It was a weird week, comics-wise. Lots of new books, nothing much for me. Sigh. This is the part I forgot about reading comic books weekly, that many of the books I like come out sporadically - Castle Waiting, the new Dave Simm, anything from Oni Press - and that there are weeks where, as much as I’m ready and willing to spend my hard earned cash, there’s nothing I want to read. Sigh.

I did pick up issue #7 of Trinity, which continues to hold my interest, but mostly because it’s weekly. I think if it were a monthly book I would forget what was going on and not particularly care to remember, but as it’s coming out weekly I remember the story line…which is a bit convoluted for my taste.

Also picked up book #3 of the new Tank Girl. The art’s good, but I’m not enjoying it as much as I did the original series - but I could be romanticizing my memory. It has been a while since the original books.

The only other thing I bought this week is the graphic novel reprint of Astro City: Dark Age, written by Kurk Busiek, who’s writing Trinity. The Astro City books are great, they’re set in a universe where people accept the heroes around them and expect them to come to their rescue, but the stories tend to focus on the heroes as regular people, their hopes and fears, human insecurities, etc. Astro City came out sporadically and I don’t know if Busiek plans to go back to it, but for now, there’s several books of graphic novel reprint that are out there. I highly recommend them. Also, if you enjoy Astro City, you’ll probably like Powers by Bendis.

Some interesting stuff next week: Glamourpuss #2, some Bat books, a book of comics by varied artists based on the music of Tori Amos…who knew. This weekend is Dark Knight, plus, next week I pack for Comicon!

The idea for the Crisis 411 came from our very own Schinders when I commented on her Comics Chick discussion of Batman. She had written about the guest starring of Zatanna, and I replied regarding the complicated relationship with the two ever since Identity Crisis. One thing led to another and here I am. When I say “Crisis“, I am referring to the major storylines in the DC Comic Universe that involve nearly every single character and shake up the entire industry. The first major one, Crisis on Infinite Earths, was published in 1985 and the most recent is Final Crisis, which is being published right now. The problem with these massive and intensely confusing story arcs is that it keeps new readers from easily integrating into the DCU. How can you possibly jump in to a world that has so much back story, but is rarely explained in a quick and easy fashion?

Well, this is my attempt to present the three Crisis stories in a semi-legible way to fans and non-fans alike. Here’s hoping…

When Crisis on Infinite Earths was first written by Marv Wolfman in 1985, the intention of the story was to make comic books easier to read. The problem was that the Golden Age of comic books is very different than the Silver Age, and increasingly different from the books in 1985, 1990, 1995, etc. The real world was changing and, therefore, the way people wanted their fantasy heroes presented was changing as well. However, DC did not just want to ignore what came before, so often it presented “alternative” worlds called the Multiverse. They simply placed the different versions of characters in different worlds and ta-da, less confusion…right?
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We have no new comics today, because of the holiday over the weekend - though I have no idea why last Friday affects this week. So, hold your horses, un-start your engines, go back to bed; new books are out tomorrow.

Have you checked out Lapham’s Young Liars yet? It’s dark and crime-y (and a little sexy), and so well written and drawn; # 5 is out tomorrow.

Long time on-going indie book Berlin, by Jason Lutes, has a new issue out tomorrow, #16. It’s a beautifully drawn story of interweaving lives in Berlin just before WWII.

A couple things that aren’t specifically tie-in’s, but might as well be, are out this week. For you Hellboy folk there’s BPRD The Warning #1 and if you can’t get enough spiders and snakes check out Indiana Jones and the Tomb of the Gods… I’m assuming those snakes and spiders, but I bet it’s a good guess. And, for the Chuck fans out there, #2 of the comic series is out tomorrow.

A follow up note to last week’s mention of Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam: I gave a copy to my best friend and her six year old and they both loved it equally. There was a code, which they solved together, and he was very involved with the story. Hey you all, jump on the chance to create a new comic book fan, buy an extra copy and give it to that cool kid in your life!

Hello from New York, comic fans!! I’m home on the East Coast, visiting the fam for the holiday. So - comics!

Picked up a few things this week that I’m already reading - Trinity, Echo - and there were some interesting new things as well. First, there’s Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, an all ages book by Mike Kunkel. Kunkel wrote a charming book a few years ago, Hero Bear and the Kid, but like many self-published projects, it didn’t last. The good news is someone at Marvel was smart enough to hire the guy and we get this book. Also new this week, Neil Gaiman’s graphic novelization of Coraline with art by P. Craig Russel. And, for you Buffy/Joss fans, Whedon returns to this week with issue #16 of season 8.

As long as I’m in New York, I went over to the Met to see the “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy” exhibit, which I have to say was disappointing. Not so much from a fashion standpoint - I love Mugler and Galliano and McQueen, but it felt like Superheroes as a theme was an excuse to show rubberized clothes. What I found coolest was the stuff for sale in conjunction with the show: there was a pop up history of Marvel comics, a comic book guide to NYC and cool op pop t-shirts.

Finally, I need to ask how you all feel about your comic shops. I am so spoiled by Golden Apple and never even realized it. It’s light and bright and well organized, and the staff is friendly. If they’re out of something, which they rarely are, they’ll re-order or find it for you. I went to a store today in Manhattan on the Upper East Side - I don’t want to slam anyone by name, but they’re on the second floor of a pet shop - and had a really unpleasant experience that reminds me why many girls don’t read comics. The store is small and cramped - okay NY real estate is expensive - and the owner was smoking the whole time I was there. I went by at about 11.30am and they were closed while they stocked today’s books. Okay…So, I came back a couple hours later to find they had sold out of most of what I had planned to buy, once I could locate where the books would have been. They explained that they only ordered what they knew their loyal customers would buy, but that I should order from them in the future. Why would I do that? I live in LA and they made me feel very unwelcome. And there was a creepy guy kinda following me around. Yuk.

How’s your comic book store? Any weird experiences? Good ones? Bad? Purple?

Because book one of Xanadu comes out today… What? Excuse me? It’s not Xanadu? Damn, I was really looking forward to illustrated versions of Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly. Oh well. This is Madame Xanadu, a new series from Vertigo written by major talent, Matt Wagner. Wagner is the genius behind the Grendel and Mage books, both art and script (if you’ve never read Mage, run out and get the trade paperbacks - fanfreakingtastic stuff). Wagner’s only scripting this book, but the art, by Amy Hadley, is gorge. Madame Xanadu is an old DC character getting a revamp due to her role in the DC Crises. I’ll let you know what I think.

Okay, here’s the interactive, help a sister out portion of the post. What books are you guys reading? Who are your favorite writers and artists? Who’s your dream team? We want to hear from you.

A while ago, skirbo brought us parts one and two of the Buffy 411. Then life happened — we’ll let her explain here in part three.

Here it is; the last installment of my Buffy the Vampire Slayer 411. FINALLY. I bet you thought (or hoped) I’d forgotten it. Alas, no. Real life reared its ugly head and took up just about every spare moment I had. I wish I could say that I had to prevent an apocalypse or slay a vampire, but truthfully it was problems with my teenaged daughter. She felt like it was the end of the world and I felt like I’d battled a demon by the time it was over, so I guess it’s pretty much the same thing.

For those of you that have not read the first two installments (or you did and chose to block the memory of it), take a look at them here:

Part 1

Part 2

First, we’ll take a mostly light-hearted look at the regulars. Then we’ll try for light-hearted on the shipping, but really, how funny can you make any ship with Andrew? It’s just wrong…

The Scooby Gang

Buffy Summers

“I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there’s evil and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time, that I hadn’t been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn’t been either. But this isn’t about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready - now. Tomorrow morning, I’m opening the seal. I’m going down into the Hellmouth and I’m finishing this once and for all.” - “Chosen”, season seven

Believe it or not, I wrote about Buffy herself last of all. Out of all the characters on the show, she is overall the most complicated. Take Buffy in an individual episode or season and her character seems pretty simple, sometimes selfish and sometimes shallow. Very human. The picture painted of Buffy over the course of the whole series is not - simple, I mean. The high school years as a whole were all about Buffy accepting her destiny as the Slayer and learning to live with - if not embrace - it. Her Slayer-ness is very front row, in your face, the lead of the series. High school Buffy is “I’m the Slayer and I love Angel”, “I’m the Slayer and I’m grounded”, “I’m the Slayer and I’m not popular anymore”, “I’m the Slayer and I have a chemistry assignment due”. Or the ever popular, “I’m the Slayer, ask me how”. She really never handled the competition of Kendra and Faith very well. For all that she complained about having to be the Slayer, she didn’t like it when another one came into play.
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Guest blogger Dee Doyle returns for yet another Fandom 411.

My first introduction to The Incredible Hulk was in the comic book store my parent’s owned, but it became more of an interest due to the 1996 animated TV series on UPN. The creators were no doubt trying to compete with Fox for the popular opinion of the fans that enjoyed the X-Men and Spider-Man animated shows in the 1990s. The Hulk is about the inner darkness of the human heart and, while personal demons are usually kept inside, Bruce Banner’s demon is there for everyone to see. And he’s green! The Hulk was created in 1962 by the amazing team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who also created such popular teams as the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. While the comic had some difficulty gaining attention at first, the Hulk was used as a guest star in several other comic books until a small fan community started to gather, especially in the college age bracket. Originally, the Hulk was gray and he transformed back into Banner during dawn, but in modern comics he transforms due to emotion or triggers and is that glorious shade of emerald.

Dr. Bruce Banner is a mild mannered scientist who designs a gamma bomb for the government. He saves a teenager named Rick Jones who stumbles onto the testing grounds and ends up being caught in the explosion himself. The radiation causes him to turn into the savage beast named the Hulk whenever he loses control. The Hulk is a creature of quick anger and violence, but he is able to think enough to form full sentences and refers to himself in the third person. Banner is pursued by the US government because of the damage and devastation he causes as the Hulk. His long suffering girlfriend, Betty Ross (who eventually becomes his wife and adopts his last name) is often used as bait to draw him out and is capable of calming even the Hulk with her presence. Her father, General Thaddeus Ross is the main force behind the armed forces trying to capture the Hulk, much to Betty’s dismay. The teenager Banner saved, Rick Jones, remains with the Hulk as his friend and sidekick. The major villains in the series are the Abomination and the Leader, both of whom are also radioactive, super dangerous monsters.
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Since I’ve started reading comics again, I have to say, I agree with Miss Dee - I’m all about the Bat. Supes is fine, but there’s so much alien tech sometimes, and I think Wonder Woman is glamorous, but cold. Batman’s the real deal: he’s a hero, but he’s still a human with flaws.

I’ve picked up a bunch of Bat books recently and it’s great getting back to Gotham, especially as there are stories still set in Gotham when Jim Gordon was commissioner - which I prefer. Plus, there’s some really great writers working on the Bat, Paul Dini - who created Harley Quinn - is writing Detective Comics and Steve Niles - who wrote 30 Days of Night - is writing Gotham at Midnight. So much fun!

Credit to Dini on Detective, Zatana was in the storyline I just read and Dini and Nguyen - the series artist - completely proved my comments last week if not wrong, then sweeping. Zatana’s just come off stage and says, “Let me slip into something more comfortable,” then she reappears in a sweatsuit. Nice! Granted the rest of the time she’s in fishnets and a top hat, and none of the civilian women are wearing anything too current, but still, it was on the right track.

Also Bat related and cool, I picked up Batman: Murder at Wayne Manor. It’s a murder mystery puzzle book - illustrated by David Lapham who wrote Stray Bullets and is now doing Young Liars - with clues and maps folded up in envelopes inside…kind of Batman meets Griffin and Sabine.

The other book that I picked up last week that’s of interest is Dead, She Said by Steve Niles - again - with art by Bernie Wrightson. What a combo! It’s creepy horror noir at it’s best. A dead bad guy has to figure out who killed him, at the same time a couple is devoured by ants, and a criminal informant gets ripped to shreds. Warning: this book is gory and not for the faint of heart; I had a hard time with the first few pages.

There’s a bunch of #1’s coming out this week, I have no idea if they’ll be any good, but a couple sound fun: Kill All Parents, Pilot Season Genius… Plus RASL #2, Trinity #3 and the trade paperback of Neil Gaiman’s Eternals, and you never know what else you’ll find.

Schinders here, in the guise of Comics Chick. I read the first book of Trinity last week, DC’s new weekly focusing on Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, as they take on some new, as of yet unnamed foe that only the three of them are dreaming about.

The good news: It’s interesting that they’re doing this as a weekly; when books come out month to month, I can get overwhelmed and lose track of the story. The book has a back up story, which, if I understand correctly, will rotate with other back ups? or the writers and artists will rotate? I’m unsure, but I know there’s rotation involved. The final good, and to me - best, thing about this series is Busiek’s writing; he really has an ear for dialog. Although these are the most powerful beings on Earth - okay, Bats doesn’t have powers, but still - Busiek remembers that they’re also (ostensibly) human.

The bad news: While the dialog is sharp, so far the storyline seems a little trite. How many times can we watch any, or all three, of these heroes fight a great and unnamed alien foe? Been there, done that. My other issue is one I have with many super hero comic books and it’s the way the female characters are depicted. The art on the main story for Trinity is done by Mark Bagley, who’s a big fan favorite. His work is great, the lines are beautiful, clean and strong, but - and for me it’s a big but - has he not seen women’s clothing in the past thirty years? Wonder Woman in civilian clothes wears a skirt suit, just below the knee, jacket to her hips… Who dresses like that? It’s as though they’re still drawing what women wore in comic books in the 70s. Just buy a fashion mag, fellas.

I know you thought it was the depiction of the female form I have a problem with. That’s pretty bad too, but the clothing is so glaringly gauche. Sigh.

Sorry to rant, it just always really bugs me. Yes there have been comics that have gotten it right (Sandman, a handful of indies), but they’re few and far between.

Okay, new books today - here are some titles that might pique your interests:
For the Hellboy fans there’s B.P.R.D. War on Frogs #1 and the new B.P.R.D. #1. I’m buying the new Young Liars by Lapham and Trinity #2.

If the fall is too long to wait for a new episode of Chuck, issue #1 of the comic version of the show hits shelves today.

And finally, RASL #1 by Jeff Smith, which I mentioned last week, is available in a second printing.

Here’s hoping your week’s a graphic one!

New books come out tomorrow. This week I’m looking forward to Trinity from DC. Kirk Busiek - writer of Astro City - takes on Batman, Superman, and Wonderwoman in stories that take place outside DC-verse continuity. Also new and interesting this week (to me) is Marvel’s Ultimate Origins #1 by Brian Michael Bendis.

Comic news: The Library of Congress received the gift of the original artwork for the entire issue of Amazing Fantasy #15, the first appearance of Spider-Man. Pages by artist Steve Ditko are rarely seen, and an entire issue of original broad sheets is a treasure. The donor, who requested anonymity, has given a true gift to the community at large by making these available.

Finally, a bit of good news/bad news. The good news: Jeff Smith - writer/artist of Bone - has a new series, RASL. The bad news; the first issue is sold out and no one seems to know when the next one will happen. I haven’t read it yet, but i found it on Ebay for only a couple dollars more than the cover price. I’ll let you know what I think when it gets here.

Figure below by DGTrekker.

Guest blogger Dee Doyle is back with this Fandom 411.

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

–Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight

When FanLib asked me to do a 411 on Batman, my very favorite comic book series and comic book character, I was more than a little excited to get started. After ten years of faithful worship, and more than a few Batgirl-costumed incidents I’d rather forget, Bruce Wayne remains one of the most fascinating characters I have ever read, even throughout my classical education.

The comic is about Bruce Wayne, a young boy who inherits his parents’ billions when they are tragically shot down behind a movie theater one night. Raised by the family’s butler Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce swears that he will rid Gotham city of evil so that no child will ever have to go through what he did. He starts a serious and intense training program to build up his strength and stamina, but he soon decides he needs more than just that and travels the world to all the great masters and teachers in karate, kung fu, boxing, and many others. He attacks the night as the Dark Knight, a creature of fear and darkness who fights villains with the same degree of vicious ruthlessness they fight him. In time, he decides to adopt a young boy, Dick Grayson, when the boy watches his own parents die in front of his eyes. Bruce — to keep an essence of humanity within himself — trains Dick to be his sidekick Robin, giving the boy purpose. Read more »

Welcome to the inaugural posting of Comics Chick. What a Schinderful day you’re all having; first a Five Q with me, and now I talk comics, wow. So here’s the story of me as a comic book reader.

As a kid I loved comic books. Is there a kid who doesn’t? I loved the Archie books, Sabrina the Teen Aged Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, etc. Loved the Harvey books, Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Casper, etc. Loved the Disney, Mickey, Donald, especially Scrooge. And I really loved Tintin and Astrix. Heck, I’d read Power Pack if that was the only comic around. Then, I hit a certain age, maybe twelve, and I allowed my mother to convince me comic books were for kids, and I quit reading them.

In college I dated a guy who broke my stereo and my heart, but he turned me on to The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. I was back with a vengeance. I read a ton of comics in the late 80’s and early 90’s (I know, I’m dating myself), went to St. Mark’s Comics every Wednesday for my books. Started out a more indie fan, but wound up in tights as it were. Loved everything from Jinx to Justice League, from Very Vicky to V for Vendetta. Then about five years ago, I stopped again. It wasn’t all at once, I petered out. I’d go by the store in dribs and drabs - by then I was living here in LA - but there wasn’t much I wanted when I did go, until finally, I stopped altogether. Read more »

This week, SciFi news is all over the place. So fasten your seat belts, Ladies and Gents!

Movies

Adam Brody (The O.C.) has expressed interest in keeping his part as The Flash in the stalled Justice League of America movie, if and when it picks back up. The George Miller project was originally going to have Ryan Reynolds as The Flash, but Brody was eventually offered the part. The movie, however, has stalled in production. Here’s hoping Brody gets his wish.

A friend recently pointed me to an almost forgotten movie coming to theaters next year. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is a fantasy flick originally starring Heath Ledger as “Tony,” a stranger who finds himself traveling through a magical mirror to find the lost daughter of a traveling theatre owner. After the actor passed, several of Hollywood’s best stepped up to play their friend’s part. The film now stars Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell as the fantasy world versions of Ledger’s character. Ledger had finished all of the “real world” scenes before he passed. I don’t know about you, but I was pleased to see so many great actors stepping up to finish Heath’s work.

TV

Firefly fans - Hopefully you didn’t miss the SCIFI Channel’s all-day Firefly marathon yesterday. The day started at 8 am with Serenity part 1 and ended at 3 pm with Jaynestown. Yep! Eight whole episodes of the tragically cancelled Joss Whedon project that many fans consider his best. So, I hope you used your sick days, took a vacation, snuck out during your lunch break, or just set your Tivo - It was a couch potato, browncoat day!

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Iron Man, this season’s hottest superhero flick, opens in theaters around the US this weekend, but can the movie live up to the hype?

To get the goods on this lesser known comic hero, I called upon SFUniverse’s sultan of superheroes, the swami of summer movies, Mr. Brian Allen, and here’s what he had to say:

“A caricature of Howard Hughes, Tony Stark is a hero in the classic Marvel tradition: supremely flawed. His Iron Man armor is not only the source of his super powers but a life support system that keeps his damaged heart working. Stark also battles alcoholism, the kind of issue not dealt with in most comics during his origin period in the 1960s. It’s alluded to in this movie but reportedly won’t become a big problem until later in the series.
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I’m a science fiction fan from way back. My favorite thing about the genre? The sci-fi faniverse is always jumpin’ — Let’s check on the action.

Movies

Next May, J. J. Abrams walks the eleventh movie of the Star Trek franchise to the theater. (Star Trek fans say “duh!”) The official movie site is now up and running. You can chat with other fans, get your FAQs answered, and get updates on the production.

Guillermo del Toro is going to direct the upcoming Hobbit film. I know fans of the book were delighted to hear Peter Jackson had signed on to produce the prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’m interested to hear what my fellow fans think of del Toro at the wheel of The Hobbit.
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