It´s Wonder Woman Wednesday !

Today Lynda Carter, the one true ( and as far as live action adaptions the only ) Wonder Woman of tv celebrates her 62nd birthday so I thought it´s about time to put the spotlight on DC´s amazon princess.

I already did a post about the Wonder Woman tv show and one about Lynda Carter´s other tv and movie appearances on her 60th birthday and since there´s nothing I could add to it let´s talk about the comic instead.

Right now the new incarnation of Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang ( occasionally ) is one of the few good books of the NEW 52 and I´m eagerly awaiting the third hardcover which comes out in September so there´s really nothing I could say about that which I haven´t already said. But, as coincidence would have it - and I really don´t believe in coincidences - just Yesterday I started re - reading John Byrne´s WONDER WOMAN issues upon which I stumbled ( and I really almost stumbled over them the way the comic boxes were piled ) while putting my brother´s comics in order. I know, I probably shouldn´t do that but since he´s in Spain at the moment that´s a rare occasion I just had to use - think of it as an additional birthday gift if you will. Now, as with most comics my brother collects they are kept in several places so there still are some missing issues of John Byrne´s run. One of the main reasons I wanted to give it another go was that I wasn´t sure what exactly happened in those issues but I also wanted to see if they would hold up after all this time.Or rather if the reading experience would be different with a bit of distance.

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES AND THE WORST OF TIMES

John Byrne came onto the book after a phenomenal run by William Messner - Loebs and Mike Deodato that was really all about fan service and booty. Not that there´s something inherently wrong with that. I mean, FINALLY somebody who could draw hot women was working on a book with a female lead character. And it was selling like cupcakes.

Who would have thought ? Here the two big comic companies were fighting against babe artists drawing books with female leads for decades as if their life depended on it and suddenly if happened.

And the ground didn´t break open and swallow all life on the planet, the earth didn´t stop spinning and the sky didn´t fall and no other apocalyptic scenario was played out. I guess it all was just superstition on part of the publishers. Well, it still is when you look at most of the output Today but while there didn´t happen too much storywise ( at least in the single issues ) there was enough eye candy in the issues to keep the readers happy. And I´m not excluding myself in the least bit. Heck, I have the original issues AND the german translations and I really didn´t need them to read again or compare both versions. It was just printed on better paper. But we all were enthralled. Even the german publishers - which at that time was DINO - started with those issues and closed the collection before reaching the Byrne issues because " they could not hold up to the high standard of the previous run " or something along those lines.

And that was what a lot of people thought about the John Byrne issues. For those not familiar with the storyline by William Messner - Loebs, the story started in THE CONTEST where Diana lost the title of Wonder Woman to Artemis in a contest. Artemis went out into " man´s world " to enforce peace by any means necessary while Diana donned a new black costume ( why have all new costumes to be black ? ) and did her own thing. After issues of Diana wondering if she really helped to promote the idea of peace between the sexes in man´s world the grand scheme behind all was revealed. Diana´s mom Hippolyta, queen of the amazons, rigged the contest because she had a vision that something would happen to Wonder Woman. It was also implied that Herakles was her father.

Which made more sense than her father being Zeus like it is in the NEW 52 since there already was an established history with Herakles and the amazons. What I always found a bit hard to swallow was the different approach to this part of Herakles´ or Hercules´ story by DC and Marvel.

I mean after Dan Slott defamed Starfox as a rapist in one of the most ridiculous stories in a long line of ridiculous stories in the She Hulk series I halfway expected him to tarnish Hercules next. Although because there was no equivalent to Wonder Woman in the Marvel universe I don´t know who would have sued Hercules. But they mostly keep quiet about it and I think the only time it was really addressed was in issue 2 of AVENGERS / JLA by Kurt Busiek and George Perez ( which is really required reading for any fan of the Avengers, the Justice League or comics in general ) when Wonder Woman is all gun ho about opening a can of whupass on Herc and he´s all : " Hey, what´s the big deal here ? I didn´t do nothing wrong. "

I mean the way Hercules is always written in the Marvel universe I doubt he would even realize it if he had treated the amazons badly. Or if he had he would just downplay the whole bit as just a minor jest.

Anyway, back to Wonder Woman and John Byrne I have to say I really didn´t like it when I first read it. Because when John Byrne takes over a book he´s not gonna do the same thing the guys before him did. John Byrne´s doing his thing when he´s doing his thing. And in the case of Wonder Woman it meant using all the shiny Jack Kirby toys like Darkseid and the New Gods and Metron ( who is neither of Apokalips nor of New Genesis as the Byrnster himself never gets tired of reminding readers in later runs ) and Etrigan and dozens of other guest stars.

And I was really not that impressed by the whole storyline. Although I have to say that even upon the second reading and now with me having much more appreciation of the whole Jack Kirby stuff and John Byrne as a creator the first five to six issues are still kind of a hard sell. Byrne needs a few issues before he really starts to get a feeling for the characters and he has a direction for the whole thing.

PARADISE ISLAND LOST ( OR RATHER BYRNED TO THE GROUND )

The whole exodus from Paradise Island seems more of a statement than really story relevant and I think it could have been achieved without destroying Paradise Island and such a high body count for the amazons. You can just realize that it´s not your thing at the moment and just walk away to search for your place in the grand scheme. It doesn´t always have to be life and death and doom and gloom even if it´s comic books.

Another thing I didn´t like was the new costume John Byrne gave Wonder Woman. I had expected a more traditional costume after the flashdance outfit she got from Deodato but this new costume was just - well, lazy. Just two stars on each side of the pants, a tiara that´s much to big to be anything than a distraction during fights and the new size of her bracelets was just ridiculous. Now I know that drawing all those stars on the pants really takes a lot of time and John just wanted to do his own thing but back then it just looked lazy to me. What I DID like very much was the way John Byrne drew Wonder Woman in her civilian threads when she goes " undercover " in the first issue. For all I cared she could have worn jeans, a t - shirt and the ponytail for the whole issue. It really is strange how the biggest differences in her looks has to do with her hair.

  
Deodato´s black costume aside, the only other time her look changed drastically was when later on they cut her hair. It sounds sexist and ever since India Arie we all know " I am not my hair " but it´s also true. 

But as I look on the clock it´s once again time to wrap things up. I wanted to write a bit more but for some strange reason my security program had to do a full scan which slowed things down a bit.

So, let´s get to the meat and potatoes right away. I really did enjoy the whole run much more so far which could have something to do with the fact that I was explicitly reading because of John Byrne and was ready for all the usual tropes he uses. In fact I was strongly expecting it. I relished appearances by characters like Cave Carson and hisspelunking crew going to the center of the earth or the Phantom Stranger and Etrigan although I have to say I liked him much more in the BLOOD OF THE DEMON series John Byrne did a few years later. Initially I even thought new Wonder Woman supporting character officer Mike Schorr appeared in that series but it was just another guy who looked like him. Mike gets a lot of play in John Byrne´s run ( even knowing that his main purpose is providing exposition for the readers ) and he´s just fun to read.

Another delight is reading the letters pages especially with the hindsight of knowing what will come in a few decades down the road. So, sorry, partner but you will have to suffer the new Wonder Girl for quite a few decades. She will be in Young Justice and eventually even become a full fledged member - and for a time even leader - of the Teen Titans.

Or, like a great philosopher once said : Sorry about your damn luck !

  
Wonder Girl says : " This is just the beginning. Suffer, dude ! "

Last but not least I have to mention the covers. During the run by Mike Deodato - and at least 30 issues before that - Brian Bolland was just churning out one brilliant cover after another.

He really doesn´t do much interior work anymore so losing this parade of instant masterpieces in favor of John Byrne made the transition just more painful for me. As big a fan as I am of John Byrne, give me a Brian Bolland cover any day. But this is a bit eased once Jose Luis Garcia Lopez takes over as regular cover artist. Like Brian Bolland he really should do more stuff and that man can´t draw a subpar picture - ever. I mean, just look at this cover below. My god, what a master of perspective and composition. He even makes Kyle´s threads and the Zapp - Superman costume look good which is really no small feat in itself.

So maybe I can read more Wonder Woman issues Tomorrow. I´m slowly coming to the part with the missing issues which is right in the middle of Hippolyta´s new / oldadventures as Wonder Woman with the Justice Society and the whole re - re - re - writing of Donna Troy´s origin.

Why do they always have to do that ? It´s like a scab and the writers just keep poking at it and poking at it until it pops. And it gets worse and more convoluted each time. I know that it´s probably a tradition or a rite of passage for writers to write one WHO IS DONNA TROY ? story but that´s one part of John Byrne´s run I´m really not looking forward to. I just wonder into how big of a trainwreck DC is going to turn this storyline into in the NEW 52 continuity now that they seem to have run out of new ideas and started to milk old stories like the death of Robin.

IT`S THAT WONDERFUL FEELING OF DEJA VUE AGAIN

No post is complete without some covers from my DEJA VUE section and since I mentioned the whole " Who is Donna Troy / Wonder Girl ? " thing I wanted thise covers but then I remembered that I already did that. So instead here´s Donna Troy making a splash with her new costume.

 
Anyway, I wanted to put this on the blog Today since while it was a really exhausting day with sudden bouts of rain during work - and at the last minute - and all Tomorrow ( or better Today since it´s already past three o´clock ) is my special day and I want to just chill. I just hope I have bought everything I need and that the only time I have to leave the house is to go to the ice cream parlor for an extra big ice cream bowl. I hope you have a great Wonder Woman Day, you all.

In my last post I put a video of a Roger Corman video at the end and since it will probably take a while longer than planned before I can do that post here is another one that is really worth watching. It´s an adaption of Edgar Allen Poe´s THE PREMATURE BURIAL in which a few changes have been made that don´t distract from the enjoyment of the movie.
 


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Solicitations - done in one

This is a new record. Because of the last exhaustive solicitations round there is not that much left to say about this month's new solicitaions.


Keeping my distance to all speculations about what's going to happen with the death of Batman and Pa Kent.....which I will believe when I see it......and tired of telling you how bad BRAND OLD DAY is there is not much left. So I can finish it all in this post. But before that....

SOMEBODY STOP ED MCGUINESS !


I really mean it. I'm as big a fan as anybody but this is just too much. Nothing against the occasional Ed McGuiness variant cover. I am all for it - I mean the variant for Captain America was just awesome. But let's not get carried away. If someone can do 5 ( in words : five !!! ) covers in one month this person has a lot of free time besides his monthly comic duties.


Or he's using the additional time he has because Frank Cho and Artur Adams are working on Hulk for some work on the side. That's not what fill - in artists are for. The idea is to help the regular artist to regain some leeway. No matter what the case is here - somebody like maybe an editor - should channel that energy into interior pages. Because as nice as the covers are they are nothing compared to comic pages by Ed McGuiness. It doesn't even have to be a full story. A five page story in an anthology would be enough. The book would sell only because of the Ed McGuiness pages.


And what's up with Ed McGuiness' ULTIMATES storyarc ? Don't think we've forgotten all about that, Marvel. You promised us that you would publish the one who finished first : Joe Madureiras or Ed McGuiness. Well, the story from Joe Madureiras is finished ( I can only guess since I haven't read the last two issues yet ) and since you put Ed McGuiness on the new Hulk book that must mean he has finished too. So when is that coming out ?


Or do you want to leave your readers hanging like with the ULTIMATE HULK / WOLVERINE mini that is reprinted this month ? I don't want to be sarcastic but am I the only one who thinks that it's unnecessary to reprint issue 1 of this ? I bet there are still hundreds of copies at the comnic dealers because people were waiting for issue 2.

Back to Ed McGuiness : get that man some interior stuff to work on. Whatever he wants. I don't care what. As long as it's not connected to BLAND NEW DAY.

Now what's up with the rest of the solicitations ?

BLACK PANTHER 1


Marvel tries to vitalize the franchise with a new number 1. Again. I haven't read the last ten issues or so but to me it seems like they just did the last restart a few months ago. And the problem with the book was more that after the departure of John Romita Jr. they didn't manage to get a suitable replacement. They had Scott Eaton for two storyarcs but they just didn't hang onto him. And the Campbell cover is nice but if they don't bring their a - game to it they can just as well scratch the whole relaunch. No matter how good it's written if you only put second - and third - stringers on the art it's never going to be in the top spots.

NOVA 22


You are probably already reading Nova. So I don't have to tell you how great the book is, how it manages to throw you a curveball when you least expect it or how it ties into SECRET INVASION. You already know that and I don't have to lose another word about one of Marvel's best series. I just wanted to post the cover because for me this is the cover of the month.

If there was such a thing. And if I got to vote on it.

Anyway, I just like the simple yet effective design. And it tells you something about the story. How neat is that ?

SHE HULK 38


Final issue ! Well, I have to say that doesn't surprise me much. I'm more astonished it lasted this long. I already wrote something about this in my post THE SLOW DEATH OF SHE HULK were I foretold that the days of the title were numbered. I mean you just have to look at the track record : after the awful start with Bobillo they finally managed to get an a - grade artist like Paul Pelletier. They got good reviews from comic critics and a solid fanbase. And then Marvel restarts it without Pelletier and the whole crazy storylines by Dan Slott that made no sense like the Starfox as a rapist or She Hulk humping whoevers available ( and Wolverine doesn't ) or the whole " if you are special you need help " fiasko.....it didn't take a fortuneteller to see where this was headed.

What's funny is that if you are special like She Hulk and use the powers gamma radiation gave you people like Dan Slott say you are sick and need help. Because it's unnatural. If somebody like Brad Pitt uses the advantage he has over other people ( fame, money, good looks ) that's totally okay. For me that's a double standard.


Back to the train wreck that is She Hulk. Marvel still hasn't managed to get top artists on the book of their favorite character - and with that I don't mean the editors. She Hulk is the number one character among fans and artists alike so you can't tell me that it's difficult to get good people for the series. We have heard the argument again and again that there are also females reading the book but it seems that their number is not so great that it's enough to keep the title alive.

The average reader is still male so the main character should look accordingly. And I have to say : the current costume is not a good one. If you don't want to do a decent costume you should go all the way : just give her something to wear like this.


That's not much better but at least this way you get more readers.

THE SPIRIT 26


Not much to say about the book after last month. The reason why I chose this one is the cover artist. Brian Bolland is one of the big comic masters and one of the few who's able to tell a story in one single picture. With today's covers that mostly have nothing to do with the interior story and mostly just consist of a nice pin up that's a rare gift.

And that's all. Nothing mor to say about the new solicitations so next time we will return to our usual comic ramblings and hijinks. Who knows ? I might even get to do the post about Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.


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Solicitations Part 2

Yesterday I didn´t get to finish my comments about the solicitations so today I´m going to continue right were I left off.

Superman Confidential 9


Another series that´s not on my pull list. But I´m reading this one. At first I was reluctant to buy another Superman related series but since it´s drawn by Tim Sale I bought the first issues in Essen last year and so far it´s really good. At the moment I don´t plan to read after the storyarc done by Sale but if this cover is any indication of what comes next maybe I should stick around a little further.

I mean I really dig all those Kirbycreations and the whole Fourth World concept. And any comic with Darkseid is okay in my book. Of course it all depends on the art being the same as on this cover. We´ll have to wait and see.

Teen Titans 54


This book has now been on the chop block twice. I only had it on my pull list till issue 50 comes out because of the George Perez art in that issue. Right now it seems that the storyline will get more exciting and it´s about time. I guess I´m still waiting to find out who will be the new regular artist. I mean, can it really be so difficult to draw one of DC´s best books ? The cover looks nice so maybe this is the new creative team - that will hopefully stay around a little longer.

Man, I hate to sound so negative but it just annoys me to no end if every three issues a new, spectacular creative team is announced. I suffered through Rob Liefeld for heaven´s sake. Rob Liefeld !!! Isn´t it about time I got a little Teen Titans Love from DC ?

Hmm, that sounds like the title for a real good comic. Teen Titans Love. Have to make a mental note of it.

Avengers classified 7


Nothing to add since my last comments on the title. The covers by Arthur Adams are astounding but right now I don´t have the necessary budget for a reprint book of old Avenger stories. And I´m not that big a fan of Michael Avon Oeming to buy it for his back up stories. The reason why I´m mentioning it at all is a certain female that´s featured on the cover. Here let me show you which part of the cover I´m refering to :


Yes, I´m talking about the lovely enchantress who has now officially qualified to participate in one of the next rounds ( no pun intended ) of comicbabe battle. Now, am I the only one who whishes that Arthur Adams would do more comics and not only the occasional cover ? When I think about it always reminds me that we missed our opportunity to read a honest Johnny Future porn comic because of Alan Moore´s weird ideas. Who wants to buy that ? Let´s leave the erotic and pornographic content to the stories involving little girls. That makes more sense. Thank you, Alan Moore !

Avengers the Initiative 8


The Initiative was another book that I didn´t put on my pull list but that I´m actually reading. Since I am a little money conscious at the moment and I was a little suspect of all the books that were announced as CIVIL WAR spin offs I thoought I could do without it. And like with NEW WARRIORS the book was better than I expeceted. Due to all the online previews I really got a hankering for some Initiative and hoped I would get some issues as a birthday present. No such luck. I had to get them myself.

And UNLIKE New Warriors I was able to find the first issues. The art looks better than in the CIVIL WAR : YOUNG AVENGERS / RUNAWAYS miniseries which has a great deal to do with the coloring that´s not as mangaesque and poppy. I really dig that Marevl is finally using their b - and c - list characters more which is also the reason why I chose this cover. Because it shows for the first time ( on the cover I mean ) one of the big surprises of Avengers the Initiative : Slapstick !

That´s right. I´m one of the readers who have all four issues of Marvel´s funniest superhero. Hey, I was young, it was drawn by James Fry and I had money to burn. We all have some corpses hidden in the closet that is our comic collection. It´s just so mindblowing that Dan Slott is using a character as obnoxious as Slapstick that the only two words that come to mind are : totally Airwolf ! Now Dan Slott´s Thing may have been canceled before it really got good, his GREAT LAKE AVENGERS never reached their real potential and his She Hulk was a total disaster. But so far Dan Slott is bringing his a - game to this book and making all the right moves.

Captain Marvel 2


There have been some negative comments about Marvel bringing back Mar - Vell but so far no issue has come out so I will wait with any comments till I have had the chance to actually read the book. From the beautiful Ed McGuiness cover it looks like Ms. Marvel will make a guest appearance which could be interesting. So far her own book hasn´t been exactly mindblowing.

And speaking of Ed McGuiness I don´t know but I seem to recall that Marvel announced last year that he would do one of the next seasons of Ultimates together with Jeph Loeb. And that he would start at the same time as Joe Madureiras on his season.

I wonder if that´s still true since Marvel announced last month that Ed McGuiness would be the artist on a new monthly Hulk title / the regular Hulk title. Does that mean that he already finished his Ultimates run but Marvel decide not to print it and start with the Ultimates run of Madureiras ? Or did Marvel tell him to stop drawing Ultimates because they wanted to cash in the Hulk´s momentary popularity thanks to WORLD WAR HULK ? I don´t know but if he really starts drawing a new Hulk title it means nothing good for the future of Ultimates. Maybe they don´t WANT the book to come out on a regular basis.

Marvel Adventures Avengers 19


Tom Grummet should not do covers. No, what I mean is Tom Grummet should not be doing ONLY covers. He too good to not work on a regular title. Come one, he could do Teen Titans. At least we could get an artist who can do more than three issues in a row.

He had a terrific run on THUNDERBOLTS ( even if the inks were almost nonexistent ) and he has already done some issues of the new Teen Titans series. In fact he has done some of the best issues of the new series.

Penance 4


Okay, maybe it´s just me but the first thing that went through my mind was : Latex convention in Latveria ! I´m not sure if that´s really what´s happening in the comic but it looks like Penance is seeking some guidance of Marvel´s number one sadomaso freak with a metal mask. Maybe he comes for the personal ad " European Monarch and the world´s most brilliant inventor sells iron maiden to make room for new inventions to KILL REED RICHARDS !!!! " in the Daily Bugle. I guess that would make a perfect sleeping furniture now that Speeball´s on this new " No Pain No Powers " trip.

Punisher 53


No, I´m still not reading the Ennisher but I just thought that´s a really clever cover. Real simple but it still tells you everything you need to know.

Ultimates Season 3 issue 1


They really did it. Marvel solicitated the first issue of Joe Madureiras run on ultimates. I guess that means he finished his run before Ed McGuiness and they have all issues in the can. Because that´s what Marvel announced if I remember it right. Both art teams would start at the same time and whoever finishes his run first is the one who gets published first. Right ?

Anyway, like I wrote in another message board : I´m not going crazy simply because they finally announced it. I´ll wait till I have actually bought and read the first issue. Then I´ll be happy. And then I´ll wait how long it takes till the next two issues are coming out. Maybe then I´ll start doing a little victory dance. But so far Mr. Madureiras track record is no indication of celebration. And maybe he will finish Battle Chasers one day.

Wildstorm Fine Arts Jim Lee


Okay, I might not be the greates comic expert ( and maybe I am ) but is it really such a good idea to remind readers how good GEN 13 used to be ? I know that I wouldn´t show my audience just how much the title has deteriorated over the years. That after totally loosing sight of what made the book successful every new incarnation had worse writing and worse art. No, I would do my best to make my readers forget how good GEN 13 was in the beginning so that they would never realize how much the actual series sucks. But hey, maybe I´m wrong.

Presents 2 ( ??? )


Okay, I have no idea if that´s the actual name of the comic, what´s it all about or who even publishes the damn thing. I just know one thing : those covers really creep me out. Yes. Really creep me out. I´m a huge fan of horror comics, horror books, horror movies and just everything horror related. But those are just some of the creepiest covers I´ve ever seen. And I´ve seen a lot.

Really. Creep. Me. Out. Brrrrrr.


And with Marc Silvestri´s slick cover to X - Factor 26 ( and the hope to see more interior art from him in the future ) we are finally at the end of todays look on the new solicitations. It´s a little late but that was never what this blog is all about and I hope you found my comments a little entertaining. At least some of them. And I hope I didn´t bitch too much. Because despite all the negative things I say from time to time there are tons of good books out there. If I finally get around to read them like MIGHTY AVENGERS, SUPERMAN or NEW WARRIORS. Guess I have to wait for the trade to read the last one. Okay, enough of my ramblings I hope you have a nice weekend, lots of good comics to read and we´ll see each other next time when hopefully comicbabe battle continues.

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Finally a new post !

I have been working on a new post for quite some time but every time I write a new introduction for it I can not post it. So I decided to post the few lines I DO have up until now to show you I´m still alive and posting.

Now I wanted to post the usual list of comics I have read since last post but the list gets longer every week. These are the few comics I had the chance and time to write about until now. The rest will follow as soon as I can get to it but for some reviews I will have to reread the issues because it´s been so long. So without any further ado here is how far I have gotten ( along with the introduction I wrote a month ago ) :

This is the end of summer ! It´s official now : the last days it has been raining...no, pouring and next week it is probably time to dig out the sweaters and the rest of the winter clothes. The weeds are growing like crazy at the museum and you can´t go anywhere without an umbrella. Luckily somebody forgot his umbrella at the museum so I´m using that one.

It´s been a few weeks since I found the time to write something new for my blog. At the end of last month my younger brother came back from his vacation in Spain which normally means three things : comics, comics and more comics. And DVDs. Uncut DVDs. Since most movies are only available in a censored version ( even movies like DOUBLE DRAGON or LILO & STITCH are censored ) in Germany we buy most movies in the uncut spanish version. Which is kind of difficult for guests who don´t dominate the spanisch language but that´s the price you have to pay. Anyway, since there are more comics available in Spain and they are cheaper our luggage on the return trip is loaded with 80 percent comics ( the rest is for clothes and DVDs ). When I go down there I usually go with a small handbag with clothes and return with a big suitcase full of comics. So the last days I have been reading some of the comics my brother brought from Spain as well as the ones I normally read.

But I didn´t post since my brother has to catch up to four weeks without internet ( me too ) and the reviews have been piling up - as well as my comics. So my comments are mostly about two or more issues from the same series. I hope that prevents most of the spoilers and gives a more rounded picture about the issues. On to the comics :

Comics from my brother´s pull list

Sidekick 1 and 2 - As a comicfan who reads a lot of superhero comics I´m always sceptical when another series is announced that just wants " to poke some fun at superhero comics " because mostly those comics are either from people who don´t " get " superhero comics or indy comic artists who whine all the time that superhero comics are more successful than whatever it is they are doing. So most superhero " satire " is just an excuse to get rid off all the pent up hate and frustration with storylines that just are there so comic book artist " X " can show us how stoopid, unrealistic and ridiculous superheroes are . And we were all better off reading serious comics like Vertigo or Indy Comic X. I always wondered who is the target audience for such comics ? The readers of superhero comics who will suddenly realize how they have wasted their lives and run out and trade it all for " better " comics ? The readers who already hate superhero comics so that they all together can have fun ?

Now if you have already read some of those comics who " absolutely love superheros but focus on the funny aspects of it " then you have read the good three there are - and all the others who all seem the same. There are a few recurring themes in all of those. Of course most superheroes who have sidekicks ( who are younger and male ) are gay. Must be.

There can be no other explanation for two guys working together. So, for any of you out there who have male coworkers - you better watch out !

Although you may not know it, you might already be gay. Another theme is that the superheroes themselves are totally incompetend and only their sidekicks know what is really going on. And the hero is either impotent ( if he is not gay already ) or so square that his girlfriend or his significant other ( in most cases a reporter trying to find out the super hero´s secret identity - how original ) has to go somewhere else for a little bit of action. Now there must also be some big conspiracy involved and the only one who knows it is our hero who - of course - gets ignored by all the other big shot superheroes. That are just a few of the cliches you will find in most superhero spoofs.

Now why the long winded explanation to the cliches ?

Because - sadly - you will find most of them in Sidekicks. In spite of the fact that Paul Jenkins has worked in the superhero genre before with some excellent results that broke the cliches, in this series there is nothing you haven´t seen before. The only new idea is that the main protagonist tries to earn more money by playing sidekick for four heroes at the same time. Now, I´m no expert but if you are a pizza delivery boy and the sidekick to a superhero and you want to earn more money .... would you really choose the job you hate more of the two to get more money ? Wouldn´t it make more sense to punch in more hours for the pizza delivery company when you don´t have to work as a sidekick ? Or even get another source of income ? Like another job or selling some valuable information to supervillains or paparazzis like his greatest weaknesses or his secret identity ? I mean this guy is sleeping with the big hero´s chick but it would be beneath him to rat the hero out ?

It´s really not convincing that someone who has to take a lot of abuse in one job goes for four times the abuse.

The art was something I have not seen before. Which in this case was a good thing because it´s not that exciting. I will keep on reading the issues my brother buys but for the moment it´s not a series I can recommend to anyone. Because even if you are somebody who doesn´t like superheroes if you really want to get your money´s worth I suggest to invest it in some issues of Marshall Law. Or if you want entertaining superhero satire and slam bang action buy some issues of Warren Ellis´ N.E.X.T.W.A.V.E. Death to the fleshy ones !

  
Comics from my own pull list

Thing 8 - This is the final issue. Why is it that every time I decide to put a new comic on my pull list to give it a chance it gets cancelled ? Maybe Dan Slott just writes the wrong kind of stories for the new Marvel. He´s trying to bring in more fun and Marvel just goes all CIVIL WAR on his ass. Now for all the comic fans who are reading the series I don´t have to tell you how funny and entertaining this series has been. You already know that Dan Slott writes the best characterization of the Thing we have seen in a long time - maybe even better than J.M.S who´s currently writing the First Family of Marvel. The art is by Kwyeron Dwyer and I didn´t expect anything less. Did you really think Andrea DeVito would come back to the title after it´s been cancelled ? He´s hopefully working on his next series and delivering his mind blowing art that seems to get better and better. This issue is the big finale, the big poker tournament and also the big farewell to the title.

As a nice touch Dan has also included the Great Lakes Avengers...X - Men....Champions or whatever they are called at the moment. Squirell Girl rules. She should definitely get her own series. Maybe with a few guest stars. Like that team of Avengers that hasn´t the words " young ", " new " or " westcoast " in it´s name. You know the one with the really cool members.

Now if you don´t have read the series be sure to get the trade paperback because this comic is definitely worth your money. And while you´re at it get also the Great Lake Avengers Trade by Dan Slott and Paul Pelletier. It´s one of the best stories ever written with the GLA and the art by Paul Pelletier alone is worth the price of admission.

Red Sonja 10 to 12 - This title is now officially dropped from my pull list. I think one year of sensless, unexciting stories and poor unfinished art is enough. I gave the book a chance although I´m not a big fan of " straight from pencil art " comics because I think a good inker adds his unique part to the comic. So, knowing I would not love the art I hoped for good stories but for now I´m still waiting for that one FUCK YEAH moment. And it´s not bad enough that they changed her origin to the biggest cliche for women in comics, no, it get´s mentioned every two issues. What is this ?

As for the variant cover I think of all 12 issues I got 6 I really liked like George Perez´ cover for issue 12. Which is not enough to keep the series. So maybe there will be another series about Red Sonja that I can enjoy.


X - Men Sonderheft Generation M - Now this comic contains all five issues of Generation M for only 6,95 EUROs at a whopping 116 pages. It´s 3 bucks cheaper than the US trade and I´m mentioning it because I´m always bitching about german versions being more expensive than the originals. So it´s only fair to spotlight the issues that are a real bargain. And with this comic you can´t really complain.

Genaration M is written by Paul Jenkins ( the same writer like SIDEKICKS - see comment above ) and drawn by Ramon Bachs ( one of my paisanos how we say in Spain ) and tells the story about the effects of the end of the HOUSE OF M storyline. It´s told from the perspective of Sally Floyd, a reporter for the newspaper THE ALTERNATIVE who reports the changes that ripple throughout the mutant community. Ramon Bachs art looks solid though a little sketchy but I´m not sure if that was a deliberate decision by him to get an edgier, more realistic look or just a product of tight deadlines. Doesn´t matter anyway since although I like his cleaner style more it works very well with the story. Which is my main beef - the story.

The first thing that bugged me is that the main character is just too full of cliches to really get a live and voice of her own. It seems all female reporters in comics are the same. They are always on a downward spiral of drug abuse, preferably alcoholism, self loathing and some unresolved trauma in most cases the loss of a child. They always are nothing but trouble for their editors but they always get some leeway because they used to be star reporters and at the end of the story they will get the big scoop. And at the end they always give some speech at an assemblance, preferably alcoholics anonymous, that´s uplifting and inspiring.

Because that´s so realistic. I can´t help myself but the whole alcohol problem of Sally looks like the writer couldn´t get a handle on her trauma because she lost her child. Like that wasn´t strong enough she had to be an alcoholic on top off that. The only problem is that it is not very logical that a mother would be drinking as long as her child needed her. If she would have begun with the substance abuse after the death that would be understandable like plunging into a deep, black hole where nothing matters anymore. But the whole self destruction while her kid hangs onto life just goes against the realism the story is shooting for.

There are other parts of the story that I didn´t like...like the fact that while the mutants should be the main focus the writer is much too enamored with his main character and gives her too much stage time. We never really learn how big the fallout of House of M is and if there are really more than the few dozen mutants affected than we see in these issues. But maybe that´s just a clever marketing ploy so that people buy the 198 series. And it´s only a rumor that 198 is the exact number of mutant related series Marvel is going to publish this year. Onto the story. The end of the story was a bit strange and the whole resolution seemed rushed and shoehorned. Some things don´t really make sense but at least we don´t have to suffer the whole " Hi, my name is ( fill in name ) and I´m an alcoholic. " speech. So for longtime X - Men readers this story will not be very entertaining while readers not so familiar with the mutant population and more interested in series like THE PULSE or ALIAS might possibly get their money´s worth. For me the whole comic was just too full of unnecessary cliches. I think a writer like Paul Jenkins should not have to resort to these crutches.

Last Planet Standing 1 to 5 - I finally got the last issue of this miniseries so I could red it all in one sitting. The story would have worked better before the annoncement of the second Spider - Girl series was made ( good move by Marvel to start with a new number one. They almost had a title with a female lead that lasted more than 100 issues in a row ) and everyone knew the MC2 universe would live on. So the big suspense if the universe survives misses from this series BUT it has everthing else in it. From the beautiful art of the early Spider - Girl issues to top notch writing and guest starring almost every superhero of the MC2 universe. And while we all know that the universe will survive we still don´t know how. So for all MC2 fans or readers of Spider - Girl this is required reading. And for all who want to check out the MC2 universe - here is your chance.

Last Planet Standing 1 / issue 3 / issue 4 / issue 5

Blood of the Demon 17 - Okay, the last thing I heard was that BLOOD OF THE DEMON is going to end with issue 18. So why is issue 17 the last one ? Anyway, this is the last one and John Byrne pulls out all the stops. You want to know how many Etrigans you will get for 2 bucks 99 ? Not one Etrigan. Not two Etrigans. No - three Etrigans for the price of one. Three Etrigans in a no - holds - winner - takes - it - all slugfest in best last - man - standing - manner to end all survivor series. Who will survive ?


The final end wraps everything up very nicely ( kind of like on Doom Patrol ) and though some readers may find it a little bit cheating I´m okay with it. Of course I will always wonder how the story would have ended if John Byrne would have had the time to finish it ( as most of the stories that have started don´t really play out their full potential ) but that´s just another big WHAT IF for now. Luckily the new series with art by John Byrne THE ALL NEW ATOM has already started so I don´t suffer from Byrne deprivation.

So that´s all for today. It seems that I have gone from daily posts to every two days and then to none. Maybe with a little luck I can now get on to weekly posts although my brother has new plans to sabotage my blog ( more successful then he has done till now ) by trying to install a new graphic programm - not onto the computer to which I have no access because it´s reserved for work purposes only but onto this one who initially was solely bought to surf. We will see how that works out.

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By the power of Castle Grayskull !