The Buy Pile Commentary Track (two weeks strong)
I missed doing this last week because I got super busy with other projects, but here goes.
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
The biggest surprise is that I paid real US money (for what it's worth) for a comic book starring Brother Power the Geek. To be honest, on Steve's recommendation, I also bought a 1989 Swamp Thing annual written by Neil Gaiman. Steve (for some reason) thinks Superman co-creator Joel Siegel created BPTG, but Wikipedia says it's Captain America co-creator Joe Simon. I can't tell, but somebody went from the heights of heroism to the depths of weirdness. That's interesting in itself, and I'd love to hear the story of how that happened. I also was pleasantly surprised at the tender, almost hopeful tone of the Bat, reminiscent of his words in the "DC One Million" event.
Also: Hank Pym != "scientist supreme." That's dumb. Let's never talk about that again. However, Hank borrowing on years of experience and good old fashioned genius was awesome to behold, very Doc Savage "scientist-adventurer." I like that role for him. Less whiny. I do not need whiny comics. Also, Amadeus Cho taking down three Inhumans killer robots with a penny? How sweet was that? Cho and Hercules are an amazing pair of characters to put together, and I'm grateful to Marvel for getting that in as often as they can.
After reading the Powers Encyclopedia, I'm glad to know the stories but I'm glad I didn't read them. It's so strangely inbred and weird.
Phonogram however ... wow. I love the delicacy, intimacy and subtlety of Gillen's script, like the scene in the cab, or the bit in the bathroom. However, I would literally take a baseball bat into an elementary schoolyard for a chance to work with Jamie McKelvie. His artwork just speaks to me -- so crisp, so clean, so smart. There used to be an artist who drew very clean images of women in very minimalist lines, he worked in Playboy (my parents got me a subscription in the 1980s, that's how awesome I am) but I can't remember his name. Anyway, McKelvie is a much smarter, much more versatile version of that guy. One day I will have enough money (or extortion material) to get him to work with me. I will! Shut up!
I really have been very disappointed in Marvel for making a character like Owen Reece and never really doing much with him. A public showdown with Norman Obsorn's fun, but we all know the Molecule Man has a glass jaw and confidence problems that make the Sentry look like the poster child for sanity. I'd like to see the Molecule Man be less of a punching bag and more of a random force of chance, not cosmically aligned with the In-Betweener or anything, but more like the rain of frogs in Magnolia. Sometimes, things just happen, and he'd be those things. I'd set up an editorial conference with a globe, and set a path for him to be on. If that path intersects stories, so be it. If not, it's background. But he'd have to be less of a shlub, and if it can happen to Catman, it can happen for this guy. I'm just saying ...
Another thing I'd love? If Irredeemable just came out in big chunks. The periodical format saps a lot of the momentum from the stories. "Wait for the trade," yadda yadda, the market doesn't support that sometimes. I like the idea, I just don't like it in an episodic format.
Which reminds me: the "Norman Osborn's a good strategist and crappy tactician" argument got another notch in its favor with his Dark Reign: The List - Spider Man story. He knew the data was on a flash drive. He knew he had magnetic beams built in. He did not need to get close. His emotion with the Spider is his undoing, and will likely be what topples him. Also, how many people have raided his digital security? That's super embarrassing, dude.
I love Dawnstar and Wildfire. I like Blok and Mysa. That was almost enough, because that was one hell of a story in the back of Adventure Comics #4. But whoo boy, that zombie Alexander Luthor stuff was a waste of time.
I really wanted to check out "Drone" #1 based on solicits. Oh well.
I like a lot of books from Boom! Studios the way I like Flash Forward and White Collar and Lie To Me. Good stuff, entertaining, worth checking and worth sitting through commercials for. However, I'd pay actual money to see Glee or ... crap, I can't think of anything else right now. Anyway, Boom! has a lot of interesting stories that aren't very interesting (among the exceptions: 2 Guns, Irredeemable) and would work well adapted (probably intentional) but need a lot more ... lemme finish this with Deadpool below.
NOVEMBER 11, 2009
The new characters in the Minor Seven are slow to develop in "Gravel" #15, but I like where they're going. Speaking of Warren Ellis, I think "Supergod" #1 should have been a web-exclusive freebie preview and gotten right to the meat of the matter.
I also tweeted a little about this, but I'm torn about the developments in Black Panther #10. HUGE SPOILER ALERT ... YOU'VE BEEN WARNED ...
...
...
...
LAST CHANCE TO OPT OUT ...
...okay. Latveria going to war with Wakanda, allegedly shielded by an Asgardian populace there and with a little help from Namor, is a very interesting story idea. Doom's wanted to knock T'Challa's block off for years, but has been way too focused on Reed to do anything about it. That's all fine, I'm interested, I'm even okay with Shuri as a Proxy Panther. What I'm sad about is that there's not (unless I'm reading wrong) a single person of African descent involved with the project. Not one. Not Chris Cross, not Jamal Igle, not Afua Richardson, not MD Bright, not one. The biggest spotlight the Panther's gotten without a Hollywood name behind him
Don't get me wrong, I don't wanna take the shine off of Jonathan Maberry (whose talk show angle is a brilliant means to introduce exposition and still move the story along -- I want those two Wakandan analysts on the Marvel site, commenting about 616 at large), but still ...
While I'm under spoiler warning: Vril Dox, Sinestro Corpsman? Yes, please. More of that. But Nate Gray? Less of that. Seriously. Where's Marvel Boy and Fantomex? Those two are almost Cho/Hercules caliber!
SPOILERS AND WHAT NOT DONE, BACK TO REGULAR PROGRAMMING
I love Daniel Way's treatment of Deadpool, but the plots do need a little more "oomph" to them. What does that mean? Well, for three bucks, I need to be entertained more than I would be by an average TV show. I watch that stuff on Hulu, for free, often while working on other things. When I read a comic, I can maybe eat. That's about it. So for the cost and expenditure of time, I need it to step up. Deadpool started very strong with that and has been coasting a little. The aforementioned Boom! Studios stories hover but never soar. For three or four bucks, I need some soaring. That's almost a call to arms, and a statement about the way I buy, honestly.
Let me say this clearly: Red Robin has a good direction, it just hasn't been willing to go far enough. I hope that changes. Sack up and go macadamias.
Yes, I'm sad about the Purple Rain homage cover of Batman and Robin #6. Let's never speak of The Flamingo again. Seriously.
JSA vs. Kobra: Engines of Faith #6 let me down. Not in a big way, but it needs to be said.
The brother in S.W.O.R.D. #1 was a huge mistake. Stay on target!
Tabu out.
Playing (Music): "Everything is Everything" by Lauryn Hill
NOVEMBER 18, 2009
The biggest surprise is that I paid real US money (for what it's worth) for a comic book starring Brother Power the Geek. To be honest, on Steve's recommendation, I also bought a 1989 Swamp Thing annual written by Neil Gaiman. Steve (for some reason) thinks Superman co-creator Joel Siegel created BPTG, but Wikipedia says it's Captain America co-creator Joe Simon. I can't tell, but somebody went from the heights of heroism to the depths of weirdness. That's interesting in itself, and I'd love to hear the story of how that happened. I also was pleasantly surprised at the tender, almost hopeful tone of the Bat, reminiscent of his words in the "DC One Million" event.
Also: Hank Pym != "scientist supreme." That's dumb. Let's never talk about that again. However, Hank borrowing on years of experience and good old fashioned genius was awesome to behold, very Doc Savage "scientist-adventurer." I like that role for him. Less whiny. I do not need whiny comics. Also, Amadeus Cho taking down three Inhumans killer robots with a penny? How sweet was that? Cho and Hercules are an amazing pair of characters to put together, and I'm grateful to Marvel for getting that in as often as they can.
After reading the Powers Encyclopedia, I'm glad to know the stories but I'm glad I didn't read them. It's so strangely inbred and weird.
Phonogram however ... wow. I love the delicacy, intimacy and subtlety of Gillen's script, like the scene in the cab, or the bit in the bathroom. However, I would literally take a baseball bat into an elementary schoolyard for a chance to work with Jamie McKelvie. His artwork just speaks to me -- so crisp, so clean, so smart. There used to be an artist who drew very clean images of women in very minimalist lines, he worked in Playboy (my parents got me a subscription in the 1980s, that's how awesome I am) but I can't remember his name. Anyway, McKelvie is a much smarter, much more versatile version of that guy. One day I will have enough money (or extortion material) to get him to work with me. I will! Shut up!
I really have been very disappointed in Marvel for making a character like Owen Reece and never really doing much with him. A public showdown with Norman Obsorn's fun, but we all know the Molecule Man has a glass jaw and confidence problems that make the Sentry look like the poster child for sanity. I'd like to see the Molecule Man be less of a punching bag and more of a random force of chance, not cosmically aligned with the In-Betweener or anything, but more like the rain of frogs in Magnolia. Sometimes, things just happen, and he'd be those things. I'd set up an editorial conference with a globe, and set a path for him to be on. If that path intersects stories, so be it. If not, it's background. But he'd have to be less of a shlub, and if it can happen to Catman, it can happen for this guy. I'm just saying ...
Another thing I'd love? If Irredeemable just came out in big chunks. The periodical format saps a lot of the momentum from the stories. "Wait for the trade," yadda yadda, the market doesn't support that sometimes. I like the idea, I just don't like it in an episodic format.
Which reminds me: the "Norman Osborn's a good strategist and crappy tactician" argument got another notch in its favor with his Dark Reign: The List - Spider Man story. He knew the data was on a flash drive. He knew he had magnetic beams built in. He did not need to get close. His emotion with the Spider is his undoing, and will likely be what topples him. Also, how many people have raided his digital security? That's super embarrassing, dude.
I love Dawnstar and Wildfire. I like Blok and Mysa. That was almost enough, because that was one hell of a story in the back of Adventure Comics #4. But whoo boy, that zombie Alexander Luthor stuff was a waste of time.
I really wanted to check out "Drone" #1 based on solicits. Oh well.
I like a lot of books from Boom! Studios the way I like Flash Forward and White Collar and Lie To Me. Good stuff, entertaining, worth checking and worth sitting through commercials for. However, I'd pay actual money to see Glee or ... crap, I can't think of anything else right now. Anyway, Boom! has a lot of interesting stories that aren't very interesting (among the exceptions: 2 Guns, Irredeemable) and would work well adapted (probably intentional) but need a lot more ... lemme finish this with Deadpool below.
NOVEMBER 11, 2009
The new characters in the Minor Seven are slow to develop in "Gravel" #15, but I like where they're going. Speaking of Warren Ellis, I think "Supergod" #1 should have been a web-exclusive freebie preview and gotten right to the meat of the matter.
I also tweeted a little about this, but I'm torn about the developments in Black Panther #10. HUGE SPOILER ALERT ... YOU'VE BEEN WARNED ...
...
...
...
LAST CHANCE TO OPT OUT ...
...okay. Latveria going to war with Wakanda, allegedly shielded by an Asgardian populace there and with a little help from Namor, is a very interesting story idea. Doom's wanted to knock T'Challa's block off for years, but has been way too focused on Reed to do anything about it. That's all fine, I'm interested, I'm even okay with Shuri as a Proxy Panther. What I'm sad about is that there's not (unless I'm reading wrong) a single person of African descent involved with the project. Not one. Not Chris Cross, not Jamal Igle, not Afua Richardson, not MD Bright, not one. The biggest spotlight the Panther's gotten without a Hollywood name behind him
Don't get me wrong, I don't wanna take the shine off of Jonathan Maberry (whose talk show angle is a brilliant means to introduce exposition and still move the story along -- I want those two Wakandan analysts on the Marvel site, commenting about 616 at large), but still ...
While I'm under spoiler warning: Vril Dox, Sinestro Corpsman? Yes, please. More of that. But Nate Gray? Less of that. Seriously. Where's Marvel Boy and Fantomex? Those two are almost Cho/Hercules caliber!
SPOILERS AND WHAT NOT DONE, BACK TO REGULAR PROGRAMMING
I love Daniel Way's treatment of Deadpool, but the plots do need a little more "oomph" to them. What does that mean? Well, for three bucks, I need to be entertained more than I would be by an average TV show. I watch that stuff on Hulu, for free, often while working on other things. When I read a comic, I can maybe eat. That's about it. So for the cost and expenditure of time, I need it to step up. Deadpool started very strong with that and has been coasting a little. The aforementioned Boom! Studios stories hover but never soar. For three or four bucks, I need some soaring. That's almost a call to arms, and a statement about the way I buy, honestly.
Let me say this clearly: Red Robin has a good direction, it just hasn't been willing to go far enough. I hope that changes. Sack up and go macadamias.
Yes, I'm sad about the Purple Rain homage cover of Batman and Robin #6. Let's never speak of The Flamingo again. Seriously.
JSA vs. Kobra: Engines of Faith #6 let me down. Not in a big way, but it needs to be said.
The brother in S.W.O.R.D. #1 was a huge mistake. Stay on target!
Tabu out.
Playing (Music): "Everything is Everything" by Lauryn Hill
posted by Hannibal Tabu, The Operative at
1:57 PM
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