Comic Book Journal

If I had $300 dollars I would buy________.

What would you buy with $300? Or even $200 or $100? Now is your chance to find out! Comment on any 451 Press site during the month of August and you could win! Three comments will be chosen at random to win a cash prize of $300, $200 or $100. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. So start reading and let those fingers fly.

If I had $300 dollars I would buy________.

What would you buy with $300? Or even $200 or $100? Now is your chance to find out! Comment on any 451 Press site during the month of August and you could win! Three comments will be chosen at random to win a cash prize of $300, $200 or $100. The more you comment the more chances you have to win. So start reading and let those fingers fly.

This site is currently in need of a blogger. If you have any interest in blogging about Comic Books, feel free to submit an application at 451 Press. Thank you.

451 Press, Blogger Needed, Comic Book Journal

I know this is the most abrupt departure ever . . . even for the Internet, but I have to leave.

I have just landed a steady job - something I’ve been struggling to do all through my tenure here - but the training leaves me with little time to update this site.

I knew for quite a while this rift was going to be coming. Somewhere once - don’t ask me for exact quotes - comic book historian Peter Sanderson commented on the difference between those who want to write about comic books and those who want to write comic books, no matter what the success level. I have always considered myself in the latter category. Even now, I’m looking forward to publishing Pierced in the December issue of Mysterious Visions Anthology. I’ve also just seen the first page of a script I wrote illustrated by the incomparable Nick Volkert, to be included in Demon Tweak Presents, an insert of the band of the same name. You can see the results to the right - and pick their CD to see the rest, whenever it debuts.

I want to send a big shout-out to fellow 451 bloggers like Paul at Toybender, Daniel Perez, Dave Parrack, Keith R., and the many other bloggers who made me feel welcome within the 451 community - a great place to work!

As for me, you can look forward to weekly Comics Rundown blog on Way of the Geek as well as a couple other places . . . though I don’t want to count any chickens before they hatch. Mainly, I just want to be thankful for the golden eggs this place has given me.

Thanks to everyone for making this blog a great place to read every day!

Its been mulled before, though no concrete option actually exists. Many authors of the sci-fi/fantasy genre - including Orson Scott Card and R.A. Salvatore - has come to the four color format, but let’s be honest - J.K. Rowling has enough money and publicity that she doesn’t really need to work again . . . tapping into a new Harry Potter audience is something of an oxymoron . . . if not downright impossibility.

But as I’ve said before, the comic medium offers several possibilities, especially if Rowling’s next book is some sort of concordance/encyclopedia. As previously mentioned, Stephen King’s Dark Tower comic runs in a similar manner, with added background material in the end of every issue, compliments of Robin Furth - who might just be a rising star in comics.

I’m not going to spoil anything for anyone, but there several gaps in the adventures of Harry Potter . . . as revealed in the seventh and supposedly final book . . . that could a very compelling comic.

Comic book sequels to established continuity has already make big business - like say Buffy: Season Eight. J.K. Rowling has always had a “never say never” approach to her beloved creation, but writing the bestselling books is a huge commitment either way you cut it.

Maybe JK should put HP in the comic book medium - to give readers their much-needed Hogwarts fix. Plus, while its doubtful - but not impossible - that many comic fans aren’t already cued into Harry Potter, her involvement would give a huge boost to the comic medium at large.

Just imagine what J.K. Rowling did for reading books happening the comics.

I knew there was a reason I was holding out for Wizard World Chicago.

I had to pass up Comic-Con for a variety of reasons, most of them geographic (I’m in Illinois - another reason Wizard World Chicago is appealing) and one of them financial (I’m starting a new job the week of).

But I found I wasn’t totally wrong in doing so - Wizard has just announced Mark Millar (Ultimates, Civil War) will be there in his first Stateside appearance since 2004.

Millar will be announcing his next project for Marvel. For my tastes, I hope its a little less than all-encompassing, as I found Civil War a little too incendiary for my tastes. With Ultimates no longer in his corner, I’d like to see him take over a new team book or perhaps a solo book for one of Marvel’s mainstays.

Whatever it is, you can bet it’ll be high profile - considering this is Millar’s one-and-only U.S. appearance this year, lines are going to be huge!

Much of DC’s superiority, it seems, comes from its cryptic dealings over the stories to come. There certainly some major things in the works . . . but they all seem so background at the moment. While you can’t pick up a Marvel book without tripping over either a green-skinned Hulk or the occassional Skrull, DC seems so spread out in its own universe, its almost frightening - on one hand, Anti-Monitor has resurfaced leading the Sinestro Corps in Green Lantern, while on another, the Kingdom Come universe seems to be getting closer and closer with every new issue of Justice Society of America.

This could blow back. If fans feel that Infinite Crisis never ended . . . that Superboy’s death was in effect for nothing . . . than there’s much bayooed crossover may come crashing down, cheapened by no end in sight. After all, many creators in DC claimed the aftermath of Crisis would herald a new age in the DC Universe, yet post-52, it feels like we’ve never left.

DC has been promoting itself with teasers starting with the one in the corner. The latest one, dropped off at Newsarama, reads “Heroes Die. Legends Live Forever.”

The most vague and cryptic teaser image ever shows only the shadowed Justice League - including Supes, Bats, WW, Hawkman, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Flash - standing there, giving no allusions to the story.

But it does include a date - May 2008.

We’ll see what this means. But if this turns out to be Infinite Crisis 2 or something equally lames, I’ll be extremely disappointed.

October seems to be a scary month for comics. Not only is it the end point for World War Hulk as well as the beginning of X-Men: Messiah Complex but its also the beginning of . . . Howard the Duck.

And no, I’m not kidding. The one thing George Lucas would most likely rather forget - other than Star Wars Holiday Special - has its own four issue mini-series in October.

Civil War begins again, though not in the way you might expect -as Marvel Zombies 2 begins forty years after the first, with the remaining zombie heroes returning to Earth. Reuniting the team of Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips, the question is now “Whose stomach are you in?”

Peter David - best known for the work he did on The Hulk - is now taking over She-Hulk. Not many details on just what will happen in the story.

As you can see there’s plenty going on - I’m just not sure if any of its good. But the David development - the one least detailed - is actually the most exciting. See ya on the flip-side.

Ever wonder how Marvel and DC are doing? Well, I can’t provide sales numbers, but I can analyze the perception. Ever notice how their biggest events seem perfectly timed for coincide with one another? Let’s see just how these events are playing out in each other’s favor . . .

Major Deaths

Marvel: Captain America

DC: The Flash (Bart Allen)

Bottom Line: With a major media circus, a title running without its character AND a mini-series all focusing on reactions, Captain America’s death has rocked the M.U. is so many uncountable ways. While Wally West is just starting to trail his successor’s killer, there’s little chance Bart Allen’s death will cause the stir of Cap’s.

Gathering of Villains

Marvel: The Skrulls have infiltrated Earth, the Marauders - including Gambit and Sunfire - are posed to strike the X-Men and even the symbiotes are poised to make an appearance.

DC: Sinestro has started his own Corps, Kyle Rayner has been possessed by Parrallax, and Superboy Prime and Cyborg Superman aren’t far behind. With the Anti-Monitor the ultimate ringleader, let’s not forget everything hitting Earth - Mary Marvel corrupted by Black Adam’s power, a group of villains responsible for the death of a major DC hero and rumblings of Darkseid!

Bottom Line: Even if every hero and villain in the MU was replaced by Skrulls, it still couldn’t match DC’s villainy. While Anti-Monitor showing up soley in the Green Lantern books is a dubious move, it lifts off quite a precedent - as anything can happen!

Crossovers Galore!

Marvel: World War Hulk is the main feature, but Mystic Arcana seems an interesting backdrop as well.

DC: More like what HASN’T been a crossover yet. Countdown, JLA/JSA: The Lightning Saga and Amazons Attack have pointed DC in so many directions, its hard to keep track yet impossible take one’s eyes of the ball.

Bottom Line: Though more spread-out, DC is definitely winning the crossover game. As voiced by Green Lantern, we just don’t know what’s going to happen next, pure and simple.

Bottom Bottom Line

Even though DC wins 2 to 1, its still a tie - the death of Captain America has made a huge impression on the mainstream media. Plus, we know what cards are waiting up Marvel’s sleeves - Messiah Complex, the rise of the Hood and much more. DC is - for better or worse - very hush hush about its developments in the comic world.

I have a feeling will be one of the most underrated comics in history, precisely because it is the beginning the Ultimate line, seen by some as the trendy, pop culture play on the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s classic work.

“What’s wrong with the our Spider-Man?” many of the older crowd asserts.

But here’s the thing: when Mary Jane (seemingly) died in a plane crash and Peter Parker retreated to brooding angst, was that your Spider-Man? Or when Spider-Man himself died in “The Other”, reborn with Tony Stark’s Iron Spidey-suit?

The truth is, the mainstream Spider-Man wasn’t always up-to-par with his own comic book legacy. In fact, many times the shake-ups themselves seem to be pale attempts to gain notoriety.

Ultimate Spider-Man didn’t need to rely on shake-up’s or creative team upsets to tell a good story, all completely voice by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley’s record-making run, which ends with one hundred and eleven issues of USM worked on together. Bagley will be co-drawing issue #111 with his successor - Stuart Immonen.

Bagley will certainly be missed on the title - though Bendis contributed much through his ear for teen dialogue and head-turning characterizations of the entire Spider-Cast - it was Mark Bagley’s artwork which sealed the collaboration in stone. If you don’t believe, pick up the first collaboration and just see if you don’t cry when Uncle Ben dies.

Though the Ultimate Spider-Man Era continues - as does the book - even with Bagley’s departure, USM, and in fact, the entire Ultimate line, remain in question. Many wonder if, quite frankly, there needs to be an Ultimate line - after Civil War, the mainstream Marvel U looks a lot more like Ultimate with its use of government-sanctioned superheroes.

Fittingly, Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley were the first and the last of the original Ultimate teams to break up. Humorously, the oft-delayed (but always worth it) Ultimates book, written by Civil War architect Mark Millar and star artist Bryan Hitch, has also put out 26 issues in the span of time Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley have done 111 issues together. (Millar and Hitch have been replaced by Heroes and Fallen Son writer Jeph Leob as well as not-seen-for-a-while Battle Chasers artist Joe Mandureira).

But it doesn’t seem like parting is such sweet sorrow for Bendis or Bagley - both of them will be collaborating yet again on the second arc of Mighty Avengers.

About a year or so ago, Frank Beddor - literary architect of The Looking Glass Wars, a fantasy-genre look at the “true” events behind Alice in Wonderland - realized a comic book tie-in called Hatter M through Desperado Publishing. It featured art by Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night), and like anything by Ben Templesmith, fans gobbled it up the moment it was released.

Now, to my knowledge, Hatter M has not be recollected into any trade, but you can read about Hatter M in Beddor’s book series, which continues this August with the sequel Seeing Redd.

I just read The Looking Glass Wars, and if you want an intro to Beddor’s world, its a great one. Beddor, a producer of movies including There’s Something About Mary and Wicked shares his cinematic vision in his novel - especially in Hatter M - a man with so many blades he’d make Wolverine envious.

While I can’t be sure of Hatter M’s role in the sequel Redd - of if he even has one - the ending of the first book leaves plenty of room for a new Hatter M series. I hope Beddor - and especially Templesmith - expands this character in the future. The character - as well as Beddor’s own kick in the pants to Lewis Carroll - are just the breath of fresh of air comicdom needs.

Two out of three fronts feature quite a lot, so let’s get down to it.

The last Chosen attacks in Dominic Deegan. She’s turned Quill into melting ice while flooding Rachel Hart’s body with deadly ice as well. With a spider-like ice armor, she’s now poised to destroy the town - unless Gregory can stop her. But Gregory overdosed on White Magic (an unusual problem, not that I think about it) and has been reduced to the scrawney alter ego of Buzz Beardman.

And in an awesome metaphysical twist, Ryan Sohmer has told the cast of Least I Could Do they will age as normal people (with the exception of their cat and possibly, their lamas), leading Rayne on a whirlwind quest through various comic strips - looking a home where he doesn’t age.

And most of the drama is done Arthur, King of Time and Space
. . . for now at least . . . so now we’re back to Noah’s Ark jabs and shower jokes. Still, good stuff abound for an extremely consistent comic.

If you’re looking for a cheap but substantial read on any of your favorite Marvel titles, I recommend Marvel Spotlight - a comic-sized glimpse into Marvel’s biggest events.

I first became aware of Spotlight by way of Stephen King’s Dark Tower comics, though I recently got a very solid Captain America Remembered issue as well.

The writing is about as objective as X-Box Magazine, but unlike the latter, the articles are all basically interviews, so there’s not all that much opportunity for bias.

Admittedly, there’s nothing hype-wise you won’t find in Wizard or any other comic book publication. However, Marvel Spotlights historically in major events - like Captain America remembered - where classic artists and writers such as Gene Colan, Roger Stern and Steve Englehart were interviewed alongside current Captain America masterminds Ed Brubaker and Jeph Leob.

With a $3.99 price tag, its also good if you’re just dying to know more about that big crossover and much-anticipated mini-series. If you see it on the newstands, check it out.

This happened a while ago, but I just can’t stop thinking about it.

If you haven’t already heard, Nicholas Cage is writing a comic book with his teenage son Weston called Voodoo Child, which comes to us from the hotter-than-hot Virgin Comics - which isn’t at all suprising, as the comic book company, part of the record label of the same name, has brought a number of high profile Hollywood names to the comic industry in recent month.

Nor is it any surprise Nicholas Cage is involved. A long-time comic book fan, Cage - who, depending on who you talk to, may or may not have borrowed his name from Luke Cage, finally got his shot at a comic book movie with Ghost Rider. He’s also named as a producer on Sci-Fi’s adaptation of the Jim Butcher hit, The Dresden Files.

Here’s where it gets interesting. By this point I’ve already heard about this, but a news clips comes up again in Cynopsis, an e-mail newsletter I read to keep abuzz about entertainment news. After summarizing the Cages’ comic book premise - about ghost boy in New Orleans, murdered by seccessionists, revolving around the investigation of several missing girls - the Cynopsis article reads - and I quote - “Clearly this is not for younger kids.”

Now, Cynopsis is right on in its observation, but why do they think its for kids at all, younger or older? In fact, why is this even listen in Cynopsis Kids in the first place? There’s nothing about this story which particularly screams kids except for - here it comes - the dreaded comic book stigma, which may be alive and well even amidst the recent comic book film explosion.

Then again, Cynopsis could have assumed kids implied teens as well - but that’s a stretching assumption at best. Most comic books are written for a teen audience - that’s just the best place for the material of the medium in the mainstream. So why are comics still assumed a strictly for-kids-affair?

Just what’s in your library?

For the past three to four years, my own library has developed an ever-expanded graphic novels section.

Over the next couple of days, I’m going to be studying just how the library setting has impacted the comic book industry.

Consider this first part just a survey - a brief outline of the state of graphic novels in my local library - as well as anyone who cares to answer.

But not all libraries are created equal, so understanding just what kind of library helps us visualize where the graphic novel section fits in here.

Here’s my round of questions:

1) Is there a specific place for graphic novels in the library?

Yes - it’s actually located in the section of the non-fiction half of the library, around all the various superhero encyclopedias and comic collector books. There’s a sign on this column that reads “graphic novels” and shows a manga girl reading a book.

2) Just what kind of library is it?

Its a small town local library. Its very nice for a small town library - two floors, not including a basement/meeting area, as well as internet access and inter-library loan connections to other regional collections.

3) How would you rate the library itself?

8 out of 10. It doesn’t have the biggest CD collection, but the staff is helpful and the library is generally well-kept.

4) How would you rate the graphic novel section, if there is one?

Also 8 out of 10. It started out small, but its grown by at least several new titles per year. It can be pretty messy - don’t evn touch the Star Wars books, as kids have gone through them so much they verge on the brink of disintergration. But when you’ve worked children sections in a library like me, you learn to accept some rugrat messes here and there; on the plus side, some of the stacks are probably unreachable for kids at least until they hit middle-to-late middle school.

Well, those are my answers. What’s your take? Are graphic novels a rising force in the stacks or is mine just the exception to a very dull rule?