Starting off slow; Hibbs on 7/23/14

OK, spam  on the site locked down, new store pretty close to squared away, maybe I am now in place to start reveiwin' again.  I've certainly been missing it somewhat. I can't promise this will be every week (in fact, I think I feel confident in announcing that this will NOT be each and every week... unless I do one of those Patreon thingies, in which case then it would be a paid job, and thus an obligation.  But I'm not thinking about doing that until I can prove to MYSELF that I can stay on this horse for a little while. Let's just go full capsule-style under that jump.

AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE #6: Man, talk about a crazy good issue of a crazy good comic book. I wish these came out more frequently, sure, but damn if this isn't worth waiting for! EXCELLENT.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #4 SIN: The "weird" thing is that the Doc Ock stuff was really really really working, and there wasn't exactly a great creative reason to bring back Peter; and so much of the "what's next" appears to be tied up in multiple versions of Spider-Man, anyway, which less reason to bring back Peter, right? "Secret other spider-person locked in a vault for 10 years" is, I guess, a thing, but it strikes me that it is a thing that absolutely takes focus away from Peter and having's Peter's stories be about PETER (because, otherwise, why bring him back?).  I guess that's a long, tangled way of saying: EH.

BATMAN #33 (ZERO YEAR): Oh, oh, finally "Zero Year" ends.  I'm sure it will read pretty swell as a book, but as individual comics I mostly thought it was meandering and plodding.  However! I liked the end if only because it it was a generally cerebral conclusion, with a battle of wits at the core. I've got a strong GOOD in my heart for this.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #33 (ROBIN RISES): I have to say that I prefer a Batman who tries to, y'know, sneak around the JLA, to one who just quits when he doesn't get his way.  And damn if I don't think this book looks crazy fabulous, too -- but I'm having a great deal of cognitive dissonance with the DC universe insisting to me that Darkseid is actually a scary threat when I and you both know that he was always just All Talk in the previous continuity, while at the same time insisting that everything that had to do with Ras' al Ghul DID happen just like they've shown it before. So this storyline has me torn between "awesome!" and "Yeah, but no!".  A slightly less enthusiastic GOOD then?

BATMAN ETERNAL #16: With some more artistic consistency, this could be the greatest "big" Batman story ever (It's certainly more coherant than, say, "Knightfall" or "Cataclysm"), but, man, do I get whiplash of the art when reading this. I'm really liking the little game they're playing with the spectre here, and I like the "new" additions to the cast, and, yeah, I just generally think this is a golden age to be a Batman fan, I guess, so, here's a solid GOOD, too.

NEW 52 FUTURES END #12: I've lost the thread of this. I felt like I skipped an issue or something? But I didn't? Mostly I just don't care? Sales are horrific on it at both stores, too, so I guess I am not alone. AWFUL.

STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES GI ZOMBIE #1: And now for thirteen words I never thought I would type: I was genuinely impressed with STAR SPANGLED WAR STORIES FEATURING GI ZOMBIE #1. Absolutely, positively not what I was expecting (felt very much like a gritty HBO pilot, not even slightly "Star Spangled"; had extremely realistic art, and low SFX, which is the opposite of what the covers promised). Color me shocked, this was VERY GOOD.  It will, however, be cancelled before a year is out, I'm sure. The cover and title is entirely wrong for the book.

SUPREME BLUE ROSE #1: If you're going to follow up on the Alan Moore notions of "The Supremacy", and so on, then this was nearly a perfect 90 degree turn away from the last version, I think.  I am intrigued by where this might go, but at the same time I am worried that Warren Ellis is only on for his usual six issues, in which case, why bother talking it up? It was clearly GOOD, though.

Hey, how about a graphic novel review?

SECONDS GN:  You know, I kind of loved Bryan Lee O'Malley's Chibi-style art here, and the narrative flow, but I absolutely hated the end of the story -- the protagonist learns not a thing, and rather things being driven by "Well, maybe I shouldn't change time/space because it hurts other people", the narrative is all driven by the protagonist's feelings and imaginary magical beings.  "A Wizard Did It" is, at the end of the day, crappy storytelling, and while one could totally forgive the shallow SCOTT PILGRIM for that (because I read that shallowness as an essential part of the story), one expects a little more from the "sophomore" work, doesn't one? I really liked the style and most of the execution of the work, but I thought as a piece of art it kind of failed the test of Humanity. Strongly OK is about as good as I can muster.

Right, so that's me this week.  What did YOU think?

-B

Wait, What? Ep. 121: Gilded View

Erroneously called 'Barbarian Romance' by Jeff throughout the hours that follow. Image, I believe, by Corey Lewis for Brandon Graham; Apologies if that link is a jerk.

Oh my god, it almost doesn't matter what hour of the day or night it is, my next door neighbors WILL NOT FUCKING SHUT UP.

After the jump: show notes just the way Thomas Hobbes would like 'em: nasty, brutish and short.  (Actually, just short.)

Sorry, I'm angry and terrified about the bombing at the Boston Marathon.  My best wishes and condolences to everyone involved.  It feels weird just rolling this forward but the show must go on, right?

0:00-2:32:  We go right from greetings to tech problems to Age of Ultron in under two minutes! 2:32-28:14: Comixology, Apple, and SAGAgate!  Our least favorite controversy ever? Maybe!  Our favorite issue of SAGA yet? Almost certainly! 28:14-42:24: Comics! Graeme has read the Avengers Assemble AU issue written by Al Ewing and has things he quite enjoys.  Jeff talks about Age of Ultron #5, but in more of a light overview kind of way and not in his standard "Haters gotta hate and god am I a hater" kind of way.  Graeme has recently reread Bendis's Siege event and compares it with  the AoU pacing… 42:24-48:59: Jennifer Blood #25, writing credited to Al Ewing but it's not.  (What the hell is up with that, Dynamite?) 48:59-1:01:22: Batman & (Red) Robin #19 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason: the term Haney-rific is used. 1:01:22-1:07:16:  Batman #19 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo: the term "Cronenbergian body horror" is used (but lightly, which may not count).  The four page preview of Lazarus by Greg Rucka and Michael Lark also gets some love from us. 1:07:16-1:07:37: Intermission One! 1:07:37-1:30:56: Jeff talks about how great the Whatnauts are. (Big props to Voodoo Ben!) Also, for those of you unsure about our status as hunters & gatherers.I'd like to say we smoothly segue from there to Archer & Armstrong #9 but it's not smooth even slightly.  Graeme has some information about reaction from Quantum & Woody's co-creator, Mark Bright. Also discussed: Tony Bedard, Joe Casey's Sex, and Dive Bar by friend of the podcast Dave Clarke which you can read online. 1:30:56-1:46:34: Finally, Jeff gets around to talking bit more about what he digs about the Hulk, a point that was supposed to have been made several podcasts ago -- so thanks for waiting!). We cover the concept of a character's iconic era; the return of the Marvel 700 giveaway; Ditko; Bendis; Abhay; and more. 1:46:34-2:01:38:  Also on Jeff's mind these days:  Barbarian Revenge (as Brandon Graham might put it).  More specifically:  The Chronicles of Conan and Thundarr The Barbarian. So of course, we talk about Roy Thomas, John Buscema, Kamandi, uggs, Steve Gerber, Jack Kirby.  Is it any wonder Jeff is almost slobberingly rhapsodic at the end of it? 2:01:38-end:  Closing Comments! More Age of Ultron talking because -- well, honestly, I'm not entirely sure why. And Zeb Wells! And Richard Nixon! Also, this is the penultimate episode before a skip week so take note.

And, on the off-hand chance you read all that and want to listen to the podcast [Note to self:  put episode link above show notes?], well, it's probably on iTunes, fingers crossed, and you can also listen to it below:

Wait, What? Ep. 121: Gilded View

As always, we hope you enjoy and thank you for listening.

Wait, What? Ep. 64.1: Can Stop, Will Stop.

Oh, Thanksgiving weekend! What a boon you are to some, and a curse to others. I know I am extra-happy with the time off from work, but it also means Graeme and I won't be recording this week.

And it also means there didn't seem to be much point to breaking this episode in half since so many will be away from their computers on Thursday and instead dealing with the complex mash of family, friends and strangers. (I'll spare you details about my upcoming Thanksgiving but I realize I'm being way more morose about it than everybody else.)

The point is, we are giving you a big ol' 110 minute Waitstravaganza, with Graeme and I talking Community and Parks and Recreation; fights on Twitter (and more specifically Graeme's recent dust-up there); Avengers #19 and the brilliance of Daniel Acuna (sorry, I don't know how to put that little tilde over the n there), the mini-comics Cindy & Biscuit by Dan White, Sabertooth Vampire by Mark Russell, and The End of the Fucking World by Charles Forsman.

Think that's everything? Nope! We also talk up Mud Man by Paul Grist; Batman and Robin; Wonder Woman #3; Jim Shooter; fractal comedy; and much, much, much, much more. Our hope is it will give you something to listen to while standing in line for Black Friday events! (Or having to work the night before to prep for them!) Or, you know, as a way to cope with the lack of a holiday that combines bird meat and endless televised sports.

Wait, What? Ep. 64 is a thing you can find on iTunes. But, also! It is here (though why our plug-in player doesn't really seem to work any more, I 'm a little baffled by) and we invite you to share in the holiday cheer, cranberry sauce optional:

Wait, What? Ep. 64.1: Can Stop, Will Stop

We hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend and, as always, thanks for listening!

nu52 - wk 2: The Self-Made

All the super-power-less characters -- two Bats, a grifter, and the terrific.

BATMAN & ROBIN #1: Much like the Lantern books, this really read to me like "the next issue of B&R". I did like the impatient Damien scenes while Bruce explains how his message should be about life and not death, but other than that, this was a pretty standard-form bat-comic. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I have very little to say, other than... OK.

BATWOMAN #1: I had a real shudder of pure joy upon reading this. Man, is it agonizingly beautiful! It also felt to me just packed fulla content, but maybe that's because I was lingering so long with so many of the pages. J. H. Williams is an incredibly exceptional artist, and his writing is perfectly fine as well. Either way, this is the second of the nu52 which I loved loved loved -- this was purely EXCELLENT win, all the way, through and through, and we hope for a long long life for this title.

GRIFTER #1: "It's THEY LIVE starring 'Sawyer' from LOST!" was probably the pitch? Though, actually, when I heard the premise the first time, MY flash was to ROM, SPACE-KNIGHT, because what are these mark-2 Daemonites except for effectively being Dire Wraiths? Not to keep harping on the continuity thing, but I have a pretty hard time understanding how a "timeline merge" transforms the very fundamental nature of an entire species? Annnnnnyway, as a way of preserving a trademark, when you can't keep any of the individual bits of that trademark other than (I guess) the mask and the name, I thought this did a perfectly adequate job. But, this doesn't feel like a "comic" to me -- it feels like a pitch for a weekly TV show that just happens to be in comic form. None of that is bad, per se, nor is the comic bad, but I'm not so sure this one can or will sustain itself past twelve issues or so? All in all, I thought it was perfectly EH.

MISTER TERRIFIC #1: I am, for the life of me, wondering just what the hell this was all about. The meta stuff, I mean. Did someone already have a MT pitch in hand that the serial numbers could be filled off of easily? Was it 4 am in the last days before they had to announce the books, and they were at book #51, and no one could come up with any better, so they just said "sure, sounds great!" Was it that someone argued there had to be a JSA-connection somewhere, even though there couldn't be an actual JSA?

MT *is* certainly an unique character -- a smart, technologically-competent black man who is also an atheist -- that's cool, not something you really see in media anywhere is it? But once you remove the legacy aspects of the JSA connection, I think the seams really start to show. Seriously, what grown man (seriously, especially a black man) is going to call himself "Mister Terrific", without it being a legacy name? Same thing with the "Fair Play" : I liked that on a Golden Age character, just the same way I liked Ma Hunkle with the souppot on her head becoming "the Red Tornado", but that's seriously NOT a c21 name.

Even putting that all aside, I really didn't like this comic very much -- I thought "The third smartest man" (who, um, is actually Amadeus Cho) was written pretty dumb -- in a way that a lack of specificity there wouldn't have bothered me; and a non-visual power for your antagonist like the mind or emotion control here is largely anti-superhero comics. Lots and lots of set-up, no real payoffs, I was pretty disapointed.

What's... well not funny, but not really ironic either, dunno the right term really... is that I was opining to several customers, in the weeks before any of these books coming out, that I was holding out the most hope for the "odd" books like GRIFTER or MISTER TERRIFIC because, historically, the best comics DC publishes tend to come from the fringes where you didn't expect anything whatsoever. Things like Morrison's ANIMAL MAN, or Ostrander's SUICIDE SQUAD, or the Cary Bates CAPTAIN ATOM (seriously? Those first three years? What a great run!), or even why-do-people-forget-it-started-firmly-in-the-DCU Gaiman's SANDMAN were all more vital, and transformative to the greater-DCU, then any monthly-ongoing run of Superman or Batman comics. So, yeah, all the more disappointing that this comic didn't elevate itself out above the pack.

Of what I have read so far, I am thinking this will be the first one cancelled. I may have hated HAWK & DOVE, but there are a contingent of people who like Rob Liefeld to pieces, enough to maybe get that title past year 1. MT, on the other hand, has to solely last on its own merits, of which I find few. It was an AWFUL comic.

As always: what do YOU think?

-B