What I Buy Wednesdays Pt. II

--> Picking up right from where we left off, same stack of books, still in the same order-

• The Immortal Iron Fist #24 (Marvel): Understand- I am looking for excuses to drop titles. In an ideal world I would spend less money on comics, not more. So when something like a favorite writer leaving a book happens, I expect there to be a dropoff in quality, and the decision to stop following can be made for me. Duane Swierczynski screwed this up for me when he followed the all-star duo of Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction on the writing chores of the kung-fu billionare, and kept it kung-fu-riffic. Swizzy, as I call him when I'm feeling punchy, gets the concept behind this book and has proven that he will point the title in the right direction. And by right direction, I mean all directions, because this book has shown us more Iron Fists dying, more futuristic Iron Fists, and more ancient 'Fists than Bru and Fraction. He's not resting idly with these concepts. Plus, due to the unique nature of this book, and the fact that it depicts so many time periods at once, it is the premiere showcase of Marvel's most diverse artistic talent. I don't usually get into editors when talking about books, because it is a weird line to cross. Basically, if you're not right there, you can't really say one way or the other what impact an editor has had to the direction of a book. But hot damn, Warren Simons has made this book soar. Every artist seems to be working to one-up one another, from David Aja to Russ Heath to Kano here, the consequence has been that his is one of the most consistently beautiful books on the stands. So, y'know, bravo guys.

Top Ten Season Two Special #1 (America’s Best Comics): I have been nothing short of stunned at the stellar work of Cannon’s Zander and Kevin (no relation) with Gene Ha on Season Two. It takes a big set to take on the reigns of an Alan Moore book and live to tell the tale, and I mean like Neil Gaiman on Miracleman level shit. Unlikely as it seems, the series hasn't missed a beat. It is just as committed to developing the characters fully, it honors the form of the police procedural as dutifully, and it doesn't forget to sprinkle the whole thing with easter eggs, like the Harvey Birdman sitting in the front row of this issue's cover. Daxiong takes up art chores on this issue, and if I'm not mistaken will be taking over when Gene Ha leaves after wrapping up the first storyline. He's not Gene Ha, but he does good work in this issue. I really dug this special, because where Top Ten is usually just the police half of the Law and Order formula, this issue dug into the courtroom, showing Girl 2 doing her Ally McBeal impression. Not that I've heard of that show...

• Captain America #48 (Marvel): Characters don't always fulfill their promise. What Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, Mike Perkins, Butch Guice, Luke Ross, and Frank D'Armata have done is crafted a 48+ chapter story where the dream that is Captain America lives up to its full scope and promise. First, they made Steve Rogers a greater hero than he had ever been. Then, they presented him with his worst nightmare- a sidekick gone astray- and watched him remain optimistic, and persevere. Then, just as he had redeemed his brother-in-arms, they killed him, and gave us the reverberations. Bucky's ascension to the mantle was natural and well constructed, and as soon as he'd finished up with the mega-threat that was Red Skull and evil businessman Aleksandar Lukin, they dug up even older ghosts, and threw him into the fire with the oldest Marvel character there is, Namor the Sub-Mariner. Now, yes, that is a lot of story, but it is also the epitome of good serial. It grows and escalates, but maintains fidelity to a central theme and purpose. I think that what Brubaker has really done is turn Steve Rogers, the orignal Captain America, into another generation's hero. I don't know if he is meant to be a baby-boomer, or to represent the era even before that, but I do think that James Buchanon, the former Bucky, the former Soviet assassin Winter Soldier, and the current pistol-toting Captain America, is most assuredly the Gen-X Captain America. He's a very alt-rock hero, but maybe I'm just letting his longer hair get to me. In any case, I think that what they've accomplished is to transform Cap I into the America we want to believe in, and Cap II into the one we feel we have to work with.

• The Incredibles #1 (BOOM! Kids): The film The Incredibles was too perfectly made to be anything less than adored by anyone who loved superheroes, so it should come as no great surprise that the characters themselves have made it back to the medium that inspired them. Kudos are deserved to artist Marcio Takara, who manages to stay on model while bringing his own sense to the look. Writer Mark Waid thrives playing with familiar toys, and does a great job mixing spot on character with properly adventurous situations. I don't think there's anybody in comics better suited to this job. Michael Avon Oeming on covers is the cherry on top. If this series is done right, I think that it could be a title that stays on the stands a long time, but worst case scenario, they will end up with a collection that can be nicely packaged with any future DVD box set or model and marked up to high heavens. I really dug how Waid took such a familiar superhero convention (Spoiler alert! Someone is losing his or her powers...), because it is in line with what the movies was- a commentary on superhero convetions.

• Thunderbolts #130 (Marvel): This Magnum Opus crossover with Deadpool is exactly the kind of thing I'm a sucker for, because these characters actually match up with one another in the context of the Marvel U. No one really reports villain-on-villain crime. I did think it was interesting that Bong Dazo filled in on this T-bolts issue, because his style is so out of whack with the usual dark, atmospheric tone of the work. It makes sense, though, when you consider that it is matching the much lighter tone of Paco Diaz on Daniel Way's Deadpool book. I think is most impressive is that Way's Deadpool gimmick, the so-called Pool-O-Vision effect of schizophrenia and hallucinations, is now the going bit for the character. He sort of built a tool, and now everyone uses it to make the character go. Anyway, I mostly bought this issue because I knew someone was gonna get stabbed in it. I doubt it will disappoint.

• Madame Xanadu #9 (Vertigo): Again, full disclosure is that having done interviews with both writer Matt Wagner and artist Amy Reeder Hadley on this series as it was in its developmental stage, I may have a vested interest in seeing it succeed. That said, I can't help but enjoy this book. I think it is such a unique book on the stands for a bunch of reasons. I think that Amy is a special artistic talent, and I would feel guilty citing the femininity of her art as a point of merit if it weren't so true. Comics, and superhero comics in particular, but adventure comics nonetheless, have developed very masculin features. Everything from content to contour has been more angled by males than females, and so Amy's work stands distinct from her peers. I really don't mean to say “well she's great, for a woman artist,” I mean to say that I love the perspective she brings to the conversation at large. If I've hidden feelings of misogyny somewhere in that analysis, rest assured, I would feel wicked guilty about it. Plus Matt is just such a great storyteller, and has tapped magic in a way that is different from any Vertigo project before it. The first meta-story wraps up next issue, marking a really prolonged opening to a series, but I have the feeling that the series will stand that even better as a whole.

• Dark Reign: Elektra #1 of 5 (Marvel): I'm going to come up with a better reason that I bought this book than “There was a sweet Lee Bermejo butt-shot cover.” Hold on... I just need a minute. Wait, n-wait, got it. I bought this because Clay Mann impressed me on his Thor stuff, and Zeb Wells is a guy whose work always lingers in interest to me, even if I've yet to find anything by him I absolutely love. I feel like it's coming, but I haven't gotten it yet. I also might have bought it because I generally trust Marvel editorial, and because given that the character is positioned to have some good visibility spinning out of Secret Invasion, I don't think they would push a project through unless it has something good going for it. One thing's for sure, I didn't buy it for the $3.99 price point, but whatayagonnado.
  
• Planetary Special Edition #1 (Wildstorm): See? Because this book I did buy for its price point. Marked at only a dollar, this rerelease is part of DC/ Warner Bros post-Watchmen comics' buying promotional campaign. After Watchmen... What's Next? is a tool given to retailers to help them push the material that is most in line with the sophisticated storytelling The Watchmen offers, and proves comics' capable of. Planetary is a great selection, because it is a simple hook, and a goddamn great series. Ellis and Cassady are as good as their professions get, so if you can't get a person to read a $1 copy of their opening shot across the bow, you're either a pretty useless retailer, or literacy is doomed. I bought one of these, I'm pretty sure I will buy more of them in my travels. I might leave one on the subway, I'll probably leave a one or two at different friends' apartments, try to find them all good homes. It couldn't be any cornier, but I do kind of see myself as an ambassador of comics, as I'm sure many readers do, and hope to do more than my own share of promoting the medium and its visibility. A buck here or there to get reluctant readers to try one of my favorite series of all times is so easy I can't imagine not doing it. Beyond that, I can't wait for later this year, when the final chapter of Planetary is released, and the story finally completes.
• 

Jesus anyway that is what I bought this week, and why. I'm not saying I don't care about this stuff too much, but hell, I care too much about sports too, so what am I gonna do?
Hopefully, going forward, I'll be able to give a sentence or two on each title I grab, and this will be a nice sort of by-volume conversation about weekly books. Because lord knows, I'll be bored with all those great titles I just listed off by next week.

What I Buy Wednesdays

-->

As a lifelong reader and fledgling critic of comicbooks, I take my weekly trip to the comicbook store pretty seriously. I suppose film buffs might have a similar feeling towards Fridays, and music aficionados may hold their breath for Tuesday releases, but I don’t think either of those examples are quite as appointment-like comicbook readers make their new release day. I would guess that it has a lot to do with the serialized nature of comics, and the loyalty of its readership to specific brands. In fact, I would say that the closest approximation to the scheduled issue would be football fans on Sunday, but of course, that is also the day of rest. Wednesday as new comics’ day, for a certain breed of nerds, is a midweek holiday, and for us the hump day is a little bit easier.Regardless, the fact is that if you love comics, you’re getting your weekly fix the day they come out.

Or maybe I just have an addiction. Either way.

So I go just about every Wednesday to find my fix. Unlike many readers, I don’t have a specific store that I visit every week. I think of it more like a starting rotation; I have my ace, my change-of-pace, my junkballer, and my mop-up. Okay that last one sounds bad, but it isn’t. I enjoy the variety of experiences, though sometimes it is based on nothing more than where I might be that day. Also, because I’m somewhat grandiose in my ambitions and investments in comics, I enjoy the idea that I might be able to help multiple retailers keep roofs over their heads. With the way buying works in comics’ direct market system, retail stores are often expected to be both subscription services to their loyal customers, along with being prognosticators of the success and subsequent demand of those titles, (basically because it is a no-returns system for the retailers, but what a digression…)

So when I buy matters to me, where I buy matters to me, but, obviously, what is most important to my reading experience is what I buy. Because as I said, I take this stuff serious as shit.

It’s because of all the effort I realized I put into this weekly ritual that I’ve decided I want to use this space to document my purchases, and provide short blurbs as to why they earned my mighty dollar or four. Obviously, it is from the best of these books that I select my weekly Best Shots for Newsarama, but really, it isn’t my one favorite book of each week that proves gratifying for me as a reader; it is the whole goddamn stack of books that make each Wednesday so good! So let’s get the hell to it.

- The Muppet Show Comic Book #1 (Boom Kids): When I was 10 years old, I wanted my life to go one of two ways; I either wanted to join Jim Henson’s creatureshop, and live my life as a Muppeteer, or I wanted to run Marvel Comics, and justify a lifetime of playing with action figures, if only to plot out the Marvel character’s lifetimes and mega-wars. Those were literally the only two things I could imagine doing with my life. I was so serious about the puppeteer route that I actually ran for student office via a speech delivered by a Muppet-puppet of my own creation. I won the election, actually, but probably set my dating opportunities within my class back somewhere around a decade. Doesn’t matter, it was awesome. Anyway, the convergence of these great loves of mine downright defines ‘serendipity,’ and I got to review an advance of this book for Best Shots. I loved it, obviously, but since the advance I reviewed from was a .pdf I still had to get my hands on a hard copy.

- New Avengers #51 (Marvel): I would never want to admit that I’m a slave to Brian Michael Bendis’ writing, because it would compromise my integrity as a critic. But when reading his work, much like that of his cross-town rival Geoff Johns, it feels like the only work that counts. The New Avengers is where the Marvel Universe happens, there’s no two ways about it. I haven’t loved Billy Tan’s work on the book; it is technically sound, I guess, but it just lacks a clear definition, to my eye. Chris Bachalo is a very stylized artist who balances that style well with clear visualization, which is really just a roundabout way of saying I dig his work, because that is what every comic artist should be doing.

- The Umbrella Academy #5 (Dark Horse): To me, this book is the most unlikely success in comics. I don’t know or care about My Chemical Romance, which is sort of the circus gimmick that rides in this series by frontman Gerard Way. I came to this series via the strength of artist Gabriel Ba, because homeboy can draw.

I’ve written about all the things I love about this book before, but to me the most critical aspect of it is that here five issues into the second volume of the series, the book still has momentum. It is no flash in the pan. It has achieved the highest honor I can bestow upon any comic; the-zero-contemplation-auto-buy. The only way I miss this book is if it doesn’t ship. Dallas, the latest volume, has had an uncanny sense of Americana about it, and added a welcome extra element of pulp culture to the series.

- X-Force/ Cable: Messiah War One-Shot (Marvel): Unless someone beats me to it, I’m going to cover this book in a Best-Shot this week. The most important aspect to me about this book is that I am no lover of either the X-Force, Cable, Bishop, or the X-brand as a whole, but I was really curious about this one. That zero-contemplation-buy thing? The X-Men branch sustains on a massive clan that bestows that honor upon any title with an “X.” This is cool, and I’m not saying I haven’t done my X-Zombie time, but things get to a point where the overarching concept is more interesting than the books. After that, it takes that much more of a good story to bring you into the fold. The Messiah War has the potential to be just one of those great stories. Editor Axel Alonso has taken great pains, and a load of patience, in getting the X-wing of Marvel Comics to a place where they can both be serving their more slavish followers while at the same time challenging readers, (and creators) to tell more modern, better stories. Looking at how this story uses hyper-convoluted characters like Bishop and Cable in a way that actually naturalizes their complex, time-traveling continuities in a way that explores the characters without resorting to gimmicks. If this series can make the lamest characters of the 90s work, anything might be possible.

- Justice League of America #31 (DC): This book has never really caught on for me. It is always on my radar, because it is meant to be the flagship title of the DC line, but I’ve never gotten very far from feeling overall underwhelmed by the title. I don’t really know how to make bones about it, a large part of my feeling this way has been the consistency issues in the work of Ed Benes. It’s weird, because I was a huge fan of Benes’ work directly before coming on to this high-profile assignment. His Superman book was really the first oning Superman title I bought on a monthly basis. But the pieces have never fit together on this series, and to me, the book suffered. Enter Shane Davis. Now, full disclosure, I know Shane more personally than I know most artists, so I’m not sure I’m fully impartial when looking at his work. But the fact is that to my mind he is one of the most talented superhero artists in DC’s stable. And without slighting his earlier work, I don’t know that his talents have been optimized with regards to the market. His Mystery in Space work was solid, but it wasn’t the most visible of projects. He did a fill-in issue of JLA previously that soared, but that was 22 issues ago. His Superman/ Batman story was my favorite since the series beginnings under Jeph Loeb’s spectacle-focused work. But the writing team he was matched with was hardly top-tier in fandom’s eyes, so it may not have gotten the attention it deserved. From his collaboration with Geoff Johns on Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns to here, to what I expect and hope is an ongoing assignment on what should be the jewel of the ongoing DCU, it looks as though DC-higher-ups have finally put two and two together, and Davis will be able to shine on the main stage.

Not even halfway through my stack. Will have to pick up from here later.

Obama holds court

President reveals priorities with 62 day wrap-up


The reason I enjoy following the day to day workings of Washington politics is the same reason I like watching full sports seasons; consequences. For D.C. pols, there are scorecards, games, and wins.

Two months into his presidency, Barack Obama's 4 year fight is taking shape. Predictably, his Republican opponents, and even his more moderate supporters, will forever accuse him of being too ambitious in spending and policy. He is, after all, a Democrat, and so that is his eternal cross to bear.

And then, of course, there is the War. Obama's war to save the economy (or war on the economy, depending on your side of the line) is the crux of this term. It is pretty much a winner-take-all gambit to convince the American people to re-up his contract in 4 years, and re-up his teammates in 2. But he has a plan.

Obama's plan is almost bafflingly consistent with the tenets he laid out in his policy/ memoir Audacity of Hope. The only way to engender solvency in our nation as a whole, the only way to balance the books, is to take a multipronged approach. These are not luxury issues he and his team are attacking, these are the fundamental keys to rebuilding American prosperity and remembering promise.

The keys are A) To overhaul healthcare, and reduce its crippling burden on our society at large.

B) Create an environment where clean energy is the profitable sort of energy, and ease our transition away from dependence on trade with volatile nation states.

C) Finally, the old political standby, reinvest in education. The only added wrinkle is that this time, if we don't commit to optimizing the values of educations K-12 and beyond, we will lose vital ground to foreign workforces.

These are the president's primary tenets. Respect and work with them, he tells us, and we can spur on economic growth, and reduce our federal deficit.

There was intrigue in this press conference beyond the obvious. Once the president had finished his opening statement, the game of D.C. media favoritism began. Make no mistake, there was an order of operations to Tuesday night's national televised presser. The order in which Obama took questions was a tangible way to break down the priorities of the White House. This was PEMDAS for POTUS. The following is the order in which news outlets were called upon for questions, with a quick summary of the direction of their questioning.

1)Associated Press
2)NBC News
3)ABC News
4)CBS News

The first round of questions were the most obvious ones. Essentially, all the heaviest of news' hitters went straight for the politics of the budget. They took varied tones, notably with NBC's Chuck Todd providing his usual brand of hero worship, and CBS going hard at the realities of the deficit projections of 5 years down the line and beyond. The president was nimble and up front, facing the realities while being forceful in his belief in his policies. The AP gets out to all the news outlets in America, and it was the 3 major networks that had forked over the prime-time programming slots to the president's agenda, so there was no surprise in giving the respect to give them all the first pass. It was after this obvious opening that things got interesting.

5) Univision: They asked about the growing fear of Mexican drug wars.
6) Stars and Stripes/ Stripes.com: Military spending cuts and the implications.
7) CNN: AIG outrage
8) Fox News: China and international threat to the dollar.

I thought it was really noteworthy that Obama took the effort to go to the Spanish language news, and then veterans affairs news, before addressing the cable news crowd. There was some gamesmanship there, to be sure, because it wasn't as if the order were set based on ratings. In any case, it was good to see Fox News put in their place. This order revealed a desire to speak directly to the people, not the talking heads that tell them what to believe.

9) Politico: Taxes, and charitable donation writeoffs.
10)Ebony: Tent cities, and homelessness among youth.
11)ABC Radio: Race in the White House.
12)The Washington Times: Embryonic Stem cell and scientific policy.
13)Agence France-Presse: Israel and the Middle East.

A couple change-ups here, with Obama making a point to open the forum to crowds that may not always receive the deference of the so called “media elite.” Politico was characteristically inside-policy, taking on an issue that dealt with real numbers and hard realities. Ebony went for a deeply social issue, hoping to bring the conversation to the inner struggles of the American people. Talk radio seemed downright shocked to be given the floor, and went for the kind of pointless controversy that perpetuates talk radio; race baiting. The Washington Times went for the thinking man's controversy, digging in to the reclamation of science, while the AFP gaged Obama's understanding of delicate foreign issues.

And that was that. Within an hour, President Obama had answered direct questions on each and every major issue that his administration has tackled in its opening sprint. He was accessible, thorough, and consistent. He took the last question from the AFP as an opportunity to sum up his principals, and convey why they were interdependant. Unlike his detractors, he has a plan, and it is comprehensive.

Seeing the line of questioning in total gave a sense of just how much the administration has already taken on, and already accomplished. There are arguments to be made on either side of the aisle, to be sure, but there has been no attempt to back down from any of the issues, or to shut down any line of questioning. This, we can only hope, is what transparency looks like.

The president takes off to confer now with the rest of the world. This will be an ordeal, to be sure, as the rest of the G20 finally come face to face with the new leader of the free world. This latest media blitz by the White House seems to draw a curtain on the administration's infancy. It is the end of the beginning. We know the problems we face, and we've got a man with the plan at the helm. As he said, the nation is not a speedboat, it is an ocean liner. We're beginning to find out just what sort of navigator he is.