Presenting My Articles on, "The Filth," and Avatar Press/Boundless for, "Undie Comix," #3 & #4

A bit ago I shared how I had an article published in the third issue of, "Undie Comix." I encouraged folks to go buy a copy of that issue and back their Patreon. Then I was in the fourth issue as well. All copies of the third and fourth issues are sold out nowadays, so I'll post those pieces on my blog with some minimal tweaks to fit better online. Oh, and if I could hint that I might just have a post in the upcoming fifth issue, keep that in mind too! Now then...

Examining What, “The Filth,” Says About Identity and Personality

If you have not read, “The Filth,” I would encourage you to do so. Written by Grant Morrison with stellar art by Chris Weston, it is a mindtrip of a comic about a lot of stuff, but one main plot point is a secretive agency known as, “The Hand,” that maintains, “Status Quorum,” through acquiring (by convincing them to join) or eliminating people who pose a threat to the stability of society in one way or another. These people include everyone from a scientist who created a miniature, “Bonsai,” Earth with robotic creatures to a dangerous and hyper-fertile porn star with amnesia. As I said, it is a wild read, but the biggest element that has stuck with me in all the years since I first read, “The Filth,” and have kept re-reading it would be how it tackles the idea of our own identity and personality—the main things that make us, us.

In, “The Filth,” a big part of the story is how you can be injected with a new personality. This results in one character (Spartacus Hughes) who seems to be killed by The Hand constantly appearing to come back as different people but wearing the same clothes, same aftershave, and sporting the same snarky personality. When asked at one point what it takes to be Spartacus Hughes, he responds with a double entendre, “A little prick.” It is both interesting and terrifying to think that with said change, we can become a whole different person. We could vacation in a different mindset, going from liberal to conservative, hating cats to loving them, feeling comfortable in our skin to suffering severe body dysphoria, the list goes on.

Grant Morrison themselves came out as non-binary some years ago, making the idea of identity—and gender identity in particular—being something they would have previously had and continue to have interest in discussing. Within, “The Filth,” however, it isn’t just one’s gender identity that can change, it is their whole sense of self. Perhaps the ability to temporarily take on the mindset of someone else could do many of us a bit of good—literally walking in someone else’s shoes. The idea of being, “Stuck,” as someone else permanently is a scary proposition, however, and something many people feel, be it via their gender identity, a different form of body dysphoria (anorexia, bulimia, extensive plastic surgery), and so forth. I, personally, generally like who I am and would hesitate to feel like I’ve become someone else for too extended a period of time. Others, however, might jump at such a chance to be someone else, even if it means a little prick—pun intended.

Avatar Press, Boundless Comics, and Sneaking the Underground into the Mainstream

As you’re already reading this issue of, “Undie Comix,” I’ll assume you’re familiar with the concept of those old, “Underground Comix,” from decades ago that pushed boundaries and were quite edgy. That era kind of gave way to the rise of independent publishers who could release relatively mature or outright, “Adult,” comics via big distributors as the Comic Code Authority faded away into obscurity and was eventually outright dissolved. If we’re being honest, however, a lot of indie comic books in the 1990s, and early-to-mid 2000s/2010s lacked the willingness to, “Go there,” that many underground comix did—concepts of, “Good taste,” be damned. There was one company that didn’t hesitate to push the envelope at that time, though. Avatar Press and later its imprint Boundless Comics.

Avatar Press was founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen. It initially put out decently action-packed and somewhat sexy, “Bad Girl,” comics that featured original characters like Pandora or licensed characters such as Brian Pulido’s Lady Death (that specific partnership ended with lawsuits some years ago, however). Eventually, the company started making their comics a bit raunchier, with some stories outright bordering-on-just-porn, which was fun, but unremarkable. After a handful of years, Avatar Press started becoming quite interesting, however.

A bunch of well-known creators were told they could make basically whatever they wanted at Avatar if they had a story idea, and this drew the attention of such big names as Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis (pre-controversy), Kieron Gillen, and even Alan Moore (yes, *the* Alan Moore). Now, Avatar Press was putting out comics about a superhero murdering the President of the United States (”Black Summer,”) or a world where the Antichrist lived among us but just wanted to chill-out and be best friends with the reincarnation of Jesus (”Chronicles of Wormwood”). Avatar Press had a surreal mix of putting out a comic one month featuring a, “Jungle Girl,” being penetrated in various holes by her fellow rainforest-dwellers, while the next month releasing Alan Moore’s take on HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos through a fourth-wall-breaking meta lens. This all, in a way, made Avatar Press a bit like DC’s famous Vertigo imprint, but for people who liked a hefty dash of sleaze with their literary comics. “Vertigo for Perverts,” if you will.

Into the mid-2010s, as Avatar started to get a bit more, “Respectable,” with all the big names and some other licensed comics (they put out a number of horror-related series linked to, “Friday the 13th” and, “A Nightmare on Elm Street), they didn’t stop doing the raunchy comics, but spun them off to a separate imprint known as, “Boundless.” You might wager that even with a separate imprint for the edgier stuff that Avatar/Boundless would try to tone things down a bit lest it impact the respectability of the main brand. You’d, thankfully, be wrong. Many of the Boundless-published comics took past Avatar Press properties and gave them a sexy modern sheen. We were presented with elaborations on old clever ideas that resulted in legitimately good stories, and which *also* contained insanely detailed illustrations of sex. I swear, this was some of the most explicit stuff you’d find in mainstream comics (close-up sketches of penetration were the order of the day), but it was also smart!

One series was titled, “Lookers,” and it focused on lady detectives where one was also an internet camgirl (an early iteration of what we now call OnlyFans, ask your Generation X/Millenial friends) and the other was the, “Muscle,” who hunted down, “Men’s Rights Activists,” that harassed or doxxed other women. They also have to help a female superhero known as Ember from having a sex tape leak. It sounds a little silly and a bit political, and it is. It’s also ingenious with the literal first lines of the series containing some complex media criticism remarking, “The Male gaze. As the saying goes, it's as old as the hills. And like the hills, it hasn’t been ground down so much as paved over. Civilization, democracy, freedom of choice…new forms, same sentiment. It’s 2016, and the male gaze is a webcam.” That’s insightful text worthy of a collegiate paper, and right beside it are illustrations of a woman flashing her perky breasts to an internet camera—Boundless basically having its cake and eating it too, but *damn,* it eats good.

Avatar Press and Boundless started putting out a lot less stuff in the late 2010s. There was a cool anthology of various fun comics spearheaded by Alan Moore (Avatar Press was maybe the one publisher he left comics on good terms with) called, “Cinema Purgatorio,” and a series by Kieron Gillen that reimagined World War II as being fought with superpowered Nazis and Americans was a hit (”Uber,) before that just sort of stopped being published. Oh, *then* we had COVID, and Avatar/Boundless quit doing much of anything. The companies still *exist,* and you can buy back issues of their comics on their websites or such, but there are zero rumblings of any future comics. Avatar Press actually owns the incredibly popular online comic-book tabloid, “Bleeding Cool,” so its legacy lives on there, I suppose. Still, I miss the old Avatar (and later, Boundless) that would put out a comic like, “Threshold,” where on one page you’d have Warren Ellis imagining a drug-induced crime-ridden city with a cop who can’t stop a ghostly murderer (”Dark Blue,”) and the next page you’d have a demon chick getting double penetrated in a fiery hellscape (a number of random, “Hellina,” comics contain such scenes, trust me). At least we have our memories and back issues.

Okay, So...Miracleman/Marvelman Has Joined The Regular Marvel Continuity

I've been enjoying, "Avengers: Armageddon." It discusses the usual interesting, "Why don't superheroes actually do anything?" concept that various famous mini-series have done, but we see less in ongoing comics because, well, if the heroes change too much, the comic quits working due to a lack of conflict. When you have a comic where the superheroes end up taking over or solving the World's problems, there isn't much to do from there. You can tell a story about the heroes trying to hold onto power, ruling a dull Utopia, or blowing up the World and destroying everything. The Authority took over Wildstorm, and it was boring, so they gave the power back...and then the whole Wildstorm continuity was literally blown up, and the comics persisted a bit in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In, "Watchmen," we witness Doctor Manhattan tricking Earth into World peace, and then there is little else to tell, so the story ends (until we got the television show with its remix of some past elements and a story set in the future/present that shows the undoing of Manhattan's work). The character David Colton gained a bunch of mysterious powers in a previous mini-series, and the fourth issue that came out today had a big reveal about his powers. Another hero who once took a lot of action.

Yes, one hero who did a lot was Marvelman/Miracleman when Alan Moore and Gary Leach took over the series in the 1980s and did an epic deconstruction of superheroic tropes. It ended up being unfinished. Then the work was in copyright Hell for years; Marvel got the rights in 2009, but seemed to have little clue what to do with them. They reprinted old stuff, started publishing some new material (with writing by Gaiman that now will most likely never conclude due to...yeah). In 2021, a one-shot hinted at Miracleman coming to the 616 Universe... then, crickets. Until now in, "Avengers: Armageddon," #4. When it looks like the Red Hulk (Thunderbolt Ross) has almost successfully killed Colton, he says the magic word, "Kimota," to turn into Miracleman/Marvelman, or some version of the hero. Fun, sure, but...huh?

Buckle up because this gets weird. Okay: David Colton first appeared in the early issues of the latest, "Captain America," run as a man who tried to be a replacement Captain America while Steve Rogers was, "In the ice," before thawing shortly after 9/11 (yes, the Marvel timeline always is shifting; don't think about it too hard). He quit and was given some tech by Tony Stark to keep him alive, due to the super-soldier treatment significantly shortening his lifespan/weakening his heart. In the, "Weapons of Armageddon," mini-series that set up "Avengers Armageddon," he nearly died fighting the latest nefarious organization experimenting on mutants (this time in an attempt to make some newer super-soldiers) but was saved by a mysterious Origin Box. What is an Origin Box, you may ask? Well, they came over from the new Ultimate Universe and contain various mysterious powers that are granted to the people who are supposed to open them if they so choose--Miles Morales brought some over when he stopped over in the latest Ultimate Universe, and one with unclear powers was used on Colton--it made him superhuman and now into Miracleman/Marvelman. Why was there an origin box for such a hero in the latest Ultimate Universe and that wasn't discussed at all in any of those comics? I have no clue; maybe the fifth issue of, "Avengers: Armageddon," will explain this mess of continuity I have (poorly) attempted to summarize. In short, a dude who was a replacement Captain America is now possibly the most powerful being in the Marvel Universe--maybe rivaled by Sentry, depending on which writer you ask?

From seeing all this happen, especially considering how long Marvel had the rights, all I can ask is something along the lines of that, "Simpsons," meme with, "Why now? Why not seventeen years ago?" when they first acquired the rights and did F-all with them for nearly two decades? If I squint really hard I can kind of see how David Colton and Mircleman/Marvelman align as heroes who want to make a big difference in a World that has grown indifferent to superheroes. That said, this is the 616 Marvel Universe, the main continuity! Any big change usually finds itself undone and reverted to a status quo (or something very close to the status quo) within a year or two. 

Every big event is discussed as, "Changing everything forever/nothing will ever be the same!" and then does not last, with minor exceptions (the OG Captain Marvel has been dead since the 1980's, Skrull impersonator aside). It is being revealed that Colton/Miracleman/Marvelman will be joining the latest iteration of the Avengers in a new, "The Avengers," comic that launches at the end of this year, so it appears he's sticking around. We might get some good stories from this, and we'll see a big boost of interest in the character and some classic yarns that feature him! That, or it could be like when Marvel got the rights to Angela from the, "Spawn," comics, and after a year or two, pretty much nobody cared. As I said, besides wondering why Marvel waited so long to do this, I don't have strong feelings on Miracleman/Marvelman popping up in this continuity now; it was quite messy how this occurred, and I hope it's explained and ends up working.

December 2025 Links, News, and Other Goodness

We're into December now, and a variety of interesting things continue to happen. Some of this news doesn't need a whole post, so why do a bit of a round-up? It gives you something to read between all the storms, at least.

Alan Moore is launching his own record label, "Other Shoe." The first featured band with a release will be a group called 72%. As much as I'd like for Moore to craft comics, I know the industry in general did him dirty and he'd rather write novels or do other fun projects such as this, so I'm happy for him.

The, "Postal," series of games has a messy history. I legitimatley enjoyed the surreal open world of, "Postal 2," and found the Boss Fight Books history of the franchise fascinating. A new game was just announced within the brand and then canceled within a few days due to controversy over AI generation being used in the game. I guess even those who enjoy the anti-PC/edgy/"Anti-woke," humor of Postal have their limits. As it is, "Postal: Bullet Paradise," is now DOA.

More gaming news, with it noted that, "Animal Crossing: Wild World," came out 20 years ago and was arguably the game that took the brand from being somewhat popular to a huge name.

The screenwriter behind, "Dude Where's My Car?" wrote an intriguing essay examining his time in Hollywood and how some of the movie holds up well, and other aspects are a bit cringe-inducing today. It is far from a perfect movie, but it definitely is fun.

Comics had a great year in 2025, by many accounts. Getting raw data has proven tricky these days, however. Tangible metrics would be helpful.

"The Beauty," was an interesting comic about a sexually transmitted disease that causes people to become good-looking and otherwise seems harmless, but (obviously) is not. Ryan Murphy has turned it into a show that'll be hitting FX and Hulu this January 21st. Murphy is incredibly hit-or-miss, but I'll check it out.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is insanely unqualified to be our Health and Human Services Secretary, but he continues to do that job and harm our country. His latest move was getting an advisory council he picked much of to vote against giving a perfectly safe Hepatitis B vaccine to newborns.

I greatly enjoy watching, "Plur1bus/Pluribus," and cracked up at a recent celebrity cameo in the most recent episode. If you have AppleTV, it really is worth checking out.

Finally, this article by Katie Rife discusses how the re-release of both, "Kill Bill," flicks as, "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair," illustrates the best and worst of Quentin Tarantino. It is a movie with some definite highlights and issues, that's for sure.

Flashback Friday: Alan Moore Wrote Some Fun, "Spawn,"-Related comics Back in the Day

Alan Moore was essentially betrayed by the comic industry multiple times. It is understandable if he'd rather write his (admittedly good and well-reviewed) novels he now does, but the man was a skilled comic-crafter without a doubt. Not everything he wrote was an epic that people talk about with reverence, either. Sometimes he just wrote some zany and fun stuff. I'm especially fond of when Alan Moore did some zany Spawn-related stuff back in the day.

As d. emerson eddy discussed in a recent article on Comicsbeat, Alan Moore wrote a three-issue mini-series for Spawn's foe, "Violator," back in the 1990s. It is absurd, violent, and quite hilarious. Bart Sears contributes art for the first two issues, with a then-less-known Greg Capullo doing the finale. The plot basically involves everyone from the mafia to other demons wanting to kill Violator, and the effort he goes to in order to not end up dead and back in Hell. It's nothing earth-shattering, but it is a hoot and relatively easy to find for dirt cheap as individual issues or in a trade paperback. It wasn't only a baddie Moore wrote either, he was involved in, "Spawn," #8, #32, and the, "Blood Feud," mini-series. My favorite piece of Spawn-by-Moore is a crossover, however.

Back in the late 90's Alan Moore was invited by Jim Lee to write, "WildC.A.T.s." and he did a solid job. For my money, the four-issue crossover he did of, "Spawn/WildC.A.T.s" is the most fun Spawn-by-Moore even if (one should emphasize) none of this is anywhere near his best work--that said, many agree how, "Even Moore's 'not very good' can be interesting when looked at critically." Yes, "Spawn/WildC.A.T.s" is very 90's, very silly, and Moore's writing is underserved by art (sorry, Scott Clark) that seems busier making the female characters look as svelte and sexy as possible than doing anything else, but it is a crazy little read. Spawn is quite evil in the story, which is set in the far-future time of 2015 (I mean, the future for when it came out) and full of epic fighting, monologuing, and general wackiness. I'm not alone in liking it despite its obvious flaws. Lots of folks hate it and say it isn't even, "Canon," to Spawn or WildC.A.T.s, although when it comes to anything, "Spawn," continuity is a loose concept at best. 

The art admittedly leans heavily into the 1990s, "Cheesecake," aesthetic.

For my money, in the same way that almost any random, "Punisher," comic by Garth Ennis is better than 99% of other (newer) Punisher comics, a silly crossover of little consequence by Alan Moore is still a good deal more pleasurable to read than a lot of Image stuff in the 90s (this was before Jim Lee took his Image characters over to DC). We've got the WildC.A.T.s. fighting a demon-possessed Spawn and Alan Moore is having fun and telling an engaging story. Not everything has to be, "Watchmen," or, "From Hell," with Moore, so just chill out, random internet haters.

Whether it was the main, "Spawn," comic, the spin-off series, or crossovers, Alan Moore wrote a lot of Spawn, even though his takes on other heroes get a lot more, "Ink," written about them, be they Batman in, "The Killing Joke," or other popular characters in various books he barely touched. A lot of Moore's stuff with heroes could be more dour/serious like his time with, "Swamp Thing," but the man knew how to have a good time too, as any of his comics involving Spawn make clear. Moore is clearly happier now not doing comics, but at least we have these four-color memories of his work to enjoy for years to come.

Alan Moore Continues to Do His Own Thing

Alan Moore has written some of the most beloved and critically acclaimed comics ever. Alan Moore also is a man who was screwed over by the comic industry multiple times. He despises seeing his work adapted and almost always requests to have his name taken off of anything that is produced. In a recent interview with The Telegraph, a number of subjects were tackled including if he ever watched the latest, "Watchmen," adaptation and what he does with royalty checks he legally has to be sent for projects he wants zero involvement in. Apparently, he totally avoided the show but did hear about it and felt it missed the point of his work (fair enough). He also said he gives his checks to the movement known as, "Black Lives Matter." 

Moore was chewed up and spat out by the comic book industry and now writes interesting novels and does his own thing. He donates to causes he cares about and does not give a single care what anyone thinks about him anymore. He quit comics, will talk smack about it, and also will throw some shade at fantasy novels too because he doesn't give a care/hoot/fuck, as I stated. The man hates even going to comic-cons because people look at him as a religious figure instead of a writer to have a friendly conversation with. If you go on Twitter/X you can already see faux-fans mad at Moore for doing his own thing. Calling him, "Exhausting," or "Ungrateful," to the medium that, "Made him famous." Moore seems to enrage people by having convictions. I don't even agree with the man on plenty of stuff, but I admire him doing his own thing all these years.

There Are a Lot of, "Spawn," Variant Covers Coming for December

Next month we will get a ton of, "Spawn," variant covers to celebrate the character's 30th anniversary this year of 2022 (yep, 1992 was 30 years ago, which makes me feel old). There will be a lot of variant covers from Image--where Todd McFarlane created Spawn--and a whole bunch from DC. The ones at DC are because there is that big new crossover coming up between Spawn and Batman, so why not have a bunch of covers featuring Spawn with other DC heroes/villains? It is kind of fun, but man, that is a lot of Spawn.

I recently was in a discussion on Reddit with folks when someone posted how they loved the artwork in Spawn comics but found the writing to be painful. I commented that I weirdly enough really like Spawn stories not written by McFarlane. That sounds odd, but I have a fondness for the, "Hellspawn," series Brian Michael Bendis and Steve Niles wrote with Ashley Wood and Ben Templesmith doing the artwork. I also liked the crossover with WildC.A.T.S. that was written by Alan Moore of all people and considered hokey and dumb by some, but I feel it has a silly charm. Again though, when McFarlane himself writes his creation, I tune out any text and simply enjoy the artwork.

Do we need so many, "Spawn," covers? Probably not. Are some clever and do many of them look quite pretty? Yes, yes they do. These covers are like a lot of, "Spawn," content, frankly. A ton of style and minimal examples of substance. Just enjoy the pretty pictures and move along, in other words.

Kevin O'Neill Has Passed

Kevin O'Neill served as the artist on a variety of fantastic comics. From the satirical, "Marshall Law," to making superb works with Alan Moore such as, "League of Extraordinary Gentleman," and their, "Cinema Purgatorio," pieces, he created so much cool stuff. He has passed at age 69 of cancer. My favorite work by him was probably the, "Cinema Purgatorio," shorts interestingly enough as they were just so surreal and varied, but his more famous work was obviously stupendous too. O'Neill will be missed.

Mini-Run Review: "Rorschach," is the Strangest Mainstream Comic Coming Out Right Now and That's a Good Thing

The first issue of Rorschach didn't really wow me so much as it confused me. I wondered why exactly it was a sequel to, "Watchmen," in an alternate 2020 as that's a tall order to tackle. I also had concerns as it was basically an insult to Alan Moore that DC was doing stuff with characters that by all rights should've reverted to his and Dave Gibbon's ownership until DC screwed them over years ago (for more on that just look basically anywhere online). Then I found the politics odd as it seemed to be about an extremist left-winger trying to kill a right-wing candidate when we all know the alt-right and so forth pose a bigger threat to safety than any liberals (just turn on the news). I loved the art, though. I read the second issue and found it a bit more engaging, but I was not wowed. Then, slowly, "Rorschach," morphed into the most bizarre mainstream comic coming out right now and things clicked into place.

One complaint I offered about, "Rorschach," was the main character--an unnamed detective--was such a blank slate I had concerns if the story would work with them so dull. Well, we've still learned nothing about our protagonist, but in a way, he isn't the main character--the people he's investigating are. A dangerously misled right-wing woman named Laura Cummings who was raised to be a killer and an aged liberal comic creator named Wil Myerson tried to kill a Republican--Governor Turley--who is running for President against longtime leader Robert Redford. How they ended up coming together involves a love of comics and her preying on Myer's self-loathing and hatred of those who took advantage of him.

Then things get stranger when a real-life tape of comic creators trying to contact the dead has its background altered for this story and an alternate-universe Frank Miller appears as himself (with permission from the actual Frank Miller) and gets sucked into a surreal cult of sorts. A relatively straightforward attempted assassination mystery has morphed into what, "Watchmen," was at points--a comic about comics. After all, "Watchmen," itself imagined a World where comics were popular but due to the rise of real heroes pirates became a big thing. 

That continues to be riffed on by King with Miller having done a famous, "Dark," pirate hero (shades of his Batman work), and the mysterious tape that exists in the real World explains a lot about why someone like Cummings would turn on a Republican despite being far-right herself (a mysterious voice seeming to instruct Turley be killed mixed with his idealization of The Comedian being off-putting is a big element). Things seem to be getting only stranger after the most recent issue (#9) hints at an even grander conspiracy. This is a maxi-series so if King can land this story as the finale approaches remains to be seen, but man if this hasn't become an utterly bizarre (and quite readable) comic.

 

It should be noted Jorge Fornes continues to absolutely nail it on art every single page, with a complicated layout in the eighth issue where three different people have their alibis all displayed simultaneously on the pages managing to be fantastic thanks to Fornes. As this is a comic about comics it only makes sense it would play with the form in clever ways such as in the eighth issue or even the most recent one where flashbacks and the present suddenly collide in an ingenious manner when our unnamed detective starts piecing together more and more of what exactly might be going on, e.g. Cummings and Myerson may have had even more politically-powerful help in their plot to kill Turley than anyone would've imagined. Between King's writing and Fornes's amazing talent, "Rorschach," has morphed from a book that seemed a bit dull to a must-read mind-bender.

It still sucks Alan Moore is getting screwed, though, and it always will.

5 out of 5 stars (for the most recent issues of #7-#9).

Because You Don't Leave Money on the Table: More, "Three Jokers," on the Way

I liked, "Three Jokers," just fine. The first issue had my attention because Fabok is an amazing artist and even though I mused as early as the debut, "...I feel like no answer could truly be satisfying," as to why there are three Jokers and why we should even care, it was still a fun read. The art continued to impress me throughout the three-issue mini-series and the plot was perfectly fine if uninspiring beyond multiple callbacks to classic Batman stories (especially, "the Killing Joke,") to a point where Geoff Johns almost seems cursed to try to out-Moore Alan Moore by taking his stories and making subpar sequels to them--e.g. the competent, "Doomsday Clock," that tried desperately to say something about, "Watchmen," but while being fun, failed at such a statement (it also had amazing art by Gary Frank, so Johns at least knows how to get great collaborators). 

I don't really have a review to offer of, "Three Jokers," besides my observation the art was on point and it had some great moments beyond otherwise falling a little flat. Over at The Comics Journal, Joe Mcculloch has a big piece examining this, "Momentism," and says it better than I ever could. That said, "Three Jokers," ends with a shocking(?) reveal that--spoiler alert--Batman has known since a week after he met the Joker who exactly the Joker really is. It's the version with the origin from, "The Killing Joke," that has a wife and son he was led to believe died, but are living quietly in Alaska. As, "Three Jokers," sort-of is and sort-of isn't in any kind of, "Official," continuity this juicy piece of plot could've remained unresolved for some time. 

However, "Three Jokers," made--excuse my technical language--a buttload of money, so a one-shot that will build-off of the mini-series is apparently on the way. This one-shot along with others will also address how DC is apparently going to be playing a little more fast-and-loose with continuity in the future, so DC can have its cake and eat it too about if any of these Joker tales, "Count," in regards to the Joker's family, the comic killing off an elderly Joe Chill (the man who killed young Bruce Wayne's parents in the alley) and other plot elements. 

All of this serves as some proof how if you're a big corporation you never leave money on the table. I'm not sure how good a potential, "Three Jokers," follow-up one-shot will be, but as long as Fabok is on the art it'll at least be good-looking. Also, if the one-shot that is kind of a fourth issue to the mini-series isn't called, "The FOURTH Joker," that's just a huge missed opportunity for some fun symmetry.

"The Shadow Over Innsmouth: Part One," Imparts an Impressive Horror-Vibe

The other day I was emailed by Simon Birks of Blue Fox Comics--a small indie comic publisher based out of the UK. He was one of the creators of, "The Shadow OVer Innsmouth," a comic that was being published in three parts with a collection of the issues due later on. They'll be running a Kickstarter campaign soon and were wondering if I'd be kind enough to review the first issue/part. I get random solicitations from time to time, but I wanted to review this first part of, "Innsmouth," as it quite impressed me!

The comic follows a gentleman named Robert Ormstead as he heads on his way from Newburyport to Arkham. He wants to go the cheapest way possible so he'll need to take a bus through a town often spoken of in hushed whispers, Innsmouth. The comic is heavily inspired by the mythos of HP Lovecraft and for this reason, comparisons are inevitable to another massively popular pseudo-adaptation that garnered lots of attention in recent years, Alan Moore and Jacen Burrow's series, "Providence." I am pleased to report that while both works riff on Lovecraft's immense mythos, these series are quite different from each other, only alike in how they (and Lovecraft himself) deal in an immense feeling of overwhelming dread.

As Ormstead learns more about Innsmouth and its possible terrors we readers feel increasingly ill-at-ease with things only getting worse once he hops on the bus and the horrors begin. The tone of writing and the artwork both express these feelings of fear and terror well, leaving me eager to see where the next issue/part will take the story. "The Shadow Over Innsmouth: Part One," is definitely worth a read.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

"Rorschach," #1 Review

A sequel series to, "Watchmen," is a dangerous thing to make. The television show pulled it off, but could a comic focusing-in on Rorschach work? The new Black Label series written by Tom King with art by Jorge Fornes in addition to colors by Dave Stewart is here and the answer is...maybe? This first issue has received glowing reviews, good reviews, okay reviews, and absolutely terrible reviews, so opinions are all over the map. One thing everyone agrees on is that Fornes and Stewart provide some amazing art and colors, that ain't up for debate. The art interestingly is not in the style of, "Watchmen," and its nine-panel grid, with it breaking free of that format giving everything a different kind of tone already. Even though the comic takes place in an alternate 2020 there is a strong 70's thriller movie vibe to it between the outfits, hairstyles, and again, general vibe. That's the art and colors, however. Why is the writing causing so much division?

"Rorschach," presents a mystery. A right-wing Presidential candidate has been targeted by an extremist leftist who wanted to kill him and that would-be assassin was dressed as Rorschach of all people. This is odd as Rorschach was known for being a quite right-wing objectivist who died years ago and became a symbol of sorts for those beliefs. This point leads to the first reason some reviews are mad--an extremist leftist? Really? You don't see those on the far-left usually trying to kill political candidates. You see right-wing domestic terrorists planning to kidnap governors or shooting-up peaceful protests, but I guess in the, "Watchmen,"-verse things are different. This, "Both sides have bad apples," kind of look has irritated a chunk of reviewers, however. Another reason some folk are upset at, "Rorschach," is because it exists in the first place against Alan Moore's wishes. Moore of course was supposed to get the rights to, "Watchmen," and all its characters, etc. back once the book was out of print. It became a huge hit and DC screwed him over, however. That alone makes some ready to come at the book with knives drawn.

A foiled assassination attempt leads to a mystery.

Putting aside some troubling political messaging and how the book existing is a slap in Alan Moore's face, I didn't hate it. The majority of the plot is spent introducing the mystery of the assassin and his female accomplice with any main characters (like a lead detective) being vaguely sketched-out with more character development to come later, I suppose. Again, this comic is gorgeous to look at, but as of right now there isn't much plot to speak of besides, "Who is this assassin, and how or why does he relate to the original Rorschach?" I didn't hate this comic, but it failed to do much for me either. This is itself a bit shocking as Tom King either usually is utterly amazing or absolutely terrible. I'm hopeful that with the basic groundwork laid for this mystery things will get in gear a bit more and if that does happen this could be a pretty snazzy read. As it is now though, it is a beautiful comic with a hopefully-not-pedestrian-for-too-much-longer story.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

A, "Rorschach," Comic is Coming

In news that did and didn't surprise me, we are getting a new, "Watchmen,"-themed comic. That part I could've predicted as, "Doomsday Clock," was relatively successful and the, "Watchmen," television show was a smash-hit. It is titled, "Rorschach," and focused on that popular character--again, not too hard to call. The part I would not have predicted is that Tom King will be writing it in the style of his 12 issue maxi-series that tend to be really good, with Jorge Fornés on the artwork. It'll be a Black Label book, as the other mature-reader lines are now dead (we miss you, Vertigo).

I'm intrigued about this new title as when Tom King is on, he is on with his works, and generally his maxi-series are his best work. Fornés is a skilled artist as well so the book is gonna look swell too. Seeing these properties used without the permission of Alan Moore--who was so horrendously mistreated by DC--fills me with a bit of dread and sadness, but at this point, DC clearly doesn't really care what Moore thinks and Moore is going to do his own thing as well. In the meantime, I hope King and Fornés give us something snazzy.

"Cinema Purgatorio," Kind of Just...Ended

It ended up not quite being, "Monthly."

Back in February of 2016 the Kickstarter campaign for special editions of the new Avatar Press anthology series, "Cinema Purgatorio," wrapped. Featuring an impressive lists of contributors including none other than Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill with a movie-themed short-story each issue as well as other folk, it sounded cool. There was Kireon Gillen and Ignacio Calero with a video-game themed piece called, "Modded," Garth Ennis and Raulo Caceres following-up on a short two issue mini they had done that shifted into the anthology, "Code Pru," about an EMT for monstrous creatures living among humans (but just trying to have a normal life). Christos Gage and Gabriel Andrade had one about Kaiju being trained by humans called, "The Vast!" and Max Brooks and Michael DiPascale had a weird take on the Civil War where instead of Americans fighting each other they were in a fight against giant ants--it was titled, "A More Perfect Union." The Kickstarter was a big success and the comic started coming-out on a good schedule. Then it got kinda delayed and mostly forgotten.

In May of 2019 the last issue of, "Cinema Purgatorio," was released to little fanfare beyond Bleeding Cool (who is owned by Avatar Press, natch) mentioning it. It had been oft-delayed and weirdly enough accidentally reprinted one entry of, "The Vast!" but as it never needed a catch-up piece some theorized it was meant to be shorter than the other stories and/or was horribly delayed and the title holding-up the series coming out at a decent schedule. The end of the stories in, "Cinema Purgatorio," indicate some of them will be continuing in some form--"Code Pru," "The Vast!" and, "A More Perfect Union," seem to plan on follow-up comics or graphic novels (one would assume within Avatar Press). I liked, "Cinema Purgatorio," but other than some buzz when it first began thanks to one of the stories featuring Moore and O'Neill working together (they are of course both well-known creators individually and folk love their, "League of Extraordinary Gentleman," work) there was usually little discussion of the title anywhere.

All of the stories within, "Cinema Purgatorio," were quite solid and equally good--a rare thing to say about an anthology series where many times you get some gold and some garbage. I'd for sure be interested in reading any follow-up comics with the stories that indicated more is to come, but wonder if the relatively muted reception to anthology series will result in the individual creators or Avatar Press deeming the stories not worth following-up further on. That would be a shame because, as I said, it was a solidly entertaining book (at least when it was able to actually come-out). I really liked, "Cinema Purgatorio," but it seemed a lot of folk just kind-of shrugged about it. It's a shame, but that's how things go sometimes.

Surprise of the Year: "Doomsday Clock," is Good--2018 in Review

When it was first announced there would be a big comic featuring a cross-over between DC's heroes and the, "Watchmen," Universe I was skeptical. I said how the only way I could see it working as if it was sufficiently clever and meta enough to make a case for itself. If it just had the heroes duking it out that would be moronic, but making a case for how the existence of, "Watchmen," forever altered comic-books as we know it could work. It would be clever to make a metaphor for how, "Watchmen," had an impact on the DC-Universe, and making that metaphor literal in a way could work. Well, the cross-over that has been coming out, "Doomsday," clock had its eighth of twelve issues released not too long ago, and it has been doing exactly what I theorized it needed to do, and has been...amazing?

"Doomsday Clock," should have been terrible. It should have not worked at all. Instead it has been great thanks to Geoff Johns doing some of the best writing of his career and Gary Frank contributing his usual amazing artwork. The comic even existing is still a smack in the face to Alan Moore, but even people and websites who expressed disgust at the comic occurring have been agreeing with me that it is really good. "Doomsday Clock," has been a mixture of meta-commentary on the history of the DC Universe, an expression of modern political concerns and controversy, and a suspenseful thriller all in its own right. Assuming it manages to stick its landing, "Doomsday Clock," may very well end-up being a worthy sequel to, "Watchmen," and that wouldn't just be a surprise, that would be an absolute blindside--but a good one, of course.

I Had a Dream About a Comic I Wish Existed--"More Wednesday Comics."

Before I tell you about my dream, a history lesson. Some years ago DC had an amazing Summer event, one of my favorite events they ever did. For twelve weeks they released a big piece of newsprint that could be unfolded to reveal massive comics featuring an assortment of heroes. There were different tales all done by a cool team of writers and artists (and some writer-artists). Out-of-continuity yarns about Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Meatmorpho, Aquaman, Hawkman, and so forth were done by a who's-who of creators including such big names like Neil Gaimain, Kyle Baker, Amanda Conner, Walter Simonson, Joe Kubert, Dave Gibbons, and too many more to name, all who gave us lots of comic-book goodness. It was collected in a massive hardcover that matched the size of the newspaper when unfolded. I loved it, and DC hasn't done anything like it since 2009. Except in my dream.

Now then, a couple days ago I had a dream, you may know the kind. I refer to if you ever have a dream where you don't recall the majority of what occurred but a small detail stands-out in your mind? I had such a dream. I don't recall the general plot/focus, but at one point within this dream I'm in a Barnes and Noble and spot a massive hardcover collecting something called, "More Wednesday Comics." Within the dream I glanced at the front and back before my dream continued with whatever surreal story it was telling--I honestly can't recall the rest--I remember that book with a shocking clarity however. "More Wednesday Comics," on the back describes how it is the hardcover collecting the, "Sequel to the smash-hit series before it," with a focus on creators returning to characters they did beloved runs on for fresh takes along with new talent.

Interestingly enough, Quitely has drawn a version of The Question.
It was for the, "Pax Romana," one-shot as a part of, "The Multiversity."

The book discuses how it has stories such as a new strip on The Question written by Denny O'Neil (who did my favorite run on the character) with art by Frank Quietly. Also, none other than Alan Moore writing a horror-heavy story about Swamp Thing illustrated by Bernie Wrightson. Grant Morrison stops by to do a darker take on, "Superman," basically completely counter to, "All-Star Superman," with art by Eduardo Risso (who in real-life illustrated the Batman-story in the original, "Wednesday Comics," publication). Frank Miller writes and draws a story that involves weird time-travel resulting in his Batman from, "Year One," meeting-up with the one from, "Dark Knight Returns," and basically being disgusted and pledging he'll never end-up like his older-self, whilst the older-Batman mocks the younger one's naivete.  Jack Kirby and Tom King collaborating for a, "Fourth World," epic co-written together and illustrated by Kirby in the vein of the recent, "Mister Miracle," sounded cool, and for some reason Jim Balent writes and draws, "Wonder Woman," which within the dream confused me as he is of course known for his work on, "Catwoman," and never wrote or illustrated Wonder Woman as far as I know, but trying to make sense of a dream is a fool's errand. It was all very strange yet exciting.

A lot of these stories couldn't happen or won't happen (Alan Moore isn't exactly on speaking-terms with DC, Jack Kirby died before Tom King even started making comics, etc.) but within my dream this big hardcover book existed and was glorious. I told my wife how I had a dream about a comic that didn't exist and she asked if maybe it really did, at least in some form. She wondered if I didn't utterly imagine it, which I had to tell her I tragically did. This made me wonder what it would be like if something at least slightly like my dream could happen--I mean, if DC ever made a sequel to, "Wednesday Comics," I would for sure want to buy it as it came out and when it was collected. After all, even if my version I dreamed about is impossible to create (in this reality at least) I would enjoy any kind of, "More Wednesday Comics," DC could potentially give us. For now though, all I can do is literally dream.

A Kieron Gillen-written, "Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt," Sounds Potentially Fun

I am a big fan of Kieron Gillen. He is a writer capable of great variation and unlike some writers who I adore but seem to stick to certain themes, ideas, or character archetypes, Gillen just is all over the place--in a great way. Gillen can write a comic book about a world where music is magical ("Phonogram,") give us a yarn about supernatural God ("The Wicked and the Divine,") or present an alternate universe World War II where the Nazi's developed superhuman ("Uber"). Therefore, hearing that Kieron Gillen is going to be writing a new, "Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt," comic for Dynamite makes me intrigued by how it sounds potentially fun.

I of course am probably the one person who remembers and really liked the, "Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt," comic from 2012, when Dynamite last had a book with the character (I believe there haven't been any others). One interesting thing about Peter Cannon is that he was of course one of the original Chalrton characters that Alan Moore based Ozymandias upon for his world-renowned comic, "Watchmen." Unlike some former Charlton heroes DC Comics has the current rights to however (The Question, Blue Beetle), Peter Cannon is an IP currently owned by Dynamite. That doesn't neccesarily have any bearing on the kind of comic Gillen will be making, but I wouldn't be surprised if a little bit of a Ozymandias-vibe ironically influences the character he was based upon. I suppose in January of 2019 we will know just what kind of Gillen-comic we are in for.

I'm Astounded, "Doomsday Clock," Has Been Good

"Doomsday Clock," as a title published by DC Comics sounded like such a loaded proposition. A sequel to, "Watchmen," of sorts that links it and the, "Regular," DC Universe could be an utter travesty, after all. There is the fact that Alan Moore has been against all the things DC has done with the, "Watchmen," property, rightly feeling what should have become a creator-owned property was ripped-out from under him once it had success. Also, "Watchmen," is in most ways a masterpiece--albeit an admittedly flawed one with a slightly weak ending and some boneheaded ideas about sexual violence. That said, I was moderately impressed with the first issue of, "Doomsday Clock," as I saw some potential there with the story appearing to be done the one way I think it could work, and that trend has continued.

This comic would suck if it just had been an example of, "Wouldn't it be cool if Rorschach and Batman fought while Doctor Manhattan and Superman fought?" However, if you get kind of meta and point-out how, "Watchmen," as a comic very much so changed all other comics with its existence things get interesting--an idea clearly being explored with its repeatedly discussed how DC's normal world strikes the characters of, "Watchmen," as a hilariously basic Good versus Evil, black-and-white, when these characters think of themselves as existing in shades of gray. The idea that Doctor Manhattan is hiding somewhere in the DCU as it fits his hopes for a simpler world is both incredibly self-aware of DC to print discussion of and almost a little self-deprecating in a way--I appreciate them not protesting writer Geoff Johns doing this. Using, "Doomsday Clock," to create a commentary on comics themselves--much as, "Watchmen," did back in the 80's allows the book to actually kid of, "Work," and not just seem like a big indulgence in fan-service for the sake of a cash-grab (like how, "Before Watchmen," was atrocious and thankfully is basically not in the continuity of all this).

Ozymandias mocks Batman and, "Pulp heroes."

"Doomsday Clock," is still an affront to the wishes of Alan Moore, but it is doing things the one way it could to kind of get away with being as tasteless as it is clever. Plus, artist Gary Frank is a genius and makes everything look amazing regardless of if it is characters simply talking or a page utilizing the familiar nine-panel grid of, "Watchmen," to illustrate Batman being beat-up and battered by an angry crowd. The book is by no means perfect, with an element about how most superheroes are American and it might be a conspiracy being a subplot that is simmering away but not yet at a boil, and a new wrinkle of Black Adam popping-up talking about a super-powered country unclear in what role it will play in the comic. Also, yet another side-element of the JSA from the past/another timeline and Saturn Girl from yet another timeline/possible future is making things extra dense as, "Doomsday Clock," threatens to buckle under the numerous stories all occurring at once. Oh, and I didn't even mention the weird duo of costumed criminals (Marionette and Mime) retroactively created as existing within the, "Watchmen World," and who are just kind of sauntering around looking for the Joker for...reasons?

As of now the plots seem to be very carefully balancing themselves out but I worry things will collapse into a confusing mess. The fact issue #4 was focused mainly upon one character (Rorschach and who this seemingly new version of the hero is) made things nice and simple compared to the sheer volume of stuff occurring before it and in the most recent issue #5. We are about at the halfway-point of this 12-issue maxi-series however and things are working well so far, so I'm optimistic. My hope is that "Doomsday Clock," will keep chugging along nicely despite it already suffering a number of annoying delays that kind of hurt its momentum. Again though, the biggest takeaway here is how astounding it is that, "Doomsday Clock," has been good. Here's hoping once it is finished and collected in a nice big trade paperback it all still holds together nicely.

Thoughts on Doomsday Clock #1

A Lot of Talk

There has been a lot of discussion about DC's big 12-issue event-comic, "Doomsday Clock." There is of course the much-loved comic, "Watchmen," which--putting aside the, "Before Watchmen," debacle of lame prequels--we haven't had too much of outside of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons self-contained masterpiece. DC has now released the first issue of this sequel of sorts with all the moral quandries that brings.

You see, Alan Moore has always been vehemently opposed to DC doing anything with his work from, "Watchmen," stating how he should have had the full rights. It's a long and tangled history, but the short version is: Alan Moore and DC apparently agreed that once, "Watchmen," had been out-of-print for a period of time the full rights would revert to him, the comic was a huge smashing success and DC now has forever been printing versions of it, thereby robbing Moore of what he felt was his. There are many arguments in favor of Moore, some against, and people much smarter than me have made highly detailed cases.

How then, does one review, "Doomsday Clock," considering all the elements at play here? I suppose I would review it in a number of ways with different things taken into account--which sounds complex but there are many complexities to this comic-event.

Looking at The Plot in Isolation From Other Elements

From a strictly plot perspective there are some intriguing ideas at work here. The idea is arguably that the existence of, "Watchmen," was so world-altering it essentially changed the reality of other comics, like DC's main stuff. It is a really meta idea and arguably the only way this comic can work--the dark sad world of, "Watchmen" going-up against the happy and more hopeful world of DC. After all, if you just have a comic with Batman fighting a bunch of folk from, "Watchmen," what's the point?

"What's the point?" could be asked about a lot of this though. Did DC absolutely have to take, "Watchmen," to use for this story or does utilizing the famous IP allow the story to feel like it has more gravitas? Moore and Gibbons comic is a masterpiece so anything attempting to follow-up on it that lacks them probably will struggle to measure up. Having read the comic, if one puts aside all the baggage of using, "Watchmen," it reads quite well, but the whole idea is taking the baggage of, "Watchmen," and using it to tell a story, which arguably is why we are in this aforementioned big ol' moral quandary. Should we work to put all that aside though and just look at the plot in isolation from all the other outside elements at play--go all, "New Criticism," on the comic, then it is pretty good.

We have the world of, "Watchmen," that seemed to achieve peace through the lie of a false alien invasion now falling apart due to the truth coming-out. Things are miserable again and its a mess. We get some info-dumps and it is a good read. I would give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars viewed by itself. We can't view it by itself though, can we?

Looking at the Plot in the Shadow of, "Watchmen."

Many folk would agree, "Watchmen," is a masterpiece. Intricately plotted, designed, and with an ending that is kind of weak--but arguably intentionally so--it is amazing. Any book trying to pick-up that ball and run with it is bound to suffer. Reading this book written by Geoff Johns gives the impression of someone desperately trying to recapture that, "Watchmen," lightning in a bottle but struggling to do so. The artist can't be blamed at all, as Gary Frank is a stellar illustrator and uses the classic nine-panel grid to give us some stellar imagery--at least as best as the plot can allow.

This first issue mostly takes place in the world of, "Watchmen" so perhaps as we see more of it and the DC-Universe bleeding into one another things will flow a bit better. As it is though, when one looks at this as a sequel to something so amazing as, "Watchmen," and puts the quality and craftsmanship side-by-side, this work suffers and is more of a pale imitation, a 2 out of 5 stars.

Looking at the Comic in Regards to Creator Rights

Just as with, "Before Watchmen," this is basically DC saying, "Fuck Alan Moore!" Even DC's most vehement defenders will admit that Moore was done dirty whilst trying to rationalize things by saying stuff like, "Well, Moore used other people's creations for his, 'League of Extraordinary Gentleman!' His, 'Lost Girls,' stuff too!" Those people seem to miss the point that all of those things were public domain and even if Moore was using creations in a manner the original creators would have disliked, he wasn't outright stealing their work from them to do what he wanted whilst they loudly protested. Moore isn't mad that the stuff he created is being used to tell other stories, he's mad because he was promised those things he crafted would be his to do with as he pleased and then once he made these metaphorical toys they were snatched away from him by DC.

Should someone look at this comic's existence in regards to what its progenitor--Alan Moore--would prefer, clearly it shouldn't exist. Dave Gibbons basically has faintly offered his approval/said he doesn't care, so is it enough for one of the makers of, "Watchmen," to be okay with it, or if anyone is against this should their preferences be acknowledged? Whatever the case, considering how badly Moore was screwed-over by DC when it comes to the comic in regards to creator rights, this is a 0 out of 5.

Much to Mull Over

It is evident that there is a lot to wrestle with when it comes to the very existence of, "Doomsday Clock." As its own piece of work it is interesting, but it suffers compared to the amazing work it is a sequel to, and is also one big middle finger to creator rights. It is impossible to judge if the overall meta-message will work well based just on this first issue, but I'm hopeful all this controversy at least gives us an interesting story--especially considering just how questionable the taste is of this comic even existing.