Cyberspace Comics

July 16, 2010

Retro-Read #15 Of Bitter Souls vol. II

Filed under: Retro-Read — Doorman @ 9:25 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: Markosia
Number of Issues: 3
First Issue: July 2006 ($3.50)
Last Issue: September 2006 ($3.50)
Writer: Chuck Satterlee
Artist: Norm Breyfogle

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

In the previous mini-series (published by Speakeasy), four of New Orleans’ less-than-respectable residents gained super-powers related to their “area of corruption” and were gathered into a team by Pastor Secord to protect their hometown from supernatural threats. But, they disbanded when they learned that they were chosen to lead an army against the forces of evil at the end of days. Now, one year later, Secord and the only remaining member, Magdalena, have to reunite the team to go on a time-traveling adventure in order to stop a zombie invasion from destroying New Orleans.

The Bad: A noticeable number of spelling errors managed to pull me right out of the story. Breyfogle’s art seems a bit rushed here … not up to par with what I was used to from his work on Prime. On a disappointing note, this series was canceled before #4 could be published. Now, I may never know who the mystery guest was supposed to be!

the Good: This series has a cool premise that promises a very interesting “final battle” (unfortunately, we may never see it … especially since both series were canceled at issue #3). The improvement over the first series is noticeable and even though it’s recommended for mature readers, it has respectful elements of Christianity woven throughout.

The Verdict: This is a book that, given a bit more exposure, could easily catch on and be a big, indy hit. The premise is neat and has a lot of room to grow. All of the characters surely have interesting stories to be told and there are no end to supernatural threats to be battled … especially in New Orleans!

On Ebay: Of Bitter Souls | Norm Breyfogle | New Orelans

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July 15, 2010

Famous Fanmail #15 Gary Groth

Filed under: Famous Fanmail — Doorman @ 8:12 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”!

Gary Groth founded Fantagraphics in 1976, a comics publisher well-known for their alternative publications and their comic news magazine, the Comics Journal (featuring significant contributions by Groth, himself). Years before his successful run as a comics publisher, he got a letter printed in Thor #162 (cover date – March 1969).

On Ebay: Thor | Comics Journal | Fantagraphics

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July 14, 2010

Before They Were Stars #6 Mike Wieringo

Filed under: Before They Were (Comic Book) Stars — Doorman @ 1:39 pm

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.

Doc Savage: Doom Dynasty #1 Mike Wieringo art Mike Wieringo‘s unique style is well-known in the comics industry. Before passing away in 2007, he worked on plenty of high-profile comic titles including the Sensational Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, the Flash, and Robin. He also launched a great, creator-owned titled called Tellos, alongside Todd Dezago.

Prior to his big break into DC Comics with his run on the Flash, he pencilled Millennium’s Doc Savage: Doom Dynasty, a two issue mini-series from 1991.

On Ebay: Mike Wieringo | Doc Savage

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July 13, 2010

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #15 Spider-Man

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 11:12 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.

Todd McFarlane‘s adjectiveless Spider-Man title was an enormously successful title. Todd left the title with a “bang!” by teaming Spidey up with another then-hot Marvel property, X-Force, against the unstoppable Juggernaut. Greg Hyland’s Lethargic Comics swiped a different well-known comics cover every month, and with issue #9, he spoofed McFarlane’s final Spider-Man issue.

Spider-Man #16 | November 1991 | Todd McFarlane

Lethargic Comics, Weakly #9 | April 1992 | Greg Hyland

On Ebay: Spider-Man | Lethargic | Todd McFarlane | Greg Hyland

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July 12, 2010

One-Shot At Greatness #15 Predator: Strange Roux

Filed under: One-Shot At Greatness — Doorman @ 7:54 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!

Predator: Strange Roux Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Date: November 1996
Cover Price: $2.95
Writer: Brian McDonald
Artist: Mitch Byrd
Cover Artist: Paul Lee

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

Back in 1931, three Cajun trappers discover someone’s been taking their catches and leaving the skin behind. They also come across some large, strange-looking footprints and a skinned human body. Two of the Cajuns think it was a gator that did all this but Mr. LeBlanc knows better. LeBlanc knows it was the Gollywomp! He tells the urban myth of the half-man, half-frog creature who still wanders the swamps but his friends don’t believe him.

So, they set out to follow the tracks of the gator (or Gollywomp) and kill him to keep their future catches from being stolen. But, the tracks lead them to a frightening sight … the Gollywomp (actually, it’s a Predator). The three Louisianan men try to take down the Predator with their guns but the alien creature’s got abilities and weapons of his own. In the end, it comes down to LeBlanc and the Predator. To the loser … death. And, to the winner … dinner!

This was a quick read combining some action with an ultimately unimportant urban myth. The story itself had an ending that was reminiscent of some old EC Comic and the art was pretty solid, although easily upstaged by Paul Lee’s cover. As a one-shot, it was hard to establish much concern for the three Cajuns … which becomes a bit problematic when analyzing a Predator comic. Y’see, basically the main character is always the bad guy. So, the adversaries it comes up against are the people you’re supposed to root for. Unfortunately, with the one-shot format, the story doesn’t usually contain enough characterization to make you care about the people. And, that’s what happens here. There’s not much on these three Cajuns to make you hope they’ll beat the Predator. On the other hand, the Predator is just one of thousands (maybe millions) of an alien race. And, one that we’ve never seen before … so, it’s hard to care about the Predator’s fate, either. But, even with all that in mind, I really enjoyed this quick one-shot read and I liked that it included a scene that illustrated the Predator race’s warrior respect in battle.

On Ebay: Predator | Mitch Byrd

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July 10, 2010

Minimate Spotlight #10 Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E.

Filed under: Minimate Spotlight — Donny B @ 12:01 am

Action figures have long been a perfect compliment to comic books, since every kid (or kid at heart) has that natural desire to act out adventures with their favorite heroes off the drawn page. Every so often, a unique style of figure comes along that breaks the mold, so to speak. Each Saturday, Donny B will be showcasing various offerings from Art Asylum’s take on the ‘block figure’, with a weekly spotlight on Minimates.

Geoff Johns has spent the last few years climbing the ranks of DC Comics, and he’s gotten pretty high up. Along the way, he has influenced many different storylines and characters – most notably resurrecting Hal Jordan as Green Lantern, Barry Allen and the Flash, re-establishing the DC Multiverse, and bringing us the monumental ‘Blackest Night’ event. That’s just naming a few of the bigger things he’s had his hand in over the past few years. Well, before he made the big splashes that I listed above, he gave birth to DC Comics’ Stargirl and her robotic-suited “sidekick”, S.T.R.I.P.E. You may recognize Stargirl from her appearance on Smallville, or maybe one of the growing number of comic book storylines she’s been involved in since her creation. Or maybe you’ve seen her in Minimate form 😉

When DC Comics launched their second Minimate line, they decided to move on from the C3 concept, and embraced the idea of integrating the 2.5 inch Minimate design where it was appropriate.
Up until that time, all comic-based Minimates were one standard size: 2 inches. DC felt that certain characters needed to stand above others, and that led to the release of larger characters such as Bane, Brainiac 13, and Clayface, whose heightened stature contrasted the size of normal characters who were still 2 inches.

One of the characters who got the taller body treatment was Stargirl’s protector, S.T.R.I.P.E.

Behind the Image:

This was a really simple photo to take – I simply found an image of an American flag from Google, and then positioned the two Minimates in front of the computer screen.

On Ebay: Geoff Johns

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July 9, 2010

Retro-Read #14 Tarzan vs Predator

Filed under: Retro-Read — Doorman @ 10:13 am

Tarzan vs Predator #4 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Number of Issues: 4
First Issue: January 1996 ($2.50)
Last Issue: June 1996 ($2.50)
Writer: Walter Simonson
Artist: Lee Weeks

*Warning! Plot Spoilers Below*

Tarzan, Jane and some of their native friends return to Pellucidar (picture the X-Men’s Savage Land … but, inside the Earth) to investigate the disappearance of their friend (and recent emperor of Pellucidar), David Innes. Inside this hidden land, Tarzan discovers that a band of Predators are using it as hunting grounds … and he’s the latest prey. Meanwhile, the Mahar (a sentient, pterodactyl-looking creature) is using his hypnotic powers to take control of Pellucidar now since it’s ruler has gone missing. Now, Tarzan has to escape from the Predators, dethrone the Mahar, and rally the troops to send the Predators packing. No problem … right?

The Bad: This was the first Tarzan story I’ve ever read and I felt quite a bit lost with all the characters being tossed around. I was also hoping for a bit more story-wise from the Predators but they almost seem to be thrown in as an afterthought.

The Good: Lots of action to be had here … and plenty of strange elements all thrown together: Tarzan. Predator. a lost world of dinosaurs and natives. pterodactyl-humanoids. And, Lee Weeks‘ style is able to handle all of it!

The Verdict: With the release of Predators today, I thought it’d be interesting to review a Predator comic. Unfortunately, even though they’re prominently feature in the series title, they’re less included in the actual storyline. If I were to break it down, I’d say this is 75% a Tarzan story and only 25% Predator, at the most. Getting beyond that disappointment, Walter Simonson sets up plenty of problems to throw at our hero. So, there’s a lot of story stuffed into these four issues. Almost too much, though … I was a bit lost with all the names and characters tossed into the mix. So, Tarzan newcomers beware!

On Ebay: Tarzan | Predator | Walter Simonson | Lee Weeks

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July 8, 2010

Famous Fanmail #14 John Carbonaro

Filed under: Famous Fanmail — Doorman @ 6:34 am

In the early 1980s, John Carbonaro purchased the rights to the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents from Tower Comics. He published a few T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents series but none of them lasted long. A few years later, Deluxe Comics began publishing comics with the same characters, without licensing them from Carbonaro. Unfortunately for J.C., the following court case deemed these characters to be in the public domain. Prior to his comics publishing endeavor, John Carbonaro got a letter printed in Thor #156 (cover date – September 1968).

On Ebay: Thor | T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents

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July 7, 2010

Comic Book Easter Eggs #1 Ultimate Adventures

Filed under: Comic Book Easter Eggs — Doorman @ 6:58 am

With any medium, the more you know about it, the more you can appreciate it. Naturally, the same is true of comic books and now that fans who grew up reading comics are working in the industry, we’re treated to more in-jokes and nods more than ever. Here’s a look at another, cool Comic Book ‘Easter Egg’!

In 2002, Marvel issued the ‘U-Decide’ Challenge. It pitted Peter David’s Captain Marvel against Bill Jemas’ Marville and the Joe Quesada-backed Ultimate Adventures (by Ron Zimmerman and Duncan Fegredo). After six issues of each series was released, the best-selling title would be able to continue as an ongoing.

Ultimate Adventures focused on Hawk-Owl, a vigilante hero in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. He was clearly a knock-off of Batman and this was the story of how he got his sidekick Woody (Robin, for all intents and purposes). Ron Zimmerman used the story to highlight some things that he liked about Batman … and some things he took issue with. Just like Batman, Hawk-Owl’s parents were dead. They didn’t die in a way that would provide motivation for superheroics, though. But, regardless of that, Hawk-Owl became a hero because “it was the right thing to do” … not because he needed a motivation or shove in the right direction to be a hero (like Batman did …. Zimmerman points out not-so-subtly). He also pokes a little fun at the reality of child-endangerment when young sidekicks join in on super-adventures.

Anywho … I’m getting away from the main point here. Y’see, in the final pages of issue number six, Zimmerman/Fegredo put out a nice nod to the origin of Batman. Hawk-Owl and Woody descend upon a mugger who’s holding up a young couple and their son as they’ve just exited a movie theatre showing the Mask of Zorro. True Batman fans will recognize this as the incident that served as the main motivation for Bruce Wayne to become Batman. Now, in the Ultimate Universe, Bruce will never grow up to be the caped crusader! But that’s OK … they’ve already got Hawk-Owl.

Ultimate Adventures #6 interior page - Batman

On Ebay: Ultimate Adventures | Batman

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July 6, 2010

Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed #14 Fantastic Four

Filed under: Swiped: Comic Book Cover Swipes Exposed! — Doorman @ 6:53 am

The Fantastic Four have ever been explorers into fantastic worlds and locations. They’ve traveled to exotic locales all over our planet, including the Savage Land and the Inhumans’ Great Refuge. They’ve also traveled to other worlds and dimensions. One such alternate plane of existence they’ve discovered is the Negative Zone. It’s inhabited by all kinds of bizarre and nefarious beings. One of these aliens is Blastaar, the deposed monarch of the Baluurians. He’s able to emit powerful force from both of his hands … and the FF’s always on his bad side. Fantastic Four #215 featured one of their many encounters.

Married With Children was a very popular TV show that lasted for eleven seasons from the late 1980s into the mid 1990s. Capitalizing on its success, NOW Comics licensed the show and began publishing comics based on it. As sales began to fall off, NOW experimented with some strange stories. One such spin-off was Married With Children: the Quantum Quartet, which re-invisioned the cast of the TV show as super-heroes based on the Fantastic Four. It didn’t last long. In fact, issues #3 and 4 were never published. But, a while later, those final two issues emerged, combined within this Big Wrap-Up special. As always, there’s no better way to begin a spoof comic than starting off with a cover swipe.