Comic Books

Thirty-six questions. Six answers. One random number generator. Welcome to Robot Roulette, where creators roll the virtual dice and answer our questions about their lives, careers, interests and more. Joining us today is artist Mike Norton, who you might know from Battlepug, Gravity, Revival, It-Girl and the Atomics, The Answer!, All-New Atom and many more comics. Now let’s get to it … ***** 7. What is the strangest thing you have in your house? My dogs. They’re pretty weird. Also, this mug I made of Elvis Presley’s face when I was in junior high. I don’t drink out of it because I’m pretty sure the glazes were lead based. 9. If you could be reincarnated as any animal, which would you chose and why? Contrary to what you might’ve thought, NOT a pug. They have way too many breathing problems. I WOULD be a dog though. Most people really love their dogs, and I can’t think of an easier life than that. 19. What scarred you as a child, as in something like reading Judy Blume at much too early of an age? Boy Scouts and Swim Team. I was a very shy and high strung kid, and being forced to interact with others really resulted in meltdown quantities of anxiety. I quit both. I still don’t talk much in most social situations today. 22. What’s your morning routine like? I wake up around 7-8 a.m. and take my pugs on a walk. I shower, dress and go to the studio where I make coffee and start working. Pretty cut and dry. 26. What is your best childhood memory? Going to Woolworth’s or Service Merchandise back in Jackson, Tenn. and getting toys and/or comics. Man, I loved doing that. 32. Is there a particular song, band or style of music you listen to when you work? Not a particular one. I tend to be all over the place with music. I usually gravitate toward “power-poppy” stuff. When I’m working, I like to let other people decide music so I don’t get bored. I listen to a lot of my hometown’s (Memphis) volunteer radio WEVL over the Internet. Lots of blues and indie rock.

Panels from FF v.1 #19 (August 2012), script by Jonathan Hickman, pencils and inks by Gabriel Hernandez Walta, colors by Cris Peter, letters by Clayton Cowles

In the mid nineties, Jim Lee wrote and drew a comic book called Divine Right: The Adventures Of Max Faraday, about a computer science student who manages to download an equation of mystical power, giving him access to ancient knowledge and placing him in all sorts of danger. Published by Image/Wildstorm before the studio and publisher was bought out by DC comics, twelve issues were published over two years. Well, earlier this month, an application for a trademark was made for Divine Right by DC Comics for “DOWNLOADABLE PUBLICATIONS IN THE NATURE OF BOOKS FEATURING CHARACTERS FROM ANIMATED, ACTION ADVENTURE, COMEDY AND/OR DRAMA FEATURES, COMIC BOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, MAGAZINES FEATURING CHARACTERS FROM ANIMATED, ACTION ADVENTURE, COMEDY AND/OR DRAMA FEATURES” Could Divine Right be returning? In a digital form? It would suit the material rather well.. The Return Of Jim Lee’s Divine Right: The Adventures Of Max Faraday?

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Hannah Means-Shannon writes; The promo from Dark Horse for Dream Thief #1 warn you that “spirits of the vengeful dead” are going to “possess” John Lincoln and turn his life into a nightmare, so there’s plenty of mental preparation provided for the darker side of this new series written by Jai Nitz (Heaven’s Devils, Green Hornet) and drawn by impressive semi-newbie Greg Smallwood. They really pack the storytelling into this origin issue, but what you find out about Lincoln is both off-beat and surprising, and Smallwood’s artwork has a subtle way of getting under your skin enough to suspect that things are about to become quite a nightmare for John Lincoln. Lincoln’s rather a sad bastard, for one thing, struggling from moment to moment to keep his life together, and unlike many sad bastard tales, Nitz and Smallwood really crack down on allowing any sympathy to develop for the character. It’s part of the tone of the book to keep you quizzical, and they elevate that to an art, really, by taking you as far as they can into Lincoln’s fairly vapid life in extreme detail. The structure of the story is overtly crafted to hint at things to come, from Lincoln’s dad’s strange letter delivered in parts overlaying early scenes to Lincoln waking up, not sure of where he is for mundane reasons. It’s important that the story introduces Lincoln’s thoughts early on since they will be the guiding force through the unusual premises of the book later on, too. From a more successful and attractive best friend to a deeply troubled relationship, Lincoln seems to have all the cards stacked against him, but again, no sympathy because he comes off as rather passive, stumbling through life without really addressing the issues that plague him and retreating into a pot haze to inspire him to lie to his girlfriend to cover up cheating on her and no doubt dull the edge on realizations that he is broke and pretty clueless. These details may suggest that the book is rambling and unappealing, but that’s not the case. A strange tension slowly builds up as we follow Lincoln through his life, and part of that is due to the intentionally disorienting page layouts that jump between color schemes and locations to form a collage-like introduction to Lincoln’s average lacklustre day. He does the wrong things, he says the wrong things to his sister and traumatized girlfriend, and he sees himself as a man assailed by the difficulties of life. There’s an abruptness to Lincoln suddenly turning up at a museum party with hunky friend Reggie that suggests that Lincoln is well outside of his natural element: he hardly seems like a museum-goer, but that works well because what kind of average museum goer (again in a pot haze) would steal a priceless aboriginal mask. The disaffected kind, the kind who feels that life can’t get much worse than it already is. If there’s any sympathy for Lincoln in the book, that’s where it exists, in the fact that he thinks things can’t get worse, but they do get so much worse, really, for a guy who just doesn’t want to engage with his problems. He’s not a hero or an anti-hero, John Lincoln, and that makes things a little frightening for the reader. He’s a mediocre guy who’s fairly self-absorbed. What happens when someone like Lincoln gets “possessed” by vengeance? What kind of moral compass is going to guide that train wreck? At 10 pages, all of Lincoln’s amoral qualities suddenly become a problem in a big way. They become suddenly significant and alarming because he becomes a kind of psychologically unstable weapon. Reassessing the daily life we’ve seen from Lincoln, we know he avoids cops, deals with petty criminals, cheats without compunction on his girlfriend and wants her to just “get over” a psychologically scrambling home-invasion she’s been dealing with. It’s not an inspiring picture. He rationalizes everything he does, so how’s he going to rationalize the most extreme behavior that he may suddenly be capable of? It’s pretty breath-taking

The people on stage with you today stand right alongside the knowledge in your head as your greatest resource moving forward. May all your debuts be ACME #1s, and may all your contracts be more Kane than Kirby. Good luck. Please write. And draw.

We’re back, and we’ve got an hour and a half of comics discussion for you, with news on the passing of Dan Adkins, James Robinson leaving DC, Disney’s Big Hero 6 movie, Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick’s t-shirts for charity and a run through the August solicitations. We’ve also got reviews of The Dream Merchant, [...]

Cameron Hatheway writes; Hey remember last year when this category didn’t even exist because the judges cited there were ‘not enough contenders that reached the level of quality they were looking for?’ Good times. Glad to see they brought the category back this year, despite axing the Best Limited Series category in its place. As you saw from the Best Continuing Series coverage, a few of the nominees are repeats, but seem to fit much better here. Moving on, today I’ll be focusing on the Best New Series category. If you need a reminder of what’s been nominated, you can find the entire list right here, and see what I chose last time right here. Keep in mind I cannot vote for who wins (nor can you, probably), as per the rules. However, that’s not keeping me from being vocal regardless! Who is not eligible to vote? Comics press or reviewers (unless they are nominees) Non-creative publisher staff members (PR, marketing, assistants, etc.) Fans Before I get back to work on editing Layman’s Mars Attacks SHOwtime miniseries so I can be eligible for next year, let the games begin! Best New Series Adventure Time, by Ryan North, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb (kaboom!) A wonderful comic spin-off from the animated show, Adventure Time offers great fun for diehard fans and casual observers alike. Featuring a main story that spans several issues (first being about the Lich King, the second revolving around time travel) and several back-ups by a whole roster of talented individuals, this series is totally mathematical for readers of all ages. Be sure to look carefully for Ryan North’s commentary at the bottom of almost every page. Bandette, by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover (Monkeybrain) A delightful little series from Monkeybrain, Bandette follows the thief of the same name as she steals from the bad guys and keeps some of the spoils for herself. Sometimes she’s hired to retrieve valuable items that find their way into the wrong hands, sometimes she’s called by the police inspector for help. Bandette with the help of her crew the Urchins have their ways of getting certain items back. Absolutely gorgeous art from Colleen Coover, and fun storytelling by Paul Tobin. Fatale, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image) A beautiful woman with a mysterious past, a reporter in too deep, and human sacrifices for supernatural beings. The latest collaboration between Brubaker and Phillips, Fatale is a wonderful blend of noir, science-fiction, and horror with a dash of the occult for good measure. Hawkeye, by Matt Fraction and David Aja (Marvel) This is not your average superhero comic. Instead of fighting crime on a global scale, Fraction and Aja take Clint Barton and have him patrol just his own turf in New York City. The supporting cast of characters is great, and Aja’s use of color and facial expressions are just plain fantastic. Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image) The series that brought Vaughan back to the comics medium definitely lives up to the hype. Telling a story reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet meets The Fifth Element, Vaughan and Staples throw us in the middle of a galactic war where magic and science are frequently being used in battle. Immediately you care for Marko and Alana, and hope that Hazel is going to live to tell the tale of how her parents first met. Who I think should win: Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image) Many people were afraid that Vaughan’s return to comics was going to be all hype, and disappointing overall. It was safe to say by the end of the first issue that BKV was back and better than ever, introducing us to one of the most original comics in recent memory. Staples flawlessly executes the big ideas, and the creative team works perfectly in unison as if they’ve been doing this series for the past five years. With the series barely in its teens, it has quickly become the must-read comic of fans from all walks of the medium. By the second issue, people realized they were witnessing t

Every week, I will spotlight strange but ultimately endearing comic stories (basically, we’re talking lots and lots of Silver Age comic books). Here is the archive of all the installments of this feature. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have a suggestion for a future installment! Today is the 100th installment of [...]