LOOK Kids!! COMICAZI!!

Now that’s a big bird….!!! Get it man!  Great cover!

Hey there!

Short and sweet.  Kinda like Elise.

New comics arriving on Wednesday June 9:

ASTONISHING X-MEN XENOGENESIS #2 (OF 5)
AVENGERS ACADEMY #1 – it’s a pass/fail place. Dilks couldn’t cut it.

BATGIRL #11 – Serena just needs the cape. and a utility belt.
BATMAN #700
BLACKSAD HC VOL 1
BOOSTER GOLD #33 – Max is petitioning to be his sidekick.
BUZZARD #1 (OF 3)

CAPTAIN AMERICA #606
CARS #6
CHEW #11 – still looking for those 2 missing issues Rachel. forgive me please and don’t *title* my head off
CHRONICLES OF CONAN TP VOL 19 DEATHMARK
COMIC SHOP NEWS
COWBOY NINJA VIKING #6

DAREDEVIL #507
DAYTRIPPER #7
DC HEROCLIX BLACKEST NIGHT STARTER SET – Adam might still like these but i wouldn’t know for not having seen him in ages.
DEADPOOL CORPS #3
DEADPOOL WADE WILSONS WAR #1 (OF 4)
DOC SAVAGE #3 – John Tanzer wants to like this but his heart screams no!
DOC SAVAGE DOUBLE NOVEL VOL 37
DOOM PATROL #11
DOOM PATROL WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE TP
DRACULA #1 – Rudy’s man crush.

FARSCAPE SCORPIUS #2
GEN 13 #36
GI JOE COBRA II #5
GRAVEL #19
GREEN ARROW BLACK CANARY BIG GAME TP – what a great jumping on point for Jenn to give it another try!

HACK SLASH MY FIRST MANIAC #1
HELLBOY TP VOL 10 CROOKED MAN & OTHERS
HERALDS #2 (OF 5)
HEROIC AGE PRINCE OF POWER #2 (OF 4) – Ian S. is a prince. but of spaghetti.
HOUSE OF MYSTERY #26
HUMAN TARGET #5 (OF 6) – Dave Parks’ alias. and station in life

INU YASHA TP VOL 49
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #27
IRON MAN NOIR #3 (OF 4)
IRREDEEMABLE TP VOL 3

JONAH HEX #56
JUSTICE LEAGUE GENERATION LOST #3
KEVIN SMITH KATO #2
LOGANS RUN #3 – Ryan has just a few more years before he starts his run. whippersnapper!
META 4 #1 (OF 5)
MODERN WARFARE 2 GHOST #5 (OF 6)
MOVING PICTURES GN – i enjoy them at the picture show

NEIL YOUNGS GREENDALE HC – yes, THAT Neil Young.
NEMESIS #2 (OF 4)
OUTSIDERS #30

PANTHEON #3
PREDATORS #1 (OF 4)
PUNISHERMAX #8

RAWHIDE KID #1 (OF 4)
RAWHIDE KID PREM HC SLAP LEATHER
RED SONJA #50 – Meg is interested. very interested.
ROBERT E HOWARD HAWKS OF OUTREMER #1 (OF 4)
SAM & TWITCH WRITER #3 (OF 4)
SECRET SIX #22
SHIELD #2 – this is the awesome Marvel one not the other one. read it and be struck by awesome. Ben was.
SHRAPNEL HUBRIS #1 (OF 3)

SOLOMON KANE DEATHS BLACK RIDERS #4 (OF 4)
SPIDER-MAN FEVER #3 (OF 3) – Gary is going to catch it.
SPIDER-MAN RETURN OF BLACK CAT TP
STAR TREK MCCOY #3
SUPER FRIENDS #28
SUPER HERO SQUAD #6
SUPER HERO SQUAD TP SUPER STARS DIGEST – there’s a lot of super happening this week….
SUPER HEROES #3
SUPERMAN BATMAN FINEST WORLDS TP

TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE #6 – Kevin thrizzled once. once.
TERRY MOORES ECHO #22 – sorry Angie, this is just the regular comic. you’ll have to wait longer for the next trade. or break down and get the monthlies. do it.
TITANS #24
TOM STRONG AND THE ROBOTS OF DOOM #1 (OF 6) – i think Joan could take them.
TOMARTS ACTION FIGURE DIGEST #189
TOYFARE #156
TRANSFORMERS ONGOING #8

ULTIMATE COMICS AVENGERS 2 #3
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #11
UNCANNY X-MEN #525
UNCLE SCROOGE #392 – Martin’s hero.
UNWRITTEN #14

WARLORD #15
WIZARD MAGAZINE #227
X-BABIES TP STARS REBORN GN
X-MEN FOREVER 2 #1 – ugh. sorry Derrick.
X-MEN HELLBOUND #2 (OF 3)
YOUNG ALLIES #1 – teen heroes for Jimmy! but it’s Marvel. oh the choices!

And the Tuesday just before this momentous day is the next meeting of the Comicazi Book Club in Davis Square. The gang will be discussing Promethea volume 1.  Stop on by if you haven’t attended a meeting and check out all of the fun!

A special shout out to Loretta for dropping by some Hawkeye cupcakes to me as I type this out.  Thanks Loretta! You’re a doll.  And Eric Powell’s number one fan

And lastly, Tom had this theological bon mot to add the other day as the newest Comicazi Quote of the Week:

“Do you think when you get to Hell that it’s a hallway of bookshelves filled with nothing but Spawn comics?”

Truly a horrifying thought!  And with that, I bid thee adieu!
Comicazi Mike

Hey there!!

It’s been a while since the last Loser segment but lo, I have not forgotten!!  Although maybe these guys should have been. This time out instead of an individual, I’m spotlighting a whole group.  No, not the X-Men.  Maybe another time.  I’m talking about the Legion.

Now before Munson or Frank has an aneurysm, I don’t mean your beloved Legion.  Although how anyone can love a future ruled by super-powered teens is beyond me.  But that’s neither here nor there.  My dislike for the Legion is well documented.
I’m talking about the Legion Of Substitute Heroes.  Sweet Christmas!!  What a bunch of….losers.  The best thing about ‘em is that their lameness is in their name.  They’re “substitute” heroes.

Look at them.  Villains were defeated because they couldn’t stop laughing.  These guys were the heroes whose powers and abilities weren’t good enough for admittance into the regular Legion.  And I thought they took anybody.  Wow.  So these rejects formed a group to pinch hit for the Legion.
To be fair, they were relatively effective.  It wasn’t until Giffen got his hands on them that they became jokes.  And that is why the man is a genius.  He called it as he saw it.  Losers.

Comicazi Mike, weeping for the future…..

Today is the release date for the first issue of S.H.I.E.L.D. from Marvel Comics and the excellent Jonathan Hickman!  I have been anxiously awaiting this book for a couple of months now.  The basic premise is that the S.H.I.E.L.D. organization that we’ve all known the past 40 years has actually been in existence for thousands of years.  Many great men throughout history have been members and combated secret threats to world security.  History does not tell of these events.

Hickman does however.  He hits the ground running and really expands the vistas of the Marvel Universe.  There are some really great scenes which I’d love to expound upon but I don’t want to wreck it for you!

Mr. Hickman also currently writes Fantastic Four and is knocking off the rust that has accumulated on that title, bringing it back to the flagship status that the book deserves.  Check out FF if you’re not doing so already.
Secret Warriors is the other title he pens which features Nick Fury, the former head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Also very good but not quite my cuppa. Don’t let that stop you from picking it up though

He hit the comics scene with The Nightly News back in 2006.  That was a scathing commentary on our media with eye-popping visuals done up in a graphic design sense.  Very very different from the typical comic fare of the day.  Back in the day when we here did the Comicazi podcast, Mr. Hickman was our very first interview.  So, as you can see, we’ve supported the talented Mr. Hickman from the start.

Be sure to stop by the shop and pick up the first issue of S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as the other Hickman titles in stock.  You won’t be disappointed.

Comicazi Mike

I watched the Green Lantern animated movie the other night.  My trusty Netflix delivered to my door if not the latest DC offering then the most recent on my pull list.  I simply have to make more time to watch the comic related fare!

I am not a big Hal Jordan fan.  I find him a bland character and any other Green Lantern is more to my liking.  I dig the concept of the Green Lantern Corps, with the Guardians doling out assignments to the Lanterns.  They are, in essence, an intergalactic police force.
And I’ve more than enjoyed the tweaks that have been made to the mythos in the comics with the advent of the Alpha Lanterns, most especially.  Every police force needs an Internal Affairs department right?

Anyway, I did not have high expectations for the movie but being the comic dork that I am, I had to at least watch it

Damn, was I pleasantly surprised!  What a great story!  It did blend various elements of Green Lantern’s history into one origin for the purposes of the movie but I was more than fine with that.  It made Hal Jordan a bit more palatable to me.
Sinestro was perfect!  Excellent voice casting.  The Guardians were much less so.  Somehow I couldn’t reconcile their voices with what I imagined them sounding like from reading the comics.  They seemed more a bunch of old guys at a nursing home arguing over shuffleboard than cosmic beings responsible for the universe.

The best aspect of the movie in my opinion was that it was pretty much set in outer space.  There was just enough time spent on Earth to establish Jordan’s back story then it was off to Oa.  I’ve always felt the best Green Lantern stories were those taking place on alien planets and in the reaches of space.

I feel that I’ve gushed enough.  I’d like to outline the plot a bit more but the Spring-like weather is stymieing any sort of in-depth writing on my part.  It is far too nice out to be behind this screen.  Suffice it to say that I would not hesitate to actually pick up First Flight and add it to my collection for future viewings.

Hope you check it out if you haven’t already!

Have a great weekend!

Comicazi Mike

Who says that comics aren’t literate?  Comics have been borrowing liberally from mythology and classic literature such as Shakespeare for decades.  I’m sure that I’m not the only one who was propelled to read actual books and such from what I came across in comics.

In this instance, I’m rather glad that I read of the actual King Midas of Greek mythology before stumbling over the comics version.  I only know of his appearances in Iron Man, once in #19 or so and much later in a multi-part storyline.  Here’s a rare cover appearance of the buffoon:

The comic book Midas was portrayed as a conniving, savvy businessman who actually took over Stark Industries.  Iron Man is Tony Stark for those of you not in the know.
I have only ever come across 2 tales of Midas which is fitting considering this guy was lame!  Not just dumb but actually confined to a mechanical hover chair like some third-rate tubby Professor X.  He did have an exoskeleton that enabled him to stand and waddle that magnified his strength.  Whoopee.  And, yes, when he laid hands upon you, you were turned to gold.  Just like the Midas of myth.

The cover pictured above is the final chapter in a 6-part saga featuring Midas’ takeover and subsequent destruction of Stark Industries.  This later becomes the catalyst for the new and improved Stark Enterprises and the excellent run by Michelinie/Romita Jr/Layton.
The Midas Saga was actually not bad.  It guest-starred lots of obscure Marvel characters and there are early appearances by Jack Of Hearts.  Plus, it was written by Boisterous Bill Mantlo, one of the greatest Marvel writers of the 70’s and 80’s.
But Midas was just dumb.  There was no way to really take him seriously.  He supposedly survives the final clash but I’ve not seen him since.  And this tale is 30 years old.  Perhaps losers should lie along with sleeping dogs.

Comicazi Mike

Allow me to switch things up a mite here.  I’ve been reviewing comics from the 70’s and early 80’s in these Classic Comic posts.  I was a young kid then and my love of the medium was fresh and new.  But I did and do really like and enjoy comics from later points of my life.  Let me whisk ahead a decade or so from the usual review timeline  to the year 1991.

I was 21 years old and I daresay a seasoned veteran of the comic-reading scene.  16 years of impact by this point.  And with a minor intro such as that I can only imagine the chuckles and ridicule that will be launched in my direction when I write about this issue…..!!!

That’s right…..Sleepwalker #1.  It’s now out there.  I am owning it and saying that this is a book I enjoy.  A good concept if not necessarily a good read.  There was nothing inherently wrong with the reading of the book; it was a typical 90’s comic.  A typical comic just trying to re-invent the wheel.
It catches flak for being lame because it was a sales failure.  Although I dispute that because the series actually lasted 33 issues!  An impressive run and longer than a lot of more popular characters and/or books of the past and since 1991.  So nyah nyah!

Sleepwalker introduced us to Rick Sheridan, college student and handyman just doing his bit to get by and hang with his girl Alyssa.  A little bit of a Peter Parker theme going on.  But lots of comic heroes have used the Spidey formula as a launchpad.
Rick has strange dreams of a towering, cloaked alien creature.  The issue sets up Rick’s life and a minor conflict brought to a head by the end of the issue.  Throughout the story Rick’s dreams become more intense, to the point where he does all in his power to avoid falling asleep.

Inevitably, he has to lose consciousness.  And this occurs during a moment of crisis.  That minor conflict alluded to before?  Yeah, that was to bring forth Sleepwalker, the namesake of the book.  He is introduced to the Marvel Universe very quietly but rather creepily in my estimation.  A fine addition to the Marvel pantheon of characters.

Sleepwalker was the brainchild of Bob Budiansky – of Ghost Rider fame, a contributing factor to the eeriness of the concept – and Bret Blevins, a vastly under-rated artist.  It’s really a good-looking book.
A strange alien that appears only when Rick is asleep and has the ability to warp matter sounded pretty cool to me!  He only ever says one sentence in the issue, “I am a Sleepwalker”.  You mean there’s more?  I was intrigued.  I couldn’t wait to read more!
And I did read the subsequent issues.  Granted they’re a product of their time, the commercialized 90’s and almost every other issue featured the popular guest stars of the decade.  This definitely weakened the story.  If editorial weren’t so driven by the market place, perhaps this book could have been something different.  Who knows?  It is what it is.
What it isn’t is a joke.  The concept is sound.  Yes, it needs some tweaking but Rick and Sleepwalker are good characters and deserve better than comic limbo.  I know Walking Dead scribe Robert Kirkman agrees with me as he’s on record stating that Sleepwalker is one of his favorite comics.  That’s a pretty big endorsement.
There are no bad characters just bad writing.  Sleepwalker wasn’t a badly written character.  Perhaps he just came along at the wrong time.  I look forward to seeing him revamped and making a return.

Thanks!

Comicazi Mike

If you read my musings and ramblings on comics, you’ll know that I’ve made mention of being a huge Marvel Comics fan as a kid.  This did not mean I disliked DC Comics.  I did not.  I just found the Marvel characters more to my liking.
Usually others bought me issues of Superman or Brave And The Bold whereas if I had any say in the situation, I pulled for Spider-Man or Fantastic Four.  I do believe that this comic was the first DC issue I consciously wanted over a Marvel one.

Showcase #100.  I don’t know what it was about this book that called out to me.  I certainly recognized several of the heroes on the cover. And many of them were unknown to me but looked very interesting….especially that dude with the rocket pack!
I think it might have been the dynamic of all these disparate heroes rushing forth to combat a great unknown menace.  It had to be a great menace right?  I mean, there were 60 ” sensational super-stars” in the story!!  Yes, this is a tired plot device but in 1978 this was very very new to my anxious eyes.

The thrust of this tale is that Earth is being pulled out of its orbit and the resultant effect is people and creatures being displaced in time.  Most of the heroes gather aboard the Justice League satellite to figure a way to counter the mysterious force absconding with the planet and wreaking chaos across the globe.
Other heroes and characters meet independently and come to the same conclusion, all of them working towards the same end.  Some of the heroes are even pulled from various points in time!
And the coolest thing about this gathering of heroes?  Every character was at one time or another a spotlight character in Showcase, the very book I was holding!
The list of heroes was mostly unfamiliar to me but I did know Green Lantern, Flash, Aquaman, Robin, and Atom from Justice League Of America and Batman comics that I had.
Other heroes I learned of from reading the story were Adam Strange – the cool guy with the rocket pack! – Space Ranger, Creeper, Metal Men, and Spectre who I thought was the coolest DC hero I had ever come across.  There’s a scene in the book portraying the Spectre pushing Earth back into its orbit!  How friggin’ bad-ass was that?!?!?
The dozens of other characters were all outlined in the back of the book with listings of their Showcase appearances.

Another component to my enjoyment of the book was the artwork.  Joe Staton was the man pushing the pencils on this story.  It was possibly the best art I’d seen in a DC comic to that point.  I still greatly enjoy Joe Staton’s work.  I’ve always sort of thougt of him as DC’s Sal Buscema, a solid, dependable artist who never fails to deliver a good story.

Subsequent re-readings of the issue have proven to be less stellar than the debut.  I think that’s true of most things, sure.  The story and dialogue are a little hokey now through adult eyes.  And the difference between a Marvel story of the era and this are now glaringly obvious to me.  What I couldn’t define and give voice to as an 8-year old is clearer.  Marvel Comics pushed the boundaries of super hero comics.  Comics weren’t just for kids and they could make you think and see things in shades of gray.  And Marvel had been doing that since the inception of Fantastic Four.  Yes, Marvel and DC are always battling and borrowing from each other and the pendulum swings back and forth on all levels – sales, format, story content, character design, everything!  But to me, to that point, DC was still telling black and white super hero stories.  They were trying and breaking down walls but were just slower at it.  Doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy some of their books just like I didn’t love every Marvel offering.  It was just a preference.

I shall now step down off the box.  Showcase #100 is a fun book to give a read if you’ve never done so.  Good clean super hero fun with some excellent Staton art.  The issue showed me that DC had a vaster universe than I had previously believed and there were some interesting and mysterious characters to learn about.  It remains one of my favorite childhood comics.

Comicazi Mike

Lo, those many moons agone, when I was but a wee lad of pre-teen age, I’d be riveted to the television set every Saturday morning.  It was a time-honored ritual carried forward by many kids.  Super Friends, Captain Kangaroo, Smurfs, Lone Ranger, Creature Double Feature, and tons more.

As I got older, the cartoons and programs I enjoyed watching became fewer.  One of the last Saturday morning cartoons I simply had to watch was Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends.

I still have an especial fondness for this show.  It’s totally goofy, yes, and pretty dated but that’s a big part of what makes up my personality.  Please keep the ribbing to a minimum.  Thank you.
Spidey with his pals Iceman and Firestar – created for the show and later brought into the Marvel Comics – never failed to entertain and help me escape those oh-so-crushing pressures of a 12-year old boy.  It was an added bonus when fellow Marvel heroes like Black Knight and Sub-Mariner made guest appearances on the show.  How cool was that?!?
It was also my first exposure to one of the coolest villains ever to stride the pages of a comic book….Swarm! I mean, really, how cool is a skeleton animated by a Nazi intelligence controlling millions of bees?  I know!!

The show resonates still as in a recent mini series from Marvel, Lockjaw And The Pet Avengers, Ms. Lyon appears with the other super animals.  Not a favorite of mine during the show but definitely part of the show’s identity.  And someone out there has that same fondness for the program as I do and doubtless many many others.

Take a trip down memory lane sometime and reconnect with your inner 12-year old.  You’ll be glad you did.

Comicazi Mike

It hasn’t been too long since I last posted a Loser segment but they’re always fun!  Especially when you get upset at the choice
This time out – no pun intended! – I shall focus on the lame Batman villain, Calendar Man.  Watch out!  He’ll steal your daily planner!!

Dig those sweet shoulder pads!  And what a cool number motif!  He looks like a rejected Manhunter sketch by Simonson.

So, yeah, he committed petty crimes that were themed and/or connected to the date on which they were perpetrated.  Not exactly earth-shattering but kind of interesting on the detective angle.  And it is rumored that Batman is a detective.

In recent years, Julian Gregory Day – Calendar Man – has been portrayed as more of a Hannibal Lecter type.  This is most prominently displayed in Loeb and Sale’s Batman:The Long Halloween where he provides Batman with insights into the actions of the Holiday killer.  Interesting take on him but rather limited.  He’s still a loser.  Go back to throwing razor sharp numbers at super heroes.  At least you can draw some blood and a smidge of respect.  Only a tiny smidge though.

What day is it?  Loser Day.  Bye bye Calendar Man!

Comicazi Mike