It's a Wicked New Comics Day!

    DC manages several major mistakes this week - shorting the dealers on the 3-D covers (about which I heard much grumbling in my local comics shop), swamping the stands with villain-centric comics (it would take a wealthier reader than I to buy them all), and then they imitate one of Marvel's biggest mistakes from recent years in Forever Evil. 

   More in the week ahead - for now, here's what I picked up:

- Avengers AI #3 - How the other half lives.

- Batman #23.1 - A Joker's tale.

- Batman Black & White #1 - Love those anthologies!

- Emerald City of Oz #3 - A tasty treat!

- Forever Evil #1 - Bring on the Bad Guys!

- Green Lantern #23.1 - An origin story for Relic.

- Infinity #2 - A war on several fronts. 

- Iron Man #15 - Final showdown.

- Justice League #23.1 - All Darkseid, all the time.

- Shadow Year One #5 - Blazing guns.

- The Star Wars #1 - Clever idea of basing a comic on the first draft of Lucas' Star Wars script.

- X-Men Battle of the Atom #1 - Hey, it's part one of the latest event!

- All-New X-Men #16 - Hey, it's part two of the latest event!

   And that's it! Whew!

The Classics - Calvin and Hobbes

   It's never easy to name a "favorite" comic strip, because there have been so many amazing ones in the history of the form - but if I was forced to name one, it would have to be Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson.

    That's because it manages to do everything well.

   Great art? Yep. Even the earliest efforts (this is the first collection of the strips) a brimming with energy, with humor, with clever designs and imaginative settings. It's one of the few strips that continued to improve from the first strip to the last.

   Great humor? I don't think any other strip provides more laughs - everything from potty humor, childish gags, sophisticated wit, satire, thoughtful observations, belly laughs and so much more.

   Imaginative content? You could count on one hand the strips that are contenders in this category, but Watterson provided a limitless world in the imagination of a little boy. The sheer genius of giving Calvin a toy tiger (Hobbes), which everyone sees as a doll - but when they're alone, Hobbes comes to life and becomes a wonderful foil for Calvin's machinations.

   Does it have heart? Oh yeah. There are strips that will tug at your heartstrings like few comics ever manage. The characters share rare moments of tenderness, and it's genuinely touching.

   Does it hold up? It manages the difficult trick of being timeless. Perhaps one exists, but I can't remember a single instance of a timely reference - to technology or a movie star or a politician - yet it feels "real" - Calvin could easily have been one of my boys at that age. (One Watterson drawing I still cherish features Calvin and his mom glaring at each other - he's taking a bath, and she's soaked. It could easily have been a drawing of my wife giving one of my (then) blond-haired sons a bath.

   The fact is, this is a review I don't feel I can provide enough superlatives to do the work justice. I love this strip like no other, and every day I grieve that it's not still appearing in my daily newspaper. In art and writing, Watterson was a genius, and I miss his work terribly.

    Thankfully, it's all still there on the shelf, waiting to be enjoyed. Calvin and Hobbes belong to the ages now, and while it would be nice to have more, we can certainly be happy with what we have.

     And if you're among the few who have never read the comic strip before - what a treat you have in store!

Grade: A+

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Overtaken #1

   I've really been enjoying Aspen's "10 for 10" promotion, offering a variety of new titles for a great price - $1.

   But Overtaken is a bit of a tough sell, because it's all setup - and it doesn't always make much sense.

   The story starts off with an examination of two strange alien races - one red and one blue - as they battle to the death. We never really understand what they have to do with the rest of the issue.

   Then the story jumps to modern-day Earth, as a young couple - Will and Jesse Harden - settle into their new life in a rural town named Turtle Creek. It's all very idyllic, right out of a TV sitcom - until something unusual happens.

   It's all apparently leading into some kind of science fiction-based adventure, but we really don't get much to work with here - luckily, at these prices, it's a good bet that future issues will give the reader a bit more to chew on.

Grade: C+

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Thor God of Thunder #12

   After the interminable "Godbomb" story, this issue of Thor God of Thunder arrives like a breath of fresh air.

   It's a "done in one" story that gives us a breather from endless storylines and all the sturm and drang of cosmic battles between gods and demons.

   Instead, we get a glimpse at the answer to the question: why is Thor so fond of the Earth?

   The issue is a series of vignettes of the Thunder God visiting friends, fulfilling wishes, helping the needy, checking in with old friends and fighting for the good guys.

   To say more would spoil the fun, but it's a well-crafted issue by writer Jason Aaron - though I could do without what's become standard treatment for supporting characters.

   The art is by Nic Klein, whose work I don't remember seeing before, but it's a solid effort  here - some very nice character work, and a splash panel that would make a dandy poster.

   I'd be all for more stories like this and less of the previous 11 issues.

Grade: A-

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Wolverine and the X-Men #35

   I keep struggling with Wolverine and the X-Men, a comic I've been enjoying - almost despite itself.

   On the one hand, it's wonderfully creative. Writer Jason Aaron really pulls out all the stop to cram as much entertainment, action and character bits into each issue as possible.

   But it's almost too much - it's sometimes hard to see the story for all the interference. There are just so many characters, so many over-the-top concepts, so much going on - it's a challenge to keep up.

   But the issue almost always wins me over because of the humor content. Like the best writers, Aaron knows when to lighten things up and when to get serious.

   The art is quite good, with the Art Adams-inspired Nick Bradshaw and Walden Wong (and a small army of colorists) turn in some dynamic art with an army of characters, and manage to keep the story clear and easy to follow.

   What puts this issue well into the positive category is the teaser at the end, which promises the return of a beloved character - that always earns extra-credit points in my book.

Grade: A-

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Batman Superman #3

   This continues to be a heck of a lot of fun, as writer Greg Pak gives us a smart team-up between Superman and Batman and Superman and Batman (with a guest appearance by Wonder Woman).

   Nope, I'm not stuttering - the issue features the two heroes at the beginning of their career, and a parallel Earth version of them more than a decade further along.

   It's fun to see the young, idealistic Superman meeting his older, more confident (and somewhat jaded) counterpart, and we also get an exploration of the earliest meeting between the two - which hearkens back to Silver Age stories of the heroes as young boys.

   We finally get a sense of the forces at work here, as a familiar (and craggy) menace is revealed, and the heroes must find a way to join forces and overcome their biggest problem - distrust.

   The artwork is split between Jae Lee's wonderful, evocative style, which is very different from the usual Batman Superman fare - and the more conventional (but very nice) flashback art by Yildiray Cinar.

   As the story comes into focus, I find I'm enjoying this more and more - and next issue wraps up this story. A complete story in less than 10 issues - are they mad?

   Let's hope it's a new trend.

Grade: A-

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Captain America #10

   Well, that stunk.

   I've been a fan of Captain America for a long time, and have been thrilled to see the country discover that hero through his recent film and his star turn in The Avengers movie.

   So when they announced they were relaunching this title with John Romita, Jr. art, I was very hopeful.

   Romita certainly delivered his end of the deal, with kinetic, powerful artwork that captured the desperate nature of the story while keeping Cap's inner nobility on display.

   But Rick Remender's story failed all across the board.

   It placed Cap in Dimension Z, where he was trapped by his old enemy, the robotic Arnim Zola. He rescues and raises Zola's son, Ian, for more than a decade, all while fighting for his life in an alien setting against a variety of monsters (In other words, it's Planet Hulk all over again).

   So after 10 long issues of torture for Cap, of the same "who will betray who" and "who will live or die" storylines, we reach the end, and it just makes no sense at all. (This story only needed four issues at most, even with the decompressed storytelling everyone uses these days.)

   There's no character growth here - we don't even get the interesting glimpses into Cap's early life that were featured in early issues. It's just all screaming and explosions and sturm and drang, characters acting out of character, plot points that are never explained. Was Cap there for decades or was it a hallucination / time shift / choose your own hoary science fiction explanation here?

    The conclusion treats a beloved character very badly indeed, and offers a pale attempt at a Twilight Zone finish.

   Hopefully the next storyline will feature the decisive, heroic Cap that fans have flocked to see - not this violent, grim and gritty substitute.

Grade: C-

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Justice League #23

   When it comes to modern comics events, the most important thing (it seems) is to "stick the landing" - in other words, to provide a powerful ending to the story.

   So for six issues we've seen the "Trinity War" play out in the pages of Justice League, Justice League Dark and Justice League of America, with assorted mysteries, murders and mayhem to sort out. Did Superman murder another hero? What is the secret of Pandora's Box? Who is The Outsider working for? What shocking event will happen at the end of this issue to catapult the DC Universe into the next big event?

   Surprisingly enough, all those answers are finally revealed in this issue!

   Writer Geoff Johns brings his "A" game here, pulling together all the plot threads he's carefully prepared over the course of this series. The issue is a series of big moments, with one revelation (or shock) after another.

   The art by Ivan Reis is terrific, loaded with splash pages, stunning visuals and great layouts. Very impressive!

   My only real complaint with the issue is that we get to the end of the "War" - and it doesn't end! It just jumps right  into the next event - but since it looks like a good one, we can forgive that oversight.

   I have to admit, I had my doubts about this series - and I still think it was more overcrowded than it needed to be - but give the creative team credit for putting together a strong finish, and a powerful start for Forever Evil!

Grade: A

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New Comics Day

   Here's today's haul:

- Aquaman #23 - Undersea showdown.

- Batman Superman #3 - First meeting.

- Captain America #10 - The finale (finally).

- Executive Assistant Assassins #14 - Top of the class.

- FF #11 - Impossible, man.

- All-New Fathom #2 - A secret war begins.

- Flash #23 - What happens when Flash meets Reverse-Flash?

- Journey Into Mystery #655 - The last issue.

- Justice League #23 - The end of the Trinity War, the beginning of...?

- King Conan #4 - The Hour of the Dragon continues.

- Overtaken #1 -  A new science fiction tale.

- Thor #12 - A day in the life.

- Tom Strong #2 - Visit to a distant planet.

- Wolverine and the X-Men #35 - Wrapping up the Hellfire Saga.

- Uncanny X-Men #11 - A brutal fight.

- Young Avengers #9 - Broken hearts.

   And that's it!

The Classics - Blackmark

     In 1973 - in addition to buying comic books -  I was also constantly scouring book stores (new and used) for reading material.

   Imagine my surprise in finding this paperback in one of those stores. I had no idea who Blackmark was, but I immediately recognized the cover art by Gil Kane, easily one of my all-time favorite artists.

   I picked up the slim paperback and flipped through the pages, shocked to find that it was, in essence, a comic book!

   Kane had created a classic science fiction / pulp adventure tale, set on an Earth devastated by nuclear war, now home to warring (mostly) barbaric races and assorted monsters and creatures.

   The art didn't include just word balloons - instead, the story was told through blocks of text that ran around the art. Word balloons were only used for dialogue, and none of it was hand-lettered - it used type instead.

    It was not a story for children. It starts from the very beginning, as a mysterious scientist somehow makes it possible for Blackmark's mother to conceive a child for the first time (he is, unknowingly, the son of a king). Early in life the boy witnesses terrible tragedy and must struggle through life until he finds his destiny on the field of battle.

   It's a solid pulpish adventure, loaded with rousing action, grim moments and larger-than-life concepts. It's also just the beginning of the story (though it does stand alone), and Kane added a later chapters in the pages of Marvel magazines some years later.

   Especially considering the tiny size of the publication, the art is terrific (it appears to be mostly Kane on pencils and inks, although it's easy to spot some Neal Adams inking on at least one chapter), and if the story creaks a bit in places, you have to admire the energy, enthusiasm and pure skill Kane brought to the project.

   It stands as (arguably) one of the first graphic novels, and a grand experiment by one of the industry's masters. I loved it, and read it to pieces.

   Well worth tracking down!

Grade: A

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Fearless Dawn in Outer Space #1 (One-Shot)

   It's nice to see Fearless Dawn back in action, since it's one of the most over-the-top, offbeat comics around.

   Written and drawn by Steve Mannion, Dawn appeared in a mini-series that followed her adventures, fighting against assorted monsters and Nazis (yes, Nazis) while trying to keep her clothes on. It was a manic, sexy series.

   Mannion's style is a real delight - sort of a modern-day version of the old underground comics, with lots of beautiful, pin-up, sexualized depictions of women, gnarled monsters and extreme action sequences.

   Needless to say, this isn't a comic for children - there's harsh language (though the worst of it is censored) and violence - but even the invasion of the bad guys is done in a lighthearted, entertaining fashion.

   This isn't a comic for everyone - it's rude and hot all at the same time - but if you're looking for some straightforward fun, and a comic that's just loaded with energy and enthusiasm, you could do a lot worse.

    But if you're easily offended, look elsewhere.

Grade: B

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Wonder Woman #23

   We're coming up on two years of Wonder Woman stories in which the Amazon Princess has been off in a world of her own.

   Well, we assume it's actually the "New 52" universe, but (unless I'm blanking out here) she hasn't had any crossovers with other mainstream DC heroes in this comic.

   She has encountered the New Gods, but they've only appeared here (although Darkseid and his followers have popped up in a few places, including Earth 1 and 2).

   But the focus here has been entirely on horror, as the gods and their squabbles leave behind a string of death, dismemberment and destruction.

   Diana is trying to protect a young mother and her baby - who happens to be the last child of Zeus - and as a result has fought virtually every god in the pantheon. Some more than once.

    This issue by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang features the final battle (for now) between Diana's forces and those of the "First Born" (shouldn't he have a name?). It's mostly all-out, brutal action, but War brings some interesting allies to the dance (including some blink-and-you'll-miss-them gust stars).
 
   It has some shocking moments, though the ending seems somehow unresolved.

   This has been an excellent series (though as always I hasten to add that it's not for children), though I'd like to see this storyline wrapped up, so maybe we can see WW interact with some of her fellow superheroes. Or anybody who isn't a murderous immortal.

Grade: A-
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X-Men #4

   This issue of X-Men is (more or less) split down the middle, with two separate stories filling the pages.

   One story is quite good, and the other one is pretty dull.

   Ironically, the action sequence is the boring one - it's the introspective personal tale that's much more interesting.

   The action sequence has this team of X-Men (made up of female mutants, including Storm, Rogue, Psylocke, Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey) performing a mid-air rescue of a jumbo jet in danger of crashing - all while sniping at each other.

   It's a silly, improbable rescue attempt that never manages to make us feel like anyone is in any danger at all. And all the complaining is just tiring.

   The other story is much more fun, as Wolverine and Jubilee and her newly adopted child Shogo (not that she's filed any paperwork or anything) take a walk down memory lane as they visit her old neighborhood and relive her action-packed introduction to the X-Men.

   It's touching and real - where the other storyline doesn't seem to include real people at all.

   I'd love to see more stories like this, and less of the manufactured heroics.

Grade: B
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Superman Unchained #3

   Given the talent working on this series, I was surprised that I didn't like the last issue of Superman Unchained much at all.

   Sadly, this issue doesn't do much to rise above that effort.

   Once again, we have Superman fighting the United States military for no good reason. The Man of Steel shows up at a secret military base, asks questions which General Lane (Lois' dad) refuses to answer, he fights a powerful alien and then they all calm down and answer his questions. So why were they fighting?

   This is also one of those comics where I think I must be losing my memory. Among the side stories are one that follows Lois Lane as she attempts a crash landing in a big plane - I have no memory at all of why she's in the plane, and we get no clue here.

   There's another sub-plot that has a mindless, exo-skeleton-wearing Lex Luthor being somehow piloted by himself (you read that correctly) for reasons I can't remember. And some drones are attacking Tokyo, but I have no idea why or where they came from.

   Forgetting elements like that indicates that either I'm losing my mind (always a possibility) or the setup in the last issue wasn't memorable at all. (I'm hoping it's reason #2.)

   The art by Jim Lee is as impressive as always, and it's great to see a new character who's powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Superman - but I think that character's name has been used more than once before in comics.

   At any rate, it's another split effort, as the art is impressive but the story seems to be spending all of its efforts in making Superman a badass.

   Personally, I always liked him when he was just the world's greatest hero.

Grade: B-

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The Avengers #18

      So I was at lunch yesterday with an old friend and he asked, "Do you really understand The Avengers?"

    I had to think about it for a moment, because there's a lot going on in this series, and it's a huge story unfolding - so it's easy to get overwhelmed by the story.

   I do understand the story, but give writer Jonathan Hickman credit - he's creating a deep, multi-layered story that - like his work on Fantastic Four and Secret Warriors - is challenging for the reader, but pays off in wonderful dividends.

   With this issue the majority of the team travels into deep space to join forces with an array of galactic empires facing destruction at the hands of the mysterious Builders.

   The story gives us a glimpse of some of the alien races that have been part of the Marvel Universe for a long time. An interesting element of the story is the idea that Earth is a special place - a planet that has managed to resist numerous world-crushing menaces (including Galactus).

   It's an old science fiction conceit - and a personal favorite of mine. It's nice to think that we have a special place in this big ol' universe.

   But in this battle the Avengers are faced with overwhelming odds and it's tough to see how 18 heroes - however mighty - will be able to make a difference.

   The art is by Leinil Francis Yu, who has a unique style that I enjoy. It contains elements of Ernie Colon and Gene Colan, but with an original, dynamic take.

   They're creating a powerful story here -  not always easy to follow, but it's carving a unique and thoughtful space of its own. Highly recommended!

Grade: A

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Justice League Dark #23

      This series continues to careen toward the conclusion of the Trinity War (which apparently leads into the next big event), and perhaps the biggest surprise so far is that of the "Trinity" (Phantom Stranger, The Question and Pandora), only the last of the number has played any kind of significant part so far.

   But that's understandable, because hoo boy, is this event crowded. It teams up the Justice League, the Justice League of America and Justice League Dark.

   This issue finally gives us some hints about the true nature of the threat - a mystery that promises to rock the DC Universe.

   If only this issue had been a better lead-in to the final issue. It's mostly devoted to an all-out battle that's the equivalent of a nasty game of Hot Potato.

   It also requires almost all the heroes to act like dopes, with only a couple of the magic-based heroes able to make a difference.

   But there are some enticing moments - especially the splash page that shows some surprising characters being affected by a mystic force - and that keeps us in the game to see how the creative team wraps this up and launches the next event series.

 Grade: B+

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New Comics Today

Here's what I picked up at the comics shop today:

- Avengers #18 - Galactic war!

- Conan the Barbarian #18 - Facing dark forces.

- Daredevil #30 - Fighting the Silver Surfer!

- Fearless Dawn in Outer Space (One Shot) - Everyone hates Space Nazis.

- Justice League Dark #23 - Nearing the end of the Trinity War.

- Superman Unchained #3 - Evenly matched.

- Wonder Woman #23 - War is hell.

- X-Men #4 - Fun and flight!

And that's it!

The Classics - Fun With Peanuts

As further proof that we're living in the Golden Age of comic strip reprints, we only have to look at what passed for reprints when I was young.

For most of the '60s and '70s, most of the comic strip reprints that were available were in small paperback books, like this collection - Fun With Peanuts.

The books, of course, featured reprints of classic comic strips from the mid-1950s by the legendary Charles Schulz, and featured Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder and Pigpen (and a few others that didn't last long in the strip, like Violet).

The strips weren't presented in chronological order and the Sunday strips weren't included (or if they are, they severely cut).

The big problem the book had to overcome was the change in format. Comic strips are, of course, typically long and flat, so to adjust each one to fit on the page, each one was re-formatted to remove the borders, add some Ben-Day highlights, change to borders and otherwise retool each one.

Here's a good example of how it worked:

But despite all those changes, I (and millions of readers starved for comic strip collections) scooped these up and read them to pieces (as the well-worn cover will attest).

Today, we have wonderfully complete collections with quality reproductions - I've been gleefully scooping them up - but I still have great affection for these ratty, read-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life paperbacks.

They were a gateway to a lost world at a time when such things were hard to find.

Grade: A+

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Charismagic: The Death Princess #3

Heroes are often at their best when faced with overwhelming odds.

That's exactly the position of the wizard Kon as this issue of Charismagic: The Death Princess starts, as Orlana, the Death Princess takes control of his allies - so to save the Earth, he must fight the powerful sorceress and his own lethal allies.

What follows is a no-holds-barred battle that provides answers to the mysteries behind the series, including the origin of the powerful villain Samsun.

The issue written by Vince Hernandez is an action romp, with some serious consequences (although the story makes a sudden turn from death-dealing brutality to "we don't want to kill anyone").

The art by Emilio Lopez and Jocelyn Dunn is entertaining (though the layouts in a few panels seem of bit off) - they seem to be having a lot of fun with this action-packed tale - and they also provide some nice good-girl art.

So if you're looking for answers to the mysteries behind the world of Charismagic, this is a good place to start.

Grade: B

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Justice League of America #7

This issue of Justice League of America provides a textbook example of how tricky it is to have a crossover between more than one team comic.

The problem that arises is that the story gets so overcrowded with heroes that the story gets squeezed out of the picture.

That's the reason why the traditional method for crossovers was to break the teams up into smaller groups - then they'd gather together at the end for the big finale.

None of which is to say this is a bad comic. It moves the story along, though it does little to resolve the mystery at its heart - what caused Superman to (apparently) kill another hero?

So the teams are running around, checking out leads - and they finally get a clue about their true opponent.

The art is tremendous, as Doug Mahnke creates yet another issue filled with outstanding art and terrific character designs - he's one of DC's best right now.

But the credits box is as crowded as the comic, with two writers, five inkers and three colorists.

It's fun to squeeze a pile of heroes into one story, but it takes precision and clarity to make it work, and this issue doesn't quite succeed - though it makes a valiant effort.

We'll see how the last two issues in this event fare.

Grade: B+

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