Cyberspace Comics market report, reviews and more

August 12, 2010

Famous Fanmail #19 Bob Gale

Filed under: Famous Fanmail — Doorman @ 8:29 am

You may not be surprised to learn that most people in the comic business grew up reading comic books. However, you might be interested in knowing what they were reading. Here’s a look at “Famous Fanmail”!

Bob Gale is best known for his involvement with the Back to the Future franchise (some of the best films ever made!). He wrote all three movies, the story for the BttF ride, and the cartoon series. On occassion, he’s written for comics, as well. His credits include Batman, Daredevil, Spider-Man … and Ant-Man! He got a letter printed in Thor #208 (cover date – February 1973).

Thor letters page with Bob Gale

On Ebay: Thor | Bob Gale

August 11, 2010

Glow in the Dark Comics #8 Evil Ernie: Revenge

Filed under: Glow in the Dark Comics — Doorman @ 12:55 pm

During the speculator boom in the 1990s comic book market, publishers enhanced comic covers to increase sales. These gimmicks included shiny foil, holograms and even pop-ups! But, one of the coolest enhancements was the glow in the dark cover. Let’s shed some light on the subject, shall we?

Evil Ernie: Revenge #1Publisher: Chaos! Comics
Cover Date: October 1994

Evil Ernie was an ongoing series originally published by Eternity Comics. After six issues, he later became one of the flagship characters for Chaos! Comics. His first mini series, Evil Ernie: Resurrection, lasted four issues as did his second mini-series, Evil Ernie: Revenge. To celebrate its first issue, Chaos! publisheda premium edition that was limited to 10,000 copies. Unfortunately, the red ink dulls the glow finish making it difficult to see the hidden image (Lady Death on the left; Ernie on the right with outstretched claws).

On Ebay: Evil Ernie

August 10, 2010

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #19 X-Men

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 8:57 am

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

1991’s X-Men #1 is the best-selling comic of all time, reaching 8 million in sales. Part of those figures are due to the variant covers (5 of ’em!) that were released. The other part was due to the incredible popularity of Jim Lee‘s art, at the time. Since it’s been so well-embedded in the social consciousness of comic fans, all of the variants have become targets for cover swipes over the year.


X-Men vol. II
October 1991
Jim Lee
Lethargic Comics, Weakly #4
September 1991
Greg Hyland

Marvel Zombies: Dead Days
July 2007
Arthur Suydam

On Ebay: X-Men | Lethargic | Marvel Zombies | Jim Lee | Greg Hyland | Arthur Suydam

August 9, 2010

One-Shot At Greatness #19 Sherlock Holmes: Sussex Vampire

Filed under: One-Shot At Greatness — Doorman @ 8:23 am

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Sherlock Holmes in the Sussex Vampire by Warren EllisPublisher: Caliber Comics
Cover Date: 1996
Cover Price: $2.95
Writer: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Adapted by: Warren Ellis
Artist: Craig Gilmore

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate the curious problem of an English businessman named Robert Ferguson. His wife has been caught sucking blood from their infant and she’s also attacked her step-son, Jack Ferguson. Desperate for assistance, Ferguson believes that Holmes will figure out a way to cure her presumed vampirism. Naturally, it’s no issue at all for the world’s greatest detective to solve this problem … but, can you?

Warren Ellis has adapted a wonderful short story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, here. There’s more going on here than what appears on the surface but our hero clearly sees that. The story does a great job of slowly pacing through everything and allowing Holmes to come up with clever and insightful deductions. This is the first Sherlock Holmes story that I’ve read and it’s set the bar extremely high. The only thing I can pick on it for is Gilmore’s dreadful artwork. I suppose it may fit the tone of the story but there are plenty of other moody artists that would have been much more capable. But, don’t let the art keep you from reading this one. It’s a keeper!

On Ebay: Sherlock Holmes | Arthur Conan Doyle | Warren Ellis | Craig Gilmore | vampires

August 6, 2010

Retro-Read #18 Escape From Wonderland

Filed under: Retro-Read — Doorman @ 9:01 am

With years spent reading single issues here and there, juggling storylines of dozens of titles, I decided it was time to find a better way to read comics. So, it was off to the back issue bins armed with the longest want list you’ve ever seen! Putting together series after series and reading them in their complete goodness, I was reborn as the Retro-Reader!

Publisher: Zenescope
Number of Issues: 6 (and a #0)
First Issue: June 2009 ($2.99)
Last Issue: April 2010 ($2.99)
Writer: Raven Gregory
Artist: Daniel Leister

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

This is the third and final mini series from Grimm Fairy Tales exploring the horror-reinvisioned Wonderland. Calie Liddle has to return to Wonderland to rescue her daughter Violet from the clutches of her evil brother, the Mad Hatter and the demon Caterpillar. But, before she can find her child, she’ll need to defeat the enormous and vicious Chesire Cat. She also has to make sure that the deviant creatures that inhabit Wonderland can’t cross dimensions to Earth, where they’d like to wreak havoc.

The Bad: Daniel Leister was not able to complete the entire mini-series and the “fill-in” art is very noticeable.

the Good: As with the previous series and one-shots, this book continues to offer a significant twist on the Wonderland mythos (although, I must warn you it’s quite violent and horrific) with great-looking, crisp art and wonderful visual effects. Feminists will enjoy the strong, female lead character and guys are sure to enjoy her physique.

The Verdict: This ain’t your momma’s Alice in Wonderland! But, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This title takes horror, Lovecraft lore, bad girl comics and the Wonderland mythos and throws it all in a blender. The result is a cool, sexy adventure that blows away Tim Burton’s vision of Wonderland.

On Ebay: Wonderland | Grimm Fairy Tales | Raven Gregory

August 5, 2010

Famous Fanmail #18 Willie Blyberg

Filed under: Famous Fanmail — Doorman @ 7:42 am

You may not be surprised to learn that most people in the comic business grew up reading comic books. However, you might be interested in knowing what they were reading. Here’s a look at “Famous Fanmail”!

Willie Blyberg was the inker (or embellisher) on comics titles like Airboy, DNAgents and the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. He got a letter printed in Thor #204 (cover date – October 1972). Interestingly enough, in his letter, he ranks John Buscema as a better artist than Jack Kirby and Neal Adams. Certainly a controversial opinion!

Thor letters page with Willie Blyberg

On Ebay: Thor | Willie Blyberg

August 4, 2010

Before They Were Stars #7 Grant Morrison

Filed under: Before They Were (Comic Book) Stars — Doorman @ 7:30 am

Not every comic writer or artist starts at the top, working on books like Batman or X-Men. In fact, most don’t even start at Marvel or DC. Here’s a look at some work by comic book creators … before they were stars.

Sunrise #1 by Grant MorrisonGrant Morrison has written important and critically acclaimed runs on Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, the X-Men as well as many others. He’s had notable creator-owned works including the Invisibles, WE3 and Zenith.

According to his Wikipedia entry, his first published work was for Near Myths in 1978 but, he didn’t break into mainstream American comics until the late 1980s.

Prior to his ground-breaking runs on pre-Vertigo DC titles, he was published in Harrier Comics‘ Sunrise from 1987. But, he didn’t write the main feature, Sunrise. No. He wrote the back-up story entitled, Abraxas, teamed with artist, Tony O’Donnell. The series only lasted two issues.

On Ebay: Grant Morrison

August 3, 2010

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #18 Iron Man

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 7:09 am

After looking at hundreds of comic book covers, it becomes quickly apparent that not every cover is 100% original. Whether done intentionally or even underhandedly, there’s something about uncovering these “swipes” that adds a new element of fun to reading and collecting comics.

After debuting in Tales of Suspense #39 (1963), Iron Man became the regular feature in that series until it was canceled with #101 to make room for his own ongoing series (as well as Captain America’s solo title). Finally, fourteen years after his first appearance, Iron Man was able to claim his very own issue one hundred. As if that wasn’t more complicated than your average super hero title, Jennifer Walters (aka the She-Hulk) has an even more convoluted story on her way to #100. Her first series (the Savage She-Hulk) lasted 25 issues. Her second series (the Sensational She-Hulk) lasted 60 issues and was made famous by John Byrne‘s take on the character. Her third series (the adjectiveless She-Hulk) was made famous by Dan Slott‘s take on the character and lasted for one full year (12 issues) before it was relaunched into a second season (or volume II). So, when issue #3 of her second volume was published, it was actually the 100th issue if you combined all the previous She-Hulk solo title issue numbers. Certainly a reason to celebrate … especially for a female solo title. And, to tie everything in together, this is the 100th post in the Cyberspace Comics Blog. Woo Hoo!

Iron Man #100
Iron Man #100
July 1977
Jim Starlin 		She-Hulk vol. II #3
She-Hulk vol. II #3
February 2006
Greg Horn
Zoom Suit #1
Zoom Suit #1 (1 in 50 variant)
April 2006
Jim Starlin

On Ebay: Iron Man | She-Hulk | Jim Starlin | Greg Horn | Zoom Suit

August 2, 2010

One-Shot At Greatness #18 Western Team-Up

Filed under: One-Shot At Greatness — Doorman @ 7:48 am

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Western Team-Up #1Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: November 1973
Cover Price: 20ยข
Writer: Larry Lieber
Artist: Larry Lieber

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

Back in the 1800s, Wayde Morgan convinced his father to hire the Rawhide Kid to herd cattle, despite his outlaw status. Unfortunately for Wayde, some true rustlers decided this was a wonderful opportunity for themselves. They killed Wayde, stole the herd and the blame naturally fell to the Rawhide Kid, due to his past reputation. The task fell to Wayde’s brother, Cliff, better known as the Dakota Kid to take in the Rawhide Kid. But, when he found the framed gunman, the Rawhide Kid was able to convince the Dakota Kid who the real criminals were. You can bet there was a lot of lead flying as Rawhide went after the guys who framed him … and Dakota avenged his brother’s death.

Larry Lieber (that’s Stan Lee’s younger brother, for those not in the know) actually managed to avoid the almost unavoidable hero vs hero battle in this story … twice! This is a very impressive feat, if you ask me … as it rarely passes that two “heroes”, meeting each other for the first time, don’t fight each other first. The art’s quite good, too although I’ve got to take some points away for leaving so many backgrounds completely blank. Also, every sentence ends with an exclamation mark! That kind of gets annoying after a while! It seems like everyone is yelling! Even if it’s just a regular sentence!

I’d say this is an important comic as it introduces the Dakota Kid but, even with my limited knowledge of Marvel westerns, I don’t think he ever appeared again. That being said, it’s yet another story in the well-documented life of the Rawhide Kid but, a rather unimportant one for him.

On Ebay: Rawhide Kid | Larry Lieber

July 30, 2010

Retro-Read #17 the Guild

Filed under: Retro-Read — Doorman @ 8:36 am

With years spent reading single issues here and there, juggling storylines of dozens of titles, I decided it was time to find a better way to read comics. So, it was off to the back issue bins armed with the longest want list you’ve ever seen! Putting together series after series and reading them in their complete goodness, I was reborn as the Retro-Reader!

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Number of Issues: 3
First Issue: March 2010 ($3.50)
Last Issue: May 2010 ($3.50)
Writer: Felicia Day
Artist: Jim Rugg

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

Cyd’s life kind of sucks. Her boyfriend treats her pretty bad, her job’s not too great and her self-esteem is sub-par. But, when a random event leads to her buying a M.M.O.R.P.G. (which for all intents and purposes is the World of Warcraft) she uses it as an opportunity to reinvent herself, albeit digitally. As is the natures with such games, she soon meets several other players who are misfits in their own right. Over the next few weeks, these other players continue to run into her and as she gets to know them all, she also gets more addicted to the game. Blurring the line between real life and her character’s life, these other players become her closest friends. But, as her life continues to get worse, will she totally escape into her avatar?

The Bad: The only thing I can pick on this series for is that the fantasy covers don’t convey any of the slice-of-life nature of the story.

The Good: Plenty of great characterization to be had here. Also, the change in art styles between “real life” and “game life” was a nice touch.

The Verdict: This mini-series tells the origins of the Guild (a popular webseries). Having never seen the series and never having played an MMORPG before, I thought I might be left out of the loop when it came to reading this book. Impressively enough, the writer does a wondeful job of approaching the story from Cyd’s point of view as a newbie. So, the reader gets to learn about the gameplay (and the other characters) at the same time as the protagonist. The book shifts tone between depressing reality and the enjoyment of the game, allowing you to experience emotional highs and lows. The artwork also shifted tones between reality and fantasy, complementing the story. This was a wonderful read that exceeded all of my expectations. And, if I was an online gamer or fan of the web series, I’m sure I’d be able to appreciate it even more.

On Ebay: the Guild | Felicia Day | Jim Rugg

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