Comic Book History

It's a slightly lighter edition of Moments of the Week thanks to May being a five-week month, but we still have some good stuff on tap! This week saw the launch of the new Image series Dream Merchant, Tony Stark's origin begins while he was still in the womb in Iron Man, and Wonder Woman fights a Moon. More after the jump as always. Adventures of Superman #3 In this webcomic edition of the two meeting, Superman hasn't yet mastered Bizarro-speak, so he's actually saying he wants to hurt Bizarro. Send Bizarro to some planet off world to help NASA, which takes up some time flying to and from the place, and you have an easy way for everyone to be happy with the outcome. Adventures of Superman is quickly becoming the stand-out Superman series in its brief run so far. Age of Ultron #8 For a series titled Age of Ultron, this is really going somewhere else. Morgana LeFay is the big enemy of this world, and the Defenders are an autonomous group while Tony, Xavier, and Emma Frost work for SHIELD. While Sue attempts to escape custody, LeFay does attack: The key point we're supposed to get is that with Pym dead, magic takes over half the world, but it still feels hard to really think any of it matters at this point, and if the series could even wrap up decently. Bloodshot #11 Elaborating on the fight seen in Harbinger Wars #2, we see what was going on in Bloodshot's head when his Harada Protocals were activated. It was something the P.S.R. had hidden even from Kuertich. But a twist that accompanies that big explosion from HW#2: So now Bloodshot's in complete control, on his way to Las Vegas to meet up with the psiots and Renegades. The Dream Merchant #1 That's Winslow, a young man who's so lost in sleep that he was sent to a psychiatric hospital to help with his liffelong condition. During one session, the same dream he always has sheds a new revelation: He wakes up, but those things follow him into our world, leading Winslow and his nurse friend Anne to escape the hospital and nearly get killed in oncoming traffic, but is saved by a man who shares his name with the series' title: You get 45 pages of story in the first issue, and while the plot seems a little light, the art is kind of hypnotic with how varied faces look and how it all flows well. It's not detailed but still comes across as very expressive and carries the issue with little problem. Iron Man #10 Tony was a problematic birth, one that seemed impossible to come to term, but thanks to an alien who looks like he might have come from American Dad we realize the alien's casino is holding the robot 451 in their possession: Tony's just as confused as we are, the story continues next issue. Wonder Woman #20 "Krunk" is a great sound effect. While Diana goes to help Lennox, who ran away with Zeke to protect him from Moon trying to kill him, War returns Moon to Apollo: The subplot from previous issues finally arrives, and Lennox looks to hold them off a bit next issue. X-O Manowar #13 This moment kind of makes me wonder if Mjolnir ever knock's someone's head off on its way to Thor. Cary Nord sure knows how to choreograph a one man wrecking crew.

This seems like such a bad idea… If you want to see the new Superman movie Man of Steel on Thursday, June 13 (instead of its opening day of June 14), you have to buy tickets in store at a Wal*Mart. I’m sure someone is making lots of money from this advertising deal, but for me, since I refuse to shop at Wal*Mart, it’s just one more reason on the list of why I don’t care about this movie. It’s directed by the guy who made Sucker Punch (and Watchmen). It’s PG-13, which makes me wonder how violent it will be. They don’t seem to have learned their lesson from the downbeat Superman Returns. There’s already a lot of concern in Hollywood about there being too many blockbusters planned for this summer, so I’m sure Warner is doing whatever they can to drive ticket sales, and they think teaming up with the nation’s biggest retailer is good for that. I know a lot’s riding on this movie for DC, but it just doesn’t look like a must-see for me. I want my superheroes to have humor and a sense of fun, not be so damned dark and depressing. Similar Posts: Superman Anthology Comes to Blu-ray § Batman Year One Animated Movie to Have Catwoman Short § Dark Knight Sets Box Office Record § Animated Dark Knight Returns Images Released § Upcoming DC Animated Films for 2013

Following on from our look back at the Victor Summer Special 1974 in March of this year , we now will look at the 1970 offering. There was always something special about these Issues and even if you weren't a big fan of the weekly title , most were so well produced as to make it worthwhile purchasing. The usual fare of complete stories , some in colour , cartoons , features and the obligatory puzzle ... Enjoy!The End.

From the lengthy TCJ.com piece on why the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival is no more, as said by Bill Kartalopoulos: “There’s a bigger infrastructural point here which is that a big part of the indie comics economy at this point seems to rest on the shoulders of people who work very hard for very little reward to create these festivals…. No one is making money personally doing these things, and you can’t have an industry that depends on volunteer labor forever…. This whole industry is not financially sound. If it weren’t for people working against their financial interests we wouldn’t have an indie comics world.” That’s why comics is in many ways a young person’s game — most of the older folks have wised up and gotten out in order to support themselves. Which is why you see the same problems and scams over and over again. There’s a loss of institutional memory. The problem is, what do you do about it? Where does real money come from? Similar Posts: Real Comics for Girls § There But For Grace We Go § More on Review Copy Disclosures § Are Comics Detrimental to Creators? § Advice on Job Hunting

Is there any point in renting graphic novels through the mail? No, not so long as my library will get me anything I want to read, without worrying about postal damage. I’m not sure that the plans are economical, either, since only having one book at a time will mean you’re not able to get through very many in a month. Maybe it’s just my reading speed, but it would seem like you’d spend a lot more time waiting to get a book than enjoying one. That assumes that they even have the comics you want to read in stock or available. Books are so much heavier (and costlier) to mail than DVDs, so aiming to be the “Netflix of comics” seems like a decent idea but will likely fail in execution. As a commenter points out, this makes most sense for books too expensive to buy and too rare to find easily, and what’s the likelihood a new company will have any of those? Should publishers stop making miniseries? I think so, in favor of original graphic novels, but Brian Hibbs doesn’t care for either format, because it’s hard to predict sales. The only virtue miniseries have is the possibility of a real ending, but the corporate publishers have even backed away from that. (Mystery Men from Marvel, I’m looking HARD at you. Most disappointing lack of ending in a long time, after a promising beginning. That series flat-out asked to become an ongoing, but clearly, sales weren’t there — and I was so turned off by the taunting “want to see what happened? hope for more” that I wouldn’t be interested in following a series anyway.) Since Hibbs seems to be talking mostly about the corporate superhero universes (including such works as BPRD), the question of “which stories matter?” winds up playing a role. And with restarts and reboots and relaunches, fans have been taught the hard way that there’s no point in getting too invested, because it can all be taken away next time they need to goose sales artificially. So they stick with the characters they’ve loved a long time. Red She-Hulk, apparently cancelled. Why wouldn’t you want to read this? If a miniseries looks interesting, why not wait for the trade collection? By that point, you’ll find out whether it really fulfilled its promise (unlikely) or simply forget about buying it, thus saving yourself time and money. Why can’t Marvel sell books starring women, as Graeme asks? Could it be that the stories just aren’t very good? This is an interest of mine, as you might expect, but I found the recent relaunch of Captain Marvel incomprehensible, Red She-Hulk boring when it wasn’t mired in continuity, and the Fearless Defenders just plain bad. Having a woman star isn’t enough — you have to tell interesting stories that new readers can understand and (more importantly) enjoy. That means introducing your characters, giving readers some reason to care about them (beyond “they used to be…” or “they’re related to…” or “Marvel has this trademark…”), and doing more with them than having them punch things. Attractive, readable art is helpful, too. (In response to a particular point Graeme makes: what a long-time comic reader considers a good book and what a casual reader does may not be as close as one would hope.) Has Yale Stewart got the best take currently going on the JLA cast, even though he draws them as eight years old? For my money, yes. Of course a baby Wonder Woman would want to play “truth or dare”! And when feelings get revealed, watch out. Power Girl’s got a crush on Superman (they aren’t cousins here), while he cares about Diana and is being counseled by baby Batman. (Not the best idea.) Lots of drama still to come, I’m sure. Not comics, but fascinating: when did we start sleeping in only one session? Culturally, people used to expect to wake up midway through

Heavy Traffic Shout! Factory is putting Heavy Traffic on Blu-ray on July 16. This animated film was Ralph Bakshi’s second feature, after Fritz the Cat. It doesn’t stray far, being the story of a New York cartoonist who lives with his parents while drawing images of the city. Based on reviews, the movie is worth watching more for the animation techniques, which incorporate live-action sequences and film clips, than the dated-sounding story about urban life in that era and the struggles of being an artist, man. Similar Posts: Old People Kick Ass: Red § The Lord of the Rings (Animated by Bakshi) § Phantom Tollbooth Coming From Warner Archive § The Secret World of Arrietty Out Next Month § Dredd on Blu-ray January 8

In 1993, Dark Horse published a small handful of Universal Horror adaptations. I completely missed these the first time around, but lucked out during some bargain bin diving a few years back. While they are all quite good, the Creature From the Black Lagoon issue is the real standout. I love the movie, but I was concerned that it would not translate very well to the Four Color format. This is mainly because part of what makes the movie so great is the phenomenal underwater camerawork and just the overall sense of being below the water's surface with the Creature clawing at your heels. I tip my hat to Mr. Art Adams who not only does a superb job conveying that eerie feeling, but absolutely nails the whole vibe of the movie - from the characterizations to the pacing. If you're a big fan of the film, I urge you to hunt down this book. It is a joy to read. My runner-up selection from the series is the Mummy adaptation, as it features some very moody artwork by Tony Harris.

The cover is extra-misleading this time: "Spock the Barbarian!" is sadly nowhere to be found this issue. From 1981, Marvel's Star Trek #10, "Domain of the Dragon God!" Written by Michael Fleisher, art by Leo Duranona and Klaus Janson.With Admiral Kirk out with a flu, he doesn't get to go on a survey mission of Barak-7, a planet with an exceptionally strong magnetic field. Which doesn't seem like a job for an admiral, even one as hands-on as Kirk. McCoy says he'll keep Spock company, and Spock successfully stifles any emotional complaints on the topic. As usual for any incarnation of Star Trek, the shuttlecraft crashes, engines clogged by magnetic dust. Instead of the uninhabited sector they were supposed to survey, they land near the barbaric inhabitants, as they're about to engage in a little ritual sacrifice. Prime Directive or no, McCoy can't let them murder a girl; but the matter is taken out of their hands when the sacrifice makes a break for it and runs into them. Spock and McCoy stun several of the angry tribesmen, before the magnetic dust clogs both their phasers and communicators. Spock holds them off so McCoy and the girl can escape; but is captured.Taking the girl to her tribe, McCoy proceeds to further mangle the Prime Directive, teaching them the bow so they can fight the bad tribe. Spock has been forced into slavery, and the chieftain is using said slave labor to carve his face into a mountain. When McCoy and the "good" tribe attack, the chieftain is murdered, a new one is named, and he promptly declares the old chieftain's wife should be the next ritual sacrifice to the "dragon god." Spock is not especially surprised by this egregious display of dickery.Before the tribesmen decide to put Spock and McCoy on the chopping block, from the Enterprise a modified shuttle arrives to save them. Kirk asks them what went on down there, and what was up with the half-carved face in a mountain: McCoy just says it's a monument, to "the more things change, the more they really remain the same." Spock appears to invoke some logical bro code to not narc McCoy out for all the Prime Directive violations, but maybe he's just used to Kirk doing it all the time, and thought McCoy could get at least one.Star Trek: Into Darkness opens today! I probably won't get in until the weekend, but I really, really, want to go. Now.

Teen Titans #4 (August 1966)"The Secret Olympic Heroes"Bob Haney-Nick CardyDoug: We've seen numerous times how zany Bob Haney was in the Bronze Age; today let's trip back to the Silver Age and check him out. I picked this issue for the following reasons -- it has a cool Nick Cardy cover, as well as interior art, and given that its cover date is August of 1966 it is highly likely that this would have been on the stands the month I was born (June). I will be using the Silver Age Teen Titans Archives volume 1 as my resource. Let's go!Doug For those who make note of such things, this is Speedy's first appearance in the Teen Titans. As Haney puts it on the splash page, the mail clamoring for the Boy Bowman reached up to DC's 7th floor offices, so they gave in. I'm sure that's just a bit hyperbolic, but I have no doubt there was excitement to add young Roy Harper to the fold. This is an "untold tale" of the Titans -- which is indeed problematic as Speedy had no prior history with the team (hey, we're living on Earth-Haney) -- and actually takes place two years earlier during the 1964 Olympic Trials and Olympic Games. We pick it up at the Trials, where Davey Bradley wins his heat in what must apparently be the 400 meter dash; or would it have been 440 yards back then? But instead of claiming his gold medal, Bradley runs right out of the stadium (which looks an awful lot like a track at a small rural high school rather than a major-college track & field venue. Anyway, Davey's dad calls after him, but it's to no avail. The next day the Teen Titans read about it in the paper. Of course Wonder Girl says something stupid: "Ooh! He's darling-looking! I hope he runs my way!" Thank goodness the writing of female characters improved in the Bronze Age. Doug: The Titans mull the situation, when suddenly the special television frequency used for emergencies comes alive. It's Davey's dad, imploring the Titans to find his son; he also implies that the kid must compete in the Olympics. But before the Titans can agree to take the case, their intruder alarm goes off. Man, some morning! The young heroes mobilize, and Robin's effort to lasso their bad guy is met only with a green arrow shot through his batarang -- fired by Speedy! With his typical bravado, Speedy greets the team and then tells them his real reason for infiltrating their HQ. It seems Speedy has been requested to perform a trick shot at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics (by the way, if you didn't know, the '64 Games were held in Tokyo). However, while training out in the middle of nowhere (literally), Speedy spies a shady character swiping arrows out of his quiver. Turning to face the guy, Speedy's knocked down. Once up, he notices that an arrow tipped with TNT had been substituted for the trick arrow he was to have used. And, the crook left a clue -- a dropped ring with a red letter "D" on it -- the mark of Diablo, the criminal organization dedicated to hate and distrust. What the?? Oh wait -- Earth-Haney.Doug: Of course the Titans want to deal with this cadre of weirdos, but finding Davey Bradley is their first priority -- thick plot here: missing person and a secret society! "Wonder Chick" takes to the air while the boys search the ground (Aqualad -- useless again). Wonder Girl sees a track suit on a clothesline and swoops down to investigate. The lady of the house is outside. When questioned on the uniform, she says she doesn't know how it got there, but that some of her own son's clothes are missing! Back to the skies, Wonder Girl sees a bright red shirt (the color of a shirt missing from that clothesline) and flies lower to check it out. Yep -- it's Davey alright, about to meet his maker at the hands of some toughs in a "hobo jungle". I don't make this stuff up, kids; Bob Haney does. Wonder Girl dispenses the feet of justice, so to speak. Later, at an abandoned farm house, Mr. Bradley comes quickly at Robin's call. But Robin doesn't te