Posted by: Robert Bazz on: November 30, 2009
We all have that one family member who manages to do the one thing that totally annoys you. The cousin who got evicted and needs to live on your couch “for a while.” The teenager who takes the car out for a joyride and gets in “a small accident, no big deal.” The brother who is too busy being stupidly famous to realize that he left a mysterious and potentially dangerous artifact in the back of that sportscar he just sold. Wait, what?
Well, this is BOOM! Studios’ Dingo. Rick Asher is the world’s biggest rock star, and he’s done something stupid. He’s sold a Ferrari just before leaving on a world tour and he forgot a little something in the trunk: a mysterious box that contains something that can cause something bad to happen. And, no, I’m not being vague to shy away from spoilers, I honestly have no idea what’s in the box. Naked photos? Marsellus’ soul? The list of KFC spices? Whatever it is, Rick’s tough-as-nails brother Dingo (and his newfound gigantic canine companion, Cerberus) will stop at nothing to get it back.
This four-issue limited series is written by Michael Alan Nelson (28 Days Later, Fall of Cthulu), who I am quickly becoming a fan of. He’s beginning to show his versatility as an author, shying away from the horror-oriented comics he usually writes and venturing into new territory including (GASP) humor. It is also drawn by Francesco Biagini (Dead Run), who does some interesting juxtaposition between panels, as well as an amazing job drawing the sorta-creepy looking Cerberus.
Needless to say, I’m curious to see where this story is going and will wholeheartedly recommend it. But you don’t have to take my word for it! Check out the preview of Dingo #1 below and see for yourself.
Posted by: Robert Bazz on: November 21, 2009
I’m going to admit to something right now, and I hope that you can forgive me. I am so unbelievably out of the loop on Spider-Man, it’s ridiculous. Basically, I was a casual reader and sorta knew what was up with ol’ Web-head riiiight up until everybody collectively yelled, “Fuck ‘One More Day,’ fuck ‘Brand New Day,’ we’re out.” I, along with a lot of readers I know, checked right the hell out. So, what made me go out and spend my hard earned money on something that I’d all but abandoned?
At Long Beach Comic-Con, one of the door prizes they handed every attendee was a variant copy of Amazing Spider-Man #606. I went home, read it, and had no idea what had just happened. Peter Parker had apparently wooed every lady in New York and was boning Black Cat? J. Jonah Jameson was mayor of New York? The Daily Bugle became a tabloid rag called the DB? Peter’s secret identity was secret again? What the hell is going on and where the hell had I been? (Reading the Distinguished Competition, mostly.)
The very next day, Mark Waid hosted the “50 Questions in 50 Minutes” panel and practically geekgasmed over his announcement of a three-issue Spider-Man arc he’d be writing. Now, when a nobody like me geekgasms, nobody cares. When a writer/artist/editor/somebody better than you does it, there’s this weird phenomenon where it washes over you and everybody gets a little taste of geekstacy (ew). Not really understanding why, I was excited for the Waid Spider-Man run, and when I saw the first one on the shelf I just had to pick it up.
The premise is simple, paralleling the real world. The economy is all fucked up, New York City is in a heatwave, and everybody is feeling just a little bit grumpy. The DB is bankrupt and about to get the first government newspaper bailout package. Max “Electro” Dillon is feeling his belt tighten and decides that he’s not going to take this crap anymore. After meeting up with the Thinker for a couple pages, Electro takes to the streets and delivers a heartfelt speech on a rooftop, rallying people against the DB and its bailout. Somebody films it, uploads it to YouTube, and Electro is suddenly a figurehead for an anti-bailout movement. Holy crap, a Spider-Man story that is actually plausible? I’m in!
Phil Azaceta’s art in this book is phenomenal as well. You can see the wear and tear on the faces of both the citizens and a down-and-out Electro (who finally ditched that stupid yellow headdress of his). I did have one glaring complaint, though. On the wall of the DB is a poster of Nick Fury’s face with a URL underneath it for something called the Fury Files. I thought it odd that it looked like something that was just hastily added with a Photoshop stamp tool, so I had to check it out. When I went to it, it redirected me to Hasbro Toy’s page on Marvel figures. That’s kinda bullshit, but whatever.
There’s also a back-up story in here by Joe Kelly and Jim Ken Nimura, but it was pretty much just Black Cat and Spider-Man talking about how much they like doin’ it without knowing each other’s real identities. No thanks.
To sum it up, it was an interesting start to Spider-Man’s “Gauntlet” storyline (which Marvel wants you to know is NOT an event). I’m still excited to see what happens in regards to Electro’s sudden popularity, as well as how Spider-Man is expected to dealing with it without pissing off the populace of New York (any more than Mayor Jameson already has them pissed at him). I’d recommend picking up Amazing Spider-Man #612, trying to stick with it (at least until Waid’s run ends with issue #614), and pairing it with the last of your local grocery store’s supplies of summer ales.
Posted by: ianchant on: November 15, 2009
What to do when the team of kind of goofy but extremely fun cosmic heroes you’ve assembled over the past three years and three epic mini-series just gets too big to handle? That was the dilemma that face Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning recently, when their misfit defenders of the cosmos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, got simply too big to handle. Faced with a burgeoning supergroup consisting of cosmic characters the two had retrieved from the dustbin of history (Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, Groot and Major Victory) whose membership soon reached the double digits, Abnett and Lanning managed to fudge for a little while by splitting the teams. There were field and support teams, groups who got thrown through time, and others who stayed around. But by the end of the recent War of Kings storyline, it became clear that something had to give. And the authors who brought so many of these characters back to modern popularity took a cue from Metallica to solve their problem in the latest issue, deciding to Kill ‘em all.
Handily, one of their team members, Adam Warlock, also happened to be, or at least have the potential to be, the Magus, one of Marvel’s most underrated and powerful cosmic threats. Follow up one great act of self sacrifice with a turn to the dark side and you’ve got just the deus ex machina you need to thin out the herd.
In just one battle, Abnett and Lanning trim the fat from their defenders of space time, eliminating significant swaths of the team. Let’s take a quick peek at the demographic analysis of who went down in the latest issue, shall we?
This leaves a smaller, drastically de-powered team going into the pair’s upcoming cosmic epic, Realm of Kings, though if history is any indication, the Guardians will leave their Now Hiring sign up for the time being. But having lost most of their psychics, a former Quasar/Captain Marvel, the Deadliest Woman in the Universe, and a cosmic level threat, it will be interesting to see what role the Guardians of the Galaxy play in the upcoming series.
Just one thing rang false as the bodies hit the floor in this issue, and that’s just how easy it was to kill Magus. I usually find it pretty hard to pick a bone with Abnett and Lanning, whose ongoing resurrection of the cosmic Marvel universe is on par with the Jim Starlin classics and stands it’s own against the more heavily hyped Corps Wars of the Distinguished Competition – more on that later. But we’re talking about a guy who, the second he exists again, begins the process of rewriting reality itself. And Starlord just guns him down like it’s a gangland execution? Really?
Posted by: Robert Bazz on: November 14, 2009
With his work on such original titles as Jonny Double, 100 Bullets, and Filthy Rich as examples, Brian Azzarello is clearly a huge fan of pulp and noir style comic books. Hell, even his prior superhero work occasionally ended up tapping more into the seedy underbelly of the crime world than just straight up superheroic action (such as Joker being from the perspective of a henchman). Despite all this, when I had heard that Azzarello was both going to be writing for legendary pulp comic character Doc Savage and making it a crossover with Batman, I was somewhat skeptical. After all, would Savage, a character who hasn’t changed one bit since his first appearance in 1933 radio serials, work in a 2009 book?
At first glance, the oversized one-shot (illustrated by Phil Noto with an awesome J.G. Jones cover) seems a bit like it should be under the Elseworlds imprint. Batman is running around Gotham City trying to take down organized crime with not only his own cunning, but a pair of .45 pistols. Gotham is all a twitter, believing that the Batman has murdered and robbed a notorious porn producer / nightclub owner. Immediately following the death of his father, a grieving Doc Savage leaves New York City and arrives in Gotham with the hopes that taking down Batman will make for a good distraction. James Gordon is a lowly cop boozing it up in a local bar, swearing that Batman is nothing but trouble. And, perhaps most important of all, there are no superpowered heroes. Things are drastically different in Gotham City, more on par with how life was in the 1940s Doc Savage comics than in the modern DCU.
Without really ruining anything about this book, it’s much more of a prologue for the upcoming Brian Azzarello / Rags Morales mini-series First Wave than it is the advertised one-shot. I suppose I’d recommend picking up The Batman / Doc Savage Special if you are either a fan of Marvel’s Noir series or feel like you might end up invested in First Wave (a Batman / Doc Savage / the Spirit / Black Canary / Blackhawks cross-over? How could I not?). I’d just recommend maybe going back and reading some of the older Doc Savage books (or listening to those radio serials, which are pretty awesome) to get more acquainted with the character.
Posted by: prestonwheatley on: November 12, 2009
“We view the world through our own eyes.” What an obvious statement, and yet not always so intuitive. We love comics, but rarely stop to think of the social and political canvass our beloved characters were painted against.
1941 may have been the most terrifying and uncertain year the Western World has ever seen. This was the year that the Axis Powers went to full scale war with Europe. Germany was invading all of her neighbors. ‘41 saw Jews required to wear the Star of David arm bands and was the year Nazi Germany decided to institute concentration camps. Japan invaded French Indo-China and was amassing an army to fly across the Pacific. America was not in the war yet, but everywhere we looked it was becoming apparent we would not weather the storm without bloodshed.
It was in 1941 that Winston Churchill made his famous address to a joint session of congress urging full scale involvement in the European and Asian theatres of war. Winter was also claiming the lives of thousands of Germans as Hitler attempted to take Russia from Stalin. The whole world was realizing that yet another global war was at hand and dreading the long years they knew it would take to achieve peace.
The times also saw a vibrance in creativity in art, fashion, cinema, and music. In 1941 Citizen Kane was released and How Green Was My Valley was a box office hit. Glenn Miller was topping the charts with “Chattanooga Choo Choo” and “A String of Pearls”.
Women’s fashion was conservative as the last dregs of 1920s fashion died out. Men were excited to wear baggy clothes and the zoot suit was returning. For obvious reasons men’s and women’s fashion made prominent use of shoulder pads modeled after military uniforms.
It had been about 15-20 years since cinema had become mainstream entertainment and with the advent of sound in pictures the 1940s began to see remakes of the popular silent films of the 1920s. With this we saw a second age of horror and science fiction at the theatre. Among these famous remakes in 1940 we saw renewed interest in a franchise called The Green Archer. Every week devoted fans would flock to their local theatre to watch a caped Robin Hood-esque man wield his bow and arrows for truth and justice as he diligently worked to stop a murderous band of jewel thieves.
It was in November of this world that the 73rd issue of More Fun Comics debuted the beloved Oliver Queen as The Green Arrow. It seems entirely reasonable in this extraordinarily uncertain time that Americans would reflect back to a percieved time of simplicity and take heart in a world where Truth and Justice were clear, easy, and absolute.
In the same issue America met another classic hero: Aquaman. While all Golden Age comics reflect a desire for simplicity and absolutes, Aquaman demonstrated a different appeal. Arthur Curry didn’t have to be on land with us. He could escape to the sea. His problems were his own. No need to be bogged down with the troubles of the world. Nothing but a vast, silent ocean and friendly sea creatures to entertain and befriend this hero. Despite this option, Aquaman chose to engage the dry land willingly. Perhaps this stemmed from America’s growing realization that Isolatioinsim was truly no longer an option.
Of all the Heroes to debut in 1941 perhaps the most poignant and iconic was Captain America. If Green Arrow and Aquaman demonstrated a desire to escape then it is no surprise the most successful character of 1941 hit the problems of the world head on. When faced with crisis it is only human to spend a few moments reflecting on what might have been, but a testament to the resolve of that generation was embodied in one of comic-doms most epic heroes. Captain America was more than just a simplified equation to solve right and wrong. He was more than escape. Steve Rogers WAS America. He was the strength, the resolve, and the character that Americans were striving to muster so they could persevere through the most difficult time in the history of the world.
Certainly the WWII generation achieved something close to the character we see in Steve Rogers. Whether subsequent generations have is less clear, but what is certain is that even in the 21st century America looks to Captain America and sees in him something noble and admirable. For this we salute the Cap with a raised glass. Most liquor was scarce during the war, but we did have an abundance of rum. Today’s recommended drink is The Hurricane Cocktail.
Posted by: Robert Bazz on: November 12, 2009
When I heard about Strange, I got stupid psyched. I’ve loved Doctor Strange since I read Brian K. Vaughn’s Doctor Strange: The Oath mini-series. I’ve loved Mark Waid’s work since I first read Kingdom Come. When I heard that these two were coming together, well, holy shit.
Before you read this book, you definitely need to get caught up on what’s been up with Doctor Strange as of late. During World War Hulk, his hands were crushed by a rampaging Hulk, limiting his powers (not being able to gesticulate is a pret-ty big handicap in the sorcerer business). Then, during Secret Invasion, the Hood’s cronies broke into his Sanctum Sanctorum and Strange was forced to use dark magic to defend it. Pissed at himself for using the dark magic, he gave up the title of Sorcerer Supreme and is currently looking for his successor. Blah blah blah Dark Reign and here we are!
Strange is the story of a weakened Doctor Strange trying to make do with the powers he has left. This month, he’s trying to save a few thousand baseball fans from being condemned to Hell by Tul’uth, “Lord High Incubus of Games and Chance.” Along the way, he involves the granddaughter of the baseball team’s manager, who, conveniently, seems to have a natural talent for magic. What I found most interesting about this particular take on the character is that he is portrayed as more of an everyman than ever before. Hell, the first time he appears in panel, he’s spilled nachos down the front of his shirt. You wouldn’t expect to see Strange cheering on a sports team or hear that he played baseball in college (med schools have baseball teams?), but there it is. It’s as if Stephen Strange’s newfound lack of powers has humbled him, and this is a change I like.
I could spend all day talking about how much I like Mark Waid’s work (or Todd Klein’s lettering), but you’ve heard it before. What really surprised me about the book was the art. Normally, I’m not a fan of anime, but Emma Rios (who previously worked on BOOM! Studios’ Hexed) and Christina Strain somehow pulled off making the art in Strange just a little anime-eqsue without bothering me all.
Anywho, I highly recommend this book. If not Strange himself, the next Sorcerer Supreme is destined to be a big player in the Marvel Universe, and I’m curious as to whether or not Casey can fit the bill. It’s weird, usually I feel like I’d recommend drinking some old man liquor with a Doctor Strange book but, with Strange’s new attitude, it seems like a big red plastic cup of Budweiser would be more appropriate. Pick it up!
Posted by: Maggie_C on: November 11, 2009
Should we be releasing 5 variant versions of this post? Oooo! I know! We can release it wrapped in a black plastic wrapper and tell everyone it’s a collector’s item for sure!
Orrrrr not.
Jon, Rob, and I sat down a few months ago after tearing through a six-pack and a Wednesday pull. We started riffing (and we’re funnier in Real Life, I swear). After a while, I said, “Man, we should podcast or something.” And thus, the birth.
Granted, we’re at post #100 and haven’t quite gotten around to podcasting yet. We’ll get on that one of these days. Really.
Big thanks to our other contributors, Hava, Brendan, and Ian – at least one of whom may or may not have a new regular High Five! column in the works. Thanks also to BOOM! Studios, who for some reason seems to give a (small) rip about what we think, Kelson at SpeedForce.org for all those retweets, TV Rots Your Mind Grapes for reminding us there’s entertainment outside comics (the girls are funny, read them), all of our Twitter followers, all the artists/writers/letterers who’ve been willing to let little old us pick their brains, and most especially to everyone who’s been reading us everyday, even when we’ve sucked.
We’ve got some great stuff in the pipeline, so stick with us, High Fivers!
Here’s to making it to issue #600.
Chug!
Posted by: Robert Bazz on: November 10, 2009
While taking a break from writing a post for tonight, I decided to flip through November 1967’s Brave and the Bold Vol. 1 #74 (hell yeah, Metal Man/Batman team-up!). And then, on page two, I found this little gem.
Let that sink in. Batman is talking shit on Spider-Man, a character who doesn’t exist in the DCU (well, until that JLA/Avengers thing). Not only is he calling Spider-Man’s ability to, um, “flit,” a rip-off, but he’s doing it over five years after Spider-Man’s debut, long enough for Spidey’s solo series to release issue #54 that same day as this book’s release. Oh, well. Whatever. Either way…