Comic Coverage

Recommended Reading: "Men of Tomorrow"

I don't intend to do many reviews or product plugs, but I have to make an exception for this one.

The book is Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book, by Gerard Jones.

The gritty history hinted at by Michael Chabon's fictional Adventures of Cavalier and Clay is fully realized and expanded upon by Jones, as he explores the beginnings of the industry we only think we know so well.

What I found most fascinating was the historical prelude we normally don't get in the more sugar-coated histories of the comics biz, namely its strange pairing of shady pornographers with the nascent sci-fi geek culture of the 1930's.  The lives and fortunes of a handful of key individuals are traced through the ensuing decades, such as the dimunative publishing "giant" Harry Donnenfeld and his right-hand man Jack Liebowitz, counterbalanced by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman.  Many other recognizeable names are touched upon as well (scrappy Jack Kirby's offer to beat up a mob goon is a classic), going all the way through to the modern corporate culture of the 1970's.

When I bought the book last year, I couldn't put it down.  It had information and anecdotes I'd never heard before....amazing considering the number of histories I've read.  It's at once exhilarating, illuminating, hilarious, and heartbreaking. If you're a fan of comics and their creators, this book is a "must" for your collection.  Click on the Amazon link below to get yourself a copy!  Do it....before Jack Kirby punches you out!

Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters and the Birth of the Comic Book

Recommended Reading: "The Krypton Companion"

As an amateur "historian" of the comics biz, I've been a big fan of TwoMorrows Publishing for many years.  Their devotion to honoring the creative people who invented and sustained the artform is second to none, and can be seen in every one of their in-depth and superbly produced publications.  Whether it's an overview of an influential artist's career, a magazine devoted to examining specific aspects of the artform (such as drawing or writing techniques) or the hobby of comic book collecting, TwoMorrows can't be beat.

With that said, TwoMorrows has surpassed their own (already high) standards with The Krypton Companion, a 240-page overview of the Silver and Bronze Age Superman (a period stretching from the late 1950's through the mid-80's).

Broken into four broad categories, the chronology covers not only the important milestones in the comics themselves, but the creators as well.  All of the writers, artists and editors from that period are vividly brought to life through biographies and interviews...and when I say "all", I mean ALL of them.  Editor Michael Eury has compiled an exhaustive number of articles and interviews covering virtually everyone who helped guide the Superman character for an entire generation.  Obviously, some of those folks merited more coverage than others (such as legendary editor Mort Weisinger, his successor Julius Schwartz, and long-time penciller Curt Swan), but everyone else gets at least a little time in the spotlight.

The icing on the cake is the generous amount artwork, photos and rare artifacts spread throughout the book, many of them seeing publication for the first time.  This rich imagery makes the already interesting interviews and articles all the more fascinating to read. 

True, the book is aimed squarely at rabid Superman fans (like me), but even the more casual fan...or people who too easily dismiss this particular era of Superman comics, would find it an informative and enlightening experience.  Even if you don't warm up to this unique chapter in Superman's long history, you'll definitely gain an appreciation of the many craftsmen, personalities, and market forces that shaped the character for so many years.

Yeah, I know....Christmas has left your wallet a little thin, but trust me...it's worth every penny and every minute of your time.

Click here to order The Krypton Companion from Amazon.com!

Summer Reading: Dark Lord, The Rise of Darth Vader

"Two there should be; no more, no less.
One to embody power, the other to crave it."

– Darth Bane

Of all the Star Wars fiction that Lucasfilm cranks out like sausage, the only books that hold any appeal for me are the ones involving major characters from the Star Wars movies...particularly Episodes IV through VI (otherwise known as "The Good Ones").

Sorry...I just can't get fired up about a Sith Lord from 7,000 years ago or the solo adventures of marginal characters like X-Wing pilot Wedge Antilles.  If I'm going to take the time to read a Star Wars novel, it's gotta focus on what I've termed "The Core Characters" (you know who they are).  Further raising the bar, I gravitate toward Core Character stories that take place within the time frame of the six Star Wars movies, preferrably immediately before or after a specific film.  For example, I'd much rather read Timothy Zahn's new Allegiance novel (taking place immediately after Star Wars IV: A New Hope) than his Thrawn Trilogy (which took place five years after Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi).  True, both settings feature many of the same Core Characters, but the ones tied closer to the movies just seem more relevant....at least to me.

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader easily fulfills both criteria, since it not only features Darth Vader (my favorite of the Core Characters), but also takes place immediately following the events of Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith.  In other words, a no-brainer book purchase....and the perfect book for my plane ride to and from San Diego.

Written by experienced Star Wars author James Luceno, Dark Lord delves into the mind of Anakin Skywalker as he comes to grips with his new existence as a cyborg and his complex relationship with his master Darth Sidious, a.k.a. Emperor Palpatine. By the way, I have plenty of plot details ahead, so consider yourself officially Spoiler Warned!

The Wheel of Time Turns

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass,
leaving memories that become legend. 
Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten
when the Age that gave it birth comes again. 

In one Age, called the Third Age by some,
an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose.... 
The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings
nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of time. 

But it was a beginning."

So began The Eye of the World (1990), Book One of Robert Jordan's sprawling Wheel of Time fantasy series.  Although the story featured many of the standard conventions of the fantasy genre, Jordan's vivid characters, breakneck pacing, and attention to detail won me over.  The next two books were equally entertaining.  In fact, The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn were so good, I signed on for the duration of the series....wherever it was Jordan wanted to take us.

Well, a funny thing sometimes happens when a writer suddenly has a best selling series on his hands.  Flush with the runaway success of their books, authors (with no argument from their publishers) will often "throw in the anchor" and drag the story out far longer than anyone could have ever predicted. 

Unfortunately, this is exactly what happened with The Wheel of Time.  Each book seemed to advance the story slower than the last, while the cast and scope of the story expanded to an almost comical level.  Jordan's once admirable eye for detail became a caricature of itself, as two or three pages at a time would be devoted to describing the architecture of a building, the minute details of a room, or a character's exquisitely embroidered collar.  The once-snappy pacing slowed to a snail's pace, as dry political maneuvering took the place of high adventure.

This dreary slog went on for a number of years, always with the hope that something....anything...would happen to keep me around.  Finally, exhausted with apathy, I threw in the towel at A Crown of Swords (Book Ten).  At that point, there was no end in sight for the series and Jordan had turned his attention to writing a prequel, of all things...so it appeared I made the right decision to leave The Wheel of Time behind.

Flash forward to the 2006 San Diego Comic Con, where Jordan (at eleven books and counting) announced that he would "finish the story in one more book even if it takes a 1500 page hardcover", making Book Twelve, A Memory of Light, the tentative final book of the series.

Sadly, it turns out that the Wheel of Time series will never be finished by Jordan, since he died this past Sunday of a rare blood disease at the tragically young age of 58.  God bless the man and his family for enduring such a long illness...and a tip of the hat to the still-loyal Wheel of Time fans who patiently waited for the finale that would never come.  Yes, apparently Jordan told a few people how he planned to end the story...and I'm sure there are enough notes and materials of Jordan's to piece something together...but still, what a blow to a once-promising series that had lost its way, yet was poised for a (potentially) spectacular send-off.

Despite the frustrations of the later books, I still have fond memories of the first five or six...especially The Great Hunt (my personal favorite of the entire series). A pity the distractions of the Best Seller Machine took Jordan's eye off the ball.  I certainly don't mean to give the impression I'm slamming a dead guy...but having been such a fan for so long, I can't help but feel bad for Jordan.  First, for losing his way through The Wheel of Time and, second, for never having the chance to finish it.

I suspect the problems with The Wheel of Time aren't unique.  Have any of you ever signed onto a series of books that eventually fell victim to its own success? (Books, not comics.  Meandering, artificially-padded stories are business as usual here in the comics world.)

Recommended Reading: Dean Koontz's FRANKENSTEIN

I love the novels of Dean Koontz for a whole laundry list of reasons...only one of which is how they can't easily be pinned down to any single genre.  With varying amounts of suspense, horror, mystery, science fiction and subtle satire, Koontz's novels are not only consistently entertaining, but "miracles of contradiction" as well.

What do I mean by that?

Simply this:  Despite the grim and terrifying situations, settings, and characters of his novels, there's always an overarching sense of morality at work that celebrates the love, hope, friendship and faith of good people as they battle against very real (and often very human) evil.  You'd think books featuring psychotic killers or accidents of genetic manipulation couldn't possibly convey a sense of hope or appeal to our better natures, but somehow Koontz manages to do just that.  That's not to say I don't enjoy his delightfully twisted, whacked-out bad guys...but ultimately it's the decent people populating his novels who really shine and make a lasting impression.

Though I've been an avid Koontz fan for years, I only recently found out about his Frankenstein novels.  Originally conceived as a TV series for the USA Network (with some involvement from Martin Scorsese), Koontz and his collaborator Kevin J. Anderson decided to incorporate their concepts into book form when good old "creative differences" ended their association with the USA project.

Often promoted as an "update" of the Frankenstein story, Prodigal Son and City of Night are actually a continuation of Mary Shelly's original tale.  Its premise is that Victor Frankenstein actually did create artificial life in the early 19th century, and that both the monster and its creator still live here in the 21st century.  The monster, now a wise immortal calling himself Deucalion* (ue-kay'-lee-uhn) is sustained through the supernatural power of the lightning that originally granted him life, while Victor Frankenstein continues to live by way of his own twisted science and iron will.

Victor, now known as biotech tycoon Victor Helios, is secretly creating a new race of humans to replace what he views as the imperfection and fragility of "The Old Race".  However, despite Victor's arrogant insistence that his creations are "perfect", they begin exhibiting disturbing quirks and macabre malfunctions that suggest a growing evil that not even their creator can prevent or even understand.

Stumbling into this deranged secret world while investigating a serial killer are New Orleans detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison, who eventually cross paths with the mysterious Deucalion and join his mission to destroy Victor Frankenstein.  Since the Frankenstein legend is every bit the pop cultural touchstone in the novel as it is here in the real world, you can imagine the shock of O'Connor and Maddison when they learned the true identities of their new plus-sized pal and his mad creator.

As vivid and compelling as the primary characters are, I can't forget to mention the secondary characters that occupy the Frankenstein books, particularly various members of the New Race.  Thought perfect by their maker, they struggle with forbidden emotions, heartbreaking bewilderment, wildly malfunctioning psyches, and monstrous mutations...as Koontz masterfully builds the growing chaos within Victor's clockwork universe to a fever pitch.

I recently finished Book One (loved it), I'm currently racing through Book Two (ditto), and I can hardly wait for Book Three (Dead and Alive) to be released next Spring...but even though I haven't completed the entire series yet, I can still confidently recommend them to anyone looking for a hugely entertaining read.

Yes, there was a television movie adaptation in 2004, and a comic book version of Prodigal Son (Book One) is supposedly on the way.  However, I would urge anyone interested in the story to avoid the cross-media adaptations and give the books a shot first.

* Since the creature's adopted name was never really explained in the novel, I did a little digging and found out that the name "Deucalion" comes from Greek Mythology.  Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, the Titan who gave forbidden fire to mortals.  The full title of Mary Shelly's original novel was Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus (referring to Victor Frankenstein).  Get it? That's exactly the kind of cool, understated detail I love about Koontz books.

A Clear and President Danger

What better occasion than Presidents' Day to look back at some rather shocking, uncharacteristic behavior from our country's two greatest Presidents?  On the cover of Rip Hunter...Time Master #23 (1964), we see what appears to be George Washington ordering the execution of Mr. Hunter...both of whom believe the other to be a British spy!

Flashing forward in time to Weird Western Tales #53 (1979), we see Abraham Lincoln in a heated arm-wrestling match with Scalphunter, a white man raised as an American Indian (with a portrait of George Washington gazing serenely over his left shoulder).

Of course, it's highly unlikely George Washington was visited by a time-traveling adventurer or a snarling Abraham Lincoln arm-wrestled a pseudo-Indian...so for those of you who might be interested in the real history of these amazing statesmen, here's a few "real" books I heartily recommend:

Washington: The Indispensable Man by James Thomas Flexner.  In this one volume distillation of his award-winning four volume Washington biography,  Flexner makes it clear that the United States we know today might never have come to be without this exceptional man and his remarkable leadership.  At the same time, Flexner does a wonderful job of humanizing his subject by exploring the many facets of Washington's life as a farmer, a soldier, and as a statesman.

Land of Lincoln: Adventures in Abe's America by Andrew Ferguson. This book isn't really a straight up biography, but in many ways, it's more interesting than one.  Throughout the book, Ferguson (a self-admitted Lincoln buff) visits a wide variety of people and places associated with our 16th President. Some are the places you'd expect (like a Lincoln museum), others not (like a convention of Lincoln impersonators, or another convention of Lincoln haters).  He also visits a number of die hard Lincoln memorabilia collectors, as well as history professors...who each seem to have their own wildly divergent opinions on who Lincoln was and what made him tick.  What emerges from this fascinating book is just how elusive the "real" Lincoln is, and how so many different groups project their own unique agendas or pet philosophies upon the man's legacy.  Carrying the book along is Ferguson's wonderful writing, which offers a bemused perspective on the touching, perplexing, hilarious, or downright strange permutations of Lincoln's enduring legend.

Recommended Reading: Wacky Packages!

Literally the minute I learned a Wacky Packages book was hitting stores in May, I pre-ordered a copy.

Why the uncharacteristic impulse buying?  Here's why: Although I was far too young to enjoy the 1967 debut of Topp's Wacky Packages stickers, I was the perfect age for their hugely successful revival in 1973. Featuring gross-out parodies of familiar consumer products, I can't emphasize enough how insanely popular these stickers were with my friends and I as we collected 'em, traded 'em, and (most of all) laughed at their clever humor. Well, clever to eight year-old boys, that is.

In the thirty-five years since then, "Wacky Pack" stickers have occasionally reappeared to crack-up and gross-out new generations...most recently in 2007...so with this kind of enduring popularity, a book celebrating their nostalgic nuttiness was a no-brainer addition to my bookshelf.

Well, the book finally arrived yesterday (as it turned out, the same day my copy of Kirby: King of Comics hit my mailbox), and Wacky Packages was exactly what I was hoping it would be. 

Weighing in at an impressive 240 pages, this 5" x 7" volume features all of the stickers from series one through seven (for a total of 223 Wacky Packages), many of them incredibly rare and hard to find.  Outside of a written introduction by artist Art Spiegelman and an afterward by humor writer Jay Lynch (both of whom helped create them back in the day), the pages are blessedly free of additional commentary and, instead, let the full-page Wacky Packages do all the talking.

As if large reproductions of these delightfully demented stickers weren't enough, the book has a few more pleasant surprises. The first one is the dust jacket. Printed on a paper stock with a curiously waxy texture, the jacket evokes the wax packets the original stickers were packaged in (along with those brittle slabs of bubble gum). The other nice surprise is a packet of four "lost" Wacky Package stickers that were produced but never included with the original sticker runs (perhaps because the humor was a little much for even Wacky Package standards). Throw in a handy alphabetized index and you've got yourself a thoroughly enjoyable survey of these mildly subversive classics.

Sure, there were a few negative points that bear mentioning. While the artists who illustrated the Wacky Packs were mentioned in Spiegelman's introduction, none of the sticker pages included art credits...which is kind of a shame.  I was also disappointed that the horizontally-oriented packages were printed horizontally on the page, which naturally made them smaller in appearance than the vertically-oriented packages.  Rotating the horizontal packages 90º would have allowed them to be the same size as the vertical packages, thus making the illustration details easier to see. Sure, the reader would have to rotate the book to view the rotated horizontal packages, but I wouldn't have minded performing the extra "work" to see them larger.

Still, those are some pretty minor glitches in an otherwise fantastic experience. If you're a fellow Wacky Pack fan, an aficionado of gross-out humor, or even a casual pop cultural observer (or know one), I highly recommend nabbing a copy of Wacky Packages (especially since the "lost" stickers are only included with the book's first printing).

Kirby: The King...or the Charlie Brown....of Comics?

From almost day one of becoming a comic book fan, I've been a fan of Jack Kirby's artwork.

Among my first comic book purchases was Marvel's Greatest Comics #57, which was a reprint of Fantastic Four #75. The story's artwork by someone named "Jack Kirby" was so dynamic and distinctive, it's no exaggeration to say that this single issue may have been what "set the hook" (to use a fishing term) and made me a comic book fan for life.

Later that year, a buddy of mine received his first issue of FOOM Magazine (Marvel's fan publication). Trumpeting "Jack's Back", the cover made it clear that this Jack Kirby guy was one important dude. This, paired with the stunning artwork from MGC #57, cemented my perception of Jack as a sort of demi-god of the comic book scene.

That perception was tempered somewhat as I grew older and became aware of various voices within the comic industry and their competing views of its own history. As with any large industry boasting such a long and organic history, the comic biz had (and continues to have) its share of competing perspectives, factions, and agendas.  Sadly, these divergent (sometimes contradictory) views of the same history can cloud the character and contributions of its most prominent architects...even a giant like Jack Kirby.

It's with this wary attitude that I now approach all comic book histories, knowing full well that its narrative often conforms to the perspective and proximity of the author. Even widely acclaimed comic book histories like Gerard Jones' Men of Tomorrow (which I recommended here) have a viewpoint not everyone is going to agree with or appreciate...so imagine my wariness as I approached Kirby: King of Comics by Mark Evanier, a long time Kirby acolyte and chronicler.

As the first of two Kirby biographies, this hardcover volume is intended to be a sort of "Silver Surfer" prelude to the more extensive "Galactus-sized" biography the author is still working on. Despite the streamlined approach of its "coffee table" format, Evanier still provides a brisk overview of not only Kirby's long career but also the early influences and attitudes that shaped it.

Of course, being primarily an "art book", the highlight of the book was the impressive amount and variety of artwork. From childhood sketches to his first professional gigs, from his Olympian heights to his twilight years, the book offers a comprehensive overview of Kirby's entire career....which, considering how prolific the man was, is no small accomplishment. Better yet, many of the images are reproduced from original artwork that Evanier procured from various sources, which alone justifies the purchase price.

However, as much as I enjoyed the artwork, Evanier's proximity to Kirby and his estate made the book read more as hagiography than biography. Sure, in some respects I was pleasantly surprised...such as Evanier often giving the benefit of the doubt to Stan Lee (a well-beaten pinata of Kirby partisans) and actually acknowledging (albeit passingly) various quirks of Kirby's personality that may have contributed to the other problem I had with the book: it's steady drumbeat of prosecution and victimhood.

Although the negative aspects of a life should never be ignored, Evanier seemed to wallow in negativity by portraying Kirby as little more than a hard working, yet hapless victim tossed this way and that by clueless and/or vindictive know-nothings. Ironically, in an effort to make Kirby look good by blaming most of his setbacks on the ungrateful or uncomprehending nitwits around him (which apparently included everyone except his wife Roz), Evanier makes Kirby come off as an insecure, paranoid masochist.  That's unfortunate, because the essense of Kirby I see in his artwork is full of joy, pride, and enthusiasm...and not the beaten-down wage slave of Evanier's depressing hard luck tale.

Personally, I would have loved to get more insights into the artwork itself, Kirby's working process, or any other "behind the scenes" glimpses into his marvelously creative mind, rather than the familiar litany of personal slights and corporate screw-overs allegedly inflicted upon the man. At one point, even the motivations of Kirby's various inkers were called into question in a quote by fellow inker (and Kirby pal) Mike Royer:

"I kept seeing other artists trying to make Kirby work
look like their work and impose their viewpoints..."

This quote sums up my irritation with the book. Royer, who should know better (at its core, the very act of inking another artist's pencils is "imposing" another viewpoint), instead characterizes the honest efforts of Kirby's fellow professionals in the worst possible light...as if they had some anti-Kirby agenda they were advancing. Worse yet, Evanier (for whatever reason) decided to include it. This is the spirit of persecution and finger pointing that characterizes so much of the book from Kirby's early career onward, and it's a damn shame Evanier chose to take the story of this man's interesting and influential life on such a low road.

I have no doubt matters between Kirby and his employers caused him and his family grief and aggravation...but at the same time, I don't think airing so much of that dirty laundry was the way to go, since it ultimately made everyone involved come across as petty and grasping...even Kirby himself.

Strangely, in the last chapter, Evanier characterizes Kirby's outlook during the final ten years of his life:

"The positive side won out, as it always had with Kirby."

Really, Mark? Now, Kirby may very well have "always" had a positive outlook, but it's a quality that rarely (if ever) surfaces in the preceding six chapters of "Somebody Done Him Wrong" songs....which is why I can only recommend this book on the strength of the artwork alone.  For those who thrive on the "Big Company Screws Little Guy" narrative, this book (and Evanier's larger volume) is definitely for you...but for me?  Eh...no thanks.

Wild Cards and Gadget Masters

Back in the late 80's and early 90's, I was a big fan of the Wild Cards series of science fiction novels. Created by popular writers with a mutual love for comic book heroes, the books explored an alternate history in which an alien "Wild Card" virus endowed some with superhuman powers ("Aces") and cursed others with bizarre mental and physical deformities ("Jokers"). Set during the latter half of the 20th century, the Wild Cards live through (and sometimes alter) the history we're familiar with...often with shocking and decidedly R-rated results.  

Sounds a bit like a rip-off of DC's Watchmen, doesn't it? Believe it or not, I don't think it was, since both Watchmen and Wild Cards were published at virtually the same time (1987). Whatever the case, one of my favorite elements (from both of them) is the pseudo-documentary materials included in their closing pages. Watchmen would often feature authentic-looking magazine pages, news clippings, photos, or top secret stationery, while Wild Cards included an appendix with excerpts taken from history books and science reports.

One of the more entertaining Wild Cards excerpts was from a talk by Dr. Sharon Pao K'ang-sh'i of the Harvard University Department of Metabiophysics. After discussing the physics-defying abilities of various flying, running, and power-zapping "Aces", Dr. K'ang-shi'i turns her attention to a sub-group we (as comic book fans) are familiar with: the Gadget Masters! We know them well: they're the guys with the ultra-advanced armors, ray guns, and assorted gimmicks that can perform wonders...but here's a different take on them and their miracle tech:

"...a salient feature of the so-called 'gadgets" ––anti-gravity belts, dimensional portals, armored suits –– is the fact that none of them can be replicated. On disassembly and examination they're often found to make no mechanical or electrical sense. Each is a nonreproducible result. This explains why some enterprising gadget-master hasn't marketed, say, a personal light-speed flying belt, or an antigravity forklift. Only the creator could make one that would work. In some cases, the components consist of ludicrous assemblages of debris, up to and including apple cores, hairpins, and the torsos of Barbie dolls. Others consist only of a diagram of a circuit, which, like the chimerical Hieronymus machine, work as an actual circuit 'should'.

The explanation is, once again, a manifestation of psychic ability. The creator has in effect impressed himself upon his work in a metaphysical (in the current scientific meaning) sense. This explanation makes sense of the frequently observed phenomenon that there seems to be a limit to certain "gadget masters'" creativity, that they will sometimes have to disassemble an old device to get a new one to work."

I love that. Useless, nonsensical equipment as a focal point for immense psychic powers. If you enjoy that kind of thing, give Wild Cards a try.  Like I said, some of it gets pretty rough, but overall, it's a sprawling, fascinating, quasi-historical, pseudo-scientific adventure.

Recommended Reading: Absolute WATCHMEN

When Warner Bros. and Universal Studios finally resolved their legal monkey-business a few weeks back, I knew I could officially start getting excited for the March 6^th opening of the Watchmen movie. 

I know as much as anyone else that a complex work like Watchmen almost defies translation to movie form...but having had similar doubts about the Lord of the Rings movies (and happily being proved wrong), I'm willing to give Warner Bros. and director Zack Snyder the benefit of the doubt.

Naturally, the best way to prepare for the movie is to reread the original comic book version. Now, I've read Watchmen almost every year since its publication in 1986, and each time it's just as rewarding as the first reading. In fact, I think my respect, enjoyment, and flat-out astonishment for Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' masterwork has only increased over time. Regardless of the format, whether it was the original issues of the 12-part maxi-series or a trade paperback collection, each reading has been an experience I could honestly describe as transcendent.

Ah...but when DC's line of Absolute hardcovers hit the marketplace, I knew yet another Watchmen format would be finding a home on my bookshelf...and what a format it is!

Measuring a whopping 8.5" x 13" and featuring a "fresh coat of paint", Absolute Watchmen was the perfect way to make a familiar story a stunning new experience.

In fact, the best part of the larger format is how it's forced me to slow down and savor every panel. The watchmaker precision of Moore's story and exquisite detail of Gibbons' illustrations, while obvious before, now seemed gloriously magnified...like the crystaline beauty of a snowflake under an electron microscope. 

As I alluded to earlier, another great touch was the complete remastering of the color by original colorist John Higgins. Fine-tuning color tones, altering some background colors, and adding a dot-screen effect to the pirate sequences (making them more obviously comic book panels), Higgins turned the quality dial up to a Spinal Tap eleven.

I'll spare you a blow-by-blow laundry list of observations on the story itself. You've no doubt read better and more insightful ones from others over the years...or, if you haven't read Watchmen yet, I don't want to spoil any of the magic of discovering it for yourself. But I will say this: You owe it to yourself to read (or reread) Watchmen at some point before the movie hits...not so much to compare the comic book to its film adaptation (though that comparison is inevitable), but more to appreciate and celebrate one of the pinnacles (if not the pinnacle) of comic book storytelling.

For those of you, like me, who have earlier formats of Watchmen, I highly recommend that you get yourself a copy of Absolute Watchmen...ideally before the movie hits. Although it's a bit skimpy in the extras department compared to other Absolute editions, it hardly matters when you've got the mesmerizing complexity, transcendent themes, and almost supernatural symmetry of Watchmen headlining the gig. 

 

Simply the Best: INCREDIBLE!

In this age of timely and plentiful trade paperback reprints, the sheer amount of comic book history available to the average fan is staggering. So much so, that many don't realize (or tend to forget) how rare they used to be. Sure, Marvel and DC featured reprints of older material in their annuals and giant-size formats, but their rather low profile and random selection never gave them the attention (or context) they deserved.

That all started to change in the mid-1970's when Fireside Books (a Simon and Schuster imprint) published a series of high-quality volumes reprinting Marvel Comics origin stories (which I covered here a few months back). As I noted before, as great as the inside stories were, it was the stunning painted covers that made these reprints really feel like something special and worth celebrating.

During this same period, the Marvel/Fireside alliance branched out from origin stories and began reprinting other famous or "key" stories that us whippersnappers may have missed out on the first time around. As a major HULK fan at the time, I still remember how thrilled I was to see a collection of Hulk stories solicited in a Marvel comics house ad. Ahh...but that particular ad (as I recall) featured a standard inked & colored version of Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk...so imagine the breathtaking moment I opened my mail package and found THIS mind-blowing painting staring back at me!...

 

Seeing that cover for the first time was truly one of the most thrilling moments in all my years of collecting comics. Although I'd now quibble over that bland, distracting "National TV Star" blurb, the sheer three-dimensional power of Bob Larkin's painting makes it easy to ignore.

I went on to purchase many more Marvel reprint books, like these Bob Larkin beauties:

(click on the covers for a larger view)

Regretfully, I sold most of them off during my feverish eBay phase several years back, but just seeing the cover images again brings back a boatload of fond memories...chief among them the thrill of discovering classic comic book stories, made even sweeter with covers that seemed like movie posters!

Preview-ing Comic Books 101

I don't often plug my own artwork and projects here, but for those of you who pick up Diamond's Previews catalog from your comic shop, turn to page 317 of the latest issue (April 2009) and check out Comics 101, the History, Methods and Madness. Co-written by Chris Ryall (IDW Comics) and Scott Tipton (comic book writer and proprietor of the Comics 101 website), I was thrilled to get the call back in 2008 to create several pieces of interior artwork...and that was before I found out who else was contributing to the book! 

Until I get the A-OK from the guys, I'm going to hold off posting some of my artwork until Comics 101 hits the shelves in June...but until then, check out the fantastic cover art and Tuesday's press release below.  

There are few people who know more about comics than Tipton and Ryall...and even fewer who can write about them in an entertaining way, so consider pre-ordering a copy!

COMIC BOOKS 101 OFFERS

VISUAL PRIMER TO THE COMICS INDUSTRY

The Book, Due in June and co-written by Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton, features Contributions from Many Entertainment Luminaries

(San Diego, March 31, 2009) – Chris Ryall, IDW Publishing’s Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, and Scott Tipton, comics101.com’s founder, are proud to announce the May release of Comic Books 101, available for pre-order in Diamond's Previews catalog being released to comics shops April 1st.

Comic Books 101, coming from IMPACT Books, is a 288-page prose-with-illustrations primer to the comic-book industry. The book serves as an overview to the industry, discussing:

- the history of comics

- the top publishers

- most popular characters

- pioneering creators

- a full rundown of Hollywood movie and TV adaptations.

The material is presented through prose chapters, personal asides, anecdotes and sidebars, and contributions from comic-book luminaries, and features over 100 full-color illustrations detailing historic moments, characters, covers and creators.

Comic Books 101 is the natural outgrowth of the long-running Comics 101 column run by Scott Tipton at the Web site of the same name. The weekly column has been running since its launch at Kevin Smith’s Movie Poop Shoot.com site in 2004. Prior to joining IDW, Ryall served as that site’s Editor-in-Chief.

Comic Books 101 features an all-new introduction from comic-book great Stan Lee, and includes all-new sidebar contributions from Clive Barker, Joe Casey, Paul Dini, Joe Hill, Brian Lynch, Gene Simmons, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman, and many more. Harlan Ellison contributed a brand-new, 1,500-word recollection detailing the first comic book he ever read as the book’s "outroduction." The book also features many all-new chapter illustrations and cartoon images from artists like Mark Engblom, David Messina, and Nick Roche, dozens upon dozens of images of classic covers, characters, and creators, and a cover by Locke & Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez.

“It’s been a pleasure to assemble Comic Books 101 for many reasons, not least of which was the chance to get recollections and remembrances from so many creators we’ve long admired,” said 101 co-writer Chris Ryall. “The book offers plenty of entertaining stories for longtime fans as well as offering new fans or comic-curious folks an easy, illustrated intro to all facets of the industry. If you want to know who Western Publishing is, where Superman—and his creators—came from, the different types of manga, the differences between a comic and a graphic novel or which TV and movie adaptations were the best and the worst, all of that and so much more is right here in this book.”

“The motivation behind the column has always been a simple one,” asserted 101 co-writer Tipton. “Introduce new readers to the world of comics with entertaining history lessons that celebrate both the grand and the goofy, the silly and the sublime. Comic Books 101 allows us to take that philosophy to the next step, with both a more detailed historical approach and 'Guest Lectures' from some of the biggest names in comics and popular culture.”

Comic Books 101, ISBN: 978-1-60061-187-2, is a 288-page, 8” x 8” softcover book with a retail price of $22.99. It is available for pre-order through the April '09 Diamond Previews catalog (page 317, Diamond order code APR09 1125) or at Amazon.com.

Change We Can Believe In: Mirror, Mirror

For the past couple of years, the word "change" has been thrown around ad nauseum, but as many understand (or are just now beginning to understand), not all change is good. Nowhere has that principal been better understood than within the comic book superhero community, as shocking physical transformations have afflicted their ranks for decades.

One of the most frequent targets for this brand of not-so-good change was the Flash. In addition to his legendary super-speed, a lesser-known ability of his was absolute mental control over his body's molecules, which allowed him to vibrate through walls or facilitate time travel. A handy skill, but at the same time, maybe it was because of this peculiar ability that Flash found himself a "lightning rod" for so many radical transformations...one of which took place in Flash #126 (1962).

In "The Doom of the Mirror Flash", the Mirror Master escaped from prison and into Orinocas, a dimension populated entirely by attractive women. By all rights, the story should have ended right there, but Mirror Master soon grew bored and yearned to commit crimes on Earth once again. Tricking the Flash into bringing him back to Earth, M.M. unleashed another mirror weapon to stage his escape...all while simultaneously re-creating the cover scene (a common practice in 60's era DC Comics)....not to mention producing a full-size bazooka from who-knows-where.

(click on the panels for a larger view)

Ah...good ol' total molecular control saves the day again!

Now...if only our economy had total molecular control!

Comic Books 101: The History, Methods, and Madness!

Back in April I gave a brief preview or "heads up" on Comic Books 101: The History, Methods, and Madness, a cool new book co-written by my pals Scott Tipton and Chris Ryall. I was brought into the project to create several interior illustrations and chapter intros, which I didn't want to say too much about until the book officially hit the shelves.

Well, now that June's finally here, I can fill you in on the details behind Comic Books 101, as well as post some of my artwork. Having written about comic books for years, Tipton (comic book writer and proprietor of the Comics 101 website) and Ryall (Editor-In-Chief of IDW Publishing) pooled their vast knowledge and created a user-friendly overview of comic books that the newbie and hardcore fan alike could find informative and fun.

Part of that fun is the easy-going tone set by Tipton and Ryall, as personal opinions and asides make their "lessons" feel more like a conversation between friends than a dry, pedantic slog. As a continuation of that lighter tone, the authors wanted cartoon versions of themselves to appear in several of the book's illustrations...and that's where I came in! Creating a total of 11 color illustrations (all of which tie into various topics throughout the book), I was honored to play a part in such an entertaining project.  

And that was before I found out who else would be contributing to the book! 

Using their contacts throughout the industry, Tipton and Ryall managed to get commentaries and personal musings from several high profile comic geeks like Clive Barker, Gene Simmons, Mark Waid, Paul Dini, Marv Wolfman, Harlan Ellison, and even Stan "The Man" Lee!  Who'd have thought me and Stan would ever (sort of) work on a project together? Certainly not ME!

So, here's just some of the stuff I did for the book (click on the artwork for a larger view)...

What's going on in these illustrations?  Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?  You'll just have to buy the book to find out!  Seriously, consider picking up a copy for either yourself or someone you'd like to introduce to the wonderful world of comic books! Click on the link below to order one from Amazon.com!

Comic Books 101: The History, Methods and Madness