What I Buy Wednesdays PRE-SDCC TURBO EDITION

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Pretty pumped for my virginal voyage to San Diego for Comic-Con International. It kind of feels like my comics equivalent of a sweet sixteen party. I’ve ironed my t-shirt tuxedo and everything. Okay, I might not have. I mean, who irons? Really.

Anyway, the comics’ pulse has risen to a cardiologist- alerting level in the time leading up to the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con. It’s even evident from the books. The publishers are rolling out the summer moneymakers. Everybody’s booked and stressed about whatever they stress about. It’s worse on Twitter! There have been dust ups that are honestly something straight out of the heat wave in Do the Right Thing.

That all goes a long way to say that this is a highly anticipated stack of comics for me, so dig up on what I bought Wednesday.

Blackest Night #1 (DC): I think only Geoff Johns fans get how good Geoff Johns is. I say this because I know people who don’t love his work, but do enjoy the spandexed genre fare, and it leaves me at a total loss. Because for my money, he does superhero stories as well as they’re done. His stories have scale and ethics and inventiveness and, frankly, spark. He just tells stories that matter, and the precision with which he manages the long-form stories of his universe’s corner amazes more and more with each installment. Blackest Night looks like a pretty solid bet to be the most fun story of this Green Lantern run, and it’s great to see the remarkable Ivan Reis getting a break on an “event,” book. It feels like, and is, his story to tell. This book is a totally innovative horror blockbuster that really makes for good comicery. Johns shows absolutely no remorse in killing his darlings, or, in this case, bringing them back. It’s always authentic, and it always matters. While this team has made a lot of this Green Lantern issues, they decidedly step up in the bright light of the moment. Both the imagery and the story are at a feverish pitch. Honestly, I’m just glad a comic this rad is coming out at all.

Creepy #1 (Dark Horse): I was pretty excited when Dark Horse announced this book at New York Comic-Con. It’s a shame they couldn’t convince Gene Colan to get involved, (more on him in a minute), but no matter, this comic’s friggin’ ill. Uncle Creepy brings the terror, tension, and, ah, terror in this horror anthology. Nothing I’ve read has ever made me feel more like a kid reading my uncle’s weird, seemingly dangerous comics. And Angelo Torres is fucking AMAZING. You’ll recognize his style immediately from pretty much every MAD spoof ever done. His story stands out as the high water mark for this inaugural issue, and the rest of the issue is pretty solid in and of itself. Basically, I’m just glad this comic exists. It’s throwback comics in the best ways.

Captain America # 601 (Marvel): It’s a shame Colan didn’t draw Creepy, but at least we got a horror story out of him this week. This was a beautiful out of time WWII horror story, and it’s my pleasure to report that the old dude’s still slick with a pencil in his hand. It was a big break from the recent hulabaloo surrounding this title lately, as it had little to do with the Captain America: Reborn issue that dropped as near to the 4^th of July as you can in comics, or the unconventional release of Captain America #600, both of which I covered for Best Shots. Ed Brubaker has got some real mojo going right now, and as much as I’ve loved Captain Buckmerica, this issue did well to whet the appetite for the real Star Spangled Avenger. It really was a special issue, as the cover promised, as Gene Colan showcased his historic talents for a totally different generation of comics’ fans. If the Captain America title has to go away for a few months to make room for Reborn, this was a worthy send-off.

RASL #5 (Cartoon Books): It’s as if Jeff Smith is flipping off everybody who wouldn’t try Bone because of its “childish,” trappings. This book is smart, sexy, and only growing. Smith’s proclamation that it will be moving from vaguely quarterly to vaguely bimonthly is just about the best news I’ve heard yet, because I just want more of this book.

Wednesday Comics #2 (DC): I didn’t really get a chance to celebrate this awesome new series’ debut last week, but what a success this book is in the early going. Stripping the “books” away, leaving us with the high-grade purity of comics as the world was first introduced to them looks like the most inspired move by DC in recent memory. It’s a funny bit of reverse-engineering, as the first comicbooks were folded up newspapers bound on their spine, and now the process has come full circle. The format is a story unto itself, but the real meat of this project is the talent. The comics market is, generally speaking, character driven. Even when it isn’t, it is “name” driven by highly marketed talent. The point is, it is almost always “brand” driven. There’s always recognized commodity at the center. Now, there are names on this book as big as any in comics, but due to the format, Wednesday Comics is uniquely art-driven. The canvas is the artform, in a way. The ambition alone is worthy of tremendous praise, and the story’s aren’t too shabby either. This is basically like mainlining awesome comics.

Deadpool #12 (Marvel): Daniel Way has successfully transmogrified Bullseye and Deadpool into the Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny of the Marvel U. And it is very much duck season. All told, I think this series has leaned a little heavily on Dark Reign as it’ guiding light through these 12 issues, but I’m still enjoying it. Penciler Paco Medina has had his ups and downs as far as I’m concerned, but with his comedic range on full display here, he shows why he makes such a complementary cohort for the slapstick wit of Way. And trust me, the last page of this issue will bring out your inner Luke Wilson-in-Anchorman with an exclamatory “I did NOT see that coming!”

Incognito #5 (Icon): Well Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, I hope you’re happy. Thanks to your tremendous work on Criminal, and the masterfully repackaged Sleeper series, you’ve fully addicted me to your wares. The only problem is, (and I mean this in the best possible way), all the other stuff you’ve done has left me feeling coolest on Incognito. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with this book, it’s got all the grit and tone of the other masterpieces. My issue is that, frankly, superheroes are the least interesting aspects of the collaborations. It’s the true-crime, the human element, that I find so fully engrossing. I suspect that, among other reasons, part of the intentions with this book is that it is somehow more commercially viable than, say, Criminal- it’s always going to be easier to get comicbook readers to buy stories with superheroes, or, in this case, supervillains. I’m all for anything that will get more eyes on Criminal, though, so I begrudge them nothing. Don’t get me wrong, this is still one of the best comics you’ll find on the stands today. But it’s not my fault Bru and Phillips have set the bar so neck-strainingly high. Also, I absolutely loved Jess Nevins’ essay on the history and influences of Fu Manchu. Like a true nerd, I love comics where I learn.

Amazing Spider-Man #599 (Marvel): American Son was the first story in the thrice-monthly era of Spidey that I felt completely tied to reading as it came out. The Joe Kelly/ Phil Jimenez teaming looked like it had the all makings of a modern classic. It was timely and current, sporting a mean Dark Reign masthead, and promising to fully utilize the premier Spidey villain’s standing as king of the world. It promised payoff for long-form post Brand New Day plots, marking a huge step for Parker BFF Harry Osborn. And it had even longer-form consequences, as Harry and Norman Osborn are the biggest Spider-Man characters that don’t wear webs, and it’s fair to say that their relationship will never be the same after this storyline. It was a big story, and it didn’t need to work too hard via marketing or tie-ins to convince you. Story-wise, I really loved it. Joe Kelly wove a great summer blockbuster for the Amazing title here. I couldn’t help but notice that his take on the cast is a tad more adult than his Web-mates, but that’s something I have no issue with. The only drawback to American Son was that after the promise of Jimenez’ outstanding lead issue, he was pulled from the project, I guess to step in for Simone Bianchi on Astonishing X-Menwith Warren Ellis. You can never blame anyone for taking up an X-project, never mind an Ellis collabo, but it did end up making this story a little less than it could have been. It pretty clearly showed the drawbacks of a near-weekly comic, as a horde of artists were required to keep the training running on time. In this issue alone the chores were split between Stephen Segovia, Marco Checchetto and Paulo Siqueira. Everyone held the line, and there were no poorly executed pages, but it’s always better to have a single artist tell a story than a team of them, unless there’s some in-story framing that makes it work. Anyway, such is the nature of the beast. Nobody bats 1.000.

And that’s where we’re at! Stay tuned, the next WIBW will be broadcasting live from San Diego, likely trapped under a pile of comics or something.

May Showers

Big Shots rain down on the NBA... and 'nets.



May's a mercurial month. In New England after April, it isn't so much that winter ends, it's that summer begins- unpredictably- and then goes back to being winter for a day. Then that reverses. And so on and so on until eventually the cold days aren't that cold, and the warm days are uncomfortably warm, and that's when it's June.

It's also a month of note because the NBA playoffs happen then. For the most part, I've watched basketball intently for every night of the last month. It's been exciting and exhausting. Combined with a relatively slow month of comics it led to a lot of frenetic in-game Twittering, but not much substance. In any case but it's time for some links. Afterwards I'm going to vent about sports. Because that's what I do.

I try not to spotlight the same creators too often, as I think the gets who don't get the pub need the spotlight more, but with Geoff Johns, I can't help myself. He's just really good at teasing out plot points over just long enough for them to be impossibly urgent and drawn-out. He's a trade-friendly evolution of Chris Claremont, only instead of the X-Corner of Marvel he has the entire DCU at his fingertips. The way Legion of Three Worlds is streamlining that mythos while interplaying with current continuity is fascinating. Plus, George Perez is no joke. I mean, I make no bones about it, I'm a sucker for both these guys' work, and I am a sucker for Johns' take on the Conner Kent Superboy. Before that issue I was totally ambivalent about Adventure Comics, now it can't come soon enough. Like I said, I'm a sucker.

Despite my primary specialty in comics' critique, within the medium I try to be as "general interest," as I can. Adam Beechen and Trevor Hairsine's Killapalooza, with a super-group ripped from Behind the Music that moonlights as hired mercenaries, was a fun example of this. I really think anybody who spent an hour of their life watching the saga of Journey, or the trials of Jon Bon Jovi's hair, would like this book. It's just funny.

Another general-interest comicbook was the Spider-Man: The Short Halloween one- shot by Saturday Night Live cast members and writers Bill Hader and Seth Myers. I knew Hader was a comics' guy, he's been at conventions and used to frequent a store I worked at, and I think SNL is as good as it's been in my lifetime right now, so I was happy to spotlight their issue. It didn't disappoint, but it didn't "wow," me either. Based on merit alone, I'm not sure this book would warrant a follow-up assignment. It's not that the story is bad, but Spider-Man could be replaced by just about any costumed hero in this story, and it would be no different. The sales might tip the scales, though, and I wouldn't be against seeing more from the pair, or Kevin Maguire. I would only hope they get a little more into Spider-Man, and let the situational humor grow from there.




After working for Laura Hudson on the too-beautiful-for-this-world Comic Foundry magazine, she was kind enough to invite me to do a piece for her newest venture Comics Alliance. I'd stalled a bit to try and find the right angle to tackle for my first CA foray, but when Archie Comics announced Archie's marriage, I knew what I had to do. Due to the peculiarities of my fundamental being, I decided I would make the case for Veronica over Betty. Now, when the nuptials were first announced, Archie Comics hid the identity of Archie's bride, but by the time I'd written my piece it had been revealed to be in accordance with my preferences. Now, I suffer no delusions that this story will be told and Archie will go on married to Veronica, or that Betty won't crash the party somehow, but I'm pretty pleased with the case I made for Archie's bachelorhood. Now, as far as in real life choosing between the good girl and the bad, I don't know if I believe my case. But then, if it were as easy a choice as everyone would like to believe it wouldn't be such a classic love-triangle. Or maybe I just like to pick fights. Who even knows.


So that's what's been up in comics. But the thing that has dominated my life, again, have been a playoffs so addictive the FDA might have to get involved. Despite the ongoing drama of the piss-poor officiating, it has been a season of athletic studs taking teams on their backs' and seeing how far they can go. As a guy who likes comics, I'll say it; 'Melo, Superman, Kobe and LeBron have been downright superheroic.

Despite my rambling last post, I'm more than just a homer with regards to sports. It really sucked to see the Celtics loose how in the fashion that they did, but these playoffs were worth the price of admission. And as much as it sucked to see the Magic beat the Celtics in Game 1, it was worth it to see them in Game 5's late-surging win. It was especially gratifying for me, because Stephon Marbury had his two best games in green those games.



Starbury, like Corey Dillon, and Randy Moss before him, is the classic example of the media-driven "athlete as a bad-boy," malcontent that this town absolutely loathes until they prove themselves to be productive. Everybody hated Randy Moss when he got to New England. He was going to be a step slow, they said, and he would disrupt the proven team chemistry. Dillon too. He was the Bengals' all-time rushing leader when we got him for practically nothing. Dillon won a Super Bowl and Moss set the record for receiving TDs in a record-setting offense. They became heroes, but began as villains.

Well Marbury had the full rap sheet- from a trade-demanding early career, to an embarrassing sexual testimony in a harassment case, and ultimately a season-long benching. Now, I'm not saying that he didn't have his share of responsibility in all of this, but he was a productive player, making a lot of money while sitting on the bench. It was a dysfunctional move for a dysfunctional organization. And this was after the slate was supposed to have been wiped clean with new management. Well whatever, he was cut loose eventually and wanted to sign with the Celtics, as they had become the strongest team of veterans in the NBA. It had been the Pistons before, but this was now the organization, along with San Antonio, that productive veterans wanted to be a part of. After a year out of pro basketball Marbury was rusty, but also humbled.

It showed. He was really trying to be a team player in a way unlike ever before in his career. He was doing it to the detriment of his own game, and what the team wanted out of him. But he was trying. This was a guy who'd averaged over 7 assists a game for his career, but was playing 40 minutes a game. He was out there for maybe 15 minutes a game now. He just couldn't get right. It was a hard combination of not having the legs to be the explosive scorer he was used to being while also trying to relearn his killer instinct. Everyone was waiting for him to have an impactful [that's not a word, but I can't get over how many people use it, so I'm going with it here] game where he went for 2+. He had a handful of big shots in games, but the big game? Didn't happen.

Game 1 teased it. The Celtics, after going down big at the half, got themselves within a Ray Allen three of winning that game and who was there to thank? My man, @StaryburyMarbury. He'd had a crazy streak in the third where he just couldn't miss, and it was the energy that got them, not the win, but the hunger for that game back. It wasn't much of a legacy, but it was the game people had been waiting for.



Until Game 5. The Celtics were down again, late, and Steph kicked it into gear. He had 12 in the fourth quarter, and this time Ray's big three sunk, and the Celtics won the game. It was a huge game, it gave the Celtics a 3-2 advantage in the best of seven series, and was as close as the Celtics got to defending their 2007-08 Championship. The C's lost Game 6 in Orlando in a game they just gave away, an Game 7 at home in a game they didn't show up for. The team had been eking out wins without their low-post foundation and defensive x-factor Kevin Garnett, but each one had been a titanic struggle, and in Game 7 it finally showed. In fact, it probably showed in Game 6 when the team let slip away a fourth quarter lead of their own. But they'd battled valiantly, and as reward were spared the embarrassment of getting their asses handed to them by LeBron and the Cavaliers.

I'm really grateful to have seen the Celtics last win as champions, because they really played like it in that win. And Steph led the charge. Who knows if he'll resign, or even be a productive NBA player going forward, but following his success with vested interest is one of those unique rewards offered by following sports. Given the consequences they engender, there are countless narratives to be enjoyed. And who doesn't enjoy a good tale of redemption.



The Magic have turned out to be great foils for the Cavaliers, which anyone who had looked at their head-to-head record was saying before the series, and given the decisive 3-1 lead they took the other night, they should be heavily expected to advance to the NBA Finals. But as long as the Cavs still have the best player in the series, never mind the best player in the game, I still expect LeBron to take the next 2 wins and advance to his second Finals appearance.

Because, I mean, Kobe's waiting there. He had to fight through West Baltimore's finest Carmelo Anthony, the forgotten dark prince of King James' draft class, and Conference Finals mainstay Chauncey Billups, and the rest of George Karl's rejuvenated Nuggets. It took the Lakers 6 games, but they did it. We can't have just half of those Kobe/ LeBron puppets playing for the trophy, and Dwight Howard is too damn big to be a puppet, so LeBron has to make it. Every real NBA fan wants it to happen. We want this argument settled. We don't care who's better; Pau Gasol or Dwight Howard. This is an MVP thang.

In any case, we'll see. It's been a monumentally memorable postseason, thanks in no small part to this guy's TNT video-



Back to your regularly scheduled programming:
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I wrote the Internet

My Threads on the Web















It's been a while since I did a comprehensive wrap-up of my contributions to the info-tapestry-net, so that should be remedied. I must say, I don't think I've ever been as satisfied with the books I've been able to cover. That is mostly because I don't think there has ever been a better, more diverse array of comics available in my lifetime. Of course, being a pretty normal comicbook reader means that the plurality of what I buy is superhero fare, but it's the other genre stuff that usually comes out the most exciting.

Also, the new WIBW has allowed me to give a little look at everything I get, which allows me to more fully develop my features for Newsarama. As a critic for a news' site, it's my obligation to cover the most important books of the market, and the ones that I feel would reacher greater success with greater attention. With WIBW, it is just an unapologetic take on my personal taste in comics, not always a barometer of quality. Long story short, WIBW is what I like. Best Shots' are things I think you would like.

Well, for the most part anyway. Kevin Smith is counter-culture god, and earned a rep as a Hollywood-type who legit loves comics. Most of the work he's done has been nothing short of top-notch. He swung that influence into a gig with his homeboy Walt Flanagan on Batman Cacophony, and you can see what I thought of it. As I posted the negative review, I couldn't help but think of MoviePoopShoot.com in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but this was an honest assesment on what I thought was really an underqualified artist. Others might disagree, but for me it just didn't ring right. Maybe it wasn't a case of weird comic-industry nepotism, but I just felt like there had to be other artists who would have killed for the chance to work with Kevin Smith that could have done a better job. But that's why critiques are subjective.

I really have little to no problem with renumbering, especially if it garners a cool aniversary like Thor #600. I've said it all before; I love Thor, and as such am predisposed towards loving things about Thor. It's funny, but I think only comicbook fans can understand how frustrating it is to have one's favorite character go unpublished and left by the wayside for years on end. Editorially, I understood the wisdom in both waiting for the right creative team to become available and for the best time to promote the book within the shared universe and the publishing line, but it still sucked. Actually, it is probably similar to how Cleveland Browns fans felt when the team skipped town. Only when Thor came back, the book was really good, so it all seemed worth it. Probably Browns fans don't feel that way.

Now, if I love Thor, there's a good chance I like vikings. I suspect Ivan Brandon knew this with Viking #1. Okay probably not. But I am psyched to see vikings growing as a genre. There's no reason to let Brian Wood have all the fun on Northlanders. As I've said, the whole book is just beautiful, and it seems to me like it will be the biggest breakout book at Image since Cassanova. I see that book going far.

I like Black Adam because he's a character that exists right between Namor and Dr. Doom. He's a villain with a god-complex, or a hero with a villain complex, or something. Anyway when DC did its villain month I was happy to see a Black Adam Faces of Evil. His tragedy is so effective because of its melodrama, making each storyline he stars in to an act in his great saga.

I don't know if I could have enjoyed any convergence of interests more than BOOM!'s The Muppet Show. I don't even know if I have anything more to say about it besides I snicker at each and every page. What more could a man ask for?

I loved Groom Lake as soon as I read it. Then I heard the Wordballoon interview with Ben Templesmith, where he shared that it was his choice to add the cigarrette smoking flourish to the IDW's brand of aliens. That, my friends, is comics' genius.

I was so impressed with the Messiah War Prologue I don't know what to do with myself. Do I have to go back and read Messiah Complex? Does this mean I have to buy 6 X-titles a month again? I feel dirty and confused.

I dug Killer of Demons, and then found out from artist Scott Wegener that the book was actually done a few years ago, only to be released now. Color me impressed, because to me Wegener's art there is just about as strong as his stuff on Atomic Robo.

Some sequels take forever, and Marvels: Eye of the Camera is no exception. Busiek is such a great writer of superheroes when he's on his game, and I think he is here.

I did some reporting from New York Comic-Con 2009 for Newsarama, covering panels for Dark Horse's Creepy and Aspen Comics. Both companies seemed to have some cool things up their sleeves.

Mark Waid writes superheroes well, which is why it is interesting when he decides to write villains, as in Irredeemable. I'm eager to see if Waid can live up to the promise of the strength of his concept, here.

With Muppets, Irredeemable, and even the Incredibles comic, BOOM! was rolling for me. Or it was until Cars: The Rookie. I don't know, maybe that property is just among Pixar's weaker forays, but I had a hard time coming up with reasons to tell someone else to read that comic. I actually hate giving negative reviews, because I know that almost no comics get made without some serious loving intent put into the process, but I also can't shirk from honest assesments. Maybe some kid out there will totally love the Cars movie, and this book will be his or her bridge into comics- I just don't see it.

Some books just need to exist on the fringes, and Destroyer and Haunted Tank are good examples of that. I got pwned on the Newsarama boards for not realizing that the Destroyer was actually an old Marvel character, which was embarrassing in a way that only a nerd could understand, but I think I'm over it. I had held off from doing a full HT review until the series had wrapped, because I was really curious about how the series would read from the wide angle. That turned out to be the right call, because I think in the end the finale was the best issue of the series, and like The Dude's rug, really brought it all together.

I wasn't sure what to expect out of Lovecraft, but that was what made it exciting. This was basically a structurally sound historical meta-fiction piece that set the man Howard Lovecraft in a Lovecraftian horror story, (which, come to think of it, is more succintly put than I ever managed to get in my review, alas...). I'm no expert in the ways of the Cthulu, but it was a well told comicbook, and that was enough for me.

Rarely have I been more excited and inspired by the first issue of a series than I was with Warren Ellis' Ignition City. Steampunk evolved into space-frontierism just seems like an idea that should have been there all along, and Ellis is casually introducing it to us. This guy just consistently challenges the boundaries of the comics' creative community, and ever once and a while he belts one out of the park to remind us.

I couldn't help but weigh in on the big farewell issue for Geoff Johns and Dale Eaglesham on Justice Society of America. And apparently I couldn't weigh in fast enough, because not only did I let a totally uncouth typo out on the first goddamn line, but I also had a total brain fart and created my own American in my mind named "Norman Rockafeller," who I can only assume mainstreamed iconic but propaganda like art designed to enslave suburban minds. Or maybe he's related to this guy. Anyway I loved the run by the creators, and I thought the issue was a fitting farewell. I was also pleased with review itself, which furthers my theory that better books make for better reviews. I totally invented that theory.

Finally, I was thrilled to spotlight MC Esoteric's Serve or Suffer album. As rewarding as it is to give my perspective on the biggest releases in comics each week, ultimately critque is only a small offering to contribute to the broader discourse. Spotlighting a local hip-hop artists' high concept Silver Age inspired album was an opportunity to clue in a large audience to something I knew they would have had no exposure to otherwise. Chances are, if you are reading my JSA review, you were already going to read the comic, but an average Newsarama reader isn't likely to be able to find hot tracks like Galactus Trilogy or Steve Rogers on his or her own. And if you're a Newsarama reader, you really want to know those songs. Believe me. In any case, I've never watched the traffic on a story so intently as I did on that one, and I really hope that it was able to connect with the people who needed to read it, because it was a cool treat for that not-so-rare someone that loves his comics as much as his iTunes.


And that's pretty much a wrap to date. Somewhere in the throes of these NBA playoffs, Bruins chase for the Cup, early part of the Red Sox season, and beginnings of Patriots training camp, I expect I'll have some thoughts longer than tweets to collect on my other great obsession. But only if I can avoid writing my own version of Bill Simmons articles, because now that he's on twitter, I'm not sure I'd be able to fly under the radar. Or something. I'm going to be smart from now on and link to my stories as they go up, because the more time I let pass before I do one of these, the more likely I am to totally forget to link to one, and thus lose it to the vast void of the Interspheres. And that shit won't fly.

Now, to close with a fun little ditty, here's the video Esoteric was kind enough to put together to better share his sound with the nerd-republic. Give it a listen and I guaran-goddamn-tee you'll be humming this shit all day.

'We're gonna need a bigger (inter)Net'

After a time of tumult and incongruity, I've managed to stabilize as a writer, and get some good work done. Here are some links to my more recent work.

I talked to versatile writer G. Willow Wilson about her new Vertigo series, AIR. She seems to have a really unique world perspective that makes her a valuable voice in the sometimes homogeneous realm of comics.

Another year, another San Diego Comiccon Exclusive announcement. This time, it was my buddy Frank Marrafino's new Vertigo mini-series, Haunted Tank, with art by Henry Flint, (whose Elephantmen work has been a real favorite of mine). Like any Vertigo series worth it's salt, this revival looks to be as provocative as it is timely.

It was a season of revisiting, so, with the release of their new fantasy book Madame Xanadu, I caught up with writer/ artist Matt Wagner and artist/ writer Amy Reeder Hadley about progress on their new title. They were both great, gracious subjects, and after having seen that book develop over the course of a few years, I was amazed at just how well executed it all was.

It was also time to close the book on the modern masterpiece that was All Star Superman, so I talked to artist Frank Quietly about his experience on the high profile success. After getting my journalist career kick-started with the great Scot, it was very rewarding to be able to reconnect.

Did some reviewing in the last few months. Here's a quick wrap-up;

A major issue for me, both as a critic and as a member of the comic-reading community, is the blind distaste for anything that could be labeled an "event." All an "event" comic is is a marketing tool, a brand, that publishers with a large output can use to really throw their weight behind a particular series. They are not inherently good, or inherently bad; like anything, they come down to execution. Brian Bendis' Secret Invasion maxi-series is no different. except that he has his own books to use as support for this ambitious story.

Sometimes, as a reader, you get lucky. And lucky is exactly how I felt when it was announced that writer Matt Fraction, (who I have often accused of stealing my 'look,' particularly when I was Ritchie Tennenbaum for Halloween), would be supplementing the ongoing Thor series. A favorite writer tackling a favorite character is a joy unique to comics, and when Fraction tapped Beta Ray Bill to be the bridge character for the Secret Invasion: Thor miniseries, I couldn't stop talking about it.

It was Fraction and Ed Brubaker's departure from the Iron Fist title that demanded I check in on how it was handled by the subsequent team of Duance Swierczynski, Travel Foreman, and Russ Heath. It is never quite fair to compare one or two issues to a sum total of a successful creative run, but I think I gave a fair benefit of the doubt.

Phil Hester is immensely talented, and it was on his reputation alone I gave the El Diablo mini a shot. I wasn't disappointed, and writer Jai Nitz has had the kind of career that makes one hopeful that paying one's dues pays off. I don't think this series will be the book that makes him a viable option "big-time" writer in comics, but it is exactly the kind of book that can prove to an audience that you have the talent to hang in the industry.

As a writer, I can think of no more daunting task then following Alan Moore on a project. That's like having George Carlin be your warm up the audience guy. But that was the task for Zander (and, though I dropped the ball on it, also Kevin) Cannon, who did plot, script, and layouts on the new Top Ten: Season 2 series, with artist Gene Ha! Again, this is no small task, but they do a very commendable job.

I was a huge fan of the Oni OGN Labor Days, by Philip Gelatt and Rick Lacy. There were some serious philosophical questions it laid out, which really surprised me. It reminded me of I Heart Huckabees in that way, which I dug.

I was really excited to do this solo feature on Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge #3, by the slick Flash team of Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins. To be perfectly honest, I was more satisfied with the way this review came out than almost anything I've written. Things that I had wanted to say about Johns for a long time just sort of coalesced when I wrote this piece. But, that said, it is a lot easier to write a good review when you have a great subject.

Most recent was this review of Jeff Smith's Bone follow-up, RASL. I don't know what it is about the medium, but parallel worlds are an awful prevalent subject in comics. Smith really knocks this one out of the park, and I'm sure that when the project is complete it will be a new classic.



So that's the wrap for the last few months. I'm looking forward to trying out some new critiques on this space; from book reviews, to movies, video games, and really whatever comes up, it should be a good exercise in talking about what's good and bad.

I'm nothing if not a person who loves to talk about what he loves.