The Week of January 23rd

Published on January 23, 2012 in Censorship, Comics and Ronnie's Reviews. 0 Comments

 

VERY IMPORTANT

Go vote for us.

Get Mike Richardson to come to Cup o’ Kryptonite.

Dark Horse is running a contest to have Publisher Mike Richardson come to a shop to promote Dark Horse Presents #10.  You just need to go to the link below and leave a comment on the site under our post.  Say you love us or some such.  Yes, I’m running behind on this, that is why I need all the help I and Ronnie can get on this.

Thank you much.  Now go comment on us here.

http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/777/mike-richardson-comes-your-store

The Comic Pendulum and what to make of Marvel…

So, I’ve been pretty harsh towards DC in the last couple months.  Well, they deserve it.  Frankly, what I’ve written in this blog is tame in comparison to what I have to say about the company in person.  So, of course that will bring those saying why don’t you ever say anything about the good things they do.  Because, since they flushed their company down the toilet I haven’t had anything nice to say.  Funny thing, I used to get this when I would incessantly rip on Marvel a year or so ago.

It is the swinging of the comic pendulum.  In the nearly ten years I have been doing this retail thing, I have seen this pendulum swing between these two so many times.  Funny thing though, when the spotlight is on the one, the other usually is putting out better product.

Hence Marvel Comics right now.  The spotlight is squarely on the DC (I will not call them DC Comics as it is redundant) and Marvel is using that to post some good year end numbers and set up for a great year in 2012.

A good friend and much better hockey player than I sent me an Associated Press article last week on Marvel’s year end numbers.  It was written for the general public and I felt glossed over/completely ignored some huge glaring problems with Marvel’s publishing (which I will get to in a moment) but was interesting to see how the public views our little wing of literature.

In the article it talked about how DC took away nine of the top ten highest selling comics of the year, but Marvel sold more in total units and had more of the overall market share.  It also mentioned, and this is the one really interesting part and needs to be pointed out that it is solely DC who did it, the comic industry rose in overall sales by 1.2 percent.

It is constantly doom and gloom when people talk about comics, but as Dan Buckley, publisher and President of Marvel is quoted in the article saying, “Let’s stop counting comics out” and adds “Let’s stop talking about how this is going to end because I’ve watched this try to end three or four times already, and it doesn’t end.”

Now, the real concern I have is that some of Marvel’s publishing policies ARE part of the doom and gloom creation.  It is great to hear that the head of the largest comic company thinks this way, it is another to allow the over publishing that threatens to sink the ship.  The arms race between Marvel and DC is great for stockholders, but not so good for those actually purchasing or collecting this stuff.

DC is at fault, but Marvel is to blame.  Their insane publishing schedule (think about the number of books that come out twice a month) is something only a super villain, a junkie or a corporate raider trying to suck dry the last ounce of profit would love.

These big two are not the only ones doing it too.  IDW gets one hit off a book and starts publishing, at the minimum another side book damn near immediately.  There are three GI Joe books, two Transformers books, two TMNT books.  Dark Horse seems to think if one is good, four or five or six Star Wars books are better (however, Dark Horse Presents is a nice island in the comic book sea of stupid.)

I just wonder if things would be better if there was less.  If comics were bigger or cheaper and there was less of them… would things be better?  I don’t know.

Nonetheless, back to that pendulum.

This is the great opportunity Marvel needs to set up for a huge year and become the industry leader it could be.  I have heard mixed thoughts on Avengers vs. X-Men.  Primarily, it looks like people are interested, if more than a bit apprehensive.

Either way, this is THE book from them this year.  It is going to be a twelve part story that, as Editor in Chief Axel Alonso says is, “the kind of high-octane, action-packed story that fans demand while also having a profound effect on every character involved — and reshaping the Marvel Universe in its wake.”  There you go, we shall see.  Let’s hope they don’t fug it up.

 

DC’s New logo and other bad from them this week…

I heard from a lot of you this week about this repugnantly dull logo.

My favorite was from my employee Chad who said, “I have a graphic arts degree and I can do better than that.”  My friend Carter summed it up the best though, “I’m not sure what I’m looking at.  Is it a sticker/label company?  If it is, I think it’s fairly ominous that the D looks like it’s being pasted onto the C (digital replacing real comics?).”

I heard one response from DC on the net saying that the logo represents a lot as DC is so much more than just comics.  Oh, Brother!

And…

I couldn’t resist this dig on DC’s continued retooling.

Here is a great link to an article about the Huntress and her now fourth, fifth (?) rebooting.  Seriously, DC remove your head and get some direction… or maybe the character isn’t that important and if that is the case, then we don’t need to see her.

I would also add, that with this new wave of “awesome” books they have “planned” I still don’t see anything close to a timeline, explanation or some feeling that the lighthouse is being tended.  There are so many books that contradict statements that were made before they started.  (Superman’s Death is in continuity or Green Lantern’s storyline isn’t affected.)  They need a history of their universe.  But I am guessing that is WAY too complicated for the three headed hydra that has it’s paws in too many pies/books already.

Another winner and by winner I mean we are the losers…

Oh, and Justice League #5 was supposed to ship last week and will be in this week.  If you had Justice League in your office pool for first book to ship late you win.  What was that lie about “books are guaranteed to ship on time?”  One week wouldn’t even be an eye batting if the company publishing it hadn’t said, “books WILL ship ON TIME!”

 

When Conservative Super Villains Attack…

Oh, Boy.  Is Fox News behind the times or is… wait, I think that obvious, like the 1950’s.

How do we know this, because of a little “news” piece released this week by the Washington DC Fox Affiliate.  I’m going to give you the link, you can go watch and then I will comment.

What a fantastic craptacular job of fear mongering.  What an outstanding job of pulling out the Fredrick Werthum classic Seduction of the Innocent and again proving; if you don’t learn from your past, you are doomed to repeat it.  What a top notch job of dropping any journalistic quality at the door… oh, wait this was Fox News, all of these are common place in any piece, segment or report done by this hack of a company.

The basic thought the piece WANTS to put forth – that these books are sexual and violent – I actually agree with to some extent… but like typical TV journalism (especially local) there is nothing brought forward except fear mongering.  My guess is none of the reporters or anchor monkeys read any of these books because – Comics Are For Kids, Right?

I do feel that DC has dropped the ball on their new line in regards to miss labeling and not doing a better job of making the lines between their teen, teen-plus and mature lines more defined, but this is pretty unfair.  It really does smack of the stuff done in the 1950’swhen comics were brought up before a Senate hearing as subversive and a primary cause of juvenile delinquency.  Comics were burned and banned, censored and creativity was stymied for decades.

LEARN from your past, don’t repeat it.

And if that wasn’t enough…

But maybe I’m over reacting.  This kind of crap has always been here, right?  Well, maybe.  There is a retrospective look at the demonizing of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the early 1990s up over at Comics Alliance worth a look.  No, not the original Eastman/Laird book with the extra dose of violence, no, the TMNT Adventures book published by the same company that put out Archie.  It is head shaking how these religious nutjobs are able to breathe and walk at the same time.  You can find it here.

 

Judge Dredd!!

I’ve already heard from a few of you.  “Oh, Wow.  Have you seen the Batman Trailer?”  “Sweet, Avengers is going to be great.”  I seriously could care less about both of these and anything else coming this summer…. Except, Judge Dredd!

I am a fan of the character, after being immersed in him by a collection my sister brought back from Scotland many years ago as a gift for me.  I just love the political and social satire that is going on in the book, which is published in an anthology titled 200AD.  Dredd turns 35 this year and they are releas…. Why is the sound of crickets chirping the only thing I can hear right now?  You should all be excited for this.

Whatever.  Here is a link to an article about a good superhero movie.  If John Wagner says it’ll be good, It’ll be good.

The rest of you can take your crappy mush mouthed non-Hispanic Bane and bite me.

 

Ronnie’s Reviews…

Batman #5 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capulo

Dang that was awesome.

Grant Morisson spent the last number of years showing us that no matter what, Bruce Wayne is five steps ahead of everything. Usually, more like seven.  He got shot by Darkseid, battled his way through time – all the way to the very end of everything – and came back unscathed!  He was very godlike… and it was awesome.

This current run seems to be the flipside to that. Snyder appears to be deconstructing Bruce and making him battle his own ego, as well as this Court of Owls. This issue we see Batman in the worse shape since the great Venom story by the Denny O’Neil in the early 90s. It’s terrible to see Bruce in such a state, being tormented and torn apart by unseen enemies for days, watching his mind unravel and resolve being destroyed. Like a lot of great horror writers – and this is a horror story – Snyder is keeping us in the dark on a lot of story elements and constantly ratcheting up the tension. This first arc seems to be just the beginning of something very epic and memorable, much like his run on Detective Comics.

Loved it, loved it.  5 Stars.

 

Ronnie’s Best Bets for Books Coming this Week:

American Vampire #23 – Another Scott Snyder written series (Swamp Thing, Severed, Batman), which of course means it is excellent. This will be the second part of the 50s arc featuring a hot rod death race between a young James Dean-ish vampire hunter and the monster that killed his family. The last issue, #22, was not only well written – with hidden twists and turns – but also a terribly fun read.  It would be a great jumping on point to test out this great series.  I think there are a few left in the shop, if not I will order you one and have it in next week.  Did I mention that Rafael Albuquerque is one of the best artists in the biz?  No, well he is.

 

Sweet Tooth TP Vol. 4 – for all y’all saying you are trade waiting for this series, here you go. You now got four volumes to catch up on.  One of the best stories out there by the master of the cliffhanger Jeff Lemire (Essex County, Animal Man, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E.).  Lemire writes and illustrates this tightly written, creepy post-apoclyptic series full of human/animal hybrids, plagues, and survivalist horror.  No more excuses, start it today.  This is one of my favorite series in a long time.

 

Dark Horse Presents #8 - This issue is scheduled to have a new BPRD story – a wake for Hellboy.  It’ll also have the final chapter to the awesome Howard Chaykin story Marked Man that has been running since issue #1.  Most exciting though, is the premier of The Massive by Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson. Word is that The Massive will be a post ecological collapse tale. If you were a fan of DMZ (you did read DMZ, right?), this seems to be following some of the same themes, but takes it ten steps further. Can’t wait! This anthology series is for fans of everything.

 

Stop PIPA and SOPA

Published on January 18, 2012 in Censorship. 0 Comments

Wednesday we shut down our site in support of those fighting government censorship of the internet.

It is a national day of action against the PIPA (Protect IP Act) and SOPA (Stop online piracy) bills worming their way through the United States Senate and House.  These follow on the heels of the Defense Authorization Act of 2011 (which made it “legal” for the President to authorize the indefinite detention without trial of “enemy combatants” on American Soil) and would constitute a massive infringement of  free speech.

Now, I’ve never been called a tech smart person… and it shows here and now as all I have figured out how to removed is every post from the last four months plus and most of the side info.  However, in those posts I bash corporate comics heavily, the same corporate whores that support these bills.  Maybe this little shop owner is declared trouble for speaking his mind against the two big comic companies or my selling subversive Goon comics that support unions (which is available right now!! GASP!!) is deemed to great a threat to… someone.  This isn’t about piracy, this is about the ability to send out information freely.

If you do not understand how bad these bills are please watch this short four minute video you can find here: http://vimeo.com/31100268 31100268

I am also recommending you read up on this further.  You can find an excellent preview of the Day of Action on DailyKos.com, included is a bunch of links about the bills.  Also, please go to http://americancensorship.org/.

I publish this little blog through Word Press and they are actively working against these bills as well, for obvious reasons.  In an article they wrote they quoted Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Listen, I’m a nobody, but I do still have a voice.  I will not stand for further censorship or abandonment of core principles we have tried to live by.  Keep the internet free.

Wednesday was not the end, please call or e-mail your Senator, NOW.

Week of January 16th

Published on January 16, 2012 in Comics and Ronnie's Reviews. 0 Comments

Ronnie is back with a bunch of help this week.  I always like his reviews and write-ups.  It is kind-of creepy that there is little in comics we disagree on, except his super-crush on Batman, but that is a conversation for another time.  On with the world of comics…

 

Note – Last call for January Previews.  I have the order entered and ready to upload, but am waiting for anymore stragglers.  Get em in.

 

Oh, DC.  I knew you well once…

(long exasperated sigh)

You may think, “why is he always bashing on DC?”  Well, why does a volleyball player spike the ball or a homerun hitter hit 500 foot homeruns?  The answer is that when something is served up like this, it is just too easy.

Crappy New Logo…

If you haven’t seen the newest logo for the “entertainment” company with identity issues, they have released – or a version was “released” – last week.  This one does not have color, but you can find it here. Judge for yourself, but at least one thing can be said, it is, at the very least, as equally sh!tty as the last one and that looked like it was selling soft serve ice cream.

Why change?  Well, all the books, characters and ideas are new – that is such a false statement – why not make an even newer logo?  No one remembers five years ago, not in comics.

Our First Late Book?…

Looks like we have our first not on time DC title and the winner is… oh, come on, you knew this one before I even said anything… Yep, Justice League is not shipping this week and MIGHT come out next week (according to “sources” at The NU DC.)  Seriously, I’m not even mad – granted I don’t even read the “comic” – I’m just proven right and seriously, not much makes me happier.

Jim Lee has NEVER not been late.  Should we serve up a list of past hits, yes, why don’t we.  Most recently, there was Frank Miller’s All Star Batman.  Remember there was a gap of ONE YEAR between two issues.  Before that, the singe issue relaunch of Grant Morrison’s WildCats.  You know, I never heard what happened with that.  Nonetheless, one issue, cliff hanger and… nothing else.  If I remember right he was late on X-Men and Uncanny X-Men as well as Superman and, though not terribly so, on his Batman run too.

I’m not bashing him, he is a fine person and, though not my cup of tea, a fine artist too.  I’m just making a point.  Never promise that every and all books will be on time – LIKE DAN DIDIO DID – it is understandable that from time to time something will come up and a book will run slightly behind.  Just don’t make promises they won’t.  Marvel said last year that they were going to do everything in their power and that consequences would result if books were late, and they have done an excellent job in making sure their stuff is better to matching expected on sale dates (they are also publishing A LOT more.)  I’m just saying, don’t make promises you can’t keep or I get to say… I told you so.

Only Six Cancelled Books?…

What, but I thought these were the best things ever?  If you had Blackhawks, Hawk and Dove (my choice,) Men of War, Mister Terrific, Omac or Static Shock in your office pool for first cancelled, well, good for you.  Stan Lee will have your no-prize out shortly.  Seriously, everyone saw these coming.  …and yet I found write ups on line questioning why with sales still pretty decent.  I’ll tell you why, because retailers had to order copies equal to the number of variant covers of that week’s “special” book and could return them at a later date.  If you would like to know how bad most of these sold for us, ask me, they were TERRIBLE sellers all!

Six NEW DC Books to the Rescue…

…but hey, don’t fear little Jimmy, here is a tissue and six more titles to take their place!  “Really, Uncle Matty, What possibly could this juggernaut of awesomeness give us that would be better?!!?”

(another long exasperated sigh)

GI Combat, but without any Kuberts drawing it, World’s Finest, but without either Superman OR Batman, Dial H, The Ravagers (do those two sound familiar?  Yes, they were both comics from the late nineties that were cancelled then too) Earth 2, with new versions of the Justice Society and Batman Inc volume two.

I tingle with excitement.  Wait, no, that is the desire to see more of their books cancelled.

Want to read more on this, I mean how could you not want too, go here to Comics Alliance. There are links to other stories related to the above less than enthusiastic response to continued DC announcements.

…and The Worst for Last…

In the immortal words of the “Greatest” Wrestler in WWE history, The Miz… Really?  Really?  Really?

Yes, there are creator changes coming too.  Here is one.  I assure you, don’t look if you don’t want to know.  It is a horror to great for that of mortal men… or women.

 

Need Something Good to look forward to?…

…and it is from Mark Miller and it is independently (sort-of) published and Frank Quietly is the artist.

Jupiter’s Children is it and I can say I’m intrigued.  Heck, if the solicitation (cover?) art is any indication, it is, at the very least, going to look great!  Here is a link.

 

The End of the World?…

Found a sweet ass display of screen captures of what a portion of the internet would look like if there was a zombie apocalypse.  You can find it here.

Though this is really more commentary on the internet than foretelling the “inevitable” end of the world that WILL come this year.  Yep, it is going to be a long and silly year.

But about that commentary on the internet.  Friend sent me a story form NPR’s Weekend Edition and it looks at a new book about taking a media diet.  I found the discussion very interesting and as things start to ramp up with election talk and bad for you never ending celebrity gossip and that extraneous stuff, like the end of the world.  Just a good look at our habits and how to look at them.  You can find it here.

 

Ronnie is Back…

My rock star employee is going to be helping me with this column a little more going forward.  I like Ronnie’s commentary.  He reads some good books and has a good broad left leaning mind.  Perfect for reviews.

This week he is going to look at his favorite comic (probably of all time) Scalped.  Seriously, this is one of the great books I’ve read and you SHOULD be reading it.

Also, Ronnie is starting something I should have been doing some time ago… previewing the best of what is coming out this week.  It is a good idea he is going to run with.

 

A few (more) words about Scalped…

Sooo, Scalped. I probably talk too much about this series, but I’m gonna say some more since none of you are buying it. But, at this point you probably are buying one or more series written by Jason Aaron (The Incredible Hulk, Punisher MAX, Wolverine, Wolverine and the X-Men, the upcoming X-Men vs. The Avengers super mega-event where nothing will ever be the same again!!!).

The latest issue, #55, was so intense and so awesome, that Matt and I emailed each other at almost the same time to say “Did you read that!?! Holy crap!”

Once again, Scalped is a creator owned crime story set on a Lakota reservation in South Dakota. Published by Vertigo, this very violent, beautifully unrelenting series is a brutal soap opera in a 3rd world nation, a 3rd world nation that exists in the good ‘ol US of A. The series follows a handful of very different characters and runs them through the gauntlet, never giving them the chance to breathe. The beauty of this series is the character development. It is intense, logical and completely takes you by surprise. You don’t know where anyone’s allegiances lie, or what decisions they will make. At least once an issue you’re gonna say “whoa”. I have a feeling this series will be soon used as a textbook on how to develop characters and juggle numerous plot lines, all the while giving justice to each and making every one of them unforgettable.

I could go on and on about Scalped (I haven’t even touched on the incredible art), but in the end I just want y’all to just give it a try. There are only 5 issues left (ends at #60), so catching up in trade is easily doable. I can confidently say this is one of the best series in the last decade or so. Just tell the weirdo behind the counter and they will order it for you and have it in within a week.   Do it!

 

Best Bets for Next Week, 1-18-12.

Dark Horse Presents #8 - This issue is scheduled to have a new BPRD story – a wake for Hellboy.  It’ll also have the final chapter to the awesome Howard Chaykin story Marked Man that has been running since issue #1.  Most exciting though, is the premier of The Massive by Brian Wood and Kristian Donaldson. Word is that The Massive will be a post ecological collapse tale. If you were a fan of DMZ (you did read DMZ, right?), this seems to be following some of the same themes, but takes it ten steps further. Can’t wait! This anthology series is for fans of everything.

Batman #5 – Scott Snyder. Duh. This is good stuff.

Chew #23 - If you haven’t started this series yet, you are missing out on one of the most original and insanely innovative series being published. If you like to laugh so hard you puke and like ambitious art, buy the first trade this week. If you’re all caught up, good for you. You make comics a better place.

 

P.S. Did anyone else notice in Lobster Johnson last week the heavy handed but sly swipe at the Tea Party and the weird current crop of fake Libertarians?

 

Week of January 9th

Published on January 9, 2012 in Comics, Events, Movies and Reviews-comics. 2 Comments

I am so glad the holidays are over.

They are just big, dumb and mess up schedules… yes, I’m referring to Diamond and UPS.  Sorry about their inability to work, get the books out and shipped while staying on the schedule they set up to… not have this happen.  Whatever, it is over and we are back to normal.

 

A few things to look forward to in 2012, besides the end of the world…

We will be having a C-Day event on March 14th.

What is C-Day?  It is the relaunch/start of the new Crossed ongoing book and this one is written by Garth Ennis.  We will have some kind of party that day and with it being but days before Saint Pats Day, Curt thought “why not have Free RED beer!”  Great Idea, genius even!!  So, yes, free blood beer for everyone (over 21.)  We will also be doing something to benefit The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund too.

 

On April 3rd, we will launch Avengers vs. X-Men with a pre-party.

I’m not sure what that will entail exactly, but there will be Marvel free-bees and stuff… probably free beer too.  That one is a little further out and only moderately on the radar.

 

Book Shipping this Week…

Good friend of the shop, Brook Turner has a one shot coming out this week.  It is called Deadlands Blackwater.  I must say I am a big fan of Brook’s art and I’m not saying this just because he is one of our longest hold customers, but because he is a great artist.  If nothing else, take a look at it when you come in.

Brook did Golly with Phil Hester a couple years back.  Brook is not a full time artist, he has a “real” job too.  Lets hope we see more of his work in more comics soon.  If we can, the number of regular industry workers continues to grow in Des Moines.  Don’t forget that Ron Wagner (GI Joe and if you have been to Zombie Burger lately, all the art on the walls) and Tyler Walpole (D&D) work regularly through IDW and though you don’t see it on your comic racks, Adam Van Wyk is constantly working on the next animated adventure.  It is my understanding Adam was recently called out on some commentary of the Venture Brothers as “one of the best story board artists in the industry.”  I wish our local press would acknowledge these guys for their work.

 

Walking Dead TV Show…

Found something to make you sad.  Yes, Frank Darabont is not going to have anything to do with the second half of this season’s Walking Dead.  If you want to feel even worse about that, wait until you read what might have been in an episode that now, will never be.

You can find it here at IO9.com.

 

Bane is a mush mouth?…

If you have seen the stupid movie trailer for the inevitably terrible Batman Rises, than you too are saying, “What the hell is wrong with, is that Bane” and “what the hell did he even say” and “I can’t understand a word of his mumble mouthed non Latino – ‘cause Bane is Hispanic – ass!?!”

But Conan O’Brien is here to help.

You can find it all here on Comic Alliance.

Or you could go with something completely different.

In the same article on Comic Alliance, it also mentioned that the long ballyhooed white Akira, is dead.  Finally, someone somewhere decided, “No, it is not okay to take original source material and Sh!t on it.”  If you have never read Akira, easily the best manga I’ve ever been exposed too, you knew the ‘changes’ they had planned – like making the main characters white anglo-saxon protestants – was just plain a really bad idea.  Good job and big thumbs up faceless evil executive from stupid film company.  Kudos to you for the one good decision you will make in your life.

 

Also…

Lots of love to Comic Alliance this week.  They also have a great list of their top 11 of last year.  A nice read, though you should think of it in reverse order – Atomic Robo is number 11.  You can find the list here.

 

Anyone see December’s numbers?…

OH, was that glossed over in this week’s mainstream comic “news?”  No one noticed that Marvel is back on top in both Retail Market Share AND Unit Market Share?

Yes, it is by slim margins but it demonstrates what I’ve been saying about the great and wonderful reboot at DC, the strength of the start could not be held.  Like a long distance runner (que the Iron Maiden song) you can’t start a race with a sprint, you will tire and fall off.

While everyone was printing up stories about the strength of one issue of Justice League (is sold over 360,000 copies) the numbers came out show the continued slide and overall that the DC reboot is failing.

In case you cared what the actual numbers were, here you go, these come directly from Diamond. Marvel Comics led the print market in December, narrowly edging DC Entertainment in both the Retail Dollar (34.43% for Marvel vs. 33.74% for DC) and Unit Share (39.05% vs. 37.72%) categories.

I hate to say I told you so…. But….

 

Ronnie and I didn’t do a worst read, book or company of the year in my tops of 2011 last week and the week before.  There was too much to choose from in all that fourth quarter crap released from DC.  This is both as a retailer that has also been a collector for over thirty years too.  You CAN NOT separate yourself.  Those that do, run the risk of not understanding the product they are trying to sell.  Those that do, are not able to move customers to better written or drawn comics.  You can’t let your personal preferences cloud your judgment and though many of you, I am sure, feel my dislike and downright hate of what DC has done is clouding it, I strongly come back with – You are wrong sir.  I see the drops.  I see the customers brought in by the initial start that have just stopped coming back in.  I see the confusion in people’s voices as they ask “how is it that Martian Manhunter and Guy Gardner do not know each other?”  I can’t answer the questions poised about the non-existent continuity that once was the bedrock of this company.

I have, however, helped a good number of these new customers move to better books ones I hope they will enjoy them more and ones they will hopefully stay with.

Anyone out there that is saying, “okay, smart ass, if DC is so bad – point me to something I’ll enjoy better than Detective Comics?”  Please, come in on Wednesday or Sunday morning and talk to me.  I’ll find you a book that will come with a guarantee over something that you currently read from DC.  It will probably be from Dark Horse, but none the less… I assure you, it is better than the chaos being published by DC right now.

End rant.  On to…

 

REVIEWS…

Fatale #1 – by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

This is the same team that did the Criminal series and the Incognito series.  Those are the same series, that collection after collection, remind me how good comics as a storytelling medium, can be.

With Fatale, Brubaker and Phillips take on horror – with plenty of crime mixed in for good measure.  You can see many elements that have made the other series so good; similar storytelling styles like structure, pacing and characters.

You can only assume that this will take on a much more horror oriented feel in subsequent issues – the first issue is not over wrought with horror elements – due to the fantastic write up in the back of the issue.  It is a great piece of scholarly writing about one of literature’s scariest writers, H.P. Lovecraft.  I swear sometimes I would get these books just to learn about the writers, characters and pulp time periods that are highlighted in these pieces (that you can only find in the single issues.)

The first issue was good, but not great.  However, I am guessing just like the other series, it was not one issue that was great, but the whole series as a whole.  I am sure that is how this will be too.

-NOTE- Issue one sold out at Cup in less than a day.  I am told it is sold out city wide.  A second printing is on the way already, but will not arrive until February 1st.  If you want one, I can have it pulled for you when it arrives.

The Goon #37 – by Eric Powell

How many times do I need to review The Goon and tell you this is one of the best books being published for you to believe me and buy this great comic?  Whatever… fine.  Keep reading (any of the books below that are not as good as the Goon which is most of them.)  Not my fault.  I tried to get you to love something good.

 

January 1st – The Cuppies part 2

Published on January 1, 2012 in Reviews-comics, Ronnie's Reviews and The Cuppies. 0 Comments

Holiday Shipping

It looks like comics won’t arrive until Wednesday morning.  There will be a slight delay.  Books should be out by 10:30am on Wednesday morning.

 

The Cuppies: Best of 2011

Ronnie is helping me, though, we agree on a lot of these.  He is up first:

Ronnie’s Top 5 of 2011

 

5. Animal Man. This title came out of the reboot in Sept and quickly became one of my favorite books at DC. The art by Travel Foreman is some of the creepiest/weirdest in the biz, yet draws the humans with perfect personality defining characteristics. This series, plus Sweet Tooth and Essex County makes Jeff Lemire one of my favorite writers. King of the cliffhanger. I haven’t read the Grant Morrison stories yet, but I’m told this is a worthy successor.

 

4. Dark Horse Presents. Every one of these issues has had at least two or three new stories worth the cover price. Add in new Beasts of Burden, Criminal Macabre and Hellboy (en Mexico!), plus knowing next year we get Brian Wood’s new series The Massive, that $8 begins to look like a bargain. Dark Horse just keeps doing it right.

 

3. Holy Terror. Written by Iowa native and Cup customer Jason Caskey, along with art by Iowan Phil Hester, this 3 issue supernatural luchadore story is a big fun ride. The first two issues were originally published by Image a number of years back, but were republished along with a brand new third issue this year. Look at the preview at the shop, then buy the issues. You will be supporting local creators and getting an awesome tale. Look for the trade in 2012. This has nothing to do with Frank Miller’s new reactionary agoraphobic xenophobe propaganda of the same name.

 

2. Scalped. We are reaching the end of quite possibly the best series in modern comics. This is Jason Aaron’s and RM Guera’s epic crime story set on a thinly fictionalized Lakota reservation. It features some of the most intense character development I have ever read, along with brutal plots that wont give in. As for Guera, his murky art has more storytelling in one page than most best sellers have in a 5 issue arc. It’s a tragedy that this book sells so poorly. I’ll take the blame for that, I apparently didn’t push it on you guys enough. But luckily, it’s being allowed to finish as intended by the creators. This series is number 1 on pretty much any list, however this year with the big upset…

 

1. Scott Snyder. Three Batman series, two American Vampire series, Swamp Thing and Severed – the best horror comic this year. This kid is kicking butt on everything he does. Unknown until American Vampire two years ago, he has now gotten to write the last, and one of the very best, stories for Detective Comics’ first volume, then relaunch Batman and Swamp Thing, two of the three best series to come out of the DC reboot. American Vampire is the only good vampire story in popular media (we’ll see how The Strain shapes up). I hope he doesn’t burn himself out though, he has set the bar very high.

 

Top 5 Old Standbys -

DMZ, BPRD (colored by Dave Stewart), Sweet Tooth, Tank Girl and Chew. All mighty fine series worthy of your attention.

 

Surprise of The Year

Black Panther    I picked this up for the incredible Francesco Francavilla art, and ended up being pulled into the story. I’m not a Marvel reader (or much of a superhero reader for that matter), but here I am loving this.

 

Reprint Collection of the year

Chimichanga   This absurd series by Eric Powell (The Goon) was quite possibly a perfect comic when published as single b&w issues last year. A hilarious story about circus freaks, evil pharmaceutical companies and a crazy monster filled with Powell’s knack for perfect dialogue and fully fleshed characters.  The hard cover collection upped the ante with Dave Stewart coloring, two extra stories and a cheap price. I bought my 5 year old daughter a copy too, its perfect for any age, but not a kiddie story… and it is also colored by Dave Stewart.

 

Honorary Mention

Joe The Barbarian HC   Grant Morrison at some of his most coherent best with art by the awesome Sean Murphy – it too is colored by Dave Stewart.

 

 

Now my turn:

 

Honorary Mentions

This is everything else that didn’t make the list and top award at the bottom of the page.

The New Discovery of the year is the Norwegian creator Jason.  He did two graphic novels over the past year and I have slowly found another half dozen plus to devour.   His style, art wise, is simple, but his stories he tells with it are some of the best I’ve ever read and range from comedy, to romance, to suspense.  If you ever need something new or different, you need to give this guy a try.

Best New Superhero Book is easy and I’ve said it a hundred times already, Daredevil is freak’n great.  I was already convinced of this, but was so blown away by the most recent issue (seven) – where Daredevil fights no villains, but saves a bus full of blind kids from freezing to death in the woods – I had to mention it again.  If you are not reading this title, for shame.  Please drop any one of the other much worse superhero titles you have on your list and get this, you will NOT be disappointed.

Best Horror Comic is also easily given and, somewhat surprisingly, it is the same as last year; Baltimore.  The second volume didn’t disappoint in the slightest and, in my opinion, only turned the overall fright factor up.  Much gorier than the first, and including much more in the occult department, this series is set to become one of the great horror series of all time. – also colored by Dave Stewart.

Now four overall honorable mentions:

Two Generals – by Scott Chantler   This is the true story of two Canadian officers and friends and their time during World War two.  One of the best examples of war comics I’ve seen in years.  The art, a very simplistic style, has amazing detail without over doing it.  The story centers around the battle of Caen, but is more about the day to day of the soldier in the early period of the war in Europe.  An absolutely fantastic war comic about a subject, the Canadian armed forces, you don’t hear much about (it is important to note the huge sacrifice the nation of Canada made to the overall war effort.)  If you are into war comics, I highly recommend this graphic novel.

Casanova, the insane and trippy mature reader book by Ed Brubacker and Fabio Moon/Gabriel Ba.  The story is part James Bond super spy, part 60’s acid trip, part sci fi crazy, but I assure you the book is 100% great.  If you enjoyed Umbrella Academy and Day Tripper, you’ll dig on this.

Godzilla needs to be mentioned.  The Powell and Hester arc followed by the next five issues after Phil left were pretty damn good giant monster comics.  This book is – or at least was – an example of how good a writer Eric Powell is.  Think for a second how hard it would be to write a giant monsters attacking each other book.  Get pretty dull after issue three, so, Powell needed to create human characters and use the monsters as background while attacking the excesses and downright stupidity of our society.  I’ll get to more of Powell’s greatness in a bit.

I mention this next one because little made me laugh as hard as Shame Itself, the self mocking Marvel funny book about Fear Itself and comic in general.  Under ordered, I was unsure who would want this.  Thing is everyone who reads big crossovers should have read this as a sort-of palate cleanser.  The two page spread detailing how Marvel figures out and decides the flow of the next big crossover they do is worth the cost alone.  It is nice to see that Marvel has a sense of humor about some of the silly stuff they publish.

There are probably a dozen more comics and graphic novels I could list, the Green River Killer, Petrograd or the run up to and eventual  Death of Hellboy or the Hellboy Hard Cover, House of the Living Dead are a few more, but I’ll be here forever if I do, so… moving on.

 

Best Overall Comic Book of the Year

The best publication, the best new comic, the best of the best is Dark Horse Presents.  Not just because of the wealth of quality in each issue, but because of the value as well.  The book is an anthology of several different stories in each issue and now published on a monthly basis.  Over the last year we have seen everything from Criminal McCabe to Usagi Yojimbo to a Neal Adams story to Hellboy to Beasts of Burden to a Richard Corben story… you get my point that it is a vast variety of styles, both art and writing, character and genre.

It is easily the best value for your money too.  For only $7.99 you get 80 pages of comics.  Think about it for a minute… $2.99 for 20?  $3.99 for 22?  Even $3.99 for 32 or $3.99 for 40 WITH adds?  No, none of these add up to what you get with Dark Horse Presents AND it is published on the best paper, with the best coloring and best talent in the world.  IT IS THE BEST BOOK BEING PUBLISHED… and the stories inside are great too, but I’ll get to just one of those in a bit.

 

Top Five Stories or Series of the Year

5. Betty Saves the Day, in The Roceteer #2, by Darwin Cooke – with color by Dave Stewart (do you finally get why I said this guy is one of the artists of the year?)  This book overall was my runner up to best comic of the year, but this story was the best of all the stories in the four issue anthology series, which is really saying something, because there were a lot of great stories in this book.  I highly recommend just getting the collection if you were not on the ball and bought the series when it came out.  Here are just some of the other creators in the book: Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek, John Cassaday, Dave Gibbons, Gene Ha, Tony Harris, Michael Kaluta, Joe Lansdale, Ryan Sook, Bruce Timm, Mark Waid and many more.

4. Criminal – Last of the Innocents The latest of Ed Brubaker and Sean Murphy’s acclaimed crime series sees what ever happened to a group of kids that might or might not have been Archie and his pals.  The entire run of mini-series has been great, but there was something about this one I liked even more then minis in the past.  It might have had something to do with Murphy’s great art in the flashback scenes that looked so old school and contrasted with his dark sketchy style in the rest of the series.  Just fantastic atmosphere and again making for a very memorable read.

3. Atomic Robo – written by Brain Clevinger and art by Scott Wegener   “What issue, what collection,” you might ask?  All of them!!  I just discovered this fantastic Science based action adventure book this year and it is easily one of my favorite series of all time.  If you read Hellboy, you will immediately love this book and it is Hellboy that the book is most often compared to.  Yes, it is like Hellboy, if you drop all the occult stuff and replace them with science stories.  The plot of the book is the continuing adventures of a robot man, who was created by Nickola Tesla.  It is that simple, but the stories just resonate.  My best friend has read the series twice since I pushed the first volume on him – because he liked Hellboy.  I can’t say much more than that… it is that good.

2. All New Batman Brave and the Bold #11 – Written by Sholly Fisch and drawn by  Rick Burchett

This is what I wish all the New DC books were like.  Simple, designed to tell a single issue story and without the need or desire to try and be more than what they are… entertainment.  The entire run of Batman B and B was designed to be just throwaway kid’s books, but somewhere, someone lost the memo.  What was created is a throwback to the comics we read as kids.

In issue 11, an earthquake is devastating Gotham City and within a single page we know this and have found the cause.  We don’t need a fifteen issue set up in a crossover between all the Bat-books to tell us this.  We need one page.  We also don’t need another fifteen issues to get to how we are going to solve it.  Nope, just another single page.  What is that solution, well Time Travel of course and Batman knows just who can get this done, how it works and what to do when he gets to the time period he needs to get to.  This issue eventually becomes the first team-up of Batman and Jonah Hex and eventually a fight between the two heroes and Batman’s greatest villain… and there is a giant steam powered killer robot too.

I should hate this book.  Why you ask, because it shows the failure of every and all superhero books.  When you read something so simple and get such joy from it you begin to understand the core of what is wrong with the re-start at DC’s core.  Mr. Johns and Mr. Lee and the rest of DC’s fools should have taken a course in comic creating from those doing the “throw away” kids book.

 

And The Best Comic Book Story I Read Last Year:

Isolation, in Dark Horse Presents #5 – By Eric Powell – with coloring by Dave Stewart   There was a lot of good comics published last year, but this is the best of them all.

It tells the story of an earth robot with artificial intelligence being sent to a newly found planet in a distant star system, a planet humanity hopes will be suitable for colonization.  The robot is given three things on his trip, Religion, Porn and a weapon to use when he gets there.  Along the way he understands what it is like to be human and the failings that religion, sex and drugs bring.  It is a great, fantastic story and perhaps the very best thing Eric Powell has ever done.  It also shows the power of our medium to tell a simple, yet very complex, layered story in only… eight pages!!