Dan DiDio Seems to Have Plans and is Making Moves

Dan Didio was fired from DC Comics. We didn't know why back then and still lack that knowledge. He seemed to be kicking back during the pandemic and relatively happy though. He also contributed to an oral history of the New52 (in which he played a big role). DiDio was keeping things relatively low-key. However, news has come out that he is going to be running a new publishing business with Frank Miller involved. Little else is known, but I imagine DiDio is going to be getting more creators for whatever business venture he has in mind. He clearly has plans and is starting to make moves. What exactly DanDio is up to is a mystery, but I'm sure as answers become apparent it'll be quite interesting.

Ashley Wood and Chris Ryall Have Launched a New Imprint at Image

I know I just wrote about another Image comic earlier today ("The Black Monday Murders," to be exact), but I have even more interesting news from Image to share. Two creators who previously did a lot of work at IDW are launching a new imprint at Image (in the same way there is the Skybound imprint) which will be known as Syzygy Publishing. This caught my attention as I love a lot of the old comics Ashley Wood was involved in (from his work on, "Uncanny X-Men," with Joe Casey to his solo IDW work like, "Popbot,") and Chris Ryall has created good stuff too ("Zombies VS Robots," with Ashely Wood). Neither of them is directly making the first comic from their new imprint, although Ashley Wood is contributing a gorgeous variant cover as can be seen a bit further below in this post.

The debut comic from Syzgy Publishing is, "Joe Hill's Rain." It is a five-issue mini-series that adapts a short story by the talented writer Joe Hill (as the title indicates). As for the actual creative team, the PR release says how, "The award-winning creative team consisting of writer David M. Booher (Killer Queens), artist Zoe Thorogood (The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott), colorist Chris O’Halloran (Ha Ha), and letterer Shawn Lee (Madman Artist’s Select) will come together to bring Joe Hill's Rain to sequential form. Ryall and Wood contribute editorial and logo/production design, respectively." Basically, this imprint allows Wood and Ryall to curate some talent to make cool comics, much in the same way Robert Kirkman uses Skybound to make comics he likes/wants to get adapted as most of his stuff is now.

Ashley Wood makes great art.

As a big fan of Ashely Wood, I am intrigued by all this. Plus, if it means we get some cool variant covers by Wood along with quality comics then I'm all for this. Bleedingcool claims Image has plans for even more imprints with big names, so I wonder what else might be coming down the pipeline. It sounds absurd, but it just occurred to me how I'd be quite amused if something crazy like former DC bigwig Dan Didio launching an imprint with Image happened. If that ever does occur I'm gonna claim I called it first.

Read This Oral History of the New 52 For Some Fascinating Insights!

If you are someone who enjoys, "Seeing how the sausage is made," when it comes to comic books, this oral history of the New 52 that Polygon published is a stellar read. They have one anonymous quote and note a number of people contacted didn't want to, "Spill any beans," as it were, but they do get some juicy insights from former DC head honcho Dan Didio (who we may recall was suddenly laid-off from DC in 2020 and has nothing to lose sharing his thoughts), Scott Snyder, Judd Winick, Christy Marx, and more. Didio provides a ton of info and even though his relationship did not end with DC on the best of terms as far as we know he doesn't come off as bitter at all, just a bit melancholic about how the New 52 ended up working out (long story short: it didn't work out well in the long run at all).

I always think of the New 52 as having a ton of potential it didn't quite reach. The article itself points out we all have an, "Underrated New 52 comic," that we feel deserved more attention (for me it is, "Men of War," without a doubt). The New 52 was a cool attempt at doing a brand-new relaunch/reboot and even if DC undid basically everything some years later, I have some fondness for the era. Reading how it came to be and end is a nice treat.

In Case You Wondered What Dan DiDio Was Up To During the Pandemic...

Dan DiDio was suddenly fired from his position as Co-Publisher at DC Comics when a number of powerful people wanted him gone (WB's executive board, maybe, we don't know for sure). I wrote about it and how eventually some facts would come out or Dan DiDio would find himself at another company. Nothing juicy has come to light yet, but since DiDio's firing, a lot has happened. DiDio maybe was not liked by a number of people, but he got DC through a number of crises (no pun intended with all the, "Crisis," comics they publish) and maybe, just maybe, some people at DC wish he were there right now as everything in the comic-book market is an utter mess due to COVID-19. Diamond has stopped shipping product for an unspecified period of time, DC's printer is shut down for a number of weeks as well, and what is Dan DiDio doing while all this happens? He's buying comic supplies.

Yep, Dan DiDio posted on his social media and Bleeding Cool reported about it how he kinda-sorta broke the law and went out while California is locked down in order to buy some comic supplies from an unnamed comic store. It went down with the owner of the store meeting him in a parking lot and popping their trunk to reveal the goods as if it were an illicit drug deal. After sampling the merchandise as the picture at the top of my article shows, the transaction was complete as DiDio was pleased with his purchase of bags and boards. DanDio seems happy and safe, so I'm happy for him.

We Still Don't Know Exactly Why Dan Didio Was Fired, but We Probably Will Before too Long

I touched upon the sudden event of Dan Didio being fired from DC at the end of my recent news and links post. It came out of utterly nowhere so little was known about how the man who was co-publisher with Jim Lee found himself fired after we assume an upsetting morning hearing from his bosses (e.g. the brass at DC's owner Warner Brothers).

It is Monday and we still have no clear answers outside of how Didio was always a controversial figure, but seemed to get results. Perhaps his results had been less impressive lately, or an assortment of P.R. black eyes for DC slowly built-up to too many (the Batman's penis-reveal controversy, harasser Eddie Berganza finally getting fired after a big news piece), or maybe it was how even though he was co-publisher he still micromanaged things other positions were supposed to be covering.

Getting some R&R on a sudden vacation from work that no longer exists.

Dan Didio has only offered tweets of relaxing in comfy locales with loved ones or images taken from boats of clear blue waters as well as a short video saying he is humbled by the outpouring of support and love and how he wants to say, "Love to you all." Plenty of drama is going to spill-out at some point, and how exactly this impacts DC's upcoming publishing plans for events like their more-and-more promoted, "5G," with multiple generations of heroes is a big unanswered query too. Right now is the quiet before a gossip and rumor shit-storm, I'd argue. Enjoy the peace while it lasts, everyone.

A Smattering of Later February 2020 News and Links

We Approach February's End

It's February 21st and the end of the month is nearing. We get one extra day this year in the form of February 29th, so that is snazzy. Plus, Clarkson's third birthday is the 28th, which normally is the last day of the month except for unique years like this (some people incorrectly think he was almost a leap year baby, he was born in 2017 however so he would've just been born March 1st if it weren't February 28th). Now that I'm done breaking-down the calendar, here are some news and links.

Stuff For Your Reading Enjoyment

This piece by Lyz Lenz for Jezebel examines the stark decline of the Miss America pageant from its glory days and looks at what's left with the question what it is like to be, "....placed on a throne without a kingdom while no one watched."

My thoughts on the latest season of, "The Bachelor," were recently posted and I find it entertaining but messy. The AV Club thinks it is too toxic to be fun and Vulture continues to kill it with their episode recaps. As the finale approaches it is going to be a glorious heap of drama.

Friend of the blog Kevin Kessler recently posted online how issues of his comic I quite enjoyed, "Universilent," can now be purchased for digital reading on Comixology!

The staff at The Root calculated how much taxpayers are spending for Trump to be able to play golf as much as he does. It turns out he's the 10th highest paid, "Athlete," in America in terms of cost.

Covid-19 or as it is casually called, "The Coronavirus," which has been spreading at an alarming rate continues to worry me. It is harder to contain than SARS and the exact lethality is hard to be sure of, but hopefully, it will be under control before we're at levels like the 1918 Influenza epidemic.

I've always loved Dinosaurs from a young age up to adulthood. Hearing about an impressive carnivorous Jurassic-era Dino named Allosaurus jimmadseni that could give the Cretaceous-era T-Rex a run for its money made my ol' imagination fire-up and imagine what it must've been like to see these creatures those millions of years ago.

Season 3 of, "Westworld," isn't even out yet, and already they are hiding secret trailers within their promotional clips. The show always has gotten up to crazy mischief so it's going to be a twisty season, ain't it?

The new Batman outfit and a Bat-bike can be seen online now and have an interesting style reminiscent of the, "Zero Year," storyline. It looks pretty cool.

Speaking of DC, there seems to be some breaking news that Dan Didio has left his position as co-publisher and basically the head of DC comics. That's pretty sudden and unexpected, so let's end this news segment with a big shocker like that. Didio was always a polarizing figure during his years at DC, so everyone's reaction has been mixed. I imagine there will be much more to come regarding this.

Enjoy the Rest of February!

I hope you all enjoy the remaining days of February! We are excited for Clarkson's third birthday for sure!

End of May 2016 Links

The End of a Great Month

May has been a good month--and not just because of my birthday, but because I tend to greatly enjoy Mays. It is my second-favorite month after October, and as it wraps up I feel some sadness, but also look forward to the Summer. As we near the end of May here are some links for you to enjoy.

Link-Time!

Countless fans of the, "Disney Infinity," games cried-out with dismay when it was announced the company is suddenly giving-up on the brand. Some fans also probably cried-out when Disney said they were getting rid of Disney Dollars too, but that was probably met with more of a disinterested shrug. Still, both the figures and Disney Dollars will probably gain some collectible value over the years.

Abhay Khosla has presented what is basically an in-depth legal brief about why DC's Editor in Chief, Dan DiDio, really should probably be fired. This is the best constructed and most complex arguement yet against DiDio, even if in the end the main conclusion is the same as when someone states, "DiDio sucks!"

I've had some time to listen to bits of the new album, "Coloring Book," from Chance the Rapper. It is some pretty good music and getting a lot of positive press. I wouldn't say I love it, but I have found it enjoyable.

Here is an interesting piece on how cults work.

I enjoy the, "Battlefield" games every now and then, plus I also find World War I to be a fascinating part of our history that isn't covered too often. Therefore, a new big-budget video-game that covers WWI under the, "Battlefield," brand may be pretty interesting, and help to increase interest in this often-overlooked part of the past.

Hey, while we're on the subject of the past this article about old games (not games set in older times, but literally old games) and how GOG helps bring them back was a good read.

"Farewell Mr. Bunting," was one of the best SNL bits this season. It takes the filmed skit awhile to get where it's going, but once it finally does, wow, just wow.

Somewhere out there is a, "Captain America: Civil War," script without Spider-Man in the draft.

We just don't need this every damn time.

Speaking of Spider-Man, this article expertly breaks-down how we don't need to be inundated with origin-stories as much anymore.

This continued talk in politics about rejecting refugees who seriously need our help--with some needing our help because of what we did in their country--can draw a lot of parallels to the past, such as during the Vietnam war.

Sigmund Freud got a lot wrong about Psychology, but to his credit he got us talking about sex more openly.

So, just what kind of car did the family drive in, "Calvin and Hobbes," after all?

It should be so easy...

I was reading this article about how people to this day still struggle to remember which button on their Playstation 4 is for the power and which is to eject discs. It struck a chord with me. I too have problems with this.

Lastly, I tip my hat to Chuck Tingle, whoever he or she really is, for expertly trolling the hateful members of Sad Puppies, Rabid Puppies, Gamergate, and all the other ignorant haters.

What Did We Learn?

After reading all those links (or at least the ones that interested you) I hope you learned something useful. A day when you learn anything new is a good day indeed.

The Editor-in-Chief of DC Deleted his Twitter Account, Possibly Because the Harassment Scandal-Messes Going On

"Screw you all, I'm getting off Twitter!"

Dan DiDio is the Editor-in--Chief (or EIC) of DC Comics. DC comics has been having some issues lately with people protesting their, shall we say, "Gentle," treatment of employees who displayed harassing or outright predatory behavior of a sexual nature. To put it bluntly, DC has some people who've done some really questionable or outright unethical things in an effort to get their rocks off, and DC seems to have often looked the other way or given them a slight rap on the knuckles followed by asking, "You aren't gonna try and sexually harass anyone now, right?"

Well, DiDio has a lot to do with the people who harassed not getting fired or even getting promoted, and DiDio has been getting a lot of tweets about the harassment business. He has deleted his Twitter account completely, possibly in response to this. These two things may not be linked--after all, correlation is not cause--but methinks they might be. Basically, DiDio did the equivalent of sitting silently at a press conference, and when that looked too bad, got up, flipped the table, and left. The last thing/image he tweeted? This:

I don't get whatever joke is being told, but imagine with all this controversy going on DiDio is the one who needs a drink. It is pretty sad when one of the more important people at a company shuts-down a means of communication as opposed to actually, you know, answering questions. It shows a refusal to engage with the very people who keep your company going (the fans) and have some honest concerns. Oh well, at least that rabbit seems to be having a fun time.

A Quick Thought on DC's Rebirth That Morphed Into An Angry Essay

I've Got Just One Thing to Say

I had just one quick thought on DC and their rebirth that I wanted to share. Namely, that the only book I actually am interested in enough this moment to go and buy when it comes out is--of all things--"Deathstroke," because they got Christopher Priest (Christoper Priest!) to write it.

I Lied

Fine, I lied, as soon as I typed that single quick thought a bunch of other things occurred to me, and only one of them is particularly positive. The other optimistic thought was that Tom King is a great writer, and now that he is exclusive to DC, if I want to enjoy his writing I will need to maybe try out the new, "Batman," book, which hopefully will succeed under his pen. Besides that, there is the consideration that DC has indeed utterly lost its mind, but this maybe, just maybe could work. I'm starting to think it might go horribly wrong however.

I mean, when your company embarks on a big relaunch in 2011 and then  Editor-In-Chief Dan Didio calls it, "Losing our way," a bit later that kind of reads as a slap in the face to everyone who made or bought your books for the past five years. True, the whole thing spiraled out of control to the point I was reading basically zero DC books, but to think you're going to get me reading one now (again, yah Christopher Priest) thanks to another gigantic overhaul ain't that impressive, ya dig?

Do we really want this title?
I mean, think about the other time a Batman book had, "All Star," after all.

When your amazing, earth-shattering, "We're destroying it all and building it back up!" re-launch seems to occur every five or ten years it quits being impressive and becomes more of a nightmarish hassle than anything else. I mean, seriously DC, the idea of, "Legacy," plays a role in your re-launch? That's hilarious considering that you wiped the slate clean five years ago, and to this day people still aren't quite sure what did and didn't, "Happen," from the old continuity within the Nu52.

You can't sell me on the idea that you're sorry for this little experiment, because you're the one who said the past was all outdated, lame, and otherwise not working as recently as 2011. However, suddenly now you're proud of your legacy and want to reincorporate that whilst keeping the small number of things that worked in the Nu52 (Scott Snyder is now DC exclusive, Harley Quinn will still have her own comic)? Nuh-uh, that ain't how this works. You can't have one kind of ice cream, toss it all out in the garbage saying its terrible, buy a new brand with some similar ingredients, decide it isn't working for you, and then go back to the old ice cream while declaring how you're excited to honor your years spent enjoying the first one before that awkward half-decade where you treated it like trash.

Another metaphor: If DC were able to have a physical romance with its publishing line, it would be the definition of an abusive relationship, "I love you; I hate you and found someone new who is a younger and hipper version of you; I can't stand the new person, please let me come back even though I attempted to bury you deep and forget you ever existed," and us readers are the uncomfortable witnesses to this conversation at dinner, sitting there awkwardly knowing that no matter how ugly it gets between DC and its comics we're going to be expected to pick up the check while they go have sweaty rage-sex in the car outside the restaurant...or something, this metaphor kind of went off the rails but you get my point.

It is possible that re-launching yet again and incorporating more of the past could work for DC. It is also possible taking a big chunk of their books to a schedule of coming out every-other-week could suceed too. Hell, it even is just maybe possible DC won't feel the urge to chuck everything that's occurred out the window in 2021 and start fresh yet again. I'm not sure, but dear  God am I annoyed, and this quick little thought morphed into one big angry essay.

"Ugh, and sigh," is a good way to summarize all I just said. At least we get a new comic written by Christopher Priest and some, "Batman," by Tom King out of this whole fiasco, right? Oh, and it isn't related to, "Rebirth," but there is finally going to be a season 2 of, "Teen Titans: Earth One." That makes me less crabby.

DC is Looking Over-Sensitive Lately

Opening Statements
DC Comics, you are looking kind of like that overly-sensitive person we all know. The kind who gets upset if we question anything they do, or even if we make gentle jokes at their expense. What proof do I have to back up this accusation that DC is being wimpy? Well, let's examine three important facts.

Presentation of The Evidence

The "B & B" logo.

Fact 1: DC stopped doing a segment on Comic Book Resources known as "B & B" where fans could ask questions of the editorial staff. Why did this happen? People asked perfectly reasonable questions that weren't utter softballs and wanted an actual, honest answer. Apparently asking DC to clarify what the hell it was thinking with its recent Orson Scott Card fiasco (which they now have "put on hold" and are basically trying to bury any discussion of) is out of the question, just as is pointing out how famous comic creator Jerry Ordway and his fellow fans feel it is unfair he isn't getting any work from a company he did so much for (helllloo, ageism!).

The Outhousers' Logo

Fact 2: The Outhousers is a website that talks about comics and also parodies the industry. It was told by DC that if they didn't stop making fun of them, they would no longer get access to DC's talent. Basically, they were told, "Shut-up or be shut-out." The Outhousers however, had some editorial integrity and have instead spoken openly about their being blacklisted from doing interviews with DC.

Dan DiDio, out of his "robe".

Fact 3: Dan DiDio walks around the offices of DC naked and insisting he is wearing new robes made of the finest fabrics and decorated with expensive jewels. If anyone calls him out on this they are immediately fired and thrown into a pit where he burns the remains of people who upset him; this is done in order to power the heater that keeps his office warm.

Closing Arguments
Alright, that last fact is not true, but if the trend from the first two facts holds my just stating a joke such as the third "fact" could get me shut-out from DC, it seems. I don't know for sure however as I've never actually interviewed a creator who was actively working for DC. They always were doing independent or Marvel work.

In those past interview situations, while at times my questions were requested to also be sent to Marvel PR people when I did interviews, it seemed that was more to make sure the writers didn't spill the beans on any big announcements or such. I never got the vibe that it was to stifle any questions I had that could be considered "touchy"--I never was told, "I can't answer that question because Marvel will get mad," I would just be informed something like, "I can't answer that right now, but keep an eye out for an announcement." How would things go with DC go, however? Possibly not that great.

The Prosecution Rests
I can say any of my press interactions with Marvel, Image, and whomever have been just peachy, but I wonder what would happen if I wanted to interview someone under a big contract with DC. Readers of this blog know I am not one to pull punches when it comes to saying what I think, and DC is giving off the appearance of not liking that. They are acting like that aforementioned metaphorical acquaintence who becomes outraged if we call them out on their actions or tell a joke about them, no matter how mild.

DC, quit being so wimpy and maybe instead of shirking away from reasonable questions, answer them. The worst that could happen is you come off looking like a jerk...which you kind of already look like now.

A Bunch of Rant-Reviews on Great, Good, and Terrible Comics--Breathe it in, Sucka

Been awhile...

I was looking over the site and realized it has been awhile since I did my smaller rant-reviews/capsule reviews/whatever you want to call them. When I do those I'm not always snarky or attempt to be funny, but for fun's sake let's try to return to form.

Avengers #3

I like Hickman when he does the big-idea stories full of grandiose concepts. This series started with that but this issue illustrated clearly the big flaw Hickman suffers from--namely, ending the story terribly. "The Nightly News," is an absolute joy until those last few pages with the supposed, "big reveal," being just plain stupid. His Fantastic Four mega-story-line kind of whimpered out when Hickman stayed on the book after what should have been the concluding issue (should have stopped with #604 and not gone to #611 or whatever it was), His time doing the, "Ultimate Comic's Ultimates," started with a wonderfully surreal concept of a bubble-world and an evil Reed Richards before it ended with Tony Stark's brain cancer forming a friendly psychic child....really. I still love Hickman's, "S.H.I.E.L.D." comic because he cleverly has never had the last issue come out, thereby preventing me from insulting him for it (seriously, that thing has got to be at least 18 months late). Therefore Hickman yet again starts strong and ends this arc with a resounding, "What the fuck?" Apparently the aliens on Mars who murdered countless earthlings with bio-bombs are going to be allowed to just chill on that planet and create stuff as long as they promise to leave Earth alone now. Um, since when have the Avenger's let mass-murder slide? Even if some super-being makes everyone chill-out and think things are cool...just...wow. This third issue doesn't just falter at trying to, "Stick the landing," this thing lands so abruptly and terribly it should give reader whip-lash. Hopefully the next arc won't do the same thing, but I doubt it. Oh, and Jerome Opena is one of the best artist's around so at least these 3 issues stayed stellar art-wise the whole way through.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

Saga #9

Brian K Vaughn is just so damn good. Even some of the best comic writers out there can only dream of getting to drink his bathwater in hopes that Vaughn's sweat contains a modicum of his writing ability. The man writes such good stories and Saga is shaping up to be an amazing tale from what we've seen so far. Even this issue which breaks away from our main characters to focus on some secondary ones is fascinating and advances some plot points I honestly didn't expect to be resolved as quickly as they were, but that's Vaughn for you, always surprising the reader. Fiona Staples delivers amazing artwork to go with this too and frankly if you aren't reading this comic you're missing out. Drop one of the sucky comics you buy only out of a feeling of responsibility to whatever character they feature and pick this up instead.

5 out of 5 stars.

Batman #16

I really hope it is revealed that it isn't actually the Joker wearing that Joker flesh-mask. I say this because Scott Snyder has pretty much gone too far with the idea of the Joker being evil in this issue. Snyder has taken the Joker from an intriguing foil of Batman to just a weird psycho-monster who makes living flesh-paintings in a comic that reads more like torture-porn than a Batman comic. By making the Joker too inhuman he just can't be as interesting. When there is that hint of a shred of humanity within the Joker he is more interesting. Even at what could have been his most evil in, "The Killing Joke," Alan Moore had that quiet moment of humanity right at the end where the Joker himself admits its far too late to change for the better, he has just been too ruined by life. This issue of, "Batman," however, it just makes the Joker over-the-top evil to a point of obnoxiousness. Please, please have that not be the Joker or have there be some twist that it was all a test, dream, or simulation. I normally hate those kind of story, "cheats," but I'll let it slide this one time, just to save everyone's enjoyment of the Joker.

1.5 out of 5 stars.

X-Factor #250

How can there be a God? Seriously, how? In what world with a deity who isn't a total dick does someone as talented and cool as Peter David suffer a stroke while meanwhile Rob Liefeld gets to swim in money and attempt to sell a shitty screenplay about the early days of Image comics (which Abhay Khosla hilariously thinks would go like this)? You probably now see my point about how God either doesn't exist or is a huge jerk, and this example of yet another stellar comic by David illustrates my argument even further. I just hope Peter David recovers as best he can and continues to make awesome comics.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Team 7 #4

This comic is better than that time I was trapped in an elevator with a rambling hobo and had to listen to his ideas for a comic series set before, "Watchmen." I later realized the hobo was in fact Dan Didio, and if I hadn't thought such a stupid idea were impossible I maybe could have saved us all. With that hindsight I also would probably have told the hobo/Didio to axe, "Team 7," before it ever could have existed. The reason is that the whole thing just feels so unnecessary--yes, this series started with some promise, but it has just gone down the drains. It's dull, written with awkward dialogue, and fails to make me care about any of the characters on the team other than for the fact that a bunch of them in the future of the DC Universe have important roles ("Team 7," takes place earlier-on in the DC Universe's 5-ish-years-of-heroes-being-around history). This is just a completely underwhelming book, but at least isn't so stupid as to be insulting...it's just stupid enough to be annoying.

2 out of 5 stars.

Caligula #2

David Lapham has arguably the most disturbed mind in comics when it comes to the things he thinks up. Murder, Mutilation, Violent Sex, and demonic body-parts are all shown in such graphic detail that while reading this in public I felt a need to look around and over my shoulder for fear that someone would view what I bought and think me a deranged monster. Fear of being ostracized for reading this comic aside however, it is a pretty good story. Just don't give it to any children or you will be having to go door-to-door anytime you move to inform your neighbors you're on a registry...and I don't mean bridal one.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Deadpool #4

The first issue of this didn't overly impress me. The second issue failed to get me really, "sold," on this new Deadpool series too. Then the amazing third issue came out with its hints of meta-awareness, clever historical jokes about our dead Presidents (who have come back as zombies), and otherwise awesomeness. Thankfully, that trend of great quality has continued with this fourth issue which moves at such a rapid pace in killing the lesser known zombie-Presidents that it is sheer mayhem, but good mayhem. Plus, Deadpool fights former President Lincoln in a mixed martial-arts cage-match. What else could you want?

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt #5

This comic at once does things that are really fun and neat while simultaneously sometimes being teeth-grindingly hokey. I did my huge post about Peter Cannon some time ago and much of my points still stand, with the plot only thickening in some interesting ways while also getting sillier in others. Then that last-page reveal this issue makes me think things could be getting even more strange...whether for better or worse will be seen soon. I still think this is one of the best super-hero comics people are, "sleeping on," though.

4 out of 5 stars.

All New X-Men #6

I'm waiting, just waiting. Waiting for what, you may ask? I'm waiting for that point where Bendis will mess up writing a team book. When Brian Michael Bendis does a solo-tale such as his run on Daredevil it can be great stuff, but if I've said it once I've said it multiple times: The man can not do team books. When he first started up on New Avengers (his first run) it was okay, then got pretty subpar. Then his other Avenger's works and event books were so bad I just dropped the titles until this new run by the already-discussed Hickman. That is why I'm so surprised to see this series actually so far be good. The characters' stories are well-balanced, things are interesting, and...I'm waiting for it all to go wrong. Maybe things will stay good, but at the first sign of trouble I'm off this.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

There we go

If you had been missing my little-reviews you should now find yourself sated yet also regretting what you've spent your time doing. Sort of the same way I feel anytime I watch reality television.

Bits O' The News

Let's share what is happening in the world of comics and beyond, shall we?

Another week, another mysterious Marvel NOW promo.

I like Archaia and their work so it is good things are starting to work out better for them.

Jim Carrey in the movie version of Kick-Ass 2? I didn't like the first comic and haven't bothered with any others or seen the movie. However, I do like Carrey when he's doing a good job so maybe this is news worth following?

I can have my face be in the next CD Projekt game? They do make that good, "The Witcher," series, and that sounds fun...but I'm not sure I want people punching this gorgeous mug--even if it isn't for real. Okay, maybe not gorgeous, but presentable.

West Nile Virus is back with force. That's just great news....sigh.

Top Cow wants an unpublished writer or artist to come work for them. I have no strong feelings about this either way as long as said writer or artist is treated fairly and not screwed over like so many folk in comics.

Radioactive Man (the Marvel version, not the Simpsons) may be appearing in Iron Man 3? Interesting.

So it isn't just junk food making us sick, but junk DNA?

More Metal Gear games, this time in an "open-world" environment? Yes Please!

Remember the Republican National Convention? Remember how weird it was to see Clint Eastwood arguing with an empty chair? Sean T. Collins remembers, and he wrote about it in his guest spot on, "Stoner Alien".

Speaking of Conventions, the Democrats are having issues agreeing on their own party platform? I'd say this is quite bad, but Mitt Romney himself has said he doesn't fully agree with the Republican Platform,so both parties are having some issues.

So Judas (of the Christian bible) is the character "The Stranger" in DC Comic's New 52? I would think DC's editor-in-cheif Dan DiDio would have been nervous approving this, but he wrote the comic!

Let's end on a piece of, "Well that's no surprise," news. Apparently, in a market dominated by the iPhone with Android fighting hard for a solid 2nd place, Windows phones just don't perform that admirably. How shocking!

Thar be the news that I found interesting. Enjoy it, treasure it, love it.

Rant-Reviews--My Free Comic Book Day Comics

Start
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) was a bit ago. I finally went through my lot of comics and can review them. It took so long because I had finals--with the tests and big papers, et al. Now it is summer, so besides hopefully having an internship I shall be a bit more free to complain about and insult comics/movies/books/games/etc. rampantly on the web. Theoretically at least. I've got a long list of things to read and review I'm working on. Let's get to this.

The Reviews

Mouse Guard: Labyrinth and Other Stories
Everyone has been going on about how beautiful this hardcover book looks compared to the other Free Comic Book Day floppies that were around, and while it is quite pretty I don't know if it is something to jizz your pants about--which it really seems folk are. After all, once you crack this thing open and read the contents you get a decent refresher in Mouse Guard lore, a weird tale about a lonely troll-man, an incomprehensible Dapper Men tale, something called, "Rust," that I admittedly enjoyed, a piece about Cursed Pirate Girl that tries a bit too hard to be weird to a point where it loses some of the fun, and a cute-but-throwaway story about a young cowboy who hunts down his nogoodnik relatives. In other words, like almost all anthologies it is a grab bag with little really grabbing me other than, "Rust," which has a strange surreal feeling and charm to it I could possibly find worth following into its main book. Still, the actual comic's design sure is nice.
3 out of 5 stars.

Superman Family Adventures/Green Lantern: The Animated Series/Young Justice
I wanted to like this more, but the, "Superman Family Adventures," I found the best cut off really soon, the Green Lantern bit is quite subpar, and Young Justice is just a lame teaser. No thanks.
2 out of 5 stars.

Avengers: Age of Ultron
This is really just a reprint of Avengers #12.1 but now called #0.1 with Spider-Woman having her outfit colored-on so parents won't freak out about their kids reading this after getting it at FCBD. It's a really sort of pointless Avengers tale that sets up some mega-event with Ultron coming in some months that the Bendis Moon Knight comic also just turned out to be a 12-issue lead-in for. The art is decent enough, I suppose.
2 out of 5 stars.

An Image Comic Sampler (Not It's Real Name, But I Don't Know What It Is)
A random assortment of stories that start up and get cut-off so you go buy the main book--other than a fun thing by Steve Niles and Scott Morse. Otherwise we don't get complete tales, but previews of books, some of which look entirely worth skipping ("Revival") and others that I've heard good things about ("Near Death"). It's still previews though, and if you want me to think your FCBD offering is quality don't give me a smidgen of a story and call it a day.
2 out of 5 stars.

Bad Medicine #1
The complete first issue of a new series called Bad Medicine where the hook essentially is someone has invented invisibility. It's an entirely passable story even if it does some jumping around in time that is completely unnecessary to the plot. Plus, the issue seems to just sort of end, and not in the way a comic should, but like they just ran out of pages for the story. Methinks this maybe was written as a trade paperback and they decided to split it up into an individual comic--at least that's my theory as the way this just comes to a halt on the last page is weird.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Dinosaurs Versus Aliens
Grant Morrison should be a winner, but we get very little story, then some writings by the authors about how they wanted to do this and make a movie out of it, and then some concept art. I don't take kindly to being given comics that are little more than thinly-veiled movie pitches, even if they look somewhat pretty. The main story could turn out well, but this free comic is bleh.
1 out of 5 stars.

Lady Death: The Beginning
I've reviewed Lady Death before, and she is fine as a cheesecake with some violence thrown in, which is exactly what this is. Something that is impressive however, is that in this era of highly decompressed storytelling how much stuff they cram in here. There is enough material for some authors to stretch out over 12 issues and this just goes at a breakneck pace with its higher-than-usual page-count to help the bunch of stuff that occurs breathe at least a tiny bit. This may be essentially swords-and-boobs, but it's swords-and-boobs done well. That's a good thing.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Valiant 2012
We get the start of, "X-O Manowar,", which is about some ancient man getting a space-age suit, I believe. I say, "I believe," because the story cuts off before that happens but I've heard about the version of this from years ago and how its being relaunched. There is also an incredibly short snippet of something called, "Harbringer," which is about a psychic kid or something? I have no clue, its so short that I'm lost. There are also random writing pages with script notes or something for another comic. This was a bit lame. Like finding out all those mystical people you believed in don't exist (Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy) level of lame.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Witchblade: Unbalanced Pieces
The first story is interesting, with the idea that the Univerese was reset and only one man--the wielder of The Darkness--knows about it. Sadly, that is a very short piece of this comic. The rest is a long Witchblade tale that ends up getting cut off (but not because its a short preview, I think its because the issue truly ends). The Witchblade story still isn't that good though. It has a weird bone-and-flesh suit enemy, evil bikers (could we be any more cliche?) and just sort of rambles along with its exposition as apparently this story is being told to us in the past tense by the main character...ugh. I'm intrigued about The Darkness and could skim that, but Witchblade is mediocre at best.
2.5 out of 5 stars (and I'm being generous because that first short tale caught my interest).

The Hypernaturals
Superheroes in the future, unnecessary jumping around in time that doesn't help the plot much, a clearly lacking hook besides the aforementioned superheroes in the future...I'll skip any future issues I think.
1.5 out of 5 stars.

Atomic Robo
An awesome Atomic Robo story that is quite fun and hilarious, then a dull short from Neozoic and a sample of Bonnie Lass. The last two things don't really matter compared to the first story, which is a real keeper with its mad scientist dinosaur. Yes, a mad scientist who is also a dinosaur, you can thank me for pointing you towards this comic later.
4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Intrinsic
This apparently takes various characters Arcana comics has the rights to and puts them together in a completely and utterly forgettable tale about heroes and demons, alternate dimensions, or something. Dull, dull, dull.
1 out of 5 stars.

The Ride/Anti
One story is about a man taking a woman from a, "key party," out to the middle of nowhere and killing her violently, then driving off. The other story is about demons coming to earth or something and a woman who kills them violently. Putting aside how utterly wretched, "The Ride," part was even though its other comics have been okay, the Anti story was pretty horrible too. The fact we have one comic that is just a man brutally murdering a woman and then saying, "Well that happened," and it was given away on FCBD as if people would enjoy reading it is just utterly insulting and disturbing however.
.5 out of 5 stars (the .5 is for Anti having okay art).

The New 52
So, DC Comics wants new readers for their re-launched comics and puts out this impenetrable thing of flashbacks and flash-forwards that looks okay, but barely makes sense at the moment? Okay, whoever said that was a great idea must have been so coked up out of their mind at time that going, "The New 52 is selling so well, I think we should do this ultra-big-encompassing story but forget to have it make a lick of sense," actually seemed like a good idea in their drug-raddled brain. Why are DC executives sniffing cocaine? Two reasons, they are celebrating this New 52 doing quite well, and their magic machine that sees the future showed them how well, "The Avengers," did and they realized they passed on Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman and only drugs can numb that pain. Yes, DC has a time machine, but they only use it for comic-business purposes so as to avoid creating a time-disturbance. You can read all about it in my true news story  which also discusses how Dan Didio has sex with a pile of, "Before Watchmen," scripts and mails it to Alan Moore weekly because Didio is kind of sick like that. Really, I'm working on the scoop for this as we speak (no I'm not).
2 out of 5 stars.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All/Spongebob Comics Freestyle Funnies
The Simpson's story is pure time-passing average, we also get a nice story from a certain famous artist of Mad Magazine (Sergio Aragones) but the Spongebob stuff is where the fun is really at, with a contribution from Kochalka adding some nice flavor.
3 out of 5 stars.

Yo Gabba Gabba!
I've never watched the show but this comic is actually quite good. It's funny, clever, and cute. I am surprised at its story quality and nice art. Go figure.
4 out of 5 stars.

2000 AD
Some of this is preview-material for other comics, but a good chunk happens to be complete stories, and they are pretty good ones. From a decent Judge Dredd that points out how he is a really authoritarian and kind of evil, to a fun old robot tale and a great super-hero pseudo-parody by Chris Weston this is quite enjoyable.
4 out of 5 stars.

End
As can be seen the Free Comic Book Day comics run the gamut in quality widely. I wasn't able to read all of them but I got a pretty good number and some were real winners, such as Atomic Robo, 2000 AD, Bad Medicine and oddly enough the Lady Death comic. Also, that Mouse Guard hardcover does look beautiful even if the inside contents of the comic aren't utterly amazing. All-in-all it was a pretty good FCBD.

I Break Down the New DC Books

I'm going to list the new books DC has annouced by how interested I am from ones I am absolutely going to buy to those I won't be touching with a ten-foot pole. Some I'll just list other ones I'll have a little note to go along. This should be fun...