Comic Book History

I give Black Terror some credit for having an unusual secret identity for a costumed hero. He was Bob Benton, a pharmacist. We don’t think of those guys as crime fighters as such. But I knew a pharmacist who wasn't afraid of crooks. He was my former pharmacist, Mark, who was 5'3" and slight of build, and who took off across a parking lot after a man who had just stuck him up for Oxycontin. Mark didn't need a mask or cape; he had a golf club, a flapping white pharmacist's jacket, and righteous anger. He was able to subdue the robber, whose drug habit had apparently left him unable to get far by running. The story made the local news and when I asked Mark about it he said, “When he gave up he asked me, ‘do you think you could give me a half dozen Oxys before I go to jail?’” I’m not sure even Black Terror could have handled the situation better than Mark.Black Terror, and his young buddy, Tim, get on the bad side of ex-con, drug inventor Sinistro, who has created a drug to bring out the animal in man. My feeling about people with such talents using them for crime has been mentioned in the past. Anyone who could come up with such a drug could make a fortune peddling it to a drug company. It’s better than stealing. It just doesn’t make for good comic books.From America’s Best Comics #2 (1942):

Wow, guys.... what can I say? This was just a terrible week. Work was that bad this week, and I just can't always be as reliable as Tuffy Tilton:That's true. But while Tuffy Tilton always pays off, sometimes life just gets the better of me and I can only beat myself up so much...Okay, that's quite enough. Now it's getting personal.Here's a really disturbing joke I saw in All-Flash Quarterly #28:I strongly suggest you never tell that joke ever.Here's another thing that caught my eye:Okay, first: The name of the strip is the worst name ever. But more to the point: Worst. Bet. Ever.Ah.... it feels good to be back, but Monday is a holiday, so I'll see you Tuesday, Dear Ones!

People think Barry Allen is boring, but they’ve been sold a bill of goods. He’s a police investigator, looking for the trace elements criminals unwittingly leave behind…a fairly cerebral, high-stakes activity for a hero synonymous with motion. He’s - in the current continuity, at least - someone who enforces the legal system, even though he feels certain that it wrongly convicted his own father. He’s a guy who hasn’t even registered that he’s not in love with the girl he’s dating, just because she’s so into him. Barry Allen isn’t boring - he’s just nice.And those people-pleasing qualities are on display in Flash #20, the first instalment of 'Reverse,' a six-part story introducing the new Reverse-Flash (well, sort of introducing; we saw him more clearly last issue than we ever see him here). He tells girlfriend Patty about what happened to his parents, and is moving in with her (she thinks it’s exciting; he thinks it’s practical… 'and exciting!' he hurries to add). He surreptitiously completes his six-month filing assignment in a day (leaving me to wonder what trouble he’ll get up to in those old files, now that they’re in order). He even poses to let bystanders take some snapshots after he saves a runaway subway car ('...part of the job,' he thinks, grinning and giving a thumbs-up).I only wish I could say this was a good jumping-on point for the new story, and the book in general. It’s not that it’s inaccessible: writers Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato (also the book's artist and colourist respectively) pepper the story with clues to how the characters know each other, and the various Speed Force-induced powers of Gomez and Alberto. But it’s not transparently accessible: a new reader can’t look at the book and realise that it’s largely right there on the page, if they make a few logical assumptions. They’re better craftsmen than they are salespeople.But also - and I say this about an issue in which the Flash pulls off a pretty spectacular rescue of a runaway subway train - the book itself doesn’t generate the excitement necessary to pull a new reader along into a six-issue series. (It’s got me, of course, but I’ve been in the bag for the Flash since I was seven.) There’s action, yes, but it’s largely without emotional stakes. And there’s a mystery (the Reverse-Flash has been killing members of the Speed Force crew), but even when Barry has a breakthrough in that regard, he’s leaping to the wrong conclusion. Yes, we’re promised the first Flash/Kid Flash meeting next issue (and doesn’t it seem lax of Barry not to have looked into the kid previously?), but from our omniscient point of view, that lead is probably another dead end. A fast and exciting one, to be sure, but attractive as it is, Manapul’s concluding Teen Titans splash feels like it should be accompanied by the blurb: 'Next Issue: More Stalling!'Cheeky Forrest - click on image to enlargeSo in the macro sense, the comic doesn’t work as well as it ought to. But there are some wonderful little details, clever and well-rendered. Barry’s loneliness is palpable as he’s exiled to the basement as the price of his unauthorised leave of absence…and yet we also see his true friends come to visit him. (And check out the various light sources that come into play down there, and how they change the colouring of the scene.) We see a subtle nod to a background story, as Iris is apparently ducking her ex-con brother Daniel’s calls. We see Patty’s subtle jealousy at Iris; she can sense who’s captured Barry’s heart, even if he doesn’t realise it yet. We see Forrest steal Barry’s sandwich (seriously, and Barry doesn’t say a word. What’d I tell you? Nice). And we see a subway car whiz past Barry’s head, clipping one of his earpieces. It’s great stuff, subtle and gorgeous.Visually, Manapul and Buccellato’s Flash is as stunning as ever - writing and art form a more integrated whole than in any other book in DC’s line-up. But they’d do well to pick up the pace.Rob Staeger is a freelance

Ma and Pa Kent are visiting Clark and his family in Metropolis. The City of Tomorrow has never looked more futuristic, Lana Lang-Kent more stunning. And look at that cute puppy! We're about to meet Clark and Lana's little girl when ... SCRASHK WHAM!Whatever the cause of his reverie, Superman is thoroughly knocked out of it by the New God Orion, convinced by the 'Prophecy Wall' that for a universe to live, Superman must die. There follows a massive fight between Last Son of Krypton and Apokolips' Dog of War which is only ended by the appearance of Wonder Woman. Superman's current girlfriend and Orion's ally, she's able to calm the situation and use her Lasso of Truth on Superman and reveal that while he isn't the problem, he does have one lurking in his subconscious - telepathic villain Hector Hammond ...Scott Lobdell writes his second knockout script in a row, giving us a hugely entertaining fight scene in which Superman and Orion can really lash out for once. He gives good Wonder Woman too, with Diana choosing peaceful tactics over war as first resort. And Green Lantern villain Hammond gets the line of the week (click on image to enlarge):My favourite bit of the issue, though, is the opening with Clark and Lana, a pairing I've always loved, wed. I adore seeing Clark living alternate lives, with Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' classic 'For the man who has everything' being another great example. I only wish there'd been a few more pages of it, though this issue's ending tells us we've not seen the last of alt-Lana - I suspect she am not Clark's No.1, wink wink.And how intriguing that in Superman's most private fantasies he's married not to Lois, not to Diana, but to Lana. There may be comments ...With regular artist Kenneth Rocafort away, Aaron Kuder steps in to draw this issue and ... wow. I've rarely seen such a big, bombastic fight scene, with Kuder's cover perfectly previewing his interior approach - big panels, superb close-ups, a touch of Frank Quitely, sound effects that are pure Pop. If anyone at DC is reading this, a suggestion: have Kuder on standby to take over from Jim Lee when he departs the new Superman Unchained title. He's more than ready.I would have said Kuder's Jonathan Kent was a tad off, but more likely he's been told to draw him around the same age as Man of Steel Jon, Kevin Costner, without a resemblance so strong that it would cause licensing issues.Series stalwart Blond does his usual fine job of interior colouring, with Wil Quintana providing the unashamedly bright cover hues. Rob Leigh letters - and if he finished the sound effects, extra credit there - while edits are provided by Anthony Marques and Eddie Berganza. Great job, gang.This book gets stronger by the month, and is now one of my DC favourites. There's no way I'd have been able to say that a couple of months ago ... I only hope the momentum isn't derailed by upcoming crossovers. Perhaps DC's higher-ups will notice how satisfying Lobdell's scripts are when he's allowed to concentrate on his own story rather than serve some supposedly bigger picture - because the pictures here are plenty big for me.

Now that I'm a Dad of two young children (7 year old boy and 5 year old girl), I am constantly trying to find good quality comics for them. One thing I have learned is that not all comics aimed at young readers are made equal. I thought it would be fun to start a new series here discussing comics aimed at actual children. Let's start with a relatively recent graphic novel written by J. Torres with artwork by Faith Erin Hicks. This is the story of a city boy reluctantly staying at his grandmother's house on the edge of a spectacular forest. He befriends his adventurous neighbour and discovers an amulet that transforms him into a Sasquatch with the ability to communicate with wildlife. It's a pretty simple concept that appeals to boys and girls alike. The character designs are simple but stylish, our heroes are likeable and the dialogue is witty without being snarky. A personal pet peeve of mine is too much sarcasm in children's books. There are some menacing wolves that help add a bit of threat to the proceedings. The humour is pretty broad but even the potentially awkward stuff (Rufus is naked when he switches back to human form) are handled tastefully. Torres and Hicks make a very good team and I'll keep my eye out for future volumes. This is a good fit for kids in the 5 to 9 range and is a nice alternative to superhero books.

The Tripods was a B.B.C. T.V. series from 1985 loosely based on the late 1960s books by John Christopher. Beeb Magazine was launched in 29th January 1985 to showcase their junior T.V. series and featured The Tripods throughout its full 20 Issue run. At first the comic strip followed the T.V. series then veered off on a tangent. The T.V. series itself followed the first two books ; a third series was planned but never materialized. Enjoy this slice of post apocalyptic adventure now in the first of 6 story arcs!To Be Cont'd ...

The August comic book solicitations have escaped into the wild, and we at The Weekly Crisis have gone hunting. We've tracked down some of the best, worst, and coolest things that will be hitting stands come the last month of summer so that you don't have to. So hit the jump to get a glimpse of your potential comic book future! Grant's Thoughts Best Things in August Anthology Vampire American Vampire continues to be on hiatus, which is the bad news, but this month sees an anthology that features not only Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque, but a whole slew of amazing creators. I'd love to give you more than a simple laundry list of who will be working on the book, but when that list includes Jeff Lemire, Greg Rucka, Gail Simone, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Becky Cloonan, Francesco Francavilla, Declan Shalvey, and others it's hard to avoid. This book is should be all kinds of fun, and even though I'm not the biggest fan of DC's 80 page comic prices, I'll probably be making an exception to snag myself a copy of it. Nic Klein Finds a New Home Nic Klein has been killing things with his phenomenal art on Winter Soldier with Jason Latour, but with that book ending in June, Klein's name was conspicuously absent from Marvel's July solicitations (beyond covers for Secret Avengers and the Winter Soldier trade collection, neither of which really count in my opinion). Thankfully, Marvel is transplanting him to Jason Aaron's Thor: God of Thunder with issue #12. I understand that the series is already awesome, so Klein's arrival should only make things better. And while Latour remains without a Marvel title, his artistry can still be found in the pages of Vertigo's Django Unchained comic book adaptation, which sees another issue this month, all is not lost. Worst Things in August The Crossover We Deserve? DC has answered the prayers of fans everywhere I don't even know who and is launching a DC - Masters of the Universe crossover. What the heck is going on here? I can't imagine that anyone has been clamouring for this book. I mean, what do DC's heroes and He-Man have to do with each other? Beyond wearing questions costumes, that is. And as much as I like what I've seen of Dexter Soy, neither he nor Keith Giffen can really be qualified as any of DC's heavy hitters. So while it remains a mystery as to why DC wants to make this happen, it seems pretty clear that it's going to be dead on arrival. Coolest Things in August Comic Book Side Scrollers Sina Grace and Daniel Freedman will be dropping Burn the Orphanage: Born to Lose #1 on an unsuspecting world, and while there's still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding this book, the fact that its aiming to recapture the era of side-scrolling brawler video games is already enough to grab my attention. This book looks like it could be a fistful of fun, and I can't wait to give it a look. Trillium Blooms! Jeff Lemire is a top flight talent. He's writing some of DC's best books right now, and he's more than proven he's just as skilled an artist with his work on books like The Underwater Welder and Sweet Tooth. August sees him start up his newest series, an 8-issue book titled Trillium featuring a love story between two lovers who are separated by nearly two thousand years. What more, their love is going to lead to the end of reality itself. If that's not one of the highest concepts you've encountered, I don't know what to tell you. This book is going to be amazing, and you should already be getting excited for it. I know I am. Hansel's Thoughts Best Things in August Matt Kindt Double Dosage There are few books being printed today that give you such a deep and engrossing story like Matt Kindt's MIND MGMT. In August we will be lucky to get the second collected edition and continue

A little sad today: I'll be clearing off my table, where I've shot homemade posts for the last four and a half years. And apparently, where I've never put anything away. Ever. Both my girlfriend and my Youngest son had some crazy notion about keeping the table clear and eating off it or some nonsense. Yeah, we'll see about that. Rest assured, we'll continue the usual tomfoolery around here. Like tomorrow, for instance.