and Dead Tree Comics

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Mongrel
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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Mongrel » Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:28 pm

Man, I have a lot of fond memories of Kirby translated into French and reissued up here in massive black & white Shonen-Jump like tomes. I don't think I realized at the time how they were entirely or almost entirely Kirby work, but the volumes I had were mostly seminal FF, Hulk, and Kamandi.

Not unrelated: It ended up being a running gag at my expense that I knew what passed for "It's Clobberin' Time" in French.
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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Büge » Sun Aug 28, 2022 3:34 pm

Thad wrote:It's Jack Kirby's birthday today


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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby zaratustra » Wed Aug 31, 2022 6:11 am

I'm not sure who the Fables comeback is for. It's difficult to make comics with multiple parallel stories, difficult to make stories about lone adventurous children, and VERY difficult to continue a work that previously hinged on well-loved characters to a new cast. To try to do all three at once is more of a curiosity than an actually rewarding read.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Wed Aug 31, 2022 12:41 pm

Yeah, I heard there was a new series coming and my first thought was "The original one is already 100 issues longer than it should have been."

I think there are still some interesting stories to be told in that universe, but I don't think Willingham is the guy to do it, and Roberson isn't interested.

Always nice to see Buckingham getting work, though. (Maybe someday he and Gaiman will actually be able to finish Miracleman.)

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Sun Sep 18, 2022 1:40 am

Thad wrote:It's Jack Kirby's birthday today, and in case you want something to celebrate, there's a new edition of Kamandi out this week.

The top of this page may be the single greatest panel I've ever seen:

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That view through the rat's mouth.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Mon Sep 19, 2022 1:18 pm

Black Panther #9 introduces a new supervillain, the Colonialist.

It is even better than it sounds.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Fri Oct 07, 2022 10:32 am

Thad wrote:It's also too cute. There's a bit a little later where Clark's trying to talk himself out of believing Pariah's dire warning about the end of the world, and he says something like, "Eh, he was just some crank. He also said the US was about to be invaded by insects." Cue the TV over his shoulder and Ed Sullivan introducing the Beatles.

JFC it gets worse. In issue #2, Clark spends two pages mansplaining the Watergate break-in to Lois and lecturing her on how it's such an obvious amateur-hour stunt that it couldn't possibly be important and she's wasting her time investigating it.

The art continues to be amazing, though. The Allreds do typically wonderful work even on the mundane stuff; they make the Watergate break-in look exciting and goofy in equal measure.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Sat Oct 22, 2022 2:17 pm

I enjoyed the first issue of Pink Lemonade by Nick Cagnetti. I wasn't previously aware of his work, but I happened to stop by my LCS while he was signing books (turns out he's a local) and so I picked a copy up.

It's definitely got a more-than-passing resemblance to Madman. It's most immediately obvious in the bright, Laura Allred-esque colors (also by Cagnetti), but the Madman vibe extends beyond that -- it's got a strong Silver Age influence, it's an offbeat story about an upbeat, amnesiac hero, and it uses that backdrop to poke at grim-'n'-gritty comics of the '80s and '90s.

AFAICT the first two issues were previously released through indie publisher It's Alive back in 2019 and 2020, but now the book's at Oni, the first two issues are being reprinted, and then new material will follow. Oni...still seems like probably not the most stable publisher to be working with right now, but I wish Cagnetti the best, and I like the book and hope it gets a nice long run.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Tue Oct 25, 2022 1:32 pm

Picked up Minor Threats #1, by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Scott Hepburn. I dug it! It's one of those superhero deconstruction things that contrasts Silver Age goofiness with the grim-'n'-gritty '80s. The elevator pitch is, "what Robin's murder looked like from Toyman's perspective."

Our point-of-view character is the Playtime, a Silver Age-style supervillain sidekick with a gimmick who's just gotten out of prison and is trying to go straight. Then shit goes down. It's a Death in the Family pastiche; the names are changed but basically the Joker kills Robin, Batman becomes unhinged, and the Justice League starts coming down hard on every petty crook they can find. So then our story is about a bunch of silly Silver Age supervillains and how they react to one of their own breaking the rules and going too far.

It's a solid premise and a solid start, and it wouldn't be out-of-place in Astro City. I look forward to seeing what's next.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:26 pm

I loved this bit and am just now learning that she actually got input from Millar and Morrison.

ETA: And that one of them bought the original art! (She doesn't say which one.)


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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Thu Nov 10, 2022 4:04 pm

We were talking about Carlos Pacheco over in the obits thread. I'll talk about him some more here.

Mongrel wrote:Aw damn, wtf.

He was one of my favourites during the ancient days of yore (i.e. the 90's, when I read X-books).


His '90s X-Men work hewed a little "house style" for my tastes -- ie a little heavy on the Jim Lee and manga influences -- but he settled into more of a classic superhero style as that stuff fell out of vogue, and I liked that a lot better. In fact when Avengers Forever kicked off, I didn't realize at first that he wasn't the same guy who was drawing the main Avengers series (Perez).

Busiek has some reminiscences about Avengers Forever (Nitter mirror):



Forever is one of my favorite Avengers stories, and Kurt's always upfront about his collaborators' contributions -- it's interesting to hear just how much of the plot was Pacheco's. Like surely you'd think the idea to bring in Songbird from Thunderbolts would have come from Kurt Busiek, co-creator of the Thunderbolts, but nope; he says that was Pacheco too.

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I think that one's probably my single favorite Pacheco page, but there's plenty more great Pacheco art where that came from.

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And I sure was enjoying Arrowsmith. I don't know if Busiek will conclude it without him, but regardless it's sad to know that even if he finishes it it won't be with Pacheco.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Mongrel » Thu Nov 10, 2022 5:59 pm

I remember he was the reason I had a look at Arrowsmith the first time around. And yeah house style was house style, but there was still enough individual variation for me to have preferences (of course I was drawing heavily back then as well).
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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Thu Nov 10, 2022 6:50 pm

Yeah, I missed Arrowsmith the first time (I think all I picked up was an Arrowsmith/Astro City flipbook); only read it recently, with the hardcover release.

I like it a lot but if it comes back it won't be the same.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Thu Nov 17, 2022 1:35 pm

Thad wrote:Catwoman: Lonely City asks the question, "What if The Dark Knight Returns, but Catwoman?" and so far at least it's really very good!

It stuck the landing.

Though the finale's a hell of a thing to read a week after Conroy's passing.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Sat Nov 19, 2022 6:14 pm

Thad wrote:The next Fantastic Four team will be Ryan North and Iban Coello.

I'm not familiar with Coello and TBH after a quick search I don't think he's really my cuppa. But man I love me some Ryan North; he'll be great.

#1's out and it's a lot of fun. Ben and Alicia find themselves in a time loop in 1947 and have to figure out a way to break it. (I say "have to" but that's not entirely right -- the story implies that they could leave at any time, they're not stuck in the loop; they choose to help the people who are trapped, because that's the kind of people they are.) It's a nice done-in-one story that gives a supernatural problem with a very human solution, that ends by hinting at a larger arc and some shit that's gone down and why the FF aren't currently together. Judging by the cover, #2 will focus on Reed and Sue.

I still don't love Coello's work but it gets the job done. North's great as always, and he plays this one straighter than his past work; it's breezy and fun but it's not a comedy the way Adventure Time, Squirrel Girl, or Power Pack were. (There is a Dinosaur Comics reference in there.)

I think this'll be a good run!

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Mon Nov 28, 2022 1:38 pm

Busiek on Arrowsmith:
It's very much Carlos's, as much as mine, but Carlos wanted it to continue.

So we hope to have some news on that in the not-too-distant future.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Wed Dec 21, 2022 12:44 pm

I'm enjoying the new Zub/Izaakse Thunderbolts series. I didn't read Zub's previous T-bolts series (the art put me off) but this one reminds me more than a bit of his short-lived Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda series. This one isn't quite as zany as that one (except every time Eegro the Unbreakable has a line), but it's got a similar vibe as a book about a team mostly made up of second- and third-stringers.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Crick » Wed Dec 21, 2022 1:42 pm

Thad wrote:I think this'll be a good run!


I liked #1 too, but I feel #2 fell off sorta hard for me. I thought Sue was a tad underwritten and wasn't a fan of Reed's characterization. There's something about him calling a sloppy joe a "sloppy Joseph" that rubs me the wrong way. It's sorta like... cutting corners when writing a hyper-intelligent character. It's not even a social interaction issue, it's just... dumb?

Anyway, all that to say, I liked the ideas in it, I'll give it a couple more to see if corrects course.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Sun Dec 25, 2022 4:13 pm

I agree that #2 wasn't as strong as #1 but I still liked it a lot.

I also agree that North doesn't have Reed's voice right yet -- the "sloppy Joseph" line on page 1 is one example, and another is later in the issue when he can't think of the word "nasty". It could maybe work for me if they're intended as jokes, if Reed's making fun of himself a little, but there's no indication in the text that that's the intent. (OTOH I can totally buy him saying "cellular telephone" like Tobias Funke. And I love the bit where, trying to come up with something nice to say about Doom, he says "He's very effective at his chosen career.")

Aside from his dialogue, though, I feel like he gets Reed's characterization right; he's a problem-solver and he wants to help but his head's perpetually in the clouds and he seems a lot colder than he really is.

I also like the touch that both issues concern weird little towns with mysteries and secrets, and in each case the heroes have an opportunity to leave but decide to stay and fix things, and the solution ultimately turns out to be something small and human. I assume he'll keep the formula for Johnny's story.

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Re: and Dead Tree Comics

Postby Thad » Mon Jan 09, 2023 1:51 pm

I have mixed feelings about Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, and, as suits my taste in superhero comics, I'm happy with the mundane stuff and vexed by the superheroics.

I like all the stuff that's just Steve living his life -- he moves back into the apartment he grew up in, makes friends around the neighborhood, takes a pottery class, has radio meetups with his old WWII superhero buddies. All that stuff's great.

The new villains, though, the Outer Circle, are the kind of comic book conceit that has too many ingredients and hasn't spent long enough in the oven.

First of all, the whole "there's been a secret society steering world events all along" hook isn't just hard to suspend disbelief around, it's also overdone. How many secret societies steering world events does the Marvel Universe have? They can't all be steering world events effectively; definitionally some have to be more successful than others. But whatever, it's a stock plot; it's not one of my bigger gripes.

Then you get into stuff like "Unbeknownst to Cap, his shield is actually the Outer Circle's symbol, and has been all along [aside from those first few issues where he had a different shield, which we're not going to talk about]" and that's some "actually that's not an S, it's the Kryptonian symbol for hope" shit. Motherfucker, it's an S for Superman, and Captain America's shield is styled after the American flag. Don't be stupid.

And then you've got the Outer Circle themselves: the Money, the Power, the Love, the Machine, and the Revolution, and it's just a collection of random nouns like the opening narration of Mega Man Legends.

The Money and the Power? What even is money except a means of exerting power? At least, at the "clandestine cabal controlling world events" level. The Money isn't some guy who's just trying to pay his rent on time. So why is there a Money and a Power? In fact, don't all of them represent some form of power? They're a cabal controlling the world. All five of them represent Power. What makes the Power distinct from the other four?

Also, the Power's name is Fortunov.

There is a guy named the Money, and a guy named Fortunov, and they are not the same guy. They made up a ridiculously on-the-nose name, and then gave it to the wrong guy. This would be like if the Crimson Dynamo's real name was Blackagar Boltagon.

(Granted, the Money is a guy named Argent, so he does have an on-the-nose comic book name. So there are two guys in the group who have names that refer to money, but only one of them is the Money. Got it?)

Anyway it's a bunch of silly, half-baked nonsense, and not the kind of silly, half-baked nonsense that really appeals to me. I'm still buying the book because I'm enjoying the character stuff, but the Outer Circle isn't really doing it for me.

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