Why Galactus hates Earth

Because like any other tourist in New York, he just can't get any respect from the locals.

Tomorrow — content! (Or something like it.)

Friday Night Fights: Hey, pal, it's your Viking funeral

Even though I came out before the bell last week, I'm still ready to go for another round in this mighty black-and-white match-up overseen by our cosmic ring master, Bahlactus!

But as I was preparing for another brutal bout (running up stairs, working the heavy bag, chasing chickens), I wondered: Is the KFC still open? And then I thought, what would be the best way to end this match? Who could I bring in that could bring the pain? What could reach the right level of awesome?

And then I realized: I started with Boyd and Yount, I'd end with Boyd and Yount. With that in mind, I give you ...

PIRATES
VS
VIKINGS FROM THE FUTURE

OK, maybe it's not the most menacing phrase in a pirate's vocabulary, but still. And the best part about using Scurvy Dogs? Even if I didn't use the Vikings, I still could've gone with the monkey fight or the battle against the Portuguese lepers; if I've learned anything from pirates, it's that it's nice to have choices.


Following a link? Read more Great Caesar's Post here!

Panels from Scurvy Dogs Vol. 1: Rags to Riches
Andrew Boyd and Ryan Yount, writers; Ryan Yount, artist

The Pull List (7-10-08): Diana Prince should change her name to Molly Hatchet

Seriously, doesn't the cover to Wonder Woman #22 instantly make "Immigrant Song" start playing in your head? Let's crank it, throw the horns and go ... to the list!

Getting ...

Booster Gold #1000000: But seriously, can we stop being cute with the numbering?

Guardians of the Galaxy #3: Some decently mysterious goings-on, high concepts and deep space action all come together in what's become my favorite team book.

Justice Society of America #17: This should really be under the "Maybe" heading. Geoff Johns' revisiting of the Kingdom Come concept is getting tiresome, but since I still enjoy the book it'll probably become a title I pick up in trade instead.

Wonder Woman #22: Gail Simone continues to quietly reinvent the character and shows why it's worth remembering that Wonder Woman is essentially a creature of magic.


Maybe ...

BPRD: The Warning #1 (of 5): Actually an almost definite sure-thing, probably taking the place of Justice Society of America. Don't be fooled by the first-issue numbering, though. This story has been building (brilliantly) in other BPRD minis for a while now, and while you can most likely pick it up without having read the other stories first, you'll really just be cheating yourself out of the growing tension as pieces fall into place.

I Kill Giants #1 (of 7): This sounds like an interesting story about that fragile time known as childhood, and how we cope with our monsters as best we can. The art also looks as if it will be well-suited to the tone of the story, so I'll be sure to give this a look in the shop.


Trading up ...
(Titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

Criminal Vol. 3: Dead and Dying


Recommended ...

Comic Foundry Magazine #3: Whether you're a serious comics fan or you're just starting to give them a try, this is the best magazine about comic books on the stands. Thoughtful, informative, fun and generally a good mix of the dense and airy, Comic Foundry does an excellent job of delivering on the message that comics are for everyone. Read it.

All that important galactic info

Not too long ago, being a comic book nerd was the sort of thing you kept to yourself — unless you were a fan of the atomic wedgie or the dreaded purple nurple. Thankfully we're moving past those dark days, and even writing letters to city newspapers to proudly show off just what huge geeks we are.

Take hero to the cause Russ Forbus of Buda, Texas, who was recently published in the Austin-American Statesman:


I might quibble with Russ' description of the Lantern's "magic" ring, but I give him big thumbs up for pointing out the difference between a pulp, crime-busting hero and a corps of space cops patrolling the universe. ESPECIALLY since the mayor was totally wearing a Green Lantern T-shirt. (I have no idea why the paper's Web site didn't include it, particularly since it was in the print edition.)

The headline on the letter seems to be a pretty obvious crack, but I'd like to think Russ Forbus doesn't care, having long since become invulnerable to melvins and wet willies.

The Human Bomb doesn't believe in three-day weekends

So the holiday weekend is over but my mind is still on vacation, so anything resembling actual content will have to wait until tomorrow. I hope that's OK with you, Human Bomb ...

Man — never gives an inch, that guy.

Friday Night Fights: The flying forearm of freedom!

Like a lot of Americans, I plan to celebrate this country's Independence Day by taking a short road trip and then sitting on my butt for the next three days, preferably near an ice chest. But while thinking about a life of luxury and all the Gulf shrimp I can handle, I also thought about the importance of this day.

The Fourth of July is more than fireworks and hot dogs — it's the founding of one of the greatest countries in modern history, a nation with a reputation as a source of endless opportunity. More than a seat of government, the United States serves as an ideal and it's hard not to think in terms of the icons that proudly proclaim, "This is America."

Y'know ... like a mythical Mexican wrestler fighting a pack of chupacabras in a Costa Rican cave.



Brings a patriotic tear to your eye, doesn't it? Viva America!

If you really want to see fireworks, trying messing with Bahlactus.

Following a link? You can read more Great Caesar's Post here!

Panels from "The Devil's Zapatos," published in The Amazing Joy Buzzards Vol. 2
Mark Andrew Smith, writer; Jim Pezzetti, artist

WTF Wednesday: Superman settles disputes the old-fashioned way

Apparently, creators aren't the only ones with contract problems ...


It's the Kryptonian! Or ... is it? Who wants to take a guess at what's really going on here?

By the way, "You're gonna hafta take a seat, Koko," has just entered my daily vocabulary — you've been warned.

Panel from DC Comics Presents #81
Keith Giffen, plotter and penciler; Robert Loren Fleming, dialogue; Bob Oksner, inker

(Seriously, who else could it be?)

Cover Up: Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #10

In the pantheon of comic book villainy, Doctor Doom stands alone.

Sure, the Red Skull is the classic Nazi sociopath and Lex Luthor is the consumate mad scientist with an ax to grind, but Victor Von Doom has always been my favorite bad guy. Combining high technology with a medieval flair and a working knowledge of sorcery, there's very little he can't handle (and he'll let you know it).

Which is one of the reasons I like this cover by Mike Zeck so much.

In Marvel's Secret Wars maxi-series, Doctor Doom decides he's had enough of the god-like Beyonder's games and dares to challenge the cosmic being. And as you can probably tell, things don't look like they're going to go Victor's way.

Many of the covers in this series were as corny as the story itself could be, with a metric ton of various heroes and bad guys crammed on the front of almost every issue. But this one was different, showcasing the ultimate bad guy on the cover to Secret Wars #10 and summing up everything you need to know about Doctor Doom; the genius, the power, the sheer defiance that defines him, while also showing that beneath it all, he's still just a man.

Just a man? Looking at this cover you can almost hear it: "Fool! I am no mere man — I AM DOOM!"

Artist Michael Turner, 37, passes away

Michael Turner, the well-known artist whose distinctive style could be found on a host of comic book covers and which drew readers to titles including Witchblade, Superman/Batman and his creator-owned Fathom and Soulfire, died Friday (June 27, 2008) after an eight-year fight with cancer.

Turner was only 37, making his sudden death even sadder when you consider he likely had a long and productive career ahead of him. My condolences and best wishes go to his family, friends and fans.

For more details on Turner, his career and some nice remembrances from those who knew him, there are articles at Newsarama and Comic Book Resources. The publishing company he founded, Aspen Comics, is also asking people to consider making a donation to the American Cancer Society or the Make-A-Wish Foundation; the two charities were chosen by Turner, and contributions can be made in his name.

Friday Night Fights: Let's get Freako!

Judging by the creator's letter at the end of The Nearly Infamous Zango #3, the self-published title is looking at an uncertain future. Which means if you haven't jumped on the Zango bandwagon yet ... well, what are you waiting for?

Need more convincing? Let me break down the numbers for you:

VAN FREAKO + THE ATOMIC PILGRIM = AWESOME

You can read more about Lord Zango here, and you can even check out previews at Rob Osborne's site — so get to it! Save Zango!! And maybe — just maybe — save your soul.

You know Bahlactus would want you to do it.

Following a link? Read more of Great Caesar's Post here!

Panel from The Nearly Infamous Zango
Rob Osborne, writer and artist

Continuity and Kool-Aid: Remembering what matters

You can trace my love of comics to a utility bill.

Back in the stone age of the 70s, it was still a normal thing to go to actual buildings downtown to pay for the water, gas and electricity that was pumped to your house the month before. I don't know if my parents ever noticed, but I loved it when it was time to pay the bills because that meant trips to the city's main library and — more often — my aunt's used bookstore.

Obviously, I was the biggest nerd in my neighborhood.

Rather than drag a restless kid around downtown El Paso, my parents realized I could spend entire afternoons happily squirreled away in a corner of the bookstore. And my aunt realized I could probably spend days in that corner if I was given a stack of comics to read.

Fueled by cookies and Kool-Aid and an overactive imagination, I soon became lost. Suddenly my world was filled with exploding planets and radioactive spiders, lassos made of truth and lonely scientists cursed by their inner rage. And I became enamored of characters and concepts that now seem obscure, or at least throwbacks; I ransacked the House of Mystery and House of Secrets, scaled walls and solved crimes with the Human Fly, explored the depths and dangers of the ocean with Stingray, and learned from Sgt. Rock that nothing is ever easy in Easy Company.

Many of the characters I loved then have found new life in reboots (I was thrilled when The Human Target made a reappearance) and black and white collections like DC's Showcase line and Marvel's Essentials. Thanks to these, I've been able to not only revisit half-remembered titles but to also get more background and depth than I ever did by reading random issues at a card table in a back room.

But I've noticed something — I rarely read those collections with the idea of filling in blanks. Mostly I pick one up and read stories at random, which is easy since they come from a time when the done-in-one was the norm. And continuity? Usually anything that references a past story is taken care of with an editor's note, and if not can easily be ignored. Enjoying the story doesn't depend on knowing that Superman threw Luthor's pimento loaf sandwich into the sun that one time.

I started thinking about this after reading Devon's post over at Second Printing, where he talks about his seven-year-old nephew bouncing along the four-color landscape like an astronaut on the Moon, unburdened by the weight of continuity and What Came Before. Devon is so impressed by this that he's decided to keep as open a mind as his nephew.

There's been a lot of talk about continuity surrounding the Big Two for a while, thanks to continued mucking around and reboots and Crises and One More Days. And if something is radically changed from past iterations, people freak out. If something else leans heavily on stories and characters out of the dollar bin, people freak out.

Yes, it can be frustrating. It can be annoying. It can even be insulting. But sometimes —just sometimes — I think we get in our own way. It's easy to take our comics so seriously we forget to enjoy them. Things don't always make sense in comic books, and I'd argue that it's always been that way. We've just forgotten what little difference it used to make.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea: I don't think comics should suddenly become even more of a hodge-podge of concepts and broken story lines than they already are; readers deserve better than that. But does it really matter if Superman doesn't line up with Action? The big concepts should stay the same, but it's too easy to get bogged down in the details. As long as things don't massively and stupidly contradict each other, I'm willing to gloss over that pimento loaf. I don't even care if Luthor skips lunch altogether.

Does this make me a bad comic book reader? Old-school to the point of being out of touch? I don't know. I'm certainly no apologist for bad storytelling. But I'll freely admit that my opinion is fluid — depending on the story, continuity is extremely important. But sometimes it's not. I think it's worthwhile to recognize (and admit) the difference.

Tastes change, and our palates become more sophisticated with experience; that's essential to the much-needed growth and diversity of comics. It's part of a healthy comic book reader's diet. But we can't forget that at one time, we were in love with cookies and Kool-Aid.

The Pull List (6-25-08): I really should be working right now

So real life — or more specifically, the Real Job — has been keeping me busy lately, so this pull list is going to have be even more basic than usual. I mean, ba-sic. But if you think I'm missing something I should absolutely be picking up (or you can't believe I'm getting that comic, because, seriously, what?), let me know in the comments.

But for now — to the list!


Getting ...

Captain America #39

Conan the Cimmerian #0

Daredevil #108

Final Crisis #2

Immortal Iron Fist #16

The Nearly Infamous Zango #3




Maybe ...

Gantz Vol. 1

Madame Xanadu #1


Trading up ...
(Titles I either am, or will be, picking up in trade)

Green Lantern #32

Jack of Fables #23

Jack of Fables Vol. 3: The Bad Prince

Wasteland #18


Recommended ...

Demo (trade paperback)

Umbrella Academy Vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite