courtesy DC

I was excited about this issue when I heard about it in San Diego. I’m less excited about the Page sisters, and more interested in the forgotten Fables - the legends and stories erased from the collective unconsciousness.

The cover and interiors are riddled with these invented legends, like Captain Scurvy the pirate and the bipedal camel. Writer Bill Willingham continues to amaze me with his crazy, off the wall stories that still have a touch of humanity to them (which is really the crude and campy humor).

I’d say at the beginning the series would only be fun to read for fans of Fables, but now Willingham has put enough time and development into these past few issues that Jack of Fables is something non-Fables fans can enjoy.

courtesy DC

While many of you know about Alan Moore’s V For Vendetta and Watchmen, no one outside of comics will have heard of Moore’s sub-imprint of DC’s Wildstorm imprint, America’s Best Comics.

These stories are the best comics have to offer. What Moore did was instead of write a single title, he wrote a dozen series all part of the same universe. With each title, he could use different artists to tell different stores. Tom Strong was a campy Superman/Doc Savage pulp hero, while Promethea was a dark fantasy exploration of Moore’s religious philosophy. Each title had a different theme, but the characters shared a central universe.

America Best Comics’ was Moore’s attempt at saving comics. He gave different writers and artists the chance to play in a unique toy box of characters that homaged the wonderfully stupid legacy of comics. But, all of the series were eventually canceled, and ABC was left on hiatus.

Hopefully, with this trade paperback that reprints all the title’s first issues and the announcement of a Top Ten (the super hero police title) sequel, ABC may be back on the rise. If sales and interest justify it, these brilliant series may soon return.

Plus, this book is only $5.

Solomon Kane #1

While most people know of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian character, due to the movies, comics and recent video game, some of Howard’s other creations get left in the dark. Solomon Kane is one such character. Written in the pulp style Howard is known for, Solomon Kane’s stories were about the puritan warrior set to vanquish evil in all its demonic forms during the 1600s. And while Conan has a strong fan base, I find that the franchise has made itself into a cliché, and have always found Solomon Kane to be a more unique character.

Dark Horse comics, best known in Howard terms for its Conan series, will so release a miniseries written by editor Scott Allie. Mr. Allie was kind enough to speak to me again about this new series and his love for the character.

Matt Knicl: What do you like about Solomon Kane?

Scott Allie: The main thing that draws me to what Howard did is the solitary figure, in a real scary wilderness, going up against very old fashioned monsters. I love the drama and the darkness of it.

Read the rest of this entry »

courtesy DC

Gail Simone’s Wonder Woman is one of the few DC titles I still read, having dropped the majority of them when Final Crisis started and continuity went to hell. Wonder Woman herself is a character apart from other DC heroes. She has a secret identity, but her powers and costume are less about the super hero trend and more about mythology. She’s a mythical hero for the modern age.

Simone understands this uniqueness inherent to Wonder Woman. Her past few arcs have dealt with Wonder Woman’s mythological origins - her birth - and this current arc that just ended dealt with her life and possible future. But comic traditionalists don’t fret! There are still several DCU elements present in the comic that don’t detract from the integrity of the myth stories being told. Talking Gorillas are the way to go.

I think the thing I most respect about the series, beside its ability to stand on its own, is how the story propels itself from issue to issue without skipping a beat, organically setting up characters and future plots. There is a respect for the current story being told and foresight to plan for more. If you only read one DC book monthly, read this one.

For British Eyes Only

Many people don’t pay attention to a series after the first issue. The marketing departments of big companies hype the launching of the first book, but never really follow up. What I mean is that each issue deserves attention, and while a series looses its popularity as it goes on, comic readers should follow the entirety of a series, not just the first issue.

So how is Paul Cornell’s Captain Britain and MI-13 doing since it’s first issue?

This is the British book and practical in terms of the Marvel Universe. We needed this book to address what the British super heroes are doing during the Skrull invasion. The Marvel universe is a universe of implications, where one thing from one comic can affect the course of another. The excuse for this series is to explore Bendis’ Secret Invasion implications, but also slightly addresses issues presented in Cornell’s Wisdom, the newer Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos miniseries and in my mind, the end of Marc Guggenheim’s Blade run. Read the rest of this entry »

They Decide 2008

The purpose behind this series is to ride the 2008 Election bandwagon and identify the political affiliation of every major DC character.

I know, right?

The series is being written by the best DC has to offer - Bill Willingham of Fables (the Right) and Judd Winnick of Green Arrow/Black Canary (the Left). I love these writers (sans Winnick’s butchery of Captain Marvel), and the story will no doubt be fantastic, but the idea behind this series is just dumb.

Let’s go back to Marvel’s Civil War. This was an overly political fare asking “Whose side are you on?” But this was alright because the characters where dealing with the hypothetical political debate over superhuman registration. While Iron Man clearly was Bush and Captain America a liberal, the issues dealt with were imaginary and real world political allegiances were not directly revealed. Dare I say Marvel handled this more artistically than DC will? Read the rest of this entry »

courtesy DC

The Literati of the internet and comic fandom have spoken - Final Crisis is too confusing! They don’t know what is going on, or what writer Grant Morrison is trying to prove with dozens of storylines that have yet to converge. People are angry and vocal about how “bad” this crossover is, and I can see the logical assertions they are making.

To wait seven months to read one story is problematic, and the random characters to follow, some of them brand new, is annoying. Grant Morrison doesn’t need to re-invent the wheel. But at the same time, comic fans are complaining just to complain.

Yes, the story doesn’t make a lot of sense, but with this recent third issue, some of the random elements are beginning to merge and make sense. The payoff for waiting to see this book come together in the end will be far greater than demanding a traditional, linear and boring story’s momentary payoff. On its own, Final Crisis may seem like a mess, but most comic fans read a lot of comics a week - so if Final Crisis is nontraditional, chances are they are reading ten to fifteen titles that are traditional.

Trust Grant Morrison - you’ll save yourself a lot of time angrily blogging if you do. Ahem…

I Am A Thousand Of Them

I’ve always been a fan of the Magic: The Gathering worlds - even when I stopped playing the game I continued to read the novels based on each expansion. The Magic worlds are influenced by mythology and modern concepts, and the stories that take place in them are always good reads.

Magic.com has posted the first of three webcomics focusing on the planeswalker Garruk Wildspeaker. Written by Flavor Text Editor and recent Eventide development head Doug Beyer, this is a great short story that helps to expand the Magic mythology.

I made a promise I couldn’t keep. Covering Comic-Con by oneself is impossible. The convention center took days to explore, and each panel had a line so long, you would have had to be there an hour before hand to ensure attendance. I thought I’d have free time, but at night when I thought I’d post, I was occupied by parties.

As far as the Con went, I have mixed feelings. As a comic fan, everyone and everything you’d want to see would be there, and lines in teh comic book area wouldn’t be too horrible. But, the movie and TV and video game and toy stuff really stole comics’ limelight, and filled the con with tourists and kids who admittedly didn’t read. Harold & Kumar were there, for example, and their booth put Marvel’s to shame. But once I stayed out of the entertainment section and kept to the comics area, I had a good time meeting with publishers and creators.

The parties were by far the best part of the Con because I could meet and talk to people one on one. You’d turn around and Joss Whedon or Bruce Campbell would be chilling. I met Mark Waid, Stephen Baldwin, Bill Willingham, the heads of DC and Marvel, Keith Giffen, and Grant Morrison at these parties, and as a professional and a fan boy I had a great time just talking to people.

News: Read the rest of this entry »

For those of us wanting a quick refresher course on Deadpool before his new series begins in September, Marvel has set up the Deadpool Saga online, a quick comic designed to explore Deadpool’s history in the Marvel Universe. Take a look if you are interested.

p.s. I’m heading off to San Diego Comic Con, so I’ll be sure to update as the week unfolds.