CBC Quickees: 9/8/05

No Buzzscope reviews this week as my both of my kids started school last week and I started today (online), so free time has been scarce. The past two weeks' lessened output have been an unexpected but refreshing break as every now and then it's nice to simply read comics for the pleasure. On that note...

The Adventures of BioBoy #1: Irreverant fun, beautifully illustrated by NYC Mech's Andy MacDonald. Creator/Writer Sal Cipriano's got an intriguing concept here, with bonus points for two "complete" stories in this issue, but the next issue or two needs to flesh it all out a bit more to keep it on the pull list.

Elsinore #3: Still creepy, though it's hard to remember everything that happened in the previous issues, and Lillie-Paetz jumps around a lot without much exposition, making things harder to follow than necessary. (A "Previously..." page would be a welcome addition to this title.) Presumably can't count on a trade from Alias for anything not written or drawn by Mike S. Miller, so I may just stockpile a few issues at a time and read them all at once.

Gotham Central #35: The intriguing "Dead Robin" storyline continues with a surprise revelation that has to be a red herring. Some great dialogue between Robin and Stacy that perfectly illustrates what I love about this series. Why aren't more people reading this?

Son of Vulcan #4: I still don't love the art and coloring, but Beatty's telling such a fun story, I've adjusted to it. How can you not like a comic where the hero gets beat up in a pawn shop holdup while trying to sell his main weapon, and the Coalition of Crime makes an appearance?

Karma Incorporated #2: I liked the first issue a lot, but this one takes a bit of an unexpectedly mean-spirited turn that I'm still on the fence about.

Vaistron #1: When I first contacted Andrew Dabb about doing an interview way back in the earliest days of CBC, he mentioned two upcoming projects, Atomika and Vaistron, and I figured the former sounded a bit more up my alley as the latter included the description "robot porn." I was wrong, kind of, as Atomika left me a bit cold, while Vaistron is...intriguing. Still not up my alley, but it's an alley I'm curious about checking out. Boussourir's art reminded me of Cracked Magazine for some reason. The Tijuana Bible version, at least!

Araña #8: Okay, seriously, I just need to stop buying this thing. It's not getting any better - in fact, the art is getting worse with each issue - and it fulfills none of my primary criteria for buying a comic book beyond some misguided sense of affirmative action. I can't imagine it's going to survive past its 12th issue, unless the digests are inexplicably selling gangbusters at Barnes & Noble. Disappointing.

House of M #6: Bendis apparently took Marvel's 6-issue decompression template and tacked on two more. Next issue will presumably be the all-action issue where someone important gets killed, while #8 will offer an incomplete denouement which will be continued in yet another mini-series. I predict by the end of the year, I will be almost completely in the "wait for the trade camp" when it comes to Marvel.

Ororo: Before the Storm #1: Well, that was fun, if rather pointless for a non-X-fan like myself. And it seemed like an unnecessary retcon inexplicably stuck in an all-ages book that even most X-fans probably passed on.

Death Jr. #3: I'd never heard of the video game this mini-series is supposedly based on, but if it has even half of its action, humor and personality, I'm going to buy it! Well worth the pricey Prestige Format, and if you missed it, buy the trade!

Comics still on the read pile (and the relative order I plan to read them in): Fell #1; The Bakers #1; Shocking Gun Tales; Forgotten Realms: Homeland #2-3; Queen & Country: Declassified (Vol. 3) #2-3; Alan Moore's Hypothetical Lizard #3; Mora #3 (not quite sure why it's taking me so long to get to this one...); Action Philosophers #2; XIII #1; Banana Sunday #1; Sonambulo #1; The Tick: Days of Drama #1; Solo: Howard Chaykin; Rocketo: Journey to the Hidden Sea #1 (the format's just not working for me). Plus, a ton of graphic novels and trades...

On the Shelves: 9/8/05

Support GOOD Comics! Try NEW comics!

The column formerly known as "Try Something Different" has become something different. Instead of listing every single comic book shipping each week, the newly rechristened "On the Shelves" will instead take a look at select comic books being released tomorrow, 9/8/05. The full shipping is list available at ComicList.

[NOTE: Not all of these titles will actually arrive in all stores. If your LCBS offers a pre-ordering service, be sure to take advantage of it. If not, find another one, or try Khepri.com or MidtownComics.com]

AARDVARK-VANAHEIM/WIN-MILL PRO
Following Cerebus #5, $3.95
Can someone explain the appeal of this series to me? The original, I mean. In 50 words or less?

ALIAS ENTERPRISES LLC
Elsinore #3 (Of 9), $2.99
Lullaby Wisdom Seeker Vol 1 TPB, $9.99
XIII #2, $2.99
Finally with Elsinore! Seems like Ken Lillie-Paetz is the only Alias contributor really doing it for me, what with this creepy little book and Monkey vs. Lemur. Talk about having range! Lullaby totally lost me by its last issue, though I suspect it might read better in trade form. XIII #1 is still sitting near the bottom of my to-read pile. Below Rocketo #1.

AMAZE INK (SLAVE LABOR GRAPHICS)
Vaistron #1, $2.95
Andrew Dabb's creator-owned project, of which I've had a preview of the first two issues sitting in my inbox for weeks now and haven't had a chance to read yet. Who says the internet will replace print one day? I'll be picking up the real deal, though, since, Atomika aside, he hasn't let me down yet and I'm curious to see what he does in his own sandbox.

APCOMICS
Apcomics Comic Expo Ltd Ed Pack, $20.00
Lexian Chronicles Full Circle Red Foil Cvr #1, $9.95
Lexian Chronicles Full Circle Sgn #1, $19.95
Hunh?!? Not sure what's going on with APC, but these are some odd offerings for a publisher in such apparent turmoil.

ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS
Sonic Super Special #4 Return Of The King (AA), $2.25
I must admit that I'm curious...

AVATAR PRESS
Garth Ennis 303 #5 (Of 6), $3.99
I still have the first two issues of this in my to-read pile, on Greg's recommendation.

BASEMENT COMICS / AMRYL ENTERTAINMENT
Cavewoman Reloaded #1, $3.95
Random title of the week!

DC COMICS
Ex Machina Vol 2 Tag TPB, $12.99
Gotham Central #35, $2.50
Son Of Vulcan #4 (Of 6), $2.99
Everyone's reading Ex Machina, right? It's a Buzzworthy 2005 pick, you know. Gotham Central, of course, is one of the best comics DC's currently publishing. Certainly the best of a woeful roster of Batman titles. And my pet cause, Son of Vulcan: new character, fun story, no connection to Infinite Crisis.

IMAGE COMICS
Bone Rest 2nd Prtg #1, $2.99
Coyote Vol 1 TPB, $14.99
Fell #1, $1.99
Grounded 2nd Prtg #1 (Of 6), $2.95
PvP #18, $2.99
From what I've seen online, I wasn't the only one who didn't get Bone Rest #1. Nice art, though. I have the full run of Coyote in floppy form, but couldn't get through the first issue when I tried a couple of months ago. Fell looks interesting, and Ellis is due to connect with me again after Desolation Jones left me flat. Grounded has a lot of potential, but it's got one more issue to fulfill it before I cut it. #1 is a great issue, though. The PvP #0 issue did nothing for me.

KYLE BAKER PUBLISHING
Bakers #1, $3.00
After Nat Turner #1, I'll give anything Baker does a look.

MARVEL COMICS
Arana Heart Of The Spider #8, $2.50
House Of M #6 (Of 8), $2.99
Ororo Before The Storm #4 (Of 4), $2.99
Why am I still buying Araña? Same reason I'm still buying House of M, I guess. I want to believe! Sumerak's Ororo mini has been a fun read.

SILENT DEVIL PRODUCTIONS
Dracula Vs King Arthur #2 (Of 4), $2.95
The first issue was interesting enough, but it'll be a gut call when I see it on the shelf.

SPEAKEASY COMICS
Adventures Of Bio Boy #1, $2.99
Maybe. Maybe not. Speakeasy's been hit and miss for me, but even the misses have had a certain appeal. Unlike, say, most of Alias' misses!

VIPER COMICS
Karma Incorporated #2 (Of 3), $2.95
A fun first issue landed this one on my pull list. Viper has a great visual style that carries through all of their titles without losing their individual identities.

VIZ MEDIA LLC
Shonen Jump Oct 05 #34, $4.99
I think it's time I picked one of these up to see what all the fuss is about.

WIZARD ENTERTAINMENT
Inquest Gamer Dungeons & Dragons Cvr #126, $4.99
Will. Not. Give. In. To. D&D. Hook.

Blogaround Challenge Met!

Via Bloggity-Blog-Blog-Blog:

Here's what you gotta do. Go to the Comics Weblog Update-A-Tron 3000 and click through to at least ten comic book blogs. You can do more, but ten is the minimum. I would also stick with blogs that have been updated within the last couple of weeks, but that's not a hard and fast rule. As another loose rule, go for blogs you haven't visited before, if you can. The goal of this challenge is to meet new bloggers and see new stuff.

Visit each blog. Look at it. Form an impression about it. Then write a short bit about it. Then repeat until you have ten. Be sure to link to the blog when you talk about it. Positive, or at least constructive, thoughts are encouraged. If you don't like the blog, don't include it, go on to another one.

I'm almost a month late with this challenge, but it's 1:53am EST as I start this, and I'm halfway through a last-minute fantasy football draft and struggling to stay awake.

NOTE: The Comics Weblog Update-A-Tron 3000 last updated at 1:07am EST. Between the lateness of the hour, and my mind mostly on shoring up my fantasy team, take the following with a grain of salt.

Nobody Laughs at Mister Fish
Love the panel scan/logo. I skipped the non-comics post that was most recent, but totally agreed with the assessment of current DC's inaccessibility to new readers. Further down, his reasoned take on Reginald Hudlin's Black Panther won me over. To the blogroll with ye!

Delenda Est Carthago
One of my favorite comics bloggers - I even snatched his "Comics You Should Own" column up for Buzzscope - his comics writing has moved over to the Comics Should Be Good blog, so I don't visit this one too often anymore. I do track it via Bloglines, though, as Greg's an intelligent guy with agreeable politics. He's also quite verbose!

hypnoray
Solid enough blog, but it lacks a compelling hook. Skimming several posts, I never got a sense of who joncormier is and why I should be following him. Nice to see he picked up on Gotham Central, though. Probably click over now and then when he pops up on the ol' Weblog Update-A-Tron.

PV Comics
Um...too tired to figure out what's going on here. Also, the last update was 9/1 so I'm not sure why it's showing up on the Weblog Update-A-Tron right now. I've always wondered it people ping that thing just to boost their traffic.

Websnark.com
I must be getting tired because I can't penetrate all of that text right now. Love the URL, though. It's caught my eye many times and yet, even when I've clicked over, the content's never connected with me for some reason.

the Successless Comics Blog
Woah! Several posts about Cerebus raise a red flag for me. That's one of a handful of well-regarded comics I have no interest in. Sorry. :-(

Comics Should Be Good
This blog transformed itself from one of my least favorites when I first came across it, particularly for its annoyingly sycophantic love for everything Grant Morrison and affected dismissal of pretty much everything else, to now being one of my daily visits. Brian Cronin, the aformentioned Greg, et al, are always good for entertaining and intelligent commentary and reviews.

Superblog!!
Um...the description says it "is a daily journal of stupid fun." I suspect even if I were fully awake, though, it wouldn't be my thing.

Dance of the Puppets
Cool name, interesting looking posts that are a bit too dense for 2:48am EST!??! Intriguing enough to check back in on, though.

Dave's Long Box
Who doesn't know this guy? Talk about catching lightning in a bottle! I mean, Newsweek? Or was it Time? Well deserved, though, as it's a great read - Boob War was priceless! - but I suspect it's all a bit more calculated than he lets on. Which is cool. At least he admits he's an aspiring comic book writer.

And that's a wrap! One-and-a-half rounds left in the draft. Good night!

Buzzscope Reviews: 8/31/05

A light week of reviews, both for Buzzscope and CBC Quickees, as reality pushed comic books back into the realm of non-judgemental escapism, and my critical abilities were shot after one review. Besides Johnny Raygun, other highlights of the week were: Amelia Rules #14 (officially joining Bumperboy as one of my favorite, truly all-ages comics), Powers #12 (saved from the axe after stagnating a bit), The Expatriate #3 ("WTF?" done right), and The Grimoire #5 (consistently fantastical fun). Oddly, after three false starts, the much-acclaimed Rocketo #1 sinks further into my to-read pile.

Johnny Raygun #6
A satisfyingly straightforward, subtly satirical spin on the superheroing set that, like the best Pixar movies, is suitable for all ages without being condescending or dumbed-down.

Hug your loved ones.

PSA: Charity Auction for Red Cross

Comic-related swag for a great cause.

And, of course, you can always donate directly to the Red Cross:

eBay: Batman: War Games Complete Run + Extras

Going through my overflowing longboxes this weekend and have decided to make some room.

Batman: War Games + War Crimes + Robin 126-128

This auction is for the complete run of the 2004 Batman: War Games crossover, including the controversial 2005 War Crimes follow-up, and Robin #126-128, the 2004 prelude that introduced Stephanie Brown as the new Robin: The Girl Wonder.

All issues are in VF+/NM condition, read once and individually bagged and boarded:

- Robin #126-128 (The Girl Wonder)

- Batman: The 12-cent Adventure #1 (War Games Prelude)

- War Games: Act 1, Parts 1-8
Detective #797; Legends of the Dark Knight #182; Nightwing #96; Gotham Knights #56; Robin #129; Batgirl #55; Catwoman #34; Batman #631

- War Games: Act 2, Parts 1-8
Detective #798; Legends of the Dark Knight #183; Nightwing #97; Gotham Knights #57; Robin #130; Batgirl #56; Catwoman #35; Batman #632

- War Games: Act 3, Parts 1-8
Detective #799; Legends of the Dark Knight #184; Nightwing #98; Robin #131; Gotham Knights #58; Batgirl #57; Catwoman #36; Batman #633

- War Crimes: Part 1-4
Detective #809-810; Batman #643-644

Bidding starts at $9.99 with a Buy It Now option for $29.99, cheaper than the three individual trade paperbacks which don't include the "War Crimes" and Robin stories. Auction closes Sep-10-05 18:17:29 PDT.

Comment: Right-Wing Conspiracy?

Not really. But there's an interesting little coincidence going on over at Amazon.com w/r/t Combat Zone: True Tales of GIs in Iraq. I posted a version of my Buzzscope review there a little while back, as I do with everything I review that they happen to sell, and received a couple of negative emails about it. Unusual, but not a big deal. It's a touchy subject for many.

What's interesting, though, is that since I posted mine, five more reviews were posted, four overwhelmingly postive, each one from a first-time reviewer. Plus, my review has received an unusually disproportionate "6 of 36 people found the following review helpful" rating.

I also came across another positive review of the comic that referenced mine, courtesy of the so-called Conservative Comic Book Pundit, who felt my issues with it were because I was "mostly upset that a conservative actually got a comic published."

Um, no. While I might be surprised that a conservative has any interest in the arts, I'm not the least bit upset that one published a comic book. Persecution complex, anyone?

There was a funny, but truthful comment, on Fanboy Rampage awhile back that comes to mind:

Where does the right wing get this constant feeling of persecution from?

You spend enough time persecuting people, you start to wonder when the wheel will turn.

Anyway, this weekend we're celebrating Labor Day, a holiday which, much like Christmas, has lost any true connection to its history. I'm only half surprised Republicans haven't figured out a way to swap it for a National Ronald Reagan Day. Of course, they have their hands full this week with the unexpected opportunity to gentrify an entire city.

Oops! Don't want to inject politics into anyone's four-color escapism.

Prayers and best wishes to all those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Peace.

---

UPDATE (9/7/05): Amazon's customer tracking is always interesting in a Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of way. Combat Zone's "Customers who bought this item also bought" listings?

• The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (And the Crusades) by Robert Spencer
  
• Our Oldest Enemy : A History of America's Disastrous Relationship with France by John J. Miller
  
• A Patriot's History of the United States : From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror by Larry Schweikart
  
• The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy: The Untold Story of How Democratic Operatives, Eccentric Billionaires, Liberal Activists, and Assorted Celebrities Tried to Bring Down a President--and Why They'll Try Even Harder Next Time by Byron York
  
• The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell : An Accidental Soldier's Account of the War in Iraq by John Crawford
  
• 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (And Al Franken Is #37) by Bernard Goldberg

INDUSTRY BUZZ #2: Hype Will Eat Itself

Industry Buzz is my monthly roundtable column at Buzzscope, featuring some of the most outspoken creators, retailers, pundits and advocates in comics commenting on the issues affecting the comics industry. This month, we took a look at hype, and what, if any, affect it has on sales.

Does marketing/hype help sell more copies of a comic book? Would, say, the first volume of Runaways have sold better if Marvel had promoted it half as much as House of M? What about reviews? Do they have any measurable effect on sales, especially of independent comics that lack the marketing resources of the Big Two?

Sitting at the table this month:

Ronée Garcia Bourgeois: National VP / PR, Friends Of Lulu
Johanna Draper Carlson: Reviewer, Comics Worth Reading
Brian Scot Johnson: Proprietor, Khepri.com
Frank Miller: Proprietor, Richmond Comix
Chris Pitzer: Publisher, AdHouse Books
Jason Rodriguez: Editor, Hoarse & Buggy
Rose Vess: Reviewer, Shrew Review

Plus, Special Guests:

Jim Demonakos: PR & Marketing Coordinator, Image Comics
Scott Beatty: Writer, Son of Vulcan, Batgirl: Year One
Joshua Dysart: Writer, Captain Gravity & The Power of the Vril, Swamp Thing
Joshua Hale Fialkov: Writer, Elk's Run
Debbie Huey: Creator/Writer/Artist, Bumperboy

Check it out.

Moon Knight: The Bottom

"Moon Knight: The Bottom is violent. Period. It's a Moon Knight story based in the Doug Moench continuity and while Marc Spector, as Moon Knight didn't really kill people, it seemed like everybody died. Until they started getting resurrected in Marc Spector: Moon Knight, every bad guy that he faced off with ended up getting blown up or killing themselves or being killed by somebody else. Usually, it was tragically, or in a very dark and ironic manner; it was grim stuff. And Marc Spector is a killer. Period. End of story. He was a man who was paid money to kill people. And all of the rationalization he may have had about having always fought on the good side and not killing innocent people, he went into foreign countries and accepted cash money payments to go out and kill people. So, you know, yeah, it's dark and it's violent..."

-- Charlie Huston, Writer, Moon Knight: The Bottom

NOTE: David Finch artwork from Wizard #168, via Moon Knight: The Yahoo! Group