Against My Better Judgement

I'll start the year off with a column that I would like to call popular, but would be a bit of a stretch even by the largest amount of the imagination. Although I do know that one of my friends likes it a lot and would like more. Maybe I'll get back on track with more regular updates. I don't know. Here we go.

Justice League 3000

I gave this the benefit of the doubt because I loved everything that Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis have collaboratively written since 1987.

This goes against my better judgement because it is simply awful after two issues, and I do not buy awful books.  Yet I'm continuing to buy this for as long as I can stand. The reason being that I don't think it's Giffen's and DeMatteis's fault that this is bad. There are obviously editorial changes since longtime collaborator Kevin Maguire was fired from the book last minute. And you can tell that a lot of the first issue was written for him. There's a two page spread of 18 panels (not sure if that technically qualifies as a spread) of dialog and facial closeups. 

Also the plot should be a lot funnier: The wonder twins (Terri and Terry) clone the Justice League with DNA stolen from Cadmus. Although they fuck up and the clones are brain damaged and their powers don't all work right. Also, Batman and Superman bicker a lot.

This is classic Giffen and DeMatteis humor and it all falls way flat. What keeps me holding out hope is that DC did not want both Justice League and Justice League Europe to be humorous, and within a year or two of each series, they turned full vaudeville and bwa ha ha. I'm also happy to see that Howard Porter is not penciling issue five. He's still on the series as far as I know but at least he can't do more than four consecutive issues even with lead time. I'm not sure what kind of terms Magure left under, but maybe they'll get him back on at some point.

What you should get instead if you don't want to wait it out like me (And you don't have to. I'll update if JL3000 gets better) is Larfleeze.  Giffen and DeMatteis with Scott Kollins (and sometimes Giffen) on art. Though not their best work, this is classic dialog and snappy humor. This is my favorite DC book right now (although I am only reading three and I hate one of them). Very enjoyable.

Against my Better Judgement

This is an idea for a new column that I mentioned yesterday. I buy a lot of comics. Many times I'll leave the comic shop with more titles than I originally intended on buying. Sometimes I end up picking up something great, and that makes everything totally worth it. Many times I buy a lot of crap books. This column is going to focus on the latter. And instead of just being a Negative Nancy, I'll offer up some suggestions. So here are some comicbooks that I bought against my better judgement:

Since most of those Marvel books I've recently reviewed can fit under this category, I'll start with Thanos Rising.

I gave this the benefit of the doubt because of Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi, and I'm a huge fan of space operas.

This went against my better judgement because this is a retconning of Thanos's origin, and just like the other space opera characters that I love, Marvel is focusing on Thanos as a sad teenager. Although this has a much stronger script than Nova or Guardians of the Galaxy, I don't want to see the badass characters that I love as sad teenagers. And Marvel knows this. Look at the cover over to your left. It features a badass adult Thanos with what I assume to be alien blood all over his face and not some crying teenager.

What you should buy instead is Stormwatch 19. This is the first issue written by Jim Starlin, who is the reason that we all love Thanos in the first place. No interior art, but Starlin is also providing covers. This issue features a brand new Stormwatch team which has the Weird on its roster.

Harbinger Wars 1

I gave this the benefit of the doubt because I've enjoyed the Valiant relaunch so far, and because Harbinger has been one of my favorite new Valiant titles. I was really hoping that this was good and that I didn't have to give it up. 

This went against my better judgement because Bloodshot is the only new Valiant book that I really didn't like, and crossovers are always a mess. I'm either supposed to buy three books instead of one for four months or buy one book and not really get the whole story. Companies always say the stories are self-contained, but have you ever known that to be true? And even when the stories start off well, I'm always tired of them by the end.

What you should buy instead is Hulk 6. Walt fucking Simonson drawing the Hulk pounding on Frost Giants with Mjolnir. 'Nuff said.

Retro Vertigo

A couple months back, I was discussing with a friend that Vertigo was slowly being dissolved. Anyone keeping up knows that there have been a couple recent announcements that show that the end may indeed be near. And while I believe that most peoples's "best of" lists would (and rightfully should) be composed at least 50% with Vertigo titles, the imprint is becoming more and more archaic. Maybe it's run its course.

The most recent news is that founding Executive Editor Karen Berger will be stepping down after two decades. This could be to get some new blood for the waning imprint. Currently there are only four ongoing series, and with no big news on upcoming projects, an expansion seems doubtful.

The even bigger news that enraged bloggers a few weeks back was the cancellation of Hellblazer at issue 300. But honestly that's well past due. Don't get me wrong. It's a solid series that I've jumped on and off throughout the past 20 years, but is anyone really going to miss this? For years, it's felt like this book kept going just to keep going.

Which brings up everybody's next favorite complaint: They're using all the Vertigo characters in the DCU. Well, good. Because they're using them. When was the last time we saw Animal Man in Vertigo? 17 years ago. Swamp Thing hasn't even been used since 2006.

When Vertigo first started, it was used to distinguish some of DC's preexisting fringe books from straight-up tights and capes stuff. A group of British writers were onto something with new approaches to some obscure characters (the most famous being Sandman) and DC really wanted to take it to the next level. But a lot of people forget that for a while, these books were still part of DC continuity. Batman could show up in Swamp Thing or Vice Versa.

There were some stand-alone titles, but it didn't really change until Preacher. After that, Vertigo shifted to creator-owned books like Transmetropolitan or 100 Bullets. So bringing the old superhero characters back to the DCU makes sense, because that's where they belong. And the books aren't that different from their pre-Vertigo days. They're a little safer now, but at this point Warner Bros is more interested in comics to keep licenses for movies.

Currently, there are a lot of publishers putting out high quality creator-owned books. Image (who have come a long way since Vertigo's inception) has been setting all kinds of records with Walking Dead.  A lot creators that have been associated with Vertigo for years are moving to Image and other independent publishers, and  Vertigo is no longer is needed to fill the niche of make prestigious original titles anymore.

So it's sad, but their heyday is likely long over. And unless they produce a hit movie or TV series I can't imagine Vertigo lasting much longer. But even if the end is nigh they have a great run and will leave a legacy one of comics' most outstanding back-catalogs.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Nice Reference

A Less New World

As you've probably already heard, the axe has fallen upon the New 52 and six books have been cut. And although I predicted it would be the first book cut well before this debacle began, I'm still pretty upset that OMAC was cancelled. It ended up being a really cool homage to the really old Kirby monster stories along with the really weird Fourth World stuff he was doing in the early 70's. I think I read somewhere that OMAC's story was going to continue in Justice League International (which makes sense. It's written by Giffen's recent writing partner Dan Jurgens), I didn't really care too much about the story of Kevin Kho. I liked the retro style monster fights. If you missed it check it out in a few months when it gets reprinted in one volume. If you need more Kirbyesque stuff check out the American Barbarian webcomic by Godland artist Tom Scioli. It's really cool. I've skimmed through it but plan on waiting for it to be released in book form next month.

In related news, OMAC co-writer Dan DiDio (along with Jerry Ordway on pencils) is scripting another story featuring Kirby characters. The current arc of the anthology series DC Universe Presents features a Challengers of the Unknown tale. I picked this up, and it's a lot of fun. I'm starting to really enjoy DiDio as a writer. Nothing incredibly groundbreaking but he's producing some really solid enjoyable comics.

One more DC recapping note. I got the New 52 HC for Christmas. It's 1200 pages with every single number one issue. I'm slowly making my way through it and have to mention that it turned me on to the new Flash series which I was not interested in at all. The story is solid and action packed, but the artwork is amazing with some of the most creative layouts in comics. And they just re-introduced Captain Cold!

And finally on to the new titles. As sad as I am to see OMAC go, it looks like DC is keeping up on the quality side of things. They have some pretty top-notch creators attached. Most of these look pretty interesting, and I'll probably try all of them out. But what I'm really excited for is Dial H by China Mieville with Brian Bolland covers.

One odd thing is that we're only half a year into the new paradigm, and there are already a lot of creators leaving and swapping books. Sometimes for unspecified reasons. I don't know. Maybe it will keep the books fresh, but it doesn't seem like a good sign. But I guess we'll see. It's been pretty good so far.

Last Call

So the first month of the rest of DC's life is done. I'm sure the comic fans are about as tired reading reviews as I am writing them. So this is it on DC for the time being. Anyhow, from what I read, quality exceeded my expectations. Apart from that, it showed that you can still gather some interest in a print industry. Whether this is a turnaround point or the last spasms of the industry's corpse remain to be seen.

Blackhawks
The main reason I picked this book up was because the titular characters share a name with my favorite hockey team. Aside from that, I wanted to check out some non-capes-and-tights stuff by creators I'm unfamiliar with. This is kind of GI Joeish and although it's not a great start, and I'll likely pick up issue two. These are a lot of completely new characters that Costa introduced which is always tough to do in 20 pages. I'm interested enough to see what he's doing and will stick around a little more.

Superman
This had a good story and stellar artwork, but I had a little problem with the script being too wordy. Not that I don't like reading, but I feel that Perez hasn't adapted to modern comicbook storytelling. A lot of the text is unnecessary and can be told through the art. I won't pick up the next few issues, but will be back for issue seven when Giffen takes over writing duties. So I guess that's something.





Anyway, those are the twelve comics I bought this month. Here's the final tally as to what I liked:

I'm in for good:
Resurrection Man
Wonder Woman

I'm in for issue two:
OMAC
Swamp Thing
Blackhawks

Maybe (but probably not):
Action
Deathstroke
Frankenstein
Batman
Penguin

I'm Out:
Justice League
Red Lanterns
Superman

A Whole New World

Batman
This is another pretty enjoyable issue that probably won't make the cut for me next month. I think I figured out why I don't love comics like this and Action (although this is a bit better than Action) as much as everyone else seems to. While Snyder nailed the essence of what Batman is in this story, as someone who's read many a Batman stories, this doesn't bring really anything new to the table that captures my attention (except maybe the Capullo's brilliant art and some pretty new character designs). I even kind of groaned at the cliffhanger. There's no way that anyone thinks that the evidence is really what it seems. I'd really like to see some new stories, which brings me to...

Wonder Woman
which is probably my favorite comic that I've read this month. I haven't read enough Wonder Woman to come right out and say that these are totally new stories, but they are totally different than the little I have read. Azzarello and Chiang are amazing, and until everyone on the internet started mentioning it this past week, I totally forgot  they did that great Dr 13 backup a few years ago. The one thing I want to mention is that I really wouldn't describe this as a horror comic as many people are. Although there are several horrifically grotesque things in there, it's way to fast paced to be called horror. A lot happens and a lot of characters and concepts are introduced. And it really doesn't get too wordy or convoluted. Great start. I'm completely on board with this series.

A Whole New World

OK. So we're halfway into September, and I've bought about two thirds of the books I plan on getting. Surprisingly, none of them have been bad. While there are obviously some I liked more than others, there haven't been any that I flat out didn't enjoy. I probably would check out second issues on all of these if not for the fact that I don't want to be adding 12 monthly titles to my list at once. Therefore, out of these books, it's likely that the only issue two I will buy is Resurrection Man:

Deathstroke
I picked this up solely based on the awesome Simon Bisley cover. I was previously unfamiliar with the creative team. It's a solid issue. It's a standalone (though laying out groundwork) story that sets the title character strongly not as an anti-hero but as a badass criminal. And right from the first panel there is is plenty of badass.

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE
Another solid start. It's a little slow and maybe begins with too much exposition when all I really want to see is monsters. There is some really cool artwork and good use of Universal Monsters.

Red Lanterns
Not a bad issue, but there are a couple things I don't really like. Atrocitus is made into a sympathetic character, which I guess is something you have to do. It's why generally spinoffs featuring villains don't work. The reason I like the Red Lanterns are because they're crazy over-the-top killing machines. I'm not interested too much in depth. But my biggest problem I think is that they spend way too long recapping the origin. There's only like 20 pages of story. I know it's important to go over Atrocitus for new readers, but there's a lot you don't need right now. So while its interesting enough, there's not enough to get a a sense of where the story's going.

Resurrection Man
Adversely, a lot happens in this issue. SPOILERS: It starts with a resurrection. It briefly explains the character within the story (no flashbacks). A fight where he dies. A reintroduction of the Body Doubles. Another interlude to setup where the story's headed. And another resurrection. I never read a lot of the original series and I'm glad DC's bringing back some more obscure characters.

A Whole New World

So this is the big week. The first real wave of new 52 books. The first Sunday as opposed to the Thursday night football game tonight if you will. This is what I got:

Action Comics
Action focuses on a young Superman who's kind of dumb and violent. Kind of like the new Star Trek, it's modernizes something that isn't really popular with the younger generation. I guess it could go either way. It could be interesting to see Superman grow into the iconic hero that he is, or it could be a Spider-man ripoff which is the tone the first issue set. He's a single young kid (drawn like a teenager actually) living alone in Metropolis trying to working for a newspaper. It's a decent first issue that introduces all the main characters. Not sure if I'll be back next month. It is Grant Morrison, so I may give him a couple more issues.

OMAC
This was my favorite book that I read all week. It's Giffen penciling Kirby-era weirdness with all-new OMAC Kevin Kho.This issue's pretty light on story and character. There's maybe two pages of setup. The bulk of the book is action and some really crazy fucking things. Then maybe another two pages of exposition and a setup for the series. Not necessarily bad for a first issue. What I'm hoping for in subsequent issues: (a) a little more story and character development if its quality or (b) stories focusing around batshit action. Could that get boring? Maybe. But probably not for me. I'm a sucker for any Kirby-styled retro.

Swamp Thing
This series brings Alec Holland back into the DC universe proper. This issue is very character-based and shows where Alec Holland stands in the new status quo. This is not a reboot and takes place after all Vertigo series. There's a conversation with Superman that reminds us that even though this is a horror book, it takes place in the DC universe. The B story is where the real horror lies, and Yanick Paquette's art really shines on these pages. I will definitely pick up the next issue.

A Whole New World

It's been three months since the announcement, and DC's new universe has officially begun. A couple months back, I listed the seven comics I would try out, so I figured I'd follow that up this month with reviews for those (and any others I decide to buy).

First off, I'm not sure exactly, but from reading the last few pages of Flashpoint 5 at the comicbook store, it seems that the Flash merged several alternate timelines together to start a new timeline where some previous continuity happened and some didn't. Easy enough, right? Here's my first review (spoilers):


Justice League
 I have to admit the only reason I bought this was because it's the first new title out, and I was curious to see what DC was doing. Although both Geoff Johns and Jim Lee have produced work that I like, I'm not too big a fan of either.

Before I give you my verdict, I'd like to make a point that I'm in my thirties. To roughly explain my tastes: I loved Tree of Life and thought Captain America was expensive-looking garbage. That is to say, I like what DC's doing although I didn't really enjoy the comic itself. I think that 20 years ago I would have loved this. This is a great comic to generate newer, younger readers. Not that mature readers won't enjoy it, but that's just not where I am right now.

Anyway, this issue centers around Batman and focuses primarily on his first encounter with Green Lantern. Some chasing and fighting but not really any plot except for some Darkseid foreshadowing. A few pages are dedicated to Victor Stone (not yet Cyborg). I think this is a good choice. New readers have seen a cartoon or movie and are likely familiar with the big heroes origins. It's good that they're established that far, and not too much is retreaded. However I don't even know anything about Cyborg. Redoing his origin isn't too gratuitous.

One theme that's been going on for a while now is that all heroes are chumps, and only Batman has any discipline. The new universe takes this even further by making the characters younger and more arrogant. Green Lantern makes several blunders throughout the issue, and Superman is introduced on the last page beating up Green Lantern and picking a fight with Batman.

The other three team members don't appear in this issue. So I guess my biggest complaint is that there's very little substance. I realize that some stories need time to build but with serialized storytelling, I feel the first issue should give readers a solid story and a good grip on what the series is about. This is mostly a prelude to a fight. There is absolutely nothing that gives me a curiosity to pick up the next one.

A Whole New World

Well hello there. It's been a while since I've posted, and it's been a really long time since I've actually written anything here. It's not that I haven't had any ideas. I just haven't had any time. Well as of two days ago the NHL playoffs and the job I was working ended. So I have nothing but time, and I plan to get back on this site. And since YDLH originally started as a comicbook blog, I'm going to kick it off with a comicbook post.

News broke a couple weeks back, but if any of you don't read comics, DC decided to reboot their entire line this September with 52 first issues (which, a friend pointed out, means there will be 52 number twos in October). As far as I know, DC hasn't stated whether the old series will continue or if everything's starting over. As with anything, a lot of people are pretty upset by this. But let's be honest: This will make things better.

Hear me out. I know there's a long tradition with a lot of these titles. A couple months back, I was talking about how cool it was that Action Comics reached its 900th issue without any renumbering or gimmicks. But let's face it: This is a business. A struggling business. Sales boosts are good. The more books sell, the longer DC will publish them. And really the big two are really only putting out books as something to sell when the movies come out. Although there is some really quality stuff coming out that I enjoy quite a bit, it's hardly art.

I think my only problem with what they're doing is that all 52 books are coming out in one month. That's a strain on the wallet. There's a lot of interesting-looking stuff coming out at once, and I'll have to pick and choose. As of now, there are seven books that I think I'll be picking up in September.

Action Comics
All-Star Superman is the best Superman and just one of the best comics ever. I'm very excited to see Grant Morrison writing Superman again. Although this series will be in continuity, and Frank Quietly is replaced by artist Rags Morales, I have high hopes for this series.

OMAC
Although this title looks so awful that I might pick it in a DCNU deadpool to be the first comic cancelled, it's a reworked Kirby character co-written and co-penciled by Keith Giffen, and for that I will give it a chance.

Swamp Thing
Although I'm not as in love with his Detective as everyone else seems to be, Scott Snyder's American Vampire (or AmVamp I feel should be the official brev) is a very solid book. It's cool that they're bringing these characters back since Vertigo isn't really using them.

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE
I've never read anything Jeff Lemaire has written, but I'm a sucker for anything with Frankenstein except for the Mary Shelley novel where he hides in a hovel the whole time crying and learning to speak. Boring.

Red Lanterns
I'm not a big fan of Peter Milligan's mainstream work, but I do love the Red Lanterns. They're fueled by rage, come from Sector 666, and vomit a napalm-like blood on their enemies. What's more metal than that?

Resurrection Man
This is the one comic in the batch that I'd stake my reputation on. Abnett and Lanning returning to a character they created. This should be really great.

Wonder Woman
I don't think I've ever really read much Wonder Woman, but the creative team of Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang is pretty stellar. I'm curious.

Book of the Week

I read some comics today, and there were a few that I really liked.  I'm bringing this column back for some quick reviews.

8-25-10
Fantastic Four 582
Marvel
No.  I won't shut up about this book.  It keeps getting better and better.

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9-1-10
Scarlet 2
Icon/Marvel
I also talked about this book last month.  The second issue didn't disappoint.

9-9-10
American Vampire 6
Vertigo/DC
I'm really glad with the way this issue turned out.  Even though there's no doubt that the Stephen King story greatly increased sales, I think it really hurt the book's pacing.  It was tough to get into this series with each issue split into two 16-page stories.  I really liked this issue.

r

runner up
Booster Gold 36
DC
I really love the direction this book is going in.  It's the only DC-proper title that I'm reading.  I hate what they've done with the DCU in recent years.  So it really surprises me that even though Booster deals with these plot lines, it does so in a funny and sad self-aware kind of a way that's really amazing.

Book of the Week

5-19-10

I mentioned Joe the Barbarian a few months ago when it first started.  We've just passed the halfway point with issue 5, and while I don't want to talk too much about the story, I will say that this comic is still amazing.  Morrison and Murphy work terrifically together.  The story is mostly told through beautiful artwork.  You really should be reading this.

Muchos Melvins

Just kidding.  See what I just did?  I went the other way this time.  I'm actually going to do a Book of the Week.  Serious, this time.  Here we go:

Book of the Week
            or
International Incident 2: Electric Boogaloo

5-12-10

I mentioned this a while back when it was first announced, and I'm happy to say that Booster Gold 32 lived up to my expectations.  In true Giffen and DeMatteis fashion, this book is hilarious.

The humor counter-balances surprisingly nicely with some real serious, heart-breaking moments.  Being a time traveler, Booster (mistakenly) jumps to Daxam in the midst of The Great Darkness (for those of you who don't know, we're talking about genocide).

Anyway, its a great start and seems to leading into some great stuff.  I should also mention that Chris Batista's artwork is great.

On the other side of that coin, I feel like I should mention Justice League: Generation Lost, the twenty-six issue miniseries written by Giffen and Winick starring the JLI kicked off the same day.  Unfortunately, this book isn't nearly as good as Booster Gold.  It's played serious, and Maxwell Lord is like the most dangerous villain in the DCU, and I just don't think the characters work well like that.  Bummer.  I guess you can't win them all.

Mustard

So, over a month ago, I said I would try to catch up on this page.  Obviously, I haven't.  I'm going to attempt this again.  A lot of the stuff I had planned is going to be irrelevant now, so I'm going to condense everything I had planned over the last month in this one post.  Here we go:

• First off, I've been working on Chunklet's upcoming book, and am now writing for their website.
• Isis is disbanding.  You can read about it and download some live stuff on www.chunklet.com (damn, I'm smooth).
• Da Blackhawks are still awesome.  More on that in a couple weeks. 
• LOST ended.  I liked it.
• Ronnie James Dio died last week.  That sucks.  Go find some videos on www.youtube.com.
• Iron Man 2 is really good.  Although the first was a lot better, and Terrance Howard was a much better Rhodey.
• Shade the Changing Man is going to be in upcoming issues of Hellblazer.  Shade is one of my favorite Vertigo series, and I'm excited to see Peter Milligan writing the character again for the first time in seven years (there was a short story in the Vertigo tenth anniversary book).
• Free Comic Book Day sucks.  I know it's basically advertisements disguised as free comics, but can't anyone put out something worth reading?  I give Image credit for putting out Savage Dragon 146 last year.  It's something comic readers would want.  And Marvel prints out books with smaller dimensions.  You're owned by Disney and you can't put out a full-sized comic book like everyone else (including tiny indie companies)?  Fuck you!
• Lastly, I have a stack of books that I picked to write about as Book of the Weeks.  I'm just going to list them.  They're all good.  Look at the companies' websites if you want synopses.  I should be getting the past couple of weeks' books soon, and will write full reviews on them:

3-24-10: Hellblazer 265 (DC/Vertigo)
3-31-10: Punisher 15 (Marvel)
4-07-10: S.H.I.E.L.D. 1 (Marvel)
4-14-10: Punishermax 6 (Marvel/Max)
4-21-10: American Vampire 2 (DC/Vertigo)
4-28-10: Fantastic Four 578 (Marvel)
5-01-10: Iron Man Thor (Marvel)
5-05-10: Hellboy in Mexico (Dark Horse)

Book of the Week

4-1-10

Blackest Night concluded yesterday with issue 8, and I can't believe that its only been thirteen months since the story began. Geoff Johns packed this thrill ride with non-stop dialogue. To me it didn't come any bigger than the reveal half way through the series that the whole thing was masterminded by Nekkron, a villain that no one suspected or even heard of. Villains and heroes team up! I've never seen that EVER! I did find it a little strange that they need a White Lantern to keep those uppity Black Lanterns in check. And although I'm sad to see Blackest Night go, I'm looking forward to the 26 issue (plus xover issues) Brightest Day. Huzzah and kudos to DC!

International Incident

I've always said that the Vaudevillian Giffen/DeMatteis/Maguire Justice League is one of my all-time favorite runs in comic book history. Although, Maguire didn't draw all of this, I'm including Justice League (later retitled Justice League International and Justice League of America), Justice League of Europe, Formally known as the Justice League, and I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League.

Kieth Giffen and JM DeMatteis have since become known for telling superhero stories in Vaudeville tradition. In fact, I think that there were like three JLI covers with Blue Beetle saying to Booster Gold, "This is another fine mess you've gotten us into."

The trio also made a Defenders series a few years back, and recently were doing Metal Men backups in Doom Patrol. When those were cancelled, I was so upset that I dropped every DC book I was buying. Kind of. Doom Patrol was the only DC book I was buying. Unless you count the two Vertigo books.

Anyway, as you can imagine, I got a huge boner when I looked at DC's May solicitations. First off, Giffen and DeMatteis are taking over Booster Gold with issue 32 with a Kevin Maguire cover.

Also, the Justice League International will be returning in Justice League: Generation Lost. Although, this one, I'm not quite sure of. First, it's a Brightest Day thing, and I couldn't finish Blackest Night. Secondly, I think its something like a 26 issue mini. But mostly, its written by Giffen and Judd Winick, who I don't dislike, but have never read anything of his that I really enjoyed. Hopefully, it will still be funny. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Either way, I'm happy to see the characters.

Book of the Week

1-20-10

I haven't loved everything I've read by Grant Morrison. In fact I think most of his recent mainstream work has been below par (apart from All-Star Superman, which I think is probably not only the best Superman comic ever made, but also the best comic of the past decade). I do, however, love everything that he's written for Vertigo.
His first new project since 2005's Viminarama is an eight issue miniseries entitled Joe the Barbarian.

The first issue is a brief introduction of charcters and hints at the story's direction near the end. It's about a disconnected adolescent boy that travels between reality and imagination. It remains to be seen whether this is literal or figurative, but I'm thinking literal.

Morrison is accompanied artist Sean Murphy. Much of the story is told through the art, and the book is filled with gorgeous (sometimes two-page) splashes.

Also, there are several surprise cameos in one of these splashes. One of which is an all time favorite of mine: The Main Man, Lobo. Are you still reading this? Go get it.