I Stand Corrected: Here is the San Diego Comic-Con COMICS News

I wrote on the site's Twitter account last night:

LongandShortbox LongandShortbox.com

The #comics news from #SDCC this year was more like a lack of news. Non-news? Nobody's talking much. ~ @JonGorga

13 hours ago

I stand by the third sentiment, i.e. nobody's talking about any of San Diego's announcements. And a great deal of the announcements that were made really were about video games, movies, and television adapted from comics, and had very little to do with Comics. The only thing I hear about again and again is DC's (@DC_NATION) complete loss of the opportunity to salve fears over their relaunching of 52 series at the end of this month, which Josh (@IamJoshKopin) and I have already spoken a great deal about here, here, here, here, and here.

Marvel (@Marvel), Image (@imagecomics), and IDW (@IDWPublishing) were the only companies with new COMICS news at the San Diego Comic-Con this year.

The few small announcements:

+ Brian K. Vaughan is returning to monthly comics with his first series at Image, called "Saga".

[via CosmicBookNews.com]

+ IDW is bringing back the character The Crow in a new series and complementing it with a series of reprint collections.

[via @Robot6]

+ Marvel and J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) will finally be completing "The Twelve" after a hiatus of roughly two years. Some covers are already drawn by the awesome Paolo Rivera (@PaoloMRivera)! This is a long, long time coming.

[via @iFanboy]

+ Josh already posted on the site about Marvel's "Avengers: Origins" series of one-shots giving us new takes on several characters' inceptions here.

Thorough description from Marvel here.

[via @Marvel.com]

+ Marvel has also given us a run-down of their "Fear Itself" aftermath series: "The Fearless", "Battle Scars", and "Shattered Heroes". Superhero characters dealing with death and loss in the wake of the war-like events of "Fear Itself".

"Battle Scars" especially sounds pretty exciting to me because it's being written by "The Sixth Gun" co-creator Cullen Bunn (@cullenbunn)!

[via @Marvel.com]

+ But the most exciting? Marvel intends to counter DC's wildly successful "Earth One" series of graphic novels with a line of GNs called "Season One"!

I covered, in detail, the stages of development and release for "Superman: Earth One" and I will do my best to offer comparable coverage to Marvel.

"Spider-Man: Season One" [preliminary art from which is to the left] will also be written by Cullen Bunn (@cullenbunn). This man is going places. Hell, I'd almost go so far as to say he's arrived.

Surprisingly, unlike DC's original graphic novel line, these stories will attempt to 'play nice' with established continuity. The goal being a shelf-full of fully-fleshed-out book-length comics that lead-into the comic-books on Marvel's New This Week racks. Ambitious. Impossible? Pointless? We'll see.

More original graphic novels giving the characters I love 'feature-length' sequential art stories makes me very happy so, no matter the continuity, I'm looking forward to giving these comics a read.

[via @iFanboy]

And DC had... no news other than the release of some of the costume designs for a few of the relaunching/re-booting characters. This lends credence to the rumor bouncing around that DC rushed to announce their big plans because Rich Johnston (@richjohnston) of BleedingCool.com was going to beat them to their own story. That's the game folks. But if it's true that the company making the boldest move in comics in a decade is playing catch-up? Heaven help us all.

~ @JonGorga

P.S. ~ Side note: It appears Jeph Loeb and the new MARVEL TV division I announced the creation of back in July of 2o1o does still exist and has actually been hard at work on pushing through some new stuff. At least enough to merit a panel talking about it at the big show as iFanboy posted here. Jessica Jones getting her own live-action TV show? And a new live-action Hulk? Cool.

Here He Comes, In A Suit Made of Swagger and Red Spandex

Once, a long time ago, people thought of Matt Murdock as a swashbuckler. Hot shot blind lawyer by day, man without fear by night, he was Errol Flynn, protecting Hell's Kitchen (and, briefly, San Francisco) from villains and criminals of all spots. And then, one day in 1979, a man named Frank Miller put his pencil to paper and drew Matt Murdock, and then, later, Miller started to write Murdock, and the character went from romantic lead to ninja, and his stories hit the grim n' gritty gutter. That's the way he's been ever since, through last year's wacky Shadowland event.

For a lot of that time, and certainly since I started reading comics, Daredevil was the best Marvel book that no one was reading; Ed Brubaker's run was a heavy crime story, with the tights almost gratuitously drenched in a noir sensibility and the long standing Daredevil-as-Job motif stretched almost to the breaking point. Andy Diggle would, after Brubaker, take the punishment too far, managing to break Matt Murdock, but his stories were pretty good and they resulted in a silly-yet-satisfying mini drawn by David Gianfelice at the beginning of the year. Now, finally, Matt Murdock is back in New York and, satisfyingly, he's put his throwing stars back on the wall and picked the foil back up. Daredevil, the man without fear, is back. And boy I hope he stays.

Mark Waid apparently pitched this reborn Matt Murdock as having been to the brink and back, and so as a man with nothing left to fear. For Waid, the character lives entirely in the moment, and, from the comic's opening pages, nothing could be clearer. Brubaker's Daredevil (and certainly not Diggle's) never would have taken pride in being able to discern a perfume from a hundred yards; he never would have cracked a joke about it, either. But there's Matt Murdock, on page two, doing just that. And that the villain in the prologue is not the Godfather whose daughter is getting married but, instead, is a goofy cape like the Spot? Mark Waid's goal is so well telegraphed, so unsubtle, that heightened senses are hardly required; for the first time in years, Matt Murdock is having fun, and his comic is all the more exciting because of it. This doesn't mean that Waid has given up on nuance, though. Even though the first scene climaxes with DD (in costume!) locking lips with a mob princess, the cavalier mask hides a deeply concerned attitude. This Murdock, though self-assured, knows he's made mistakes, and he's out to fix them, but with a sense of a humor and little bit of a smile.

It helps, of course, that the deeply cross-hatched and dark look of the last volume of the book has been replaced by the clean and clear, almost European, lines of Paolo Rivera and the flat, bright colors of Javier Rodriguez. If Marvel wanted to clarify that this was new #1 was a throwback, I'm not sure there was a better way to do it than this; Rivera's art is retro and he has a penchant for visual puns, so the form follows the function. The old Daredevil is back, but in a brand new way, and that the art is as much fun as the writing is nothing but a boon.

With intrigue, and the promise of an old school superhero clash in the next issue, I'm left only with the words of Stan Lee: 'nuff said.

Quote for the Week 7/21/11

...he was simply a master draftsman. To draw is to understand, and his work revealed the depth of his knowledge, not just of anatomy, but of human interaction and perception. He could draw the human body from any angle--but he didn't--he chose the perfect one to tell the story.

~ Paolo Rivera (@PaoloMRivera) on the passing of Gene Colan, from the latest "Daredevil" artist to the greatest, in the tribute section on the last page of the new "Daredevil" #1 from Marvel Comics.

~@JonGorga

Quote for the Week 5/19/11

"Also, my Daredevil won't look at you. He doesn't need to. As often as not, he'll be fighting while facing the "wrong" way, something that I think would be fairly disconcerting to an opponent. ... On one level, Matt's blindness is an act -- an interesting aspect of his personality by itself -- but on another level, he really should conduct himself differently than any other superhero. When I draw Spidey, I do my best to make sure he doesn't touch the ground; with Daredevil, I want him to always look like he's listening."

~ Paolo Rivera (@PaoloMRivera), in an exclusive interview with CBR about his upcoming Daredevil work for Marvel (@Marvel).

YES. If you're going to work with corporate characters instead of your own, damn if you can't have a lot of fun thinking about what makes them unique and then creating from that perspective.

~@JonGorga

New Life for Daredevil.

The new volume of "Daredevil" has been announced. And it looks like pretty damn impressive work.

Marcos Martin and Paolo Rivera (@PaoloMRivera) will share the art duties (hopefully allowing Rivera to meet a monthly schedule) on scripts written by Mark Waid (@markwaid). They've come up with a very Sixties stylistic visual way to depict Matt Murdock's ability to smell, hear, and feel things with his heightened senses. [See above.]

[via Dean Haspiel's Facebook account! via ComicBookResources.com exclusive interview]

Supremely talented comicsmith Dean Haspiel (@deanhaspiel) posted the link to CBR's exclusive interview with Waid and Rivera. Underneath he joked "I just quit comics."

I think that says a lot.

~ @JonGorga

Weekly Process Roundup 4/8/11

The weekly process roundup is a collection of sketches, pencils, inks, thumbnails, everything other than finished product, from The Long and Shortbox of It's favorite artists and illustrators, hitting every Friday.

• Pascal Ferry sketches something summery (above)!
• Jamie McKelvie has some fun with Secret Avengers!
• Sean Phillips inks Criminal.
• Paolo Rivera videotapes himself doing the cover for Daredevil's new #1.

Born Again (Again)

All the way back in August (man, was it really that long ago? It feels like it was yesterday), I was impressed by Jock's cover to Daredevil Reborn #1, but nonplussed by the mini's upcoming existence. Daredevil had, for years, quietly been one of Marvel's best books, and I was worried that, with the upcoming (and ultimately disappointing) end of Shadowland, we would also see the end of Matt Murdock, of Daredevil, and of Marvel's best (read: only) crime comic.

Shadowland ended, the Black Panther took up the mantle of the Man Without Fear and began protecting Hell's Kitchen (and you can read how I feel about that here and here, but let me tell you: my fears about Marvel giving up on crime comics were... unfounded), and Matt Murdock headed west. Way west: New Mexico, where he encounters a mysterious town, with a secret, a diner, a corrupt police force, a gang of miscreants and one poor blind kid, stuck in the middle of the whole thing.

If you think you've seen something like it before, you probably have; it's about as straight up a "stranger comes to town" story as has ever been told. Cliches pile upon cliches, too- Matt leaves the poor kid to fend for himself! He lets himself get beat up by the miscreants! He's on his way out of town and smells trouble at the last minute!

If we can accept that there's nothing groundbreaking about the plot and get past the fact that there's a half dozen Twilight Zone episodes with plots resembling this, though, there's something worthwhile here: maybe, every once and a while, a straight up redemption tale is good for the soul.

It helps that David Gianfelice draws the hell out of the book. There's some odd, otherworldly clarity to his compositions, something remarkable given how sketchy and fuzzy Daredevil art has been over the last decade or so. Not that that's a bad thing- Alex Maleev, Michael Lark, and Roberto de la Torre are some of the best artists in the business and they were perfect for the way ol' Hornhead was being portrayed back then, but Gianfelice's clear pencils and inks are a refreshing change, and I think it really does signal a brand new Daredevil on the horizon.

That's not to say I don't have complaints about the art as well as the story: sometimes the faces get a little squishy, particularly when the figure is at a distance, but I think this is a symptom of the mid-width black line that serves him so well everywhere else. There's something so appealing about this inky definition that it's easy to forgive that little issue, particularly when the whole thing is served so well by Matt Hollingsworth's colors, which really do make the book feel like it's set in the Southwest, but not at the expense of having some fun and making it look like a comic book. Together, Gianfelice and Hollingsworth are working on something great and, if you aren't convinced by page 21, the final, thrilling, splash will seal the deal.

This move away from a grim 'n gritty style for DD is a good sign; maybe there's something to this rebirth other than just a marketing ploy, something worth sticking around for. I certainly hope there is; despite my adoration for the last half-decade or so of Daredevil, maybe it really is time for something new.

In Which A Blogger Justifies A Thumbs Post From A Couple of Days Ago

Remember a couple of days ago when I gave a thumbs up to Black Panther: The Man Without Fear 513 and then said you'd have to wait for me to tell you why I gave it a thumbs up until Wednesday, when the next one came out?

Well, thankfully for both of us it is now Thursday. I went to my shop yesterday, picked it up and, let me tell you, if you were worried that there would be a significant drop in quality between then and now, fear not: issue #514 is even better. Behind that terrible Simone Bianchi and Simone Peruzzi cover (seriously, whats up with that cover? It bears no resemblance to the contents of the book, and is ugly as hell- if Francesco Francavilla doesn't want to draw the cover, you know who should? Chris Samnee) is the best comic book of the year so far.

I know, I know. The year is young yet, with only two weeks worth of releases. This one, though- we're going to remember this one. David Liss makes some missteps, sure, but really only in the context of the shared universe: his Luke Cage doesn't sound quite right, a little too brash and quick to anger then maybe he should be, but maybe that means there's something to watch for coming from that corner of New York. That little critique aside, David Liss writes a damn good comic book, particularly given that he's only recently come to the medium. He gets the pacing just right, his highly varied dialogue suggests that he has a complete grasp on his characters, and, most impressively, he convinces me that this way of reintroducing T'Challa to the mainland Marvel universe was a really good idea- Hell's Kitchen needed protecting before, and it still needs protecting now. This is a clever way of reintroducing 'ol Hornhead back into the old neighborhood, because it reminds us of what even those fantastic Brubaker comics had forgotten. Black Panther puts Hell's Kitchen back on the man without fear's front burner, it's just a much different man. David Liss, Stan Lee bless him, gets what the title was missing and puts that Marvel man on the street perspective on the whole thing. His work alone would make the comic work reading but, wonderfully, he's not working alone.

No, as good as Liss is, what makes the two issues of the book so far break out is the art of Francesco Francavilla. This is brilliant, pulpy stuff- dark and blocky, with colors both muted and flat. It just feels right, like we're in a noir movie set in Hell's Kitchen. His figures are stylized without being unrecognizable, flexible without being squishy. The whole thing is very kinetic and his panel design- maybe not the best I've ever seen, but damn close- adds to that impression a great deal. The result is all shadows and movement and I'm madly in love with it.

This is the first comic in 2011 that you're going to fall in love with- hopefully, it's a portent for the good stuff we'll see this year. If not, it's another brilliant and pulpy comic on the stands each month, and that's never a bad thing. Here's to another long, classic, run on a long running book.

Out of a Field So Far Left That It's In Wakanda...

So, the Panther's out of the bag, and the new Man Without Fear is going to be T'Challa, picking up where Matt Murdock left off with issue #513.

Be honest: Who saw that one coming?

With Daredevil going to be Reborn (again) and all of those "Who'll be the new Man Without Fear?" teasers from the last couple of months, we knew something like this was coming, but I don't think anyone really expected that it was going to be the Black Panther, given that the character's recent home has been thousands of miles from Hell's Kitchen and that he hasn't been involved in Shadowland (well, as of yet- I've only read through issue 2).

I still think there's something funny going on here- why not just relaunch the Black Panther in his own title? My best guess is that Marvel is trying to build a Daredevil "family", like what they've been doing with the Hulk (as Kevin Melrose points out in the article linked above, there is some precedent for this in the launch of Incredible Hercules a few years back). This announcement, plus Fred Van Lente's Power Man and Iron Fist mini (also starting in December) combined with these teasers, which suggest a new Heroes For Hire series, indicate that something's cooking in the Kitchen. Perhaps Shadowland is the start of something bigger than we really know just yet, and perhaps this welcome focus on street level heroes isn't going to ride off into the sunset once that mini finishes.

Black Panther: The Man Without Fear #513 ships in December from creative team David Liss and Francesco Francavilla: I've never heard of either, but since Francavilla is the guy who drew all of the Man Without Fear teasers, there's at least something definite to be excited about.

The Long and Shortbox Of It Reads Comics in Public!

A few days ago, the 28th of August, was the anniversary of Jack Kirby's birthday. The 'King of Comics' would have turned ninety-three this year. And unfortunately, he still wouldn't be getting his due respect.

(Check out this first part of a great two part video documentary if you're not familiar with his work.)

In fact, STILL today lots of creators, publishers, editors, readers, and commentators such as us don't get the basic courtesy of being treated like everybody else. We can still get funny looks when we read 'picture books' in the public sphere.

Brian Heater, blogger with The Daily Cross Hatch, decided to make something out of the occasion and his own lingering feelings of embarrassment among the masses around the medium he enjoys and writes about. So he has started an unofficial holiday, to be held every year on the anniversary of Jack Kirby's birth, making comics comfortable and common in public spaces, out of the closet and in the light of day!

And The Long and Shortbox Of It! participated in International Reading Comics in Public Day! Yes we did.

Me, reading Tintin:

Clare, reading Daredevil:

And here's a MOVING picture!

The Reading Comics in Public Day site can be found here!
And their Facebook page is here!

I'm looking forward to next year.

~ @JonGorga

Too Bad "Born Again" Was Already Taken

Jock's cover for Daredevil: Reborn #1 (which debuted earlier today over at Robot 6) is just killer. I love pretty much everything about it.

What I don't love so much is this whole Reborn idea. It has long been my belief that Daredevil is, quietly, one of the best titles that Marvel puts out. It seems to me that a solid run like that, unbroken over a decade plus and through three writers, is a terrible thing to cancel. One wonders if the title wasn't selling as much as Marvel would have liked for an ostensibly A-List character, but even if that were the case why put Daredevil through this again? He's already been born again once, right?

My problem with Shadowland isn't that it's bad (in fact it's pretty good), nor is it with the concept on its own merits: a small-ish event featuring street level characters, particularly the often overlooked ones, is a pretty fantastic idea. Mostly, I don't like that Daredevil doesn't seem to play a part in his own story, that all these things happen to him and we don't really get to see how he reacts or understand what he's thinking- ol' hornhead is just a fascist, and that's all there is to it. The logical conclusion to this, of course, is the end of Daredevil, and then perhaps a phoenix-like rebirth.

And we've never seen that before, have we?

It would be nice to get some good swashbuckling kung fu crime comics again. That's all I really want. Is it really so much to ask?

Mysterious Dark Tonalities

"Second Sight" in "Daredevil: Black & White" #1 from Marvel Comics

It's been said that Daredevil is among the most interesting of superheroes because as opposed to something extra he can do, he is defined by the thing he can't do: See.

Matt Murdock may be able to do things no normal human can, but he has those abilities ostensibly because of his blindness. Therefore the first story in this mini-anthology of Daredevil stories, one in which Matt is presented with the choice of undergoing surgery to restore his vision becomes a sort of a reverse 'contact with kryptonite' story. The piece is written by Peter Milligan and drawn (and toned) by someone I've never heard of: Jason Latour (@jasonlatour).

After the initial establishment of the premise of the story; i.e. what will Matt Murdock do when confronted with the choice between regaining his sight and continuing his war against crime as Daredevil?, we get a fascinating story for several pages: The story of a man who suddenly regains his sight after being blind since childhood. The first few pages of the story involve no superheroics of any kind, and could just be a beautiful short piece about appreciating the world all around us.

Suddenly, the crime element introduced by the supervillain Bullseye pulls Matt (and us) out of this serenity and into the muck of the complicated people living their lives in that same world all around us. Unfortunately, and ironically, this second half of the story didn't ring as true for me as the first half. Worst of all, there is a huge ambiguity about the status of Matt's vision for this half of the story: what's happening to it and when? Damned if I could tell you.

The pleasant surprise is that unknown Jason Latour's art doesn't disappoint on any level! Each page is gorgeous and better visual representations of a superhero's double (inner-)life, I have never seen anywhere.

THE LONG AND SHORTBOX OF IT?
Milligan's story is wonderful for several pages and then stays strong on character but becomes... confusing on plot for the remaining ones. The art everywhere is great.

Jason Latour is a new talent to watch on my radar! Check out his blog right here on Blogger! Quite honestly, if the whole story had sucked I think I still would have enjoyed it because of Latour's artistic choices.

The prose piece in the back written by Ann Nocenti is sad like crazy. And how about that gorgeously designed cover [below] by David Aja (@davaja), right Josh?

~ @JonGorga




Yea, Jon, that David Aja cover is killer- as are his illustrations for the Ann Nocenti prose story at the back. A consideration of that and whether or not prose stories belong at the back of comics (they don't) is for another day. We're here to talk about "Secrets and Lies", the second of the two comics stories in the anthology.

For the record, I love these black and white Marvel anthologies- they let us see an example of the form that we rarely get to see anymore, particularly with high profile characters. They let the pencilers and inkers stretch muscles they wouldn't get to use otherwise- and it generally makes for a pretty satisfying experience.

The quality of "Secrets and Lies" is a direct reflection of the fact that these anthologies are an artist's playground: Mick Bertilorenzi's fantastic art can't salvage a subpar story that manages to be both unclear and predictable, but it is in and of itself a joy. Unlike Jason Latour's work in the previous story, this art is untoned, all in black and white. The drawing is loose and stylized, and in particular it makes a great use of shadow, something that is often poorly rendered when there's color involved. I suspect this kind of drawing is much harder- there's no colorist to cover up mistakes, to add texture. This one's all on Bertilorenzi- and he nails it.

-JAK

______________________
UPDATE (9/1/2o1o): On a THIRD reading of the first story I saw inklings that the entire middle part of the story is the dream Murdock has and mentions only once on the second to last page. This makes the story flow better BUT the markers of the beginning and ending of the dream are far from clear. Possibly, this is a result of miscommunication between writer and artist. (@JonGorga)

The Devil You Know...

As always, here there be spoilers, so watch out if you haven't read any Shadowland yet.

I've really, really enjoyed Daredevil, recently. When Ed Brubaker's run was finishing up last year, I wholeheartedly believed that it was the best comic that no one was reading, the one really great comic that no one ever wrote about, that no one ever read about, that no one ever heard about. When Andy Diggle took over for Brubaker last fall, I figured there was going to be a drop in quality but it turned out that Diggle's writing wasn't any worse, just sort of different. The fact that the new writer took the old writer's toys and made me think we were playing a whole new kind of game was really an impressive feat and his Daredevil remained the best book that no one was reading.

I suppose that Shadowland aims to change that, to make the 'Devil' one that we know, and, although my first impressions of its first two issues (Shadowland #1 and Daredevil #508) were rather negative, I think the story so far reads a lot better the second time around. Shadowland #1 goes like this: Daredevil's gone all fascist in Hell's Kitchen and has built a huge pagoda to remind everyone who's in charge, the leaders of the Avengers aren't happy, send the leaders of the New Avengers (read: Luke and Danny, who, lets be honest, I'm always happy to see together in print) to talk to ol' Hornhead. That, of course, ends in an homage to one of Frank Miller's most famous Daredevil moments- which is, in and of itself, a clue to just how much different this Daredevil is to the Daredevil we're used to. Bullseye's moment of realization just before that homage is really clever, as is Diggle's Alan Moore-style arrogant-gods-above-the-fray portrayal of the big three Avengers and if nothing else, those moments are proof that Diggle is a master plotter in the old Marvel style, constantly building off old stories while also setting up new ones and, even if these ideas aren't exactly fresh, Diggle is building his tale and tackling his characters in a way that incorporates ideas that we've seen before and makes them feel new and interesting. My only major problem with what's here is that it feels like a prologue- there just isn't enough meat to it, despite the strength of some of the storytelling. It's definitely part of something bigger, but what it isn't is satisfying in and of itself, which is too bad- this stuff really is pretty good, and it would be a shame if it gets ruined because Diggle doesn't demonstrate an understanding of serial storytelling.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel, though; rather than telling the next part of the same story in Daredevil #508, Diggle and his co-writer Andy Johnston are writing a parallel story, equally as important but not necessarily contingent on having read the first. This seems to be where Marvel is headed as far as event storytelling is concerned- tell a bunch of stories, all of which work on their own but add up to something greater and, as far as I'm concerned, it works. It means I can buy the parts of the story that I want, and not the parts that I could do without- hello Fred Van Lente's Shadowland: Power Man, see ya later Moon Knight one-shot- without missing a beat.

As for the issue itself, it's pretty good- it feels like a more complete story than Shadowland #1 and manages an equally compelling ending, which is another reason to write-off the incompleteness of that other issue as fluke rather than pattern- but I wished it focused more on Matt. We get a lot of what's going on with the people around the title character, but don't hear very much of his internal dialogue, which is a fascinating choice given how important narration has been in the character's past. What we get instead is an idea of how Matt's choices affect those closest to him: Foggy, Dakota, etc, those people that he's recently shut out and the manipulations that are really behind what's going on- that is, we see the Hand behind the curtain and the people of Hell's Kitchen, but nothing of the Devil himself.

Whether or not this is an effective storytelling technique remains to be seen, however, given the crossover so far, I have faith in what Andy Diggle has planned. I'm just hoping that it's as far-reaching and well told as it has the potential to be.

A quick note about the art- both Billy Tan and Roberta De La Torre do good work here, although the latter isn't quite as good on Daredevil as he has been in the recent past and neither did anything that really blew me away. What's really disappointing, though, is looking at their art in comparison to the killer John Cassaday covers (you can't see me, but trust me when I say my hair is windswept)- here's to hoping we get to see something sequential from the Drummer soon.

Already Tired of Tuesday... Late Edition

I know its Wednesday folks, sorry about that. I'm in the midst of Finals, so I'm afraid blogging gets short shrift, but in return for my being unable to fall asleep, you get new posts.

Which I guess is a fair trade.


This week's featured issue is Fables #91, the conclusion to the Witches storyline. Witches, on the whole, has been pretty unbelievably cool, with just the right level of intrigue, adventure and butt-kicking flying monkey. That's right, Bufkin, the flying monkey, has been playing a major role in Fables for the past five months and, in my humble opinion, it's one of the most satisfying character arcs that Bill Willingham has ever written. Furthermore, in between Frau Totenkinder's quest to discover the origin of Mr. Dark, Ozma's take over of the Fable spellcasters and Gepetto's quest to regain a little power, there's a lot going on here- and it's all building up to something huge. If you haven't been reading Fables, this is not a very good place to jump on- but, as the book is by far one of the best currently on the stands, you really should wait until next month, when a brand new storyline starts.

Also on the pull list for this week is Captain America Reborn #5, which may or may not be the last issue of a mini that I had high hopes for, but has been incredibly inconsistent, as well as Daredevil #503 and possibly Brave and the Bold #30. Daredevil is, I think, one of the most underrated comics on the stands these days, and if you aren't picking it up you should at least take a flip through. I haven't heard great things about JMS' Brave and the Bold run, however, the cover caught my eye, so maybe Dr. Fate is enough to bring me on, if for just one issue. We'll have to see, I guess.

Already Tired of Tuesday...

Short post today, as I have a paper due in a little over 16 hours:

This week is heavy on the Batman, as both the Brian Azzarello penned Batman/Doc Savage Special and Batman and Robin #6, the conclusion of Phillip Tan's work on the title, are out. Also from DC this week is Fables #90 and, as Witches hits its penultimate chapter, I can't wait to see where we go from here. Out from Marvel this week is Daredevil #502, in which I'm sure things will continue to go to hell for Matt Murdock (it sometimes seems like Daredevil is the comic book equivalent of the Book of Job) as well as the first issue of S.W.O.R.D. which looks unbelievably cool- I'll be pulling it at least through issue three because, well, just look at this cover.

Finally, there's Fred Van Lente's history of the comics medium, Comic Book Comics #4, which comes out this week, although I'll probably pick it up at some other point over the internet.

Now, back to Frederick Douglass and Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Already Tired of, uh, Monday....

I know I'm way early this week, but I'm procrastinating on a paper, and this seemed like a perfect way to do it. Also, there's a lot of really great stuff coming out this week, stuff I'm really excited for.

First, and foremost (perhaps even foremost of any comic being released this year) is the grand finale of one of the greatest comic stories of all time- Planetary. The long awaited issue #27 of the Warren Ellis penned and John Cassaday illustrated series comes out this week and I'm really, really excited. If you haven't already checked out the preview pages Jon posted about earlier in the week, well, you should. They're pretty fantastic, as is the rest of the series.

And that's just the start of the barrage of the comics on the imprint front this week. From Vertigo we get the second issue of Jeff Lemire's fantastic Sweet Tooth and the Bill Willingham penned Fables novel Peter and Max (although I'm hoping to win a copy through this contest over at Graphic Content). What's really exciting me this week, though, is an imprint release from Icon: Criminal: The Sinners #1. The dynamic duo of Ed Brubaker (who, lets be honest, turns whatever he touches into gold) and Sean Phillips (who, aside from David Aja, might be my favorite illustrator in all of comics) proved themselves once again with the conclusion to Incognito, and I'm ready to return to the tale of Tracy Lawless- and this one sounds like a killer. Brubaker's crime stories are the best in all of comics, which is why I was sad to see him leave Daredevil...

But the new writer, Andy Diggle, seems to be planning some cool stuff- after buying the Daredevil Dark Reign one-shot, I'm convinced that Matt's life is about to get really difficult- and that makes for great Daredevil comics, so I'm pumped for #501 to come out this week. I'm also pumped for the X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas mini to get started- although I was disappointed by the last issue of the AoA ongoing a couple of weeks ago, I think the manic energy that Jeff Parker brings to his work is perfect for a short series like this and I'm curious to see which X-Men he's going to use (hopefully Nightcrawler is going to be one of them; the blue elf has been criminally underused by Matt Fraction in Uncanny). Strange Tales #2 comes out this week too, as does the new issue of The Torch, but I'm not sure if I'll be picking up the latter- I think I might trade-wait it. As for the former, well, I think Jon and I are going to take another shot at reviewing it jointly and seeing what happens. And then, of course, add Batman and Robin #5 to the list and, well, I've got a huge week to make up for last week's tiny little one.

It's going to be a good Wednesday.

Already Tired of Tuesday

This is going to be another really big week for me. Not only are the $2.99 Batman and Robin #4, Fables #88 and Agents of Atlas #11 coming out, but also the $3.99 Captain America Reborn #3, Dark Reign: The List- Daredevil, Thor Annual #1, and Wednesday Comics #11.

If I drop one, it will probably be the Daredevil list issue but- and this is a huge but- Gorga convinced me to buy the Avengers List issue that I railed against in this space last week and it was an excellent purchase (there is a review forthcoming). I was hoping to pick up DMZ #45 this week, after not having picked it up last week, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Same thing with the first issue of that Nomad mini.

Despite its expense, however, it will (with essential Batman, Captain America and Thor purchases) be an excellent week.

Already Tired of Tuesday- 08/26/09

Hopefully, this week will be a good week- I'm excited in particular for Batman and Robin #3 and Dark Avengers #8- but also a cheap one (the only other books I think I'll be picking up are Incredible Hercules #133, Wednesday Comics #8 and JSA #30). It's an odd week for me when I pick up more DC books than Marvel ones, but it's an odd week anyway- I'm on the road heading to Rhode Island, and then back to college on Friday.

You'll get a review of Dark Avengers #8 (and maybe also a belated one of Daredevil #500) over the weekend, at the latest.

'Till next time, true believers.

Cheap Week- Pull List 08/19/09

Daredevil #500
-Ed Brubaker ending his run on one of Marvel's best, if least often seen, titles? What happens now? How is Andy Diggle going to ruin Matt's life when Ed is gone? Is the next artist going to be as good as Michael Lark? Why the hell isn't it David Aja? What does Lady Bullseye have to do with all of this? Does Foggy Nelson survive? Does anyone survive?

I'm excited. Can you tell?

X-Men Legacy #227
-Rogue, Gambit, and the sentient Danger Room are in San Fran, and the solicit promises a "dramatic new direction"

One wonders how many "dramatic new directions" this title is going to take before something finally sticks. This book is odd like that; every so often something fantastic happens inside here that gets ignored or undone by the next guy, or even by the same guy. Using this book as a Professor X solo title was one of those things.

Let's hope this is good enough to stick, because it wasn't the last time Cyclops asked Rogue to do something.

Wednesday Comics #7
-Everybody (everybody who isn't Jon, anyway) is buying this title.


It's a cheap week- I'm going to have a wander around my store and see if there's anything I missed, or anything else I want to review.