Action Figures

Today, I jumped back into the wonderful world of collecting action figures.  Do I need to?  No.  Can I afford to?  Well, not really.  But, sometimes, you just have to indulge yourself.

One of my favorite things as a kid were my 3.75-inch action figures.  I loved playing with GI Joe and Star Wars figures and their various vehicles and playsets.  I also collected the Dapol Doctor Who figures in the same size.  I often used to wish that they would make superhero figures in that size because, although Secret Wars and Super Powers were awesome, they just didn’t match my preferred play style.  The sick thing is that now that they’ve started making superhero figures in my favorite size, the Doctor Who figures are now bigger, the size the superhero figures used to be.  Well, it figures. Heh.

Anyway, there are two ranges I want to collect (three, if you count Star Wars, which I kinda do, because I need to get the newer characters).  The two ranges are Marvel Universe and (I think it’s called) DC Infinite Heroes.

For DC Infinite Heroes, I have a few already.  Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, Jay Garrick Flash, Wildcat, and three villains whose names elude me.  Honestly, I was never into DC as much as Marvel, so that’s hardly surprising.  I’d like to get the rest of them, but I have to admit that they are far inferior to the Marvel Universe Figures which have far better sculpts and articulation.

Up until today, I only had Alpha Flight’s Guardian and Gambit (Gambit is actually from a sister range dedicated to the X-Men Origins Wolverine film).  Today, I added five more figures to my collection.  They are:

• X-23
• Mister Fantastic
• Invisible Woman
• Thing
• H.E.R.B.I.E.

Those last four were part of a Fantastic Four gift pack.  The Human Torch was not included, which means I’ll have to track him down separately to complete the team.

Which brings me to an interesting dilemma – which version of the Human Torch do I want?  One of the early Marvel Universe figures is a really badly realized “see-through” flames figure that doesn’t look like any version of the Human Torch I’ve ever read.  Then there’s the “Johnny Storm” version which, quite frankly,  infuriates me.  I know he’s called the Human Torch, but if they’re going to make a non-flame version, why must they always set his frigging hair on fire?!?  I want a nice figure of Johnny in uniform, his pretty blond locks completely untouched by fire.  Just as well, really, since the figures in my gift pack use the more recent outfits from the Hickman/Eaglesham/Epting run of Fantastic Four, whereas the “Johnny Storm” version uses (I believe) a John Byrne-era look.  While I’d be lying if I said I didn’t prefer that costume, the current look is also awesome and I’d like them all to match.

The answer lies in two-packs, specifically the (I love the irony) SECRET WARS two-packs of Marvel Universe figures, which is basically an expanded range of figures from that line/comic.  There is a two-pack that has a decent paint and sculpture of the Human Torch with his FLAME ON!  He’s packaged with Wolverine in the orange and brown outfit which, I must say, has always been my favorite.  Now, I also want the Ultimate gift pack which contains what I refer to as Proper Thor (Classic Look), Proper Captain America (Classic Look), and Proper Iron Man (the Iron Man from Iron Man #199, the first issue of that book I ever bought).  Oh, and Spiderman.  No, I’m not hyphenating the name.  Deal with it.

Other figures on my “Get Sooner Rather Than Later” list include the following:

• Kitty Pryde w/Lockheed (Darn Shame it’s not the Alan Davis Excalibur look, but at least there’s Lockheed)
• Captain Britain
• Nightcrawler
• Thanos
• Hobgoblin
• Jean Grey (Jim Lee version)
• Vision (Regular non-phasing version)
• Scarlet Witch
• Iron Patriot
• Archangel
• Thanos
• Doctor Doom
• Absorbing Man

But top of my list, and something I intend to order in the next few days is a CLASSIC POWER MAN AND IRON FIST two-pack.  That’s right, baby, Luke Cage in the yellow silk, Danny Rand in the high collar.  AS IT SHOULD BE.

I just hope I can pose Iron Fist in the same position as that classic ad for the book that begins “Listen, Power Man’s not here right now…”  If I can’t do that, I will probably cry.  A lot.  Fair warning.

 

My Comic Shop

So, my best friend’s birthday is coming up (on February 6).  Since we’re both into comics, I decided to try an online shop called http://www.mycomicshop.com and get him some back issues.

I placed an order with them today.  Not only am I getting him sixteen back issues, but I’m also grabbing six for myself.  While I can’t say what the ones I’m getting him are because he’s probably going to read this, I will say what I’m getting for myself.

• Spectacular Spider-Man #100 – Second part of the Spot story that began in #99.  Been wanting to read the rest of this story for a long time.
• Doctor Who: A Fairytale Life #4 – Last issue of a miniseries I had been getting.
• Fantastic Four #303 – One step closer to filling in the gaps between the Byrne and Simonson runs on the title.
• Robotech: Masters #20 – Only issue of this series that I don’t have.
• Robotech: The New Generation #16, 17 – The only two issues of this series that I don’t have.

Managed to snag all of these for under $30 (and that includes the cost of shipping!).  So yeah, not bad at all.

In related news, I think the back issue bug has infected me once more, and I want to finish off some titles that I’ve been collecting for years.  Time and finances will see if I actually get around to doing so, but either way, it’s fun to get new books, even if they are technically old ones.

 

January 1, 2012

Okay, so…first blog post in a while.  Spent all of November working on NaNoWriMo, and though I reached my goal of 50,000 words in November, I didn’t finish my book.  Yet.  Only like two or three chapters to go though.  I want to try to get them finished by my birthday on Valentine’s Day.  We’ll see.

Speaking of books, I’m currently reading the Star Wars: Legacy series, which I received for Christmas.  Currently on Volume 3, and it’s what the Brits might call a “cracking good read”.  Most of all, it’s a worthy next chapter of the Star Wars mythos.  I think I’m going to “count” these as Episodes VII-IX of the movies.  I always wanted to know “what happens next” in some of my favorite stories, and now I can find out, even if it’s not in the form of actual movies.

In other comic-related news, I find myself interested in statues and mini-busts now.  Mini-busts are a bit of a stretch, as I prefer full statues, but several of the characters I want statues of only have mini-busts, so I just have to make do.  Actually, that’s a bit of a lie.  I don’t expect to ever actually get any statues or mini-busts, but it’s a peripheral goal of mine, one I’d like to accomplish at some point if I get a job and/or become rich.  It’s kind of like how I want to collect pages of original art, in that respect.

Truth be told, I’m further along on the original art front, as I actually own two pages of comic art.  One is a Olivier Coipel Legion page featuring Shrinking Violet.  The other is a Lee Sullivan page from Doctor Who Magazine, featuring the Seventh Doctor, Ace, the Brigadier, and Muriel Frost, an original character created for the comic strip.

As for what type of original art pages I want, there are several.  On the Doctor Who side of things, I’d like to have a Dave Gibbons and a John Ridgway page.  There are probably others, but those are the two main goals for Doctor Who.

Other artists I’d like to have pages from include John Byrne, Alan Davis, Mark Bagley, Jim Lee, Ron Lim, etc.  There are many others, of course, but these are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

As far as 2012 goes, I have made resolutions – guidelines, really – of what I want to work toward in my collecting.  These include:

• Start an Alpha Flight-themed Sketch Book for Acme’s Free Comic Book Day guests to fill up
• In the Sketch Book I’m already working on completing, ask for interesting or unusual character requests
• Start my statue collection (yeah, right)
• Start (well, continue, really) my original art page collection. Also, get a portfolio to contain the pages.  My first two pages are framed on my wall, but I’d like to get a portfolio for the new ones.
• Start sending out Autograph requests again.  I sent one to Harry Morgan, but he died before he could reply.  I had intended to send out requests to Elisabeth Sladen and Nicholas Courtney, but they died before I ever sent them a request.  I have only myself to blame for missing out on them.  (Please understand, the main direction of my grief is for the loss to their friends and family, but as someone who collects autographs, it’s naturally going to be regretful that I don’t contact someone before they pass on and let them know how much I enjoy their work.)
• Convert more of my comics over to trades and sell off my back issues on eBay, keeping an occasional key issue that has sentimental value to me.
• Try to catch up on my Doctor Who DVD collection.  I’m behind several releases, and I really need to catch up so that I can junk my inferior VHS copies.
• Try to catch up on my TV on DVD collection, particularly for series I haven’t watched in quite some time.  These include, but are not limited to: Mad About You, Becker, Just Shoot Me, How I Met Your Mother, Dragon Ball, Pokemon, and Super Friends.

I have other goals, but they’re a bit more personal, so I won’t publish them here.  Suffice it to say, I have my work cut out for me.  However, I shall approach this new year with my eternal optimism quite intact.

Wish me luck!

Make Mine Marvel Digital Unlimited – Week 01

Okay, so I joined the Digital Comics Revolution.  Somewhat.  More accurately, thanks to my uncle who was kind enough to buy me a subscription, I joined the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service a week ago yesterday.  Since I don’t have a job currently, and I have a year’s worth of free comic reading available to me, this is a good deal.

For those unfamiliar with the Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited service, it allows you to read an online library of Marvel Comics spanning from the 1930s to the present day, more or less.  The catalog is a work in progress, but they already have several thousand digitized comics ready to be read by anyone who coughs up a low monthly fee – even lower if you pay by the year, and even less than that if you happen to catch them in the middle of a sale, as I did.  For around $41 (normally $60 per year), I have a lot of reading to do, so why not document my travels across the Marvel Universe here in my blog on a weekly basis?

My first comic book as a kid was Alpha Flight #13, so I figured why not start with my favorite Canadians?  To that end, I’ve read Alpha Flight V1 #1-6.  Looking now, I see that V1 of Alpha only goes through #8 as far as their digital library is concerned.  I must confess to being disappointed by that.  I wanted to reread the entire series digitally, but I suppose I’ll be stopping after #8 until they get some more of them put up on the site.  One would think they’d go as far as #12 and the death of Guardian, but I suppose not.  From what I understand, #1-8 are the contents of the first Alpha Flight Classic collected edition.  Volume 2, containing #9-19, will be out in September or October of this year, so perhaps they’ll add those issues then.  I suppose that at least part of the Digital Unlimited service serves as a teaser for the trades Marvel has released.  If so, they’re an effective one, because several of the books I’ve read, I now want a print collection of them.  Anyway, now I’d like to say a few words about the display format.

On a good-sized monitor, the picture is pretty good.  A full-screen option for the browser-based viewing application is nice and keeps the books the way I like, as big as possible while still being able to view two-page spreads nicely without having to scroll and read or view only part of the page at the time – which you can also do if you prefer, though I personally wouldn’t.  You can also choose to view one or two pages at a time.  I prefer the two-page method.  The cover starts out by itself, then the first page by itself, and the comic is then shown in pairs of pages thereafter, as if you were reading a printed copy without ads.  If the page counts don’t add up, though, Marvel does space out the page before the two-page spread so that it doesn’t break up the two-page splash.  Usually.  They didn’t do so during Alpha Flight #3 for some reason, and that was quite unfortunate.  Luckily, that was the only instance where that has happened.  So far, at any rate.  Otherwise, it’s a great experience.  The colors are crisp and vibrant, and really stand out on my monitor.  Although it’s not as good as having the real thing in your hand, if you’re on a budget, it is a more than acceptable substitute which will give you hours of reading pleasure.  But back to what I’ve been reading…

My plan was to have three regular titles that I would read an issue of each day, and then one or two mini-series.  So far, I haven’t implemented this plan fully, but I did take the first step toward it immediately.  One of the first titles I told myself that I wanted to read was the Frank Miller run of Daredevil.  I like the concept of Daredevil, but it’s not a title I would probably follow regularly, no matter who the creative team was.  Until now.  This past week, I’ve read Daredevil #158-164, the first half of the first Daredevils Visionaries: Frank Miller trade, according to Wikipedia.  The art is a lot better than what I expected, and the stories…well, the stories so far have been very entertaining.  My first issue was the second half of a two-parter.  Rather than read the issue preceding it, which I could have done, I just decided to forge ahead as if I had picked my first issue up off the newstands like I did when I was a kid.  Despite the digital nature of the books, it felt authentic to do it that way, and that was kinda nice.  I also found out that Black Widow and Daredevil used to be an item.  I did not know that before reading these issues, but it is an interesting combination.  As for whether I like the book – I’m happy to say I did.  It read like the Englehart/Rogers Batman my best friend insisted I read once before.  Good stuff, and I’m looking forward to continuing with Daredevil at least through the end of the Miller run, but honestly, if it’s all this good, I may just keep going with the title.

My third “regular” title was Captain Britain and MI:13.  I had heard good things about this series – many good things, and though I had the opportunity to buy this when it was actually coming out every month, I did not do so.  I liked Excalibur as a kid, but it was mainly because of Kitty Pryde and Lockheed.  Captain Britain was actually my least favorite character in the book, until Pete Wisdom came along later.  So a book with the two of them as the lead characters…I had to pass.  I regret that very much.  It may have been silly, but I didn’t like Pete Wisdom because I was jealous of him and Kitty.  Yeah, I can have fictional crushes, no big deal.  I don’t hate him anymore,  but while he’ll still never be a favorite, I can tolerate him here.  He’s not that bad.  Captain Britain isn’t that bad either.  Again, though, neither is my favorite character.  I like Black Knight, I like Spitfire, I like Faiza Hussain, and to see a female Muslim carrying Excalibur in this multi-cultural world we live in is quite glorious indeed.  This series gave us a lot of cool ideas and imagery in its brief little life, such as Doctor Doom and Dracula in a clandestine meeting on the Moon, and I cannot say I am sorry an adequate number of times to express my regret at not picking it up when it first came out.

On a whim, I decided to check out Marvel Zombies.  I like The Walking Dead, I love Marvel in general, so this was pretty much a safe bet for me.  Again, never read it when it first came out, and that’s my fault and no one else’s.  I read the first four mini-series as well as the Dead Days one-shot this past week.  Not bad at all.  Although I love Fred Van Lente’s work on the new Alpha Flight series this year as well as the later issues of Incredible Hercules and Prince of Power mini-series, I think Kirkman’s two stories were more interesting.  They read like an extended What If?, which is good, because I loves me some What If? books.  Having said that, however, I did enjoy the third and fourth minis as well, because they brought the zombie threat home to the 616.  They also had z-list (no pun intended) heroes deal with the threat, which is good.  You know they wouldn’t kill off the Human Torch or Captain America for cheap thrills, so having Morbius, Machine Man, Jocasta, and Jennifer Kale fight the undead was the only way to go.  Even so, that’s not as bad as it sounds, and you actually worry about whether or not they will be taken out by the zombies.  This is good, because it made me more invested in the story, even if I’d really rather be reading the further adventures of Zombie Wasp who, I’ll admit, is kinda hot.  Although Zombie Hawkeye with breasts is just an image I will never ever forget, though thankfully for completely different reasons.

Last but not least, for my first week of reading, I read the Korvac Sage Premiere Hardcover and followed it up with a digital version of What If? V1 #32, “What If the Avengers Had Become Pawns of Korvac?”  This book was the first issue of What If? I ever owned, and to this day, it is still one of my favorites.  You see, for the longest time, this was the only version of the Korvac Saga I had ever known.  This week is the first time I’ve ever read the original, and the only thing missing from the collection, in my opinion was the What If? alternate ending.  Whether you’ve read the original story or not, I recommend this one for the sheer cosmic shenanigans going on.  It’s good stuff and as Stan Lee would say, ’nuff said!

One more thing before I end this first post, and it pertains to the Digital Unlimited service itself.  They keep track of which books you read, organized by title, and they give you the option of printing out a list of everything you’ve read.  It’s a neat little feature for those of us who plan on doing a metric ton of reading over the course of the next year.  So anyway, until next time, Make Mine Marvel Digital Unlimited!

Fifty-Two Pick-Up

Let me start this post by admitting that money’s a problem for me at the moment, but even so, I admit I’m as excited/nervous/scared about the DC Relaunch as the next guy.  So what follows is pure hypothetical talk, meaning that even if I could afford all 52 books and I didn’t already previously have a habit of waiting for the trade when it came to DC, this is my thoughts on whether or not I would be likely to get the DC Relaunch titles on a case by case basis.  Here goes:

Justice League (Geoff Johns & Jim Lee) – I used to love the second Super Powers mini-series as a kid.  It was what I thought DC comics should be – a wide variety of heroes coming together to battle a threat to the world.  That is what I want from this book and any book bearing the JLA title or some variant thereof.  I liked Geoff Johns’ work on early Green Lantern (I’m behind quite a bit on those, so I felt the need to specify the early period in case I don’t like the later stuff when I get around to it.)  I loved Jim Lee on X-Men, Alpha Flight, WildCATs, and pretty much anything else of his I’ve bought.  I don’t buy everything of Jim Lee’s, but I did buy both volumes of Hush in hardcover because it was him.  Whatever else the Relaunch might screw up, this one would be one of my top picks to get, because I love a good team book.

Wonder Woman (Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang) – Under the right circumstances, I could be persuaded to buy a Wonder Woman title.  These are not those circumstances.  I haven’t read much, if any, Azzarello.  I haven’t seen much of Chiang’s work, to my knowledge.  I don’t like this look for Wonder Woman.  Just not interested.  Besides, she’s in JL, so I can check in with the character there.  Pass.

Aquaman (Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis) – Johns is okay, and Reis does good enough work, but my Aquaman is Dirty Pirate Hook-Hand Aquaman.  This one is doubtful, but a bit more likely than Wonder Woman because of the art.  In all likelihood, however, I’ll stick to JL for Aquaman action. (Side Note: It is frigging hard to type “JL” instead of “JLA”!  It’s like a bad reflex or something.) Pass.

The Flash (Francis Manapul/Brian Buccellato & art by the same) – Never been into Flash, not likely to start now.  Thanks, but no thanks, guys.

The Fury of Firestorm (Ethan Van Sciver/Gail Simone & Yildiray Cinar) – Gail Simone is a capable writer.  Ethan’s a good artist, except he’s on writing chores with Gail.  The cover looks great, and the original concept for the character is a solid one.  I’ll give this one a cautious maybe.

The Savage Hawkman (Tony Daniel & Phillip Tan) – I recently read the first Hawkman Showcase volume and thought it was fairly decent.  The idea of a Savage Hawkman does jar with that original image of an alien police officer.  Having said that, it fits right in with the image I always had of Hawkman as a kid from the Super Powers action figure, as a savage winged warrior who will bash your head in with a mace.  Hmm, maybe.

Green Arrow (JT Krul & Dan Jurgens) – I haven’t had all that much exposure to the character.  I don’t dislike him, but I wouldn’t say that I like him either.  I have read the “Hard Traveling Heroes” arc from the 70s featuring him and Green Lantern, which I did enjoy, but I dunno.  I’ll probably pass on this one.

Justice League International (Dan Jurgens & Aaron Lopresti) – Another team book, so I’m down for this, with almost no questions asked.  I question the need for a Batman on this team, except as a nod to the classic JLI run (ONE PUNCH!) which I need to get more than just the first trade I currently own.  If Batman Inc. will be returning, must this Batman be the American one (be it Bruce Wayne or whoever winds up under the cowl)?  Why not have the Japanese or Mexican Batman be on the team instead?  I must admit, though, that I am glad to see the return of August General In Iron from the Great Ten.  It does serve to remind me, however, Great Ten will not be one of the relaunched books, which is a shame, but at least we see him here.

Mister Terrific (Eric Wallace & Roger Robinson) – While I approve of DC wanting to diversify its lineup with non-white headlining heroes, I am just not interested in Mister Terrific.  His look doesn’t interest me (though it is an improvement on the “big black T” on his face from before).  I know next to nothing about him, and I’m not in that big a hurry to find out anything either.  Sorry, but I don’t plan on buying this book.

Captain Atom (JT Krul & Freddie Williams II) – Another character who has just never interested me in the slightest.  The cover is pretty, but not pretty enough to get me to buy it.  Pass.

DC Universe Presents (Various) – I used to love Marvel Comics Presents and its various spin-offs or variations that let you check in with various corners of their universe without the need to buy twenty billion titles every month.  Same premise here, therefore an automatic buy for me.

Green Lantern (Geoff Johns & Doug Mahnke/Christiam Almy) – I’ve always loved the idea behind the Green Lantern ring and power set.  Even though Kyle is my Earth GL of choice, I’ll probably get all the GL-family of titles, including this (presumably) Hal-centric one.

Green Lantern Corps (Peter J Tomasi & Fernando Pasarin/Scott Hanna) – Don’t particularly care one way or the other for either John Stewart or Guy Gardner, but it’s GLC, so I’m on board, no questions asked.

Green Lantern: The New Guardians (Tony Bedard & Tyler Kirkham/Batt) – The Rainbow Corps, led by Kyle Rayner?  They had me at Kyle Rayner, those should have been the first two words out of their mouths.  Plus, y’know, Green Lanterns.

Red Lanterns (Peter Milligan & Ed Benes/Rob Hunter) – I really question the need for this book at all.  I admit I’m way behind on my Green Lantern reading, but aren’t Red Lanterns supposed to be killer bad guys fueled by rage, bent on destruction?  That’s the impression I always had from previews and stuff, so this series that has them “battling against injustice”?  I’m just confused.  I’d get it, but only because it’ll most likely tie in to the GL titles at regular intervals.  Plus, Ed Benes is a pretty decent artist and draws hot women quite well.

Batman (Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo) – I have a dilemma when it comes to Batman.  I like the general idea of Batman, though I tend to prefer the Adam West approach or the Englehart/Rogers Batman of the 70s to the DARK KNIGHT approach favored by modern writers and artists.  What I would like is a single Batman title to follow, preferably with small story arcs of three or four parts (or six at a modern-day trade paperback stretch).  This title claims that Bruce Wayne will be “the only character taking on the Batman name.”  This doesn’t make any sense if Batman Inc is continuing next year.  If it were set in the past, wouldn’t it just say that instead of wording it as if to appear that the status quo of Batman=Bruce Wayne (and only Bruce Wayne) is being restored.  If it were set in the past, this would be my Batbook of choice.  As it is, though, I’m afraid Damian Wayne will be there.  And I don’t like Damian Wayne at all.  So depending on that, I may pass on this one.  For now, I’ll say pass anyway, just to be on the safe side.

Detective Comics (Tony Daniel) – Ditto my concerns for Batman above.  Ditto also my answer.

Batman & Robin (Peter J. Tomasi & Pat Gleason) – Damian Wayne?  Easy Pass.

Batman: Dark Knight (David Finch) – Why do we need four Batman titles?  Even if you like Batman, four is two many.  Two, I could understand.  Three, if the third one was a Legends of the Dark Knight style with stylish story arcs by random creative teams.  When you have three, even if that third one definitely has Damian Wayne in it, why do you need a fourth? The answer is, you don’t.  This slot should be given to something else, anything else but Batman.  Again, easy pass.

Birds of Prey (Duane Swierczynski & Jesus Saiz) – Birds of Prey was a clever pun when the original title first started.  Looking at the characters (and being, admittedly, not completely knowledgeable when it comes to second- and third-string DC characters), I don’t know that Birds of Prey should be the title of this book.  Still, I never read the original, and this one doesn’t appeal to me much either.  As a side note, why is Black Canary wearing armor- or bullet-proof-looking tops and then wearing what looks (from the cover) to be fishnets and sandals?  The design just…isn’t that great.  Anyway, pass.

Catwoman (Judd Winick & Guillem March) – To paraphrase the great Officer Barbrady from South Park, “All I know is, she ain’t Julie Newmar, and if she ain’t Julie Newmar, I don’t give a rat’s ass.”  Less crudely, I’ve never cared for the comic book Catwoman, so I’ll pass on this book.

Batgirl (Gail Simone & Ardian Syaf/Vicente Cifuentes) – Barbara Gordon is Batgirl?  I don’t care who’s writing it.  I don’t care who’s drawing it.  Sign me up immediately.  I never agreed with what happened to her in the Killing Joke, and when comic books can fix just about anything wrong with any character, up to, including, and even surpassing death, and DC keeps bringing back Hal Jordan, Barry Allen, even Jason Todd, there is no good reason to keep Barbara in that chair.  There just isn’t.  A hero with disabilities would indeed be cool and a prime representative of the diversity that DC claims to want to embrace, but they can create a new character for that.  As far as I’m concerned, Babs is back where she belongs.

Batwoman (J.H. Williams III/Haden Blackman & Amy Reeder) – I have no problem with this character, what little I’ve read about her sounds interesting, but after the announcement of Batgirl, I don’t need this book.  I’ve got the redhead I wanted in the cowl already.  Pass.

Nightwing (Kyle Higgins & Eddy Barrows) – I have nothing against Dick Grayson.  At the same time, his is a character that has always been “just there” for me.  That said, the blurb for the first issue does sound intriguing.  I’ll give this book a Maybe.

Red Hood and the Outlaws (Scott Lobdell & Kenneth Rocafort) – Hello, Batman and the Outsiders!  Seriously though, I don’t knokw what to do about this one.  I hate Jason Todd.  I love Starfire.  Arsenal was okay.  Um, Maybe with a 10% chance of Pass?

Batwing (Judd Winick & Ben Oliver) – A Black African Batman battling his own supervillains as well as a corrupt police force?  This sounds more exciting to me than all of the other Batman titles combined. Plus, for some reason, I’ve always been drawn to comics set in other countries.  Alpha Flight, Excalibur, Great Ten, this promises an interesting glimpse into a part of the world I’ll probably never visit.  Gimme.

Swamp Thing (Scott Snyder & Yannick Paquette) – This character has never interested me all that much, and honestly, I think anything coming up out of the swamps should look like the Creature from the Black Lagoon.  I’m glad he’s coming back for the people who enjoyed his book in the past, but I will pass on this one.

Animal Man (Jeff Lemire & Travel Foreman/Dan Green) – Again, never read the original, so this one has very little appeal to me, although I will admit the idea of a father who was once a hero watching his daughter start to manifest her own powers is an intriguing one.  Still, I’ll pass.

Justice League Dark (Peter Milligan & Mikel Janin) – I don’t know any of the characters that well, beyond a single appearance here and there in Sandman or Justice League.  It is a team book though, so I’m still down for it.  For the first arc, anyway.

Demon Knights (Paul Cornell & Diogenes Neves/Oclair Albert) – Justice League Medieval?  How can anyone not like this idea?  Even if I had no idea who Cornell was or who Etrigan was, this would be an awesome idea.  Let’s Get Medieval!

Frankenstein, Agent of Shade (Jeff Lemire & Alberto Ponticelli) – The idea of Frankenstein waving a sword around and bashing heads in is a very appealing one.  Chalk one up for the win column.

Resurrection Man (Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning & Fernando Dagnino) – Never read the original version of the character, but the concept of a guy having to relearn his trade every time he gets killed is fascinating.  Like the Man himself, I’d keep coming back over and over again to see what happens.

I, Vampire (Josh Fialkov & Andrea Sorrentino) – I have never cared for Vampires all that much.  If I wanted a Vampire who fought other Vampires to prevent them from harming mankind, I’d go buy Angel.  Pass.

Voodoo (Ron Marz & Sami Basri) – I’ve always liked Voodoo from her first appearance in WildCATs.  Even though this sounds very much like a DC rebooted version of her, I still want to read this and see what happens to her.

Legion Lost (Fabian Nicieza & Pete Woods) – Long Live the Legion!  Although I have to confess, if it weren’t for Gates, I probably wouldn’t be terribly excited about this title.  I have never liked reading long drawn-out arcs of the Legion in the 20/21st Centuries.  Loyalty Read only, though Nicieza is usually pretty good, so I’m not dreading it as much as I would otherwise.

Legion of Super-Heroes (Paul Levitz & Francis Portela) – Is it just me, or does that redhead on the cover look like Grace from the Outsiders?  Either way, it’s Legion, I guess I’m in it for the long haul at this point.  Loyalty Read again.

Teen Titans (Scott Lobdell & Brett Booth/Norm Rapmund) – Tim Drake?  YES!  Although I am very worried they may have screwed up both Connor Kent and Cassie Sandsmark.  Also, which Kid Flash is this?  Bart?  I hope so.  Either way, this one is a get for me.

Static Shock (John Rozum/Scott McDaniel & Scott McDaniel/Jonathan Glapion) – Never saw the cartoon, but always wanted to try the character.  It sounds as if it’d have that teen Spidey vibe to it.  I’d try this just to see what it was like.

Hawk & Dove (Sterling Gates & Rob Liefeld) – The duo never interested me, so I don’t see myself getting this.  I actually like Rob Liefeld’s work (Note, I didn’t say it was good, just that I liked it – important difference), so unlike most people, the art will not be why I don’t get this one.

Stormwatch (Paul Cornell & Miguel Sepulveda) – I like Martian Manhunter.  I LOVE Stormwatch.  I don’t like Authority that much, and unfortunately, that’s what this seems like it will be, just under another name.  Still, I’d get it, just on the off-chance they mention Fuji, Deathtrap, Fahrenheit, Nautica, and Diva.

Blackhawks (Mike Costa & Ken Lashley) – Mercenaries for hire?  Some people have problems with Luke Cage, and while I never did, I do question how “mercenary” they are that they only kill bad guys.  Sounds off, somehow.  Never read the original book, don’t know about this one either.  Maybe.

Sgt. Rock and the Men of War (Ivan Brandon & Tom Derenick) – I first bought the Sgt. Rock Showcase volumes for my brother, and after he read them, I would read them too.  We’re both fans of the Rock of Easy Company, so we were hoping for a Sgt. Rock book to come along as part of the Relaunch.  While this isn’t exactly what we wanted, it did turn out to contain the one “hook” that would get us to read, Sgt. Rock’s Grandson, leading a new Easy Company.  Apparently this version of Easy are a special group that deal with supervillain threats or the aftermath of them, something to that effect.  Either way, it’s an exciting premise, and one I’d be proud to read.  My brother also wants to read it, and he’s much more selective in his reading material.  But that’s the way it is in Easy Company, where nothing’s ever Easy, even a wide-line Relaunch.

All-Star Western (Jimmy Palmiotti/Justin Grey & Moritat) – I would have preferred a War anthology to a Western one, but I did enjoy the Jonah Hex movie, so I am definitely willing to give this title a try.  Aside from the Hex main feature, it does promise back-up strips featuring DC’s other Western characters, so hopefully I’ll get to see Bat Lash again.

Deathstroke (Kyle Higgins & Joe Bennett/Art Thibert) – I always considered Deathstroke to be somewhat overrated.  His main job was to kill the Teen Titans, and he was never quite effective (understandably so, but still…).  If I were to get this, and that’s a big IF, I’d only do it because his daughter Ravager was going to show up.  Since I don’t know if this will be the case or not, I’ll pass on this one for now.

Grifter (Nathan Edmondson & Cafu/BiT) – I loved WildCATs, but I never cared for Grifter.  Voodoo, Warblade, and Maul were much more interesting to me.  Void and Zealot were okay, but I never liked Emp or Grifter.  So of the WildCATs characters that are returning as part of this Relaunch, they pick my favorite and my least favorite.  Yeah, not going to get this.

OMAC (Dan Didio/Keith Giffen & Keith Giffen/Scott Koblish) – I’ve never read any version of OMAC in my life, but that could very well change on the basis of the cover alone.  It looks very Kirby-esque, and as a recent convert to the works of the King, this one is a very tempting title.  I’ll say an Optimistic Maybe.

Suicide Squad (Adam Glass & Marco Rudy) – The description of this one sounds like current Thunderbolts, which I’m kinda fond of, so this one might be worth a try.  I question Harley Quinn’s inclusion on the team, but then it does make me wonder what she might have done that she is on Death Row when someone else, say, the Joker, isn’t, but I suppose that’s one of those things we’ll never really know.  Not that the Joker would be on such a team, it just makes me wonder who gets put on Death Row in the DC universe, and for what.  Either way, a cautious maybe.

Blue Beetle (Tony Bedard & Ig Guara) – Hispanic teen hero sounds interesting.  It helps that I’ve enjoyed his appearances in Teen Titans over the years.  Yeah, I’ll try this one.

Action Comics (Grant Morrison & Rags Morales) – The solicitations for this sound like Superman Year One, with people not knowing what to make of the newly debuted Man of Steel.  That…might not be a bad read, actually.  I give it a Maybe.

Superman: The Man of Tomorrow (George Perez & Jesus Merino) – This book asks us to consider what Superman’s “startling new status quo” will be.  Superman not at the Daily Planet, I’m assuming, since he looks like he’s trashing (or saving, whichever) the Daily Planet globe? Hmm.  If George Perez were drawing as well as writing this, I’d be more inclined to say yes to this one, but as it is…no.  Just not quite enough there to interest me, sadly.  Plus, I don’t think a non-Daily Planet Superman would last for very long without being put “back to normal”, so that hook doesn’t sell me, I’m afraid.  Pass.

Supergirl (Michael Green/Mike Johnson & Mahmud Asrar) – You know the old saying, “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape”?  Forget that one.  The important one to remember is that you do not, under any circumstances, get rid of Supergirl’s skirt.  It’s fun.  It’s sexy. It’s iconic.  It’s entirely missing from the new-look Supergirl.  I know the point is to give these characters a makeover, but Supergirl HAS to have the skirt.  Since she does not, I will not be getting this.  End of discussion.

Superboy (Scott Lobdell & R.B. Silva/Rob Lean) – Why does (I’m assuming it’s) Connor look like a Cyborg?  Why does he look nothing like the version of him running around in Teen Titans?  Eh, Pass.

Okay, now for the totals:

DEFINITE – 22

MAYBE – 8

PASS – 22

Roughly half and half then, with a few on the fence.  Not bad.  When I bought monthlies on a regular basis, I think I had maybe 5-8 DC titles, so that’s definitely a win overall for them.  I still think a couple of choice titles are missing.  Where’s Gen13, for example?  But again, these are the first titles to come out of the relaunch.  Batman Inc is being held over until next year, and there could be others.  I still have questions and concerns about the Relaunch, but that’s to be expected.  Hopefully, most of them will be answered in August.  If I’m lucky, I may revisit this list and give reviews of titles I can get a peek at or borrow from a friend.  We’ll see.  In the meantime, congratulations to DC!  You got an unemployed Marvel Zombie interested in approximately half of your titles.  I still don’t forgive you for losing Supergirl’s cape, though.

Collecting Comics #2 – Not Getting the Whole Story Here

Last time, I talked about my newfound love of hardcovers.  This time, I’d like to discuss a problem I have, and one I suspect I share with many others.

I want the whole story.  I follow comics to find out what happens to the characters.  Do I enjoy looking at great art? Yes.  Do I enjoy a well-written, self-contained work? Yes.  But I also like a good series, that will let me invest in a character over a longer period of time.  Comics are supposedly ideal for this.  But they aren’t.  At least, not unless you are not only there at the time a book is originally published and also know and buy every book the company publishes every month.  The latter I will leave for another post, but for now, let’s concentrate on the former.

Except for more recent books, there is possibly, depending on the length of the series and the subject matter/cast of the book, a zero percent chance that an entire run of a book will be collected in a series of comprehensive trades, hardcovers, omniboo, or collections.  By “run”, I mean the entire length of a book’s life, from start to finish, also including crossover issues where applicable, first issue to last issue, every issue of the book.

I want to be able to buy every issue of Fantastic Four in collected form.  Not just the Lee/Kirby era, not just the Byrne era, not just the Waid/Weiringo era, not just the Hickman era we currently enjoy.  The whole shebang.  I want every last issue, and I want it in print, on my bookshelf.  I want the same for Avengers, the same for Alpha Flight, the same for Star Trek, the same for everything.  Is this wishful thinking?  Of course, but wouldn’t it be nice if I could have it?  If you could have it?  If, of course, you could afford it?

What I would like to see, and I originally read the idea in a column elsewhere online, I’m not sure where, would be a print-on-demand service for comics.  I would like for each company to offer every book they have, available in any configuration you desire, made to order in softcover or hardcover as you prefer, so you could truly collect whatever you want.  If you want to collect every appearance of Firestar, for example, you could do so.  If you want a comprehensive, chronological Unabridged Wolverine collection, then God help you if you have the time to sort out the continuity clashes and timeline snafus, but you could do that too.  If you prefer to collect by creator, and decide you want every Rob Liefeld book ever, you could do that.  Or Kirby.  Or Byrne.  Or, again, God help you, everything Stan Lee ever wrote, you could do that.

But that’s way in the future.  What I want to see in the present day is much more simple…

Take a book, such as Avengers.  Why can’t there be a comprehensive Avengers collection, containing every issue of every incarnation of the title, in chronological (well, publication chronological order, mostly) order?  Why can’t it be in one format?  Why must there be various Essentials, Premiere Hardcovers, Oversized Hardcovers, Omniboo, Masterworks, and plain old simple trades, all of them swirling in my head, demanding attention, and not a single blasted one of them in any way comprehensive?  Now, you may argue that the Masterworks and/or Essentials are comprehensive.  Bull.  There is no way that Marvel, or DC, if we were discussing Justice League of America or whatever, would ever do that.  The Masterworks generally concentrate on the silver age “legend-building” material of the early years of the title.  The Essentials, while they cover more ground in a cheaper and less colorful (but also nice enough) format, will never reach the “Leather Jacket Avengers” of the ’90s, let alone the modern Bendis material.  There will always be huge swathes of a book’s history that will remain un-reprinted.  And that is a shame.  Because, like Paul Harvey, I want “the rest of the story”.  I want the whole she-bang.  I want it on my shelf, in a uniform format that is generally pleasant to look at.

And I want it for all titles, the ones I love and the ones I don’t like or care for.  I even want it for titles I’ve never heard of before.  Because the fans of those books deserve to have them, to treasure for years after their less sturdy floppies fall apart.

Oh, and I want it now.  Naturally.

Collecting Comics #1 – Hard Vs. Soft

As someone who recently stopped purchasing monthly comic books and finally made the move to “waiting for the trade” (or even longer, in most cases, since I need to get a job before I can start collecting properly in any way, shape, or form), I thought I’d take a moment and discuss my thoughts on collecting comics.  Not the act of buying and keeping issues as they come out or scouring back issue bins for a good read.  Collecting comics, into collections.  Trades and hardcovers, that sort of thing.

In general, I like trades.  They’re lightweight, pretty enough for what they do, which is collect and bind a series of issues into a nice little inexpensive package for later perusal.  A great way to keep up with a book without having to follow it regularly.  But comics companies, like all entertainment providers, are in the business of making money.  And to do so, they upped the game.

I don’t know how or why hardcovers became a trend in the industry, but now it’s almost customary on the big sellers to be released first as a hardcover, and then a trade paperback version follows several months later.  It’s kind of contrary to those who want a good, reasonably recent chunk of books in an inexpensive package, because the company can charge more for a hardcover.  By making the customer wait a indeterminate amount of time for a trade version, they can sort of “trick” you into buying a hardcover because if you want to keep up with “current” events, you have to buy what’s available, unless you want to buy the monthlies.

My main gripe with hardcovers, however, isn’t really the price.  It’s the dustjackets.  They’re so pretty and dapper and look great on the shelf.  But, hardcovers suggest permanence, of having a book forever, in a way that mere trades do not.  Having a hardcover feels like having a proper book with a secret inside.  You open it up, and there are comics in there!  My eight-year-old self just squealed with joy.  But the dustjackets, which are oh-so-pretty, can and do tear.  And what we are left with underneath is a dull old single-color hardbound surface, the polar opposite of what comics have always meant to me.  Basically, I just wish that comics had the colorful dustjackets as the actual covers, printed onto the hardbound surface that they hide with those silly dustjackets.  So yeah, pretty when I buy them, and although I do take care of my books, accidents can and do happen, and I’m left with a shattered illusion of forever in a ugly hardbound shell that’s nowhere near as exciting as what I signed on for.

So, I find it odd that, finances and pet peeves about dustjackets aside, I find myself drawn more and more to that illusion of permanence.  In the “good old days”, the only hardcovers I bought were Sandman, and I never got all of those in hardcover, unfortunately.  They were something beyond the spandex which I loved, but it felt like more to me, and I wanted to have a permanent copy of them.  The only other time I would consider a hardcover was if it wasn’t coming out in any other format.

That changed when the owner of my local comic shop, who had seen how I’d been getting into the Avengers recently, put a copy of the Marvel Premiere Edition Hardcover of Avengers: Under Siege in my hands and told me he had saved me a copy.  Now, truth be told, I had somewhat of a dilemma.  I mentioned earlier about how I don’t really like hardcovers.  Add to that I was low on extra cash that month (the shop is a town or two away so I only went once per month), and the fact that I had planned on picking up something entirely different that day, and I didn’t want to buy it right then for those reasons.  But two things made me do it anyway: one, someone took the time out of their day to consider what I might enjoy reading, and two, I trust the guy.  So I took it home and read it.  And promptly became addicted to hardcovers.

I felt like such a traitor to myself for changing my mind.  But the illusion of permanence in a temporary world can be a very powerful thing.  I now wish I had everything in hardcovers.  I asked for hardcovers for my birthday (which is coming up soon).  I want them and want them bad.  I now hate my Green Lantern trades even more because I want the pretty hardcovers instead, but vowed never to switch to hardcovers for those out of principle.  I still love my trades, but I wish they were hardcovers instead.  With no dustjackets, mind you, just the cover image on the hardback front of the book.

For my next installment in this series, I plan to discuss my pet peeves when it comes to the actual contents of these collected editions of comics, but for now, I just wanted to confess my newfound love for hardcovers and beg for any spare ones any of you might happen to have lying around that you don’t want anymore because I’d give them a good home.

Speaking of which, I’ve been meaning to start posting my feelings on comics in general for a while now, but a contest and the potential of free swag is too good to allow me to put it off any longer.  Eternal Lizdom is offering up a free copy of Return of the Dapper Men signed by the creators, Jim McCann and Janet Lee, as a prize.  For more info, please visit:

http://eternallizdom.blogspot.com/2011/01/are-you-dapper.html

And to answer the question in your post title, Lizdom, no.  No, I’m not dapper in the slightest.  But I would like to be.  If only I had a book on the subject…

PostADay 2011 #003 – What I Did On My 2010 Vacation

What’s the single most important thing you accomplished in 2010?

Hmm, think I’ll turn this over to the collecting and hobby portion of my brain and, rather than focus on a single item, I’ll tell you what I did accomplish in my hobbies/collections this year:

• Finished several DVD collections – Nothing makes you feel quite as good as a collector than putting the finishing touches on a collection (with the exception of starting a new one, of which, more later).  This year I finished off my Red Dwarf, Voltron, Battlestar Galactica, and Cosby Show DVD collections.  Well, I almost finished BSG – I may get The Plan at a later date, but I won’t be getting the spin-off series Caprica as it just doesn’t interest me.
• Finished a couple of comic trade collections – I managed to get the entire set of Star Wars trades from Dark Horse (well, the ones that reprint the classic Marvel stories, anyway).  Also, I completed Y-The Last Man.
• Made the Move From Monthlies to Trades – This one wasn’t entirely voluntary, but part of me is glad I did so, though I could have wished for better circumstances.  At any rate, I no longer buy comic books every month, but I do wish to continue collecting comics via the trade paperback collections.  There are a couple of titles I would rather get on a monthly basis, but for the most part, I like trades.  They’re like dvd box sets for comics.
• Autographs – I once again started writing to celebrities to ask for an autographed photo.  It is a difficult thing, because in a way it is like begging for a free handout, but in another way, it’s showing an appreciation for their work and your fandom of that person.  For that reason, I will try to write to at least one celebrity a month, and it will always be someone whose work I truly enjoy.  I see no point in wasting paper, postage, and ink on people I don’t really care about.

So basically, 2010 is a year of endings for me, and 2011, hopefully, a year of beginnings.  I would like to continue to finish what I start and also start new things and challenges, constantly doing my best to improve.

Mellow Yellow

Here lately, I’ve been on a trades feeding frenzy. I’ve been reading JLA, Teen Titans, Heroes, Empowered, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Y – The Last Man, a bunch of stuff. While looking for something else to devour, I found my copy of Daredevil – Yellow. Eh, why not? I started reading.

Y’know, it’s funny, but now that I think about it, I don’t actually remember buying the Yellow hardcover, first printing. I’m pretty sure it must have been around the time when it first came out, which, from the copyright date, was apparently in May 2002. I don’t even like Daredevil. Usually.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of Daredevil. I always have. A blind superhero, out there, busting chops and giving it all he’s got, just like his less-handicapped contemporaries. It’s a brilliant, brilliant concept, because no one knows Daredevil is blind. Who would ever suspect? But while I like the central idea behind his “gimmick”, for want of a better word, his actual world never interested me very much. I’d read an occasional Kingpin appearance in Spiderman every once in a while, but the whole crime noir thing never really appealed to me.

Until I read this. This book has actually made me like Daredevil as a whole, warts and all. The story is wonderfully framed by Matt Murdock (Daredevil) writing a letter to his lost love, Karen Page. In it, he looks back on his beginnings, giving us an insight into what drove him to the work he does as a hero. An excellent starting point for a new reader such as myself. I mentioned crime noir, and the whole book does have a very 30s feel to it, with the gorgeous art of Tim Sale lavishly illustrating the story.

In short, I may never be a regular reader of Daredevil, but thanks to this book, I would like to read more stories featuring the character. Though I will be very disappointed in one respect, since I much prefer Daredevil’s original costume over the red one he adopts at the end of the book.

Trade Titans – Go!

I collect comic books. It is one of my many interests. But like all things that cost money, I don’t get to indulge quite as often or as much as I’d like to, or even as much as I once did. Some other time, I’ll tell you all about my past experiences in finding and frequenting local comic shops. For now, though, I’ll just say that my current local comic shop is Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC. I go there once a month, because it’s a semi-long, tedious ride. But it is great fun, because Acme always has a great selection and a friendly, helpful staff.

What kills me about Acme is the Trade Paperback section. I used to be all about back issues, but ever since I had the epiphany that trades are like the comic book versions of DVD season box sets for tv shows, I love browsing the Acme trade section. An entire wall of bookshelves, FILLED with trades. I really wish I could just go in there and buy one of everything.

Buying! I was going to tell you what I bought today. Well, here goes:

Regular Comics

• Stormwatch #15
• New Exiles #13
• New Warriors #17
• Legion of Super-Heroes #47
• Skrulls Vs. Power Pack #4
• Star Trek: Romulans – The Hollow Crown #2
• Star Trek Mirror Images #4
• Angel – After the Fall #13
• Spike – After the Fall #4
• Amazing Spidergirl #25
• Final Crisis #4
• Final Crisis – Legion of 3 Worlds #2
• Grant Morrison’s Doctor Who #1
• Doctor Who – The Forgotten #2
• Presidential Material – Barack Obama/John McCain Flipbook
• Doctor Who Magazine #400

Trades

• Empowered Volume 4
• JLA – Trial by Fire
• JLA – Crisis of Conscience
• Teen Titans – Life and Death
• Teen Titans – Titans East
• Teen Titans – Titans of Tomorrow

I wanted to get Teen Titans Volume 6 (the name escapes me at the moment, but it goes between Life and Death and Titans East), but they didn’t have it in stock. I may order it from Amazon. Also, on JLA, I now have the first fifteen trades, but Crisis of Conscience is Volume 18 (of 19 or 20), so I’m still missing some there as well. Oh well, there’s always next month. Maybe. And besides, I only have Volume 1 of JSA, so plenty to go on that one yet…