Caped Do-Gooder Roaming The Streets, Making Multimedia Art Installations

"Masked, caped and packing a staple gun, a do-gooder known by the moniker Fortuna stalks the Wicker Park streets, tagging barren walls with posters announcing her dominance over evil. She's literally your friendly neighborhood superhero."

I heard Top Cow might be getting the rights to this, but they're going to have to add some cybernetic demon-hand pasties.


Gwen Stacy: Mexican Pinup Queen


Again With The Comics explores the Mexican 60's/70's reprint series "The Surprising Spider-Man":

I also have to wonder, are these stories considered canon to Mexican collectors? Is "Misterio del vampiro de la playa del bikiní" held in the same esteem as, say, the Master Planner arc or the Stone Tablet Saga? Inquiring, idiotic minds want to know!

As you can see, there was some effort made by the editors of "The Surprising Spider-Man" to capitalize on Gwen Stacy's... (don't say "assets," don't say "assets"...)


I like the idea that somebody on their staff actually had to draw a big ass onto Gwen. Like, that was an actual instruction that person received. "More ass! We've got to sell these damn comics!"


Gay and Bisexual Characters In Comics


Clip n' save this handy list, take it with you to your local comic book store, courtesy of The Gay League.

Some reflections on the list:

1) The "Bi" list seems to be made up of a lot of hot women and Mephisto. Draw your own conclusions.

2) "Doctor Stingaree" is gay. In case you were wondering.

3) Anybody remember back in Morrison's "Doom Patrol" when "Danny The Street" turned out to be gay? He was a friggin' street. He was a street with a distinct sexual orientation. Welcome to highbrow comix.

4) "Tlaango" is gay. Just in case you were debating it.

5) Is it a rule of comics that all gay characters have to have wacky names? Like you'll have a lesbian couple in some Vertigo book with the names "Pussywillow and Hotbox." Oh, that's clever. Welcome to highbrow comix.

6) Skyppi The Skrull has an "uncertain sexual orientation." Just in case you were wondering. Actually, I heard they are going to retcon that; he was really Black Bolt in disguise.


Video: "The Fantastic Four Song"

FANTASTIC FOUR SONG - Ray Wall Band

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Will Cap's Return Recharge The Marvel Magic?

The Beat points out today that this week will see a blitz of publicity for Captain America's return, including the New York Daily News, Ed Brubaker on NPR, and an appearance by Joe Quesada on The Colbert Report on Tuesday.

Marvel has taken some flack recently for their "One More Day"/"Brand New Day" Spider-Man storyline. But, will the triumphant return of Cap -- on stands this week -- inspire readers not to kvetch, but to rejoice?

And will Steve Rogers make a comeback at some point as well?

Here's one man who sure hopes so --

NY Daily News Reveals New Captain America Two Days Early

Spoilers Ahoy

The New York Daily News revealed a major spoiler for the latest issue of Captain America, telling its readers who would be taking up the shield:

Less than a year after the legendary star-spangled superhero was killed off in his comic book, his former teenage sidekick is being promoted to fill those big red boots in the latest issue, out Wednesday.

Of course, the identity of the new Cap hardly comes as a shock, as it has been speculated for months.

It's just funny that non-comic media have a hard time with the concept of "spoilers" for comics.

And anyway, I don't think anyone will now not buy the book just because they found out the new Captain America's identity. In the end, this title isn't fueled by cheap gimmicks showcasing a series of character deaths and rebirths -- it actually has a good writer.

Occasional Links: The Wolverine Happy Feet Edition

Does DC = NO FUN?!


Need Coffee columnist Widge suggests that DC might not be producing the world's funnest comics anymore -- and a way to remedy the situation:

"...a thought struck me: how about Booster goes and snags--from the time stream, or from alternate realities, or whatever--the old Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League and they run around and have adventures, like a DC version of the Exiles. Get G & D back to write the thing...wouldn't you read the hell out of that book? Of course you would. And so would I."

In a word, Widge is suggesting...EARTH-FUN!



The Comic Britney Should Read

Rex Morgan MD Talks About Your Unborn Child




Revenge Of The Nerds (and, er, Girls With Guns)


Are geeks and girls with guns redefining the action hero?

John Rambo and other cinematic action icons like him face a far larger problem than scornful critics: They’re being swept into irrelevance by a tide of new American heroes, like the retail drone turned reluctant spy of NBC’s “Chuck,” admired more for their technical skills and a general lack of testosterone. And two new television series based on popular properties—“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Bionic Woman”—are spearheading a resurrection of the strong, hard-hitting and sexy action heroine—action figures who are tougher, less cartoonish, more relatable and just more believable than their beefed-up male counterparts.

Of course, Spider-Man's Brand New Day is not playing into this at all, with a Chuck-ified Peter Parker and Mary Jane as an ass-kicking superheroine.

You know who they should turn into a slacker next? Dick Grayson. He could be in his mid-twenties and have to move back in with Aunt Harriet.


School Bans Superhero Shirts


Several pre-school principals have banned superhero and wrestling icon clothes after a couple tragic incidents:

The ban comes shortly after three-year-old Jared Sadiq of Kensington, Johannesburg, miraculously survived a three- storey fall from his grandmother's flat in KwaZulu-Natal. It also follows the tragic death of an English child, who dived down a flight of stairs wearing a Batman outfit last year.

Of course, this brings to mind how they switched Human Torch for Herbie the Robot on the old Fantastic Four because they were afraid kids would set themselves on fire...

Video: Logan's Shocking True Desire To Become Song-and-Dance Man

"Spider-B**ch" -- Millar Out-Miller's Miller

Just read up on Mark Millar's upcoming Wolverine arc, "Old Man Logan," and the following quote caught my eye:

"Only a few Marvel Heroes are still alive and the story mainly focuses on their descendants. There's a new Kingpin for example and Spiderman's granddaughter, Spider-bitch, is a favorite..."

"Spider-bitch"?!

Okay, so if Spider-bitch went up against Goddamn Batman, who would win? That's all I want to know.

Weekend Update And Occasional Recaps

So I am going to a "Rockapocalypse" Rock Band party today. That's a party where we play the video game Rock Band until 1:00 in the morning and pass out. Oh yes, there will be "Dani California" and "Serve The Servants." Oh yes.

I also do a wicked "Sabotage" solo.

In case you've missed 'em or just want to catch up on your reading, here are a bunch of my most-commented posts that went up in the past week:

The Demographics Of The Mainstream Comic Book Reader

The Hot New Comic Book Fad: Character Deaths That Stay Dead

If Brand New Day Doesn't Work Out, Here's Marvel's Secret Weapon

Vertigo Should Move Away From "Slickness"

Heath Ledger And Brandon Lee

Is This The Avengers Or "Blue Velvet?"

Dan DiDio Edits Teen Titans

The OS Hot Ten For January 23

The Catwoman #78 Cover Idea Meeting

Occasional Links: The Paintball Avengers Edition

Fabian Nicieza -- Man Of ACTION!


I just wanted to tout my former boss at Acclaim Comics Fabian Nicieza's new book from Moonstone, Captain Action. It seems like a wonderful new twist on a classic toy concept, and will most probably be a big success.

Now I must climb into my time machine and travel back to 1997 so I can tell Fabian how I promoted his future book and get a promotion.


The Few. The Brave. The Paintball Avengers Brigade.

"There's one of a few of the other Paintball Avengers...me(Cap), Spider-man, Black Widow and the Vision. There's a few with my 2nd attempt at the round shield, made of pizza pans...and one also of my first attempt, made out of a saucer sled."

Hey, I heard that in an effort to make writing superheroes easier for Bendis, the Avengers will lose all their powers and will be given paintguns. Is this true?



Things That Make Hulk Angry (You Wouldn't Like Him When He's Angry)


Here is a list of the 117 times David Banner was driven to "Hulk Out" on the classic TV show.

My favorite:

17. Receiving a lethal injection, and then having the person say, "Oh. I just gave you a lethal injection. Sorry, David."


The Coming Of Red Robin


Yes, the long-awaited first appearance of the new Red Robin has finally happened in the DC universe! In fact, I've stumbled upon what must be a viral website of sorts promoting his debut!


The Skrull Invasion -- Thwarted!
Yes, that's it, story over -- no more Skrull Invasion.

Yay!
Video: Learn To Dance Like The Cool Kids


How To Do The Cabbage Patch

Defending Lulu

I recently received this comment by "Jessica" on my post about the demographics of mainstream comics, and felt compelled to answer it here. The comment contained some criticisms against Friends of Lulu that I felt needed addressing.

"I foudn this link via comicsreporter I find it kind of depressing that anyone cares how many women read superhero comics, it's pretty evident why they don't. but i guess with the name of this blog it's not too surprising."

I'm a Philistine, I know, Jessica. Why discuss that shitty irrelevant low-brow superhero comic trash, right?

I think to question the lack of female readership in mainstream comics IS important. There are clearly a lot of women and girls who like adventure narratives -- even superhero narratives -- in other media. Why not comics? That's a legitimate question.

"But what I find more depressing is that the LULU website is about 15 years of out date, hard to read and does nothing really to celebrate the women who are doing comics, not even in its blog."

Were you reading the same blog we posted? There is nothing about celebrating women on the blog? Like the audio review of Jillian & Mariko Tamaki's Skim? Or a profile of Martha Thomases? You don't consider the experience and wisdom of somebody like Martha relevant? Or is it that she hasn't worked in the type of comic books YOU consider "important," because it's those damned mainstream comics again?

Friends of Lulu hasn't done anything to celebrate women outside of mainstream comics? Friends of Lulu honors these women every year at the Lulu Awards. We set up Women in Comics panels like this and this every other month focusing on the contribution of these women!

As for the website, our board is currently six people working their asses off with no extra pay to make this organization strong again. We are methodically addressing each issue -- including the updating of the website -- in an orderly fashion and within our own work schedules. If there is something we lack and have to get more of, it is volunteers to help with the research it takes to get many of those pages up-to-date. Instead of just complaining about how crappy we are, why not do something productive and volunteer?

"In fact, if you read the Lulu blog with its primary focus on manga and superheroes..."

One article on a manga convention and a mention of a couple of superhero comics for kids in one book review post constitutes a primary focus? Now you are being silly.

"...its almost as if the organization goes out of its way to ignore female cartoonists published by Top Shelf, Fantagraphics, D&Q, Buenaventura, Pantheon etc and is solely focused on manga and superheroes. Which seems to really pathetically miss the mark."

Sister, it's pretty clear from your words that to you, the work of those female cartoonists from those companies constitutes all of what is "relevant" in women in comics today. You are wrong. Friends of Lulu celebrates ALL work by women in comics -- from every genre.

Manga is not relevant to women in comics? It's extremely relevant.

A Women of Color panel discussion at MoCCA is not relevant? Why?

I don't mind criticism of myself or Lulu, but it should be constructive and consistent. You accuse us of being biased against non-mainstream comic creators, and yet you yourself demonstrate your own biases. You look at us and our organization and can see nothing of value in it, because it doesn't exclusively focus on the books that you like.

You know, I stayed up untill 11:00 last night at our Friends of Lulu monthly board meeting. The women I work with are some of the most dedicated, organized, hard-working ones I know -- and extremely passionate about women in comics.

I take offense when people say we're doing "nothing" to celebrate women in comics. I take deep offense at that.

If You Are Easily Offended, Do Not Click Here

Gossip blogger Perez Hilton has these posts where he'll just say

IF YOU'RE EASILY OFFENDED, DO NOT CLICK HERE!

And of course everybody clicks, and it's some middle-aged celebrity with no makeup or a butt crack or something.

So here goes:

IF YOU'RE EASILY OFFENDED, DO NOT CLICK HERE!

Actually, the image in question isn't really offensive, it's just...compelling. In many different ways, for many different reasons. And there's something to be said for that.

Is This The Avengers Or "Blue Velvet?"

From The New Avengers Annual #2:
(click for larger image)


Obviously, Bendis is going for a dark, noirish feel with this storyline. And there is a place for that type of tale. In The Punisher.

Dan DiDio Edits Teen Titans

1. Why?

Official answer: "To tell the truth, I wanted the chance to get back into the business of editing and sharpen up the skills..."

Unofficial answers:

a) He doesn't want it screwed up

b) The run probably has Final Crisis-sensitive stuff in it and he doesn't want it screwed up

c) He has fond memories of the title since he was a youngster and he doesn't want it screwed up

d) He also doesn't want it screwed up

2. If the book sells poorly, does he have to fire himself?

3. If the book does well, can he give himself a bonus?

4. NRAMA: To be about as…blunt as possible, this isn’t a “figurehead” thing for you? That is, you’re scheduling the art, trafficking the pages, shaping the stories with Sean? You’re doing all the editor things for the book?

DD: I’d say I do most of the editor things...

I picture Dan at the Xerox machine, collating pages:

"Does anybody know what that blinking light means?! The copying just stopped..."

"Try to knead out the paper from the metal teeth with some sort of long implement."

"Pencil?"

"Yeah, try a pencil."

5. What is this obsession with campy supervillains? First Captain Boomerang in Identity Crisis, then Pied Piper & Trickster in Countdown, now Clock King in Teen Titans. Is Sportsmaster still available?

Bottom Line: I don't think DiDio would edit this book if it didn't have some high-impact stuff in it that would effect Final Crisis/DCU status quo. Sean McKeever is a very talented writer but I hope he is given the breathing room to really make this book his own (which has, in my opinion, not been the case so far in "Titans" but has in "Birds of Prey"). And I am pleading for some artistic stability on this title, and the doing-away with a new penciller every other issue; that sort of inconsistency alienates fans.

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: ANGRY ZEN MASTER

Name: Jamie"Angry Zen Master" Noguchi

Location: Rockville, MD

Occupation: Multimedia Designer (secret identity job)Freelance Illustrator/Cartoonist (superhero job)

Website/blog: http://www.angryzenmaster.com/

http://www.erfworld.com/

http://www.spwug.com/

Comics you read: Blade of the Immortal, Usagi Yojimbo, Battle Angel Alita: Last Order,New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Astonishing X-Men, Sharknife (eagerlywaiting Double Z!), Peng, Scott Pilgrim, Penny Arcade, DieselSweeties, Applegeeks, Onezumi, VGCats, Staccato

Fave artist(s) (Oh man, us art folk can't choose just one): Travis Charest, Steve McNiven, Bryan Hitch, Stan Sakai, Sean "Cheeks"Galloway, Dustin Nguyen, Corey "Rey" Lewis, LeSean Thomas, HajimeKatoki, Yoshitaka Amano, Mamuro Nagano

Fave writer(s): Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Joss Whedon, J. Michael Straczynski, Gail Simone

Fave character(s): Spider-Man (well, not the OMD one. He's a douche), Batman, Manji, DeliriumFirst comic you ever read:I'm sure it was one of my dad's old Thor issues.

Your favorite comic book "memory": Got three.The webcomic I illustrate, Erfworld, was listed in Time Magazine's Top10 Graphic Novels of 2007!Landed my first professional gig coloring Spider-Girl covers afterwinning a fan art contest.Sandman: Brief Lives. Dream and Delirium visit Destiny whilesearching for their lost brother. Destiny says to Dream, "She doesnot love you, and truly, she never did. She will not change her mind,no matter how long nor how deeply you wish that this were the case."I rediscovered this book while I was going through a divorce andsomehow, after reading that again everything just seemed to make sense.

Most frustrating comic book "moment": Easily One More Day.

Where/how do you buy your comics?: Either the local comic shop or a Borders. The local shop for thefloppies I still follow and for graphic novels I can't find at theBorders. The Borders for graphic novels and because it's a block away.

Floppies or trades?: Trades. Still collect the floppies, but I ultimately prefer the trades.

Marvel or DC?: Marvel. Sorry, my dad grew up on Marvel comics so I'm geneticallydisposed to like them more. Though lately...

Star Wars or Star Trek?: Trek. Another family thing. We always sat down and ate dinner whilewatching TNG.

Non-comic book hobbies: Drawing random fun things for people and for myself, customizing vinyltoys, vlogging, blogging, cursing, going to movies, being married andloving it!

Personal motto: "No matter where you go, there you are." --Buckaroo Banzai

How did you start reading "Occasional Superheroine?": Rich Johnston linked to your "Goodbye to Comics" series. Read throughthe entire series and I've been hooked ever since.

The Demographics Of The Mainstream Comic Book Reader

I recently acquired some demographic information from a publicly-traded comic book company. This information is not at all top-secret but available to those who know where to look for it.

The portrait that it painted of the average mainstream comic book reader is as follows:

Male, 20-25, video-game player, disposable income, "techie," single.

What is the breakdown of male versus female readership?

More than 90% of the readers of mainstream superhero comics are male.

See, I feel that as president of Friends of Lulu I am betraying my own gender by sharing this information. But it is better that we know and move on from there.

Things we as female readers can do:

• Examine why female readership is so low for this genre.


• Make our own polls and put this information to the test.


• Make our own comics.


• Establish dialogues with comic book companies and let them know specifically what we want to read.

Sincerely,
Fearless Reporter

PS: Yes, the male/female percentages on the readership shocked the hell out of me. I expected a male majority but not to that extent. And yes, unless I saw the methodologies and explanations of sample sizes used, I can't stake my life on this data. But, a lot of what we see in mainstream comics bears this demographic out, does it not? In fact, I'm surprised that, considering the data, mainstream comics isn't more T&A in its content than it is. However -- I still do not see this as "proof" that women don't like action narratives, not when fandoms such as Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, Smallville, Lord of the Rings, and tons of adventure manga/anime appeal so much to females.

The Hot New Comic Book Fad: A Character Death That Stays DEAD

Sean Kleefeld's latest post talks about comic book "events" -- and focuses particularly on the oft-used phrase -- "AND NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!"

One passage in particular caught my eye:

"Let me ask you this: how many of you really believe that we'll never see Steve
Rogers in the Captain America uniform again? You're being lied to. "

Are we ever going to see a death that matters in comic books again?

I had lunch a few weeks back with a friend who echoed the same sentiment, adding that the only character death that has effected her recently was that of David in Strangers In Paradise. Of course, SIP was not a superhero comic, and there was much less possibility of David turning out to be a Skrull, or brought back when angry Katchoo punched a hole into time.

But, if Comics really wants to wow the crowd & shake their readership out of their cynicism, might I suggest a truly shocking, world-shaking gimmick -- a death that stays dead.

Of course, nobody would believe DC or Marvel if they announced they were actually killing a character off (permanent-like), so Dan Didio or Joe Quesada swearing on a stack of Bibles would possibly have to be involved. However, I firmly believe that truly killing off a character and sticking with it, even months or years into the future, might be the hot new comic book gimmick to get the readers talking.

The cover blurb might read: "THIS ISSUE, SOMEONE DIES -- AND STAYS DEAD!"

Occasional Links: The Broken Computer Edition

Last night:
"Honey, my laptop stopped working."
"Did you try to rebooting it?"
"Several times."
"Well give it ten minutes and go back to it."

Two minutes later:
"Sweetheart, that wasn't ten minutes."
"It shouldn't have to wait ten minutes."
"Stop pressing that button."
"It should work, darn it!"

Three hours later:
"Sweetheart, go to bed."
"It should work, darn it!"
"Stop pressing that button."

6:30 the following morning:
"Honey, the computer still won't work."
"..."
"I'll need to borrow your computer."
"I'm going to troubleshoot it."

7:00:
"Baby, how's that troubleshooting coming along?"
"Well, it says we need to just insert the startup disc while rebooting."
"Uh...I don't think we can do that."
"Why?"
"There's a disc in there already."
"A computer disc?"
"No, an audio disc. Of that all-girl Medieval yodeling band. I put it in there because I thought it would help the computer shake its malaise."
"..."
"It's bad, isn't it?"

8:30:
"I finally got the disc out."
"Did you use the paperclip?"

9:00:
"So sweetheart, what-say we try reformatting that other laptop you had?"
"The one with the viruses all over it?"
"That's the one."
"What about my Mac?"
"The Mac is going to have to go to the shop."

9:30:
"So you have ANOTHER laptop?!"
"Three laptops, yeah."
"How do you have three laptops?"
"Well...they break."

10:00:
"You know, this was totally preventable. You could have downloaded a tiny little file months ago."
"I love you."

Oh, and to make it "legal" -- here's a link:
Apple Macbook Support

The OS Hot Ten For January 23

Here's a new feature on the Occasional Superheroine blog where I highlight what I gauge to be the ten most buzzworthy things in comics for the week.

10. Robin #170
Hey, say what you want about Chuck Dixon -- the book is at least in a solid place and has an intriguing new storyline with the "is Spoiler back?" storyline. Plus, I am a big fan of Chris Batista's work.

9. The Return of Guardians of The Galaxy
It's the natural spin-off from the Annihilation saga, a revival of a fan-favorite team, and features Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning on script. If they can find a way to roll Rocket Raccoon somewhere, it will be perfect.


8. Jason Aaron's Marvel Exclusive
The Scalped writer has decided to make Marvel his home, writing a Wolverine arc and taking over Ghost Rider. It's a loss for Vertigo and DC.

7. Project Superpowers
I got one of those giveaway sketchbooks for this title a month ago, and the character design and art by Alex Ross were absolutely amazing. Issue #1 comes out this month and I will be giving it a shot. Yeah, I know Ross isn't doing interiors, but the covers are that good.

6. Marvel 2007 Events
The triple-threat of Civil War, Death of Captain America, and World War Hulk dominated 2007's comic book best-sellers, making up 7 of the top ten books of the year. But will that momentum carry over into '08 and the Skrull Invasion?

5. The "Save Martian Manhunter" Movement
Is MM on the chopping block for Final Crisis? Michael Netzer says "Nay!"

4. High Moon Goes Fortnightly On Zuda.com
I'm not sure what "fortnightly" means, but all I know is that it's being updated regularly like a real comic book now. Starting this week.

3. Aaron Lopresti On Wonder Woman
He's a natural for the book, and gives the Dodsons some breathing room.

2. Gary Panter Does A Marvel Cover
The acclaimed artist of Jimbo's Inferno illustrates the cover to Omega The Unknown #7. To those of you who have never heard of Jimbo's Inferno -- this is like David Bowie working for Disney (or Jim Henson?).

1. Heath Ledger
Everything has changed for The Dark Knight. The way the movie will be viewed by the public, the marketing campaign, the significance of the film -- maybe even The Joker's place in pop culture.

There it is, my first "Hot List"

let the debating begin...

Heath Ledger, Brandon Lee, and Thoughts On The Panic of '94

15 Years Ago:


Brandon Lee dies at 28. In his last film he portrays a dark-themed comic book character in white makeup. The film comes out after his death.

2008:

Heath Ledger dies at 28. In his last film he portrays a dark-themed comic book character in white makeup. The film comes out after his death.

I had a good friend who used to be obsessed with Brandon Lee. Would watch the interviews he did that came with The Crow DVD over and over again. She nearly went psychotic over her fascination with Lee and his death. It wasn't pretty. She thought he was talking to her from beyond the grave. A lot of the vampire novel I wrote was trying to understand what happened to her, and what this celebrity death obsession is.

1993-1994 was a weird time. We saw River Phoenix, Kurt Cobain, and Brandon Lee go in rapid succession. I think everything comes around again, that life happens in cycles. Perhaps life does not really happen in cycles, but the grouping just a way we humans try to make sense in a senseless world.

Brandon Lee apparently had his own death obsessions. He reportedly drove around in a hearse and was fixated on the untimely death of his own father, Bruce Lee. The role met the actor in The Crow. He threw himself into it.

Similarly, Heath Ledger threw himself into the role of The Joker. Tired of being typecast as the Hollywood hunky leading-man, he tried in his later years to choose roles that challenged that image, such as Brokeback Mountain. I'm sure the chance to play the Crown Prince Of Crime held the same allure; a way to break out of a mold.

If Ledger was indeed having issues with depression, throwing himself into such a potent role might have been disastrous for his mind & physical constitution. That's the elephant in the room that some news reports don't want to address. The fact that, by all accounts, Ledger was brilliant in The Dark Knight only makes it worse for us all to deal with; makes it all the more painful to watch on screen.

The whole phenomenon of celebrities and their prescription & non-prescription drugs is another thing all together. Didn't Brad Renfro die like a week ago? These things if not taken correctly WILL kill you -- or at least make you wander about the streets half-naked babbling to yourself. And this rehab stuff -- the thought that you can dry out after a month when you were taking 25, 30 pills a day is more than crazy, it isn't even possible. It's just that proper treatment would mean not only abstaining from ALL drugs and alcohol, but staying away from work and their social life for an extended period of time. When you're in that lifestyle, it's hard to do.

The press loves it, though, don't they?

I'm jaded about it. I think that these "sacrifices" to the larger pool of popular culture and the imagination of a generation will keep happening. The Dark Knight will be a sensation. Hey, who knows, the pseudo-goth movement, that got such a boost in 1993-94, might start all over again...but this time with a splash of color.

Anyway, I hope my old friend doesn't get hooked on Ledger now. That sort of obsessive emo morbidity looks kinda cute on a 21-year-old, less so on a 33-year-old.

I'll be watching Turner Classic Movies.

Catwoman #78 Cover Idea Meeting

Editor: Okay, Adam, so here is the basic idea: Catwoman is going up against the Cheetah.

Adam: "Cat-fight."

Editor: Totally.

Adam: I'm on it.

Vertigo Should Move Away From "Slickness"

This came up a few days ago when I looked at the cover for Vertigo's upcoming original graphic novel, Incognegro.

Now hey, this sounds actually like a very interesting book. But the cover design turned me off a bit. It wasn't that it wasn't designed nice. It was designed great. But it was too slick.

I don't see the trend in the packaging of current graphic novels (originals, now, not reprint trades) as going the way of Slick. Some of the most successful GNs from other companies have a much more original look -- sometimes rough-hewn, sometimes minimalist, sometimes pop-arty. But, the main factor in all these GN's is their originality.

Take, for instance, the cover to Persepolis:


There is nothing on that cover that screams to me a "house style" or the aesthetics of the publisher. It's just the book itself -- a original entity. It also intrigues the reader by its minimalism, the simple design elements directing the onlooker's eye to the book's main character and the "set" art style the book will be using. The cover design is an organic outgrowth of the book itself -- interior and cover working together to produce a whole.

By contrast, the cover to Incognegro itself looks like an ad. Not just an ad -- a DC house-ad. And it tells me nothing about the uniqueness of the look of the GN or its art.


Then consider the case of Sentences, another Vertigo graphic novel. I was enraptured and intrigued listening to the narrative of the novel's writer, M. F. Grimm, on NPR some months back. But, the cover for the GN once again totally turned me off. I see that they were going for an "old skool" high-school notebook/graffiti look, but again -- it's still too slick. It's "old skool" with a Slick brush, "rough edges" rounded out and prepackaged.


Compare that to First, Second's Notes For A War Story. That's truly rough edges; texture, the life and breath of that volume.


Lastly, there is the excellent Vertigo GN Pride of Baghdad. Now here's a book I recommend to people all the time. However, this cover would have really benefited from a less crowded, lush approach. In my mind's eye I see a far simpler cover with a wide shot of the lions from the book in silhouette walking across a war-torn landscape. It would have far better evoked a sense of their journey and struggle and isolation. But, most importantly -- I think it would have struck a greater emotional chord with the viewer.

I think in all these examples, what Vertigo tried to do was package & design these graphic novels as NOVELS. These designs take the works as far away from their "comic book" roots as possible. But, I think this is a bad strategy. People buy graphic novels because they want graphic novels. If they wanted novels, they'd buy novels. This goes double for the recent packaging of Jodi Picoult's run on Wonder Woman as "novel-like" in design.


To be fair to Vertigo, they do have books that far better reflect the current aesthetics in graphic novel cover design. Take, for instance, Gilbert Hernandez's Sloth. There is no mistaking this as anything other than an organically Hernandez work. It fits in well with offerings by companies like Fantagraphics & Top Shelf. Or Rick Veitch's Can't Get No, printed in a unique horizontal format.


There is also the topic of Vertigo's reprint program, which I think incorporates a very successful book design, one that benefits from more of a "Vertigo" branding and uniform "multi-volume" approach.

The bigger point is, beyond book covers: Vertigo's original graphic novel publishing program, especially in the face of competitors both in comics & traditional publishing, has started to develop a rep for being Slick. Cold, calculating in its creative aspirations. It really needs a rough edge, some juice, some excitement. Or maybe DC has that already someplace else.

Heath Ledger: "At The End Of The Day..."

Entertainment Weekly's Tribute:

''I'm on a f---ing journey,'' he said. ''I'm on a walkabout. A lot of people think ambition or success, and they think dollars.... My success is getting underneath that. At the f---ing end of the day, that's the only thing you're going to carry with you when you die.''

BBC

Aint It Cool News: "Fuck - this world sucks some days."


People Magazine

Time Magazine:

"Of the publicity for his role in A Knight's Tale, he told me, "They put my face on a poster with 'He Will Rock You' written underneath it, which I certainly didn't think I was going to.. and what if I didn't?" He added, "That freaked me the f--- up. That's where I really felt like my destiny was in somebody else's hands, and it was all being masterminded."

Heath Ledger: Art, Loss and Celebrity --

"Their publicity makes them ours to discuss, criticize and love, but the masses are not necessarily welcome in the hearts of Heath Ledger and his peers. Our love is not requited. So it strikes me as a little weird to feel a sense of loss for a person I've only come to know through the cinema. And yet, I still mourn him, and I still appreciate him. "

The New York Times --

"Mr. Ledger’s death shook Warner Brothers, which is scheduled to release his next film on July 18 — “The Dark Knight,” a big-budget sequel to “Batman Begins.” Mr. Ledger plays the Joker, Batman’s archnemesis.

The studio had already started to roll out a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign. The film’s dominant marketing image, cheered by fans when it was unveiled late last year, shows Mr. Ledger in costume, painting the question “Why So Serious?” in what appears to be blood."

Heath Ledger: A Killing Joke -- This article has a somewhat tasteless title but does address one of the elephants in the room. Namely, what stress, if any, did playing The Joker had on Ledger:

"Heath admitted it was an 'extremely difficult' role and the aforementioned article said he lived alone in a hotel room for a month to develop his performance. This exercise gave him insomnia.

Now, I can't help but parallelly imagine him rehearsing Joker lines in a messy room, while reading about him lying alone and naked in a Manhattan apartment, with a massage scheduled yet never to happen. It seems lyrically tragic. While I'm not suggesting that the role drove him to suicidal depression, I do believe self-willed dementia is a more potent force than most of us imagine."

New Yorkers Anguished Over Death Of Heath Ledger

Stars Pay Tribute To Heath Ledger

A Dark Day For Hollywood:

"This is a great loss to the entire entertainment community, one that I believe may eventually rival the magnitude of James Dean’s death. Ledger was also a quiet, brooding and infinitely talented actor whose life ended just as he was reaching his prime. If Ledger’s stellar work in Monster’s Ball and Brokeback Mountain didn’t convince you of his talent, word on the street – and from co-star Michael Caine - is that his work in The Dark Knight as the Joker will make you a believer."

Occasional Superheroine Updates

Hi All,

I'm coming home today from my trip into the deep regions of West Virginia. It didn't snow like I thought it would, but I froze my toes off trying to snap this photo for you. This photo proves that I indeed have been in the company of tall trees.

Had to post another clump of articles, for your convenience here they are:

Occasional Links: The Is This Gratuitous Edition

Occasional Previews: What I'm Buying This Week

If Brand New Day Doesn't Work Out, Here Is Marvel's Secret Weapon

Announcing The Occasional Superheroine HOT LIST

Announcing The Occasional Superheroine Hot List!

Yes, THE HOT LIST...

The arbiter of all that is currently hot in comics, a list of ten of them, updated every week.

Debuting Wednesday, I'm totally open to suggestions.

What's HOT this week???!

If Brand New Day Doesn't Work Out, Here's Marvel's Secret Weapon...

I mean, DOOD.

And McFarlane would totally do it, too. C'mon, I'm sure he's tired of making those dragon & S&M Wizard of Oz figures by now, isn't he?

Are you with me? Are you with me?

Who's with me?

(See, you all think I'm joking...but from a marketing standpoint this is $ in the bank. I'm talking BANK!)

Occasional Previews: What I'm Buying This Week

Follow along and give your picks using this list!

These are the books I'm buying this week.
(sorry about the lack of covers for these; ASM #548 doesn't have a ready cover for me to put in & I'm crunched for time anyway with the traveling)

Amazing Spider-Man #548

Marvel Illustrated Picture Of Dorian Gray #2

Marvel Zombies 2 #4

I know, I know -- it's small pickins for me this week -- but as always, I welcome your suggestions!

Occasional Links: The Is This Gratuitous Edition

Playboy On Comic Book Sex Symbols

From the Playboy blog:

"It’s our cover, and while we don’t feel the need to explain in detail our thought process, perhaps a step back is warranted. The story is called “Sex in America.” Wonder Woman is sexy. Her costume is red, white and blue, and she has stars on her hot pants – it suggests the American flag almost as much as Captain America’s does. But we like to put women on our covers, so Steve Rogers is SOL in this case."

(found through Journalista)

Beware, folks: this is the nexus-point between where When Fangirls Attack and Playboy meet in the blogosphere! Comets and small asteroids get pulled in by the tractor beam of their conjunction and crushed into those little smooth pebbles you get with those good-luck bamboo stalks.


Topless "Superman" Stunt Gets Singer Banned

A Malaysian rock singer who stripped off his shirt and bared his chest to reveal a bright red Superman logo has been barred from television concerts for three months by the country’s media authority. The singer, Faizal Tahir, apologized last week for his behavior during the performance on station 8TV.

Seems that going topless -- even for men -- is a violation against local broadcasting standards.

Wondering what part the big Supes logo had in the furor.


Chest Implants On The Rise...For Men

Speaking of men of steel, Fox News reports:

There were 409 pectoral implant procedures performed in 2006, a 99 percent increase over 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

You know, Fox News should do one of those "crisis" special reports on men getting the implants. Like:
"Our World In Turmoil: Pectoral Implants!"
"Are Men Getting Too Damn Pretty? What Does It Mean? Are Our Children At Risk?"
"Terrorism and Pec Implants: The Next Weapon Of Mass Destruction?"



In A Dark Alley, No One Can See Your Fishnets

The first promo pictures of Black Canary on Smallville have been released...


And Ragnell gives her a thumbs-up for realism & plausibility:

The makeup mask is interesting idea. If she has some quick way to smear it on like a spray or something like a solid rouge applicator (one of those big old-fashioned round bars that you could just smear circles on your cheeks with), it makes for a good quick change and won't fall off. But makeup like that doesn't seem to obscure the face very well. I suppose you could say it's a distraction. Between it and the fishnets and the dark alley no one is going to be able to properly describe her. She must have to carry wipes to clean it off.

In other news, this still sucks:


Desperately Seeking Lynda


Megan Gale talks about playing the world's most famous Wonder Woman in the now-delayed Justice League film.

"People used to tell me I looked like Lynda Carter."

As an aside, go Google "Megan Gale" in Google Image Search sometime (with SafeSearch Preferences Off)

Go on, I'll wait.

Now go Google Search "Lynda Carter Bobby Jo."

Go on, I'll wait.

Yes, today's "Occasional Links" has, in a sense, come full circle.

(Sorry, Keri Russell, new voice of the cartoon Wonder Woman, just has a tasteful nude-but-you-see-nothing Vanity Fair shot.)


Wonder Woman On "The OC"
Video: This Never Happens In Real Life, Folks, Unless You Are Some Big Time Comic Book Writer Or Perhaps Charlie Sheen

On The Road Again, Plus Updates

Hi All,

I'm going away this weekend. Most probably will not be updating until Monday night or Tuesday morning, though you never know.

Formatting issues & the mad rush to pack has forced me to squeeze out a bunch of posts in one sitting, for your easy reference they are:

Marvel's "Twelve" The New Watchmen?

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: K.D. Bryan

Fangirl Fridays: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Occasional Links: The Kabinet Of Komic Kuriosities

While you're at it, feel free to check out the latest Friends of Lulu posts written by me and others:

Audio Review - Mariko & Jillian Tamaki's SKIM: Me and fellow Lulu Marion Vitus sit at a cafe and chat about what we think is going to be the breakout graphic novel for 2008.

American Yaoi Publisher Iris Print In Trouble: Written by Leigh Dragoon about an indie publisher in trouble and what you can do to help.

Friends of Lulu Interview Series - Martha Thomases: I interview longtime DC Comics PR guru and current PR guru for ComicMix, Martha Thomases. I found the last line of this interview very inspirational.

That's it. I'm off. It's supposed to be snowing where I'm going. I will build a snowman and think of you.

Marvel's "The Twelve" The New "Watchmen"?

I bought Marvel's The Twelve #1 simply because I read artist Chris Weston's name on the cover. I knew nothing else about it. Then I noticed J. Michael Straczynski's name on the cover, and, given recent events, I was a little wary. But, in the end I enjoyed The Twelve #1 -- and I couldn't help think of a similar mini-series...

Spoilers

It was the death of swashbuckling character Blue Blade, reminiscent for me of that of The Comedian, that really sunk in the Watchmen comparison. Certainly Weston's art -- superb -- helped that connection along.

But, whether JMS's story has the texture and depth of Alan Moore's masterpiece remains to be seen. I think relating this tale about the dark side of Golden Age heroes to the DC mini The Golden Age -- or even the recent Grant Morrison arc of Batman with the "Batmen of many nations" storyline/murder mystery -- might be more apropos.

Worth a read.

Some preview pages from #2: (click for bigger)

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: K.D. Bryan

Name:
K. D. Bryan

Location:
An undisclosed base in Colorado

Occupation:
Sullen Factory Worker by Afternoon, Cranky Aspiring Writer by Late Night/Early Morning

Website/blog:
Look Out! Here Comes a Comics Blog! - http://lohcacb.blogspot.com/

Comics you read:
Way too freakin' many.

Uh, let's see. With few exceptions, if Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, Joss Whedon, Adam Warren or Warren Ellis write it, I read it. Ditto for Brian K. Vaughn, Ed Brubaker, Bendis and Paul Dini to a slightly lesser degree.

I also read X-Factor, 100 Bullets (in trade form), The Ultimates, She-Hulk, Booster Gold and all the Avengers titles (including the Initiative, for which I hate myself on ethical grounds). I also love reading issues of Young Avengers and Runaways every decade they come out.

Off the superhero track, I . . . oh, man. I just realized that with Queen & Country gone, my indie cred is suffering. Does the new Buffy and Angel series count?

Oh! I absolutely love the manga Yotsuba &! If you don't read this and fall immediately in love with it, you are a terrorist who hates fun. Don't be a terrorist who hates fun. On the opposite end of the manga spectrum, Empowered is far more touching than it has any right to be. Adam Warren is a mad genius who inspires me to write, no matter how goofy my ideas are.

Fave artist:
Arrgh. If I say Edward Hopper, I'm just being a smart-ass, aren't I? I know that no matter who I say, I'll be slapping my forehead for forgetting somebody later. As it will become increasingly clear, I'm really horrible at giving short answers to "favorite" questions.

I'll say . . . John Cassaday. Planetary was the first comic in a long time to make me stop reading, put down the book and just stare at the art in awe.

But Darick Robertson, Alex Ross, Tim Sale, Amanda Conner, Jill Thompson and old-school Chris Bachalo run close seconds.

Fave writer:
Neil Gaiman, for epic poetry. He's in a class by himself.

As far nuts and bolts superhero stuff goes . . . God. This is hard. Part of me wants to say Joss Whedon but honestly, I'd have to go with Greg Rucka. His stories sometimes frustrate me but I get no better sense of how to write a good book than from him. More importantly, I can tell he cares deeply about his characters and his attention to detail is amazing. He's a writer's writer.

All that said - I envy Brubaker's nuances, Whedon and Vaughn's uncanny senses of dialogue and character-driven plot, Simone and Slott's genuine freewheeling love of the characters and The Genius Warrens (Adam and Ellis) for their amazing ideas & general badassery which hide their hearts of gold. Or possibly uranium. It's hard to say.

Fave character:
Is saying Buffy Summers a cop-out? She is in a comic book now . . .

To be more fanboyish, Spider-Man. I only read Ult. Spidey now but he's the first fictional character I ever connected with, so he still gets top billing. Deadpool, Jessica Jones, Jamie Madrox, Ted Kord, Emma Frost and Catwoman all make the runners-up list, because I love film noir and characters who tend to make genuinely human mistakes.

First comic you ever read:
Spectacular Spider-Man #106 - http://www.mycomicshop.com/viewissue?IVID=7320971
I was 8 years old and my folks were taking me to see the Great National Sand Dunes in an RV. I was stuck going to see large piles of sand and the boredom was terminal. They bought me this at a supermarket to keep me quiet since I'd left all my novels at home. The issue starred Spider-Man with special guest stars Wasp, Paladin and Starfox.

I was entranced at once. Who were all these bug people and why were they kicking men with shotguns? Nothing made a lick of sense to me so I had to learn more to understand this crazy new world. Soon thereafter, I was quoting Spider-Man and the Thing at family gatherings, much to my parents' chagrin. Just try explaining to an 8-year-old why, if Spider-Man says it, it's funny but that isn't funny when you say "Is that a shotgun in your pocket or are you happy to see me?". And especially not to your Aunt Susan. Never, ever to Aunt Susan.

Your favorite comic book "memory": (either related to comics or actually in a comic)
Realizing that my High School sweetheart loved the X-Men and Catwoman with just as much fanboy fervor as I did, if not more so. Being able to have a conversation for hours and hours with anybody as a geektastic teen was amazing - but with my geek girlfriend no less? I had completely hit the jackpot, tiger, to cheesily coin a phrase.

Alternatively - when the Spider-Man story "Kraven's Last Hunt" blew the top off my 10-year-old Good Little Catholic Boy Head. This was when I realized that comics could be so much more than people in spandex punching each other. Same thing years later to a much amplified degree, when I first read Maus and Sandman in the span of the same month.

Most frustrating comic book "moment":
I have to choose just one? Really?

I suppose it was having to scrape together Entertainment Weekly reviews and other ephemera to support my thesis on the growing acceptance of comic books as a respected medium in American culture . . . several years before the ginormous Manga boom, Frank Miller's stuff hitting it huge on the big screen, etcetera, etcetera, so on and so forth. On the bright side, I still managed to get an A-.

On a more fanboyish note, I'd have to say collecting all the issues of Wonder Man, then reading Force Works #1 to see his continuing adventures . . . only to have him get blown up by the end of the issue. That was fun.

Where/how do you buy your comics?:
Step One: Go to one of two indie comic book shops before work on Wednesday to see if they have new books in. Find out they don't. Leave.

Step Two: Go to indie comic book shop again on Thursday and/or the weekend to see if they have new books in. If yes, buy new books. If no, give up and go to Unstoppable Corporate Chain O' Comics.

If it's something I know will sell out like hotcakes, like the Buffy comic, I might skip steps 1 and 2 and shamelessly buy it at the UCCoC on Wednesday morning. Which reminds me, I need to find copies of Crime Bible 3 and Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash 2.

Floppies or trades?:
Floppies for almost everything. I don't have a lot of patience or cash and I enjoy the "Oh, shit!" cliffhanger feeling a good monthly can provide.

That said, 100 Bullets, Ex Machina and Fables are the three I've only ever read in trade form when the floppies were readily available. 100 Bullets is so bloody complicated that trades are way handier to refer to for backstory and I think I'd get lost if I only read one issue a month. Ex Machina and Fables are both good reads but I think I just prefer them in short, concentrated doses.

Marvel or DC?:
Hmmmm. I tend to vacillate. Marvel, as much as they're pissing me off right now.

I grew up a Marvel Zombie. While I eventually learned to appreciate the epic scale and genuine sense of wonder and fun DC brings to the table, Marvel has DC beat (by a nose) for the sheer volume of their messy, human characters. Although lately, DC's been the one to make me jump up and down with fanboy glee/rage at how they've killed/brought back from the dead certain characters. I actually blogged about this recently.

Anyways - yeah, Marvel, if just for the fact that they put out Runaways (however, sporadically). Molly Hayes rules over us all.

Star Wars or Star Trek?:
Ack. Can I take a mulligan and say Firefly or Farscape instead? They're dirtier and full of more of the morally ambiguous thieving sorts that I love.

If I must - Star Trek. I just plain like the characters more. I also have to admit that a Star Trek novel once made me a little misty-eyed - and yes, I'm appropriately ashamed to admit to this in public. It was Imzadi by Peter David, just in case you were wondering.

Plus, Roddenberry's toys pwn those of Lucas. There's a reason your cell phone flips open like a Star Trek communicator, folks.

Non-comic book hobbies:
Paintball, learning to swing dance, digging through borrowed TV box sets and poker.

Personal motto:
"Shit! What the fuck is going on now?"

How did you start reading "Occasional Superheroine?":
I found a link from "When Fangirls Attack" and followed it. Shortly thereafter, I learned how awesome you were and have been enjoying your stuff ever since.

Fangirl Fridays: Ten Things You Didn't Know About Me

In no particular order:

1. I was granted an interview for a Marvel Comics internship based on a "Punisher" story I wrote and sent in. But I was turned down because I was only 12 years old. I thought my career in comics was over and cried into my pillow. And so the saga began.

2. Some of the characters depicted in the semi-biographical Bob Fingerman series "Minimum Wage" were people I hung out with when I was a teenager. (However, I never actually met Bob.)

3. I once had dinner with comedian Eddie Izzard and his entourage but didn't appreciate it at the time because I didn't know who he was.
4. The Steve Winwood song "Valerie" was not inspired by me.


5. When I was in England I sat through an entire production of a Shakspeare play with Prince Charles sitting directly in back of me. Some people had come up to me during the intermission to tell me the Prince was behind me but I thought they were pulling my leg because I was a stupid tourist.

6. My mom named me after actress Valerie Harper because she was watching the TV show "Rhoda" while she was pregnant with me, and thought that it would be cool if I grew up to be like the character. Which means I suppose I should wear headscarves
.
7. When I was 14, I announced to my mother that I would become a professional philosopher when I grew up. She convinced me to become a paralegal instead.

8. My great-grandmother was a medicine woman in Brazil.


9. The Monkees song "Valeri" was also not inspired by me, but in certain quiet moments when nobody is looking I like to pretend that it was.



10. I'm the distant relative of boxing great Rocky Marciano.

Occasional Links: Kabinet Of Komic Book Kuriosities

Welcome to an extra-special dose of weird for your Friday morning...

First up, it's Scans Daily's "DC's History Of Gender-Bending." Love that "Wonder Man" depicted on the cover below -- how come he gets to wear a bodysuit but his female counterpart has to be half naked?





Next, from the unofficial Marvel Appendix, we have "The Many Faces Of Howard The Duck." This was notable for me by having that famous anthropomorphic character "Doucheblade."



Continuing the never-ending story of perennial Archie third-stringer Big Ethel, Stupid Comics has a profile of a Christian comic book that sees the character mysteriously turn into a beautiful fashion model -- only to realize that she'd rather be buck-toothed with bad hair and close to Jesus rather than be famous and pretty.


Not to be outdone by the recent Stan Lee fine arts tribute, artist Paul Slater is offering prints based on his interpretation of "American Gothic" :



The Worst "Spirit" Comic Ever Drawn?


That honor might go to this series of 1947 promo strips for The Spirit in the Minneapolis Star Journal. Needless to say, Will Eisner did not go anywhere near these.




I know what YOU need...it's coming to me...yes, you need an illustrated history of Grunge from Gen 13 semi- and fully-nude and in bondage. Am I right? Am I right? From Wizard Universe...er, I mean Shirtless Superheroes.


Video: Archie Meets The Sex Pistols

Occasional Superheroine Videocast: Amazing Spider-Man #547 & Robin #170

Today on the vidcast I review:

Amazing Spider-Man #547
Robin #170

What Toy Line Is Better: Marvel Legends or DC Direct?

Alright, this is the geekiest post you'll read all day...or at least on my blog. You've been warned.

I collect action figures. Actually, my action figure collection is in remission, due to $ and space and the hopeless belief that I can kick this nasty habit once and for all and turn my apartment into more something from the pages of "Elle Decor" than "Toyfare."

My BF collects action figures. Actually, he only collects one particular type of action figure: Marvel Legends. For the uninitiated, the Marvel Legends line is the current "big" line of action figures from Marvel Comics.


I think Marvel Legends figures are awesome. But, their super-articulated (read: many joints to pose with) bodies don't exactly fit in to what I look for most in my action figures.



My favorite types of action figures are the Japanese-style chunky vinyl ones. They are usually not very poseable, and often feature a cartoony or streamlined design.

Case in point: Walter from BiffBamPow's Big Lebowski line. This is probably one of my most favorite action figures of all time. An excellent likeness of John Goodman, to be sure -- but the toy doesn't get bogged down with trying to be hyper-realistic. Instead, it features a wonderfully streamlined, chunky, cartoonish body.

Constrast this to the McFarlane line of action figures. I used to be a big fan of McFarlane Toys' extremely detailed figures of characters like Austin Powers and Spawn. But I grew out of it. Maybe it was all the soft-core porn-like female action figures. I dunno.

Nowadays, I'm most interested in McFarlane's line of cartoon figures like The Simpsons & the Hanna Barbara collection. Again -- it's that bright, under-articulated, chunky, cartoony toy-like quality that really sells it for me. Call it age regression, perhaps, call it carefully-cultivated irony, call it what you will.


This brings me to DC Direct & their multiple lines of action figures. Actually, to call them "action" figures is a bit of a misnomer. These are more like little statues. Anyway, the eternal question thus raises itself:

What line is better, Marvel Legends or DC Direct?

One thing that DC Direct has going for it is the willingness to get very obscure and produce fan-favorites and bizarre Elseworlds versions. Another thing is the artist-specificity of their designs. They don't just produce "Superman." You can get Ed McGuinness's Superman, Alex Ross's Superman, Alex Toth's "Superfriends" Superman, Wayne Boring's Superman, Darwyn Cooke's Superman.

Mentioning Alex Ross, their line of Kingdom Come & Justice figures really are superb. I mean, just the armored superheroes from the Kingdom line alone...even if you're not really into the comic, the designs are just really cool.


But, these figures have really limited poseability. Most are frozen in one particular pose or another. Contrast that to the Marvel Legends line, where some figures even have individual finger joints.

To compete with Marvel Legends, DC has put out through Mattel a new poseable line of action figures. These figures look cool, but still lack the organic poseability of the Legends line. These are basically DC Direct figures with more joints.

So which line IS better: DC Direct or Marvel Legends?

If I had the extra scratch, I'd probably buy up some of the DC Direct stuff -- starting with Kingdom Come & Justice, moving into some of the Elseworlds, New Frontier, and Captain Marvel lines. Though I'd get that upcoming Marvel Legends Valkyrie figure, to be sure.

Occasional Links: The "I Can Make You An Iron Man" Edition

User NORM on the forum The Fwoosh presents this set of customized action figures from Marvel's Alias comic book:




The "Superman Code"

I'm sure you've heard by now the basic theory some folklorists have that Superman is a "Christ-like" comic book figure (Krypton's only son, etc.)

But now one blogger has extended that theory, DaVinci-code like, to include one of the most famous religious paintings of all time. The "evidence":



Note the similarity in color choices in their outfits.

Convinced?


The Magnum Code

Was there a Magnum PI/Quantum Leap crossover planned?

According to Wikipedia:

"A crossover with Magnum, P.I. (also produced by Donald Bellisario) was planned, in which Sam would leap into Thomas Magnum himself. Plans for a Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.. Some consider that if this situation had Sam leaping into Magnum rather than Tom Selleck the actor, this would have created a continuity issue..." movie (later aborted) led to the crossover being canceled, although some footage was filmed, including the initial leaping in sequence, usually put at the end of the preceding episode (the "Oh boy…" bit). This featured Scott Bakula, dressed in Magnum's classic red Aloha shirt, turning towards the camera and comically raising his eyebrows, just as Tom Selleck does at the end of the opening credits to Magnum, P.I.. Some consider that if this situation had Sam leaping into Magnum rather than Tom Selleck the actor, this would have created a continuity issue...

I would say it'd be a continuity issue! If you had Law and Order's Detective Munch appear, I think the fabric of the universe would implode.



The Peanuts Code

The AAUGH blog points out another possible pop-culture conspiracy...

Consider the following Peanuts cartoon:


Does that boy look familiar?

Does THIS refresh your memory:


CONSPIRACY! The only African-American character in the Peanuts recolored white for a British reprint?

A simple printing error? Or -- CONSPIRACY?!


Hero of the Beach


This excellent Scan Daily post recounts a trio of Charles Atlas parody ads inspired by this Mini Marvels Iron Man cartoon...


Video: Disney's "Where The Wild Things Are"

Did you know that Disney animated "Where The Wild Things Are?" Well, they did. for like 30 seconds.

Occasional Reviews: Thunderbolts, Evil Dead, Salvation Run, The Goon

Thunderbolts #118 Writer: Warren Ellis
Artist: Mike Deodato
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Rating: A
On my pull list? Yes

Warren Ellis is an awesome writer, but Mike Deodato really makes this book. Deodato's art, much like Bryan Hitch (but, in my opinion, a bit better), gives Thunderbolts a cinematic scope and realism of character design that cannot help but elevate this title above the pack.

Synopsis: Venom goes bananas, Swordsman goes bananas, Norman Osborn goes bananas. Penance stays sane and has a beer. Lesson: drink more beer.

Evil Dead #1 Writer: Mark Verheiden
Artist: John Bolton
Publisher: Dark Horse
Rating: B+
On my pull list? Yes

Haunting art by John Bolton (who also did the "Army of Darkness" Dark Horse adaptation several millennia ago) hits the likeness of a young Bruce Campbell perfectly. There is a creepy, washed-out tone to his palete in this book that really reminds you of a late 70s/early 80s horror flick.

I have some quarrel with Mark Verheiden's need to tell the story from Ash's perspective. The beauty of the original "Evil Dead" movie was the fact that you really didn't know who the "hero" (or, rather, survivor) of the cast of young adults was going to be. Related to that criticism is that too much is revealed in this issue. We are introduced to the evil dead on the first two pages, with Ash confirming that this is the eventual fate of his girlfriend -- this just about kills the suspense.

Salvation Run #3 Writer: Matthew Sturges
Artists: Sean Chen & Steve Wands
Publisher: DC Comics
Rating: B+
On my pull list?: Yes

Holy crap, I just read this book two days ago and only realized now Matt Sturges wrote this instead of Bill Willingham (but he is Bill's co-writer on Fables, so...)

I continue to find Salvation Run entertaining, and this issue features the classic Lex Luthor vs. Joker dynamic. My biggest criticism is that the inking really flattens out Sean Chen's work, removing a lot of what makes Chen's art so unique and three-dimensional.

The Goon #20Writer & Artist: Eric Powell

Publisher: Dark Horse

Rating: A
On my pull list? Yes

I think issue 20 of The Goon could best be summed up by the following quotes from the book:

"Ralph was thirty years old before he realized he was wiping himself the wrong way."

"Get away from me, one-armed ham man!"

"That thing ain't mine! It ain't even human! That's a cat you put mittens and a bib on!"

"I told ya not ta be beddin' no crazy dames. Crazy follows ya home."

"I know what I want and it starts with a great big round behind!"

See why I like this book so much?

Seven Ways To Market Your Comic Book And Yourself

So you have a comic book -- be it from a major publisher, an indie imprint, or self-published.

Any way you slice it, you are going to need to effectively market yourself.

Notice I said "market yourself" -- not market the book.

Hell, of course you have to market the book. But, in such a highly competitive arena in which you have found yourself, You as Creator will be just as important as Your Book.

Here are a few tips:

1. Think Small
Imagine, if you will, how many e-mails a typical online editor of a goodly-sized comic book website must get. A great portion of those e-mails are, "Please feature/review/promote/mention my book."

Now, what you have to ask yourself is, "how am I going to stand out in that crowded inbox?"

One strategy you might find useful is to not depend on the bigger sites/blogs but concentrate on the key smaller ones. A key smaller site/blog may not have as many hits as Newsarama, but would have good writing and a core readership.

This is not to say you shouldn't send your PR e-mails to the large sites. You should definitely cover those bases. But sometimes it is better to be a well-featured fish in a smaller pond than a drop of water in a big ocean.

2. Don't Assume Your Publisher Will Handle the PR
Even if you're with a bigger publisher, it is still up to you to promote your book. Don't assume that your company will do that for you, leaving you alone to concentrate on the finer points of Milkshake Man.

Sometimes your publisher WILL go all-out to promote your book. And sometimes, especially if you're starting out/you are not high-profile/your book is not high-profile, there will be a lack of PR. It's just a matter of how thin the publisher can spread their public relations budget/time.

Bottom line: always proceed as if your publisher is under-promoting your book, and the job is on your shoulders. That said, please mind the individual "disclosure" policies of your editors/companies.

3. You Are Selling YOU.
If you're a freelance comic book writer or artist, there is a good chance that you will need to line up another job after this one. You, as a freelancer, must "sell" yourself PR-wise all the time.

Especially for the bigger/edgier publishers, you as a creative entity are a Package. You are your talent and You. In some cases, with some people, that will be more blatant than others. And there are some publishers and editors who do not care about stuff like that. But, this is becoming more and more the trend.

So, there are certain things you should keep in mind:

• It is important that you have another non-comics stream of income either coming in or immediately waiting in the wings (unless you are already able to comfortably able to support yourself purely on your writing/art). It's important because if you seem desperate, if that next comic is going to be the difference between you paying your phone bill or having to use smoke signals, people are going to pick up on it. That sort of neediness and desperation drives potential editors away.
• In fact, you always want to be in a position where people come to you, and not the other way around. Approaching an editor for work puts you at a disadvantage. To the editor, you are just one more out of the countless people wanting something from them. But, if you conduct a proper PR campaign (and if you have actual TALENT), you can get the word out there and increase the odds that people come to you. Not a guarantee. I'm just describing the ideal situation.
• Do a quick check on your overall image. You certainly don't have to be a Brad Pitt (or a John Cassaday), but you should be able to present yourself well. You should be able to be interviewed well. You should speak clearly. And you should be positive about yourself and your accomplishments.
• If you have conducted an objective analysis of your image and find it lacking, don't kick yourself over it. Image is just a bunch of crap used to help with sales & stuff. It's not an accurate reflection of your worth or who you really are. But if you think that you are standing in the way of your own publicity, consider getting an agent or some consulting.

4. YouTube It.
I have found that that the comic book-related tags on YouTube are very popular but relatively underused. Consider shooting a small videocast about yourself or your comic and posting it. I just post some little vidcasts and I get a bunch of subscribers. If you have a hair's more talent than I do with my crappy little video application, think of what you might accomplish. And you have a comic book to promote! Images! Be creative! (again, if working with a bigger publisher, make sure you know their policies on this and don't piss them off).

5. Educate Yourself On The Internet
There is a lot of inexpensive/free options out there on the Web to promote your comics and you. Educate yourself about them. Make sure you have the basics: a website, a Facebook, a MySpace, a blog. Because you might not have these things -- but your competitors do!

6. Network Network Network
A big portion of the sweet deals in comics in general are made through one's Network. Your Network is made up of all the people you've met and worked with along the way:

• If you want to build or increase your network base, be "cool" about it. Don't seem like an opportunist. Opportunists are talked about behind their back and called Opportunists. You avoid this by relating to the people you wish to network with as human beings and not Editor #5 or Big-Time Writer. Be natural.
• Remember the old adage, "the people you see on the way up are the people you'll see on the way down." Say you're moving up the ladder and you decide to treat Assistant Editor Y like crap. Assistant Y could be the guy in charge of hiring your ass one day. He or she could be in charge of the whole editorial department, even the president of a company. This happens more times than you think. And now Assistant Editor Y, who you dissed eight years ago, tells everyone: "don't work with X." And you're X! Don't be X. Don't even be W.

7. Reach Outside The Comic Book World
The success of comics like Perry Bible Fellowship and Y The Last Man have largely come from outside the standard comic book community. There is a whole untapped market of potential readers out there. Don't stick all your PR eggs in all one comic book media basket. Find other on-comic niches that might cotton to your comic and reach out to them.

Extra-Credit:
Professional Lettering
If you don't have professional lettering on your book, and the lettering looks like crap, you are in a big big big disadvantage. If you are promoting your smaller-pub/self-pub book or shopping it around, make sure you have invested in quality lettering. This is make-or-break stuff. Same thing goes for quality inking.

Well, I hope this little guide to help market your comic book and yourself helped you a little bit. There's a lot more that goes into a successful marketing/PR campaign for a book, but these are some good basics.

Remember, though: you have to have good content to "market." Most of the time.

Occasional Reviews: Green Arrow & Black Canary

Green Arrow & Black Canary #3 & #4
Writer: Judd Winick
Artist: Cliff Chiang

Rating (writing): B-
Rating (art): A

On my pull list? Debating it

Pro: Cliff Chiang's art is gorgeous. Utterly gorgeous. There will never be another Alex Toth, but if anybody today is close to picking up the legacy, it's Chiang.

Con: Fairly light soap-opera writing on Judd Winick's part.

Pro: But at least the story moves and keeps my interest, which certainly can't be said for every book on the stands. I realize the rating I gave the writing might seem rather high for some, but it's the comics with stories that don't move -- which frustrate and bore me with its ponderousness and molasses-speed storytelling -- which are the worst books.

Con: This series has the unenviable task of picking up from both the "Wedding" storyline and Amazons Attack -- and actually (attempting to) connect those two tales together.

Pro: Cliff Chiang's art is really great. I mean, it's that good that even if you didn't like Winick's writing it still would be worth picking up. (I call such comics that you only pick up for the art "portfolio books")

Con: It's the little touches: So that Everyman guy who was Ollie's impostor and BC's husband-to-be tried to kill her on their honeymoon bed because he had erectile dysfunction disorder?
Bottom line: Winick is much better with/seems to be suited for soap-opera, emotional-type writing than strong plot-driven writing. He is not the best person to be entrusted with figuring out how to resolve tricky continuity points, because he just might throw erectile dysfunction disorder in there out of desperation.

That said, the art in this book in stunningly beautiful. It really is some of the best art being produced now for mainstream superhero comics. I really wish somebody would put Chiang on JLA.

So the choice is up to you.

Spoilers

PS: Totally forgot to mention Connor's "brain death." I have been so burned by the recent spate of apparently kiling off/bringing back superheroes lately that I just don't care. This note has been played out so often, it has no more emotional resonance to me.

Bet you $5 he gets "brought back" as either a possessed super-ninja or with the ghost of some other dead superhero, though.

Teeth: A Feminist Horror Film?

So we finally have a movie about vagina dentata:

In the case of Teeth, if some of the marketing copy is to be believed, the teeth in her vagina symbolizes her sexual repression.

So is this movie a feminist tale of revenge and a woman retaking her power? Or is it making fun of that idea?

Here is the "personal ad" seen on the Internet that is really an ad for the film:


And here is a link to the main character's Dawn MySpace, which has as its tagline, "must love dental dams!"

Now, dental dams are traditionally associated with a form of protection against STDs that lesbians use. Is the line, then, not only referring to her toothed hoohah but is a subliminal reference to gay women? Does Dawn not only have teeth in her vagina because she is sexually repressed, but because she hates men, and because she may not even "like" men?

Perhaps this movie is more about paranoid men's fears than about any sort of feminist empowerment. Which reminds me of other classic "women's revenge" flicks:


But, in the end, I think the real message the movie might be trying to impart is not women's empowerment, or women's revenge, or even primal make fears. It seems that the real culprit might be...


See, a big point in the film is that Dawn is a Christian, and is raised to wait for marriage before having sex. So it seems that being a serious Christian & devoted to chastity might give you vagina dentata.

Has making fun of Christians in the popular media grown old yet? Is there any more cheap shots to make? While I completely disagree with the traditional Christian stance on birth control, is the idea of a teenager waiting to have sex until they at least graduate high school so absolutely insane-crazy?

Anyway, here is a horror film about the sexual issues of teenage girls that I actually know is very good:


In Ginger Snaps, these sexual issues and related issues of power are represented not by vagina dentata, but by one's menstrual period. Oh, and werewolves.

It remains to be seen if Teeth will be as good as Ginger Snaps -- if it is, as some reports say, an "art" horror film, or just sensationalistic.

Occasional Links: The What Would Robin Do? Edition

Cloverfield Monster Revealed???

Spoilers

A bunch of viewers of the movie Cloverfield have created fan art based on the highly-secret monster in the film:


No really, they're here at this link.




Drawer Geeks hosts a gallery of interesting interpretations of Iron Man, like this one by Brian Pelletier.


No Nose Is Good Nose



Send a Nose-Picker e-card to the special person in your life -- with nose-hairs you can personalize!

Then -- Fred Flintstone, "Nose Abuser?"


Finally, don't like the look of your nose? The CoCo Nose Clip from Japan gives you "A Beautiful New Look Of Nose"

Just call it "DIY" plastic surgery.




"What Would Robin Do?"
The late Jim Jacobs, co-manager of Mike Tyson's boxing career (the successful part) and a renowned athlete in his own right, reminisced about how Robin the Boy Wonder influenced his decision to go into sports:

"Being Robin, the Boy Wonder, was a tremendous help to me in sports. All of us are susceptible to our emotions when under stress, and when I was younger I would think: What would Robin do? Instead of succumbing to nervous apprehension, I would transform myself into this other character who was emotionally unaffected."

Jacobs was a prodigious collector of comic books right up until he died, amassing over 800,000 of them and considered by some one of the biggest comic collectors in the world.

This article makes me think about how many famous people -- or just people from any walk of life -- get inspired to pursue their profession because of comics.


Chinese Produce "Clean Goverment" Comix

The Chinese hope to fight political corruption & graft with a handy pocket-sized comic book:

"The pocket-size comic book, which includes caricatures depicting common forms of graft and bribery, will be distributed as a gift to 100,000 party members in the central province of Henan, Xinhua news agency said. The books also contain “anti-corruption policies, maxims and aphorisms about clean government,” it added."

Of course, we Americans also have a tradition of comics to teach us about the ills of political corruption. There was that storyline where Lex Luthor became president, for instance. And "World War Hulk" taught us that blasting our nuclear irradiated behemoths into space is not the way to solve our problems. I think Bush forgot to read these.


Video: Wonder Woman Mego TV Ad

A few things of note in this ad:

1. I love how the little boy at the beginning of this ad is peering with awe over the edge of the table at the Wonder Woman doll. Presumably he is the little brother of the girl who will later be shown playing with the doll.

2. Was "Nubia" ever in the comic books? Why is the little African-American girl the one that has to play with the Nubia -- a villain -- doll? (The name taken from the Nubians, an ancient African people). Usually at that time "girl" dolls (as opposed to 8 inch Mego "action figures" which were, technically, dolls as well) were made in both white and "AA" (as the current doll terminology is used) versions, using the same mold for the white doll in most cases with just brown plastic. Such is the case here -- Nubia is essentially a brown Wonder Woman doll. But, I suppose in the spirit of expediency, Mego decided to have the "AA" version double as the toy line's villain.

3. Note that the little boy is only allowed to play "Steve Trevor." Had he been older than or the same age as the girls, there was no way in hell he was ever going to go near those dolls, er, action figures.


I should also point out here that I would have KILLED to get those WW dolls when I was a kid. They were so cool! But I got the Mego Conan the Barbarian with easy-brush hair instead.

Occasional Interviews: Kevin Colden & Miss Lasko-Gross

For this interview I decided to play off of the IFC "Dinner For Five" idea and have "Brunch and an Interview." The setting was Virage in New York's City's East Village, and the participants were Kevin Colden, creator of the acclaimed ACT-I-VATE webcomic Fishtown, Miss Lasko-Gross, the artist and writer of Escape From Special from Fantagraphics Press, and David Gallaher, High Moon guru.

I really wanted to do a casual brunch, not a formal interview; just keeping the tape recorder on and see what interesting bits we came up with along the way...


Miss shows me pages of original art for her sequel to "Escape From Special." They are delicate, meticulously drawn pieces that are slightly smaller than the 8 1/2" x 10" plastic sheets that protect them.
OS: "How was it like drawing these pages in this size? Was it harder? It's just that I'm used to artists drawing on those big sheets of bristol & then shrinking it down..."


MISS: "Well, I carry it around like this -- when I'm on a train or between clients -- and just work on it on the spot. In a way it's faster, but also it forces you to make really good use of your space. If you have a panel this big, and you have dialogue and three figures, you really have to balance it, you can't just throw it on there."

OS: "I'm trying to remember your first book...was it printed this size or bigger?"

MISS: "No, it was printed actual size."

OS: "Well, I think that's great, because it shows you're understanding the format. There are books like some Minx and psuedo-manga titles where I'm not sure the artists understand the size of the format -- and then things look crammed in. Whereas you are actually working in that size, so you're composing things just right."

MISS: "It saves time, but you have to do more thinking."


We then look at Kevin's pages for Fishtown:

OS: "So in the beginning of the story it's all monochromatic yellow tones, but once the emotion and action picks up, it gets more...red?"

KEVIN: "The only red is blood. And there's a lot of blood."

Kevin's webcomic Fishtown focuses on a brutal murder planned and carried out by a group of disaffected teenagers.

OS: "So it just overwhelms the palette...because there's just a lot of it."

KEVIN: "Well, it skips back and forth in time, but I do show the murder. And very, very graphically. So it's just trying to find a publisher...and the biggest problem I've had in finding a publisher, believe it or not, is finding one who will do it in color."


I quiz Miss on her publisher:

OS: "How has Fantagraphics been for you? Have they been supportive?"

MISS: "Emotionally?"

OS: "The whole spectrum."

MISS: "Well, I would have to put that in two different catagories. You know, when I was first starting to draw, I was a big fan of the Brothers Hernandez...so I'm really happy to be with Fantasgraphics. I love the way they printed the book, and the art design. I feel that on some level, it was just allowed to "happen." Like some books come out, and they get this big push...when my book came out, it was more like "let's see what this does," they were taking a chance on me. But I have reason to believe that with the sequel they're going to give it a much bigger push."


OS: "It seems to me that the book has been so successful, that they're really going to put more into the marketing of the second one."

MISS: "Yeah, at the time when it first came out I would have liked it to push it more, but at the time they took a chance on...well, a lot of books. And most books, they make a little money for the publisher or they just break even."

DG: "Now Miss, did you go to school for writing?"

MISS: "I went to Pratt, with a BFA in communication and design. But I've always done well in English class and Creative Writing. When I was in school I ran the school comic book, Static Fish, and I actually got a paycheck for that."

OS: "Do you trade up when you collect floppies for a certain series, and buy the books?"

MISS: "I prefer to wait for the trades. I don't buy the floppies anymore. In the last year I bought one or two floppies at the most. It's just a better format to read it. And also pricewise it's a better deal -- it's like buying wholesale instead of retail. "

OS: "What is the stuff you're reading now that you really enjoy?"

MISS: "I like La Perdida. Which is interesting because the first time I picked it up I didn't like it, and I put it down. I thought to have the English, and the Spanish -- it was so wordy. And then recently I reread it, and I was embarassed that I didn't read it. And so I'm glad I went through it. Like the character is not very sympathetic; she's whiny, self absorbed, and naive. So you see the story from a more self-absorbed point of view than her and I love that kind of shift in writing."


...and back to Kevin, the topic being webcomic collective ACT-I-VATE.

OS "Now, you're one of the founders of ACT-I-VATE..."

KEVIN: "No, I'm one of the founders of The Chemistry Set, who moved more or less to ACT-I-VATE."

OS: "The stuff at ACT-I-VATE is so good that I imagine getting someone to sponsor it would not be the hardest thing in the world. It's also an excellent showcase for your work. It's so simple and yet so effective, because your work speaks for itself. ACT-I-VATE has become synonymous with quality in webcomics."


KEVIN: "It's interesting how that worked. Chemistry Set did this a little bit, but when I joined ACT-I-VATE, suddenly I had a career. All of the sudden it's like: hey world, how do you do? I get emails from people I've never met before. Some people who hate me..."

MISS: "...death threats"

The waitress finally arrives for our drink orders, the clock striking noon.

OS: "I'll have a mimosa, please."

DG: "I'd love a screwdriver."

MISS: "Nothing for me, thanks."

KEVIN: "A screwdriver sounds great."

Occasional Previews: What Should I Buy This Week?

Use this list to come up with your own comic book picks!

I don't see a lot that grabs me this week, so I'll just list a couple of things:

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #547

INCREDIBLE HERCULES #113

PENANCE RELENTLESS #4 (OF 5)
(I realize it's kind of masochistic to keep buying this,
but hey -- just like the character!)

Well, that's it -- other than that, I'm stumped.
Does anybody have any other suggestions???

Occasional Links: The Superhero Mama Edition

DIY Spidey


Pictures of a guy and his super-advanced homemade Spider-Man costume. Plus Photoshop. Suits for sale. Classic or black. Webshooters not included.


DIY Superheroine

Time is running out for Shadowline's "Who Wants To Create A Superheroine" contest. Entries due by January 31st, details are here.

“I’d been hoping to see a super-hero book with a strong female lead to act as a counter-point to our popular Bomb Queen series, but none were forthcoming. So I decided to come up with a contest to create a super-heroine for the 21st Century.”

If anybody is looking for any inspiration on that "superheroine for the 21st Century," here are some pics of Bomb Queen:

Yep, that's the "superheroine for the 21st Century," I guess...


Night Thrasher = "BADICAL"

I always found Night Thrasher from The New Warriors to be very emblematic of early 90s comic books, and apparently the blog Of Course, Yeah! thinks so as well:

"But back in 1990? You bust some Tae Bo out on the local pimp and he be all convinced you were trained by the ghost of Bruce Lee himself! And the scarf? Well damn, make all the fun you want and but when you're laughing and there's a BLACK! METAL! FIST! PILFERING! OUT! JUSTICE! IN! YOUR! FACE!...you'll think twice about dissing on dudes with a little bit of balls when it comes to fashion. "

Me, I just love the "TRAKA TRAKA TRAKA" skateboard SFX.


"I Am Darkhawk, I AM The Night"

Speaking of "badical" 1990s superheroes, Project Rooftop has an awesome redesign of Darkhawk's costume by Joel Carroll


Divorce, Spider-Man Style



Erik Larsen added his two cents to the "One More Day" debate on a Newsarama forum and suggested that a Peter/MJ divorce might have worked better:

"Have Peter and MJ get divorced. She can't take the pressure any more--living with Peter is giving her nightmares--he's always in danger--always getting hurt--Peter's always late for stuff because of Spider-Man and every time she can't help feel that THIS will be the time that he never comes back--and she just can't stand it. It's all too much. She files for the divorce. She leaves him. He becomes that much more of a loser. He could try to make things right--promise to give up the tights and all that but--great power and great responsibility and all the rest and he has to save somebody and she goes through with it.

And Spider-Man getting a divorce would be big news--in the real world--but Marvel has always prided itself on realism and a divorce is a realistic solution--not a "comic booky" solution. Marvel would get a LOT more mileage out of a tastefully handled divorce than a hastily executed mind-wipe."

Peter could have then called these guys:



Videos: The Bizarro YouTube Superhero Awards

Choose between --

"Spider-Man Does Barbie": (NSFW, sort of) Buddies get drunk and their toys get wild in this soon-to-be-classic

"Transformation To Superheroine": (NSFW, sort of) Man or woman in creeeeepy anime mask slowly puts on superheroine outfit. The messed-up camera angle really contributes to the David Lynch quality of the production.

"I'm A Superhero": A nice "Blair Witch" vibe with the camera work, as mom dresses like superhero to "experience childlike freedom with her son." My mom never did this for me.

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: David Gallaher

Name: David Gallaher

Location: Brooklyn, New York

Occupation: Writer

Comics you read: Avengers: The Initiative, Nova, Captain America, and Thunderbolts are my must reads. Outside of that, I pick up and follow a little bit of everything. I also read In His Likeness, Sullen Grey, Girls With Slingshots, Bayou, Fishtown, Backstage, Kelly, The Night Owls, Nightfall, xckd, Foxtrot, Tiny Ghosts, and A Softer World. And I'm totally digging on this werewolf western webcomic I've been reading ... but I totally don't remember the name of it.

Fave artist: Will Eisner, though John Buscema is another favorite.

Fave writer: Andrew Vacchs, though Lawrence Block is very close second.

Fave character: All of the original six New Warriors, so Nova, Justice, Speedball, Firestar, Namorita, and yes … Night Thrasher. Plus, The Flash and Superman are my favorite DC characters.

First comic you ever read: I believe it was either NOVA #1 or an issue of POWER MAN AND IRON FIST.

Your favorite comic book "memory": I'd have to think about that one. There are several that come to mind ... but as far as absolute favorite? Maybe the New York Comic Con last year?

Most frustrating comic book "moment": When Captain Marvel died, I actually cried a little.

Where/how do you buy your comics?: Comic book stores in and around New York City. I'm partial to Midtown Comics East, but Jim Hanley's is wonderful, as are Cosmic Comics and Forbidden Planet.

Floppies or trades?: Both ... but how about webcomics?

Marvel or DC?: All of the above, plus some.

Star Wars or Star Trek?: I loathe $t@r W@r$, so Star Trek.

Non-comic book hobbies: Old-time radio, psychology, advertising, theatre, general forteana, and collecting action figures.

Personal motto: Keep your friends close and your enemies at point-blank range.

How did you start reading "Occasional Superheroine?": After some girl scribbled the website on a index card for me.

Playboy Wonder Woman Tiffany Fallon's Scarlet Letter

Okay, here's an interesting wrinkle to the whole "Playboy Wonder Woman Cover" brouhaha...

The Playmate in question, Tiffany Fallon, is actually a stated fan of Wonder Woman even before the Playboy cover came out:

"I'm obsessed with Wonder Woman. I grew up and I had the Wonder Woman Underoos, when Underoos first came out. And I was always a big fan of the show and Lynda Carter. And the older I got, the more I would get these comments like, "My god, you look like Lynda Carter in that picture!" And it doesn't happen all the time, but I just grew to appreciate her and the character and the campiness of the project. I was Wonder Woman at one of the Playboy Mansion parties, and I just started getting all these comments, like, "My god! You would make a great Wonder Woman!" And I'm like, "You know, I would!" [Laughs]. And so I just have fun with it. And I heard they were starting to make a movie about it, and so I was like, "You know… Stranger things have happened in my life!" You never know. But that would be something I'd be really proud to be a part of."

This raises several questions/comments from me.

1. I have to wonder (if you will excuse the pun) how much of the subject matter was Playboy's initial idea and how much of it was worked out with Tiffany because she's specifically a fan of the character. She seems to want to be identified with the character.

2. There is obviously, at least for me, a measure of PR involved with this, with Tiffany making a play for the proposed (shelved?) Wonder Woman movie.

3. If comic book publishers are going to use cheesecake art for their mainstream superhero characters anyway, how can they complain about having a Playboy Playmate portray one of them? Outside of copyright issues?

4. If comic book publishers are going to use cheesecake art for their mainstream superhero characters anyway, why can't Playboy Playmate Tiffany Fallon be Wonder Woman?

Has the fact that she has posed nude make her a "dirty" person unfit to wear the WW bustier & girdle?

As women, do we want to point a finger and say that a certain woman can't play a superheroine because she's "bad" for having posed nude? Are we doing this because as women we feel that she has betrayed us, that she has contributed to a perceived degradation of our gender? How much of it comes from a Judeo-Christian "nudity is sinful" perspective? If as women we operate from the "sexuality is bad" perspective, are we unwittingly buying in to a mentality where the "sinful nudity" parts are intertwined with "women are essentially sinful" parts?

If Tiffany Fallon wants to make a living modeling her nude body, and she spends a great deal every day at the gym etc. to invest in this, do we have the right to condemn her? What if she was only a nude model for lesbian women, and no men were ever going to look at her flesh? Would that be acceptable? Is it the fact that she strips down for men that is the issue?

I have no one definitive viewpoint on this topic, because it is far more complicated than my stupid blog can define. But I will say that within some feminist arguments against porn there IS some sort of vestigial Judeo-Christian judgement call in play.

Is erotica evil? Does erotica hurt? Does erotica for depicting women degrading?

Is Tiffany Fallon a bad person? Has she been victimized by Playboy? Is she a "marked" woman because she been photographed naked?

Have we given her a Scarlet Letter?

Wonder Woman Wasn't The First Time Playboy Did This...

I found this image while following the (lengthy) discussion that followed The Beat's post on the Wonder Woman Playboy cover thing...


Misssssss Teschmacher!!!!


As a side note, when I was a kid I thought the actress Valerie Perrine, depicted above and who was in the first two Superman movies, was cool because...well, because I had her name. Somehow, my parents kept this particular publication from me, tho.

Will Nick Fury Be Replaced By Ultimate Nick Fury?

image found as a wallpaper on Superhero Universe

This one has been on my mind for a while, and I base it on nothing but the Ultimate version of Nick Fury's (or, as he's known, "Samuel L. Jackson") appearance in the Marvel movies and now toys.

First, Samuel L. Jackson plays Nick Fury in the upcoming Iron Man movie. Then, I heard that he's making an appearance in the new Incredible Hulk movie as well. While the universe in those films is not the explicit Ultimate universe, the choice of Jackson seems to denote an Ultimate version Fury (a character that was designed to look like the actor).

Now, while browsing through Hasbro's Marvel Super Hero Squad website, I see an upcoming Nick Fury figure -- in the Ultimate, Samuel L. Jackson style!

To be fair, there are a number of figures in that kid's toy line that are Ultimized, such as Giant Man.

But, I do wonder if one day the popular Ultimates Nick Fury will "replace" in some form the Marvel Universe Fury -- if only to have the comics fit more with the movies.

Would hardcore Fury fans balk at this?

I wouldn't mind the change; I'm fine with the Ultimates Fury. But, I am not a hardcore Nick Fury fan.

Occasional Links: The Feminist Agenda Edition

Continuing a recent spate of mainstream news coverage of comic books, Brian K. Vaughn in profiled over at the Wall Street Journal (not tooooo shabby!):

"On Jan. 30, Brian K. Vaughn will finish his most acclaimed comic series, "Y: The Last Man." After a mysterious plague kills every man in the world instantly, a young escape artist named Yorick Brown and his monkey Ampersand are strangely spared. Evading female soldiers and gangs of angry, antimale freedom fighters, Brown and his guardian angel, a dreadlocked government agent named 355, search the globe for Brown's girlfriend and an answer to the male holocaust."

Oh wait -- does this mean that Y The Last Man has a...FEMINIST AGENDA?! Oh, noes! If the book is perceived as "anti-male," people won't read it! Oh, wait -- plenty of people are reading Y The Last Man? Both men and women? Well, ohmagosh!


The "Wizard" Seal Of Approval

Speaking of "Y," I noticed that the trade paperback has a big endorsement by Wizard Magazine prominently on its front cover.

Now, what demographic is DC going for here?

Does the target Wizard reader enjoy books about antimale freedom fighters?

And does the target reader of Vertigo books like "Y" and "Fables" read Wizard?

Wouldn't the book be better served by quotes from publications like The New York Times or Rolling Stone or Entertainment Weekly?


Iron Man To Appear In "Hulk" Film


C'mon, how cool is this?

"Rumors of the cross cameo have been rampant for quite some time now. It now seems likely that the ultimate goal is, in fact, to tie the “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” movies together and, more than likely, make an Avengers movie that would feature both characters (and likely Nick Fury who is played by Samuel L. Jackson in “The Incredible Hulk”). Jon Favreau, director of “Iron Man” has reportedly already called “dibs” on the Avengers movie."

And this is why I still think having a "JLA" movie cast that differs from that of the other current cinema incarnations of Superman and Batman is a terrrrrrrible idea.


Comix-As-Art

See a gallery of Stan Lee tribute artwork by some of today's most talented fine artists...


Hey, how did that last one get in there? Oh, that's just part of the 30 second recap contest at the ISB!


Strike, Schmyke: How Does It Impact The COMICS Bottom Line?


Here's a new wrinkle to the ongoing Writer's Strike: its eventual effect on the comic book conventions:

"The second half of the TV season is already a doozy, and if production doesn't start soon next season may never start. Since TV shows like Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, and Lost draw in a large part of the crowd at Comic-Con, can we expect a way smaller audience this July?"

Of course, with all these TV writers out of work...might they turn more to comic book writing?

In general, comic book publishers are turning more and more to TV and movie writers to write their comic books. This shrinks the already limited pool of available writing work for professional comic writers.

Maybe those comic book writers should start their own union as well?


Movies By The Numbers
Video: Count along with your favorite movies with "100 Numbers, 100 Movies"

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: P FAZ

Name: p faz

Location: Varese, ITALY

Occupation: Lab technician for a chemical auxiliaries factory

Comics you read: Almost everything by Marvel, a lot of DC and some Image & indies. All in Italian version except for Showcase presents & Essentials. (I used to read original editions way back during mid 80’s to 1990)

Fave artist: Aargh, it’s hard to name just one! (same for next question), let’s say John Romita JR., dynamic and great storytelling!

Fave writer: An outsider here, Will Pfeifer for his H.E.R.O. and Catwoman. I’ve still got to read Amazons Attack, not sure I will anyway but let’s think that he has to pay bills somehow…I'm curious about his "Sub Diego" Aquaman stories which will be published here shortly.

Fave character: A close match between Howard the Duck and Spiderman for Marvel, Flash for DC ( it’s too bad here in Italy we only had a glimpse of his adventures after the end of the Waid run which didn’t comprehend the Johns run and the “OYL” issues were really awful). I really liked the kid from the Street Angel trade.

First comic you ever read: Tough guess…. I’ve been reading comics since forever, must have been a Disney comic. I remember my first superhero comic better, the Amazing issues when Pete was sick with an ulcer and had to use an exoskeleton and a fake spidey mask without lens. For a ten year old kid used to classic adventure/funny stories this was really something else, super-melodrama!

Your favorite comic book "memory": (either related to comics or actually in a comic) Going with my niece to a comic book convention…it was her first time and although it was a small and not so special show her enthusiasm was really fantastic and made it unique for me! Parents bring your kids to comics conventions, it’s a great way for them to learn how to choose and stay in budget limits and it’s tons & tons of fun (even if you will not be able to attend the neverending 1km waiting line for an autograph of your favourite artist…)

Most frustrating comic book "moment": A balloon in the old Invaders series had the Torch saying: “this is how you fight a war, hating !”(the enemy). That was in the Italian edition at least and I found it really disturbing

Where/how do you buy your comics?: Comic shops, a little one near where I live for weekly shopping or sometimes the bigger ones in Milan for titles harder to find. No internet shopping for me, I prefer the thrill of the hunt, spending time travelling & finding my comics.

Floppies or trades?: There are few Italian editions that have both so there’s not really a choice. If I had a choice it would be floppies for a few favourites (the ones I follow “no matter what”) and trades for title I follow occasionally. It’s too easy to praise trades ‘cause that’s the target format for comics these days but for Me, I still like the floppies…

Marvel or DC?: Marvel, I like the humanity of their characters and although both exceed in sensationalism lately, they seem to have more sense in their approach than DC.

Star Wars or Star Trek?: Not a great fan of sci-fi, I’d say Star Wars.

Non-comic book hobbies: Jogging, being a good uncle, follow sports on tv and internet.

Personal motto: “It’s not pessimism, it’s realism” but I really have to find a new one in 2008!

How did you start reading "Occasional Superheroine?": I read about it in another net column (Lying in the Gutters) and since “Goodbye to Comics” I’ve been a regular reader.
I think your point of view on the actual comics scene is one of the most intriguing thanks to the unique combination of professionality, passion and knowledge

Nightwing: Now With Less "Dick"

A poster on Scans Daily commented on how new Nightwing writer Peter Tomasi has removed some of the "Dick" from Mr. Grayson, having characters refer to him as "Richard."

Obviously, Mr. Grayson's first name has been the source of many a cheap shot at the Bat-clan, though it must be remembered that at the time the character was created, "Dick" was a popular name for young men. (actually, I have no idea if that's true or not, but it sure sounds good dunnit?)

However, it should be noted that Nightwing #140 indeed contains several "Dicks." So I see Tomasi as not removing the "Dicks" from Nightwing completely, but merely providing some variety as to the nomenclature of the character.

I hope that clears things up.

-- Occasional Superheroine, who saw the cheap shot inherent in this topic and went for it.

Wonder Woman: Amazon, Superhero, Playmate

Not surprised by the cover to the February issue of Playboy (NSFW link) making the rounds on the Internet, showing a naked model with the Wonder Woman costume painted on to her flesh.

Some comments on the story on the blog Jezebel caught my attention:

"If female comic book heroes weren't regularly dressed like whores, I'd be more upset. Since they are, this is merely a logical extension of that, sorry to say."

"You mean people interpret WW's classic hot shorts & and corset top as a sexy-crime-fighting uniform for some years now? I'm baffled."

"Also, funnily enough, her costume in that picture is waaaaay closer to the way Wonder Woman looks in the comic books than anyone with an actual costume ever gets."

"Did they at least keep it authentically Wonder Woman and do a whole lesbian bondage themed spread?"

"Again, I think one of the points that folks are missing is that Wonder Woman hasn't been a feminist superhero for years (possibly not since her creation). She already IS a character designed for male consumption; Playboy hasn't appropriated anything."

There were also a number of female commenters who bemoaned the fact that this sullied their memories of their Wonder Woman underoos as a kid.

And, an interesting tangential point was brought up. Fashion magazines encourage women to be deathly thin & equate a twiggy figure with beauty -- but porn mags regularly show "healthy"-sized women. Which type of publication is more hateful/damaging to females?

As for me, like I said, I wasn't surprised by the Playboy thing. It was a cheap shot by the magazine, to be sure. But I would be far more outraged if this happened to Batgirl or Supergirl. To me, Batgirl was always the true feminist superheroine -- smart, independent, and under-sexualized. Supergirl was the virginal innocent -- originally portrayed as your own kid sister or cousin.

But, Wonder Woman was created by a dude with really strong and weird opinions about women & sex -- he referred to women's vaginas as their "love parts" -- and all that baggage couldn't help but taint that character. Adventurous, resourceful Batgirl is the superheroine I wanted to be. Wonder Woman was half-naked. Now, in Playboy, she's all naked. Look at the proportions and pose of that Playboy cover and compare it to that of a Terry Dodson Wonder Woman cover -- outside of the nipples, how do these images differ?


My God, if anything, the oft-reviled Adam Hughes covers actually portray a Wonder Woman far "deeper" than the Dodson covers:


I state again my belief that there is a time and place and need for this sort of cheesecake stuff, whether it's a superheroine's costume design or Playboy in general. But it's erotica. Wonder Woman is an erotic figure. This controversy just states the obvious.

Which is not to say that WW can't be/has not been redeemed and made into a character that women and girls can truly look up to. But I will finally believe this when she's no longer drawn by cheesecake artists. I'll believe it when she's no longer half-naked. I'll believe it when they get somebody like Michael Gaydos drawing the book.

But all those things will never happen. Because Wonder Woman as erotic object is very very very very MARKETABLE.

And there is nothing wrong with marketability. But, let's not be shocked by the porn thing.

Occasional Reviews: Hulk #1, Nightwing #140, Teen Titans Lost Annual

Hulk #1
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artists: Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Rating: A
On My Pull List? Yes

Hulk #1 skillfully carries on the momentum that World War Hulk started. Though no actual real-time Hulk action is depicted in this issue (making it interestingly similar in that regard to the Spider-Man-less Amazing Spiderman #546 & the Captain America-less current Cap run), his massive footprints (and, apparently, fingerprints) are everywhere in evidence.

Spoilers: Classic villain Abomination is apparently killed by the Hulk. With a gun. Meanwhile, a half-naked Rick Jones, who, despite the end of "WWH," is quite alive, roams the Russian countryside in a daze. Is he this mysterious "Red Hulk?" And the Winter Guard make an appearance, much to my boyfriend's delight (he loves those "global" teams).


I admit that I was very turned off by Jeph Loeb's recent writing for DC, but his work in Hulk #1 is both fast-paced and engaging. Ed McGuinness & Dexter Vines's art is appropriately massive, and Loeb provides the sort of wide, open storytelling that plays that art to its biggest advantage. There are spreads so massive in this book you'll feel as if you're reading one of those old treasury editions.

A great start; I hope they keep it up.



Nightwing #140
Writer: Pete Tomasi
Artists: Rags Morales & Michael Bair
Publisher: DC Comics

Rating: B
On My Pull List? I will give it one more issue before deciding.

Nightwing enters a whole new phase with issue #140 and the new creative team of Tomasi, Morales, and Bair. With a story that takes place mostly in New York City instead of the familiar haunts of Gotham or Bludhaven and a far more realistic art style than I'm used to for this character, it certainly does feel like Dick Grayson's own "Brand New Day."

Tomasi's writing does not lack feeling for the characters or a penchant for manly action scenes (indeed, Dick's skydive at the beginning of the issue seemed more at home with a James Bond novel). However, the copious use of dialogue and narrative captions denotes more of a prose approach to a graphic medium. For example, the scene with Robin & Nightwing at the end of the issue -- there are a tremendous amount of words on those two pages.


It is really the art of Morales & Bair that are the showstoppers here. If ever there was a comic most likely to appeal to females based on the sexiness of the male superhero alone, it is Nightwing. If there ever was a male character in the DC roster in danger of being exploited for his good looks alone, it is Dick Grayson. The sheer number of gratuitous shower scenes featuring Mr. Grayson through the years testifies to that.

Simply put, the Dick Grayson (and Tim Drake, assuming he's of legal age) of Nightwing #140 is incredibly good-looking. It makes me wish Devin Grayson was still writing the book.




Teen Titans Lost Annual
Writer: Bob Haney
Artists: Jay Stephens & Mike Allred
Publisher: DC Comics

Rating: B+

I watched this book grow from its inception while I was an assistant to its original editor, Dan Raspler; so it might be more valuable to my blog readers to give you some background to it in in addition to just a review.

If my memory serves me correctly, Bob Haney, a classic writer of Silver Age DC material, wrote the script for Teen Titans Lost Annual on a manual type writer, all in caps. Almost every other line ended with a double hyphen & double exclamation point. We stood around the office just looking in awe at the thing. And yet, it was the perfect vehicle for Jay Stephens & Mike Allred to express their love of that time period.

Titans Lost Annual was shelved before publication because it was considered "weird." A new Teen Titans title was launching, and it was believed the one-shot would confuse branding.

The thing is -- the book is weird. It features hippie cavemen going up against mod aliens in Beatles haircuts. And John F. Kennedy.

But, like last year's The Last Fantastic Four Story by Stan Lee, the book is a love-letter to a kinder, gentler period in comic book history. It was written by someone who wasn't trying to be ironic, but just wanted to tell an action-packed, fun story. On those merits, the book can be enjoyed.


But, the biggest draw is the art by Jay Stephens & Mike Allred. It is spot-on perfect. Plus, you get a cover & "sketchbook" by original Titans cover artist Nick Cardy. I would almost recommend that you get this for a child and let them enjoy the wonder of the early Titans stuff, if it wasn't for the inherent bizarreness & occasional deaths in the book.

But, would today's kids enjoy the 60s version of the Teen Titans, or the current "in continuity" comic, or Titans Year One, or even the upcoming Tiny Titans?

These are some damn sophisticated kids. I think it's Teen Titans Go! all the way.

When You Know It's Time To Switch Lines At Rite Aid

This actually happened about a half an hour ago --

We were at our local Rite Aid, buying this and that, looking at the already insanely stocked Valentine's Day displays and Spider-Man mask chocolates in heart boxes.

Then we go to checkout. The prim middle-aged lady with the gigantic glasses and sensible shoes in front of us is returning one of these:

It's an Acu Vibe "personal massager," available at the "health" section of Rite Aid.

She says to the clerk,

"Yes, I'd like to return this; it didn't work the way I wanted it to."

"What exactly was the problem?"

"It didn't work the way I wanted it to."

The clerk looks skeptically at the box, which has apparently been torn open at the edges. The lady pokes at the soft part of the massager to make her point.

"Was a part broken," the clerk asks.

"It didn't work the way I wanted it to."

"...I'm not sure we can accept returns on these."

"It didn't work the way I wanted it to."

"Do you have a receipt?"

"No."

"..."

"It just didn't work the way I wanted to."

You know, back when I was a kid, the only "respectable" place you could get these "personal massagers" were in those Fingerhut-type catalogs. But now traditional "big box" drug stores have totally embraced this market.

As a side note, you can get these awesome Valentine's Day toy cellphones with candy inside and buttons that really beep. But something tells me I'm getting the Spider-Man mask chocolates.

Occasional Links: The Lazy Friday Edition

Quick Hits:

Wow. Brand New Day really de-aged Peter Parker, huh? Actually It's a Young Tom Breevort as Spider-Man.



The new posters for the 4th Indiana Jones film have arrived. I wanted a Shia leBoeuf poster, actually. He's the Cuteness.


Enjoy this passel of webcomics on One More Day & Brand New Day:
Peter Forgets He Loves Mary Jane
Divorce/Satanism/Abortion
The Watchmen do "One More Day"



Don't know what to do with your old vinyl collection? This collection of photos called "Sleevefaces" might give you some ideas. Or you could just line them up against a wall for sale near my subway station and become part of the local color.



New York City has inspired and played host to numerous superhero adventures, and beginning Jan. 17, the Roundtable Ensemble will present the world premiere of the superhero-themed play Save the World at the American Theatre of Actors.

Conan the Barbarian returns to the big screen (can a Beastmaster remake be far behind?)

VIDEO: And the de-aging of Peter Parker still continues:

Amazing Spider-Man #546: A Brand New Review

By now I think pretty much everybody has sounded off on this book and the "Brand New Day" direction. Except me. Well, I did milk the controversy for all it was worth...but now I still have to read and review the thing!

Peter Parker: Simply Irresistible
Though the splash page depicts Peter Parker smooching it up with a "Girls Gone Wild" type chick, it really has nothing to do with Peter actively "cheating" on Mary Jane. As we find out later, his lips were "raped." Some might say that having established in this issue that Peter is, in some senses, kind of a bum, having him chased and molested by some babe is unrealistic. To which I say: Kevin Federline.

Harry Osborn: Creep
Far more concerning to me is the establishment of Peter's constant borrowing of money from erstwhile friend Harry Osborn. I mean, speaking of deals with the devil...Peter depending on Harry for scratch is like taking home a bunch of weed from your drug dealer "on loan." It's not going to end well.

Is Harry the prototypical "creep" or what? They can't show him snort some coke in this book (or smoke a cigarette) but you intuitively *know* he must totally do that between panels. He's the type of guy Perez Hilton would draw little white dots coming from his nose in those paparazzi photos. If Harry Osborn was a real person he's be the dude who gave Lindsey or Britney that fatal dose and then sold the sex tapes afterwards.

Harold And Kumar meet Peter Parker
In general, Peter Parker's sense of judgement has been not so great as of late. That concerns me more than anything. He seems not to be acting from the position of a lifetime of experience. I mean, this isn't Peter from high school, but he sure is acting like he is. If he's twentysomething, doesn't that make him Generation Y? Slackers are Generation X. Generation Y is like my sister, the person with a full stock portfolio who clips coupons. I'm Generation X. I use my haircut money to buy comic books.

It seems like the target audience, 18-30, would be more "together" than to identify with Slacker Peter. The only thing Slacker Peter is missing is a blunt.

And yet I have to believe that, like the classic "Spider-Man" trope, Peter Parker has to learn the hard way that "with great power comes great responsibility," and that he wil shape up.

Yeah, But What About The Actual Comic?
In terms of the actual comic, I found it enjoyable, engaging, and very accessible to a new reader (me). I haven't read a Spider-Man comic in like forever. This book laid the current Spidey mythos all out for me in an easy-to-grasp way (thanks in part to a handy "chart" drawn by John Romita Jr.). Also, each upcoming arc is previewed for me via a short backup story with words & art from their respective creative teams -- I thought this was a smart thing to do, and really gave me a clear picture of what lies ahead.

Where I see the book having problems is with the hardcore readers who have been following their continuity closely. It's very hard for such readers to shift gears like that, and I think that's why we have witnessed so much emotion on the issue. On the other side of the coin is a reader new to the regular title like me. I tried on multiple occasions in the past to get "into" Spider-Man. Every time tried, the current labyrinthine continuity stymied me. If it wasn't the Clone Saga, it was The Other.

At least now, I am willing to pick this book up on a regular basis. I understand it. It isn't perfect, but it has laid all the elements of the storyline out for me and I am interested in seeing where they are all headed.

Peter Parker: Sensitive Guy Who Doesn't Care About Big Boobs
And what are the odds that Peter is going to nail the sexy self-effacing bookish police chick who is playing it coy? Probably pretty high. See, what Peter *really* wants is to go with a girl with brains, with substance over style. That was what the misleading splash page was trying to point out. I mean, if he ends up marrying a fashion model along the way, well, then...

Occasional Links: The "There's No Crying In Comics" Edition

Heroes Action Figures
or
"Men With Purses"

click for bigger pic

Check out this pic of the new Heroes action figures from Mezco:

Notice how almost all the male figures have messenger bags? And Claire lacks the traditional "purse" female accessory?

I remember back in the old days when men who wore those prototype messenger bags were made fun of for wearing "handbags." Part of this was because those bags looked less like contemporary messenger bags and more like handbags.

Hell, at least Claire doesn't have a pom-pom accessory! (Sylar does have a severed brain accessory, tho)


"Justice League" Movie On Hold/Cancelled?

Is the "Justice League" movie on hold/cancelled?

"Justice League is indeed in danger of not starting production on time, and maybe even getting scrapped altogether. The concerns are that the script is not ready to go in front of cameras, and also that the budget is getting a bit out of control."

I think that the idea of casting a Superman & Batman separate from the current movie franchises for the characters was a terrible one. People watching the "JLA" film will be like, "that's not Christian Bale! That's a fake Batman!"


Old "Hulk," New "Hulk," Red Hulk, Blue Hulk


Doesn't this shot from the new "Incredible Hulk" movie look like something from the old Bill Bixby TV series? Didn't they have a shot just like this in the TV series? Lets see...



yes, exactly like the TV series! (which makes sense since the director said the movie's an homage to the show)


And Even More Movie Bits!


Benicio Del Toro as The Wolfman (cool)

Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher in the new Star Trek movie (he's a natural)

Chipettes to appear in "Alvin" sequel? (wait, there's going to be an "Alvin" sequel?)

Is A Bioshock movie in the works? (I know somebody who's gonna be really excited...you know, unless the movie really really sucks. Which, given the rate of bad vs. good movie adaptations of video games, is pretty damned likely.)


"There's No Crying In (Blank)"

Did women in New Hampshire only vote for Hillary Clinton because she cried? Did Hillary really cry, or was this blown out of all proportion by the media? Was the perception that Hillary cried something promoted by her own PR people, in an attempt to make her more "human?" Do strong women need to show they can cry in order to seem more "likeable?" Should strong women ever cry? What about that classic 1962 Four Seasons song "Big Girls Don't Cry?" Do you know where I'm going with this? Do you? Do you really?:

Oh Crap! It's Another Vidcast!

One day I'm really meaning to make this vidcast thing a very professional, awesome production. In the meantime, we have this.

Comics covered:
Amazing Spider-Man #546
Hulk #1
Nightwing #140
The Goon #20
Teen Titans Lost Annual

"Holy Hot Flash, Batman!"

If the point of this recent article in Newsweek on "Wonder Woman" & women in comics was to reassure me about the current place of females both in terms of readership & within the mainstream comics industry, it didn't do a particularly great job. Consider me underwhelmed.

If most of DC's readers are indeed "college-aged men who are looking for high adventure," part of that is a lack of out-of-the-box thinking & laziness. Women and girls enjoy tales of adventure as well. You can't make a comic book that appeals to a girl who likes "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Harry Potter," "Firefly," and your own "Smallville?" Then you've failed. There are hundreds of thousands of females out there that are rabid fans of this adventure/fantasy stuff in other media or in manga. I refuse to believe that the superhero genre by itself only attracts male fans. It's the presentation, the characters, and the story.

And the title of the article: "Holy Hot Flash, Batman!" Wow. Just wow.

And thank God the article writer insists that that we do't have to "worry" about there being a "feminist agenda" in the latest Gail Simone-penned "Wonder Woman," or having WW's sexiness "taken away." I mean, that's the most important issue in all of this:

"In other words, that bustier is here to stay," the article's author writes as her last sentence, summing it all up for us.

Well thank God for that. That was exactly what I was worrying about.

I don't fault Gail Simone for this at all; I just don't like the way the article was shaped by Newsweek's writer. It's an article supposedly written about women's growing empowerment in comics and ends up completely undermining it. The article begins and ends about WW's underwear.

First There Was Goddamn Batman...Now There Is ZOMBIE GORDON!

Zombie Gordon!

Zombie Gordon!

Zombie Gordon!

Robin Olsen?!

Zombie Gordon!

From Scans Daily

Occasional Superheroine Reader Profile: CLINTON JOHNSTON

Name: Clinton Johnston

Location: Charlottesville, VA

Occupation: Part-Time College Professor/Part-Time Register Jockey (Ah, the glamor of Academia!)

Comics you read: Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, Daredevil, LSH, JSA, Invincible, Astro City, Black Panther, Boneyard, everything Ultimate, anything Straczynski, anything Busiek ...

Fave artist: Of all time? John Byrne

Fave writer: Alan Moore, although recently I've been all about Gail Simone!

Fave character: Dick Grayson (close second DC's Captain Marvel)

First comic you ever read: Don't know. That was pretty early in life -- maybe an FF, maybe a Spider-Man.

Your favorite comic book "memory": 1976 I had a friend who was collecting big. So I was reading his comics and had none of my own. One day this kid came to the door selling Marvel subscriptions. I figured I could afford just one but stalled looking over this huge list. Looking for titles my friend wasn't already collecting, I asked, "What's this Marvel Team-Up?" "Oh," said the kid, "It's Spider-Man and a guest hero every month." Two heroes for the price of one; that clinched it for my ultra-cheap, little kid mind. Little did I know that I was signing on to John Byrne's and Chris Claremont's epic run of Marvel Team-Up. Those are some of my most cherished comics to this day.

Most frustrating comic book "moment": The death of Superman. Low point achieved. No, wait! The resurrection of Jean Grey so they could reunite the original team for X-Factor. One of the greatest comics stories detoothed just like that.

Where/how do you buy your comics?: Subscribe through a local shop. Buy weekly.

Floppies or trades?: Floppies

Marvel or DC?: Marvel. Though I like DC, you just can't beat an old guy who looks like a low-rent Groucho Marx yelling, "Excelsior!" C'mon, is that even a word? Do we care?

Star Wars or Star Trek?: Star Trek

Non-comic book hobbies: Theater rules my life.

Personal motto: "Many paths to the Buddha."

How did you start reading "Occasional Superheroine?": Hmm ... I think I came here from Sequential Tart. I'm actually very frustrated with the way comic artists fetishize breasts. As you can imagine, not many guys share this opinion. I look to women comic fans to touch base with reality and refuel.

Occasional Links: The Steampunk Parademon Edition

Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex

When I was a teenager I got a big kick of this essay by Larry Niven that imagines what would happen if Superman really had sex with a mortal woman -- you know, from a physics standpoint:

"The purpose of this article is to point out some medical drawbacks to being a kryptonian among human beings, and to suggest possible solutions."

Today, not rocking on it quite so much.

But worth a read. (NSFW, obviously)


The Trouble With Harry


Your Mom's Basement asks Marvel editor Tom Breevort ten questions designed to clarify Harry Osborn's new place in the post-OMD universe:

4. Does Normie Osborn still exist?
Yes.

...this and other revelations at the link!


The Most Important Review You'll Ever Read!Look, I understand 400 reviews on Amazon.com for the latest Harry Potter book.

But a Bic ballpoint pen?

Since taking delivery of my pen I have been very happy with the quality of ink deposition on the various types of paper that I have used. On the first day when I excitedly unwrapped my pen (thanks for the high quality packaging Amazon!) I just couldn't contain my excitement and went around finding things to write on, like the shopping list on the notice board in our kitchen, the Post-it notes next to the phone, and on my favourite lined A4 pad at the side of my desk.

SWAYZE


The true story. In panels and art.

(found at Journalista)


Steampunk Fourth World Action Figures

Courtesy of The Fwoosh are these awesome custom action figures of Kirby's Fourth World characters reimagined as steampunk characters:


PS: All those Fourth World characters gonna die. But they live on in your action figures.



Video: And now, here's the opening to a Superman cartoon for the 1980s...with John Williams score!

A (Comic) Bookstore Grows In Brooklyn

From the "It's A Small World After All" Department --

So me and the BF are slumming on a strangely summery (read: global warming, we all gonna die) Tuesday afternoon. Eating Burger King -- you know, the "BK."

BF says: "Hey, there's a DC Comics poster hanging in the bookstore across the street."

I say, squinting: "I don't see it." (I squint a lot.)

So we decide to go to the shop, a branch of "Shakespeare & Co" near Brooklyn College, and check it out.

The guy at the front counter looks familiar...

It's regular "Occasional Superheroine" reader Mordicai!

What are the odds, I asks ya, what are the odds?

He's actually helped develop a nice little niche of graphic novels within the store, and it seems to be doing well (it grew from just one shelf to the whole section). There are also key authors like Alan Moore cross-referenced within the literature section. And professors at the nearby college occasionally order comic titles from the store to teach for their classes.

In an area in which the nearest comic store is usually several subway stops away (grumble grumble), the Shakespeare & Co on Hillel is a nice little oasis for current & classic trade paperbacks & graphic novels.

And also -- I got to meet Mordicai! And Pete!

And I got a pair of used Spider-Girl trade paperbacks! How cool is that?

Occasional Previews: What I'm Buying This Week!

Here's a sampling of what I'm planning to buy this week...
Follow the Diamond shipping list and make your own picks!

EVIL DEAD #1 (OF 4)
Dark Horse

THE GOON #20
Dark Horse

TEEN TITANS THE LOST ANNUAL $4.99
DC Comics

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #546
Marvel Comics

HULK #1
Marvel Comics

Occasional Links: The Batarang To The Face Edition

The Two-Gun Kid Is Jewish...

And so is Justice and Prime.

Comics Should Be Good lists the Top Five Jewish Superheroes.

Top of the list?





A Chance To Own Part Of Dave Cockrum's Personal Comic Book Collection...