comic books – My Geek Odyssey

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 4-17-24)

Posted on April 18, 2024 by Bruce

SO what am I going to blather about this week? On Social Media – Books & Brews, one of our local Used Bookstores/Microbreweries (yes, a great combination), asked people to list their three favorite books… That’s hard but here are my go to books that usually live in my nightstand for when I have trouble sleeping.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Proof that you should never judge a book by its movie. I do understand the reasons there were so many changes from the book, but still, the book is so much better. If you don’t know the story- dystopian world in which people retreat from reality in a virtual world. The guy running the whole thing dies and leaves his entire fortune and control of the company to who ever can find the three eggs he’s hidden throughout the simulation. Lots of eighties nostalgia so I like it. If you’ve seen the movie – no race cars vs. giant gorillas, or The Shining references… a lot more geeky than that. Oh, the main characters don’t meet face to face until pretty much the last page.
Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin – May not have aged well (humor usually doesn’t), but my introduction into the genre of “Comic Fantasy.” The story of Skeeve an apprentice to a wizard. He really just wants a good meal and to be a thief. By the end of the first chapter the wizard is dead and he is face to face with a demon. Hilarity ensues and the series continues for a number of books. Unfortunately, maybe I grew up, or the later books just don’t have the same feeling. Also consider: Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series.
Dream Park by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes – Dream Park is Disneyland on steroids. Besides being a mystery, it interweaves a fantasy story as the suspects are part of a LARP being playing in one of the parks “Gaming areas.” One of those things I wish was real, and actually could be the way technology is developing.

Any of these books I can pick up and open anywhere and just start reading. I usually won’t put them down until I’ve finished. Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve loaned them out before and then had to track down new copies – so you can’t borrow them.

This Week’s Comics:

Jay Garrick: The Flash #6 – Comic stories happen in 6 issue arcs, I was really concerned that this issue would mark the end of Judy Garrick. I actually left this comic as the last one for me to read, because I figured I would need a break at the end. It was a satisfying conclusion and I look forward to the future if they could just figure out what they are doing in the regular Flash comics.

U & I #3 of 6 – The plot thickens… The bad guy, “Bishop,” is on the trail to find U and eliminate him for interfering with his business (you know, running drugs, laundering money, and a protection racket just for starters) Will he find U? Who will get caught in the collateral damage? U and Isabelle have (for the time being) found safety in an enclave of the Reborn.

Helen of Wyndhorn #1 & #2 – Issue one is a typical introduction to the world the writer and artist have created. The story is from the perspective of a writer who was writing about a famous fantasy/horror author (I’m getting H.P. Lovecraft vibes) and stumbled upon a little known tidbit of information leading him to interview the governess of the author’s daughter. The governess was hired after the author’s death when the girl was in her teens. So the story is from those interviews, with bits where we return to the writer in the present day… Issue two the grandfather comes into play and the world around the Wyndhorn estate is fleshed out even more. I had originally put this on my pull list and then decided not to at the last minute. I am very happy I decided to grab it this week.

The Spectacular Spider-Men #2 – Miles and Peter adventuring together while we are still figuring out what is really going on. Clones? Yes, clones, but it doesn’t look like it will end up being a saga. Mind control? Hmmm… strange things are happening in the Arcadium.

Spider-Boy #6 – Bailey has been captured and Madame Monstrosity is trying to figure out why she has no clue about who he is and desperately wants to know. We also learn more about her “Humanimals” as things get weird.

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #19 – Is this the end? Lots of fighting and injuries as Miles takes on Rabble and his friends deal with the super up Cape Killers. Who will live? Who will Die? who will end up escaping to create havoc another day?

Titans #10 – Sibling rivalry is a wonderful thing. Trilogy (Raven’s brother) decides he wants to show Dad (Trigon) that he is just as good as his sister and things… well, it’;s a comic so there is a battle, and…

Superman #13 – Let’s bring in the Main Man- Lobo joins to help Superman recover those taken by Brainiac. Since Earth has been quarantined by the United Planets (I don’t know why, I don’t read Green Lantern) Superman needs to figure out how to leave the plane to pursue him. Still trying to figure out what is going on with Brainiac and what his master plan is…

The Displaced #3 – The folks who got out of Oshawa are just trying to figure things out, while also using their new found ability to not be remembered to their advantage. Some more lawfully than others. Some new theories are discussed and there is a power play for leading the group.

Star Trek #19 – So the Theseus is still dealing with the results of the Kahless and his attempts to destroy (pretty much everything). It seems the Prophets what Sisko to return to the Celestial Temple and Benjamin isn’t ready. The ramifications of Kahless’s actions – just reality unraveling have caused T’lir to come out of the closet and admit to everyone that he is an Organian. You know the Organian Peace Treaty from TOS? So now the crew heads to boldly go and save the universe with hopes of maybe a family reunion.

Brick Journal #85 – Yup! It’s Brick Journal the LEGO Fan magazine. The focus is on the Minifigure! Which was interesting, As always inspiring and making me wonder if I’m just not fanboy enough to want to build the stuff I want out of LEGO bricks. Better yet, once I build it, where would I put it?

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 4-10-24)

Posted on April 12, 2024 by Bruce

Oh well, time to update my bucket list – I added “think deep thoughts while embracing the darkness of a total solar eclipse.” (Bucket List #72) It was pretty easy to check that one off on Monday. It was amazing… awe inspiring and glad I travelled all the way to the driveway to see it. Then I had a brief conversation dealing with how comic books don’t promote imagination… It was a losing battle, the person I was talking to was just parroting what they had heard from an adult. An adult who probably never read a comic book. Stupid adults, always getting in the way of being a kid. Sadly, it looks like I’m taking whimsical adventures with this kid off my bucket list. (Bucket List #35 & #55) I don’t think they will have that much fun… why be a kid when you can be an uptight adult? Part of having an “adventure” is not having a plan…

“Doesn’t matter. There are only four rules you need to remember: make the plan, execute the plan, expect the plan to go off the rails, throw away the plan. Follow my lead and you’ll be fine.”
Leonard Snart, Infantino Street May 16, 2017

I guess I’ll just have whimsical adventures (whimventures®) either with Sue or Cecil. Wait… Cecil’s not imaginary, is he? He shouldn’t be since I read comic books and those ruin a person’s imagination. 😉 Then again, maybe Sue’s imaginary. At least I think the cats aren’t imaginary. (Birds, though, aren’t real)
Oh, and I’m happy that I have time now to embrace the things I loved as a kid, we all should. As Uncle Walt says “You have to grow old, you don’t have to grow up.”

As an educator I could recommend chapter books for this child, but I’m under the impression anything I purchase or recommend will be scoffed at as not being a “classic” or “serious literature.” 🙄 Plus, I might suggest something that the crowd she hangs with is trying to ban… (but their red hats do look fabulous)
What?
Who?
Me? 😱

This Week’s Comics (to ruin your imagination):

Action Comics #1064 – Starting a new super crossover story! As with many of these I’m concerned over the continuity of the story. I recall one Batman multi title crossover in which the story bounced in weird ways. It was like they didn’t have an editor make sure the van in the car chase was the same color and make through all the issues…🙄
Here’s fingers crossed that in the end this actually makes sense.
So Brainiac has some amazing plan that requires him to kidnap a bunch of people with the help of Lobo’s people (who are supposed to be all dead but aren’t?!?). So after a bit of a battle Superman is now the only person who can solve this mystery, stop Brainiac, and get everyone back safe and sound…

Ultimate X-Men #2 – still a mystery… I’d probably know more if I had kept up with so 2,473 X-Men related titles over the past decade or so…. Then again, one of the things I like about Ultimate comics is the slow set up and character building that hoes on. In the early days of comics an entire origin story would take a page, at most. Hisako is still trying to figure out what is going on, but she’s met a friend who right now makes me think of a Japanese version of Storm.

Batman and Robin #8 – the joys of obviously missing an issue… or two. Usually either one issue, you can put together some of the pieces, two? A lot harder.

Speed Force #6 – Yes! Issue six completing this arc. Um battling AVI rappers?!? The disconcerting part for me was the switch in art style midway through the issue. I haven’t been following this story very well- must be age.

The Amazing Spider-Man #47 – so Peter has a promising blind date cut short by a call from an old friend which leads to… the typical cliff hanger with a bunch of bad guys and possible bad guys and kinda of sort of bad guys… the least he could have done is picked up the bill.

Phantom Road #10 – so weird creature in alternate world… does weird things after a nice nap. As things get weird for Birdie & Dom we might have a clue as to what is going on in our world with Donnie and Theresa.

I Hate Fairyland #13 – What happens when Gert’s story gets turned into a movie? Ummm… remembers the great elder’s advice: “Never judge a book by its movie.” I’ve got that on a button somewhere around here.

The Batman First Knight, Book Two – I’m really liking this take on the Batman’s adventures during the 1930’s, a time before Alfred, or Robin. While definitely not all ages, it does a wonderful job of taking you back to that time period. It also does something I said earlier I liked about the Ultimate Marvel Comics – slows down the storytelling in order to focus more on characters and less on “BIFF!” “BAM!” & “OOF!” Oh, and great artwork.

So what will next week bring? Who knows? More adventure, excitement, and other kid stuff that kids today can’t fit in between all their important activities.🙄

In conclusion… get off my lawn!

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 4-3-24)

Posted on April 6, 2024 by Bruce

What a very light week for me! Pretty much just a few comics and catching up with a title I had forgotten about (probably because I’m old).

I’d like to take a moment to babble on about some other places to get comics, specifically Kickstarter. Kickstarter is a rabbit hole for many creative people or people who like to get things before anyone else. I started playing around on Kickstarter when it first started and it could be a crap shoot as to whether the item you helped along would actually come to fruition. I did get some cool things like the watch band for my iPod nano which kind of made it the first Apple Watch. I also tried some other ones that weren’t that successful, like the animatronic Arduino run head, the creator realized that he had over extended himself since was just a kid in college and didn’t have access to the school’s laser cutter after he completed the class he was in… ugh. The early days of anything can be frustrating… but as the bugs got worked out it became easier to use and almost a guarantee for those who have the patience to wait things out. Comic book creators use Kickstarter (and other platforms) to see if they can get enough people committed to their idea so it can be printed. Usually this includes special bonuses if certain levels of funding are achieved. I mention comics, but it really encompasses everything. The areas I tend to follow deal with comics/art and board games. I am cutting down on board games, not because they aren’t excellent, but because I’ve found I’m not playing games as much as once did (I think I’ve mentioned this before). Back to Kickstarter… This week something wonderful arrived in my mailbox. That’s one thing that is cool, is you sometimes have no idea when something will arrive. This week it was Thorn by Jeff Smith. If you didn’t already know, Jeff Smith is one of my favorite creators. His comic Bone wasn’t originally all ages, but has become a staple in many school libraries. The characters started out at Ohio State University in their school newspaper when Jeff was a student. He’s taken the time to pull all those strips together and publish them for fans like me. A publisher would probably look at it and say there’s not a large enough audience for this, but on Kickstarter if you don’t get enough support… you just don’t do the project. No one is charged until the project gets enough pledges to get made. Sometimes I’ll wait until I know a project has broken (or is really close to) that barrier before funding it, other times, I just jump into it on a whim.

This Week’s Comics:

Thorn by Jeff Smith: The Complete Proto-Bone College Strips 1982-1986 and Other Early Drawings- I really enjoy seeing the evolution of a character. Seeing the early strips with Phone Bone and knowing what the character becomes is amazing. Having done a comic strip (off & on) for over a decade I think about how Cecil has evolved from a simple concept and (horrible) drawing to what he is now, this is what I get to do with Bone. Some of the basic story is there, but there are so many ideas that made it into Jeff’s college strips that didn’t make it into Bone. Understandably so, since many parts were tied to time current events of the day, and the college audience. I have a few regrets, one of those is not having the guts to actually do a strip in high school or college. The strips done in my school papers I saw as much better than anything I could produce, so why try? It’s awesome that creators are now releasing early works so we can see that it takes time and effort to get something great.

Power Pack into the Storm #2-#4 – I know I missed a few, but to sum it up the Power Pack get captured and Franklin Richard’s is the only one who can save them by getting help from the X-Men. When it comes to involving the X-Men and evil aliens it means the Brood are now involved. Will they be able to save Franklin? Does Mayhem know what she is getting herself into- we know, but she is clueless.

Captain America #8 – so Cap is now saving the world from mystic evil… what happened to just punching Nazis in the face? I’ve seen Cap trapped in other dimensions – which made me seriously stop reading for a while. Now he’s fighting an army of evil (in another dimension?) in order to save the innocent. His new mission- he must go and find four catalysts for change and bring them back to The Front Door…. I’m giving Straczynski some leeway since I usually love his stuff.

Batman #146 – Has Batman figured it all out? That doesn’t mean he’s won and this arc is over… it’s only part two so we’ve got four more issues to go. For it to follow the “Heroes Journey” he’s got a few more steps to go before he can leave the cave… a lot more villains to fight, and then there’s everyone who are now thinking Zur-En-Arrh is Bruce Wayne- even though he’s a robot. Maybe I’m just used to six issue arcs and not epic sagas. (Although I do like Saga)

Love Everlasting #14 – the Cowboy’s Tale continues… BLAM! Joan dies so many times I lost count, BLAM! but we do find out who is behind all this, will the cowboy survive finding out?

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 3-27-24)

Posted on March 28, 2024 by Bruce

So If you read my last post about Indiana Comic Con you know about that. I wouldn’t say “Worst Con Ever” because I’ve been to worse Cons, but I would have to say it wasn’t what was advertised, or at least if this is the direction Comic Cons are going- I don’t see the need to attend them, unless I want photos and autographs (which I don’t). Heroes Con in Charlotte and Baltimore Comic Con seem to be the hold outs when it comes to die-hard comic cons, I’m sure there are others, but those are the ones that jump out.

I have said in the past that I’m torn between a bunch of different things I like- with retirement I’m trying to decide what I really want to focus on. Yes, I know I don’t have to focus on one thing, but with limited resources I need to decide what I really want to invest in. First there’s comic books- something I have been interested in since I was probably six or seven years old. Something I keep returning to when I need to escape. I returned to comics the last time when I was in grad school and needed to escape the pressure of classes. Tied closely to that is drawing. Again something I return to over and over again. I don’t see this going away anytime soon.

After Billund I have renewed my interest in building with LEGO Bricks, but mostly sets and not full on MOCs (My Own Creation). The thing keeping me from diving in again is the community. While there are some amazing people, the local LUG seems to be a a bunch of people who are into being in power and not willing to change or adapt. One of the reasons I retired was that I felt the robotics program could not evolve as long as I was in charge. It needed new ideas and other people to be responsible. Same goes for our local LUG. “We’ve always done this way” seems to be their mantra, and they will argue until you just give up.

I have met some of my best friends through MINI Coopers. I’m not a car guy, but I do love the MINI Community and the people in it. Like LEGO, the local group seems stuck in doing the same things over and over again with the same people in charge. There is another group in Fort Wayne which I’ve attended a number of events, then there are the national events like MINI Takes The States which are awesome. If only MINI would go back to making smaller cars, but as long as the Roadster is running (and when I get the classic back to working) things are fine. Unfortunately when people start talking to me about cars, I realize just how much I don’t know.

Geocaching is Sue’s thing. I have made a lot of friends while hunting down Tupperware in the woods, but I’m definitely not as competitive or completist enough to geocache more than when I’m traveling (see comments on Caching in my posts about Denmark).

I’ve been into games since I was in middle school playing the Marquis de Iblis in D&D. The problem with gaming is having to rely on other people and in this day and age it is impossible to coordinate calendars. I’m tired of thinking I’m going to play only to have it cancelled at the last minute. This is the thing on the chopping block, I’ve invested a lot into games, but if they aren’t being played, it’s kind of silly. I’m torn between attending Gen Con this year because I could use the resources in other interests… and I don’t really need anything more. Although it is an amazing Con and I highly recommend it if you are into games.

This Weeks Comics:

Primer #1 (of 4) – Primer is an all ages comic introducing Ashley, a foster kid who can just be trouble. She get’s placed with a couple who are polar opposites and tries to escape, only to discover one of their secrets… Since it’s a first issue there is a lot of character background going on, which is good. Sadly it looks like this will only be 4 issues, hopefully it will continue, The premise is interesting.

The Flash # 7 – What happened to Max Mercury and Impulse?!? In this issue we find out. Something weird is also going on with everyone else, but I’m sure Barry will figure that out while Wally is in the garden looking at statues and finding out about the Arc Angles… no that isn’t a typo. Angle not Angel.

Detective Comics #1083 – This version of Batman is hopefully going to get out of the desert and return to Gotham to save it from the Orthams who have made Gotham a better place (on the surface, but under that chocolate coating is it still an ooey gooey mess of corruption and bad stuff?) The Question finds evidence, but is it too late? A then Dr. Hate’s story comes to a conclusion… or does it? So many question marks…

Black Hammer The End #6 – So, this is the end… Will Lucy save the world from the Anti-God? What about the extremely large cast of characters gathered throughout the previous 5 issues? DC took 12 issues to do what Dark Horse and Lemire are doing in six…

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #18 (Legacy #300) – Big issue in which Miles goes up against the Cape Killers who have more impressive powers even if they don’t want to use them! Will Miles finally confront Rabble and save Brooklyn? Who lives? Who dies? Only the next issue will tell.

Amazing Spider-Man #46 – The Sinister Six return and try to help a reluctant Sandman escape Ravencroft (no relation to Ravenloft in Barovia). Spider-Man and Jackpot (MJ) try to thwart the attempt made by Electro… and succeed?

Star Trek Defiant #13 – OK- if you read the last issue there are no spoilers, if you didn’t- shame on you. IN the last issue we find out what happened to those weird bug creatures that had infiltrated the Federation way, way back in ST:TNG’s first season (Episode 25- Conspiracy). The alien enemy I think we all thought would be the new big bad, but they never showed up again, instead the Borg took their place. They have taken over a Starbase (for Lower Deck fans , not Starbase 80) and Worf and the crew of the Defiant have been sent there (probably by someone taken over by the alien bugs). Now they need to escape but seeing as this is only part 2, we’ve got a long way to go in this arc. I’m OK with that.

Ultimate Spider-Man #3 – Wow. Just like the original Ultimate universe we are starting to get into some interesting stuff! Spider-Man gets help with his costume (with amusing options). He also meets and teams up with an old friend (who is a new friend in this universe).

Alan Scott Green Lantern #5 – The penultimate issue in which Red Lantern reveals more about his origin and we finally meet the real bad guys and (redacted) show up to make the next issue awesome.

Nacelleverse #0- This was recommended to me at Indiana Comic Con (but I won’t hold that against it). Basically take some of your 1980-90’s toy lines and create a comic book encompassing all of them. Robo Force, Biker Mice from Mars, Sectaurs, Power Lords, and The Great Garloo are brought back in a story featuring Garloo. If you don’t recognize any of these brands… you (like me) won’t have the nostalgia button pressed, but it still was a good story setting up a series and the return of these toys to market. Toy marketing has always been a part of cartoons and comics, so this just updates it a bit to tug at the heartstrings of people who now have more deposable income and don’t need their parents permission to buy stuff. Unless they are still living in their parent’s basement.

Time² Omnibus – I had the chance to meet Howard Chaykin at Galaxy Con. I went to a panel and then paid for a workshop. He’s done a lot in his career but the one I got caught up with was “American Flagg” a take on the future in which a lot of the things going on in the comic seem logical if things continue the way they have been (Have you ever seen “Idiocracy”?). Time² started off connected to American Flagg- kind of in the multiverse alternate timeline crossover kind of way. It then branched off on its own. A future based on the 1930’s style with gangsters and robots and jazz and… It reminds me somewhat of the Will Eisner’s Contract with God, with a cool American Flagg science fiction twist. This omnibus actually was released a while ago, but I finally picked up a copy.

Recap: Indiana “Comic” Con- “My God, it’s full of stars!”

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Bruce

For those reading my babbling reviews of comics I’ve had a bit of commentary about Comic Cons. Last weekend I had the opportunity to help out my Local Comic Shop (LCS) at Indiana Comic Con held at the Indiana Convention Center. What I got in return was a non-attendee view of the Con and an exhibitor badge that allowed me access to the exhibit floor. Added bonuses were three days of standing on an unpadded concrete floor (so yes, my feet hurt).

My previous posts about this “Comic” Con have focused on the list of celebrities advertised and the lack of anything dealing with comic books and their creators. I asked the owner of my LCS if they were getting a booth and then if they needed any help. I figured as I was looking at post retirement employment this might be a good way to test the waters. So Thursday I helped set up and then “worked” Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

This is My First Con and it’s Amazing!

I heard this from almost every attendee. They have nothing to compare this to, so it is a little overwhelming. It’s like going to a geek freak show/flea market for the uninitiated. There are people walking around in costume, there are booths selling everything from coffee and tea, to battle axes, to light sabers, to stuffed Cthulhu. Lord knows what their reaction would be if they attended a larger con, although it is pretty much just more of the same. They’ve heard stories of San Diego Comic-Con so this is the same isn’t it? This isn’t my first con, my first con was a Creation Con in the early 80’s in Los Angeles. Where someone was cosplaying a character from “V” (1983) walking around asking if anyone had a mouse they could snack on. I’ve been to “a few” other Cons since then- check my CV for details.😉 Here I saw a lot of the same sellers that I have seen at other regional cons – by the same I mean a few comic book shops from around the midwest, but mostly the same places selling knick knacks and “stuff” for the “Ooooh shiny!” crowd.

If you have never been to a Con understand this:

It is a great place for people watching. Many cosplayers put a lot of time and effort into their works and they can be amazing feats of engineering. People who truly love a character will dress up in as accurate a representation as they can make. This could be simply putting on a hat, or building a suit of armor. For many of these people it is a chance to let it go… literally and figuratively. There are many people who, if it wasn’t a Con wouldn’t be caught dead dressed like that. At a Con it is OK… everyone embraces your love of a fandom. Even if you are a 350 pound guy with a full beard who happens to dress like Raven from the Teen Titans. (OK, I didn’t see that but I did see a 6’3″ bearded guy dressed as Sailor Moon). There are also those people who arrive in their store bought halloween costumes which is OK too.

Things are expensive. It’s like going to Disney… if you expect to get a soft drink for less than $5 (that was the small size) or a chicken strip basket for less than $11 you will be disappointed. Parking alone this weekend was outlandish by Indianapolis standards. Where I usually park downtown was a flat rate of $35. It usually tops out at $20 if you leave your car overnight. The NCAA was in town also so I’m sure that drove up parking prices. I hope this trend doesn’t continue for Gen Con or people will complain, more than they already do. Don’t even get me started on the cost of stuff connected to the show (like autographs).
Be prepared to scratch your head and try to figure out what you just saw. You would think a comic con would have people focused on comic book characters… Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, etc. Instead you will see characters from TV, film, anime… my favorite are the mash ups like the Mandalorian Woody I saw while walking the hall. The other thing will be the gender bending cosplays- like the bearded Sailor Moon. At New York Comic Con my brother would ask me about a cosplay as they walked by- my patented answer was “It’s from an obscure anime, manga, or video game.”

But is Indian Comic Con really a Comic Con?

In my opinion- no. A comic con celebrates comic books and properties that have been spawned from comic books. It is full of comic book art, and artists. Yes, there will be people selling other things, but the focus is on Comics. San Diego Comic-Con is close to not being a true comic con with all the focus on Hall H and Ballroom 20, but at least they have comic book companies present and a ton of comic creators. Indiana Comic Con was a “Fan Fest” or as someone put it, an “Autograph, Photo Op Stampede.” This was pretty easy to figure out since all their pre-advertising was dealing with which celebrities were going to be there, and virtually nothing about comics. Yes, some of the celebrities present had played roles as a comic book based character, but… one of my favorite quotes from a teenager walking by the booth was “Hayden Christensen is the greatest actor of our time…” now there’s a true fan.

I sat at lunch each day, and talked (or listened) to the people around me. All of them were excited over who they were going to see, and get a photo with or autograph. I have nothing against that, it’s just not my thing. The problem I had, was that I was working for a comic shop and it seemed like everyone had already spent all of their cash on photo ops and autographs. They had no money to buy anything else. You see when a show ends, or a film saga is complete, many celebrities have difficulty finding roles after their iconic portrayal of… whoever. The way to pay the bills is to go to con and charge a hundred bucks (or more, most of them more) to sign something for a fan, or pose for a photo. Being an introvert, trying to have small talk with an actor who played a character I admire would be similar to getting a root canal. I have a hard enough time trying to talk with an artist whose work I like when asking for a sketch. I understand why some of my favorite artists have decided to no longer go to cons that boast the number of celebrities they have in attendance.

Is it a comic con? Just look at the app. “Guests” have their own tab so you can see who is here. There was a banner over the spot for “Guest Artists” but on the app, the guest artists were listed under Vendors, and the list of who was going to be there wasn’t published until a few days before the con. So If I wanted to see where to find an artist, I had to wade through the vendor list and look for a booth probably called the “The art of…” (right after the fudge and chocolate vendor) while if I wanted to find the guy who played that one character in that one episode of that show… You know the one I’m talking about… just look under guests and I’ll get his exact location with a photo, when he was doing signings, when he was doing photos and how much he would charge me for the privilege- without a certificate of authenticity (which costs more).

Most of the cosplayers I saw were from anime or were Star Wars based… A number of the celebrities were from the Star Wars franchise so it made sense. If I saw one person with Ahsoka mouse ears I saw a dozen. I didn’t get chance to even look at the panels, but it seemed like most of the crowds were going to panels dealing with the celebrities present, that was the draw. They even charged more for tickets to some panels. I can’t complain, I went to the William Shatner panel at Galaxy Con in Columbus (a con which had more comic book artists). No charge to hear Bill ramble on about whatever he wanted to ignoring the question asked by the fan at the mic.

If I had not been volunteering, I don’t think I would have attended. It was funny that many of the comic shops in Indianapolis did not have a presence. That should say something about if it was a “Comic Con.” Local shops don’t have to move stuff that far, they don’t have to pay for hotels or meals for whoever is working… so why aren’t they there? I understand that some other vendors did better, but I know the ones around us were grumbling as every morning the crowds of regular folks would rush by to get in line for an autograph, this after the VIP and Ruby (more expensive badges) had already lined up 30 minutes earlier. Afterwards people would then pass through without a second glance as they thought another row might be quicker to get to the autograph area.

What did I end up with at the end of this? Three chicken finger baskets for lunches. A few comics from the booth I was working at… I had time to see what I was missing in my collection and fill in a few holes from what was there. A Mark Bagley headshot of the Rocketeer. For those non-comic book people Mark Bagley was the artist for Ultimate Spider-Man along with a lot of other titles. A signed canvas print of the Rocketeer done by James Mulligan, an artist for Disney. The poor booth across from us was selling these and they were nice, and I felt a bit sorry for them. A hard cover “Art of Stardust” book by Charles Vest. One of my favorite fantasy stories by Neil Gaiman and a really good movie adaptation too. Finally a patch of a gelatinous cube for my jacket.

What did I learn?

To trust my instincts.
I’m overjoyed that so many people got the photos and autographs that they so desperately needed to show their friends how cool they are… Like I said- that’s not my thing, but if it makes you happy- good for you!
Concrete floors are hard on your feet.
Middle booths are not “prime real estate.”
This con should be called “Indiana Fan Fest” if we are looking for truth in advertising.
Indiana could really use a real Comic Con.
I’m going to write up some suggestions for my LCS on how to possibly improve the experience (besides avoid Indiana Comic Con like the plague). Like NEW Signage! which I can help out with.
I am planning on attending at least one of the more comic centric cons coming up over the summer and fall. Don’t worry, I’ll be just as honest when I report back.

As I was leaving, I saw this on the floor… Since no one was around to assist me I didn’t dare pick it up-plus the misspelling might mean snakes are involved,

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 3/20/24)

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Bruce

As of for blabbering this week- not much to say, just coasting as I wait for weather to get nice for more than 35 minutes and the next “whimventure®”

This week was a good mix of comics and I’m sure I’ll do a review of the Indiana “Comic” Con happening this weekend. I do hope I’m wrong, but from what I can tell, I know Indiana can do better when it comes to hosting an actual comic con and not a celebrity photo/autograph fest, but is that what people here want? Is it just me?

This Week’s Comics:

Man’s Best #1 – We were introduced to Athos, Porthos, and Lovey in the intro issue #0 now we get to relive that issue, but also find out what happens next to get the story started. We still don’t know the origin of the “Klangers” who they have been training to fight. or what’s up with a vanishing planet, but I’m sure it will all come in due time.

Spider-Boy #5 – The hunt for Bailey continues (and I don’t mean my cat… he’s chirping at some birds by the window). Also some backstory on Madame Monstrosity and her work and lost love 💕 I find it interesting how Bailey has avoided detection and has been able to survive… clever kid.

Star Trek #18 – Glass and Bone Part 6 Does Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the Theseus stop an intergalacticic war? What about what Dr. Crusher and Mr. Scott’s discover at the core of Tzenketh? Will this change things dramatically? (melodramatically?).

The Displaced #2 – In issue one we were introduced to our cast of characters- people from Oshawa who were out of town when the place vanished and now are forgotten. No one remembers them. We get a few of the rules in this universe- like they need to stay together or they might disappear. So they head off to a secluded cabin to figure things out… hmm…

Justice Society of America #9 – The search goes on… Helena Wayne (Huntress) is still woking on putting together her team of misfits . Sons and daughters of villains seeking redemption. This, of course, leads to some nice fights as sometimes words alone cannot sway people. Remember this is in combination to all the unknown sidekicks from the original JSA were rescued and are trying to find their place in this future. Quiz Kid (Mr. Terrific’s sidekick), has some ideas and then there’s the appearance of the Legionnaire… my oh my… what next? (Oh, the Tony Harris variant cover is what is in the photo- I know, I know I complain about variants, but every so often there is one I want.)

Superman # 12 – So with Bizarro having taken over the world through magic the only person Superman can trust is… the Joker?!?! Wait, that’s Action Comics, not Superman. In this issue of Superman the Lex Luthor Revenge Squad® is poisoning Metropolis (with Kryptonite laced gas) and it takes the combined resources of Super Corp. to try and save everyone and catch the bad guys. What happens next? ummm… Like with Batman and Detective Comics I’ve been waffling to decide if I’m going to follow both titles: Action Comics and Superman. DC has decided to do a crossover story that will be in both! 🙄 It looks like I’m still reading both for at least a while.

U & I #2 of 6 – In this universe where some people have powers and others don’t we have “U” who seems to be living in his own world who was saved by Isabelle (“I”). Now U with Isabelle’s help has decided his mission, who is the enemy he must fight. Sometimes comics get a bit real…

Of course he sees it a bit differently, but he now has a an idea how to help everyone… so he starts to stir things up… with Straczynski there is no way to tell where is will end up, or if it will be a happy ending.

Blue Book #2 – 1947 More strange things happening with flying saucers and the introducation of the concept of the “Men in Black” as we follow Kenneth Arnold. Of course next up is a little place in New Mexico.

Midlife #6 – Most stories in comics run in 6 issue arcs, this makes creating trade paperbacks easier. We discover the secrets of Ruben’s dad’s powers (shhhh… family secrets are uncovered) and while not all the loose ends are tied up it does come to a nice conclusion with hints of what’s to come.

Titans #9 – So the Titans help out and actually clean up after themselves (Teen Titans would never do that… heck, they would just shove all their dirty clothes into the closet and close the door). Of course we are building up to something bad happening in the next three issues (six issue arcs remember?) Amanda Waller has been brought in to create some future chaos after making a deal with the devil… or at least a close facsimile.

Wish me luck as I head into the Indiana “Comic” Con and The VEX Robotics State Championship. I’ll be working one and ignoring the other one…

The Week(s) in Comics (My Pull Lists for 3/6/24 & 3/13/24)

Posted on March 14, 2024 by Bruce

Oh the joys of being out of town… it means you have twice the comics to read when you come back!

I’m not sure which comics are from which week so I’m not even going to try to figure that out, but there were some awesome comics released!

While on my trip I happened to stumble into a comic shop in Odense that was pretty amazing, it had a bit of everything, but it made me realize just how lost I am when it comes to European comics. This hole in my knowledge base I intend to fix, but it will take time. First place to start, there’s TinTin. I’ve read some of Hergé’s masterpiece and even sat through the film. Our first geocache, before Sue took over the ProfessorZoom caching name was “TinTin & Snowy” at a nearby dog park. It was archived at the beginning of 2024. 🙁

Faraos Cigarer as seen from my hotel room in Odense.

While I’d love to blabber on about my lack of knowledge when it comes to European comics Nothing Special Volume One – Through the Elder Woods the book came out while I was a away and I’d love to take a moment to blabber on about this amazing comic and all three volumes that hopefully will be coming out in paper form more sooner than later. First of all Katie Cook is amazing (amazingly amazing). Her style is cartoony (which I like) and she has been a standard at conventions for years. I have a cartoon of Hemi (bestest cat in the world) done by her and I own a few of her drawings and strips. Due to personal stuff she vanished for a couple years (starting around COVID and things piled on after that) and is now coming back. I found her at C2E2 years ago and started reading Gronk, her Webcomic at the time. When Webtoon started up they gave her the opportunity to tell another story in their format which is like having an infinite scroll. Nothing Special is the story of a teenage girl, Callie, who lives between worlds. Her father spends most of his time in a fairyland with magic and cools stuff, while she is in our world. It’s senior year and she stumbles upon DeClan who has carried a torch for her since kindergarten. They actually connect (over dead plants- it makes sense… really it does) and when her father goes missing on her birthday Callie heads out to find him with DeClan a perfectly “normal human boy” coming along to help. I don’t want to give too much away, but it is one of the stories from Webtoon that I followed religiously until towards the end of the third season, life got complicated for Katie and it took a hiatus. Having taken a hiatus (or two or three, myself I can’t complain). Nothing Special is especially funny, clever, and just a great read. If you don’t like it… we might need to discuss our friendship. 😉

This Week’s Comics Minus Nothing Special (see above):

Ultimate X-Men #1 – As the Ultimate Comics relaunches after the issues of the Maker in Ultimate Invasion & the stuff that followed it’s time to figure out what happened to the X-Men. We have Ultimate Spider-Man, which I enjoy. Ultimate Black Panther, which I don’t follow… I know I really should. Now Ultimate X-Men, which having not really followed and X-men comic since the last Ultimate X-Men and before that John Byrne and Chris Claremont were the creative team. I’m trying to piece it all together and it looks like this might take some time. The artwork is beautiful, and the story pasted with emotion, but I need to give it s few issues to figure out what is going on.

Love Everlasting #13 – We now get to see the first time the Cowboy had to deal with Joan… and it seems like its all part of a organized effort focused on Joan…but why?

Batman # 145 – Batman, Batman, Batman… Can you stop trying to confuse me? after that brief intermission, we are back dealing with Zur-En-Arrh the Batman personality that now is running Failsafe, the Batman robot Batman built for that moment when he might do something wrong, like kill. So mBatman is locked up with a joker who is physically incapacitated and Zur is going around cleaning up the city, and being a better Batman than Batman… When will Bat-Mite come back and save the day?!? What does Ace, the Bathound, think of all this?

Action Comics #1063 – Superman teams up with Bizarro Joker to solve the whole Bizarro problem… but at what cost? Can Superman trust the Joker? I can say, a “sane” joker is almost scarier than the crazy one.

Speed Force # 5 – Am I just getting old? Maybe it’s jet lag. Maybe it’s my lack on knowledge or interest in music… It looks like Wallace and Avery are figuring out what needs to be done to save the world of teenagers addicted to an app just as congress tries to outlaw TikTok (life imitates art?). SO how is the Speedforce, and Magic being used to create this (insert modern slang for crisis)? Can they stop it in time?

Wesley Dodds Sandman #6 – The conclusion 😢 of this adventure, will the Sandman be able to recover his notebook filled with formulas that in the wrong hands (the military) could create havoc across the world? Didn’t this guys learn anything from watching Oppenheimer? Ultimate weapons just lead to ultimater weapons that lead to ultimatest weapons, that lead to… you get the idea. Well, I guess if you are a weapon manufacturer all that matters is profits.

Spectacular Spider-Men #1 – SO Peter Parker and Miles Morales decide to take some time and just chill. every Wednesday meet at a coffee shop and talk over life as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. What could go wrong? If you’ve ever read a Spider-Man comic, you know the answer. Humberto Ramos is doing the art, so I had to buy it. I’m just hoping that I won’t get confused since I’m already reading a handful of Spider-Man titles that just got out of Gang War.

Captain America #7 – Has Captain America now become the Patriotic Sorcerer Supreme? int eh last arc he was fighting a demon that tried to cause problems in pre-WWII New York and now present day. So issue seven we get to deal with the repercussions of actions… by visiting The Front Door, a theater macabre or is that theatre… Spell check says they are both correct. then again is it macabre?

The Amazing Spider-Man #45 – So Gang War is over? Finally? What happens now? This is what could be called a “filler Issue” in which we set ourselves up for whatever comes next while tying up some loose ends fhat may have been forgotten over the past issues. Can we get MJ’s Aunt out of the asylum? What is going on with airplane mode around a ginormous green brain (did the Leader have a full lobotomy and no one told me?) And what about those not quite so mysterious fellows on the last page? I’m sure they are planning something nefarious like hijacking a truck load of Girl Scout cookies! Oh the horror! Oh the Thin Mints!

Batman First Knight Book One – Detective Comics #27 started things off for the Bat-Man. Bill Finger and Bob Kane created this character and comics at that time had multiple stories that were pretty quick reads, only a few pages. This takes us back to those simpler times, but expands the story with more details, and some stunning artwork. Missing is Alfred since he wasn’t in those early comics. The mystery- who is going around killing corrupt politicians (Oh, like our generation invented the concept of corrupt politicians- go watch Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). Then again there is something strange about the killers…

Dark Ride #11 – So we’ve established that We have an amusement park of horror run by a guy who made a deal with the devil. He’s done everything he can to not let the devil collect his soul… His son was last seen running into a ride to rescue his daughter. Now after much mayhem, there is a family ruin, I mean reunion, as a new ride is unveiled, a giant kaiju sized animatronic devil, who will be sacrificed? When will Mickey and a gang of lawyers come and save the day?

I Hate Fairyland #12 – A retelling of the Tale of the Billy Goats Gruff as only Scottie Young & Gert can do it…

Adventureman Ghost Lights #2 of 2 – Will Adventure get rescued and save the day? Will the ghosts win? What will the effects of the Super-serum be on Adventureman’s friends? Frankly, this is one of those series that you almost need to read the entire arc in one sitting. So much going on, but all of it amazing.

Sons of Star Trek #1 – Those of us old enough to remember there was a time when we were trying to figure out life, the universe, everything. We tried to decide our path and wouldn’t listen to any advice. As I look back on it and look at how my life worked out I can’t say I made a bad decision, although I’m sure I made a bunch. The thing is I like who I am, if I learned anything from ingesting decades of science fiction and loving time travel stories it’s that one change, no matter how minor could change things in a drastic way. (Watch It’s a Wonderful Life for an example. Gosh, I’m just full of Frank Capra references today) Here we have three sons of major Star Trek characters – Jake Sisko (Son of Captain Benjamin Sisko), Nog (Son of Grand Nagus Rom), and Alexander Rozhenko (Son of Worf, son of Mogh, House of Martok, son of Sergei, House of Rozhenko, Bane to the Duras Family, slayer of Gowron. maker of chamomile tea.) All are at a turning point. So who comes along to help them out but… Q or as he calls himself son of Q or QJ (for Q Jr.). Now these three are in an alternate universe where things are… different. Morn is in a Star Feet Uniform, Tuvix is still around as is Jadzia Dax… It looks like Mariner, and Shaw are also on the crew of this ship… I’m sure I’m missing others. I’m also very curious as to what series of events happened to create this alternate timeline. This is going to be either a train wreck or a wonderfully wild ride… I’m hoping for the latter.

No/One #8 – The plot thickens… and I need to go back and reread all the past issues. The gun used in the current string of murders has been tied to a past killing that was controversial… Gee a militant white supremacy social club (we wouldn’t want to call them a gang) has decided to take matters in their own hands… and No/One… <spoilers>

Fishflies #5 – It looks like we are getting to a conclusion, but, I could be wrong. Francis and bug have met a couple of nice old folks who are not shocked or surprised by seeing a giant bug with a little girl… shouldn’t this send up some red flags? Some research is being done at the library (why you should always support your local library- who knows when you might be researching similarities between events in the past). And our helpful police man who has been removed from duty decides to do the right thing… will he be too late?

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 2-21-24)

Posted on February 22, 2024 by Bruce

This week’s witty banter has something to do with style, art and mental blocks. You see I have been drawing or “doing art” since I was very young. It has (like comics) been my way to escape. I’ve taken classes but a lot of what I do is self taught & that can be a problem. Over the years there have been times when I draw something and I know it is “good” basically because after I look at it I try to figure out who drew it. A lot of times I try too hard and it ends up just wrong. I have a picture in my head of what I want it to look like… many times it just doesn’t match. I’ve had many people ask me if I ever considered being a serious artist… what is that?!? Van Gogh? Monet? Warhol? Pollock? Lichtenstein? Calder? We all have our muses and mine happens to be a short, pudgy guy named Earl who has a big nose.

I’m currently doing some work for Comic Carnival, my LCS, and I’ve hit that stumbling block with my style… the female form. You see I was teased anytime I attempted to draw the female form so I have a bit of an anxiety about it. It’s something, as an adult I should be able to get over, but it will take practice. Walking around with a sketchbook full of sketches of women just makes me nervous. I’ve taken life drawing classes, I’m just concerned with the reaction when I open my sketchbook of “What kind of a pervert does drawings like this?” It’s something I have to get over. The funny thing is, as an artist and a teacher I tend to look at women in two ways- 1. As subject matter… like a still life. A bowl of fruit, a group of shapes. 2. As a teacher- it goes back to having taught for 35 + years and an old court case which defined a teacher in Indiana as having moral conduct “in all respects exemplary and beyond reproach.”(Crawfordsville vs. Abbie Hayes – 1873) I think of most young women (especially those that many Con attendees drool over aka cosplayers or the ones at booths used to draw in people) as former students… she could have been one of my third graders. Like any teacher with morals beyond reproach would want to get intimate with a student- that’s just yucky.
I’m going to start working on drawing from life and then warping it into my style… whatever that is, but I think for now I’ll stick with whatever Earl comes up with. Side Note: Earl was sick the day they filmed the “I’m Alive” scene in Xanadu where the muses all danced… he’s still a little mad about that- he had a great tap dance/clogging bit choreographed.

This week, the issue with the most variants is: Edge of Spider-Verse, Vol. 4 #1, with 17 variants! After last week it looks like they’re slacking off.

This Week’s Comics:

Edge of the Spider-Verse #1 (for the record I have cover 1A) – An anthology comic with a number of stories from a variety of creative teams. The first story deals with “Weapon VIII” taking its lead from the program that in Marvel comics created Wolverine (Weapon X). It looks like it is all going to end up (if given the chance) in a “Into the Spider-Verse” kind of organization- fighting bad guys, but what if the good guys, aren’t all that good?

U & I #1 – This month I got hit with three comics written by some of my favorites: Kirkman (Fire Power), Busiek (Arrowsmith) and Stracyzynski (U & I). Stracyzynski created a universe in which the world is hit with a plague (right around when COVID hit). This plague was similar to the one that happened in George R.R. Martin’s Wild Card stories. People got super powers, got a burst of super powers- then died, died (These people are called Moths), or had nothing happen. The comics deal with the world’s reaction to this event. I highly recommend them and will not spoil the stories here. in U & I we are just starting to learn about these characters… We start off discovering the first person we meet has powers, basically a super healing factor. He’s also a bit delusional. Our second character is a bit more of a mystery and all we know is that her name is Isabelle and was kicked out by her uncle’s family who has control of her money. She’s living on the streets and, while surviving, on the run from not so nice people. So what happens when these two meet up? We’ll find out next issue.

Batman #144 Joker Year 1 Part 3 – This looks like it was a simple three issue arc. Telling the origin of the joker intwined with a modern story dealing with the Joker basically turning everyone crazy using harmonics… As part of the origin timeline we also get to learn more about Jim Gordon dealing with the corruption in the GCPD as he started out and how the Joker manipulated so much even early on.

Superman #11 – With Superman and Action Comics (Bizarro storyline), things like this get confusing… Lex Luthor is in prison. He gave Lex Corp to Superman to do good in the world. Bad guys who hate Lex are trying to kill him and destroy everything he has created. They’ve done a bunch of stuff (like send Superman into the wild west of 1800’s) now we find out who all the players are and which team they actually are on. We also find out about all the rainbow of fruit flavors that kryptonite can come in (I swear after “Crisis on Infinite Earth” kryptonite only came in green- but I must not have been absent or just not paying attention at some point there have been a lot of “multiverse shattering” events over the last few decades). How will this end up? Will Lex die? Will Superman kill him? Will the entire population of the Earth die? Am I being overly dramatic?

Titans #8 – I did not read the Beast Wars crossover event… I’m too old to do that. From what I can tell people turned into animals, other people died, and the world has issues with Beast Boy. So after that kind of thing what would you do? Bring in one of the original big bad guys from Titans’ history… and plan for a double cross. Oh my…

Mech Cadets #6 – I’m guessing final issue in this arc… Can the Mech Cadets save the world from the Shard invasion being lead by one of their own? Will they continue working for the evil general who doesn’t like them (not one little bit). How does the military control giant robots that have bonded to their pilots if their pilots won’t follow orders?

Man’s Best #1 (Ashcan) – Spaceship, heading to another planet to colonize. A scientist has her two dogs and a cat with her (emotional support animals?) who have been augmented and can operate various machines. This is only part of issue one which will be released in a couple weeks. It’s an interesting story being told not only through the eyes of the humans, but also through the animals. I’m looking forward to reading more.

For those confused- “Ashcan” was a term used to describe a prerelease comic usually printed cheaply and given out to hook readers to a new title or concept.

Fire Power #30 (Final Issue) – For the last 30 issues we’ve followed Owen Johnson as he comes to grips with a bunch of stuff. Now he’s finally pulling together everyone (still alive) and saving the world. One thing I like about Robert Kirkman is his stories seem to have an end to them. The Walking Dead, Invincible, and now Fire Power. Some, like The Walking Dead I didn’t last through… others like Invincible the last few issues were a great way to celebrate the character and end the story in a nice way so those who read it can sleep knowing that sometimes, characters do get their happily ever afters. It’s also nice to see a series end without a ? and the possibility of continuation. Yes, there could be more… but there doesn’t have to be. We don’t need it.

Star Trek #17 – Oh boy, Dinosaurs, Romulans, possible intergalactic war, and undercover shenanigans (get your mind out of the gutter didn’t you read my intro?). It does look like things will be coming to an end, but is it the end of the Theseus and her crew? (non-Ensign) Harry Kim, Sisko, Scotty, and Data all have threads weaving together to hopefully bring this all to a world shattering (or not) conclusion.

Midlife #5 – So our hero does some saving and introspection while trying to figure out what to do next. After, of course talking with the kidnapped special agent responsible for dealing with fire demons. He learns about his past and his father… but not enough for us to know too much and we will need to tune in next month to find out more.

Spider-Boy #4 – The story of Bailey unfolds even more as he tries to find out his place in the world. Unfortunately his creator (the “They called me ‘MAD’ at the University) scientist creates another version of him (Boy-Spider) to draw him out, and give him a more problems. He’s also wrestling (like most kids) with strong emotions and these play a part in how Boy-Spider acts.

Ultimate Spider-Man #2 – Peter Parker, what have you done now?!? Imagine a world where most of the marvel heroes never existed. Then somehow they are given the choice to gain their powers. Peter Parker who has: married MJ, had two kids (Richard & May) now has powers and is trying to figure them out. He’s also learning just how trusting he is… which can lead to some issues. I’m enjoying this take on Spider-man almost as much as I did when the first (and second) versions of ultimate Spider-Man came out. It’s nice to see old heroes being taken in a different direction.

Arrowsmith – So Smart in Their Fine Uniforms Trade paperback vol. 1 – Imagine another world… there are many great writers who reimagine the world or a time period to meet the needs of their narrative. Kurt Busiek has done this a few times masterfully. In Astro City he focused on character driven storytelling in a super hero inhabited world. Many stories focused on the ordinary people, but the world was filled with twists and turns and Easter eggs galore. In Arrowsmith, he goes back in time to World War 1, but the twist is- magic and magical folk are real. Things like airplanes have not needed to be invented, because men can use dragonets (small dragons) and magic to fly. Here we find a young man Fletcher Arrowsmith from what we would call the Midwest, it’s part of the United States of Columbia, Fletcher joins up to help in the war effort in Europe prior to the U.S. joining in. This is his story. This first volume goes through his early days and his discovery that “War is Hell.” I highly recommend it especially if you are into “what if” or alternate history type stories. There are only two volumes in this series due to the untimely death of one of the creators.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 2/14/24)

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Bruce

It seems that with the popularity of comic based media anything and every gathering that crosses over into comics is a “Comic Con.” I remember as a kid in high school going to various Cons and most took place in a ballroom of a hotel and featured a dealer room which consisted of a bunch of guys with long boxes on folding tables. There might be some programming, which was someone talking to the crowd the history of a certain character. Big Cons had artists and writers. Bigger Cons might have an actor or two from a comic book based movie or TV show. Even in Los Angeles there was maybe one Con that had studios come in to talk about upcoming movies. I recall hearing about Buckaroo Banzai and The Last Starfighter at this convention. But they were short presentation showing maybe a trailer and giving away some promo material. My blindfold when I was a pledge in college was my Team Banzai headband.

Now it seems that almost every pop culture convention goes by the name “Comic Con”. I love that the most important announcements from these cons seem to be which actor will be there for photo ops and autographs. I’ve been trying to figure out which cons I want to attend and I can’t see which artists and creators will be there, who will be in artist alley… only that this actor will be there – aren’t you excited!?!?

I’d be more excited to know that one of favorite artist would be there and how to get on their commission list. Some cons are a little more than a month out and they still haven’t posted who will be in Artist Alley… Then again some don’t even have a listing for anyone in comics- just TV & Film (36 actors and voice actors so far) and Panelists (Panelists: being TikTok “stars”, Cosplayers, and Bloggers) no comic book people… yet it is called a “comic con.” Wha? Huh? and you want me, a comic book guy, to buy a badge?

So what should we call these “Comic Cons” that only tangentially connect to comics? Pop Culture Cons (Pop Con does exist- it seems to focus on YouTubers and Influencers with a dabbling into Cosplay & other geeky pursuits) Geekfests? There are a lot on conventions that focus on specific shows or media/genre which is awesome! I do understand that this is an income stream for many actors… I wouldn’t want them to lose out, but… How about they just put something in from of it and “con” afterwards – “Photo-Op & Autograph Con.”

I guess, for me I should be happy that unlike when I was growing up bullies are now wearing comic book characters on their t-shirts so those of us who actually know something about the character aren’t getting teased as much anymore. I should also be happy that girls are now more openly supportive of the geek culture, which freaks out a lot of geeks, kinda like Taylor Swift going to football games freaks out some football fans.

I just wish that the comic creators would get as much praise, recognition, and attention as the actors who play their creations. San Diego Comic really started this whole thing… I recall being their one year and having a great time (no one was in line for days to see the people I wanted to see) but I kept getting texts from people I knew asking if I’d seen this or that celebrity. If I was in Hall H or Ballroom 20 for this sneak peak. No, I was listening to this Eisner award winning artist talk about character design, or listening to this writer talk about the future of one of my favorite characters. It’s not that I don’t want actors or celebrities at a con, I just wish they weren’t the big draw. My first year there it wasn’t as big of a deal and I did go to Ballroom 20 to hear about a Superman movie (Which didn’t do well in the theaters), and listen to Kevin Smith (who was Kevin Smith). No lines back then either… Nostalgia, ain’t it great?

For the record I have been to a few Cons over the years- not in any order (many more than once):

Creation Convention Los Angeles
Wizard World Chicago
Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention Los Angeles
Cincinnati Comic Expo
Indiana Comic Con
WonderCon
C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo)
New York Comic Con
San Diego Comic Con
AwesomeCon (Indianapolis)
PopCon Indy
Gen Con (not Comics- Games)
Galaxy Con Columbus
CXC (Cartoon Crossroads Columbus)
Power Con (Not Comics – Toys/Action Figures)

With all that said “Comic Cons” are still a place where I can find my people. They are still places where If I look, there are people there who understand what I say, and sometimes make me feel far less of a geek than I do when surrounded by people who only care about sports scores and… well sports scores. That’s what makes these places sacred, You can be yourself without worrying about people thinking you are strange. Even with all the celebrities. I won’t stop going and maybe someday I’ll cosplay. I’m still a bit leery about cosplay, I have it on my bucket list (#62 to be precise), but I’m concerned about getting that personal… it’s the introvert in me.

According to CLZ our winners with most variant covers this week are: Vampirella, Vol. 6 #666, with 16 variants, and Penthouse Comics #1 with 16 variants. I’m guessing both are not all ages. 🙄. Then again nothings says “I Love You” or “Happy Valentine’s Day” as much as a scantily clad female vampire and an all adult comic.

This Week’s Comics:

Amazing Spider-Man #43 – Gang War ‘nuff said… only one more issue of Amazing Spider-Man until we get a whole bunch of “Gang War: The Aftermath” comics! 🤪 Woo Hoo!

Miles Morales: Spider-Man #16 – Gang War ‘nuff said

I Hate Fairyland #11 – How does Queen Cloudia fare in the “Real World”? <Major Spoiler> Yes, it is an entire issue devoted to making light of death in comics, and a fart joke, so all is good.

Wesley Dodds The Sandman #5 – The Sandman continues to look for the evil behind stealing his notebooks… but is that evil too close for him to notice?

The Ministry of Compliance #3 – C’mon it had a cover with people in monkey masks wielding katanas… of course I was going to buy it. Who is going to save the world from the alien menace that has been secretly ruling for… and who gave katanas to monkeys? Would you trust someone in a monkey mask with a katana?

Blue Book #1 1947 – Flying Saucers? No, this is not the comic adaptation of a bad Netflix documentary or something that was on the History Channel after dark… or is it? Ancient Astronaut Theorists say… <redacted>

The Displaced #1 – As a first issue it sets the stage for the actual story, that will answer the question: If a small city in Canada vanished… would anyone notice? Would anyone care?

Action Comics # 1062 – So magic has changed everyone into a Bizarro version of themselves… We discover why… but also find out who might be the only person who can save the world (hopefully before Superman loses it).

Batman #143 – Joker Year One Part 2, We learn more about how the Joker became the joker, with a little help from someone from Bruce Wayne’s past. Does every comic DC makes have to have something to do with multiple personalities? The trope is wearing thin.

Speed Force #4 – After four issues, I’m finally starting to figure out this whole thing… while it might be that this issue was mostly told from the POV of the villains who seem to be more Gen X or Z so in a dialect that I understand. Monologuing without actually monologuing. Although I will say- After this and Batman, I’m thinking I need to just wear earplugs 24/7.

Brick Journal #84 – Yes, I do get a LEGO Fan magazine. Mostly so that I can keep up with things but also so I can look at what I create out of LEGO bricks and groan at how bad my stuff is. This issue we have articles about cool cars (1/22 scale), and a massive cyberpunk collaborative build (Minifig scale). A bit on customizing mini figures. Along with short articles on a Pandora build (LEGO does make Avatar sets now, but this is bigger and more complex than the LEGO sets) and Echo Base from Star Wars. I’m still working on my town and Batcave… which will be finished about the time I need to sell all of the LEGO, sets and pieces.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 2/7/24)

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Bruce

I had a piece ready to go all about comics and collecting and then this week’s comics came in and I decided to jump ahead and just talk about one as my intro- Art Club by Rasha Doucet. Yes, there is a lot of commentary and not much about this awesome book, that kids and adults should read… sorry, but giving kids a chance to create visually, is a big thing with me, and always has been even when I was a teacher being told to do things with “Fidelity” and “Intentionality” to improve test scores just like the high paid consultants promised. “Remember: if it doesn’t work- you as the teacher must have done something wrong.” – any Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop consultant

When I was a teacher one thing I prided myself on was my classroom graphic novel library (Multi-Modal Literacy Space – when the consultants came in.). When I retired, I opened the library up to the teachers at the school. “Take what ever you want.” I was disappointed when very few took me up on the offer. Most who actually took things did it for their own children, and not for their classrooms. 🙄 Then again, Books are being banned, teachers are being threatened with jail time if a parent doesn’t approve of the books in their classroom library. Which was also why when asked if I would set up a library in my name at the school, I turned down the offer… I was willing to stand up for any book in my library, I couldn’t see someone being as careful at a school level. “It’s Batman! Of course it’s appropriate!” Page One: Batman raids a topless bar looking for information about a crime… true story.

When my school switched from a Science and Technology Magnet School to a STEM school (the difference? the district received a grant.) In the process my school lost Art class, because the “highly intelligent” administrators at central office felt that STEM did not need art, and instead needed robotics or some other “sexy” class to make it stand out. I can’t complain too much since I ended my career as the “Robotics & Design” teacher. I had requested that “Design” be put in the title since without any art, how do you design anything. The result over the years of “no art” ended up with kids who can’t hold a pencil, draw a straight line, cut with scissors… basic skills that were either taught or reinforced in Art Class. Couldn’t change all that while trying to teach engineering and computer programming in the little time I had. Special Classes end up with around 32 days each year, total. Teachers, were busy making sure kids would pass all the various mandatory assessments required by the district, none had anything to do with cutting, pasting, or drawing. I spent a lot of time trying convince the school and district admin that we needed Art… When I left they had a “STEAM” class which was basically “Art” under a different name and that made me happy.

Art Club by Rashad Doucet – is a graphic novel about a student who loves art in a school that doesn’t have an art class. This one student makes it their mission to bring it back and prove to the adults that art is important and should be a part of everyone’s education. After an impassioned speech to the Assistant Principal (that get’s him thrown into the principal’s office) the Principal explains why they no longer have Art at his middle school. I appreciate the reality of the “produce students who excel on standardized tests” line- which is the standard go to for any school especially in this day and age of school letter grades and funding going to schools with the best test scores. In my experience most tests actually are really good at seeing which schools have families with the highest income…

I’m embarrassed to admit that one of the arguments the Assistant Principal uses “Art is just a hobby” I used in college when confronted by the University Art Department. I was an Education Major. I had taken Studio Art AP in High School and had my mediocre score sent to DePauw. During orientation they asked me to get my portfolio out so they could go over it. Being across the country in a time before FedEx, my parents overnighted it ($$$) and at the end of the week, they basically told me, “No.” I would still have to take all the required classes. I started with Studio Art 101, which was a review of everything I had already taken in High School. As a sophomore I took Art Teaching Methods or Elementary School Teachers in which I was told numerous times that I was not allowed to answer questions because I already knew the answers (You don’t want the class to rely on one student). I saw my fellow education majors in tears over this class, which was stupid. It should have gotten them excited about the possibilities and how to integrate art, not that art was some kind of magic that they would never really ever understand. This was when I went in for my “Sophomore Crit.” Remember, I’m an Education Major, not an Art Major. The same teacher who would not let me answer questions, went over my drawings and basically said what many cartoonists art teachers have said to them- “You’d be pretty good, if we could just get these creatures out of your head.” Outlined the courses I needed to take in the next year (which would have been most of my course schedule). Then asked me what I saw myself doing in 5 years… I said teaching 3rd grade. When asked “What about art?” I replied… “Art is a hobby.” After that I never took another art class at DePauw. A friend of mine switched to an art major, and ended up having to switch to something else at the last minute, because they decided after everything, he just wasn’t good enough… as a Senior after taking and passing all of their required classes for graduation, he wasn’t good enough to graduate.

When I go back and consider events I like to think what could have happened to change the outcome? In this case a couple things. First, I would have felt a lot better and more positive towards the art department if they had honored my previous work and said- we’ll let you skip Studio Art 101. That would have been a start. Secondly, if instead of focusing on “fine art” they had some idea about cartooning and graphic novels. If during, the Crit, they had emphasized the importance of life drawing in cartooning & animation instead of berating what I had done, I may have double majored, but I didn’t. Later in life I took a portraiture class, the instructor had us draw in a style that was comfortable for us one evening… after looking at my work he, said- “I now get it… you’re a cartoonist!” The model actually asked if he could keep my drawing. The instructor changed the way he approached my instruction to better deal with how a cartoonist interprets things. I can’t complain about the path I’ve taken, but it just takes some small changes- and maybe this will help some other art department professor trying to increase the number of people majoring in art.

Still Art Club reminds me of how the visual arts of all the “arts” tends to take a back seat. Performing Arts have shows and entertain, parents get involved in a wide variety of ways. Visual Art is a deeply personal thing, most visual artists do their thing by themselves without an audience, some people need that alone time and we as a society, just don’t seem to care enough to support it, especially in schools. I’d give my copy to a school, but I’m not sure anyone would want it… it isn’t on the test.

Back to reality and off the soapbox… As for variants this week- The big winner according to CLZ is Thundercats #1 with (drumroll please)… 69 variants! 😳 Yes! Sixty-nine different covers! I have no idea why… Prices ranging from $4.99 to $29.99 each. If they all were just cover price it cost someone over $350 (including tax) to purchase all of them. 🙄 Whatever makes you happy. I guess I should think of it as 69 different artists got paid to do a Thundercats cover and that is great!

This Week’s Comics:

Batman #142 – So I’ve either missed something, (probably) or whatever. In this issue we start a new arc dealing with the Joker. DC has done a lot with the character altering it with every film adaptation. So Joker Year One-Part One I think is trying to tie things together and make a cohesive background story about one of the most chaotic characters ever. We shall see how they do it. There have already been some call backs to other origin stories like The Killing Joke. Who knows? I might keep reading Batman.

First appearance of the Joker… no dramatic scars creating a smile… just a guy, a psychotic sociopathic guy who is pretty good at mixing chemicals.

Captain America #6 – Everything ties together as we end this arc and start another. Steve is still bouncing between memories of the 1940’s and fighting Nazi demons trying to take over the world. It actually adds a bit to the origin of Captain America with a tie back at the end, which is nice.

Star Trek Defiant #11 – A Piece of the Action and Gorns? Worf and the crew of the Defiant try to complete their latest mission and stay within the boundaries of Star Fleet morals. Can they?

The Space Between #4 – Each issue of this series seems to end up with a few people making the ultimate sacrifice or at least having to make the hard decision that their elected officials won’t make for the good of everyone. IN this last issue the question becomes do they settle on the planet they’ve spent generations getting to, or do they continue to live on the space ship, adapting to the changes that occur due to dismissing resources? Robert Heinlein wrote a book called “Orphans of the Sky” which was my introduction to him as a writer. Many thanks to my dear friend and sometimes older brother Eric for requiring me to read it. Similar as to caste system and just the crazy stuff that can happen on a generation ship after generations… No muties in this comic and civilization seems to stay together.

Midlife #4 – Again, I may have ended up skipping one, I need to check… but our midlife crisis superhero is still balancing his real life and being a superhero while dealing with a government agency concerned about what terror he may bring… C’mon the guy only wants to help people.

Rogue Sun #18 – Here’s the final boss battle with everyone joining in to save the world. We’ve got Vampire Werewolves, and evil demonic creatures and a good guy, along with a doppelgänger bad guy. Did I mention zombies? Of course there are zombies. Will good triumph over evil? Will the comic return in May (like they advertised)? Nice character development and I’ll be interested to see how things play out in the future.

Love Everlasting #12 – We follow the cowboy as he searches for Joan (his true love) on his way to Rochester. In the end we learn why for the past 11 issues, through time and space the cowboy has been stalking Joan as she moves through life and love…

Batman & Robin #3 & #4 – Catching up on missed issues. The story makes a bit more sense now that I have read the missing portion. Think of reading a novel and skipping two chapters. You can follow it along but there would be some holes that need filling.

Tag: comic books

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