Cover of the week!  One is iconic, the other is Dave Johnson, so no surprise I like it.  Superman 20 & Bullseye 3.  Enjoy!

eek eek!

Trying something new! Cover of the week - April 29, 2015

I feel like writing.  I know this will be a fleeting feeling, but this journey needs to begin with a first step, even if the journey is only to the mailbox and back.  Why a cover of the week feature?  Three reasons:

     1) It doesnt require a lot of writing or time on my part, but still encourages a regular effort.
     2) I feel like Ive lost touch with who the artist is on books I read, and I hope this helps me to discover who my favorite artists actually are.
     3) I get bent out of shape each year when the Eisner Award nominees for best cover artist are announced.  I have strong opinions about what makes a good cover, even if I can't always articulate what that criteria is.  It has to be unique, though.  Brian Bolland draws some pretty pictures, but one BB cover is the same as the next, so I cant get excited about them.  The Reverend Dave Johnson comes up with a new design every time he puts pen to paper.  What I like might not sell comics, and it might be on a crappy book, but I love me some covers.

And now, on with the show!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Hit 1957 #2, cover by
 Vanessa Del Rey

Moon Knight #14, cover by

Declan Shelvy

Fantastic Four #645, cover by
 Leonard Kirk

Silver Surfer #11, cover by
 Mike Allred

Wayward #7, cover by
Sie Nanahara

G.I. Joe #8, cover by
Jeffrey Veregge

COVER OF THE WEEK:

Secret Avengers #15, cover by
 Tradd Moore

Blow up the image to a larger size, and take a look at all the details Moore threw into this.  Usually my eye gravitates to a more minimalist style, but here the giant whale drew me in from afar initially, and then I saw the giant school of fish, and hints of some Lovecraftian monster.  The characters are enjoying being there - even Natasha is smiling!  Aw, who am I kidding, it's the little Avengers fish that won me over.  Disney could start selling stuffed Deadpool fish tomorrow and they'd run out by the next day.  Smiles!

X-Men Updates

File this under "Of interest to no one" if you must. Four issues into Carey and Brubaker's runs, what do I think, you ask? I like Uncanny; X-Men, not as much (remember when we used to call it adjectiveless?) . Brubaker's story, which I said before didn't hook me, is now of more interest to me than Carey's X-Men, which originally drew my interest more.

Why? Two reasons. 1)Familiarity. I know the players in Brubaker's story. Whereas the badguys (tm) in Carey's story are new to me, meaning I'm not as interested/attached. That and the art/coloring in X-Men doesn't appeal to me. 2) Pacing. Brubaker's issues seem more complete on an issue-by-issue base, even though it is a long-term story. Carey's issues each feel like a chapter in a multi-part story, and therefore not as satisfying on their own.

NOTE: I'm not saying Carey's story is bad, it's not. But in comparing the two, Ed is doing a better job of drawing this reader's interest at the part-way point than Mike is.

I'm tired. Comics are a visual medium and I'm too lazy to attach any pictures to this. I'm lazy.

New Creative Team: Mike Carey on X-Men

Like Ed Brubaker on Uncanny, Mike Carey is starting his run on X-Men with a multi-part story. The difference being that Brubaker is telling a 12-part story while Carey's "Supernovas" is a 6-parter. There's a whole lot of action in this issue. Carey hits the ground running, or rather Sabretooth is running, from 4 new characters. His healing factor on the fritz, he seeks sanctuary at the X-Mansion.

Meanwhile, Rogue's been given the leadership position for an X-strike team. She picks Cannonball, Iceman, and Mystique, the latter to keep an eye on herself. From the cover box, we know Cable and Sabretooth will join her team as well. Fitting that Cable will, since he founded the first X-strike team in X-Force. With Cannonball, no less, huh.

Interesting character dynamics in the future. Rogue is the leader, Cable is a messiah (and former leader), Cannonball has been a team leader, Mystique has lead the Brotherhood, Iceman's been around long enough to command respect, and Sabretooth doesn't follow anyone. Let's see if Carey even brings this dynamic into play at some point.

At first read, the story is enjoyable. It's fast-paced, things progress, and things go boom. It's the opening scene of a summer movie, in other words. Compare this to Uncanny, where Brubaker used alot of words, other or not, in a slower paced story. And I didn't like Uncanny. I said it didn't interest me enough to get the next issue because it was too much of a commitment.

Well, Carey's 6-issue arc is less of a commitment, more condensed and..... the more I think about it, it's just not a very good story. I took for granted what Brubaker did, setting up the characters and motivations of the team in Uncanny. But in X-Men, Carey has everyone acting impulsively, things happen a little too quickly for convenience.

Damn I'm hard to please. I complain nothing happens in Brubaker's first issue to interest me. Then I complain so much happens in Carey's first issue as to interest me... until I think twice about the rationale for what transpired.

It's hard out here to begin a run on an established series. Both X-writers start with a gathering of the team. Brubaker took 22 pages, Carey 3 panels. This kind of story just doesn't ensnare me, no matter how it's wrapped together.

I'm gonna go read Detective again. I want Paul Dini to take over every book. Who do you like?

Scott Supplement - Civil War

"You know, I’m really enjoying Civil War and all, but I have to say I think the logic behind the whole thing is just a wee bit faulty. So for decades there have been super powered maniacs running around, killing, stealing, and – oh – occasionally trying to take over/destroy the nation or planet and the response of the government and S.H.I.E.L.D has essentially been, “Ho hum, the Avengers (etc.) took care of it nothing to see here folks move along move along.”

But when a few essentially benign costumed vigilantes fail to freaking register they’re all like, “We are freaking MOBILIZED and ready to MESS YOUR SH!T UP, you masked scumbag!” And just in a matter of weeks, at that. You’d think they would have put at least half as much effort into protecting people from – say – the bastards tearing around the country causing mayhem and destruction and generally being antisocial dicks as they’ve expended in trying to take down Captain America. Maybe it’s an election year?"

New Creative Teams - A How To

Last week, new creative teams debuted on Detective Comics and Uncanny X-Men. Paul Dini began his run on the Dark Knight with a single-issue story. By way of comparison, Ed Brubaker began his run on Marvel's merry mutants with part 1 of the 12 part "Rise and Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire." These two approaches worked well for each creator, but in different ways. And not everything worked.

Based on his first issue, I now know what to expect from Dini on Detective. Solid stories with a beginning, a middle, and an end all between two covers. Brubaker, working on a team book with a rotating cast, has to first establish who his players are. Rather than rush through the process, he gives us deliberate motivation for each character, and an over-encompassing purpose for the team is established. Paul over at The X-Axis reviews Uncanny X-Men far better than I can.

Based on the first issue of each new writer, you can guess at the upcoming plots: Dini will have Batman solve a crime and defeat a rogue each issue; the X-Men will go into space, fight both with and against the Shi'Ar, and win in the end at a cost. So when I say "what to expect" I mean more qualitatively than plot-wise.

At the end of Dini's first issue, we're left with a complete story to evaluate on its own merits (for a review I agree with, go read Ray at SilverBullet ). Brubaker ends his issue as part 1 of a larger story, and therefore has two choices: end on a cliffhanger (a la Y: The Last Man and Ultimate Spider-Man) or end it at a good break in the plot. Brubaker chooses the latter, and in doing so fails to excite me for the next issue.

The purpose of a first issue, be it of a new series or of a new creative team's run on an established series, is to get new readers to come back for more. Regular fans of the series will continue to buy it, but how many of the new readers will stick? I'll be buying next month's Detective, I doubt I'll be picking up next month's Uncanny X-Men. Brubaker failed to interest me enough to find out what happens next, and it's because of the type of first issue story he chose to tell. Maybe I'll wait for the trade, or maybe my interest will have waned by then. But I know I'll be buying next month's Detective, cause Paul Dini done right by me.