Artists Assemble. A New Host for Venom.

Artists Assemble is a weekly event where members in the Facebook group who like to draw can submit a drawing based on a specific theme. Anyone can take part and he can ranger from a sketch to a digital masterpiece! Its all about having fun. 

This weeks theme is a What if? Venom needs a new host! this can be anyone and I mean anyone, Comics, TV or film. Go crazy! So forget Eddie Brock, Mac Gargan and Flash Thompson, let your imagination go wild on this one! 

Doop by Luc Grigg

Mega Man by Patrick Mohlmann

The Venom Knight by Decoder Godwin Anonical

Samurai Jack by Paul Hanson

Symbiote Ranger by Adam Bayes

Savage Dragon by Mike Wilson

The Ultimate Warrior by Franklin O'Neal

The Joker by Rodney Celerio

Venomous Predator by Eddie Rodriguez Hobson

Astro Boy by Paul Hanson

Hellboy by Paul Hanson

Bart by Jason Graziano

Stitch by Adam Bayes

Black Cat by Zeena Benjamin

Raph by Adam Bayes

The Symbiote and the Worm by Paul Hanson

The Tick by Christopher Masson

Jean Grey by Breannah Luini

The Manhattan Project/A Symbiote by Paul Hanson

Kraven the Hunter by Anthony Gay

Dennis The Venomous Menace (UK Version) by Christopher Masson

Special What If issue by Reginald Tuggle

Red Hulk by Richard Chin

Venom the Duck by Luc Grigg

Hunter Rose by Patrick Mohlmann

Artists Assemble. LGBT superheroes

Artists Assemble is a weekly event where members of the Facebook group who like to draw can submit a drawing based on a specific theme. There is a new theme every Monday and pics need to be in by Sunday.

This weeks theme is LGBT superheroes. We have had 3 weeks of specific LGBT themes and for the final week I have decided to be nice and set it as LGBT superheroes so there will be lots of characters to chose from!! 

Union Jack by Richard Chin

Wiccan and Hulkling by Patrick Mohlmann

Twitch Hopeless-Savage by Patrick Mohlmann

Anole W.I.P. by Jason Graziano

Doop by Adam Bayes

Poison Ivy by Allison Julien

Doop vs Slimer by Richard Chin

Archie's pal Kevin Keller by Paul Hanson

Throwback Thursday 4/10/14

Legion of Superheroes #31 (1992)

   Continuing our month of LGBT awareness in comics(check out our Facebook group for more info) we have one of the first mainstream comics to deal with transgenderism. This issue retcons a relationship for two characters in a major way. Unfortunately because of Zero Hour this story is out of continuity and the next iteration of the Legion disregarded the story all together.

   This issue tells the story of the now grown up Element Lad and his (ex?)girlfriend Shvaughn Erin. Element Lad has always been a character with a haunted past who rarely seemed interested in the opposite sex, and there was even fan speculation that he was gay for years. His relationship with Shvaughn is not something I am well versed in, but this issue does a great rundown on what went on. Element Lad was never really there for her, always thinking about the death of his entire planet. Shvaughn was there for him though, always trying to show her love and support to him even if he never showed much affection back. They grew apart as Element Lad returned to his dead planet to find himself and Shvaughn was left to toil in the Science Police.

   This is where the issue takes its turn. The Dominators have taken over Earth and made any unnecessary medication incredibly hard to get ahold of. Shvaughn has been hiding something for years, she has been taking a medication called “profem” which changes her gender from male to female. Shvaughn was in love with Element Lad from the first holo he ever saw and thought that the way to his heart was to change who he was. So he became a she. Now without her supply of “profem” Shvaughn is turning back into a male, Sean. All of this is revealed to Element Lad who is there to lend moral support to Shavaughn/Sean. Element Lad lets Shavaughn/Sean know that gender was never an issue, what they shared never had anything to do with gender. Shavaughn/Sean asks Element Lad to leave him be, to let him discover who he is now. Which Element Lad does, and here’s where things get a little complicated. Sean runs into a young clone of Element Lad and they share a very nice moment which lets Sean get a little closure, and also acts to offer some comfort to this younger Element Lad for some deaths he caused earlier and lets young Element Lad know that he doesn’t have to bottle up all his feeling, he has people to turn to. The main take away from the story is a message to be yourself. Don't try to change because of what you think someone might think, don't change to please someone, especially if your change is not who you feel you are. As well as, trust in your friends, they can be your family.

   When this issue came out there was a lot of controversy surrounding it with the fans. Many were in favor of what had happened and thought it was an interesting stance to take on these characters. Of course there were also quite a few fans outraged that a character that they liked turned out to be gay/trans, and that Element Lad was now confirmed as being bisexual or omnisexual (?). At a time when most stories about gay characters dealt with bigotry or AIDS, the Legion told one almost totally devoid of the homophobia of the time. Element Lad never scoffed, got angry or turned his back on Shavaughn/Sean. Later it’s revealed that Sean still has his job with the Science Police, even becoming their chief before Zero Hour.

   As far as I could find, this issue didn’t receive a whole lot of mainstream attention. I think it was due to the fact that the Legion was just holding on to its core fanbase and not really expanding. The 5 Years Later stories while thought provoking, where very divisive. Keith Giffen has stated in interviews what during the books production the creative team was allowed to do just about anything, including blowing up the Earth, because no one was paying attention. So issues like this one flew under the radar. This issue, and the whole run up to Zero Hour told some really grown up stories that feel ahead of their time. So, Long Live the Legion!

Throwback Thursday 4/3/14

Gotham Central: Half a Life (Issues 6-10)

   I have never been a fan of police shows, when Gotham Central was announced I dismissed it as just a cop book set in Gotham City. Which it is, but it is so much more. Ed Brubaker, Greg Rucka and Michael Lark came together and produced one of the best Batman books ever, that hardly featured Batman. The book was a police procedural that dealt with the lives of the police force in Gotham, how they dealt with each other, how they dealt with the super criminals of Gotham, and how they dealt with the Batman. The book lasted forty issues, with Brubaker and Rucka taking alternate arcs of the series. Brubaker had the night shift, Rucka had the day shift. 

   Half A Life is the story of Detective Rene Montoya being outed as gay to the world at large by Two Face. A photograph of Rene kissing her girlfriend Daria, is pinned to the police bulletin board, as well as sent to her parents. This sparks harassment at work and problems with her very religious parents. Things take a turn for the worse when she is framed for murder and then busted out by Two Face, who has mistaken the kindness she has shown him in the past for love, plus Rene is living a double life (eh, eh?!). Even though he knows she is gay and orchestrated the whole forced outing. Thanks to Crispus Allen’s unwavering faith in his partner and a little help from Batman she is cleared of all charges, but unfortunately loses her family in the process.

   At the end of the story in a beautiful scene of silent panels we see Rene’s girlfriend waiting outside as the day turns to night as Rene comes out to her parents. The grief on Rene’s face as she gets into the car and tells Daria that her parents have disowned her and she has no one left, is heart breaking. The book ends with Daria comforting a sobbing Rene promising that she is there for her.

   This is one of the best written stories about coming out of the closet I have read in a comic to date. While the circumstances around why she came out are horrible, it feels like a very real story. Thanks in large part to Rucka’s dialogue and Lark’s amazing body language. There are so many strong moments to point to in the story, one of my favorite parts comes shortly after Rene is outed, her Captain Maggie Sawyer calls her into her office and they have a talk. Sawyer, who is gay and later almost marries Batwoman, tells her to think about how she is going to handle things, you can only come out once. Rene’s response is heart breaking, I’ll post the panels below since I don’t think I can do them justice. Another thing I loved was the respect and unwavering loyalty of Rene’s partner Crispus Allen, he always stands by her and stands up for her even when she isn’t around. When other police officers refer to Rene as “that dyke”, Crispus is the first and I believe only person to tell people to shove it.

   If there was one area I thought the story was lacking it was in the character of Daria. Admittedly she isn’t in very much of the book. But I would have liked to see a little more of her and Rene’s relationship before this story. But when she is around her love for Rene is clear, thanks in large part to Michael Larks’ art. Besides waxing poetic about how great Rucka and Lark are on the book, I would like to take a minute to explain why I think this is an important book. This isn’t the first, last or even best comic about a character dealing with their sexuality. It is however one of the more realistic big two books on the subject I have read. Things are hard, things have a lasting effect on the book and the character, and things don’t always come up sunshine and roses. In a lot of the books I read acceptance is a given, you know by the end of the book that everyone will be one big happy family, and while I would love for this to be reality, it isn’t always. Rene’s struggle in this book feels real, and I think it’s due in part to not having a happy ending. Sure she is with her girlfriend, but she has so many other pieces of her life broken. This is what makes the book feel real to me. I keep reading books with Rene in them and I really do hope that she does get that happy ending she deserves, because she is one of my favorite characters.

Throwback Thursday 2/27/14

Batman Adventures 2003

   I like Batman. I don’t love him. This has confounded a lot of comic’s fans I have interacted with over the years. It seems like there are two camps, love and hate, with no room for any kind of ambivalence. I rarely go out of my way to read a bunch of Bat books, sure I have my favorites and I don’t think any of them would surprise people, except maybe with what I am reviewing. Batman Adventures. People dismiss this long running series mostly due to the fact that it was based on a cartoon. It doesn’t matter that most Bat-fans think the show is amazing and one of the best representations of the character, this book gets judged because it is “kiddy”. It’s an all ages book, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book, or a dumb book, it means everyone can enjoy it. And I think everyone should. I took a look at the final volume of the Batman Adventures line and it is fantastic. Not only is the art and visual storytelling fantastic, thanks largely to Rick Burchett and Ty Templeton, but the stories are a ton of fun, again with thanks to Ty Templeton and Dan Slott who split the writing.
   Every issue in this series is split into two parts, a main story and a back up. The backups always have some tie to the main story and are usually just as good as the longer story that preceded it. Dan Slott and Ty Templeton take turns writing the main story and back ups, switching off for small arcs. Slott and Templeton obviously had a lot of this book planned out ahead of time, their stories play off one another and propel the plot forward. While each issue is a self contained adventure, there are subplots that follow though the entire series. The biggest being the Penguin becoming the mayor of Gotham City.
   With the Penguin now in charge of the city Batman is public enemy number one. Batman not only has to deal with the threats of his rogues, but now has to dodge the cops who for the most part are after his head. But within this large subplot there are many other smaller stories that play out. Bat-rogues being targeted by assassins. The Black Mask trying to take over Gotham so Batman goes undercover as Matches Malone. The Joker trying to marry Harley Quinn because she is inheriting a fortune and plans to kill her after the wedding for the money. The Riddler, now reformed and on the cusp of becoming a millionaire because of his inventions still trying to duel wits with Batman. Plus a fantastic one shot with art by Dean Haspiel all about death traps. Every story builds off of one another and the pay off at the end, although rushed due to sudden impending cancellation, is well worth the ride it takes to get there.
   One of my favorite things about the entire Adventures line are the guest appearances. In this volume alone there are some wonderful guest stars. The Phantasm makes a return and joins Black Mask’s gang. Also in the gang is Deadshot and Bronze Tiger, both of which were members of one of my favorite teams, the Suicide Squad. Eel O’Brian makes a few appearances helping out Matches Malone before his heroic transformation into Plastic man. Alec Holland makes a brief appearance, he’s working in the swamp with Poison Ivy before his transformation. And in one of the more irksome reveals in the series, the Red Hood is seen. The classic Red Hood, not the Jason Todd version. I say this is irksome because it is one of the plot threads that sadly never gets resolved. Phantasm becomes the leader of the False Face gang and takes orders from the Red Hood, but we never learn who he is under the mask, and the False Face gang just fades into the background. I’m going to have to ask Dan Slott at Supercon if he can reveal who was under the mask at the time.
   This book is for Bat fans and non Bat fans alike. The series tells some incredibly fun stories and stays true to Batman’s roots. If you enjoyed the animated series these books are tailor made for you. Even if it wasn't and you just like Batman read these. If you aren't a Bat fan, I still think these are fun stories that anyone can enjoy. I would recommend the Deal Haspiel issue for non fans. These Adventure books are largely overlooked by most comic fans. I would encourage any fans of the DC characters that filled out the line to read these books. The Superman, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited books were all very well put together superhero books.

Throwback Thursday 2/13/14

Hellblazer: Original Sins 1988

   John Constantine was introduced in the pages of Alan Moore’s “Swamp Thing”. A smooth talking magician who is always one step ahead of everyone and who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal, even if that means sacrificing his friends. Jamie Delano took the character over from “Swamp Thing” and brought him into his own title. He wrote the first forty or so issues and created the mythos that would follow John Constantine though the next twenty five years. The book is really dense. So many concepts and characters that are synonymous with Hellblazer are introduced here. John is practically a fully realized character by the time the book starts. He had shown up in Swamp Thing but this was his chance to shine and boy does he. Shine might not be the right word, there is nothing shiny about John Constantine, he is grimy and dirty. Yet he is one of the most compelling character I have had the pleasure of reading. I don't relate to John, I find a lot of what he does deplorable. Yet I can't help but get sucked into his world. It's like he has used his persuasiveness to lure me into this book.
   The first story collected in this book is one of my favorite Delano stories. It shows how much of a bastard John can be, and what he is willing to sacrifice in order to keep the world from ending. A famine demon is loose and causing people to eat themselves to death. No matter how much someone eats they waste away, or they eat themselves because of their hunger or their spouse, or they eat whatever is in front of them even jewelry. All this havoc was caused by an old friend of John’s who comes and asks for help. John helps of course, but when dealing with Constantine it never ends well. John’s friend Gary becomes a prison for the demon and John watches as it consumes his mate while he curses John with his dying breath. Gary isn't the first and won’t be the last of John’s friends to die by his hand.
   The other stories in the book are of varying quality. The introduction of John’s niece Gemma is particularly good. John has to find his missing niece and deal with his sister’s husband and their church goers from Resurrection Crusaders who will be a reoccurring group during the first chunk of Delano’s run. John meets the mysterious Zed, a young woman who he immediately sleeps with and begins to care for, which is never a good thing. When John cares, people get hurt. John also has his first run in with Nergal a powerful demon from hell who has created a Damnation Army in the hopes to stop the messiah from being reborn. Nergal melds four skinhead together and creates a four headed, six armed monstrous skinhead and sends it after Zed, who is the soon to be mother of the messiah. Even though the monster is bigger and stronger than Constantine, John is able to defeat it with his greatest weapon, his mind. John provokes the monster by pointing out that half of the monster cheers for Arsenal and the other half for Chelsea, the four who are one revert to their base nature, football hooligans. And they tear each other apart. It's brilliant.
   One major thing in these issues is the introduction of John being infected with demon blood. Nergal gives John a transfusion to heal him quickly. John's demon blood is something that comes into contention much later on in the series. It is a lot of fun to see the set up. Also in this trade I discovered where John gets his oft mentioned tree tattoo. Swamp Thing takes over John's body to impregnate his wife. On the way back to the swamp the possessed Constantine gets a tree tattooed on his ass, a little bit of revenge on Swamp Thing's part for all the horrible messes John has dragged him through over the years.
   I discovered “Hellblazer” when I was in middle school. I found it at my local library. I was an avid reader and a huge comic fan. I had read every Marvel and DC book that the library had so I started moving on to all the non big two books. “Hellblazer” was one of the first books I read, and it scared me to death. I remember that first arc I mentioned with the famine demon and how freaked out I was over all the people eating themselves and the bugs, THE BUGS! I can't stand bugs, so throw them in a movie or comic and I'll be terrified. After being scared, I realized I really liked this book, and tried my best from then on to read more non Marvel and DC (Yes I know this is Vertigo and technically at the time it originally came out it was still DC proper). “Hellblazer really opened my eyes to the wider world of comics at an early age.

Throwback Thursday 2/6/14

    Over the past few weeks I have not been doing a whole lot of comic reading that would fall into the “Throwback Thursday” mold. It has been a lot of recent books. I have been catching up on some series like, The Unwritten, Mind MGMT, and Lobster Johnson. Or reading current books like Umbral, Sex Criminals and All New X-Factor. But I decided that even if I haven't been reading older material I could still write something up. Today I present to you some of the recent trades I have picked up that are older material. I will give a brief explanation on why I picked them up and hopefully in the near future you can look forward to me disusing them.

    First on the list of books is “The Creature Commandos”, which collects a ton of stories from “Weird War Stories”. If you don't know who the Creature Commandos are, they were an elite fighting force created by the Allies to take down the Axis Powers in World War II. Each member of the team resembled and took on the characteristics of a monster. There was a Frankenstein monster who was the leader, a werewolf, a vampire, a Medusa, and later G.I. Robot joined on a few missions. I have read a few of these stories before and they are a ton of fun. And with the later half of this trade being written by Bob Kanigher it should be a blast.

    Next up is “Green Lantern Sector 2814”. This collects the last Green Lantern stories before and during “Crisis On Infinite Earths”. I've been told it is a fairly sprawling epic that focuses mainly on John Stewart. I've been a GL fan for many years and always enjoy looking back on older stories as they are collected. Just flipping through the pages of these trades and seeing all the Lanterns that are involved with the story makes me giddy. This is one I really hope does not disappoint.

    Marvel has recently started publishing a trade line called “The Epic Collection”. These trades are a big chunk of issues of a series that has been so far uncollected or uncollected as a whole. I recent;y picked up “Fantastic Four: All In the Family” which picks up right after John Byrne's legendary run. I am not really too familiar with this time on the FF. I did see that Johnny and Alicia get married, or do they? The trade also includes that wonderful “Fantastic Four vs The X-Men”. FF VS X-Men, is something that already had a release but I assume it folds into the story of this group of issues.

    The last book I want to bring up is “Swamp Thing, by Brian K. Vaughn”, it's no surprise why DC/Vertigo released this trade, with Saga being the hit that it is. Right now BKV is a hot commodity, so why not reprint a book that no one read in the early 2000s. I don't remember hearing much fanfare about the book when it came out. But I was also did not have much interest in Swamp Thing at the time. Sampy has since become one of my favorite characters. And while I did hear from someone in another group that the story was a bit boring. I still have hopes that it will at least be entertaining and engrossing.

    There you have it. Four books I am looking forward to reading and hopefully reviewing in the near future. I have stacks and stacks of other books I am ready to read for this column. But these are just some of the newest books to throw on the pile. So here's to looking gleefully toward the future and reading some older comics that I love or missed over the years.

Throwback Thursday 1/23/14

Nightwing: Old Friends, New Enemies (1987-89)

    In 1988, DC editorial changed the normally Superman focused Action Comics into a weekly anthology series. This lasted for about a year before switching back to focusing solely on Superman. The stories published in Action Comics during this time were used to gauge audience reactions to characters and decide if those characters warranted a solo title or mini series. One of the many serialized stories during this time focused on Nightwing and Speedy. Nightwing was a relatively new character at the time, having only recently dropped the moniker of Robin. This was his fist solo outing that didn't include the New Teen Titans.

 

    This book should really be called “Speedy and his sidekick Nightwing”. The stories in this trade all revolve around Roy Harper, Speedy, and his friend Nightwing who gets dragged into the action. By the time the second story in the trade comes around Nightwing is almost never seen. He shows up at the beginning and end. I suppose that if you called this book “Speedy and his sidekick Nightwing” sales probably wouldn't be half of what they are with Nightwing predominately featured on the cover. 

    The book opens with a quick recap of how Dick Grayson became Nightwing, from his time as Robin under Batman's tutelage to leaving the Bat behind and striking out on his own. It's a decent issue of Secret Origins and has art by Erik Larsen, who I didn't even recognize until looking a bit more carefully. The inker Mike Decarlo might be really heavy handed because every other early Larsen book I have seen still has that distinctive Larsen look to it. This isn't to say the story looks bad, it looks pretty great actually. 

    The first real story in this book starts with Nightwing breaking up some smugglers while Speedy shows up to save him at the last minute and then persuades Nightwing to help him on a case. Speedy is working for the CBI(Central Bureau of Investigation) and needs Nightwing's help to stop an assassination plot against various diplomats at a peace talk. Speedy has ulterior motives however, he is tracking down Cheshire, the assassin, who also happens to be the mother of his child. After a short time Nightwing catches wind of Roy's ulterior motives and he agrees to help get Roy's daughter Lian back from the clutches of Cheshire. This story is the best of the lot. It has a solid plot and some nice character development for Speedy who up until now I believe had been relegated to the background since the forming of the New Teen Titans. Roy's need to get his daughter back at any cost and his inner turmoil over what to do about Cheshire, the woman he did love but he can never be with. 

    The final story arc is rubbish. It is boring, it makes no sense, and just feels forced. Roy is trying to take a break from the heroing and just be a dad. Like all stories of this nature that doesn't happen. Roy is thrust into a convoluted plot with IRA like terrorists, leaks in the CBI and a random pair of children he finds in the house he is renting. Roy abandons his child at the drop of a hat to go chase bad guys, leaving her with whoever is closest. There is a reveal at the end that seems pointless since you don't really even know who any of these characters are. But there is a nice epilogue with Roy hanging out with Dick (Nightwing) and Star Fire after all is said and done. But all in all the second story is mostly pointless. 

    All in all this is a half decent collection. I do wish there was more Nightwing in the book, being that he is the title character. It was nice to see Roy and Cheshire play off of each other and Roy's quest to find his daughter. I've read some modern stories with both of them and it was nice to see how it all started. If anyone had watched Young Justice they borrowed some from this arc in the second season. Seeing the origins of a story that has resonance in the future and other mediums was really fun to behold. I just wish the trade had ended after that.

Throwback Thursday 1/16/14

Hulk: Heart of the Atom 1971-77

By Harlan Ellison, Archie Goodwin, Bill Mantlo, Herb Trimpe, and Sal Buscema 

   Heart of the Atom is a collection of “Incredible Hulk” stories from the seventies all revolving around the tragic love of Hulk's life, Jarella. The Hulk has never had much luck with love. Betty Ross was in love with Bruce Banner but not the Hulk. She was kind to Hulk but was never in love with him. The ever tragic loner, the Hulk finally finds love in these issues. 

   The story is fairly straight forward. The Hulk is transported to an microscopic world where he defeats a few monsters, saves some lives and the queen of the planet is grateful and wants to make Hulk her king. Things would go well if it weren't for a scheming general. Before the Hulk and his jade skinned queen can be married he is carried off back to the normal world leaving a sad queen and her subjects. Over the next few years Jarella is featured occasionally. She comes to earth, Hulk goes to her world and she come back to earth. This last trip to Earth however is a tragic one. While the hulk is battling a robot, Jarella, ever the selfless queen, throws herself at a child pushing him out of the way of a topping building. This is where this story really shines. 

   A distraught Hulk turns to General Ross and Gama Base to help save Jarella's life, but when they tell him that there isn't anything they can do for her the Hulk flips out. But rather than destroy the base and attack Ross and his men, he remembers the one other person he can turn to to save Jarella, his friend Doctor Strange. And because this is a Marvel book, when the Hulk finally finds the Defenders they fight over a misunderstanding. The Defenders quickly realize their mistake and talk to the Hulk and do their best to help him. In one of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen in a Hulk book, Doctor Strange tells Hulk that there is nothing he can do for Jarella. She is dead. The Hulk of course gets angry but quickly breaks down crying over his lost love. This is beautifully drawn by Sal Buscema, the rage and subsequent sadness are captured exquisitely. When the Hulk breaks down in front of the Defenders you feel his pain. In one panel the Hulk gets so enraged he begins smashing Doctor Strange's sanctum. Yelling in grief “If magician cannot help, then Hulk will save Jarella! Hulk Can do it! Hulk can do anything! Hulk is the strongest there is!” All Hulk knows is smashing and being the strongest. But once he realizes that his strength can never be enough to bring back the woman he loves he breaks. He falls to pieces. It is such a sad yet beautiful scene. 

   Jarella was the first person to love the Hulk. All of the Hulk, not just the monster, not just Banner, but both sides of him. She loved him unconditionally. She calmed the Hulk, gave him a purpose. It wasn't just his protection she sought, it was his love and devotion, which she got in spades. When she died it did something that hadn't really been done. It made the hulk vulnerable, it showed that he wasn't the mindless beast or the brainless savage. The Hulk had feelings besides anger. 

   As with most books of the time it is very exposition heavy, but I wouldn't let that stop you from enjoying what has become one of my favorite Hulk stories. The Hulk has had other loves, but I don't believe any have captured what he and Jarella shared. Caiera from “Planet Hulk” probably comes the closest, but she really only cared for the Hulk, she did meet Banner but it wasn't Banner she loved it was the Hulk. Betty has never really loved the Hulk side of Banner, except maybe when he was smart Hulk. In my mind Jarella stands above all of them.

Throwback Thursday 1/9/14 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Volume 3

   In 1996, Erik Larsen got the rights to the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and with Gary Carlson, turned the Turtles world upside down. The story picks up right where the previous Turtles series end, but quickly flips everything on it's head. From issue one you know that this series is going to throw surprise after surprise at you. It isn't just the shocking physical and emotional trauma the turtles go through. There are a bunch of surprising guest stars, some from the Mirage universe and a lot from the Image universe. Carlson ties in Savage Dragon's supporting cast into a handful of issues.

   While there wasn't a drastic personality shift, there were drastic physical shifts in the Turtles. In the first issue Donatello is shot repeatedly by cyborgs, kidnapped and thrown out of a helicopter, paralyzed and then turned into a cyborg. Not drastic enough? Well Raphael gets his face burned, which blinds one eye, he starts wearing a patch, then Casey Jones spare mask and finally dons the Shredder’s armor and becomes leader of the Foot Clan. Leo looses a hand. Oh and Splinter is transformed into a giant rampaging bat creature very early on. While this may all seem shocking, and it is, this book is fast paced, action packed, and for the most part well written. It's a forgotten gem in the Turtles world. 

   Once you get past the physical damage that is done to the Turtles. It has a lot going for it. There is good action, great character development and really great (at times) art by Frank Fosco. Fosco's art is reminiscent of a bit of Kirby mixed with Buschema and a bit of his own magic thrown in. He is able to capture emotions on the faces of the Turtles well, even if it is hard to tell them apart occasionally, but that has always been a problem with the black and white books. Though once Donnie becomes a cyborg and Raph looses an eye, you really only have to worry about figuring out who the other two turtles are if you can't see weapons. 

   One of my favorite stories in the series revolves around Mikey who while baby sitting Casey and April's adopted daughter, falls asleep and their daughter, Shadow, is kidnapped. The rage and sadness that Casey experiences as well as Michelangelo’s grief over loosing his friend's daughter is one of the best emotional gut punches in the series. It's moments like these that make me love the series. Sure there are some great fights with ninjas, but seeing Mike break down was an emotional gut punch. 

   I first discovered this series when I was in high school. I was already familiar with the Turtles from TV and the comics. Seeing the characters I had grew up with and loved mutilated on the page killed me. But I kept coming back. Month after month I plopped down my hard earned money and read each issue wanting to know what was going to happen next. This iteration of the Turtles is what made me first realize that it didn't matter what happens to a character I love, as long as it was a compelling story, moved the plot along, and provided room for the characters to grow. It also helped that the Savage Dragon and a few supporting characters showed up from time to time.

   This series is worth checking out if you are a fan of the Turtles and want to see something new done with them. Unfortunately this series has been retconned out of continuity. In large part due to Peter Laird not having much or any say in the direction the book went. Once this series was over and the next Mirage one started a few years latter I believe one of the Turtles makes an off hand comment about a bad dream in reference to this run. So while it isn't technically canonical, it is still fun and worth a look at.

Throwback Thursday 12/19/13 Punisher Holiday Specials 1993-95

   What is more Christmas than shooting bad guys in the face? I can't really think of anything more Christmasy. This is why I read three issues of The Punisher Holiday Special. These were released one a year from 1993 through 1995. With a plethora of writers and artists taking the reigns of Frank Castle during the holidays. To be honest they weren't really that great, but like so many movies out there, it was so bad it's good. The stories in the books are your standard Punisher stories, with the exception that they all take place during Christmas, and may occasionally involve a holiday themed kill.

   The first story from issue one is probably my favorite. A mob boss sends out a hit on the Punisher as revenge for killing his father. Frank is lured to a mall and is forced to dispatch a squad of killers in a rather Die Hard like fashion. Frank looses his weapons at some point and is forced to use a sleigh and reindeer decoration to impale one of his would be killers. He also uses the giant Christmas tree in the mall to leap from the second story and bring it crashing down on the unsuspecting mob below. The Punisher of course gets out alive and gives a present to the mob boss, because Frank is in a giving mood. It s the head of the boss's lieutenant who organized this mall hit on the Punisher.

Christmas Tree Attack

   Things get worse from here, or better depending on your view I suppose. We learn why Frank hates Christmas so much. During his tour of Vietnam he went back to base to get a tree for his men to boost morale, only to return to find them killed bu the Vietcong. In the same story we also get Frank dressing up as Santa to kill a party of mafia members, one of which he impales on a metal Christmas tree. All this murder and mayhem of course gets Frank in the Christmas spirit and he joins his buddy Microchip for a Christmas party, still dressed in a bloody Santa outfit.

Death by deer

   I'm not going to spend any more time on the plots of the other half a dozen or so stories spread out through theses issues, but it should be noted that the Punisher also dispatched people with an avalanche, a yule log, and various rifles, pistols and knives. These stories are insane. I enjoy delving into the Punisher's world from time to time, but I sometimes forget how ridiculous his stories can be and how one dimensional he is. He's such a morose and boring character who I think works much better as a supporting character. Every story in these issues is basically the same. Frank kills the bad people. I understand these are specials and not part of the ongoing narrative of the Punisher, but everything felt so one note and flat. But that isn't to say theses stories weren't entertaining. They were a hoot, I found myself laughing at the crazy ways Frank went about dispatching criminals and how cold he was to everyone else around him. It was an insane trip down memory lane reading 90's Punisher comics.

   So remember Christmas is about caring and loving your fellow man. Unless they are criminals, in that case you should shoot them in the face, or strangle them with a wreath or impale them on your Christmas tree. Merry Christmas, happy holidays.

Throw Back Thursday 12/12/13

The Joker 1975-1976

   In 1975 the Joker was given his own ongoing series. But sadly it ended after only nine short issue. Because of the Comics Code at the time the Joker had to loose every issue and a book that focuses on a villain who is your titular character and can't get ahead. The series began to feel repetitive when every issue the Joker was either locked back up in Arkham or he disappeared at the end of an issue after being thwarted by a hero or the police. There was a lot of potential here but sadly with the constraints placed on the writers, good stories became average stories.

   While I do have problems with the book, it is also a ton of fun. It was a nice change of pace to read a Joker story where he was not a psychotic mad man bent on destroying the lives of everyone around him. Instead we get a Joker who has fun with his madness. The Joker is a lot more fun loving, but no less deadly. There are a handful of guards and policemen who fall prey to the Joker's poison gas. This is a Joker who has henchmen who actually seem to like the Joker, and the Joker seems to like them as well. There is a strange sense of comradely in the book. The supporting henchmen stay the same and while they are sort of generic things, they still feel more like close associates or even friends of the Joker as opposed to hired help. They still are in it for the money though. But when you have the Joker dressing up as a bus driver and falling instantly in love with Black Canary it's easy to forget how deranged he becomes years down the line.

   I mentioned guest stars in the book earlier, there are some great ones. There is an issue where Lex Luthor and the Joker swap intellect and madness. It is great seeing Luthor run around cackling and causing mayhem while the Joker is calm and collected. We also get your standard Bat villains popping up as well like Two Face, Catwoman and Scarecrow, and while these issues are entertaining, they don't hold a candle to my favorite issue in which the Joker meets Sherlock Holmes. Sort of. The Joker knocks a stage actor playing Holmes out, when the actor comes to, he believes he is Sherlock and uses his deductive reasoning to track down the Joker, who is committing crimes based around Holmes stories. While it isn't Sherlock vs the Joker, it is probably the closest we will get and it is one of the most fun issues in the whole series.

   There is a reason this series is a forgotten gem. It is not the most memorable bunch of issues. But it is a great look at who the Joker was in the seventies. The art is great with a lion's share being done by Irv Novick, but we get some Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez in here as well. This is classic Joker and the best part of the whole series. Not a Bat in sight the whole time.

Throwback Thursday 11/28/13

Crimson 1998-2001

   Rounding out my month of comics I am thankful for is “Crimson”, a book I didn't realize how much impact it made on me until rereading it. “Crimson” was the third book to come out of Wildstorm's Cliffhanger imprint, and the only original book to finish. While “Battle Chasers” and “Danger Girl” were plagued by delays, “Crimson” kept on going lasting twenty four issues and finishing out the story it set forth to tell. 

“Crimson” is a vampire story at heart, but there is so much more to it than just that. While the main character Alex Elder is a vampire there are a slew of other creatures inhabiting the world. From werewolves, to dragons, to angels and demons, “Crimson” has it all. Alex was a teenager who had the unfortunate luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alex and his friends went out for a drive through Central Park and were ambushed by a gang of vampires. Alex narrowly “survives” and thus becomes a vampire himself. Under the tutelage of Ekimus, one of the beings responsible for creating vampires millennia ago, and the friendship of Joe, a vampire who takes Alex under his wing for a time, Alex discover his purpose in life. As it turns out Alex is the chosen one and must do battle with a host of nasties, ranging from Templar Knights to Lisseth, the queen mother of vampires. But there are a slew of other characters and plot points, not the least of which is Scarlet X, the sexy monster hunter with a heart of gold. And Saint George the dragon slayer, who is reborn in the body of an African American mounted police officer. The series is nothing if not ambitious. With so many concepts and characters being dumped on the reader, it is a wonder that the ending is as satisfying as it is. 

   I always knew this would be my final entry for my month of thankfulness. I knew that “Crimson” had a big impact on me, I just didn't realize how much until reading these issues again. I have always loved monsters, and when I heard about a book with a vampire man character I was intrigued. When I saw Humberto Ramos' art I was enthralled. I had seen Ramos on a handful of books before, “Gen 13” and “Impulse”, but I had never seen it like this. The art exploded off the page. I was in love. 

   “Crimson” was the first book I made sure I had every issue of. It sparked something in me. Up until that point I was just happy reading comics, if I missed an issue, oh well. I could always imagine what had happened or see if a friend had that issue. With “Crimson”, I needed it all. I spent my allowances and birthday money looking for back issues. I read them so much the covers came off, so I had to buy the trades, which also took a beating from my constant reading and my constant loaning out to friends. As a teenager, I didn't have the knowledge of proper care for my books. Crimson lit a fire under me that has never been extinguished to this day. 

   I realized today that even if my art doesn't always show it, I owe a lot to Ramos. His big feet and big hands have always stayed with me. I remember trying to emulate the way his clothes fell on characters, it sadly always looked horrible when I did it. Staring at his art the past few days had made me realize how much I adore his art. And how much change you can see in his art from issue one to issue twenty four. Ramos remains one of my favorite artists and this is a large reason why. 

   “Crimson” pushed all the right buttons for me at the right time. It had an epic story that was earth shaking, it had breath taking art, and it had a consistent tone through out. While it may not be the best comic ever, it is one I am most thankful for. It made me start to pay attention to creators, it made me want to create my own comics, it made me want to find more books that were not just capes ant tights. Crimson made me the comic lover I am today. I owe it all the thanks I can offer.

Throwback Thursday 11/21/13

The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 1983

 
   This month I am going to do something a little different. Since Thanksgiving is the month for us here in the US, I thought that this month each Throwback Thursday will be a character, book, or story I am thankful for. This week “The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe” takes the stage. 

   In 1983, Marvel decided to take on the daunting task of cataloging almost every Marvel character. Mark Gruenwald had the daunting task of creating an encyclopedia of the Marvel Universe. From the Abomination to Zzzax the “The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe” gives an excellent overview of nearly every Marvel character. With illustrations by some of Marvel's best talent at the time. Delving back into these issues were a treat. There really isn't a lot to say about the OHotMU, it's a resource tool. If you ever need to figure out what exactly Thundra's powers are, or lean Ursa Major's origin you are in luck. These books are full of that, along with technical drawings of buildings, vehicles, and weapons. What more could you want from a book like this? It makes me smile just thinking about it. 

   When I was a kid I couldn't afford a lot of comics, but what I could buy were issues of the OHotMU. I would devour them, read every single entry, learn all I could about characters who I knew well, and others who were a complete mystery to me. These books turned me into a knowledge hungry Marvel fan. I had to know who each character was, who their opposite number was, who would win in a fight. I would invent stories with characters who I had never read a comic from, yet I knew their history. This book sparked my imagination. I would think about how awesome a team up between Stingray and Spider-Man would go. Or Stingray and Wolverine, or Stingray and Doctor Strange. Can you tell I had a slight obsession with Stingray? I don't have a real good reason why I like him. It may be that I had an obsession with the ocean and scuba diving, or it could be I just thought he looked really cool. Regardless, this was the first minor character I fell in love with, I still get giddy when I see him in a comic now a days. 

   One thing I noticed going over these issues, I only had a handful of these as a kid. I never had much of the first half of the alphabet, I had a lot of the later half. Looking at the “S” issues in particular brought back some great memories. So many C and D list characters became my favorites because a whole page was devoted to them. I always though that if a full page was devoted to a character they must be important. Sadly Red Wolf was not a lynch pin in the Marvel Universe. 

   The OHotMU changed my life. I liked comics as a kid, but these books made me love them. Made me want to devour every scrap of knowledge I could find. It made me discover what kinds of characters I wanted to follow. It was the stepping stone I needed to climb that impenetrable wall that is comics. While there may not be a story to the OHotMU, it is one of my favorite comics of all time. It made me the fan I am today.

Throwback Thursday...

Throwback Thursday
10/10/13
Black Panther Volume 1 by Jack Kirby 1977

In the late seventies Jack Kirby returned to Marvel after a short time with DC comics. With Kirby's return to Marvel started working on some titles like The Eternals, Devil Dinosaur, Captain America, and 2001 A Space Odyssey. One book that seems to be forgotten when Kirby's returned to Marvel was Black Panther. And there is probably a good reason why it isn't so fondly remembered. It is forgettable. That isn't to say that it is a bad comic, or boring. It just means that unlike a lot of other Kirby work it doesn't have that memorable hook to it. This book feels like Kirby's attempt to tell a pulp adventure story that just so happens to be staring the Black Panther.

 The story starts out in the middle of an adventure with the Panther and a diminutive man named Mr. Little. Mr. Little is a collector, a treasure hunter, and some how he convinces T'challa to help him in his trek to locate artifacts and avoid being killed. I found myself constantly wondering why would Black Panther continue to help a man who is clearly less than altruistic. It's a question that really has no answer. Most of the book is Little, and Panther narrowly avoiding death from tombs, samurai, future mutates beings and other collectors. T'challa is constantly mentioning Wakanda, yet not until the last issue of this trade does he even decide that he should leave these crazy dangerous collectors to check back on his home. One would think that with constant death threats, greedy partners, and constant complaining on the Panther's behalf, he would have left after the first adventure with Mr. Little was over.

 It may sound like I am being some what hard on the book, and that I didn't enjoy it. That isn't the case, I was entertained most of the way through. My entertainment stemmed mostly from Kirby's fantastic art and design work. The tombs and cities he creates, while not exactly ancient looking, are still a sight to behold. And when T'challa leaps into action against the hordes of enemies in the book, it looks dynamic. Each punch feels like there is weight behind it. While Kirby's art is great in the book, I do think it suffers from Kirby's writing. I understand that this is a book from the seventies, so I am not looking for some great piece of literature. But the dialogue is over written(no real surprise) and T'challa doesn't sound like the character that Stan and Jack introduced way back in Fantastic Four 52.

 The book is worth a peak for the Kirby art alone. But if Kirby isn't your cup of tea, and a strange adventure that feels out of place in Black Panther's world, maybe give this one a pass. I do intend on finishing the story with the second trade. It looks more like the book I was hoping for, with T'challa returning to Wakanda and dealing with menaces that crop up there. Maybe I'll talk about that on a future Throw Back Thursday.

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