Comic Book History

Good morning, dear readers. It's time once again for your weekly serving of Post-Crisis Comic Book Previews! We've a bounty of brilliant books coming your way, including Baltimore: The Inquisitor, Wild Blue Yonder #1, X-Files: Season 10 #1, and more! So join me on the other side of the cut to check out these, and a multitude of other, titles. Major Releases ANIMAL MAN #21 Written by Jeff Lemire Art by Steve Pugh and Francis Portela “SPLINTER SPECIES” begins here as Buddy’s grief and increasing celebrity threaten to tear him apart. Plus, a major new antagonist is revealed! Grant: Is it still accurate to place Animal Man as a major release? While the title's Rotworld arc that crossed with Swamp Thing was pretty much exclusively lackluster, Animal Man seems to have regained its stride in the aftermath. We're back in "the real world", and all is far from well in the Baker family unit. Cliff's death has driven a rift between Buddy and Ellen, and the ensuing drama has been quite well done. It also doesn't hurt that Lemire brought back the Red Thunder "movie" from the first arc for some wonderful parallelism. I'm once again feeling excited about what's in store for these characters, which is a great feeling to have. EDISON REX TP Written by Chris Roberson Art by Dennis Culver Edison Rex is the smartest man in the world, a criminal genius, and the arch-nemesis of the world's greatest protector, Valiant. Having dedicated his life to defeating Valiant and proving once and for all that he is a menace to humanity and not a hero, what will Edison do Grant: If memory serves, this trade will mark the first ingress to the physical world by the before now all-digital Monkeybrain comics. And I must say that Edison Rex is a dandy title to start the process with. Chris Roberson and Dennis Culver have created a delightful supervillain turned superhero tale that manages to channel classic comics while also treading its own path. I'll be more than happy to add this book to my shelves. X-FILES SEASON 10 #1 Written by Joe Harris Art by Michael Walsh For years they investigated the paranormal, pursued the "monsters of the week," and sought the truth behind extraterrestrial activity, along with the grand conspiracy surrounding it rooted deep within their own government. But when AGENTS MULDER and SCULLY reunite for a new, ongoing series that ushers THE X-FILES into a new era of technological paranoia, multinational concerns and otherworldly threats, it'll take more than a desire "to believe" to make it out alive. The X-Files: Season 10 also sees creator Chris Carter return to the fold as Executive Producer! Grant: Having never really watched The X-Files, I still don't know exactly what to expect from this book. However, I'm still able to understand that new X-Files stories are a pretty big deal. All the more so when they're being penned by the talented combination of writer Joe Harris and artist Michael Walsh. I've enjoyed Harris' past work well enough, but it's Walsh's presence that brings me to this party. His art is one of my favourite discoveries of the past year, and I'm keen to see more of it. New Kids on the Block 100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #1 Written by Brian Azzarello Art by Eduardo Risso BROTHER LONO is a brand-new 8-issue miniseries set in the world of 100 BULLETS! The Eisner award-winning team behind 100 BULLETS—writer Brian Azzarello, artist Eduardo Risso, colorist Trish Mulvihill, letterer Clem Robbins and cover artist Dave Johnson—reunites to tell the story of the baddest Minuteman of all. When last we saw Lono in 100 BULLETS, Dizzy Cordova had shot him through the chest...but Lono always was too tough to die. Now, after the final events of 100 BULLETS, Lono finds himself in Mexico working on the side of the angels. But there’s always more to a 100 BULLETS story, so pick up

The Howling Shout! Factory has two new horror Blu-ray collector’s editions releasing today, June 18, as part of their Scream Factory line. First up is the werewolf flick The Howling (1981), starring Dee Wallace and Patrick Macnee. Wallace plays a TV news anchor who’s sent away to recuperate after an encounter with a serial killer. Unfortunately, the vacation town is full of werewolves. It’s directed by Joe Dante (Gremlins) and written by John Sayles based on a novel by Gary Brandner. There were eventually seven (!) sequels — maybe because it’s a terrific title for a monster movie. Along with An American Werewolf in London, it revitalized the genre with groundbreaking-for-the-time special effects. Here’s the original trailer: Lifeforce Shout! Factory has added a new commentary with novel author Brandner; deleted scenes with an optional audio commentary by Dante; a featurette on the film’s location; an interview with stop-motion animator Dave Allen; and new interviews with screenwriter Terence Winkless, executive producer Steven A. Lane, and editor Mark Goldblatt. That’s in addition to the extras they’ve included from the prior DVD release: outtakes, trailers, a photo gallery, “Making of a Monster: Inside The Howling”, “Unleashing the Beast: The Making of The Howling”, and a commentary with Dante and Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, and Robert Picardo. Also available is Lifeforce (1985). Directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), this one’s about space vampires. Plus, Mathilda May walks around naked the whole time, and Patrick Stewart’s in it! It sounds ridiculous. The trailer doesn’t do much to dispel that impression: However, in addition to the original “Making of Lifeforce” featurette, trailers, and gallery, you also get the both the original theatrical version as well as the longer international cut. There are two commentaries, one with director Hooper, and one with make-up effects designer Nick Maley, plus new interviews with Hooper, actor Steve Railsback, and Ms. May herself. Shout! does some great extras. Similar Posts: Adele Blanc-Sec Movie Announced for Blu-ray and DVD § Shout Factory Has Complete Transformers § Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann Comes to Blu-ray § Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec Movie Coming to US § Swamp Thing Movie Coming to Blu-ray

(Some minor spoilers ahead for Man of Steel, Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3...and another movie I don't want to mention yet.)So I went and saw Man of Steel on Father's Day. I was in a pretty good mood, which may have affected the results, since I pretty much enjoyed it. Oh, there are a couple of moments of Superman=Christ imagery I thought were beyond heavy-handed, and I do remember thinking this was a pretty big body count for a Superman movie, but I still came out feeling positive. Popular opinion, however, seems somewhat split. To put it mildly; and you could just as easily argue what opinion isn't split in America these days, but that's another story. Both Mark Waid and Chris Sims were somewhat less than thrilled with it. There may be something to the idea that this was a Superman movie for people who don't read comics or have a more than passing familiarity with the character; and that the more concrete your idea of Superman, the less you would enjoy this version. NPR's review of Man of Steel mentions a scene I hadn't thought about at the time: "You can save [them]," Jor-El (Russell Crowe) assures Superman (Henry Cavill) at a key juncture; "you can save them all." Um...Jor-El may have been speaking metaphorically there, since Superman emphatically doesn't save everyone. (And that scene isn't really with Jor-El, but sort of a program/ghost of him, but we won't split any more hairs on that point!)But a rising body count, much as I feel it's a little out of place in a Superman movie, is almost to be expected in a summer blockbuster today. So far this year I've seen Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, and now Man of Steel; all of which feature the bad guys killing hundreds, if not thousands, before the heroes finally stop them. We don't see all or even most of those deaths onscreen or know most of these faceless victims--it's tough for even a Red Shirt to get a death scene anymore--but the scale and spectacle of the destruction implies a huge death toll (and dramatically raised stakes.) Of course, this isn't a recent development: there were probably four-figure casualties or more in the previous Star Trek, Avengers, or the DC movies Green Lantern or the Dark Knight Rises. It used to be, the hero had to stop the villain, before people died. Now that's the part that doesn't seem realistic enough for a superhero or sci-fi movie anymore; civilian deaths are accepted as a matter of course. Sure, the heroes manage to stop whatever the armageddon du jour is from destroying everything, but not without immense losses.Which brings up another film I saw recently: the recent remake of The Evil Dead. Like a lot of movies I watch, I had to file it under "Enjoyable, not very good." Fun as all get out while you watch it, if critically you could poke so many holes in it. And that was rather an odd duck of a movie to start with. It's not a straight remake of the Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell classic, and there isn't an Ash character; but there are ever so many callbacks, references, and homages to the earlier films. There's also more horror cliches in the new version: a character dumb enough to read the big evil Necronomicon, characters left alone or unattended for seemingly ever so bad things can happen to them, the characters possessed by the Deadites don't talk as much smack as they used to and more just lurch and jerk about like common infected zombies, and somewhat unnecessary Chekhov's gun weapon placement: it's an Evil Dead film, we know there's gonna be a chainsaw sometime...There's also a gem of an idea, that's in the wrong place: the five friends are out at the secluded cabin in the woods, so one of them, Mia, can go through heroin withdrawal. At first, it's set up like maybe she's not really seeing the Deadites; they're just a junkie's hallucinations, and maybe Mia is really the killer. That's a great hook...that doesn't belong in this movie at all. We know the title, we know the Necronomicon, we know the s

Doug: Comments today should leave Man of Steel unspoiled. We're just talking actors and their portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent. Thanks in advance for your consideration.

Let's once again heap copious amounts of praise upon the late (but eternally great) Gil Kane! Click below to stare at some rare art pieces by this comic art master, who enjoyed long stretches at DC and Marvel Comics, as one of their top "go-to" artists! Gil also crafted his own creator-owned strips, striking out for himself at a time when such daring solo efforts among commercial comics artist were very rare! Above: Even tho Gil was one of DC Comics' main artists (on books like THE ATOM and GREEN LANTERN) in the early 60s, he had to audition at rival Marvel Comics! That firm used the "Marvel method," a system that involved artists working from only a loose plot (not a full script) to create 20-page comics, and not every artist was up to the task! Here are some CAPTAIN AMERICA pencilled try-out pages by Gil from 1966! Gil would later go on to make his mark on CAP in the 70s! Above: Convention sketches by Gil! Batman and Superman have never looked better!

Here's a little "Man of Steel" (hi, Googlers!) fun from Adventure Comics #293, courtesy of contributor Robert Gillis!I don't know why we act like time travel is so dang unlikely. Clearly, we just have to follow the convenient calendar pages! The Time Barrier is easier to navigate than an interstate!From Adventure #301, we have confirmed that Superman blows. And that he also has a skewed perspective on what's important:Yeah, if he's moving the Earth around, I'm a bit more concerned about earthquakes and tidal waves. The last thing I'm worried about is the accuracy of my Goats in Trees calendar.You think I made that one up, don't you?Exhibit "A":Meanwhile, from Amazing Spider-Man #384: Oh, no! Please don't say the word...Blarg. Cue the Origin Montage! (tm!)We GET It! (tm!)I haven't posted every time we've seen the origin flashback, by the way. I try to limit it to once every five or six sightings.And here's something that caught my eye from Amazing #345:First, Boomerang was born in Australia but raised the United States, so I don't know why he's getting all Crocodile Dundee there.But more to the point:Okay, no one working on the docks noticed the magenta pants and the bright blue boots? I realize that New Yorkers are a pretty jaded bunch, but it seems like someone would have called him out on that. You know, like the Seinfeld episode where Jerry had to wear cowboy boots? Those are much worse.Crikey! See you tomorrow!

The impressively talented artist Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time, Chiggers) is demonstrating a new ability. Last year, she wrote and directed her first short film, Bitter Orange, and it is now available to view online. It’s set in the 1920s and stars Brie Larson (no relation), Brendan Hines, and James Urbaniak. It’s the story of Myrtle, a woman who’s presented with a tough choice to advance her career, complicated by the presence of a bootlegger. The poster, shown here, is by Becky Cloonan, with lettering by Dustin Harbin. You can find out more about the experience in this interview with Hope. Similar Posts: Heroes Con Interview Link § Dustin Harbin Has a Smart Take on Awards § Win a Copy of Hope Larson’s Wrinkle in Time § It’s Award Time! Submit Isotope Minis, Vote Women (My FoL Award Suggestions) § Learn Lettering With Nate Piekos

Robot Chicken DC Comics Special The Robot Chicken DC Comics Special comes to DVD (suggested retail $14.98) and Blu-ray ($19.98) on July 9. It’s only 23 minutes of stop-motion comedy, but they’re promising more than two hours of bonus content, including deleted scenes, outtakes, and commentaries. I haven’t watched Robot Chicken before, but I love the idea of a parody series, especially with these voices (although I hope that official approval doesn’t mean watered-down comedy). Seth Green plays Batman, Robin, and the “put-upon Aquaman”. A bunch of famous friends appear, too, with Neil Patrick Harris as Two-Face Alfred Molina as Lex Luthor Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern Megan Fox as Lois Lane and series and special writer/voice talent Breckin Meyer as Superman Special features (on both Blu-ray and DVD) include The Making of Robot Chicken DC Comics Special Robot Chicken DC Comics Special’s Aquaman Origin Story Chicken Nuggets Writers’ Commentary Actors’ Commentary DC Entertainment Tour Stoopid Alter Egos Outtakes Deleted Sketches 5.2 Questions Similar Posts: Wonder Woman Original Animation Trailer § Green Lantern: Emerald Knights Box Art, Special Features Announced § Green Lantern: The Animated Series Sneak Peek § Why Did the GL Content Change? § Another DCU Men Contest Entry

Today, another Comicon pickup, and a book I knew of but never thought I'd actually read: from 1985 and Eclipse, Miracleman #3, reprinting Alan Moore and Alan Davis's Marvelman stories from Warrior #9-11. (With a Howard Chaykin cover!)If you aren't familiar with Miracleman, or Marvelman...yow. Over at the Beat, there is a series of articles called "Poisoned Chalice" about the history of the character, and the decades of behind-the-scenes machinations about who owns what, which is still kind of a mess to this day. Marvel may have the rights, but I'm worried they'd do something really stupid like try to make Miracleman, Marvelman, whoever, part of the Marvel Universe. I don't think he'd be a good fit three, or that it would do the character any favors either; but I have a sinking feeling that wouldn't stop Marvel editorial from pushing it.Anyway, this issue is where Marvelman's origin really starts to unravel: instead of being a relatively innocent Captain Marvel, say the magic word type; he was an orphan used in a secret government experiment using recovered alien technology and headed up by what I presume was the villain of the piece. Marvelman also tangles with Big Ben, the Man with No Time for Crime; who likewise wasn't a straightforward superhero, but instead an earlier experiment and quite insane. This probably wasn't the earliest example of the "Everything you know is wrong" origin retcon, but it's one of the prime examples. It's not exactly "fun," but it's so well done--you really do see why everyone's fighting over the rights. Pick it up, if by random chance you come across a copy.