Friday, December 26, 2008

Merry Christmas Deadman !

Originally I wanted to post some Christmas comic stories but there aren´t many I really do remember. Ánd since FORTRESS OF FORTITUTE does a way better job of it than I ever could with it´s " 12 days of Christmas " theme I just wanted to post some follow up on the BRAVE AND THE BOLD series - especially the tangent about Deadman.

In one of the posts of the series I mentioned the Deadman series DEAD AGAIN ( I have since then bought the mini and read it so there could be a review coming up ) and a special Christmas story starring Deadman and Silver Age " the real deal " Supergirl. I will have to pay attention when going through my comic collection to weed out the books I want to get rid of ( let´s see if I can finally do it this year ) if I have the comic in question but here´s the comic :


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It´s better to light a candle than to curse the dark.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas !

Another year, another Christmas post. This is the third post about Christmas and I think I have already covered all the topics related to this holiday.


I´ve already done how to get cheap presents while getting rid of some stinkers in your comic collection. I´ve done why you should give comics as Christmas presents if you are a comic fan. I just recently read a poll and only 23 percent ( I think ) of comic fans give comics as presents. Come on guys, if we as aficionados don´t do it who will ?

As usual I´m a bit late with my Christmas post because I was looking for some nice pics for the event. Instead I have to use the generic ones you are going to see on all websites. Anyway, this short post is just to wish all of my readers a Merry Christmas ! If I have time Tomorrow I will post what I got as presents - I hope till then my sister has visited because that´s another gift session. And maybe I can find something new about Christmas I haven´t covered yet.


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  • Wednesday, December 10, 2008

    There are no new Batman stories !

    Usually I don´t just link to other blogs but I just found a post on FORTRESS OF FORTITUTE about Batman 112 that basically tells the story of BATMAN R.I.P.


    Now it´s nothing new that some supervillain drugs Batman, then carries him to the nearest loony bin just to pretend that the whole Batman persona is just part of a mental disorder. There was a story like this in the LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT series and it has been used on a few occasions. What´s so fascinating about issue 112 is that although it was done decades ago they manage to do it in eight pages. And it actually makes sense.

    Now the reason I had to mention it at all ( everything for a cheap post ) is that while it is pointed out that the villain behind it all is also named Milo the Fortress Keeper doesn´t mention the most important and uncanny thing. That he also has a striking resemblance to a wellknown actor who played the archvillain of a certain webhead ( that rhymes with Bean Bobblin ).


    Anyway, here´s the link :

  • am I really batman


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  • Tuesday, December 09, 2008

    Courtney Crumrin and the lost adventure

    Yes, another sleepless night and another post for Germany´s best comic blog. Sometimes I think that the internet would never have had the impact it did if there were not so much people who can´t sleep.


    It´s a fact that the number one thing to do when you can´t sleep is surfing on the net. So, Yesterday after coming home from work my brother got drunk and as usual he finds it extremely funny to start a discussion which means him telling me what a loser I am and that my life sucks and that it´s only my own fault. You see, he´s the only one who ever made sacrifices in the entire world and everybody else just wants it that way.

    Yes, he uses everybody else as his latrine - to shit all over them basically - and then he wondes why I don´t want to work with him on comic projects. My sister always tells me that I have to help him with stuff because he also helps me when I need it. The problem is I never need his help. Or better - I never got it. When there´s something to do for the IRS I can´t go to him because he doesn´t understand any of it. When I have problems with the unemployment office I can´t go to him because he doesn´t understand any of it. When there was something on the business side of our comic company to do I was the one who had to do it because he doesn´t know about that stuff.


    He can´t do any translations for me because I understand more about it than him. If there´s something wrong with the car I have to fix it because he won´t go near it since I´m the one who is a car mechanic. I´m not sure if he even knows how to change a wheel. And everytime there is something he could help me with his only advice is : you have to learn to do it because I did so you can too. And that´s as much help as you get from him. I can never come to him when I have problems - it´s always the other way around. Which is also the reason why he wants to work with me.

    That way he doesn´t have to finish his work or do things he doesn´t want to. He can stop drawing whenever he feels like it. Since I´m the inker I have to finish it. He can stop writing whenever he runs out of ideas. I will come up with something and I can do all this other wordy stuff like dialogue. If he doesn´t want to color it ? That´s somethign I " have to learn to be a better comic artist " anyway. Preparing the comic for printing ? Well, I worked in a printing company so that´s something I have to do. Printing the comic ? Well, see the answer before that. Doing all the legal business stuff ? Since that´s something I studied I have to do it. Doing all the financial and business stuff ? Since that´s something I studied.....exactly. And if the comic is not like he envisioned it then it´s all my fault. I think this is my most important role : scapegoat.


    So you see what he needs me for. The only thing that he doesn´t see or ask himself : what do I need him for ? Since I´m doing all the heavy stuff the only thing he does do is demotivate me and prevent me from doing comic stuff. Which ( in a roundabound way ) leads us back to this blog. I initially started this blog for three reasons :

    1. to have something to do when I can´t sleep besides surfing

    2. to have a place where people can read this stuff besides the usual message boards where nobody reads what you write

    3. to do SOMETHING that´s comic related

    It never was my big dream to do comics. I mean I know that´s the thing I was born to do but here in Germany that´s extremely difficult - especially when you have to fight your own family. So it´s not what I envisioned myself doing but I´m totally okay with just reading comics for the rest of my life. I mean would the comic world be so much worse if Jeff Smith never did BONE or Dave Sim never did CEREBUS or if Stan Sakai never did USAGI YOJIMBO ? Don´t answer that. Anyway, back to sleeping problems.

    Since I have to catch up on the news I went to Comic Book Resources where I found the news of a new Courtney Crumrin comic called Courtney Crumrin & the Prince of Nowhere.


    It´s a new comic in which Courtney visits a small town in Germany called Krumrhein and the history of one of her ancestors Isolde von Krumrhein is told. I did a bit of research ( I mean this is Germany´s best comicblog after all ) and while there is no such town called Krumrhein the name Krumrhein does exist as a german name. In fact there is the name Krumrheim, Krumrein, Krummrein and even Crumrein in the german telephone book.

    The word Herzogen is the right translation of Dukes but the characters Isolde von Krumrhein and Leopolt ( the modern writing would be Leopold but that´s how it was written in the 16th century ) are totally fictional.


    What I also discovered is that apparently I missed an adventure of Courtney Crumrin called The Fire Thief´s Tale which must have come ouit when I was in Spain. Just another thing I have to add to the list of comics I have to hunt down like the last three issues of the new CLAN DESTINE series. Anyway, Courtney Crumrin is one of the best comic series from ONI and if you are not already reading it I would describe it as " Harry Potter meets Jessica Drew with a bit of LEAVE IT TO CHANCE thrown in ". The stories are fantastic and appeal to young readers as well as grown ups. And don´t let the deceptively simple looking art fool you. Ted Naifeh is one of the best comic artists which you can also see in his other brilliant comics like DEATH JR and GLOOMCOOKIE.


    I first discovered Courtney Crumrin in what at that time was my emergency comic shop and which now has become my regular comic shop. Which in turn leaves only the internet for comic emergencies. Anyway, the first comic I found was Courtney Crumrin and the coven of mystics which is the second trade. Everytime I was at the comic shop I took it from the shelf read a few pages and put it back when I had to select the stuff I took to the counter. That´s just how it is in a good comic shop. The difference between a good comic shop and a bad comic shop can be measured in the amount of stuff you have to put back.


    In my old comic shop which was COMICS PUR when I came in and wanted to spend 40 or 50 bucks I had problems finding something good and in the end spent around 30 bucks. In my new comic shop SAMMLERECKE in Esslingen when I go in planning to spend 30 bucks on comics I end up spending 50 bucks or more and I have to put back about the same amount of trades and other books I would like to buy. That´s how you can tell if you have a good comic shop.


    Back to Courtney Crumrin. I always was putting the comic back but at one point I told myself : " You have already read half of the comic so when are you going to buy the damn thing ? " which is one of the best decisions I ever made. Now apparently the new adventure of Courtney Crumrin deals with the aftermath of the last story but since I didn´t read it I can tell you nothing about that. All I know is that if it´s only half as good as the other stories it´s a comic well worth your money. If you want to know more about the new comic here´s an interview with Ted Naifeh on newsarama :

  • newsarama interview













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  • We need to find the boy inside that helped me save the universe during the first crisis. We need to redeem Superboy - Prime.

    Monday, December 08, 2008

    Geierheim update

    Okay, I messed this one up. I was so happy to have somebody who accepted the link exchange ( even if I´m still waiting on the link to my blog ) that I totally forgot to check for the homepage.


    Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. But I have to add that there was no link to the homepage on the blog. There is a picture with the name but it links to the blog. The whole thing is a bit embarassing because the homepage has almost the same name as the blog. So here is the link for the homepage where you can find art, a complete checklist of all things Geier and a few tips about drawing. There´s not much actual stuff on it but that´s what the blog is for.


  • geierheim homepage


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  • If you have nothing to do - do it somewhere else.

    Sunday, December 07, 2008

    comic movies - BD special

    Comic movies are all over the bloggosphere because they are a popular topic. And you can get much more readers by talking about the worst of low budget comic movies than writing about the best comic ever made.


    That´s a fact. People are much more interested in movies than in comics and if you are making movies you are far higher on the social ladder than if you make comics. I remember a guy who wrote on a german comic message board about his experiences. The case was that he was making comics for years without getting much notice from his friends or relatives. But the second he began making a movie project he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of relatives, friends or people he had never seen in his life that suddenly turned up offering advice or just wanting to be a part of it.

    So don´t let anybody tell you making comics is like making movies. If you make a movie you have it easy. Making a comic - that´s hard work. Anyway, the reason I wanted to do this quick post is that I recently stumbled upon two comic movies that are a bit old and that I was not aware of. Usually I hear about most movie projects like the CORTO MALTESE animated movie or the new CAPITAN TRUENO movie but somehow these two managed to slip under my radar.


    The first one is IZNOGOUD and was apparently released on DVD in August 2005 ! IZNOGOUD - for those who don´t know the comic - was written by Rene Goscinny and drawn by Jean Tabary who carried on alone after the death of Goscinny. The stories revolve around Iznogoud ( pronounced "is no good" with a French accent ) who is the Grand Vizier to the Caliph Haroun El Poussah. But that´s not enough for Iznogoud who always tries to become " Caliph instead of the Caliph ".


    To achieve this goal he uses every possibility which in the comic are always entertaining things like a calendar that allows it´s bearer to travel through time by ripping off the sheets or putting them back with glue, a puzzle that turns the person you think of when completing it into this puzzle, a road that leads to nowhere or other magics that allow him to switch bodies with the Caliph.

    Of course the Caliph is totally unaware of this and believes Iznogoud to be his best friend who in turn never succeeds.


    In fact in most of the cases he has to suffer the fate he intended for the Caliph and even if he manages to become Caliph instead of the Caliph it ends in total disaster for him. The publisher Cinebook Ltd is currently publishing English language translations of the books in the Iznogoud series. The first book in the series, "The Wicked Wiles of Iznogoud", was published in March 2008 with the second, "The Caliph's Vacation", following in August 2008. A third volume, "Iznogoud and the Day of Misrule" is scheduled for March 2009.


    Like I said I haven´t seen the movie yet so I have no idea if it´s actually good.






    The second movie is SKY FIGHTERS and is an adaption of Mick Tanguy or Les aventures de Tanguy and Laverdure like it is called in the original french version.


    Like Iznogoud it is one of the classic franco belgican comic series that was started by Jean Michel Charlier and Albert Uderzo who was later on replaced by Jije and others. The stories tell the adventures of Mick Tanguy and Ernest Laverdure, two inseparable friends from the flying school and future commendants who are opposite characters.


    While the latter is serious, honest and obedient, the latest is eccentric, blundering and awkward. However, Laverdure is a strong team mate for Tanguy in difficult situations. Indeed, dangerous missions and spying are everyday tasks for the two pilots, who are flying aces and always efficient defenders of their homeland.


    There apparently was a tv series titled LES CHEVALIERS DU CIEL ( SKY KNIGHTS ) that ran from 1967 to 1969. It ran for three seasons with each season having 13 episodes.



    Like with Iznogoud I haven´t seen the movie but the trailer looks promising.





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    Say, I´ve seen pictures of that place !

    That´s right ! A Mr. Schickelgruber lives there !