I'm Glad Daniel Way is Happy. That Said, I Wouldn't Mind if He Wrote Comics Again

Daniel Way wrote a lot of comics in a short-ish period of time. From 2000 through 2013 or so, he did a ton of writing, especially for Marvel. Some of the bigger books included but were not limited to, 'Wolverine: Origins," "Deadpool," "Venom," "Ghost Rider," and one of my favorite works of his, "Supreme Power: Nighthawk." Toward the end of his tenure with Marvel, he did a chunk of a, "Thunderbolts," run and then shifted into works for other publishers at a much slower rate. He wrote for, "Crossed," from Avatar Press and some other stuff in 2014, scripted a, "Hit-Girl," mini-series in 2019, and did a little Deadpool yarn in a 30th anniversary special comic in 2021. That was it. He basically disappeared from comics in terms of writing any after that. He was practically everywhere for a decade and some change, then once we hit 2015...little to nothing (zero comics after 2021). I was curious if he was alright, and thankfully he is, and seems pretty happy!

In 2024, Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston was also wondering, "Whatever happened to...Daniel Way?" It turns out in 2016 he cofounded Geekcraft Expo, a comic-con-styled take on craft fairs. He is also the frontman for the band, "Gamma Gamma Ray," which plays at many of the Geekcraft Expos. He seems to (intentionally) have almost zero social media presence outside of a semi-official Facebook fan page that hasn't been updated since 2018, except for now linking to Geekcraft Expo.

To Way's credit, the Geekcraft Expo events remain popular,  happening in a mix of cities in varying months, with one having occurred in Saint Louis this past July, of all places! I actually was aware we had a geek-centric craft show held in our city on occasion, but had zero idea it was the one that Way founded! From the little I can find specifically about him on the internet, he's grown a family that he lives with in Hawaii when not doing the Geekcraft Expos. I wonder if a comic writing opportunity came along that was just right, if he'd be interested in scripting something? For now, he seems semi-retired from that particular part of, "Geekdom," even if he's quite active in other aspects.

I've Got a New Article in, "Undie Comix," #4

You may recall I wrote an article for the 'zine that combines underground and indie comix to become, "Undie Comix." It appeared in the third issue. Well, in exciting news (in my opinion) I wrote another article, and it appears in the latest/fourth issue!

My article is about Avatar Press/Boundless Comics, and, "Sneaking the Underground into the Mainstream." Plus, there are other awesome articles, comics, and for very little cash ($5), you get a great read! If you want a copy, you can always buy it from their store or support their Patreon.

Dynamite and Coffin Comics to Co-Publish

Coffin Comics is the indie publisher owned by Brian Pulido that has pubished a number of series, with the big one being, "Lady Death," since he got the rights back some years ago following some nasty lawsuits with Avatar Press. That said, Lady Death used to be a part of the Chaos! Comics publishing line, along with other characters including Evil Ernie, Purgatori, Chastity, and more. The rights to those characters ended up with Dynamite, making it quite interesting that the Chaos! Comics line, in a sense, is reunited now that it has been announced Coffin Comics is going to partner with Dynamite and co-publish.

When Diamond Comic Distributors went under it was hard for Coffin as they were bigger than a micro-publisher but not large enough to interest Lunar/PRH, it would appear. By partnering with Dynamite, they can do more than direct to consumer and Kickstarter (although they've had immense success with those methods), and it makes the rights a bit less messy to republish a bunch of old Chaos! Comics--which is already planned via an, "Evil Ernie," three-volume set of his earliest adventures that haven't been collected in years, or ever. Diamond going under made things hard for lots of publishers, but many have--thankfully--found a way to survive and even thrive!

"Get Fury," #1 Kicks Off a Grisly and Riveting Tale

Garth Ennis wants to write war comics. The man seems like he'd rather tell a story about WWII or Vietnam than write anything about superheroes (unless he's having fun mocking them like in, "The Boys," or such). Marvel doesn't really do war comics, but it seems as long as Garth Ennis is willing to work Frank Castle (pre-Punisher) or Nick Fury into a book Marvel will let him do his thing. Hence, we get a rare Marvel MAX book, the R-rated line that seems to have stopped existing compared to when it put out a lot of comics except for when Garth Ennis wants to write a war comic and is willing to have Nick or Frank involved. I don't mind that at all, however, because Garth Ennis is a stellar writer and the artists he collaborates with are always top-notch as well. This leads us to the latest Ennis tale, "Get Fury," with the amazing Jacen Burrows supplying beautifully hideous artwork.

"Get Fury," seems to take place in the mini thematic Universe Ennis created that involves his MAX run on, "Punisher," as well as, "Punisher: Born," "Fury: My War Gone By," and that utterly insane, "Barracuda," mini-series to name some books in World he crafted. I say that as some characters pop-up and while we open in the present day with an old foe discussing Fury and Castle, we then pop back in time to Vietnam as Frank finds himself assigned a unique and off-the-books mission. A plane Nick Fury was on has crashed and he knows a ton of intel that Vietnamese soldiers could try and torture out of him. Rescuing him seems to be impossible so the U.S. has decided he needs to be taken out by a soldier skilled enough to take the shot and keep it quiet he did so. Enter into the scene Frank Castle as a man tasked with a very questionable job.

Jacen Burrows has been around for some time illustrating a wide range of comics, and he excels at war comics and violent art, as his earlier years at Avatar Press show up to his newer stuff that is a bit more refined but still reflects the raw talent Burrows had long ago and has sharpened up to today. Whether it is a quiet but tense moment of soldiers threatening to get into a firefight with a comrade due to a policy about exterminating dogs in the base camp or an incredibly bloody moment at the end of the first issue where some of Fury's fellow soldiers meet a violent end, Burrows draws it all with skill.

Much of, "Get Fury," #1 is spent setting up the general plot of Frank Castle being assigned to go kill Nick Fury in the interest of National security. As this seems to be in the continuity of Ennis' other tales I doubt Castle will actually kill Fury as opposed to ending up helping save him. Regardless of what happens in the story, it will be exciting to witness thanks to Ennis and Burrows both firing on all their writing and artistic cylinders.

5 out of 5 Stars.

SCOUT Comics Blasted Over Creator Nonpayment and General Questionable Behavior--Why Isn't This Getting More Press?

SCOUT Comics was a cool little publisher for a while. They put out cool stuff. Then they seemed to start just cranking out more and more books in an effort to get them optioned and the quality of said books really dipped. I rarely read anything from SCOUT now but try the debut issue of a cool-sounding series now and then. However, lately a scandal has emerged regarding SCOUT that we've seen with other publishers too. Unfortunately, SCOUT is turning into another publisher in hot water for not communicating with creators, paying them money they are owed, and so forth.

SCOUT has at least put out a press release admitting, "Missteps," and, "Miscommunication." Perhaps they were too busy to talk to creators with their near-constant shows on Whatnot selling their variant covers. I kid, but from what creators who are speaking out have said, things sound suspect. Talks of threats, lies, and SCOUT seemingly intentionally sitting on sellable stock out of either ignorance or spite whilst refusing to terminate contracts unless outrageous monetary demands were met. It isn't good.

One SCOUT book with a displeased creative team.

Did SCOUT simply drop the ball as it became a bit too big for its britches and will hopefully improve? Would SCOUT have kept pulling questionable moves against creators if a number hadn't gone public? Will SCOUT even survive or end up being another publisher who emerged with a splash but ended up burning out in a relatively short period of time? Time will tell, but it is odd more sites aren't reporting this. 

I linked above to a great article by Chris Arrant at Popverse and saw Comic Book Club mention the hubbub too, but that's about it. Bleeding Cool loves tabloid drama but has been oddly silent on this compared to other scandals. Then again, they seem to have close relationships with certain publishers and companies (they waited a long time to talk about the CGC mess too) so maybe I shouldn't be surprised anybody they're chummy with seems to get lighter treatment. I mean, Avatar Press ostensibly still exists and does own Bleeding Cool so when Brian Pulido sued Avatar for the rights to Lady Death that was a huge story weridly enough never acknowledged by the site. There are plenty of other sites that could talk about SCOUT too and while Comics Beat has not yet, I think they will as they're pretty good at digging out the truth in big ol' messes. It just gives me pause when a decent-sized publisher has a huge fiasco going on and it isn't getting as much press as one would expect. Time will tell if this gets more coverage and who exactly it is that covers it.

Check Out Mike Wolfer's Latest Campaign for, "Widow: Unleashed #1 and #2," on Kickstarter

Friend of the blog and talented creator Mike Wolfer is launching a Kickstarter campaign collecting his entire saga of, "Widow," from the earliest yarns up to eventual newly released tales. Called, "Widow Unleashed," there will be Kickstarters every few months with individual issues that Wolfer has completed. This debut campaign collects the first two issues. I've been a fan of all of Wolfer's works and especially have enjoyed, "Widow," through the years. Seeing that he and the letterer, Natalie Jane, have gone back and remastered everything from the dialogue, to art (with new coloring too), to the letters is icing on the cake when it comes to enjoying, "Widow," content.

Now, the, "Widow," series has always been a bit heavy on some horror-styled gore and sexual content. It's getting even more erotically charged with some of the more edgy pages that appeared years ago in the Avatar Press versions of Widow known as, "Widow X," but with those pieces incorporated into everything in a more natural way so the comics can be quite scintillating at times without appearing to be just a bunch of raunchiness. Basically, if you love horror that can be as scary and creepy as it is sexy this new, "Widow: Unleashed," campaign should be right up your alley.

Wolfer has a number of longtime fans (like me) thanks to his fantastic comic career and the book has already shot well past its initial goal after the campaign just launched today. I'd encourage you to give it a gander on Kickstarter and back it should you be in the mood for well-written and fantastically illustrated horror with a big erotic energy too!

COVID-19 Ruined Plans for a Warren Ellis Comic Imprint and I'm Peeved About That

Warren Ellis is one of my favorite writers around of comic-books, novels, and now hit-television shows about Dracula getting mad at extremist-Christians for murdering his science-practicing wife. Ellis has made more stellar comics than one can list, although I've always been mostly partial to his really weird, "Deep-cut," works like his stuff for Avatar Press as well as his seminal-but-short run on, "Moon Knight." Ellis has been doing a lot more book and television work lately, but in his latest, "Orbital Operations," newsletter (which you really should subscribe to) he reveals that there were actually plans in place for a comic-book imprint curated by him. However, as with so many other things COVID-19 has ruined, that has withered and died as brutally as my dream of riding a three-humped camel someday. Although that isn't COVID-19's fault so much as they are so rare it is all but impossible for me to ever ride one. I'll have to be content with only having ridden camels with one hump and two humps--but I digress.

As Ellis puts it, " I was building my very own imprint at a comics publisher, but the lockdown and the general fuckery of trusting your exclusive distribution in comics shops and bookstores to a single entity who immediately upon lockdown announced that they weren't paying anybody pretty much put paid to that and the serial print comics business." He follows this with, "I considered it my last chance to make any kind of impact in the comics medium, after a career I think we can consider solidly middling at best.  But, the thing is, you have to be okay with letting that stuff go." He goes on to say sometimes things just happen and there is little you can do. I'd argue his comic-book career is far beyond, "Middling," but the man clearly expects the best from himself, which is admirable and humble in its own way.

I'm am hot-pissed that COVID-19 ruined our chances of getting a comic imprint with works written by and closely attend to by Warren Ellis. That would have been just awesome, and whatever publisher this fell apart with has earned my wrath...although we may never know which publisher it was so I guess my wrath just has to kind of float in the ether without a specific target. In summary, this news sucks and is yet another of million or so examples of things ruined by COVID-19.

"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.

Saint Louis Comic-Con 2019 Was a Blast!

Another Spectacular Show

I had a wonderful time at the Saint Louis Comic-Con this year! It has wrapped as of 5PM today and I enjoyed myself immensely. Here are some of the highlights of the con for me as well as the cool stuff I acquired!

Great People, Snazzy Comics

One of the first people I was excited to see at the show was Tom Nguyen. A talented comic-artist and all-around lovely guy, I enjoyed chatting with him about his work with the television program my wife and I both love--"Big Brother," where he uses his skills to help plan-out set designs and other artwork. Next I ran into the two women who make-up, "Sugar Quill Studios," which consisted of some awesome stickers, prints, and other absolutely gorgeous works. They also were promoting the products of their friend behind, "Jam," which also had some superb stuff! I then spoke with Camerson Petti who is the writer and co-creator of the comic, "Skeleton Bay Detective Agency," which follows a group of youth as they investigate a wide-range of mysteries in their town. I met Beth of Gothic Nothic Geek Boutique who had a wide-range of really neat handmade and organic products such as candles, lip balm, and more! I saw a cool booth run by Damian Starr who was there to assist with selling comics to raise funds for the charity, "Comicbooks for Kids!" which donates comics to children in hospital settings so as to assist them with having fun and relaxing reading to take their mind off medical concerns. Mr. Starr also told me about his own comic he was working on, "Take Your Kid to Work Day," which involves a young boy named Dennis taking on all kinds of dangerous monsters when his Dad takes him to a seemingly-normal military base that holds some dark secrets. It is on Kickstarter now, actually!

After I had a snack I continued browsing and met Harley of Pastel Jackalope. They had some very cool artwork, but my absolute favorite was one they based upon a nightmare their mother told them about--a hamster with human legs. As you can see above, its pretty wild! I also met M. Ainhi, the author of a quartet of books in the, "Blood Inheritance," series that all sounded really cool. I got to see again the team behind the comic, "Hafu," whom I met at a previous con; they had the second comic in the series for sale and it looked rad. Game Night Gear was present at the show with their board-game subscription service, and I had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of talented artist Jeffrey Moy as I explored the con.

I picked-up the first issue of the comic, "Visitations," from creator Scott Larson whose enthusiasm about his book made me eager to buy and read it! I checked-out the work of, "Biff! Bam! Boom! Comics," and after that I met William Schlichter who had an assortment of his books for sale, including one really neat sounding one titled, "SKA: Serial Killers Anonymous," about a group of serial killers who form a support group to try and stop killing. I saw Steven J. Bolds who had some really cool art prints for sale and last but not least met Rad Cat, who makes all kinds of neat costumes and art.

I bought/traded for a handful of interesting comics at the show. I got some old issues of the great DC comics series, "52," and some other random stuff, but the coolest acquisitions in my opinion were a snazzy ashcan promoting a, "Batman," comic and four old issue of the, "Snowman," series that was published by Avatar Press on occasion (I have a soft spot for the old over-the-top Avatar Press titles). I also loved browsing through all the great books that were brought to the show by STL Comics and on display in their booth. I told the owner of STL Comics, Eric Meyer, how excited I was for the upcoming Micro-Con on July 28th--expect posts about that as the date nears!

Thanks to Saint Louis Comic-Con

I just want to thank the Saint Louis Comic-Con for letting me come to the 2019 show and write about how awesome it was. I had a fantastic time and am already looking forward to the 2020 show next year!

I Feel Like There is a Story Behind These Comics I Found

Comics and the Tales of Their Owners

I enjoy going to a popular somewhat-National chain known as Half Price Books. They sell all kinds of stuff, from (obviously) books, to comics, movies, music, collectible stuff, video-games, and are always buying those things from people too. It is a great place to unload your comics that aren't valuable enough to bother selling online because after shipping and fees you'd lose money, in other words.

As I've been selling some stuff lately to clear-out space I would browse the store while they examined whatever items I brought and in that process I stumbled upon some comics that got me wondering if there is an interesting story behind them. On one of the occasions I was at Half Price Books I was rooting through the old comics and found a, "Stargate," book that was published by Avatar Press. This one was notable in that it had a super-limited cover of which only 350 copies had been produced and it was sold exclusively at a comic-convention in Dallas (Texas). Observe a close-up:

As I have a soft-spot for Avatar Press as a publisher and like snazzy variant covers I picked it up for $1.50 and took it home. I added it to my pile of comics to read and forgot about it. Until, when I was at Half Price books again a week later to unload more stuff and found two other ,"Stargate," comics that also were extremely limited covers, this time from two completely different conventions--one in Arlington (Virginia) and another in Chicago (Illinois). Now, this struck me as odd, and made me imagine there must be a story behind these comics. I sat down, and imagined some things.

Imagined Yet Possible Stories

Possible Story 1: A young man or woman spends their time going to an assortment of comic-conventions and buying comics related to properties they love. They adore, "Stargate," and basically plan-out their conventions they want to attend based on if Avatar Press will be at a show with the super-rare covers. They buy these comics and treasure them, but something changes in their life--a relationship, a child, an illness, it could be happy or sad--and they need to unload all these comics. Perhaps they look online and see even though these covers were very limited there just isn't much of a demand for them. They sigh and sell these comics along with other stuff they've collected at Half Price Books for a lot less than they must have spent going to all the shows.

Possible Story 2: Someone learns that their relative has passed away. They go into their house and sort through their stuff. They stumble upon a bunch of comics and look online to see what is valuable and what is not. They look at this assortment of rare covers and are convinced this books must be worth hundreds of dollars, only to disappointingly learn they are worth maybe a few bucks each. The comics their relative had worked hard to acquire via either visiting conventions or buying them from the Avatar Press' website (sometimes the company would sell con exclusives online) are unceremoniously dumped at Half Price Books along with the other less-valuable comics while the ones with some worth are put on eBay or on consignment with a professional comic-seller.

Possible Story 3: Someone was sorting their comics and didn't mean to sell these rare variant covers of their, "Stargate," comics they acquired at comic-cons or from Avatar Press and are really upset right now. If that is the case I encourage them to contact me.

A Mystery Without a Doubt

Who owned these comics before me?

I feel like there has to be some kind story behind these comics and am incredibly curious who put forth the effort to acquire these rare (if lacking in monetary worth) comics and then jettisoned them at Half Price Books. I'm not judging, as I've had things that I once was desperate to own and then shrugged at getting rid of, but I wonder what exactly the tale is behind these books. I may never find out and just have to imagine the scenarios, and wanted to encourage my readers to do so too--or if they know someone in the Saint Louis region desperately trying to find their, "Stargate," comics to please reach-out. For now, it is a mystery indeed.

"Lookers: Ember," #11 Review

The 11th and final issue of "Lookers: Ember," ends as it began--having just the right mixture of self-awareness and self-indulgence to be a fun read. Published by the more cheesecake-focused imprint of Avatar Press, Boundless Comics, this series mashed-up two entites who had previously appeared in their own one-shots (Ember and the Lookers) into one surreal and interesting story. The Lookers are private investigators who specialize in helping women at risk of having private photos or videos leaked by vengeful ex-boyfriends/husbands, and Ember is a super-powered celebrity who can manipulate fire and utilizes that to achieve movie-stardom.

The focus of the series itself is how Ember has a sex-tape stolen of her and and a U.S. congressman, which results in a myriad of interested parties trying to acquire it from drug-lords hoping to blackmail the politician to so-called, "Men's Rights Activists," hoping to smear the name of Ember. Also, lots of graphically illustrated sex occurs between men and women, women and women, and so forth because this series had enough plot to apparently not have it be in the, "Adult," section of Previews magazine (besides some really risque covers) for people ordering it, but boy-howdy this book can be pretty raunchy. The weird thing about the mini-series, "Lookers: Ember," as well as the one-shots that preceded it that made me love it enough to consider it one of my favorite mini-series/maxi-series of 2017, is that it can at times be kind of genius despite at least half the audience probably just buying it for the T&A (which is admittedly very well-illustrated along with all the other story-elements thanks to the artwork by Gabriel Andrade and back-up story by Christian Zanier).

Every issue has been loaded with observations about internet culture/the digitization of of sex, sexism (the MRA group and their twisted logic are soundly mocked), and the idea is heavily explored how it is depressing to even think we would need people to be hired to help women suffering from threats of revenge-porn. It is becoming a more and more common news story these days as jilted exes purposely put private pictures and videos of women who trusted a partner enough to send private such imagery online for all to see in hopes of basically slut-shaming a woman for the, "Crime," of being a sexual being. Besides exploring a lot of concepts the book did interesting things with its storytelling too, jumping around in time enough that it wasn't annoying but instead set-up interesting plot twists. Plus, fun and weird characters were introduced like one finally taken down in this concluding issue, "Cobra," a sex-obsessed drug-lord who becomes absurdly violent after having his--ahem--member shot off by the Lookers--he then finds his only pleasure in life that makes him feel manly now is hurting others (a lot of psychological concepts to unpack there for sure). Much appreciation is due to writer Patrick Shand for such a well-written series.

"Lookers: Ember," has its characters often having sex, but it never treats the idea as something dirty, instead trying to shame the haters. It is a book that says being monogamous, poly, or any other configuration of a relationship one wants is fine, and if you say otherwise or are a jerk the Lookers will beat -up and/or Ember will quite literally burn you. There is just enough self-aware winking at the reader weaved into the series that you don't feel like you're reading some silly dirty comic so much as a cleverly sarcastic mixture of action, social commentary, and saucy romance. This final issue does all this and sets up the possibility of future storylines that has my interest piqued as well. This last issue of, "Lookers: Ember," is just as great as the first and the lead-in one-shots. I ecstatically rate it...
5 out of 5 stars.

Flashback Friday: Warren Ellis' Comic, "Dark Blue," and its Twisted Majesty

I am a huge fan of Warren Ellis, and have a soft-spot for the period of time he made comics for Avatar Press. They were comics that could vary immensely in quality, but always had some damn good ideas (and the best ones, like, "Doktor Sleepless," are among my favorite works of his). One story he did with artist Jacen Burrows was titled, "Dark Blue." It appeared in short installments within the now-gone Avatar Press anthology, "Threshold," which often featured an assortment of creative, violent, or outright pornographic short-strips (now Avatar Press uses imprint Boundless for all their racier works). "Dark Blue," was then collected in a trade paperback, which is how I first read it back in the early 2000's. It stuck with me all this time, so clearly it did something right.

"Dark Blue," follows police detective Frank Christchurch. He lives a city within a world that just doesn't feel right. Over time things have been getting worse, with the safety of the city falling into shambles, the police force having its morals or sense of right-and-wrong disintegrating, and Frank himself starting to feel like he has a looser and looser grip on reality. Meanwhile, a serial killer named Trent Wayman is racking-up a huge body-count and leaving behind scenes too gruesome to stomach, yet everyone seems content to leave him be. Something is wrong with the world...and that's because as is repeatedly hinted throughout the earlier parts and revealed in the final third of the book, the world isn't real.

Frank isn't a cop. He was a a CIA agent who suffered a mental breakdown on a traumatic assignment and to help him recover he was enrolled in an experimental program. The CIA knew of a drug that induced shared hallucinations among users, chemically altered it, and was able to create a, "Narcospace," where people put-under on the drug all live within the same imagined city. Hundreds of folk who for some reason need to be knocked-out and allowed to repair their minds (or doctors monitoring the city by using the drug too) are, "Living," in this space. Frank is told this when he wakes-up out of some months-long time in Nacrospace how he was simply a resident...like Trent Wayman. Yes, Trent Wayman was one of these people, but he was accidentally given too much of the drug before it was fully understood, he was administered LD50, the dosage at which 50% of the people given a drug die. He's still in there though, existing in the city as some sort of ghost that nobody can stop or even fully comprehend, making things worse through his madness everyday.

Frank demands to go back, on the LD50 dose that will allow him the same powers in the Narcrospace as Wayman, even if it means he'll die. Frank finally stops Wayman, and the fictional world he values is saved as he too appears to pass-away, but with no regrets. All this occurs in a relatively short story of about 72 pages, with Ellis clearly working a lot into a short span of time. We've got a brutal and dark police story about corruption, a psychological thriller of a man not sure if he's going crazy, and a wild sci-fi concept rooted in some fact (in the afterword to the story Ellis writes about the drug DMT which is known to elicit the same, "Trip," in many users). It's an odd mixture of genres, but because Ellis is a masterful writer he makes it all work. Plus, considering how talented Burrows is, you know the art is amazing and brutal at the same time. "Dark Blue," is for sure what one would call a, "Deep-cut," when it comes to Warren Ellis' many creations, but it is without a doubt a read worth seeking-out.

"Eternal Thirst of Dracula #1," Review/ A Killer Concept and Amazing Art Always Impress

Telling Stories

Update: The creators of the comic reached-out to me and expressed thanks for my review, but also asked what I thought about the color-work as I didn't mention it and they are curious of my thoughts. I would say the colors are great, with the violent scenes full of blood really, "Popping," and the more quiet moments having a less bright appearance as if to let us readers know things are mellow, but soon won't be! So yeah, the colors by Enrica Eren Angiolini are gorgeous as well.

When you are telling stories one of the most important things you can have going for you is a great concept. Even the best-written story may fail to impress if you're simply telling a yarn about a how a guy went to the corner store and bought some milk. Friend of the blog Mike Wolfer is of course a man whose work I've greatly enjoyed following because he almost always provides a great story with a cool concept, be it his stellar, "Widow," work, his creations he did at Avatar Press, or his latest comic I just read the first issue of, "The Eternal Thirst of Dracula."

In a written foreward to this issue Wolfer hints that the idea of the comic is that perhaps Bram Stroker's famous book, "Dracula," was in fact a true story, but it lied at the end when it claimed Dracula died. The comic itself then covers how perhaps Dracula survived and moved to a far away tropical island where few would suspect a resident of cold and mountainous Europe would go. This takes us to the main story about a film crew known for shooting B-movies that always in need of funding for their projects. A mysterious recluse with his own private island is interested in providing money for a new movie...and you see where this is going!

The film crew has little idea what dangers they will face.

I'll be honest and say a lot of this first issue is a whole bunch of set-up, but thankfully it is fascinating set-up. It isn't until toward the last few pages we see just how dangerous and powerful Dracula is plus get a surprising reveal about another character, but thanks to all the storytelling pieces being put in place in this issue I feel the twist at the end of this issue hits all the harder.  I've got more than enough trust in Wolfer's writing abilities to know he's going to continue to give us a great story, but the greedy part of me wishes this were a double-sized premiere issue so that we could get some more follow-up to the great climax at the end. Then again I can't be too upset however, because this comic has absolutely gorgeous artwork.

So far I've of course complimented Mike Wolfer a bunch because I love his work, but artist Roy Allan Martinez absolutely kills it on this book. His drawing style makes the jungle feel so lush and dense I could feel the heat suffocating me just by looking at the page. His monstrous characters we see revealed at the end of this issue are terrifying and imposing, and of course the lithe female vampires that populate the island are as sexy in shape as they are hideous in bloodlust. Mike Wolfer is a great writer, but if he had shit the bed and turned in a rare terrible script this comic would still be a must-read thanks to its artwork--thankfully Wolfer kept the metaphorical bed clean so that we get a comic that has both a killer concept and amazing art, which always impresses. Plus, the fantastic lettering by (also friend of the blog) Natalie Jane is just some amazing icing on the cake!

I can't wait for issue #2!

"The Eternal Thirst of Dracula," has to do a lot of setting-up in regards to its plot, but Wolfer's great writing and Roy Allan Martinez's jaw-dropping artwork still resulted in a comic I loved, so I eagerly give this 5 out of 5 stars. You can snatch yourself up a copy of this comic on eBay, or support the publisher of the book, American Mythology, and buy this issue from their own store.

Some Thoughts on Digitalization, Sexualization, and the Subjective Treatment Lately of Reality

Seeking Primarily Two Things Online...

I (obviously) like to write about popular culture and the trends I see in it. Well, more and more I see the fact that the internet connects us with much of the wider-world making our own personal worlds that much smaller. To clarify: In our ability to reach-out to anyone with an internet connection and learn about different views, exotic places, see new stuff, etc. we have purposely sought out basically only two things--other people who share our exact same views and sex-related content AKA porn.

We are now capable of talking to someone literally half a world away and discussing interesting subjects, but we use the internet to find people who share our precise views and/or will get naked on camera for us. As a book I read long ago once stated in a different context, (it was about genetics), but has a title which works perfectly, "The Future is Now." I would amend that however to state, "The Future is Now About Making Reality Fit Our Views and Getting Off."

A Comic and a Song

It's not a subtle comic, but its fun.

I started having these thoughts when ingesting assorted pieces of culture. For example, I was reading a comic--because this is of course a blog often about comics--which I mentioned when discussing 2016 in review. The comic was the zero issue of, "Lookers," a revamped concept from an old Avatar Press series now published under their, "Boundless," imprint.

"Lookers," is a comic full of sex as it is about cam-girls who take advantage of horny men on the internet who they learn are also social-media trolls so that they can track them down in order to beat them up and embarrass them in order to stop their picking-on other people.  It is a concept both clever and totally stupid at the same time. The first page (which I've edited to make safe-for-work) however makes an extremely pointed statement about the well-known communications concept of the, "Male Gaze," however. Observe:

Edited to be safe for viewing in public!

If you didn't want to bother clicking the image, it states how, "The Male Gaze is a webcam," which is pointed in how true it is. We no longer have to wait for mass media and advertising to create products for the male gaze to observe and consume, we merely have to type the right phrases into our internet search and a few confirmations of being 18 or older and entering a credit card later we've got women (or men) modeling for us in whatever manner we like. The, "Lookers," zero issue is now getting a mini-series tying-in with another comic about a female superhero named Ember hounded by paparazzi so hopefully that will be insightful--the first issue comes out shortly and the 3rd can still be preordered on sites like Things From Another World.

Oh, and I know not all entertainment and porn is designed for the straight male, but plenty a study will show the majority of it is made that way, and with the ease and privacy of the internet we now can easily head wherever we want online to find any sexual desire or fantasy (within reason and legality) we like. Sex has become digitized, and another example of this is the stellar song, "Digital Girl," by Jamie Foxx and featuring The Dream and Kanye West.

"Digital Girl," has a remix too, but I prefer the original.

On the song, "Digital Girl," Jamie Foxx croons about how he feels like he loves a woman whom he has never seen in person, but only knows via his computer screen. The lyrics are worth dissecting for sure, as Foxx goes on and on about how much he adores this lady he's never even met and that someday he wants to get her, "Ass up in this kitchen," but you wonder if in some ways Foxx prefers keeping it all digital. Frankly, the only thing more masturbatory about the internet than how many of us use it for literal masturbation is that many folk use it to find others who blindly agree with their beliefs.

A Reality of Our Own Making

On the internet we love to point out when people are wrong. Arguably, the only thing we enjoy more than that is teaming-up with others who share our views to point-out together how others are wrong. This piece by The Atlantic titled, "How America Went Haywire," is required reading for anyone wondering what the Hell has happened to society lately. Basically, we all live in our own realities that defy actual facts and how by finding others who feel the same way (such as online) we can make our lives an echo-chamber of nonsense until we truly believe Hillary Clinton ran a child sex-ring out of a pizza restaurant or that vaccines somehow cause autism...in dogs.

When we only go to websites that repeat this kind of nonsense and refuse to interact with anyone who feels differently than us we start to buy into the bullshit lock-stock and barrel. After all, if all our sources say Sandy Hook was a false-flag operation to bolster gun control efforts of course it was, the only news-sites and people we believe declare it to be the God's honest truth! We have gotten to the point where thanks to the internet we can enter a reality of our own making, but not just in video-games, it now can be done with simply some web-browsing.

It'll All Be Okay Though! Right?

Tech overload?

This piece so far has been pretty depressing and negative, which isn't my entire intention. As someone who is sex-positive and not at all a prude I want folk to enjoy talking about and watching consensual sex-acts to their heart's content as well as having a great time finding other people who share their social and political views so that they can engage in a jovial exchange of shared opinions. I just find it worrisome at times that as our access to the world expands we seem to be shrinking our personal circle that much smaller to only things that turn us on or people who agree with us.

I guess all I'm saying is when you're done looking at porn on the internet maybe find some articles that challenge your belief-system, pieces that state facts that you may dislike but are just that, facts. Even if you don't like the truth that doesn't stop it from being reality, and if you expose yourself to enough actuality you may turn into/remain a well-reasoned and thoughtful human being. That, or you can be one of those people who insist the Earth is flat. Your call.

Tales from the Dollar Bin: The Unfunnies #1 & #2

There are comics which are worth incredible sums of money, but so many of the most interesting, tragic, or just downright weird can be found for a simple dollar or less in a store's "dollar bin". There, comics that never gained much popularity can be found alongside those that sold so much as for a copy to be worthless. "Tales From the Dollar Bin" aims to explore these comics, be they a single issue or an entire run of a series. From the great to the miserable, some of the best treasures and worst nightmares can be found in those infamous boxes. Let's have a "tale" now...

The One Thing Mark Millar is Embarrassed He Made

Mark Millar has written many comics that have made him a lot of money thanks to big sales, movie adaptations, and the like. He has released books in the past which overlook all his work and he seems to be proud of every single thing he's written, regardless of if it was good or horrible. He's just as pleased with the clever, "The Ultimates," as he is with trash like, "Nemesis," which featured a super-villain booby-trapping a woman's uterus so that she couldn't get an abortion--you see the fetus was from her brother's sperm she had been impregnated with when knocked-out against her will. Yeah. That said, there is one book Millar seems to refuse to acknowledge he ever made. What could be so twisted, so heinous, so terrible that even Mark Millar doesn't want to own-up to it? "The Unfunnies," of course!

"The Unfunnies," was published by Avatar Press from 2004-2007, but don't let all those years fool you, it was simply a four-issue series that was plagued with delays due to Millar taking his time turning in scripts. As with many things written by him there is actually a really good idea buried within but his practice of trying to build a story around it can struggle a lot. Basically we have a happy-go-lucky cartoon world of cute comic adventures where the characters talk to the reader about the assorted adorable shenanigans they get up to. The thing is though, something seems to have begun corrupting this world in a disgusting fashion. Characters are getting foul mouths, violence and sex-crimes suddenly are happening everywhere, and nobody knows what the deal is. Plus, while all this happens the adorable cartoon imagery by illustrator Anthony Williams gives it all a weird happy-go-lucky vibe whilst characters discuss murdering their children or a housewife whose husband has gone to jail for child molestation turns to sex-work so that she and her kids aren't kicked-out of their housing. Oh, and this whole comic with all its despicable elements is played for laughs.

Clearly, this four issue series of which I was able to buy two issues from the dollar bin is incredibly weird with its mixture of the horrible and humorous. The idea of an outside influence from reality manifesting within a comic-book world is a concept we've seen mined before (Grant Morrison is famous for doing it with, "Animal Man,") but this book raises the query of what would happen if something dark and evil came into an otherwise pleasant comic-world. It's revealed early-on how a dead man named simply, "Troy," was summoned into this place through some help from the gullible residents and Troy was a murderer, rapist, and otherwise not someone you want in a Universe where the worst crimes were generally snatching pies from windowsills. It's a clever concept--pure evil invading a world of pure good, but then as I already said Millar is great with the ideas and not so much with the execution.

"The Unfunnies," reads pretty haphazardly. It clearly is trying to be a book that offends and grosses-out readers but in doing so ends-up being not so much offensive as tacky. There is a difference between shocking and just making us shake our head when you're nasty. If you just do disgusting stuff to be able to say, "Look how horrible I am, aren't you mad?" without actually wanting to make a statement it comes off as hollow. Millar isn't making an especially pointed statement when he has his cartoon characters talk about child pornography or yell insults at one another, he's just being dirty in the hopes we'll clutch our pearls and say, "Why I never!" The problem is that when Lenny Bruce swore and told raunchy jokes he was doing it to prove a point and fighting against people telling him to be quiet, Millar doesn't have anyone trying to stop him or have anything to say besides, "I'm being naughty!" It's a shame, because as I said, there are some smart ideas buried in his attempts to enrage people with cute animals spouting scatological insults.

Mark Millar to this day seems to refuse to acknowledge he ever made, "The Unfunnies." He doesn't list it on his websites as something he did whilst having anything else he's ever written shown with gusto. To my knowledge he didn't do any other work with Anthony Williams and there could be a variety of reasons for that--however, as I understand it this book got horribly delayed due to Williams having to wait forever to receive scripts, so perhaps a better way of putting this is Williams never worked with Millar again, possibly for personal reasons (and it seems Williams doesn't list having ever done the book either on his bio). Why both creators refuse to discuss this comic is open to interpretation. Are they embarrassed by the content--e.g. Millar actually thinks there was one time he went too far? Did a bad working relationship make them want to forget ever doing the book? Is it something else? I don't know, and we may never know, but at least in looking at the first two issues of this series we got another...tale from the dollar bin!

Rant-Reviews: #2-#6 Because I'm Reading a Mix (of Comics)!

Numbers Are Always Fun
It is no secret I like doing silly little number-tricks when I review comics, counting up numbers and such. This time I thought I would start with a second issue of a comic and go on up to the sixth issue of a book. Some of these books are just starting, others are in the middle, and one actually concludes with its latest issue.

Commence Counting!
Slasher #2
Charles Forsman is a highly-talented man who is starting to get a lot of recognition for his amazing indie-comics. His series, "The End of the Fucking World," was  fascinating look at two horribly damaged teenagers, his, "Revenger," series is a stellar take on 1970's and 1980's style exploitation movies, and now we have, "Slasher." I would describe, "Slasher," as being like a horror-movie that's produced by a small independent film studio. It isn't outrageously gory or scary, instead ratcheting up tension and unease while telling the tale of two horribly fucked-up people who are slowly letting their inner-psychopath out.

The main characters are  woman named Christine and a teenager named Joshua who  have met online and they both have an affinity for knife-play and violent fantasies. In this issue however Christina starts to act-out these fantasies and I wonder if Joshua is going to be into it or freak-out. To Forsman's credit he doesn't demonize these people or make it clear right away they have these dark secrets, instead almost garnering some sympathy for them as he shows these lives of quiet desperation they live--be it difficult parents, a harassment-prone supervisor, or a litany of other things that clearly have driven these seemingly normal people to start doing some terrible things to themselves and others. "Slasher," is a stellar book and thankfully despite being an indie-comic is getting a somewhat wider-release (e.g. you can find it in, "Previews,") so you have no excuse to skip-out on reading it.
5 out of 5 stars.

Plastic #3
If the aforementioned, "Slasher," is a serious study of flawed people doing terrible things, this comic from Image is more of a gross-out flick with a heavy dose of humor. This book has focused on a mysterious reformed serial-killer whom we only learn the name of in this issue as he continues his violent crusade to get back the kidnapped love of his life, Virginia. Oh, and Virginia is a sex-doll. Yes, this whole book is a bloody and pretty hilarious yarn with its psychotic man who honestly now would quit hurting people if he was just left alone, but instead he's gotta ramp-up the murder quotient in order to save his sweetheart--who again, is a sex-doll. "Plastic," is a strange and funny book that honestly surprised me with how good it is based on how the solicitations made it sound like it was trying almost too hard to be quirky and weird. It doesn't seem that way though, with all the zany elements and brutal ones actually mixing together quite perfectly to result in a book that I love. I believe this is a mini-series and only has two issues left, so I'll be sure and savor them!
5 out of 5 stars.

Amerikarate #4
"Amerikarate," has been a comic that is all about a mixture of love for and spoofing of classic 1980's movies and comes to us via Action Lab. Whether riffing on martial-arts flicks, "Roadhouse," "Dirty Dancing," or a multitude of other references, this comic is good over-the-top fun even if sometimes it seems more busy trying to be silly than actually telling much of a concrete story. This issue marks the conclusion of the first story-arc although another one is coming soon, as our karate-chopping heroes kill the dictator of an island nation all in the name of Justice. Again, it is a very silly book but I like it a pretty good deal.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Man-Thing #5
R.L. Stine wrote this, "Man-Thing," mini-series which concludes with this issue. Stine is an author who is of course known for his superb young-adult series, "Goosebumps," as well as, "Fear Street." I have read a great many of his titles when growing-up and found many of them enjoyably scary, funny, and great. I'm not sure if this is his first comic-work, but if it is he's turned in an admirable if flawed effort. When you hear about a man known for his horror-writing taking on a character who has the power to make people that fear him burn at his touch, you might expect a scary comic. This series weirdly wasn't that.

R.L. Stine's, "Man-Thing," was more of a silly little jaunt full of interdimensonal travel, and jokes about show-business as the character inexplicably gains the ability to think and talk, and then loses the ability to talk shortly after but maintains his full mental capabilities for the rest of the mini-series. There are lots of jokes and this frankly reads as more of a humor-based comic than it does something scary as you might expect from Stine. Every issue, including this one, have also had little short back-up stories by him as well which feature more of a scare-based vibe even if there is still some humor, but the main, "Man-Thing," book really has been straight-up jokes. This is okay though as many of the goofy bits land well, but it all reads as a very competent comic as opposed to something amazing. This was a good mini-series and this issue ends it decently, but that's it--good, not great. It was quite the, "Get," for Marvel to have Stine make a story about one of their characters and he does a fine job, but I honestly just expected a bit more.
3 out of 5 stars.

Uber: Invasion #6
Kieron Gillen continues to write the widest variety of comics of anyone currently making books in the industry that I can think of as he balances his time between projects like, "The Wicked and the Divine," as well as this WWII alternate history with super-powered Allies and Nazis. Published by Avatar Press--so you know it gets bloody--the #6 is a bit misleading as this book went for a good number of issues when titled simply, "Uber," before being relaunched. As I read the previous series it is hard to say just how new-reader friendly these latest entries have been, but regardless of how accessible the book is I still continue to enjoy its mixture of historical fact and fictional bloodshed. When people talk about Gillen a variety of his critical and commercial hits come-up, but far few people seem to discuss his, "Uber," books. I wish that would change as this always entertains.
4 out of 5 stars.

Count-Closing
This time I altered my counting just a bit, and as always had fun with this activity. Perhaps in the future I'll do even higher numbers, or perhaps multiples of a number if I feel extra wacky? We shall see!

Saint-Louis Comic-Con 2017 In Review--Items I Got

Items = Fun!
I met cool people at the show of course, but when we go to comic conventions don't just make precious memories, but it's also fun to get stuff too. With that in mind, I want to present the things I got at this year's Saint Louis Comic-Con!


Stuff I Got (in Alphabetical-ish Order)

Alien VS Predator Playset
I of course love many of the, "Alien," movies and adore a number of the, "Predator," flicks. While I may not be the biggest fan of the movies where characters from the franchises actually met, this playset a vendor had out caught my eye and after I found myself repeatedly walking past it and staring at the darn thing during the show I knew I just needed to buy it.

Avatar Press Trade Paperbacks
I'm a big fan of comics new and old from Avatar Press, so when I saw these two trade paperbacks on sale for just five dollars each I grabbed them. I already have a hardcover copy of, "Black Summer," but don't have it in paperback and this collection of some Alan Moore-works looked fun, so it was a good purchase.

Colored-in Wonder Woman Comic
I previously picked-up this black-and-white variant Wonder Woman comic which I got signed by its writer, Merdith Finch at another comic convention. I wasn't a huge fan of the story-arc this became but love the art by David Finch on the cover. Jeff Balke was kind enough to let me commission him to give it some color and really make it pop! It now looks even better displayed on my bookshelf thanks to the awesome color.

Doc Brown Funko Pop
As my wife and I were married on what is known as, "Back to the Future Day," we enjoy collecting various items related to the series. Therefore, when I was able to grab this Funko Pop of Doc Brown you know I jumped on the opportunity to have it!

Moon Knight Figurines
I got two awesome Moon-Knight minifigures, one in a snazzy case for display and another one by itself for enjoying with my Lego playsets!

Negan Minifigure
My Mother-in-Law is a huge fan of, "The Walking Dead," and her favorite actor by far is Jeffery Dean Morgan. Therefore, when he became Negan for the television show she was basically in heaven. I knew she would appreciate a cute little miniature version of someone who on the show is not at all sweet and adorable.

"Predator 2," Comic--With Dark Horse Trading Cards!
As discussed earlier in this post, I love the Predator movies. There have been a variety of Predator-related comics but this one looked cool as it was the first issue of the official comic-book adaptation of the 2nd movie. Also, the Dark Horse trading cards that were advertised as coming with it still were in the comic, which I took as a sign I ought to snatch it up.

"Tyrants," Comics
I mentioned meeting the guys from Hollow Harbor press in my post earlier today, and this was the comic-series they were at the con promoting. It is about a family dealing with power, magic, and sounded exciting. I look forward to reading and reviewing it!

Hooray for Things!
I tried to be responsible with my budget this year and only get stuff I really wanted--and not buy too many comics as I've been selling many of my books already, after all. I think I did a good job with that goal, as I didn't purchase too much, but what I did buy (or was given for the purposes of review) I am really pleased about.