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By | Monday, November 8, 2010 | 11:33 am | 2 Comments | Blog > Features

I just saw that Inaki Miranda posted a little rundown of how he turned James Jean’s Fables issue 76 cover into this Zombie tribute for issue 99.

I was curious to see what they looked like over each other, so I made this little gif. You can see each image a bit bigger (and without gif compression) below it.

Crazy stuff! It’s times like these where I hate being at trade waiter and wish I could just dive into current arcs off the racks.

You can see Inaki’s thought process here at his blog. You know, I never noticed that little skull on the telephone poll in the original version.

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By | Sunday, November 7, 2010 | 10:09 pm | 39 Comments | Blog > Reviews

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Includes Issues: Teen Titans: Year One 1-6
Issue Dates: March – August 2008
Creators:
, , , , , , , ,

This review is spoiler free! Skip To The Verdict? »

It’s got to be hard to write a Year One title, especially for a team with as much history as the Teen Titans.

They’ve gone through a lot of rosters and are well known for containing characters with extremely convoluted (and frequently ret-conned) back-stories. They’ve also been headliners for titles directed solely at children (Teen Titans Go!) as well as titles credited for bringing comics into the realm of complex long form storytelling (New Teen Titans).

But I guess that’s the whole point of a “Year One” – to provide a clear starting point for a team or character that otherwise might be intimidating to start reading.

The team assembled to tackle this problem is writer Amy Wolfram (who has experience in the DC Animated universe), Karl Kerschl on pencils, Serge Lapointe on inks, plus Steph Peru and John Rauch handling coloring (and they really should have a cover byline for their work here.)

This book seeks to tell the story of the founding Silver Age team: Robin (Dick Grayson), Wondergirl, Speedy (who gets left off the front cover for some reason), Aqualad, and Kid Flash. For those of you less acquainted with the DC Universe, Speedy is the kid apprentice to Green Arrow. Everyone else is pretty self explanatory.

The general plot here is that, slightly neglected by their adult partners and starved for some friends their own age, the teen superheroes get together in their new clubhouse and foil some minor crimes. Then there’s some more weirdness, as each kid super is confronted by their mentor acting decidedly weird. The plot isn’t particularly engaging though and feels awkward at times. While that makes for a mixed collection in terms of story, the real challenge is to introduce each character and show the Titans come together as a team. It’s a toughy.

The historical origins for these character are a mixed bag already. Robin is straightforward enough (Circus orphan trained by Batman) and the average reader should know him. Speedy and Kid Flash probably came about as a sales influenced response to Robin’s long standing success. But Wondergirl was originally a younger version of Wonderwoman and only accidentally became her kid sister when used in a storyline through an editor’s mistake. And honestly, even I don’t know much about Aqualad’s original creation and characterization. I haven’t gotten to the Aquaman Showcase Presents volumes yet.

Each of these characters has a huge publishing history and almost all of them (not sure about Aqualad again) have stepped into their mentor’s shoes – Dick Grayson has worn the cowl of the Bat, Wally West graduated to full-fledged Flash for an extensive run (see what I did there? Run, hah. I kill myself) and so on.

It’s fair to say that any fans of these characters have a lot of respect for them. Each of them has started as a plucky sidekick and worked their way up (except, perhaps, Aqualad.)

As a Year One title, though, and a fairly kid-safe one, this book seems entirely geared to new readers. It doesn’t have to be a bad thing (Batman: Year One, of course, is an excellent DCU entry point) but a book that’s supposed to get people excited about reading more should have a next point that makes sense. If the characters presented here aren’t the characters in those latter volumes, does that really help keep readers interested?

Robin is closest to the Dick Grayson we know now (and who developed in the New Teen Titans), but seems far from his 60s origin. He’s a lot broodier and shies from the spotlight associated with being a hero, kind of different from the circus brat moving through acrobatic routines in the middle of cases. It’s not too jarring – if this is a reader’s introduction to him, he might feel the same as he’s presented in Dark Victory or Robin: Year One.

The other characters seem to have one trait that is followed through the entire book. It’s not entirely fair to them. Wondergirl is boy crazy (really?) Kid Flash is impatient and obsessed with fame. Aqualad lacks confidence to the point of repeated “wetting himself” jokes. Speedy is a lech and kind of a jerk. Ok, maybe those last two are fair. And kind of funny when you know their “latter” stories. But I was seriously annoyed with Wondergirl’s complete lack of depth. Either Wolfram was trying really hard to allude to the fact that Wondergirl was pretty much accidentally typo’d into the universe (so she’s about a day old here) or this writer never read any New Teen Titans story. I can’t think of much else to explain why she’s some kind of good-natured teenage fem-bot.

The book isn’t all bad. Actually, I enjoyed it at first. There are a lot of moments in here that are quite entertaining. The dialogue isn’t bad and the plot allows for Batman to act like a total jerk, which I always enjoy. There are a few adorable moments for each character and few of the jokes fall entirely flat. I have to admit I particularly enjoyed a scene where Alfred gets his own sudden appearance, and I like when he’s presented as a fully abled member of the Bat-family.

Part of what makes it easy to read, despite the numerous faults, is that the art is so good. Kerschl and his comrades do an exemplary job. It’s cartoony, but still fits in with the mainstream DC style. The Titan’s bound youthfully through the pages, their lanky forms full of expression.

I particularly enjoyed the care taken with the color scheme in each page. From the green blue of Aqualad’s underwater confrontations to the warm sunset during Wondergirl’s date – the mood is immediately conveyed.

I did notice that the backgrounds are not worked with the same kind of coloring and line quality as the figures, but I didn’t mind the technique. It just helped them stand out more.

It’s a shame that the good things couldn’t bring the book together more. The ending is rushed and several plot threads felt unfinished. Speedy just disappears. I don’t really like the “face your fears in a psychic confrontation” style climax, either. It’s a lazy way to directly show what each character is going through.

I guess that I felt let down. Maybe the “Year One” prefix caused me to expect too much.


Verdict:
3 out of 5. Scores higher simply because of the art, the story is equally mixed in quality.

Essential Continuity:
Unfortunately, I have to say no. I’m not even sure if it represents current continuity!

It’s not the worst starting place (you don’t want to jump in the middle of a New Teen Titans arc, believe me) but it might not be the best either.

Read first:
If you’re really interested in the origins of the Silver Age Teen Titans, read Showcase Presents: The Teen Titans Vol. 1 or the Silver Age Teen Titans Archives. They’re probably more fun than this anyway, if a bit dated. If you just want to jump into a modern Teen Titans book, you might be better served by starting with Teen Titans Vol. 1: A Kid’s Game.

Read next:
None of this cast is actually in modern ongoings, so if you want to see what happens to them you have to go for the pre-crisis volumes mentioned above. Then you can read the New Teen Titans, which are luckily very very good (if you’re in the mood for the slightly dated 80s storytelling methods.) Not everyone shows up there, though, and a new cast is built fairly quickly. But the characters introduced during these highly regarded arcs are well represented in modern Teen Titans tales, so it’s worth learning your history!

If you want to skip this volume and jump right into the New Teen Titans, you’ll be forgiven. And rewarded.

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By | Sunday, November 7, 2010 | 4:28 pm | 7 Comments | Blog > Database Updates

First order of business for this afternoon’s update:

Congratulations to Duncanpr (Dan from Richmond, VA), who won the Joker Hardcover giveaway!

Dan, your book will be in the mail on Monday!

Next up, I’m pretty busy with working on the Marvel list offline, but I’m trying to do a bit here and there with what’s already up for DC.

I’ve added covers and publication information for the following ten books:

Green Arrow/Black Canary: A League of Their Own

Milestone Forever Book 1: Meta Fictions

Milestone Forever Book 2: Hardware Escape

Superman: Earth One

Teen Titans Spotlight: Cyborg

Enemy Ace: War In Heaven

Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy

Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice

Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion

Sgt. Rock: Between Hell & A Hard Place

I also added the Sgt. Rock tag to his Showcase Presents volumes, because they were missing from his reading order list. I’ll have to double check the rest of the Showcase volumes to make sure they’re tagged.

As of this update, we’ve got covers on over 300 books! (around 350, I think.)

I’ve also fixed the design code so the little black border works around all the book covers on the timeline and individual database pages. Previously it was only working in blog posts.

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By | Saturday, November 6, 2010 | 9:42 pm | 10 Comments | Blog > Reviews

Find This Book At:
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View our database entry
Includes Issues: She-Hulk 1-6
Issue Dates: May – October 2004
Creators:
, ,

This review is spoiler free! Skip To The Verdict? »

I read Marvel by the character. I’m obsessive – I tend to purchase every trade headlined by said character – so I’m understandably picky about which ones I decide to follow. I can’t afford to get into Marvel the way I am with DC, so I stick to guys like Howard the Duck and teams like Nextwave or the Runaways. In fact, based on those preferences, some forum users told me to pick up She-Hulk.

Forum users, thank you.

This trade is among the best modern Marvel trades and one of the best superhero books by a major publisher.

It’s super fun from front cover to back.

Now that I’ve given away my conclusion, let me tell you why. First of all, it’s not a T+A book, as much as the covers might imply (and I have to complain about the covers, sorry. I understand the sales equation, but they don’t represent what’s in the book.)

It’s intelligent, funny, and flat out strange – beautiful to look at, but appropriately cartoony.

She-Hulk, a buxom fem-exploitation-ish offshoot of Hulk, as the name implies, has grown to be her own character since her introduction in 1980. Sure, her original issues had plenty of character building by Marvel house standards of the time (which kind of had to make every super-hero an introspective loser ala Spider-Man), but the brand of angst there wasn’t really doing it for her. The angst here is much better! At least, a lot more tongue in cheek.

Shulky is upset because she’s been kicked out of Avengers mansion for partying too hard, but even the Thing isn’t feeling sorry for her. It’s obvious that it’s time for her to move on.

She ends up at a superhuman law firm, which results in some amazingly fun storylines. Similar things may have been done before, but not in the Marvel Universe and not this well – Dan Slott does a great job.

While the book builds a winning cast (including one of my favorite characters, Awesome Andy) and overarching plot-lines, each issue stands well on its own.

They run from intriguing who-dun-its with supernatural twists to extremely satisfying legal battles between well known Marvel characters.

It’s a mixed blessing that this was a “minor” book – it allows it a lot of freedom, but don’t expect anything here to have a ripple effect. The status quo of the Marvel U isn’t particularly challenged, it’s just played with.

And because this is a book headlined by a minor Marvel character, look out for plenty of cameos. Luckily, all of them are explained within the story and even a Marvel noob (like me) can happily follow along. There were a few inside jokes that I got by chance and I’m sure there’s a lot more in here for the Marvel aficionado.

It’s one of those books that’s thoroughly enhanced by the shared universe instead of weighed down by it – it’s understandable that there’s no need for a new giant robot character when there are plenty unused from age-old tales.

The story itself nods to the tropes of continuity. Apparently, in the Marvel Universe all comic books are admissible as legal evidence, since they’re licensed publications approved by a government authority (the Comics Code)! Naturally, She-Hulk’s new firm has an entire department devoted to scholarly interpretation of the longboxes.

The art in the book is excellent. Juan Bobillo pencils the first few issues collected here and his lightweight, easygoing style is perfect for introducing the Timely Plaza law firm and its amusing cast of employees and customers. Bobillo’s She-Hulk is curvaceous and strong, but never embarrassingly so – her alter-ego always shows through. It’s no surprise that much of this book is spent with her out of the green and in her lawyer duds.

There’s a switch a little more than halfway through the book to Paul Pelletier, who draws in a more recognizably “superhero” style. The changeover isn’t too rough, thankfully, with the reader quickly accustomed.

All the characters are recognizable and his style works well for these slightly more action packed issues.

While I can’t help preferring Bobillo’s interpretation, Pelletier shows a side of She-Hulk that is unmistakably strong (in character as well as physically.)

I’m happy to report that the entire collection seems to be free of ridiculous butt-focused camera angles or other similar tools of certain unsavory artists.

It’s unfortunate that my fiancee assumed the opposite from the cover, so I hope that my fellow feminist readers will give this one a chance.

It really does showcase a female character who is respected by her peers (male and female alike) and solves problems with a variety of abilities (her intelligence a prominent one among them.)

I could go on and on about this book, but I’d be doing you a disservice if I pointed out ever giggle inducing one-liner or each amusing plotline.

If you’re at all interested in Marvel, Super-heroines, or fun, I highly suggest picking this book up.


Verdict:
5 out of 5 stars. This is how to start an ongoing.

Essential Continuity:
For She-Hulk? Yes. For the Marvel Universe? Maybe not, but you’ll be missing out on some of the best it has to offer.

Read first:
If you’re a stickler for continuity and a completionist, you may want to pick up The Essential Savage She-Hulk and John Byrne’s The Sensational She-Hulk. But it’s really not necessary. Both are fairly different interpretations of the character, and the one here is by far my favorite. It was nice to see the her origins in the Essential volume (and a good price for it) but I think only one of the characters shows up in this particular book. If you’re really interested, you can always go back and read it after this.

Read next:
I’d go right to the next book, She-Hulk Vol. 2: Superhuman Law and continue through her numbered volumes. They aren’t all amazing (and I’m not sure any are as good as this one) but I happily devoured nine of them in one delightful afternoon. This She-Hulk is at her best when she’s working for the firm and handling humorous situations, and at her worst once crossovers like Secret Invasion start heavily hitting the plot. You’ll be forgiven if your attention starts to waver past Vol. 5, although there are some great moments throughout the entire series.

I’ve also just found out that Slott is starting a run on Spider-Man in November (that’s right now!) which is extremely exciting – his Spidey moments in this book can be ranked among my favorites for the character.

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By | Friday, November 5, 2010 | 11:59 pm | 28 Comments | Blog > Giveaways

Update: Entries are now closed and the winner has been contacted. Check out the Giveaways page for our current prize!

Update 2: The winner has been announced.

Here’s the weekly giveaway!

The Joker giveaway is over! Good luck to everyone who entered! I’ll be announcing the winner during a site update post this weekend.

Lets go Marvel this time! The site is still heavily tilted towards DC, but it won’t be forever, dear readers!

Today’s book is the paperback collection of Thunderbolts: Justice Like Lightning!

By Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, it’s a hefty piece of Marvel history, collecting the first four issues of Thunderbolts, the team’s first appearance in Hulk, and issues of Tales Of The Marvel Universe Special, Spider-Man Team Up, and the Thunderbolts ’97 Annual.

If you’re looking to get into the excellent Warren Ellis run on Thunderbolts, this is a great companion volume.

The Rundown:

(1) Thunderbolts: Justice Like Lightning TPB – From my personal collection (tight binding, very minor shelf-wear to the exterior like all used books)

(1) Winner – Randomly selected from the comments on this post. You must be logged in when you comment to be eligible. You must also be in the continental USA.

Deadline – You have until 11:59 on Friday, November 12th, 2010. The winner will be contacted that night or early the next morning, and announcement will be made as soon as they are confirmed.

Good luck everyone!

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