Tag: comic books

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.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 1-31-24)

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Bruce

I thought a couple weeks ago was a short week… I’m guessing I must have missed a few on my pull list, and I know there are a few comics I thought of picking up, but after a morning of curling and broom stacking over lunch, I obviously forgot. I’ll pick them up next week, or miss out on them entirely.

I was surprised and honored that one of the pieces I’d been working on has become a sticker for my LCS, Comic Carnival. I’m working on some other ideas to help celebrate their 50th anniversary. What would a carnival be without some monkeys? If you want a sticker, stop by Comic Carnival and buy one! Yes, that is a shameless plug. You should also buy some comics, too. For the record, there are subtle differences between CeeCee (the Comic Carnival monkey) and Cecil (the evil geocaching monkey).

The winner for most variants according the CLZ this week: Lily & Stitch #1 with 25 different covers! I ended up with none of them, because… I really could care less about it.

This Week:

Spider-Boy #3 – Bailey tries to succeed at being a hero even though he has some monstrous aspects to his personality… physiology? (Did you see the cover?!?) He ends up actually doing good and maybe, just maybe, starts changing public perception about him- Hey, Thor even thinks he did an OK job. What does this have to do with “Gang War” the story taking over all the other Spider-Books? Nothing, which is refreshing.

Alan Scott Green Lantern #4 – It’s time to learn about the secret origin of Alan Scott’s lost love and Red Lantern. Yes, it’s time to bring in the Soviets! Personally, I’m enjoying this take on the early years of the Golden Age Green Lantern and how it addresses some of the social issues of that time period, which sadly, are still hanging around. Oh no! Woke stuff in comic books! The world is about to end! Why can’t comics just cover family friendly kid stuff like…

Dark Ride #10 – What if Walt Disney had actually made a deal with devil? I know that’s just conspiracy theory #347 currently being thrown out into social media by conservatives everywhere, but that’s the basic premise behind Dark Ride. In Dark Ride a Disney-like character wants to build a theme park based on Horror. Well what do you know… after some contract signing it happens, and it is magically successful! Now as he has gotten older things aren’t going to Hell… or are they? As we come to issue 10 his son, Sam (Samhain), has kind of figured things out and is now frantically searching for his daughter, who is lost in the park after being escorted around by… cute furry park mascots (who happen to be cute furry demons). Sam’s sister, Halloween, unfortunately seems to be fine with the status quo and we have drama, and blood, and gore (along with cute furry demons). Did I mention this isn’t a comic for kids?

Plot Holes #5 – This happens more times than not… I start a series a at some point during the run either it is late, or after a month, I just forget that I was reading it. I guess this is why some people now devote themselves to buying trade paperbacks. The problem I have with that is there are some great series that never make it into a trade. I have spoken with a number of creators who are now just working on doing things in a long form. Telling the entire story because individual issues aren’t as marketable.
Enough- let’s talk about the final issue of Plot Holes. The premise is characters from books go around through unpublished works, editing them to make the stories work. Basically, they are physically removing characters or plot points that just don’t work. These are, of course unsuccessful characters in their own right. One of their group has decided to destroy everything… the rest of the group needs to stop him. Tragic loss, and lots of tropes get stomped on.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 1-24-24)

Posted on January 25, 2024 by Bruce

So this week was a bit lean when it came to titles but all in all some good things. I was actually able to spend part of yesterday catching up on some work in the Pit the Despair. Bagged and boarded a couple hundred back issues so I might be able to go back and read them in a decade or so. Mostly Justice Society and Golden Age heroes most people don’t care about. It was nice to catch up on some organization work. As always a bit of commentary then the reviews.

When I first started reading comics it was pretty much art first, story second. I liked to look at the pictures. I followed artists, not writers. I’d stop reading a comic when the artist switched. This was in the time of Frank Miller- Daredevil, John Byrne- X-Men and Fantastic Four, George Perez – Teen Titans, Walt Simonson – Thor, Bill Sienkiewicz – Moon Knight… you get the idea. I took a break from comics during the whole 90’s and when I returned (as a way to escape the stresses of grad school) I started focusing on art and story, in some cases story was more important than art. Maybe I had grown as an artist, maybe I’d matured as a reader, I don’t know. Now if you can’t tell I read a rather eclectic mix some with amazing art, some with amazing stories, most with a good mix of both. For this I thank the folks at my LCS (Local Comic Shop). I started stopping into Comic Carnival when it was on the way to my grad school classes which met on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I learned about the pull list when I kept missing some issues since new comics came out on Wednesdays. Over the next 30+ years things started to just show up in my stack. For those who don’t understand, most comic shops have a pull list for regular customers. the customer comes in is given a list of comics and basically, a couple months before the comic comes out orders it. When that issue comes out it is pulled. As the customer, I have already paid for it, but then after a while they get to know you and start pulling other things for you. I’d also get pulled aside and asked about things I didn’t mark on my list. “Bruce, you’ve always pulled Captain America, you didn’t this month…” I’d say I wasn’t interested in the way the story was going… then I’d be told, I had missed out on a super key issue that they’d sold out of and they’d try to get me a second printing… or it might be “OK, just checking.” The moral of this story… get to know your local shop, support them, they’re great people and they will take care of you.

Variant winner this week according to the CLZ Newsletter- Red Sonja #7 with 17 variants… although in the next line the mention Femme Force : Taylor Swift #1 had 18 variants… Ummm… why do you need that many? I didn’t need 25 Princess Diana purple Beanie Babies. Then again Quested had 9, Defiant and Power Pack each had 3. I received the “A” versions of each which means the one that everyone gets.

This Week’s Comics:

Star Trek Defiant Annual #1 – So what is an Annual? You’ve seen a few of these show up in my list. For the most part these are bigger issues. They can either start or finish a story line, or could be a one off story. In the case of Defiant this is a background story of Sela- you know Tasha Yar’s daughter who has played a villain over the course of a few Star Trek story lines. Here we get to see her come to grips with her mommy issues. It is basically starting off a new twist for the crew of the Defiant when they finally meet up.

Ministry of Compliance #2 – Issue number 1 was pulled for me, and I frankly kept meaning to pull issue number 2 but being me, forgot. This week I remembered. So the world is secretly being run by aliens (who look just like us) with various ministries in charge of various aspects. The Ministry of Compliance is the ministry in charge of keeping everyone in line. Right now, everything has fallen apart and there is a scramble to figure out what they should do next… I rarely will pull something from a comic, but I felt these three panels say a lot about the world we live in… Yes, comics do offer social commentary, and not just spandex.

Mech Cadets #5 – I was reading this back when it was Mech Cadet Yu and before Netflix turned it into a cartoon. The Earth has been attacked by aliens, we were rescued by giant robots that bond with their pilots. The Military Industrial complex doesn’t like being dependent of aliens so they build their own… Now aliens are back and those in power giving the orders aren’t listening to the people who know better. You think their hearts might be in the right place, but… so they are abandoning a unauthorized rescue attempt which could save the planet… gotta love egos.

Detective Comics #1081 – Is it real? Is it a fever dream? What are they putting Batman through this time, because it is so much fun to torture Batman. Last entry I said, I’m seriously thinking about dropping one of my Superman and Batman titles… In Batman, Bruce Wayne is getting beaten up by his own subconscious in the form of Zur-En-Arrh. In Detective he’s been hung and now is finding himself in some weird dreamscape… Where’s the giant penny? Where’s the giant typewriter? You know chum, this is getting to be a bit much for me.

Power Pack Into the Storm #1 – in an attempt to create an all ages comic decades ago Marvel created “Power Pack” a group of siblings who each got powers and saved the World from aliens. It was a cool comic, Louise Simonson did an amazing job. They’ve brought the team back and mixed them in with Franklin Richards of the Fantastic Four. This is a flashback to an early adventure and with it being issue #1 it is just setting up the pack trying to save an alien princess and their friend from evil aliens…

Quested Season 2 #1 – Fun D&D adventure… I won’t go into it, because the intro at the beginning of the issue goes over Season 1 better than I could. Let’s just say the band has broken apart, but they will get back together at some point…

The Flash #5 – Wally West the original Kid Flash, who took the Flash mantle when Barry Allen was “killed” during Crisis on Infinite Earths. Wally has been put through the wringer during all the various Crisis that DC comics decided they needed. He is back, with his wife and kids finally and trying to figure it all out. Last month he was wandering around a garden filled with statues trying to determine the meaning of life (42). This time around we are following his son Jai. Now as we know super powers are fickle, sometime heroes pass them along, sometimes, they don’t. In this case Jai’s sister got the super speed power and Jai… well he got a mixed bag, that includes things like super strength and some other weird things. In this issue Jai comes to grips with his powers, but also his destiny. Remember when you were a kid? I know for me at some point I had to let my parents down and let them know their idea (or what I thought their dream for me) wasn’t what I wanted. For me it was getting into a super elite private school and after the first week being asked if I was happy. I was honest (for probably the first time didn’t just say what I thought they wanted to hear) and said “No.” Like any kid, I figure I’d let them down, and I probably did, but they said “OK” and on Monday I was back at my old public school, with my friends. FYI- my old public school was one of the top schools in California, so I really wasn’t losing anything education wise, just I didn’t have to deal with ultra snobby kids. So Jai, after all this and thinking he’s going to let his dad down, tells him that he really isn’t into the whole superhero thing and then has to deal with the consequences. Basically one of those comics that focused more on character growth than action… which is OK.

Next week- same Bat-time. Same Bat-channel. Unless Bruce Wayne is dead (again) which means we’ll have to wait 3-8 months for him to return.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List 1-17-24)

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Bruce

So I was sick… I know you heard about that already so I won’t go into details.  I dropped by Comic Carnival on Monday to pick up last week’s pull list to catch up… looking at what’s coming in this week, maybe I should have waited, it looks like it might be a light week.

Some comic collecting commentary then on with the show… You might notice I avoid certain titles.  I do this mostly because, while they are popular, they are also a tangled web.  I’m noticing that more and more often publishing companies try to tangle up stories in order to get you to read… everything.  When I started out collecting comics most  heroes appeared in one solo book.  The exceptions were Superman (Superman & Action Comics) and Batman (Batman & Detective Comics). There were limited other runs, and of course the Team books or Team-Up books, but again, unless the hero was amazingly popular it was in just one book.  Every once in a while there would be a crossover, but for the most part… one comic per hero or group. I used to read The Uncanny X-Men, I stopped when I couldn’t keep up with the continuity or which comic I should read.  Wait?!? Wasn’t Phoenix dead? So Wolverine is now an Avenger, and an X-Man and a member of Power Pack? That’s when I started looking outside the big two (DC & Marvel). I always recommend talking to your Local Comic Shop.  Tell them what you like, even though the kid behind the counter might not look old enough to drive, they know their comics and may have some suggestions.  Worst thing? You read something and come back saying – “it wasn’t for me.”  I’ve been shopping at the exact same store continuously for almost 40 years.  I trust everyone there, even the new kids. I’ve stumbled upon some great writers, artists and characters by just trying something new. You may have noticed as you look at my pull list…there is a mix- variety is the spice of life.

Speaking of variety the winner for number of variants last week was “Avengers Twilight #1” with a shabby 13 variants. Running a close second was “Cobra Commander #1” with 12.

This Week’s Comics:

Jay Garrick: The Flash #4 – I’ve always been a fan of the Flash- Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Kevlar Age, Linoleum Age, pick an element and put age after it and I’d probably still be a fan.  So we’ve recently (Stargirl: The Lost Children Written by Geoff Johns, Art by Todd Nauck) introduced Judy- the Flash’s hitherto unknown daughter and as we find out a bit of history we find out the diabolical schemes that made the Flash, the Flash. Let’s just say – it wasn’t an accident.  Now what will Jay and Judy do about it?  I’m concerned that I may lose my favorite new edition to the Flash Family in the process, but I really hope not.

Superman #10 – aka Back to the Future 3?  I’m starting to think I need to stick with one Batman and one Superman title.  While each title has their own flavor, I think I just need to pick a story… it’s getting too confusing.  Superman is back in time fighting to return aided by a ghost of a hero from that time period.  The bad guy? A future cowboy who I recall first appeared in the 1970s…

Titans #7 – while the Titans have a massive event going on with Beast World which I am not following I seem to have been able to catch the end of it by just reading the main title.  Yes, I’ve missed out on some important details, but like many crossover/special events I can’t say I’m having issues (pun intended) about it.  So we find out who the evil aliens are, and many of the infected heroes are saved.  When Titans restarted it was hinted at that this was going to no longer be the “Jr. Justice League” but would actually replace the JLA… well they have dealt with an intergalactic bad guy, so… let’s see what happens next.  I’ve been reading the Teen Titans since the 1970’s they, like the Flash I have weathered through good times and bad… only time will tell.

Amazing Spider-Man #42 – Gang War ‘nuff said.

Jackpot #1 – Gang War ‘nuff said. Who is Jackpot?  MJ Watson granted super powers at some point after breaking up with Peter Parker… it’s as confusing as it sounds – Peter Parker, like Bruce Wayne can’t seem to have anything nice happen.  Although Bruce Wayne at least had money, until they took that away from him… kind of.

The Enfield Gang Massacre #6 – I’ve never, really never been one for westerns.  While I started reading this series because it connected to “That Texas Blood” a fictional true crime like series, I stuck around.  One thing it had was a fascinating prose portion.  Reminding me of the “Shade’s Journal” in Starman.  Telling a bit more of the detail and backstory for those willing to take the time… spoiler- the all live happily ever after, maybe, if you look at it from a certain point of view.

Unnatural Order #2 – you’ve heard about it..: drug dealers give you a “free sample” to get you hooked.  Well that’s kind of what happened here.  Issue one was free with purchase.  Like I explained to my students when encountering a new book… the first few chapters set up the rules for the world the writer has created.  They also introduce the characters… not all the details, but enough to get you to either care, or not.  If after a few chapters you decide it isn’t for you, you should be able to explain your reasoning.  Comics work the same way, in the “old days” the set up was done in panels.  By the end of the first page… you had everything you needed.  Now, it can take issues.  We’ve got mad science, and soldiers and magic and universe changing, you might even throw in some time travel- hard to say after one quick reading. After this issue (which I had to pay for) I’m curious as to how our intrepid band of adventurers will defeat the evil Druid and his minions.  

Phantom Road #8 – you know how I mentioned that Jeff Lemire just writes some weird stuff? Well, this is another one, but like everything else it’s weird, yet good.  

Star Trek #16 – Harry Kim is no longer an Ensign!  Dinosaurs!  Geology! Saving worlds!  Did I mention Harry finally got pips?

Black Hammer The End #5 – yes, Jeff Lemire rears his weirdness into my pull list again this week.  A little back story on the whole Black Hammer universe for those unaware.  These stories take place in an alternate universe in which a different set of heroes battle evil… the ultimate evil being the “Anti-God”. When the series first started a group had been transferred to another dimension in order to save their world.  Memories erased and trying to just lead ordinary lives.  There have been crossovers with the Justice League, some amazing characters like Sherlock Frankenstein and Cthu-Louise.  I felt it was like (but not like) Astro-City.  So now we reach “The End” and I’m not going to say B anything except that it is a unique take on dealing with the “great power…” bit and family responsibility.

What else am I reading?

I’ve been bouncing between some prose books using the *gasp* library… I’ve read Legends & Lattes but started with the prequel Bookshops & Bonedust. The story by Travis Baldree of a 1/2 orc mercenary looking at other career options. Owning a coffee shop, in a fantasy land that really had never heard of coffee seemed like a good move. overall I’ve been a big fan of “Comic Fantasy” a subgenre that makes fun of high fantasy and the overly serious nature of elves & the like. This fits right in and was a lite escape.

On the other hand I’ve always been a fan of Science Fiction aka Speculative Fiction. I tend to avoid books that require a glossary to understand what is going on. I recall in High School missing out on getting bumped into Honors English when my Freshman english teacher suggested I read Dune and I returned it after one chapter because it was just too hard to get through having to bounce between the glossary and the story. Then again I took Science Fiction in High School (Thank you Mr. Calkins for offering it) and didn’t have to take the final because my GPA in the class was so high. I instead sat during the final, reading the book that the class was being tested on, giggling at all the references Mr. Calkins had dropped throughout class the week before. I also took Science Fiction Advanced Projects and as my Senior Art project painted a mural on his door. That said I’ve been reading the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells on the recommendation of my mother in-law and throughly enjoying it. I really can sympathize with Murderbot and his feeling towards humanity.

While sick (System Efficiency Down to 62%) I fell back to one of my old favorites- Dream Park by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes. I read the sequels, but nothing really equalled the first book and the unique premise- murder mystery, in the middle of a Live Action Role Playing Game in a completely immersive environment in a massive amusement park. Basically two story lines running simultaneously. The dates are off, but I’m still waiting for tech to catch up with what was envisioned. Then again it was written in the 80’s.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List for 1-10-24)

Posted on January 12, 2024 by Bruce

Well, it has been a week… Mostly a feeling like “carp” week. I guess it doesn’t take that long for 35 years of antibodies to stop working efficiently and for me to get whatever crud was going around. In this case it was a sinus infection that waylaid me for a couple days until I finally decided to see a doctor and get antibiotics. What did this experience prove to me? I’m old. Also that I am amazed at how much I just pushed through as a teacher because of adrenaline and the need to be there “for the kids.” You see unlike many jobs a teacher doesn’t just “call in sick” they need to call in sick, then have full subplans ready with all materials run off and prepared. Even in today’s digital age this takes a couple hours- all while you are feeling like death warmed over. So early in my career I learned that it was better to just push through. I recall one year getting sick during the statewide standardized test… I came in and gave the test (to first graders) laying on the couch in my room with a quart of OJ, a box of saltines, and a box of tissues on a milk crate next to me. All so the kids could get their all important score, since no one else was allowed to administer the test. Those were the days!

The variable winner this week: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 with 25 (yes, TWENTY-FIVE) variant covers! umm… really?

This week’s comics including the Tony Harris’ variant for Justice Society #8. I know, I know, I rant about variants, but I will purchase those done by artists I really like, for titles I normally buy. I will not buy 25 copies of the same comic and speculate which will be the better investment after they have been slabbed. I bought this one after I purchased #8 because my LCS (Local Comic Shop) had run out before I could get there. I should have picked up the print at the Cincinnati Comic Expo, but didn’t, because I’m stupid.

This Week’s Comics:

Elles – 3. Elle Together – This trilogy of YA/All Ages graphic novels tells the story of Elle, a teenage girl who has ended up splitting her various personalities (the athlete, the bookworm, the adventurous, etc…) apart and hiding them away, each one mysteriously (magically) changes her hair color when they take control. There’s a lot more to it but *spoilers* This is the conclusion to the story, so there is a final battle in hopes to free the lost part of her and maybe regain some control. It’s a great story for kids trying to figure out how their feeling can control them and make them do stupid things. Probably already banned by Mom’s for Liberty and the State of Florida.
Giant-Size Spider-Man #1 – This is where things really get confusing when dealing with a multiverse which Marvel didn’t used to deal with as much (What If? was created just to be able to say- “cool idea, but not really part of our world), but now is their bread & butter. When does this take place? what universe? How does it tie into the current story line? I’m lost especially since there are some pretty dramatic things happening in this issue and I thought I had been keeping up on Miles and his exploits (currently Gang War ’nuff said).
Adventureman Ghost Lights #1 – To explain this completely is a long post in itself… Let’s just say reincarnation of a classic pulp hero wonderful storytelling, beautiful artwork and win-win as someone who was brought up reading Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon. While a number one it is a continuation of a previous series. This happened with the Rocketeer when they’d switch publishers, so I’m used to it. All I can say is if you can find the back issues, pick them up and read them- it is awesome.
Sandman #4 – We continue in the Golden Age as Wesley Dodds confronts his inner demons being exposed to the same gas he uses on criminals. He now knows who he needs to go after to hopefully stop his research notebooks from being used for nefarious means.
Ultimate Spider-Man #1 – Variant Cover A. Did I mention Marvel is really milking the Multiverse for all it’s worth? Recently a series had the evil Reed Richards from one multiverse try to pull together a perfect world in which he stopped most of the heroes who would stop him from ever becoming heroes. For example- he plucked that little radioactive/genetically altered spider off its web just before it could bite Peter Parker… so no Spider-Man. Life goes on, things happen, Peter lives, Uncle Ben lives, Aunt May… Peter and MJ get married, have a couple kids life is wonderful, except… something is missing. One thing I loved about the first run of Ultimate Spider-Man was how we knew what was going to happen and they just kept building to it. Not in one issue, but a couple. In the Silver Age an origin was a paragraph and narrative text box, maybe a couple panels… that was it and then- “WHAM!” we’re off fighting crime. Retelling a simple origin and making it a stand alone story was cool. In this case this first issue, sets us up for what could be awesome… only time and future issues will tell.
Fishflies #4 – Jeff Lemire has written some pretty cool, and weird stuff. Fishflies falls into both those categories. Bad guy turned into giant bug now BFF for a lonesome little girl. It’s got a supernatural vibe and has with most of his work I will be going back and rereading it again and again finding new things each time until the series is complete.
Strange New Worlds The Scorpius Run #5 – The Federation and its core values are put to the test as we complete the Scorpius Run Race. How will this change the crew and the universe as we know it? As with many of the comics related to Star Trek… not in any noticeable way, but while we wait for a new season, it is nice to catch a few more adventures of the Enterprise under Christopher Pike.
Speed Force #3 – I’m really getting better at understanding younglingspeak… This comic is definitely geared toward a younger demographic than me. I mentioned in my last commentary on Speed Force that It just made me feel old. It still does, but then again, I am old. It looks like the story is coming to a climax with Social Media, Music, and stuff trying to take over the world!!! bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! See? Fredric Wertham was right!
Batman and Robin #5 – Single parent, Bruce Wayne tries to raise his son in Gotham City with hilarious results is this light sit-com. OK- I know I picked up the first issue, but may have neglected the others. This is what happens when you create pull list months before the comic is released. In some cases the comic isn’t even on the pull list because DC (or Marvel) decided to not announce it until after they printed out their monthly catalog. That is a wonderful excuse (that I’m sure I will use again), but may not actually be correct. Whatever.
Bruce and Damian Wayne are trying to figure out what bad things are going on at Gotham High… I know, I know, it’s high school there’s a lot of bad things going on. Bruce put Damian there specifically so he could relate to his peers… Damian is not amused. Currently they are trying to find “Shush” the female version of “Hush” and determine what horrible plot is being hatched. Hooray! Damian made it on the Football (Soccer) team and what’s up with that goalie?
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #15 – Gang War ’nuff said. I do apologize for those expecting more… It’s a massive cross title story that in the end will have little impact on the universe. If it does, great… give it a year and no one will remember. Big thing about this issue- Ms. Marvel makes a guest appearance after dying…
Action Comics #1061 – No matter how much I’d like to write this entire thing in Bizarrospeak, I won’t. Bizarro uses magic in hopes he will be able to return to Bizarro World? That’s my best guess. In the end, normally it would be something like “Hi-Jinks Ensue” and we all live happily ever after… Not this time.

This Week in Comics (My Pull List for 12-13-23)

Posted on December 14, 2023 by Bruce

I started posting on the infamous Facebook (yes I’m old) last week the comics I picked up on Wednesday. When I decided to do it again, I figured I would do it here… might as well as I try to figure out how to get this site updated so my friend Bill stops complaining about how it doesn’t seem be up to date- it works fine for me so I don’t get why it is important, but every time I share I post I get a comment about updating the site… ugh.

I realized the thing that many people don’t understand about comic books or other serialized forms of storytelling is the need to be able to remember the story in between issues. People read books, watch movies or now binge TV series they no longer are required to hold that story for any length of time. With TV the longest you need to remover back is a week. In comics it ranges from usually a month to it could be a year or more mattering the writer or the artist. So as I try to not give away spoilers for these various titles I may end up bringing overly general in my description- more talking about the character and the general arc, and not the details. Sometimes it’s because I just don’t remember everything. Pick up the trade paperback (if they publish one) if you have a bad memory- I do that for Saga. Teachers dismiss comics without understanding how much a reader has to process and remember between each issue. We really don’t have that kind of thing anymore.

Captain America #4 – Cap is fighting a demon while the story bounces between pre-supersoldier 1940’s and today… yup! It all connects. Well written, just not used to Cap fighting demons, even if they are connected to Nazis. I have just returned to reading Cap so we shall see where this goes.
Action Comics #1060 – after the War World saga Superman needs to rescue his “adopted daughter” by dealing with magic and the multiverse all while the lead villain (related to Batman from another dimension) tries to convince the world that Superman (and Kryptonians in general) are more trouble than they are worth.
World’s Finest: Teen Titans #6 – taking the original Teen Titans and updating them to modern times. So how would teenagers deal with Social Media and fandom? The Terror Titan’s vs. the Teen Titans- who will be victorious? Frankly, I like this take on the first superhero group I seriously collected.
Speed Force #2 – bringing in Mr. Terrific into a story about an app. Dripping with modern slang… it reminds me a lot of my first few issues of Teen Titans when the characters would say “groovy” and “hip” a lot so they sounded like they were really teens. Yes, there are Speedsters in the story, but the focus is Mr. Terrific.
Wesley Dodds The Sandman #3 – the Sandman, considered one of the first heroes in the DC Universe (not in the comics, but in the DCU) has been one of my favorites as he was portrayed in “Sandman Mystery Theatre” and popped into “Starman” I’m enjoying this jump back into the golden age of superheroes with a hit of a modern twist to the storytelling.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #13 – Gang War! Nuff said. Just filling in the massive crossover in the more down to earth Marvel titles taking place in New York.
The Enfield Gang Massacre #5 – That Texas Blood has been an interesting series dealing with weird crime in a small Texas County. This story takes it back to the “Wild West”
Phantom Road #7 – ummm… Twilight Zone, X-Files, Department of Truth… hard to put this one in a box without giving too much away. Still, I like it.
Rogue Sun #17 – Soap Opera family drama with super hero and villains mixed in. Sibling rivalry, evil spirits, daddy issues.
Radiant Black #27 & 27.5 – Umm… This series has created a number of rather bright and shiny (dare I say “Radiant” spin offs) but this is the original. Alien Armor gives you super powers, how you use it can be up to you… but with great power there must also be… It’s been a good series with good character development. Currently the world is at war with religious zealot aliens who are testing our hero. So what’s with the half (0.5 for those who don’t know how to convert fractions to decimals) issue? At one point in the comic the cosmic armor chose one person, then (let’s just say something happened) it chose another- the guys were friends so what we have now is two different stories going through the same events one issue with one guy being Radiant Black and the other with the other guy being Radiant Black. Kinda “What If” but due to the space time continuum, and the existence of multiverses, and it being a comic…
Batman-Santa Claus Silent Knight #2 – the Dark Knight teams with St. Nick to fight Krampus. Frankly, a nice Holiday story, that while it is not lighthearted it kinda is.
Batman #428 – Robin Lives! – along time ago DC comics brought in a new Robin since the old one was too old. As a gimmick (this was the late 80’s), at some point they decided to let the public determine his fate. The public being cold and cruel chose to kill him. This is the comic that would have been published if the vote had gone the other way. I think they may have switched out one or two pages, but that would make sense knowing that they were about to have two entirely different comics ready for print once the votes were tallied. No sidekicks were eventually killed in this storyline because in comics 99% of all characters come back. It may take years, but…
Detective Comics #1079 – getting close to the end of this arc… mixing either ancient history, prophecy, revenge, magic, whatever, and who will finally rule Gotham. because ruling Gotham was part of an ancient prophecy… I kinda miss weird smiling fish and giant typewriters.

So that’s the run down. find a character you like, and start reading. there are a bunch of great stories out there and while I may not have gone into too many details or been too serious about my thoughts- the hardest part is coming into a story at the end and then having to figure it out. These aren’t your movie characters, while movies have influenced the characters that tends to vanish once the movie is no longer big. While it is hard to figure out, one of the craziest things is just hunting down the issues you need to tell that story. Fortunately with the Internet and Trade Paperbacks that isn’t has hard. I remember visiting comic shops all along the coast of California looking to fill in the missing spots in my collection. It was a great hunt and fun to see all the different shops, now with a mouse click I could have everything shipped to me. Where’s the fun in that?

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #7225

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Bruce

7225So today is FREE Comic Book Day and I went to my local comic book shop to get a free copy of Action Comics #1 since it is Free Comic Book Day and all comics in the shop should be “free.” It seems that I was misinformed.

Actually, there are two opportunities to get a selection of free comics at local “participating” comic shops, one in October and one in May. I’d explain it but I think the folks at one of my favorite podcasts did a much better job so go listen to yesterday’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, and read Glen Weldon’s breakdown of the comics that (if you are reading this now) are probably already gone from your local comic shop. 🙁  Then again there’s no harm in running out to see and support your local comic shop.  If they’ve run out the friendly and helpful staff should be able to set you up with other titles that are just as good, if not better.  All you have to do is ask.

So what did I actually do for a few hours today at my local comic shop? It was pure genius…

photo courtesy fo Comic Carnival
photo courtesy of Comic Carnival

San Diego Comic-Con: Day 1ish

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Bruce

After advertising that this would be the “Year of No” here I am still stunned that I was given professional status at the San Diego Comic-Con. As I write this Preview Night is but a memory and I am going over my notes from today’s sessions while trying to figure out where all my money went. A brief recap for those interested- I applied for pro status, got it but it was too late to get any guest badges. While I immersed myself in geekdom, Sue was going to go geocaching.
Preview night worked out OK… I gave myself some time to get the lay of the land, while Sue read a bit. After an hour the crowds were getting to be a bit much and I called it a day. What SWAG did I get? Nothing that I can recall- except three SWAG bags from Warner Bros. One Justice League, one Big Bang Theory, and one Looney Tunes. I did go and scan the BBC America QR codes that were part of the Dr. Who scavenger hunt. I am only missing one but can’t find Titan entertainment anywhere. The BBC lists them in the same booth spot as “Unshelved” a great web comic and the Comic-Con app put them in aisle 5500 of the exhibit hall (5400 is the last aisle). So that was about it for preview night. Two years ago Marv Wolfman I believe said that preview night was the new Saturday… With the number of comp passes I saw I can believe it. I can also understand why people with 4 day passes without preview night were not happy.

So, I got up Thursday morning with a plan… All geeked out with my QR code t-shirt and geek vest I set out to do a few things first go to Comic Book Law 101 & next go to David Petersen’s CBDLF master session. Both were fantastic and have gotten me to rethink a few things. One on copyright and the other on the process & tools I ink with. After that it was a day in the exhibit hall which is a very scary place. I think I was able to cover the entire floor, but I could be mistaken. I purchased a few things: Katie Cook’s cat & Gronk books along with a Doozer drawing for Sue. A David Petersen sketchbook. Almost the entire “DC Super Pets” series (the last 4 books will be available tomorrow). Two convention special books from Archaia (Rust & Fraggle Rock) which let me get three books for free (& then lug all of them around for hours & hours). Finally, a complete sketchbooks of Dave Stevens compendium (Dave created “the Rocketeer” one of my favorite comics & movies ever). Now you might look at that list and wonder why I bought sketchbooks and kids books… First I am a teacher so finding new comic material for my classroom is important. The sketchbooks are great because I learn so much seeing how other artists draw, even roughy sketches teach me something. By 4:30 I was exhausted. Sue arrived and we dumped my stuff in the car and wandered having a pizza dinner at a Cartoon Network NY style pizza place. Afterwards we walked around people watching and ended up on the grass waiting for a rather sad Cirque du Soleil performance on the the side of Petco Park.

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Since I had mentioned the Rocketeer here is the infamous monkey with him… Or at least a very good imitation. For those wondering about other pictures I would ask that you visit my Flickr site and as for Cecil, I had a wonderful chat with some steampunk outfitters about getting him a pair of goggles. I (and he) will be overjoyed if we hear back from them after the con.

Comic Subs or decisions, decisions

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Bruce

Oh my… Yesterday I turned in my sub sheet for comics that will be shipping in September. For a comic geek this is nothing new. Local comic book shops offer a service to regular customers in which they can order comics when they are announced and that way the shop knows how many they need and the customer is guaranteed the books they want. I’ve always loved this benefit and when you’ve been going to the same store for 20 years it really is nice. If I forget something on my sheet I’ll be asked about it. If I forget to turn in my sheet on time those comics still appear. This also makes it so I don’t have to rush (although I try) to the comic shop on Wednesdays (new comic book day). So all in all a nice arrangement. Until DC Comics decided to mess it all up.

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Comic Carnival North in Indianapolis (where I buy my books) does their sub sheets with all the Marvel titles on one side and all the DC titles on the other. For the uninitiated this means Spider-man, Captain America, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four are on one side, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern are on the other. So what’s the problem? Each year the comic publishers come up with some massive summer story that you only need to buy 120 comics to understand. It didn’t used to be each year, but now one of the signs of summer is some massive crisis in the DC universe or some war in Marvel. This summer in Marvel it is “Fear Itself” which I have not read but seems to be a take off on what DC did last year using Thor’s hammer instead of Green Lantern’s ring. DC decided to do “Flashpoint” in which Professor Zoom goes back and tweaks the space time continuum in order to mess with the newly resurrected Flash’s life. A few things that have happened in this world (spoilers) Batman is Thomas Wayne since his wife and son were killed in a mugging, Wonder Woman & Aquaman are at war trying to take over the world & Superman has been raised as a lab experiment when his rocket crashed into Metropolis. Caught in the middle is Barry Allen, police scientist, who wants everything brought back to “normal.” This is not going to end well.

History Lesson: in the 80’s DC published “Crisis on Infinite Earths” which at the end caused a number of their titles to start over. The result were things like Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One” & John Byrne’s. “Man of Steel” in which the origins of Batman & Superman were retold and tweaked. Not all the comics that DC published changed… Some just kept plodding along. This time it’s different.

I think I’ve mentioned before in September DC comics will be relaunching their entire line up… 52 titles will all be back at issue #1. Each title will have a new creative team and who knows what else. Now here is my dilemma even with “holding the line at $2.99” that’s over $150 if I want to check out all the titles. Not including any additions in the following months and wanting to give each team time to build (let’s say 3 months) I would be spending $500 just on DC comics! I don’t think so. Because as a good comic book reader I also know that given history, within 12 to 18 months it will all be back and this will have been a wonderful experiment that increased Time Warners profits.

So yesterday I turned in my sub sheet… Befuddled over how to fill it out. I have been reading Flash, Teen Titans, Justice Society, Justice League, Batman, and a few others. So instead I went by title for a few & creative team for others. I might be upset over a few choices, it will be interesting to see how it all ends up. Updates after Comic-Con if I learn anything there or at least in September when this ship.