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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Those New DC Magazines Are Neat!

DC released some new special magazines to newsstands at pharmacies/grocery stores/Target but didn't mention it to anyone--as odd as that sounds. Bleeding Cool noticed and made a little article about this, humorously enough. There is a Batman one and a Superman one. They contain the first parts of various stories with foreward text explaining a bit about the tale. Then, I was at Target yesterday with Clarkson to get some groceries, and I did indeed notice the Batman magazine.

I bought the Batman issue and brought it home. It has the first issue of the New 52 relaunch of Batman, the Rebirth-era relaunch (Snyder and Capullo did a lot of cool stuff), and the first issue of, "The Long Halloween." I enjoyed the New 52 era of Batman and, "Long Halloween," has amazing art by Tim Sale (and decent writing by Jeph Loeb when he was more solid than hit-or-miss), so both of those are rad. The Rebirth Batman run by Tom King had an extremely mixed reception, but I found it fun and I'd say all three stories are good ways to be, "Introduced," to various takes on Batman from the last decade-and-change.

Each of the three stories are merely the start of runs or a mini-series, and I don't know if the plan is to have a second issue of a magazine for each issue to continue those stories or if the idea is folks will go seek out trade paperbacks of these yarns. As I mentioned, there is a Superman magazine too and I could imagine magazines being done for other characters from Wonder Woman, to the various Green Lanterns, Aquaman, and so forth. As it stands, this is a nice way to sample some comics if you're more of a, "Mainstream," audience that knows of superhero characters but who doesn't read many comics.

The Main Story of, "Marvel/DC: Deadpool/Batman," is Actually the Weakest Part

It has been over two decades since a new (official) story has occurred where Marvel and DC crossover. This resulted in a lot of hype and high expectations for, "Marvel/DC: Deadpool/Batman," which was just released and will soon be followed by, "DC/Marvel: Batman/Deadpool," which is confusing with the names, I know, just run with it. The debut of the crossover was released on Wednesday with the headliner story and a bunch of back-up yarns...and the main story is actually pretty weak.

Did I expect too much from Deadpool and Batman teaming up? I mean, Greg Capullo is an amazing artist and does a fantastic job with the strip, and Zeb Wells is generally a solid writer with a good handle on comedic-ish characters (such as Deadpool). The resulting comic is just a bit...meh. One bit where James Gordon dresses down Deadpool's schtick as a masked psycho being nothing new to Gotham is clever, but the actual interplay between Wade Wilson and Bruce Wayne in or out of costume is lacking. Obvious jokes are told about billionaires being scuzzy, Batman being imposing with his gravelly voice, and so forth. Even the way Deadpool ended up in the DC Universe is only vaguely explained as the Joker screwing with some dimension-altering machinery. It is the lowest-hanging of fruit that Wells chooses to pluck for this story, and it is by no means bad, but when you have a comic event this big, I expected more, and a lot of the internet seems to agree. Frankly, the back-up stories are all either better or at least a great deal more interesting.

The Wonder Woman/Captain America team-up story is a great deal more intriguing. Featuring the writing of Chip Zdarsky and Terry Dodson's artwork, it imagines a Universe where Marvel and DC have been united from the start, with various characters from both publishers on famous teams or taking part in epic events (it seems Wonder Woman sided with Cap in the popular, "Civil War," comic of the early 2000s). It's nothing remarkable, but it at least does something fun.

An adorable story featuring Jeff the Landshark and Krypto is bound to be the highlight of this issue for folks who are into cute animals. Kelly Thompson and Gurihiru do a lovely job on it, and I chuckled. I was also intrigued by the sheer weirdness of Frank Miller's comic, where the Dark Knight Returns-style Batman and the Old Man Logan version of Wolverine fight and hurl insults. It isn't exactly good, but it is fascinatingly abstract and strange. Another brief strip where Rocket Raccoon and Green Lantern trade teams (Guardians of the Galaxy and Green Lantern Corps) as part of a cultural exchange is hilarious and gorgeously illustrated, thanks to writer Al Ewing and artist Dike Ruan.

My favorite story was, honestly, the one written by Kevin Smith and featuring art by Adam Kubert. Smith is a man whose films vary between, "Amazing," and, "Terrible," with his comic work doing much of the same. That said, he did solid work on both Daredevil and Green Arrow at various points in his career, so it is a real hoot to watch the characters meet up, size each other up, and work together. Just a gas of a strip! We do end the book with an interesting throwback to the Amaglam era, where we meet, "Logo," who is a blend of Wolverine and Lobo. The strip is so short I can't be sure if the idea has legs beyond a handful of pages or is best served as a one-and-done joke. As the Amaglam characters are a messy shared copyright, we may never see him again to find out anyway. I at least appreciate the effort writer Ryan North and artist Ryan Stegman put into the little surprise strip at the end of the comic.

I've clearly had a lot more to say and compliment about the back-up stories, which is strange considering we were talking about two huge names being used to, "Sell," this crossover! I do wonder if the DC-headlined end of things will have a stronger take on Batman and Deadpool squaring off. I look forward to finding out and reading more intriguing back-up stories in November. As it stands, however, this comic is overall a good-but-not-great...

3 out of 5 Stars.

"Deadpool/Batman," and, "Batman/Deadpool," Comics Are Officially On the Way!

It had been teased that Marvel and DC would be doing some crossovers, and I received a wild birthday present today with the official announcement of, "Deadpool/Batman," coming this September to be followed by, "Batman/Deadpool," in November. A lot of names are involved from big-time folks (Grant Morrison, Kevin Smith, Greg Capullo," to names that aren't as big but have talent (Zeb Wells, Chip Zdarsky, Kelly Thompson). These two big comics will be published in turn by Marvel and DC--with back-up features of other characters in the respective Universes' crossover. It's been over two decades since the last (new) intercompany crossover between DC and Marvel, so this is quite big news.

More crossovers are apparently planned into 2026, and I am quite curious who else from the two companies will be meeting up in future publications. In the meantime, I'm pretty excited for this crossover of a quite serious hero (Batman) with a decidedly sillier sometimes-baddie/sometimes-good guy (Deadpool). I'll be sure to check this out!

"Wolverine: Revenge," #1 is a Showcase for Capullo's Amazing Art and Little Else--But That's Okay!

Johnathan Hickman is a fantastic writer who at times seems to overshadow his artists in terms of billing. He'll have big dialogues, crazy charts he made, and all kinds of wild concepts. He wrote, "Wolverine: Revenge," but it seems like he didn't do any of his usual stylistic stuff, instead giving us a really bare-bones plot so that the artist involved can shine. That artist? Greg Capullo.

Greg Capullo is a modern master. He spent years doing, "Spawn," before giving us some utterly amazing, "Batman," comics as well as other fun DC works. Now, he's doing a Wolverine comic. The plot is out-of-continuity and is designed to serve as an excuse for him to draw what he wants, and I don't mind because this is Greg Capullo. Why does the debut issue of this comic open with Wolverine fighting Dinosaurs? He's on vacation, shut your brain up and enjoy it. Why is there the particular random line-up of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants we see? Because Omega Red and Deadpool look snazzy when Capullo draws them, so again, shut your brain up and have fun. The plot is nonsensical and serves as an excuse to draw dinos, snowy avalanches, and big explosions, but this is no place for logic, this is Hickman giving Capullo the space he needs to have all the fun he wants.

Wolverine and friends jumping out of an exploding Helicarrier for...reasons.

I am annoyed by the whole thing with the comic having a, "Regular," and, "Red Band," version as if Marvel expects me to buy both versions to enjoy all the possible Capullo artwork with some being a bit bloodier. Marvel started this trend with, "Blood Hunt," and has kept it going. Still, I previously said this seemed like a comic I would like, and besides the whole Red Band-version silliness I had a good time with this. The story was serviceable, and that's the point. Hickman knows even though we usually show up for him, this time we bought our metaphorical tickets to this show because of Capullo, and man did he deliver. Don't expect a masterpiece of scripting, but know your eyes will be pleased by the gorgeous illustrations. Four more issues are incoming and I'm sure they'll be lovely to witness as well!

4 out of 5 stars.

"Wolverine: Revenge," Sounds Like a Comic I Want to Read

Jonathan Hickman is a fantastic writer who has worked on a bunch of comics I have loved. Greg Capullo is an amazing artist from his time on, "Spawn," to an incredible, "Batman," run and more. They are teaming up to bring us a five-issue mini-series titled, "Wolverine: Revenge," which will--for at least one issue--have him fighting Dinosaurs in the Savage Land. In the words of that, "Futurama," clip that became a meme, "Shut up and take my money!" It is going to have one of those stupid, "Red Band," editions that feature extra pages of bloody artwork for more money (and have confusing continuity), but it is Capullo's art so no matter what it is going to be delightful to see.

The overall plot of the comic is a bit of a mystery beyond how it will, "pit Wolverine against a cadre of foes who will turn his world upside down! He’s been beaten! He’s been bloodied! And Logan only has one thought on his mind: Revenge!” With Hickman scripting, I imagine the artwork won't be the only thing to draw folks in, but a nice piece of a metaphorical tasty pie. I mean--again--Hickan, Capullo, Wolverine, and dinosaurs? I'd be shocked if Marvel found a way to mess this up and make it anything but a grand time! The first issue (regular and silly polybagged red band edition) debuts on August 21st of this year, so I know what I'm picking up at the shop without a doubt that day!

I Wonder What Could Have Been With the Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley's, "Hulk," Run

One thing to get out of the way is how "Immortal Hulk," was an amazing comic and whatever came after it was sure to fail to measure up. Still, when it was announced Donny Cates would be writing a new, "Hulk," comic and Ryan Ottley would illustrate it, that gave me hope we would get something cool and different from, "Immortal Hulk," even if it wouldn't be as magical. Then the, "Hulk," comic started and it was pretty cool and zany! It crossed over with the, "Thor," comic Cates had been writing for a while and then...was really delayed. Super delayed. Suddenly fill-writers seemed to become permanent on, "Thor," and, "Hulk," with Ottley taking over the writing and drawing. At some point, Marvel decided it was better to just outright cancel the comic than retool it because after it became apparent Cates was gone and Ottley was going to be done too. Therefore, the whole thing will end with issue #14. It's like someone suddenly yelled, "Shut it down," and the series with its Titan Hulk and other fun weirdness went kaput.

There have been ample rumors about why Donny Cates has seemed to quit all his Marvel series as of late. More optimistic theories are that he is working on something big for Marvel--possibly with Greg Capullo. Some people think he had some kind of emotional breakdown for one reason or another. He has confirmed he is single and went through a divorce and needed a break due to various life events. I honestly don't know what Cates did or did not go through but as a fan of his work wish him the best. If it turns out he is doing something really snazzy like bringing back the Ultimate Universe or such I will be pleased, and if he simply needs to take time for his mental health and do a few creator-owned series and chill, I'm happy for him as well. I just wonder what could have been with his and Ottley's run on, "Hulk," if everything had continued as initially planned. 

Ottley has expressed he'll be moving back to shorter runs on various creator-owned series as after doing, "Invincible," a long time and now abbreviated, "Hulk," run he wants to dabble in various titles briefly as opposed to spending all his time on a single book. Cates is mostly radio silent about future plans with his comics but will probably share more when he is ready. It's just a bummer.

"Dark Nights: Death Metal," #1 Is A Crazy Story With Gorgeous Artwork

"Dark Nights: Death Metal,"#1 came out last Wednesday and it has a plot that encompasses a whole lot of stuff. From different reality Batmen (including a Doctor Manhattan-looking one like from, "Watchmen,") to Wonder Woman ruling Hell, Wally West having unique powers, Sgt. Rock, Black Lantern powers, Lobo, Superboy Prime, and more, it is just...a lot. Scott Snyder crams a lot of story into these pages and it is absolutely insane.  I didn't mind, though, because the artwork by Greg Capullo is just plain gorgeous. Capullo draws everything crazy with gusto, from a T-Rex Batman to a fiery Swamp Thing.

The whole book is just a treat for the eyes, even if I'm overwhelmed by the story being so busy. This isn't really a review so much as an observation that I'd recommend checking out, "Dark Nights: Death Metal," #1 if you are a fan of stellar visuals in your comics and are cool with a truly out-there storyline.

DC's Newly Announced, "Black Label," Line Sounds Like a Bland Concept With Potentially Stellar Comics

It had been rumored for a bit, but today DC officially announced their new, "Black Label line," of comics which will basically consist of R-rated and potentially out-of-continuity stories featuring popular characters. It is a little funny as back in the day DC's now-basically-dead Vertigo line was kind of an, "R-rated Elseworlds," and the current oft-delayed books in the, "Young Animal," line can be pretty mature what-with the swearing--and let's be honest, this line sounds like an excuse to let Batman say an unedited, "Fuck," and maybe show some illustrated breasts as DC already has shared extreme violence with us in the past via their non-mature readers comics (remember when it felt like every DC book had to feature someone getting an arm ripped-off? Wild times). This whole, "Black Label," honestly sounds like a somewhat dumb idea except for the fact that the announced books actually appear like they could be really, really good.

Putting aside how annoying, "Black Label," sounds as a line name (is DC trying to riff-on alcohol brands to seem extra grown-up?) the creative teams are mostly solid, with people like Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo working on Batman and Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo doing a book about the Dark Knight as well,  John Ridley's earlier-disclosed book about the, "Other history," of the DC Universe being a part of this, Kelly Sue Deconnick and Greg Rucka both writing a Wonder Woman title, and, um, Frank Miller giving us, "Superman: Year One," with John Romita Jr. That last one could be good or an abomination (hey, I said the teams were, "Mostly solid," not entirely).

If these titles had simply been announced as general comics that were possibly not a part of the, "Main," DC continuity I would have still been intrigued by many of them. This whole, "Black Label," however sounds like a bland concept--"Elseworlds with boobies and cursing!"--with some potentially stellar content from the creative teams. I'm for sure curious about almost all of the announced books and want to at least give them a shot regardless of if they are a part of this new Black Label, or whatever other line DC wants to throw-out a name for.

Whether the, "Black Label," as a concept is a hit or a miss is really only of concern for me if it possibly means we will get more cool-sounding books announced. If I have to put-up with DC using this dumb new name for a line of really cool comics I'll withstand the idiocy of how it'll sound when I go into the comic shop and ask for the latest, "Black Label," as if I'm ordering a drink. Now we just need to wait for the books to come-out and hopefully be great.

Reviews of Some DC Collections I Read Thanks to the Library

I Really do Love the Library

I've read some DC Comic Collections lately thanks to my library system carrying all the books I've heard are interesting but which I don't want to buy because my collection is getting too big for stuff that I might enjoy (plus I only have so much funds). I quit reading a lot of the DC books monthly before the latest, "Rebirth," re-launch but wanted to check some of the books out that I had either followed before dropping them (like, "Batman,") or which good things were being said about. With that established, here are some DC collections of comics I've read!

Justice League Volume 7: Darkseid War Part 1, Justice League Volume 8: Darkseid War Part 2, and Justice League: The Darkseid War: Power of the Gods

Yes, that last book's title  has a colon within a colon. It is odd, I know. Anyways, I mostly quit following the, "Justice League," comic after, "Forever Evil," and Lex Luthor figuring out how Bruce Wayne was Batman (not that impressive considering a kid, Tim Drake, has done it too, but whatever, I'll give Luthor the win). I guess that resulted in Luthor being allowed by Batman/blackmailing Batman onto the Justice League because here he is fighting against Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor AKA the secret bad-guy behind the villains of, "Forever Evil," fleeing their ruined home-world. Other heroes and villains pop-up such as Mister Miracle and a lady named Grail who is Wonder Woman's evil Amazon counterpart due to being born the same day (or something), but things don't actually get all that interesting until toward the end of Volume 7/Part 1 when a bunch of the Justice League members gain incredible powers in the process of killing Darkseid.

To name some changes: Batman finds his way onto the chair of Metron and gains near-infinite knowledge, the Flash gets the power of death (or something) and Superman seems to be basically the same in strength but now fully black-and-white in coloration and really pissed-off all the time. These alterations to our heroes is explored further in the double-colon, "Justice League: Darkseid War: Power of the Gods," which collects some one-shots that came out during the even chronicling what our heroes got up to during their time gifted with immense power although I only found the, "Batman," one particularly interesting with its focus on Batman causing a headache for the legal system due to his now capturing perpetrators because they can actually commit a crime. The Superman one wasn't too bad either with it hinting how even when vaguely-corrupted by the powers of Darkseid a hero like Superman has bits of humanity in him still.

Once Volume 8/Part 2 kicks in since the climax of Darkseid's violent defeat the story gets moving a lot more as the Anti-Monitor tries to destroy Earth and Justice League has to team-up with the Crime Syndicate (the evil heroes from that, "Forever Evil," event) and release them from prison in order to fight the Anti-Monitor whilst fighting their own new powers that are making them act weird. Wonder Woman is one of the few heroes not corrupted so a lot of Volume 8 involves her viewpoint and thinking about how she's possibly the only person staying sane as the whole team falls apart--a nice touch as outside of her solo-comics we don't see much of Wonder Woman's viewpoint in regards to when she is in a team-book.

It was a little odd seeing the Anti-Monitor--a being who can destroy all of reality--just slowly destroying Earth considering his immense powers, but it is addressed how he is a bit weaker from his fight with Darkseid and in some ways likes having the more, "Personal," touch of evaporating a single planet as opposed to doing damage on a massive scale--a weak explanation, but an explanation nonetheless. Plus, compared to how weird and confusing things start to get toward the end of Volume 8/Part 2 that's nothing. You see, the Superwoman of the Crime Syndicate is pregnant, and gives birth to a baby, that somehow is morphed into a full-grown Darkseid who is controlled by Wonder Woman's aforementioned evil fellow Amazon, Grail. So we've got the Justice League dealing with corrupted powers, the Crime Syndicate reappearing, as well as extra villains and heroes from various planets resulting in the last few chapters of this volume being a bit of a jumble of a ton of characters struggling to get, "Screen-time." The Justice League of course overcomes evil and saves the day, but it is really messy considering how many characters and plot-lines are fighting for attention. Still, overall this was decently-entertaining even if it was heavily flawed, so I would rate it as....
3 out of 5 stars.

Batman Volume 9: Bloom

The conclusion of Scott Snyder's immense run on, "Batman," and I think the only Nu52 book that kept the same writer from beginning to when it ended for, "Rebirth," starting-up. A whole bunch of things happened over Snyder's run from the introduction of the Court of Owls, to repeated appearances by the Joker, the late-series introduction of this, "Bloom," baddie, and towards the end Bruce Wayne was, "Cured," of the trauma of being Batman and quit doing it long enough for Jim Gordon to step-in and tackle the job for a bit. Don't worry though, before that could stick for too long Snyder essentially resets almost everything as Bruce Wayne becomes Batman again and the only meaningful alteration is how a young man named Duke Thomas joins-up to become a new bird-themed sidekick (Lark).

Also, we never learn the true identity of who this, "Bloom," person is because I guess the concept is how anyone could be a terrifying monster or a hero? I dunno. At least some of the time we get awesome art by Greg Capullo who also was with this run from the start but had the occasional fill-in artist. Snyder and Capullo gave us a, "Batman," comic that was at times ingenious, at other times terrible, but overall was a pretty good time, kind of like this concluding book. Not too bad of stuff.
3.5 out of 5 stars.


The Omega Men: The End is Here

This book won all sorts of critical awards and through the sheer protest of fans alone was kept from being cancelled early when the creators had said it was planned as a 12-issue epic and DC threatened to truncate that. Happily it kept going and then once collected shot-up the New York Times best-seller list, so hooray for critical reception turning into commercial success for once too!

"Omega Men," takes place in the DC Universe but in many ways works to be its own removed entity, focusing on a solar-system that has purposely kept itself removed from the affairs of the Universe--even the galaxies-spanning Green Lantern Corps. However, lantern Kyle Rayner comes to try and negotiate peace between warring groups and then things just get really depressing. Essentially this is a comic about how sometimes no matter how hard we want there to be a happy medium or a positive solution, sometimes shit just ends up being awful. It is a message I'm not sure I fully agree with, but kudos to writer Tom King for giving us a comic that eerily-mirrors much of the drama befalling nations today with our whole, "War on terror," except the twist in this case is that the terrorists are actually the good guys, maybe?

You see, even with the right-or-wrong ideas the comics covers, a whole lot of gray still exists and you as the reader are never sure exactly who to cheer for---the morality of everything is extremely murky. It is a really good read and one I would recommend you check-out via your library/borrowing from a friend/buying at a store or online. It's a fantastically good read.
5 out of  5 stars.

Thanks Again to the Library!

Thanks once more to my local county libraries! As a resident of Saint Louis County I actually can acquire a library card for the City libraries too (Saint Louis City counts as its own County), and have done so--some of the stuff I read for my post about manga was actually from the city. I plan to read more books via those libraries too and in the future bet I will be thanking both the County and City profusely as I keep making posts about the stuff I've read!

Mother's Day Rant Reviews--Drugs, Viruses,Jokers, and Squirrel Girls

A Holiday For Mom, A Bunch of Comics For Me

It's Mother's Day! What better way to spend the holiday than by reading some comics and discussing them? To tie-in with the holiday I'll have my usual stars I reward a comic, but then add a thought on what kind of mom would enjoy such a comic!

Good Reading
Miami Vice: Remix #2
Joe Casey is a stellar writer and makes stuff I often love, but the real draw for this comic being published in a partnership between IDW and Lion Forge Comics is the incredible art of Jim Mahfood. Thanks to Mahfood's artwork Miami Vice is looking even more like a neon-drenched acid-trip than it ever has. Plus, tying-into that whole media-sensation of "Bath Salts" and how it made some people attack others, we get to see voodoo-zombies tripping on "Miami Bath Salts" and attacking our famous heroes, Crockett and Tubbs. It's all very silly, but self-aware enough to know you're reading for a good time, not a serious exploration of the morality of police-work and undercover life. Thanks to Casey turning in a wild script and Mahfood providing pitch-perfect art, a solidly entertaining time will be had by anyone who reads this comic.
4 out of 5 stars.
Give this comic to your mom if--She still fondly talks about watching "Miami Vice" back when it was the hottest thing on T.V.

Zero #16 and Dead Drop #1
Both of these comics are written by Ales Kot, a writer I have been excitedly following the works of ("Zero" was in fact one of my favorite comics of 2014). I'm noticing certain themes popping-up in his books that make it interesting how even if the things he writes are in different comic-universes certain concepts keep popping-up that make it apparent Kot has a bit of a thematic-link between titles. Whether it is how "Zero" makes mention of mental holograms (a concept discussed in Kot's comic, "The Surface," or how issues of "Zero" have focused on a mushroom spore that spreads in a viral way whilst meanwhile the first issue of "Dead Drop" touches upon a viral entity with a consciousness that terrorist-styled anarchists want to use, Kot is making different comics, but in some ways is creating his own multi-line singular piece of work with ruminations on the mind along with literal and figurative viruses. It helps that each of his works are all very strong, thanks to his unique writing-voice and the solid art turned-in by his contributors.

Upon my hearing that "Zero" was ending with its 18th issue I felt sad, but as this 16th issue makes clear, Kot is clearly building up to something epic, with what started as a simple future-spy story morphing into a treatsie on how we perceive reality, the meaning of life, and lots of really gross mushrooms. Meanwhile it appears that "Dead Drop" will incorporate various characters of the Valiant comic-universe in fun ways, as everyone heroic in that world works to keep the utter destruction of Earth from happening. It sounds dreary, but "Dead Drop" is actually written with a fun and humorous tone that makes all talk about how "This virus will destroy our planet!"not as dramatic and upsetting as things would seem. With both comics we have something good--an intriguing nearing of the end with one, and a solid start with the other. Kot is definitely a writer to keep watching, as his output should only grow more and more interesting.
Zero #16: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Dead Drop #1: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Give these comics to your mom If--She likes deep explorations of what it means to be human ("Zero), or just enjoys a good chase-scene ("Dead Drop").

Batman #40
Well, here we are. Another issue of Batman, another "Final fight," against his greatest foe, the Joker, followed by another apparent death. I don't know, perhaps I'm a little cranky because I felt Morrison did it better with his run of Batman where he killed Bruce Wayne and then brought him back, and that was so recent. It just feels like this is recently-trodden territory with the only big shocking change being that apparently Jim Gordon is going to be the new Batman as DC's latest releases have made clear. Still, Snyder gives us a passably mediocre conclusion, Greg Capullo provides stellar art, and now we get to the play the betting-game of wagering how long it will be until Bruce Wayne returns to reclaim the mantle of Batman. I guess I just expected more than another apparent death of our hero and potential death of his villain. Sigh.
2.5 out of 5 stars (I would rate it lower, but Capullo really is a great artist).
Give this comic to your mom if--You want to show her an example of how comics are always killing off characters only to have them inevitably return some years (or even months) later.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #5
Just when I start to think "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl" can't get even more fun, it goes and does. This issue primarily involves our heroine's college roommate stuck in the head of the Statue of Liberty with a bunch of other hostages while they tell stories about her that seem quite similar to other heroic-yarns. Whether riffing on the Spider-Man of the 1990's and his clone wars, giving a shout-out to "The Dark Knight Returns," or touching upon the 2099 comic-Universe, each story is incredibly funny to witness, as it becomes more and more apparent that the people being held hostage either are making things up about Squirrel Girl, or just have a horrible memory in regards to their heroes. It is just super-awesome fun.
5 out of 5 stars.
Give this comic to your mom if--She has expressed interest in super-hero titles, but wants something more fun than grim.

Thanks to all the Moms!

That's my special Mother's Day-edition of my Rant-Reviews. I hope everyone has a great rest of their day!

Rant-Reviews--Two New Image Books, Howard the Duck, and a Weird Issue of Batman

A Strange Assortment
For this smattering of Rant-Reviews I thought I would share my thoughts on two new Image books that came out this week, the newest launch of a Howard the Duck comic, and the 39th issue of Batman, with the series having gotten really strange lately.

The Reviews
The Surface #1
I am a fan of Ales Kot, so almost anything he writes is bound to be something I like. The Surface is his newest release with stellar and surreal art by Langdon Foss, and it reads like how people in the past might have predicted our comics in the future would read. It randomly bounces around between our main story and faux-articles about technology or interviews with some mysterious artist. It focuses on a world where we are so obsessed with our computers we let them share all our lives, and in the process lose any privacy (sound at all familiar to today), and some young hackers desire to fix this by finding a mysterious space called, "The Surface," which may or may  not prove all of our existence is a hologram

The comic clearly draws influences from Warren Ellis' famous "Transmetropolitian" comic with its satire of our society, and proudly wears such an influence on its sleeve, with one newsfeed we see flutter by in the comic mentioning a, "Spider Jerusalem" as a graffiti tag. The comic is also pretty humorous and a bit sad in the manner "Transmet" was but is clearly its own strange beast too. Foss' artwork has a realism to it that makes its ability to also look exaggerated and cartoonish even more impressive.  I'm not quite certain where Kot is going with this title, but I bet it will be pretty weird. In case you weren't sure, that is a good thing.
4 out of 5 stars.

Southern Cross #1
I like Becky Cloonan, and her writing for this comic set in the future (also like fellow image comic, "The Surface", go figure) carries a relaxed and down-to-earth tone with our main character, something that serves as a good counter to the fantastic space-elements as Alex Braith goes to the moon of Titan to recover her sister's body from a sleazy corporation that mines the planet--and one which Braith suspects might have had a hand in her sister's death. We don't actually learn this issue what happened to Braith's sister, but I am sure as the story continues more will be revealed. A solid start for the series, even if that weird last-page reveal is more confusing than anything else.
3.5 out of 5 stars.

Howard the Duck #1
I have seen it discussed how doing a "Howard the Duck" comic without the late Steve Gerber feels wrong, for a variety of reasons ranging to how he and Marvel quarreled about the character to how no one else seemed to write the character as well as Gerber did. I will agree there is some discomfort to such a comic appearing, but after the surprise cameo by Howard in last year's, "Guardians of the Galaxy," (Um, spoiler-alert for the one person who still hasn't seen it)" and the roaring response that got should we really be surprised if Marvel/Disney sees a chance to make money they take such a chance and run as fast to the bank with it as they can?

That said, it really helps that Chip Zdarsky (normally known for his art on "Sex Criminals") turns in some superb writing, giving us a comic full of gags and self-aware humor--even acknowledging Howard's at-times painful past with cinema (George Lucas, anyone?). Between making fun of everything from Spider-Man's obsession with Uncle Ben dying to She-Hulk pointing out Howard has an office straight out of the 1960's, Zdarsky writes a truly laugh-out-loud title. Joe Quinones supplies art that matches the tone perfectly, with a bright and poppy appearance hearkening back to Howard's old days while simultaneously fitting-in with today's era. It may feel sacrilegious to have Howard without Gerber, but even if we can't have that ever again at least this is a superb first issue.

5 out of 5 stars.

Batman #39

"Batman" has been quite strange as of late. Snyder wrapped up "Zero Year" to take us to events set after "Batman: Eternal" with the Joker causing utter mayhem. Joker has always had a variety of origins,  and the previous issue added another wrinkle claiming that some strange chemical has kept him alive for centuries, always being a troublemaker--as I said, kinda weird. Whether the story is true or pure nonsense may not really matter--as even the back-up story makes clear with the argument that the Joker is everything to everyone who needs some sort of boogeyman. That said, I've always been quite partial to the Alan Moore argument made in "The Killing Joke" that the Joker was simply a normal man who had a terrible day, with just the right elements leading him to crack. Whatever the case, writer Scott Snyder has made it clear that the Joker is done playing around, knows exactly who Batman really is in his public life, and wants to utterly destroy city.

The thing that makes this all a bit more interesting than any other time Joker had almost destroyed Gotham is the element of how the Court of Owls (characters Snyder introduced in this title's debut arc) may tie in with their chemicals that keep people alive, along with the interesting addition at the climax of this issue where Batman enlists the help of some of his other foes who despise him but also realize that if Joker obliterates Gotham they are out of luck too. Capullo also continues to supply art at an amazing level that makes you wonder where he was all these years before doing "Batman"--and the answer is that he was trapped in the hell of doing "Spawn" comics, a fate that can befall many a good artist, with even the phenomenal Ashley Wood once stuck illustrating a "Spawn" mini-series that was decent, but still "Spawn".

Snyder and Capullo have consistently made "Batman" a comic that is fascinating; whether is it good, bad, weird, or whatever else they choose it manages to consistently surprise me, something that I enjoy having occur.

4 out of 5 stars. 

Conclusions

Some good comics have been coming out lately, and whether on their debut issue or further along I found each of these at least pretty entertaining. That's always a good thing, you know?

I've Pretty Much Quit DC

And So it (Mostly) Ends.

So, I've pretty much quit DC comics. I wasn't reading that much of their stuff, but now I've dropped everything except for the monthly "Batman" comic and "Injustice: Year Two" as of "Forever Evil #7" coming out yesterday and being the last DC event I plan to purchase for a long time. It is funny to think I'm doing this as it was only in 2011 that I wrote my half-joking and half-serious "break-up" letter to Marvel about how I would be reading less of them in favor of DC with its re-launch. How the times have changed.

Whereas I once thought Marvel wasn't being particularly creative or experimental, they now have a variety of interesting titles with unique artwork and storytelling that may not always succeed, but at least are being put out to test the waters for interest. Meanwhile, DC's comics mostly have a somewhat bland, same-y feel, and approach having cancelled 52 series overall since the reboot. While both companies may have exhausted me with their events (AKA eventitis), at least when it comes to individual books there are still some (albeit few and fewer) single comic-books from Marvel I quite enjoy; meanwhile with DC I was hesitant to get too attached to any title for fear it soon would be gone; at least Marvel seems to give their comics a little time to find a readership or at least wrap-up a story-line before giving a title the ax.

One of the two DC series I'm still reading.

I didn't cut "Batman" or "Injustice: Year Two" from my reading because I have overall enjoyed Snyder and Capullo's title more than most DC books (that are still around, at least), finding it occasionally will do something incredibly creative or clever that makes me just not want to stop checking it out. Also, it helps that it is one of the few DC books that has had a mostly-unchanged creative team unlike almost any of their other books. I'm still reading "Injustice" because the 1st "season" was very good and this 2nd one is great too, giving us the kind of interesting story-telling and characterization that the other DC books seem to be severely lacking. Plus, the fact that "Injustice" is in its own universe set in the continuity of the popular video-game means I don't have to to buy anything but it now (having already played the game) to get a good story, so that's snazzy too.

I am by no means reading a ton of Marvel comics, but there are at least some I eagerly look forward to, such as the Ellis-written "Moon Knight", "Loki: Agent of Asgard", and any form of "X-Factor" written by Peter David is always a treat. I am actually reading more comics by companies other than the "Big Two", because frankly it seems that is where much of the creativity, good stories, and great artwork I desire is easier to find. There are always books I want to check out by other publishers, and I can't even read them all due to my ever-smaller budget for comics--meaning I have to be quite picky about what I read--but at least with folk like Image, Boom!, IDW, Oni, Avatar, or Dark Horse (and so forth) there is stuff I want to read.

I guess the reason I've basically quit DC is due to a variety of factors, such as being tired of the bland nature of the stories and art, being exhausted of having series I actually like ending suddenly, and having zero interest in their weekly comics or future events. I hear about all the trouble between DC editorial and their creators, and wonder what would happen if DC maybe took a more hands-off approach to more of their creative teams as Marvel seems somewhat more willing to do, along with many of the other smaller publishers who don't hesitate to give creators mostly free-reign to do whatever they want.

Perhaps when a time comes that DC puts out more stuff I'm interested in (and I have more funds) I'll start picking up other DC titles. For now though, I'm basically done with much of company except for the fun alternate-universe shenanigans of "Injustice" and the creativity of "Batman"--as long as it doesn't start getting interrupted by the other titles or the weekly with cross-overs. Oh, and I'll read "The Multiversity" when it starts coming out because that looks awesome, but other than that and maybe a cool Vertigo debut here-and-there I anticipate little that will interest me.

Wizard World In Review Part One: The Comics and Art

Introduction
I attended Wizard World Saint Louis (WWSL) on Friday and Saturday (I was too exhausted to go Sunday) and met many, many, cool folk. In fact, there was so much I saw and so many interesting people I met I thought it would make sense to split my review of how the convention went for me into various segments. Therefore, first off I'm going to talk about people whom were there in a strictly comic-related/illustrated art-related capacity that I interacted with, followed by people who were there to promote other items such as movies, books, or a variety of intriguing crafts and jewelry. Lastly, I'll put up a third post where I plan to give a sort of wrap-up of my thoughts about WWSL.

The Comic-Makers and Art-Creators
To be fair and not appear to favor any creator over another I'm going in an alphabetical order by company/group name, a person's last name, or a creator's artistic pseudonym.

Neal Adams
I saw Neal at last year's Wizard World and he was as energetic and friendly as ever at this show too. I wasn't able to chat with him as much as last year because he was always so busy interacting with fans who came up to talk to him--often about his work on Batman over all the years. His website can be found here.

Brian Atkins
I've discussed "Gargoyle by Moonlight" before and how I greatly enjoyed reading it. Well, Brian Atkins was the artist for that comic and it was fun to see him at WWSL and chat with him about upcoming adventures of the titular hero. I look forward to more "Gargoyle by Moonlight" in the near future! Find him here.

Big Dog Ink
I've talked about Big Dog Ink's works before and it was fun to see them at the convention again and hear about their upcoming projects. See more of their work here.

Gerimi Burleigh
Mr. Burleigh was one of the coolest folk I met for the first time at WWSL, as not only was his artwork quite good but he also was extremely friendly and clearly excited to talk about his work and inspirations. I picked up some of his work and will get a review up sooner than later about it. I highly recommend you check out his website here, as the art is as delightful as he was.

Aaron Campbell
I first discovered Campbell's work pretty recently on the popular Dynamite comic, "Uncanny" he illustrates with writer Andy Diggle. We spoke at length about "Uncanny", his work on "The Shadow", and comics in general. Campbell was very pleasant and fun to talk with, perhaps an interview for the blog is in order? We shall see! Find his website here.

Greg Capullo
Mr. Capullo is of course currently known for his long-running work with Scott Snyder on DC's Batman. Capullo was eager to sign folk's comics and very cordial to everyone, despite quite a line forming of people who wanted to get an issue of "Batman" signed or purchase a print. Follow him on Twitter here.

Capybara Ink
Capybara Ink is an entity founded by Matthew Miller that specializes in a variety of comic art put on coasters, bookmarks, art prints and more. Plus, the mascot is a capybara, which is just awesome as those animals are cool. Learn more about Capybara Ink here.

Comic Creator's Coffee Club/C4
The Comic Creator's Coffee Club is a group of comic fans and makers who gather on a monthly basis to discuss comics and show off their work. They are a nice bunch. Learn more about them here.

Andrew Day
Mr. Day is comic artist and illustrator I met at WWSL who had some great-looking art on display and for sale. You can see more of his stuff here.

Athena Finger
The granddaughter of Bill Finger, the often unaccredited (at least by DC) co-creator of Batman, Athena Finger was at WWSL to raise awareness about her grandfather and the general need for creator's to receive the recognition they deserve for their work. Follow her on Twitter here.

Danny Fingeroth
Danny Fingeroth has worked on and edited a variety of Marvel comics throughout time and has more recently been creating a variety of interesting books about comics. Find out more about him here.

Anthony Fowler
A local artist in the Saint Louis area, Anthony was very friendly and had some cool artwork. See more of his stuff here.

Bryan Fyffe
Bryan Fyffe is an artist who makes some pretty cool-looking pieces. He was at WWSL to sell his artwork and crafts, so I could have put him in either category for my review of this convention, but because I was so impressed with his artwork I thought it made sense to put him in this category. You can see his work at this website.

Danny Haas
Danny Haas had some really fantastic-looking art at WWSL, especially his stuff that takes two related characters or a character and their alter-ego and puts them together in a half-and-half image. You can see more of his stuff here.

H-eri
H-eri is an artist who creates works that I would say are both beautiful and a bit sad-feeling at the same time. You can view her work here.

Terry Huddleston
I met Mr. Huddleston for the first time at this WWSL and found his artwork quite good-looking. He does these cool portrait-style drawings of various comic characters or other celebrities that are fun and you can find his stuff here.

Ink and Drink Comics
A comic collective of sorts, Ink and Drink comics puts out a themed anthology every six months and has been doing so for four years now. A variety of talented local artists contribute to it and I would definitely recommend picking up an issue. Find out more about them here.

Matt Kindt
Matt Kindt has been behind a variety of popular independent comics and works from DC. He had a lot of his work for sale at the convention and I would recommend checking out his work that he has either just written, or both written and illustrated. Learn more about him here.

Caleb King
Caleb King was at the convention to promote his works such as the webcomic "Surreality" with Carla Wyzgala and  "Past Tense" with Andrew Day. Surreality can be found here and Past Tense here.

"Kitties with Pottymouths"
Steve Higgins is behind this concept that is both at once adorable and offensive. Namely, it is  drawings and images of cats that may look cute, but which don't hesitate to swear up a storm. I love it and bet you will too, so check it out at this website.

Andy Kluthe
Mr. Kluthe is the man behind "Nerd Rage" a popular web-comic that is pretty funny from what I have seen of it. You can check out "Nerd Rage" at this website.

Jeremiah Lambert
Mr. Lambert was at WWSL showing off his assorted artworks and illustrated work. You can see more of his stuff here.

Salvador Larroca
I met Salvador Larroca at WWSL and told him how much I enjoyed his work on "Invincible Iron Man" with Matt Fraction back when they did that comic a few years back. He was very appreciative. Here is a wiki about him.

Megan Levens
Megan Levens is one of the creators behind the upcoming Image comic "Madame Frankenstein". She showed me some preview artwork and it looks like it is going to be a pretty cool comic--one that I'll be sure to check out! Find her here.

Lion Forge Comics
Lion Forge Comics was at WWSL last year and returned to this convention to promote their assorted intersting works, from licensed comics such as "Miami Vice" and "Knight Rider" to their other works with celebrities such as "Rampage" Jackson. They have a variety of interesting things coming out soon. Read more about Lion Forge here.

David Mack
Mr. Mack is an incredible artist who has done some amazing work on comics featuring Daredevil, along with his own work on "Kabuki". He also was extremely nice and very excited to talk about his work. Another person I need to work at doing an interview with! Check him out here.

Chelsea Mann
Chelsea Mann is an artist and illustrator who has been working at her webcomic, "Son of the Philosopher". She also had an incredibly cool Iron Man watercolor I bought. Observe:

Yeah, that's pretty awesome. Learn more about her here.

"Martian"
Jake Bonebrake is the man behind "Martian". He and some friends were at the convention and their excitement at talking about the comic had me wanting to grab a copy. It's interesting with its mixture of stylized ultra-violence and science-fiction and fantasy. You can learn more about "Martian" here.

Darryl McDaniels AKA "DMC"
Darryl McDaniels is one of the members of the famous rap group Run DMC. I of course love rap music and enjoyed talking about it with him, but the reason Mr. McDaniels is in the comic category is because he wasn't at WWSL to promote his music. No, he was there to promote a comic he has coming out. As he described it to me, it has the feeling of rap and other assorted music genres through the incorporation of things such as graffiti imagery and such, but it is not about a rapping super-hero. Instead it is a story about a new super-hero universe with his character starting out as the first powered hero and other ones then coming into existence. It sounds pretty interesting and I look forward to checking it out upon its official release. For more about Mr. McDaniel's you can check out his website here.

Jason Metcalf
Jason Metcalf was at WWSL selling his assorted artwork and chatting with folk about his various projects. See more of him here.

Buster Moody
Buster Moody was at WWSL to promote his artwork which has a nice underground-look to it. You can find his stuff here.

New Haven Comics/Zero's Heroes
Aaron Walther was at the convention to promote his comic "Zero's Heroes" coming out via New Haven comics, an independent comic-book publisher. It was a fun looking title and you can learn more about it and New Haven Comics in general at this website.

"Oh Hell"
I read a short preview of this comic at WWSL thanks to writer George Wassil being there to promote it. I enjoyed what I read as the concept is clever--a boarding school literally in Hell--and the art was snazzy too. There will be a Kickstarter for the comic soon and I hope it does well! See more about it here.

Planet Me Productions/"SpeciMen"
I had the pleasure of meeting Matthew Mossotti at WWSL, one of the founders of Planet Me Productions which is in the process of releasing their comic "SpeciMen". Mr. Mossotti described their series as a, "The Matrix" meets "Star Wars" and was very excited to discuss it. Learn more about Planet Me and "SpeciMen" here.

Julianna Pardue
Julianna Pardue is an artist and illustrator I met at WWSL and whom I commissioned an awesome sketch-card of Moon Knight from:

Very cool. See more of her stuff here.

Ellis Ray III
Ellis Ray III is a Saint Louis-based artist and comic-maker who I've actually met before by sheer chance when I was out and about and he complimented a cool "Avengers" shirt I was wearing at the time and told me how he works on comics. He was at WWSL too and as fun to chat with about comics this time as he was the other occasion we met. You should give his stuff a look at his website which can be found here.

Rori!
Artist Rori! was at WWSL to promote her comic "Tiny Pink Robots". I'd met her at a previous convention and it was fun seeing her and the fun-looking cartoon robots again. You can find her online here.

Ethan Van Sciver
I talked with comic-artist Ethan Van Sciver at WWSL too, and he was very eager to chat with folk about everything from comics to politics. He also expressed interest in doing an interview sometime so that would be great too! Follow him on Twitter here.

Kate Sherron
Ms. Sherron was at WWSL to promote her impressive illustrations and artwork. She's local to Saint Louis and quite talented.Give her work a look here.

Dan "Smif" Smith
Mr. Smith was at WWSL to promote his comic "Armageddon: Hell". He was another one of the people I greatly enjoyed meeting at WWSL as he was very friendly and eager to share the details of how "Armageddon: Hell" came about. I picked up some copies of the comic and hope to review them in the near future, but in the meantime you can learn more about the comic here.

Kyle Strahm
Mr. Strahm was at WWSL promoting an upcoming comic "Spread" he is doing with Justin Jordan and which he said to keep an eye out for an official announcement about a publisher. See more about him here.

Sugar Fueled
Sugar Fueled is the official name of works by artist Michael Banks. The illustration style is both at once cute and creepy, so you know I find it pretty cool! View more work here.

Urbn Pop
Urbn Pop is the artistic name/home of Chris Hamer. Having done artwork for a variety or companies, Mr. Hamer has a style that I would say is fun with a slight edge. You can give his stuff a look-over here.

Wascally Wee Willy
Wascally Wee Will AKA William Harroff was at WWSL with his unique brand of comic-inspired artistry. I also enjoy seeing his work and recommend you give it a look too at his website, which can be found here.

Joe Wills
Joe Wills was at WWSL promoting his artwork and was fun to chat with. See more of his stuff here.

Brian Woodward
Mr. Woodward was at the convention showing-off his dark-fantasy-styled artwork. It was very pretty and a bit scary at the same time. You can see what I mean at this website.

Carla Wyzgala
Ms. Wyzgala had a variety of intriguing watercolor paintings and assorted artworks on display at WWSL. You can find more of her stuff here.

Zenescope
Zenescope was at WWSL showing off their wares and I was lucky enough to chat with their publisher (who also does other tasks on the comics). I haven't ever reviewed a Zenescope comic before but hope to read something by them soon. Check them out here.

In Closing About The Comics and Art
There were a ton of great comics and artists at WWSL. If I met you/your company and I didn't mention you it can be for a variety of reasons. It may be because we didn't interact much beyond a simple hello, or I lacked your card and am unsure how to find you online. That, or you were mean and I don't want to give you any press. If the last one is the case work on being nicer to folk at conventions, I mean you want to sell your stuff, don't you?

Anyways, stay tuned for my article about the movies, books, and other assorted crafts at Wizard World in my next post!