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We will be recording our next Book Club podcast Thursday July 1st, at 6 pm.  Florence got the pick this month. She has chosen Runaways Volume 1: issues 1 through 18, by Brian K. Vaughan and Adrien Alphona.   Most of the regulers have read Runaways before so we may discuss events beyond the first eighteen issues, but they are the plan for now.  As always if anyone reading along would like to join in on the recording, please contact us by commenting below.

Marty and I (and baby Colleen) joined in on Jason’s other podcast this week and had a great time!

Film Confessional podcast Episode 9.1 includes a spoilery review of the new Iron Man movie. Episode 9.2 will be posted soon- stay tuned to the end for our discussion of favorite superhero movies!

This is an a cool looking web series called Crazy Sexy Geeks, in this episode is Tim Gunn, who is one of my favorite people. Past guests have included Amber Benson, another of my favorites.
Crazy Sexy Geeks

Crazy Sexy Geeks 2

Today is Free Comic Book Day, (as probably most of you know), and I was looking forward to all the free comics, but of course I have a special place in my heart for Love and Capes, and I have to say issue #13 absolutely did not disappoint. Author/creator Thom Zahler has just an amazing knack for making the lives of his characters feel incredibly real, and also incredibly funny. This is (in my opinion), the best kind of superhero story.

It just goes to show that free comic book day comics can be really good! Love and Capes has been one of my favorite comics since back in 2007, when I picked up issue #4 in a stack with all the other Free Comic Book Day comics. I’m not sure, but I think there may have been a L&C issue in every free comic book day since then. ReadComics.org interviewed Zahler for our first — and so far only — creator interview. If you haven’t read any Love and Capes, I highly recommend picking up the first couple trade paperbacks. (You probably don’t have to read them from the beginning, but it is a continuous story, so not only would you be spoiled, but you’ll definitely enjoy them more if you do.)

Anyway, after I got back home from braving the lines of comic book fanatics at The Source this morning, I devoured issue #13, laughing out loud every other page, and biting my tongue so as not to read every punchline out loud to Florence and Susie. When I finished the comic, I was excited to read in the back of this issue that Zahler is finally getting a chance to give Love and Capes the dedication and regular attention that it deserves (13 issues in how many years?) with the announcement that IDW will be picking up L&C for a monthly five-part miniseries! But that announcement also came with some bad news, as apparently Zahler is going to “take a break” from L&C for a bit after that. I hope to be reading L&C long into the future, at least until Mark and Abby become empty-nesters. Here’s to another fantastic issue of Love and Capes.

I have been meaning to do this post for a while, ever since Florence posted the link to the list of the top women in comics of the last decade. Now in honor of my brand new niece! (congratulations Florence and Marty!) I present my favorite female comics characters.  I am not limiting myself to any decade, and am not going in any order of preference.

1) Grandma Ben, from Jeff Smith’s Bone

though her granddaughter Thorn is pretty special too, Grandma Ben is awesome, and unique.   When was the last time, any medium introduced, a female character with a Popeye-esque build, and gray hair, let alone one that could slay a dragon?   Grandma is tough as nails, a champion cow racer, and incredibly strong.   She is also a loving guardian for Thorn.   Grandma rules!

2) Death & Delirium, from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman

Sandman introduced some amazing female characters: Mazikeen, Nuala, and Titania among them. These two are my favorite. I don’t think I’m alone in finding the idea of death as a perky,  sensible, Mary Poppins quoting, goth chick, very comforting.  She is someone you’d want to hang out with, except you would have to die to do it.

As for Delirium, well I’m a sucker for the damaged, quirky, somewhat dangerous, yet fragile girls.   See also: River from Firefly, Drusilla from Buffy, Cassie from Skins, and Arkady from Freak Angels.   Del is the quintessential example of this kind of character, since she is the physical embodiment of insanity.  She is so vulnerable, that your heart aches for her.  She can also be charmingly innocent, and then turn on a dime and be scarily prescient. I love her, that is all.

3) All of the women of Strangers in Paradise, form Terry Moore’s Strangers In Paradise

While Katchoo and Francine are the female leads, every last character with two x chromosomes (and the ones with a y as well) is an completely fleshed out person.  From shallow bimbo Casey (who some how evolved over the course of the series into one of the most lovable characters), to Francine’s overbearing mother, to Tambi, Katchoo’s  hard-ass mafia connected half sister, had nuances and depth, that made them entirely believable.  I can’t single any of them out, they are some of the best written women I have every read.  They are also some the best  (if not just the best) drawn as well.  None of them looked the same (except Tambi, and Bambi, who are twins and even they had their differences), and that is remarkable in an industry where so often an artist just has one, totally unrealistic female boy that they draw, and just changes out the clothes, face and hair, to differentiate them.  All the women in SIP have different, and very real looking bodies, as well as faces.  Something that Terry Moore has continued into his new series Echo.  Well done Terry!

4) Buffy Summers, from Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Okay, Buffy  is not a character that originated in comics, but this is a list of my favorite female characters, and Buffy Summers has to be on this list.   Because she is Buffy freaking Summers!  In the Buffy season eight comics, Joss and his team have continued the growth of the character, that started in the tv series.  She is still struggling with her place as a hero and leader as it evolves, without it feeling like a retread of what has already been done with the character.  And she has her flaws as well as strengths, that makes her feel like a real person.  I am so glad we got more Buffy, regardless of the medium, but I think she is a great addition to comics’ pantheon of heroes.

5) Elaine Belloc, from Mike Carey’s Lucifer

I nearly put Mazikeen onto this list, and if it was a list of great bad asses she would be on it, but it’sa list of my favorite, and while Mazikeen is close, I am going with Elaine.  Elaine started as a little girl trying to get Lucifer to help her get revenge for her dead friend Mona.  She ended the run as a powerful, deity, in contril of her own universe.  In a way Elaine became as much of a main character, as Lucifer.  Probably because Lucifer, as interesting as he is, is not very relatable.  Elaine on the other hand was both relatable, and infinitely likable.  She was a plucky and clever, girl who could both stand up, to and for the devil.

6) Molly O’Reilly, from John Ney Reiber’s Books of Magic

Though the Books of Magic, was created by Neil Gaiman, the majority of it’s run was written by John Ney Rieber, and he is the one who introduced Molly.  When he left the series, he took Molly with him.  Like Elaine, she is character, that came to rival her series’ main character, in popularity.  Once she feel in love with Tim Hunter, poor Molly did not have it easy.   She got kidnapped, by an obsessed, evil, future version Tim, and stranded in the hostile realm of Faerie.  All the way I was rooting for her, she managed to stick up for herself, and survive.  While I was convinced she and Tim, were soul mates, I was never prouder of her, than when she told him off for treating her badly, and cut ties for good.  I would love to see a return of Molly at some point.

7) Harley Quinn from various Batman comics

Like Buffy, Harley originated on tv, in the animated Batman series, and she was so popular, she was added into the official Batman continuity.  When you try to describe her, she comes across as a character I just should not like.  She is obsessed with the Joker, and is happy to let him walk all over her, and treat her like crap.   She has a very shaky moral center, and will probably betray her friends, if it will get her into the Joker’s good graces (she is getting a little better about that).  Yet I love her.  There is something that is so charming about her.  She makes me laugh any time she is involved in a story.  I like her best, when she is being written by her creator Paul Dini, as she is in the current Gotham City Sirens series.  It helps that in comics, we don’t hear her grating, over the top, (Brooklyn?) accent.

Gert Yorkes, from Brian K. Vaughan’s Runaways

Runaways is another series that has a lot of good female characters to choose from.  I love Gert for many reasons, one of them being that she is a teenage female comic character, that does not have a supermodel body (and she still got a hot boyfriend).  She also is smart, sardonic, and brave.  Plus she has purple hair and a pet dinosaur!

9) Agent 355, from Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man

This is the character that would top the list of all time bad asses (along with Mazikeen, Tambi, and Grandma Ben).  In a series that has just one male character, 355 is the standout female.  She is a tower of strength.  She does her job, no matter what.  Somehow Vaughn managed to show her more vulnerable side, without diminishing her toughness.

10) Jessica Jones, from Brian Micheal Bendis’ Alias and the Pulse

Jess started the series as a bit of a self destructive mess.  As the series progressed we got to see the very justifiable reasons for it, and also see her grow past it.  Now Jessica Jones, may not be the greatest super powered person in the Marvel universe, but she rivals Spider-man for me as the most human.

11) Babara Gordon, from Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey

Barbara has been part of the DC universe since the silver age, first as Batgirl, then as Oracle.  However it was Gail Simone’s run on Bird’s of Prey, that really sold me on the character.  After all, she is a hero for the simple reason that she is very very smart.  She is also a very capable fighter, despite not having the use of her legs, and a good mentor to younger female heroes.  Plus, she is a hot red head with glasses.

12) Kabuki, from David Mack’s Kabuki

Kabuki is an amazing comic, and Kabuk is herself is at the center of it.  She is a touch crazy, and for good reasons.  Watching her story evolve from a simple revenge tale, to an in depth examination of her damaged psyche, has been fascinating.  The art is gorgeous, as well.

13) Knives Chau, from Bryan Lee O Malley’s Scott Pilgrim

Of the three main girls in Scott Pilgrim, Ramona is still too much of an enigma, for me to relate to.  And Kim, is funny, but not given much to do.  Knives however, I get.  Probably way too well.  She is a teenager, who has fixated on an older guy, who just never actually cared about her that much.   Her flailing attempts to get him to notice her, and later to just be in his circle, seemed very authentic.  Besides, she can do kung fu, that is cool!

14) Lois, from Alison Bechdel’s Dykes to Watch Out For

There are countless, realisticly portrayed women, over the course of this twenty some year strip.  I chose Lois because, she seems like the one who’d be most fun to spend an afternoon with.  The rest have too many neroses, and issues, which makes them feel very real, but might make spending time with them a bit stressful.

Couldn’t find a picture of  Lois:(

15) Marlys, from Lynda Barry’s Ernie Pook’s Comeek

Marlys, is just the greatest!  She will tell you so herself.  She is also a wonderful spaz.  Totally upbeat, in the face of adversity, and creative to a fault.  She makes me happy.  And she is a hell of a dancer!

Okay, were there any glaring omissions?  Let me know.

I am late to this, since I just caught up with the Golden Globes on Tivo this morning and then started going through the photos of attendees online.

Apparently Neil Gaiman attended for Coraline (which lost to Up in the Best Animated film category).  Despite his nominee status, he was upstaged by his date and recent fiancee, musician Amanda Palmer.  Thanks to Neil’s blog soliciting votes from avid fans, this series of photos of Amanda undressing for photographers after the ceremony has won both Best and Worst dressed on Go Fug Yourself.  He briefly explains the context in his blog.

I have been meaning to repost this Jezebel commentary and join the conversation started in this list of 10 Great Female Comic Book Characters Of The Decade.  Be warned that there are spoilers in this link (though not in my post below), particularly for the wonderfully badass selections of 355 from Y the Last Man (#3) and Michonne from Walking Dead (#2).

I really enjoyed the post, and I’m interested in reading more of Kelly Thompson’s She Has no Head posts in Comics Should be Good now. I am familiar with most of the women on the list.  I love the inclusion of Frau Totenkinder (#10), though it does seem wrong for me to root for a child-eating witch when I’m on the verge of having a baby.  I really didn’t connect with Promethea (#9), but I can reluctantly respect her inclusion on the list, and the post itself echoes many of my criticisms about the abstract turn the story took.

I love the inclusion of Jessica Jones from Alias (#5).  Despite my terrible memory, which prohibits me from saying anything about the characters listed from Powers (#7) or Planetary (#6), despite having read both, Alias definitely stands out for me as one of my favorite titles/ new characters of the last decade.

There were three characters listed that I have never seen; Tara Chace from Queen & Country (#8), Cass Cain as Batgirl (#4), and Kate Kane as Batwoman (#1).  I will probably continue to skip Queen & Country, since it seems to have a miliary focus that totally puts me off, but these incarnations of Batgirl & Batwoman sounds fascinating. I may have to check the library, since I don’t think I know anyone who collects these DC comics (speak up if I’m wrong).

I was initially indignant about the absence of Strangers in Paradise, Buffy, and Sandman, whose female characters shaped and fueled my fandom, but I can understand them being excluded as characters who appeared in comics after 2000, but who were created in the 90s.  You could still make a case for Joss Whedon’s Fray, since it debuted in 2001.

Any suggestions of other missing characters who should have been eligible?

I met Andy Mangels recently, when he was a featured guest at Gaylaxicon, and I was intrigued to learn about his online Wonder Woman museum.
On October 26th, he is holding the 4th annual Wonder Woman Day, which includes an art auction with art donated by Alex Ross and Gail Simone among others. I would love to find a way to buy some of the prints featured on this site, but I haven’t figured out how yet. Chime in if you find a way!

Recently the new Spider-Woman series by Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev hit the stands. It may also surprise you that they’ve also released a “motion comic” of the series on iTunes as well.  In fact, if you read much of the promotional interviews and articles bout Spider-Woman, you’ll find that Marvel is pushing the motion comic more than the printed comic.  In addition, they just announced that the first arc of Astonishing X-Men (“Gifted”) by Joss Whedon would be released as a motion comic as well, complete with a media blitz to boot.  This follows DC’s jump into the genre with last year’s Watchmen motion comic that coincided with the movie.  So what’s the story on this hot new craze sweeping the comics world?  Is this the golden ticket that the big publishers were looking for to bring comics into the digital age?  And what is the difference between a motion comic vs. a cartoon?  Lucky for you, I’m here to help out. (more…)

Last weekend was Gaylaxicon in Minneapolis and Marty, Florence, Jason and myself were all in attendance. And a great time it was! We’ll podcast about it sometime this week but I wanted to make some call outs. First, Jason did a great job as the PR/Outreach coordinator for the convention. It was apparent by the turnout and the great time that was had by everyone that Jason worked hard in his role and it payed off. Also, the featured guests were excellent. Margaret Weis, Terrance Griep, Andy Mangels, Lawrence Schimel…they were all awesome and what I found great was that in a convention like this (as opposed to Convergence) was that you could interact with the guests of honor outside of the panels, and got a better feel for them as people. Finally, I loved the panels offered. All the panels I attended spoke to me as a gay geek and covered issues that were important to me. And it’s to the credit of the organizers that there were often tough choices on which panel to attend.

So that’s my brief Gaylaxicon recap. Next year it’s held in Montreal over Halloween weekend…I’m really interested in going!

Dark Horse Presents

And I have posted twice today. Nerd!

I have been reading Daredevil for a few years. While both Bendis’ and Brubaker’s runs were well written and had fantastic art, every other arc dealt with one or all of the following.

-Matt is doing what it takes to protect the city. But he’s going too far! But what choice does he have!
-The Kingpin is gone. Now he’s back! But he’s powerless. But he’s secretly pulling all the all the strings!
-Matt needs a personal life or he’ll go crazy. But being daredevil is putting them all in danger! But if he dosen’t have a personal life he is not a person! But they’re all going to die!

I read the first issue of Andy Diggle’s run, and it looks like more of the same.

Sorry DD it’s over. Call me if you get a fresh perspective.

I found a post on Violet Blue’s website compiling some sexy webcomics. I haven’t had a chance to check them all out yet, but I have listened to her interesting ‘open source sex’ podcast and have enjoyed reading her political/ cultural blog posts, and her links to pretty girls.

This link is definitely NSFW, and the site is >18yrs.

Thursday night, August 13th at The Riverview (the best movie theater in Minneapolis):

“Can’t Stop The Serenity is the annual global browncoat event featuring Serenity on the big screen with all proceeds to benefit Equality Now, Joss Whedon’s favorite charity. Equality Now is an international non profit organization working to end violence and descrimination against women and girls around the world. The now-annual event began in 2006 when over 40 locations around the globe raised over $60,000 for Equality Now! The 2007 global events topped that with gusto by raising over $100,000 for Equality Now! Minnesota’s participation provided over $2,000 in 2006, and tripled that amount in 2007 by raising $6,160! We raised over $7,200 in 2008!”

More information is available at mnfirefly.com

So, here’s some cool news: Joss Whedon’s brilliant Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is up for an emmy award for the ultra-obscure Outstanding Special Class Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Programs category. Which, appropriately enough, sounds like it should come from a Whedon musical.

In related Emmy news, Dr. Horrible Star Neil Patrick Harris was nominated for his supporting role in How I Met Your Mother. He’s also hosting the show! Yay!

Susie has picked American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, and The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang, and Derek Kirk Kim. We will be discussing them on August 16 at 2 pm

My mega talented coworker Sally did this amazing Batman mural for a lucky kid’s bedroom wall.

So I have two questions for you. The first is, what comic themed mural assuming you had the space and property would you want?   Second, what comic or cartoon themed mural would your eight year old self want?  Now I think I would go for Fray in free fall surrounded by flying cars. At eight it would have been either Gem and the Holograms in concert, or the Thundercats in a group pose.   And you?

Comics read since last time:

Justice League of America 17-21
Marvel Boy 1-6 (Morrison series)
Titans East Special #1
The Titans 1-6
Iron Man: Director of SHIELD 29-32
Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four 1-3
Hedge Knight II: Sworn Sword 1-6

Man, I’m so far behind on these. I probably can’t legitimately write too much about my thoughts on the above, since it’s been weeks now since I’ve read them, and so much has been read between then and now. Let’s see what I can remember…

Morrison’s Marvel Boy. Dig that kooky retcon, man. He’s been brought into the main Marvel continuity as part of the Dark Avengers, but when did he move from whatever earth this six-issue mini took place in to the regular Marvel Earth?

The Titans relaunch…nothing too exciting. It’s basically getting the band back together, isn’t it? Have they become the Rolling Stones of superhero teams? And it just seems wrong to have it not drawn by Perez. Trigon’s new look works for him. Did I say Rolling Stones? Trigon was definitely modelled after Ozzy.

Iron Man’s art was a little disturbing. I got kind of an uncanny valley experience looking at the people’s faces and how their bodies were positioned. How many stories can we have that are about Tony dealing with the unintended consequences of his actions regarding technology?

I like these Hedge Knight stories. Who knows, maybe I’d actually enjoy Martin’s series about pageantry and heraldry. Mike has been recommending it again and again.

We’re having our next book club this Saturday, March 14th, at 3PM at Florence & Marty’s apartment with our special guest, Susie!

This month we’ll be reading’s Mike’s selection: Thor #1-600 (it actually covers only 13 issues because of their crazy numbering logic).

Thor #1-600, J. Michael Straczynski
Saturday, March 14th 3PM
Florence & Marty’s apartment

Comics read since last time:

Young X-Men 1-6
Cable 3-5
The Last Defenders 1-2
Gotham Underground 7-9

Young X-Men is a lot more of a continuation of New X-Men than I thought it would be. Including New Mutants #1 was pretty neat; it brought back memories for me. I wish I could still get the feeling I used to get when I was reading New Mutants as a young teenager, but then again, isn’t that true of everything you remember from your youth? Nostalgia includes the Greek word for pain. The bad guy is telegraphed so early on, I hope they didn’t think anyone would actually be fooled by the subterfuge. I did enjoy this a lot more than I thought I would, but then, it is Guggenheim doing the writing. Although I’m annoyed by most of the characters, and miss some of the ones from New X-Men that I liked. Anole, come back, all is forgiven!

Cable got better, but only slightly. Cannonball apparently had no trouble finding steroids in future. Honestly, Sam Guthrie, one of the lankiest characters ever created suddenly has not guns, but cannons? At least I’m not paying for it, other than the cost of getting to the library. I have a feeling the time travel chase scenes will get old. Cable should’ve brought Sophie with him. Of course, it would’ve been a little too much of Voyagers crossed with Doctor Who at that point. Oh, with huge nonsensical guns.

I don’t know much about the history of the Defenders, just knowing some of the team line-ups. I don’t think I’ve read any of the original series, and much like the Champions, it’s always seemed like a way for Marvel to cash in on the success of the Avengers and the relaunched X-Men. At what point did the X-Men become an actual hit? I know that it was on the verge of cancellation in the ’60s, with a long run being reprints. But the Defenders has always seemed like a “why bother” team. Maybe it’s a way that Marvel retains copyright on certain characters by bringing them out, dusting them off for awhile. These first two issues are an awful lot of set-up, so far. I can feel Giffen’s touch, although not as much as when he and deMatteis wrote their other Defenders story earlier in the “bwah-ha-ha” vein. A few nods to Civil War, the Initiative, and even Secret Invasion, with Blazing Skull correcting Nighthawk about his moniker. I’m interested in Nighthawk’s history, so that might be a reason to go back and read some original Defenders stories. Was he one of Marvel’s answers to Batman?

Speaking of Batman, I wonder if anyone is able to tie together into a cohesive continuity all of the stuff going on in DC right now. Where exactly does Gotham Underground fit in to Batman RIP and Final Crisis? I finished this trade off last night, and it seemed mostly to be a rehash of War Games, as well as a way to reintroduce Spoiler. I love Batman’s rogues gallery, and would like to see more Penguin and Riddler–the Joker’s so over done now. But I’d like to see them given some respect again. Maybe a little less reinvention and bit more back to basics.

I am too lazy to do the research myself, maybe you guys can help me figure out,  whatever happened to…?

1) Serenity: the Shepherd’s Tale.  When Dark Horse announced this three issue mini series  that would finally document Shepherd Book’s past, they said it would be out Fall 2008.  I have yet to see it listed in there upcoming lists.

2)Savant and Creote.  Gail Simone’s run on Bird’s of Prey produced some very cool new characters, such as Black Alice, and Misfit, both of whom are still showing up in the series pages.  However my favorite, the duo of Savant and Creote have completely disappeared.   Savant is a highly intelligent, extremely unstable, misogynist pretty boy.  Creote  is his extremely loyal bodyguard/manservant/sidekick/husband?  Despite the fact that their first appearance involved them holding Black Canary prisoner, Oracle was able to turn them into allies and ably used their skills to help her ever growing team.  Savant eventually fled since Oracle’s reforming of him had seriously disturbed his calm, Creote being completely devoted of course went with him.  I assumed they would be back at some point, but that was the last I saw of them.  I hope some writer revives them.  They might make an interesting addition to Gail’s own Wonder Woman run.

3) The next arc of Sky Doll.  Sky Doll was probably my favorite discovery  of last year.  I even bought the hardback trade when it was released even though I knew there was no material in it other than the contents of the three issues already published.  I want to collect it as books.  I am dying to know what happens next, but there has been no sign of when Marvel will bring out the second series.

I’ve totally had days like this. Haven’t you?

Comics read since last time:
JLA #55-69

Most of the comics I read come from the library, which really is an incredible resource for trades and even single issues.  I champion the library whenever I get the chance, showing people proudly that the trade paperback I’m reading came from one.  ”Libraries carry comic books?” they say, incredulously.  ”Why, yes!” I reply, telling them that I usually have fifteen or twenty checked out at any given time.  Sometimes, however, that comes back to bite me on the ass, like when I have to plow through three JLA trades in two nights because they’re coming due in the next couple of days, and I’m unable to renew them, because someone else has one of them on reserve.  I grit my teeth, though, and look at the bright side: people are looking for comics at the library, and requesting them.  So while I usually like to read several different series, usually from different companies, sometimes I get quite a long stretch of a single title all at once.

This run of JLA finished out Mark Waid’s time with the team, followed by an issues by Chuck Dixon and Scott Beatty, and now I’m well into Joe Kelly’s run.  Grant Morrison is definitely a tough act to follow.  Waid is decent, following up on Batman’s betrayal, with a storyline developed from a single line of dialogue, with half the league split from their own alter egos, playing off of what seems to be a throwaway line of dialogue.  And another line of dialogue in this storyline becomes the basis for the next one, the return of the white martians.  Waid’s entire run is very tight, practically interwoven together.  Dixon and Beatty’s issue is part of the Joker’s Last Laugh crossover.  I picked up that trade recently from the library, expecting a standalone Joker story, not realizing that it crossed into practically every title in the DCU.  Interestingly, the asterisks had been left in letting me know where I could find some of the other stories that crossed into Last Laugh.  Something which the JLA trades, and indeed most comic trades don’t seem to do.  I’ve always thought this a little weird, as it would be a great promotional tool to get people to buy other trades.  Is it that they figure people will be frustrated at not having the referenced comics immediately at their disposal?  These are comics!  For years, the asterisk was the starting point of a treasure hunt which had us wading through longboxes at comic shops and conventions, and staring longingly at backissues protected by mylar pinned up on the shop walls.  The lack of notes is particularly annoying during Kelly’s run, which ran during DC’s Our World at War crossover.  Events are mentioned about Wonder Woman not being a princess any more, Aquaman vanishing, and for some reason, the artist draws Superman’s emblem as red on black, rather than red on yellow.  But there are no notes telling you where you could read more about what happened.  Again, I feel a little hypocritical complaining about this, especially when I have all of the internet at my disposal to do research, but would it hurt to have an asterisk or some sort of annotation going on?  If you’ve never read it, the Annotated Crisis on Infinite Earths is a joy.  Such scholarship went into that, noting just about every character in every one of George Perez’s drawings.  Kudos to that effort, as well as the online annotations for just about everything Grant Morrison has ever written.

All of that said, I’m mostly enjoying Kelly’s run.  He brings up some interesting themes, such as Wonder Woman’s dependence on her lasso as a source of truth, and what happens when she vehemently disagrees with that truth.  I’m in the middle of The Obsidian Age arc, featuring the Justice League of 3000 years ago.  Here, he’s turning the moral table on the JLA, it appears, making them face what role they have in a completely foreign morality.  It seems a lot like a prelude to Justice League Elite, which he wrote a few years later, again drawn by Doug Mahnke, the artist on these JLA issues.  I wasn’t a big fan of Mahnke in JLE, and I’m still a little disturbed by his proportions and style here.  He does a good job at making people look unhealthy, and he seems a little obsessed with bugs and veins.  From the notes section of The Obsisdian Age, I discovered that Mahnke is from Minnesota.  I wonder if I’ve seen him at any of the conventions around here.

Comics read since last time:

X-Force 1-6 (new series)
Cable 1-2 (new series)
She-Hulk 26-30
X-Factor 30-32 and The Quick and the Dead
JLA 51-54

I have to start off by saying that I’ve never really liked Cable. Not now and not when he led X-Force. Not drawn by Ariel Olivetti and definitely not drawn by Rob Liefeld. I’m also not a huge fan of X-Force, coincidentally most identified with Rob Liefeld. I can’t say that what I’m currently reading has given me any great joy either. Both of the runs I’m reading now are part of the X-Men: Divided We Stand non-crossover. I’m actually being something of a hypocrite, in that I’m only reading them (in trades from the library) because X-Factor crosses into Secret Invasion and since the X-Factor trade I just finished is also part of Divided We Stand, I’ll read the rest of the related series. I say I’m a hypocrite, because when people say that they don’t want to read this series, or this crossover or comics from this company, because there’s too much background, or too much continuity, or they don’t want to have to know the past 50 years of comics, I gently scoff. And now, before diving headlong into Secret Invasion, I’m reading series I have no interest in, just to keep up with what’s going on. That’s kind of what I’m doing with She-Hulk, as well, although I’m more likely to have an interest in continuing on reading the Jade Giantess, afterwards.

Peter David is writing both She-Hulk and X-Factor (maybe he likes hyphens).The two series have a similar theme, in that they both cross into the crime genre: X-Factor is a detective agency, and She-Hulk along with her partner Jazinda (a skrull who currently doesn’t seem to be involved with the invasion) are bounty hunters. I’m definitely enjoying X-Factor more, though, than the “buddy film” adventures that She-Hulk is having.  It’s almost like David is having a better time writing these characters, than revisiting Gammaville.

Coincidentally, I also finished off a JLA trade: Divided We Fall.  As the X titles are all about what happens when Cyclops decides the X-Men are no more, this chapter of JLA is about what happens when DC’s greatest team has an irrepairable rift.  While the X-Men experience their disillusionment in the destruction of both the school and the near-fatal shooting of Professor X, the JLA’s wounds come from within, from Batman’s secret files on the rest of the heroes, specifically how to take them out.  All of that happened in the previous arc, where a villain gains knowledge of these vulnerabilities.  Now, the JLA has to decide whether they’re going to be able to function any more without their inherent trust.  Going back and reading all of this, after having read Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, and everything else that’s come after it, I can see how much has really been building for the past decade in DC.  This is a good example of what I was talking about.  I didn’t have to have read the JLA to enjoy the later stories, and going back now, it show just how much more of a tapestry everything is.  The threads have been there, and my noticing them now, makes it a much richer design.

I read comics every day. I don’t think a single day goes by any more where I don’t read at least one, and usually, I read a trade’s worth. After all, that seems to be how most comics are packaged these days. While these won’t be complete reviews, I’m going to attempt to share my thoughts on what I read each day. If something I read warrants it, I’ll go into it more thoroughly.

So far I haven’t read much of Secret Invasion, although on the way back from Wizard World Chicago I caught up with The Initiative. Today, I started with an online checklist I found, reading Mighty Avengers #13, New Avengers #40, and Avengers: The Initiative #14. I know I’m a bit behind the times with these, but I wasn’t really interested in starting this until stuff started to be available in trade, or I was able to borrow them from a friend en masse. The stuff I’ve heard so far makes it seem that Secret Invasion itself will be much better read in one sitting…or at least not having to wait month by month.

So far, we just have the paranoia setting in, with no one knowing who is a skrull, except for 3-D Man. It’s kind of awesome how this character is getting a prominent role. I admit that I love it when minor characters are brought to the fore, like in Agents of Atlas and Shadowpact. Reading them in bunches like this, the art and writing tend to give me a bit whiplash, with such different styles as Bendis and Slott, Maleev, Gage, and Cheung.

I started the X-Factor: The Only Game in Town trade, reading issues 28 and 29, and finished off the latest collection of Legion of Super-Heroes, featuring the return of Jim Shooter. Quite a contrast in these two series, X-Factor keeping with the hard-boiled style started in the initial Madrox mini-series, and Legion spanning the galaxy with plenty of giant monsters and sci-fi action. Peter David is a bit more enjoyable to read than Jim Shooter right now, although I admit to a bit of bias against Shooter and his anti-gay edict when he was Editor in Chief of Marvel. I notice that Shooter lays it on a bit thick with Invisible Kid’s attraction to Giselle. I wonder if that has anything to do with the gay relationship between Lyle and Chemical King, and then later with Brainiac 5, in various iterations of the title. I am happy that Shooter ended the Lightning Lad being over his head in charge scenario; it was getting pretty tiresome and repetitive, and a little bit trite that he didn’t have any sort of assistant, computerized or otherwise. Come to think of it, both Lightning Lad and Madrox were feeling the burdens of leadership in these issues, but on different scales. Both of their teams are going up in flames, they both feel like things are out of their control, but they’re being blamed for it all. I’m also happy to see the return of Arcade. I feel I should’ve recognized his touch earlier, but I was surprised to see him appear when I turned the page. The cane is a bit Riddler-esque, but I love his Space Invaders socks. Nice touch with the Vote Saxon stickers as well. Everyone really does watch Doctor Who now, don’t they?

Handknit Heroes #1 has arrived… I can’t wait for #2! I first heard about this concept from the creator, our very own Stephanie Bryant (aka Mortaine). Stephanie is an old friend who has carved out a career as a professional writer, always finding new and interesting ways to ply her trade, most recently supporting her lifestyle as a traveling writer/ knitter, writing out of an RV with her husband. I received issue #1 in the mail with a nice press kit, announcing that she has turned her idea into a real published comic book with story and art… and knitting pattern!

The story has 4 main characters; a mom and her teenage twins, and one of their friends. Unbeknownst to each other, they all have developed powers. In this first issue, some of them start making connections, but it is clear that there is much more to come. I really enjoyed the art, which evoked the cuteness and angst inherent in teenage years. There was one panel I loved where mother and son sit eating ice cream together, separated by secrets, but sharing the same method of holding their spoons.

I had an unfamiliar feeling while reading this- wanting to knit something. I’m sure it will pass soon, but I’m impressed that it’s even possible. I had noticed the design as soon as it appeared in the story, thinking it was cute and functional (I hadn’t noticed that it was also featured on the back cover). I like the way that the piece was integrated into the story and the art, and the charming instructions and description of the designer in the back.

I am putting for my subscription as soon as I get paid, so that I don’t miss the next issue. For now, this book is only available on the comicknits website.

Mark Waid, editor of Boom Studios is giving away issue #1 of Hexed, a new comic written by Michael Alan Nelson and drawn by Emma Rios. It’s a good read, and well worth a look (more so because it’s free!). With a hot female protagonist who has some sort of magical powers, set in a christian mythos, it was a bit reminiscent for me of Strange Girl.

Click on the cover, or click here to go to the blog post and see the full issue. You may have to scroll down some before you get to the images. There’s a video about how Boom Studios is promoting the comic above the actual comic.

(Via Boing Boing.)

I’ve only just discovered ShortPacked!, a webcomic more or less about a bunch of toystore employees. It’s pretty good stuff, and if I weren’t at work right now, I’d probably waste a few hours reading it from the beginning.

(Via MinnPost, who got permission to reprint a really great recent comic about Clark Kent in the newmedia age.)

It’s little things like this that just make me grin when I read comics:

In The Punisher presents: Barracuda #2 (written by Garth Ennis, drawn by Goran Parlov), there’s a throwaway line when Barracuda sees a former fellow inmate on a first class flight to a banana republic.  Digby, the former inmate who is shaking in his boots at seeing Barracuda confesses that he now works for Hart Consolidated, who sent him on the trip to look into someone’s financials.  Barracuda says that Hart’s one of the biggest outfits in the country, why would they hire a fraud like Digby?

Anyone know what Hart Consolidated is a reference to?  And the name Digby?