courtesy DC

Avengers: The Initiative #12 (Marvel) - The first class is revolved out for new super heroes. The best series Marvel putting out right now.

BPRD Vol. 8: KIlling Ground TPB (Dark Horse) - The plot gets icky…

Black Panther: Little Green Men TPB (Marvel) - I thought it was an episode of classic Star Trek, but there is a planet where 20s gangsterism is a way of life. How will the New Fantastic Four react?

Uncles Sam and the Freedom Fighters #8 (DC) - The last one! Go buy 10 copies! This is a great series no one is really giving a chance. Those of us who read it, love it, because the characters are balanced and the plot is hilarious and creepy. Don’t wait for the trade!

Jack of Fables #22 (Vertigo) - After the Pathetic Fallacy one-shot last issue, we return to Jack’s adventures, but this time in the Old West! What (and who) hasn’t he done?

According to a recent Marvel press release:

“With Secret Invasion in full swing, Hercules’ sister Athena has banded together a sacred group of deities to face the imminent Skrull threat! Incredible Hercules #117, a tie-in to the red-hot Secret Invasion event, gives you a front row seat to a battle of divine proportions. In this issue, the critically acclaimed writing team of Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente unveil the premiere appearance of the all new GOD SQUAD, including fan-favorite Snowbird!” Read the rest of this entry »

Cape’s Anatomy

Yes, I’ll admit, I watch Grey’s Anatomy. The LOSTian rule of the most dramatic thing that could happen happening is present, but the writing is solid and I love the character interaction. But there are a lot of things that piss me off, and this is true of other medical shows like House, ER, and Scrubs.

This is why I helped some students at my former high school write a sketch parodying these medical dramas, showing how they are all similar and pointing out their hilarious flaws. Five of those jokes needed to make their way into Cape & Cowl - I felt like I needed to apologize to female readers after two weeks of Spider-man strips!

Cape & Cowl © Matt Knicl 2008
www.shanesmithart.com

Courtesy NBC

The second interview I did for my Scrubs/Writer’s Strike article was on-set costumer Celeste LaChance.

Matt Knicl: What is your position on the show and what does that role entail?

Celeste LaChance: I work on the show as the on-set costumer. I am responsible for continuity, making sure that if we shoot part of scene 1 and then pick that same scene up a few days later, I make sure that they are in the proper change and the buttons or zipper or such matches. I work closely with the actors and the other crew members

Read the rest of this entry »

Behind Emmy Lines

Way back when, I talked about the Writer’s Strike through the lens of one of my favorite shows, Scrubs. While at the time I was discussing my own viewpoint, i decided to seek out members of the entertainment community to see what they thought. This was difficult due to the WGA’s media blackout, but after a few months I was able to talk to several members of Scrubs for an article in the Buzz.

Phyllis Williams has worked with Scrubs since the beginning. She is the make-up department head and in her spare time works on Haute-Zine, an online publication that focuses on beauty, fashion and entertainment for African-Americans.

The following is the interview I conducted with Ms. Williams about her work on the show and the Writer’s Strike. Read the rest of this entry »

I Sell Out So You’ll Buy Me Out

There are always gimmicks associated with every character-based franchise. Cape & Cowl is no exception - I’ve got to diversify them like Disney, Marvel, and Warnes Bros if I want to make a buck!

Some of the biggest sell-outs by American companies is the mangazation of American properties. And of course, you need giant robots and collectible creatures to do that!

Read the rest of this entry »

This was a Marvel heavy week for me - mainly due to Deadpool. That’s not to say there wan’t more out from other publishers that deserves to be looked at, of course.

Deadpool Classic Vol. 1 TPB (Marvel) - This is a chronological reprinting of all of Deadpool’s major first appearances, hopefully leading into more volumes.

Deadpool vs. The Marvel Universe TPB (Marvel) - The end of Cable & Deadpool. This is where Deadpool teamed up with Wolverine, the Fantastic Four, Doctor Strange, the Mighty Avengers and fights Venom-ized dinosaurs! This also addresses story points from the first Deadpool series, which hopefully we’ll see in trade form down the line. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey kids! Sorry for not updating for a few days - the Convention was amazing! There was so much to see, so much to do - everything vaguely nerd was there - from Japanese designer toys to trading card games to comics. Walking around, there was so much going on you actually forget to eat and drink. You bump into famous people and realize they are human beings, or hear them speak and become more convinced they are a literary god. I’m still absorbing the events, but I’ll share with you some of the cool news I picked up. Read the rest of this entry »

Off On The Road To New York City

By the time you read this, I’ll be in sunny Manhattan attending the legendary New York Comic Con, one of the biggest conferences during the convention season, next to San Diego.

I’m going to be away from the internet for a few days, but I’ll have plenty of pictures and news to post when I return. I’m not taking the trusty laptop, because if TV has taught me anything about New York - I will be mugged, I will get murdered, and I will have to run from a giant monster, maybe not in that order, but you know what I mean. Plus I don’t want to check a bag with all this plane rescheduling that’s been going on in the news, so I have to travel light.

Talk to you soon!

Publication Conquest

This series represents an unsettling trend in super hero comics. This is not to say anything of the story, which is fun, engaging, and a nice synthesis of space-themed characters.

The bad aspect is prevalent in most limited series and comics from Marvel and DC, and it’s that the stories happen too fast. What I mean is Annihilation Conquest is an epic space saga with battles that consume a galaxy - and it takes place in 6 issues. This was a problem with the first Annihilation, as well. The plot, what used to be a single issue, is stretched to six (so it can be collected in a book), but to deserve the six issue stretch, deals with a massive event with many characters.

There is little set up for character interactions and the writing begins to take the readers for granted - telling us events and relationships are important without them actually being established over time. Emotions and impact points begin to feel forced and not earned. In the past, a character had years of monthly issues to build up a story with characters and relationship, so when someone died or a villain returned it was a big deal, but in series like this moments are forced down our throats when they haven’t been deserved.