The ADD Blog at Comic Book Galaxy - Pushing Comix Forward

The Problem with North American Superhero Comics -...

2007-06-04T06:33:00.000-04:00

The Problem with North American Superhero Comics -- Writing for The Comics Journal's weblog Journalista, Dirk Deppey pretty much explains why North American superhero comics suck so much (scroll down to the panel of Catwoman facing some swordsmen and read from there).

These days, my litmus test for whether anyone knows anything at all about the artform of comics is whether they use the word "comics" to mean comics, which includes everything from Naruto to Peanuts, from Abandon the Old in Tokyo to Tintin, and, yes, from Spider-Man to Kampung Boy. And lots more.

But I find myself tuning out completely when I hear or read someone say something to the effect of "Comics suck right now," and then go on to complain about Infinite Crisis or Civil War, betraying the fact that said commentator is dissatisfied (and rightly so) with North American superhero comics, specifically, as Dirk nails it, "New York corporate comics culture."

In the end, only one of two people can have ultimate authority over a story being created for the public: the creator or the publisher. If it�s the creator, than the editor�s job is to assist said creator in bringing the completed story to market to the best of his or her ability. If it�s the publisher, however, than the editor�s job is to serve as the publisher�s hands in guiding a corporate property to market in the most saleable condition possible. -- Dirk Deppey

Dirk's example, and it's a painful one for me, is DC's destruction of Ed Brubaker's Catwoman.

When Brubaker and artist Darwyn Cooke relaunched the title, it had been an amateurishly-drawn piece of garbage for years on end. With a single, visionary stroke, Brubaker and Cooke turned it into one of the best superhero comics published in the past 20 years.

But that "corporate comics culture" inserted itself: A succession of good artists, including Cameron Stewart and others, continued the pop noir feel Cooke had infused the title with, but DC didn't think it was selling well enough, and chose not to nurture a creatively exceptional title long enough for its potential audience to find it. Instead, as Dirk notes, DC assigned Paul Gulacy to illustrate Brubaker's scripts, and the series immediately degenerated into a parody of its previous excellence.

The lesson will go unheard at the highest levels of corporate comics, but Brubaker's Catwoman is a fine example of the damage that can be done by short-sighted fiddling with what is clearly visionary work. Every once in a while something beautiful comes out of Marvel or DC, whether it's the first 24 issues of Catwoman or Grant Morrison's New X-Men. But almost inevitably, someone higher up than the title's creators or editors takes notice, makes some "suggestions," and good work with great potential is squandered.

In the long term, speaking as someone who's 41 years old and has been reading comic books since I was 6 years old -- it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth, and generates enormous ill will and profound doubt about the corporate companies' ability to shepherd their characters, many of whom have a sentimental or even profound importance to the greater culture at large.

So this is why I am always leery when a creator I respect signs on to a new project at Marvel or DC. I am always hopeful, but there's always that fear that even if the work is good, there will be no real creative control by those best equipped to weild it: The creators.

Changes -- I'm fiddling with the template today. I...

2007-06-03T12:10:00.000-04:00

Changes -- I'm fiddling with the template today. I've moved the very long "Recommended" list to its own page, because it was adding unnecessary length to the sidebar. I also switched the archives from weekly to monthly, in the hopes of that taking up less sidebar real estate too. Blogger is ungodly slow today, so the changes may take a while to go into effect. Drop me an e-mail if you notice anything terribly wonky.

June Previews Pre-Ordering and My Monthly Pull Lis...

2007-06-03T07:38:00.000-04:00

June Previews Pre-Ordering and My Monthly Pull List -- Well, since switching comic shops I've begun getting Diamond's Previews catalog again. Here's what I pre-ordered from the June catalog, presumably arriving in August...

* Pg. 293 Berlin #13 (Drawn and Quarterly) -- If I waited until this excellent series has enough issues in the can for a second collection, I might very well be dead.

* Pg. 298 Complete Peanuts 1965-1966 (Fantagraphics)-- One of the most gratifying reprint projects of all time, every volume is a delight to dive in to. And as an added bonus, this volume will include the strip that appeared the day I was born. Tell me you won't be jazzed to see the same when your time comes around!

* Pg. 330 Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4 (Oni Press) -- Probably the most exciting release in the catalog for me. Bryan Lee O'Malley's comics are energetic, witty and most of all they feel very much like what's happening in comics right this moment.

These are in addition to the monthly titles I have on my pull list...which looks something like this:

ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY
ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
ATLAS
AUTHORITY, THE
BART SIMPSON*
BOYS, THE
BUFFY SEASON 8*
CAPTAIN AMERICA
CHRONICLES OF WORMWOOD
COMICS JOURNAL, THE
CONAN
CRIMINAL
DELPHINE
DESOLATION JONES
DETECTIVE COMICS
EIGHTBALL
FELL
FRANKLIN RICHARDS*
FUTURAMA*
LOCAL
LOVE & ROCKETS
MARVEL ZOMBIES
NEW TALES OF OLD PALOMAR
OPTIC NERVE
PALOOKAVILLE
PLANETARY
PUNISHER MAX
PUNISHER PRESENTS BARRACUDA MAX
PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL
SIMPSONS, THE*
SIMPSONS MAGAZINE*
SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE*
SPIRIT, THE
SUPER F*CKERS
TALES DESIGNED TO THRIZZLE
TEEN TITANS GO*
WILDCATS

Titles marked with an asterisk (*) are for my kids, or in the case of Buffy, for one of my kids, and also one for me...

Erstwhile -- Having seen this word misused at leas...

2007-06-02T08:54:00.000-04:00

Erstwhile -- Having seen this word misused at least twice this week on blogs I respect, I'm gonna just point out that this word means FORMER, not "intrepid," "awesome," or anything else. ERSTWHILE=FORMER.

Thank you.

Wizard on The Boys -- Click over to Wizard (there'...

2007-05-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

Wizard on The Boys -- Click over to Wizard (there's a phrase you don't see around here much) for a brief interview with Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson about The Boys, which arrives in stores today in the form of a graphic novel collecting the first six issues and a new #7, so you can get all caught up at once courtesy of new publisher Dynamite Entertainment.

I've enjoyed the entire series to date, but #7 is particularly delicious, inventing a somewhat new and different problem for a superhero to suffer from. It's great, perverse stuff.

I had already read the original issues collected in Vol. 1, but the Simon Pegg intro and especially the sketchbook section in the back make it worth a look whether you're new to the series or not.

Pressing Issues of the Day -- Weighing in on recen...

2007-05-29T16:38:00.000-04:00

Pressing Issues of the Day -- Weighing in on recent kerfuffles in the comics blogosphere...

#1: Johanna is Right -- A lack of diversity is why superhero comics don't matter anymore. A lack of diversity in creators, storylines, characters, and readers. A lack of diversity is why Manga has made the inroads that it has in the past decade, and the people up in arms about what Johanna had to say about diversity would know that if they paid attention to the real-world readership of comics as a whole rather than the inbred, moronic discussions at the superhero convenience stores whose days are numbered across North America.

#2: Tentacle Rape -- I looked and looked, on CNN.com and elsewhere, and could find no news coverage whatsoever of anyone or anything with tentacles raping anybody, anywhere, with their tentacles or anything else. Perhaps those upset by this imaginary scourge would do well to read point #1, above.

#3: San Diego Comicon -- As usual, Tom Spurgeon has a great guide to the San Diego Comicon. My plans in two words: Not going. As usual. Oops, that's four words.

The Boys Are Back -- If, like me, you enjoyed Gart...

2007-05-29T13:10:00.000-04:00

The Boys Are Back -- If, like me, you enjoyed Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's The Boys until DC/Wildstorm unceremoniously (not to say petulantly) pulled the plug, issue #7 arrives in stores this week from new and more visionary publisher Dynamite Entertainment. Do keep an eye out, and remember that this week, in the U.S. at least, comics will arrive in stores one day late due to the Memorial Day holiday.

The Long Holiday Weekend -- I dearly love three-da...

2007-05-26T06:56:00.000-04:00

The Long Holiday Weekend -- I dearly love three-day weekends, and another one of them has descended upon These United States even as I type this. Of course, an "Air Stagnation Warning" kicked it all off yesterday, something I'd never heard of and no one else I talked to had either...but I am sure with the state of the environment, we can look forward to many new and unfamiliar warnings in the years and decades ahead.

Hmm, that seems bleak for someone starting off three days off. Let me try a little harder:

Hey, everybody! Hope you have a fantastic weekend, and that YOU may perhaps be work-free for an extra day as well.

Happy Belated Birthday yesterday to BWS, and Happy Timely Birthday today to James Kochalka and Herb Trimpe. And thanks as always to Tom Spurgeon, who obviously has a much better system for keeping track of important information than I do.

And tomorrow? Tomorrow is my 14th wedding anniversary. Phew, and they said it wouldn't last! (Well, SHE said it wouldn't last, or she hoped it wouldn't, or, you know, something like that.) I'd say "Happy anniversary, honey" but she never reads my blog. But happy anniversary, honey, just the same.

Speaking of anniversaries, the fifth one of this here blog is coming up. Yet another reason to get back in b-i-bidness. I do have to get to the funnybook store today to pick up my weekly haul -- as well as run to the bank, get a haircut, pick up my daughter from her sleepover, and other stuff. So, I'm'a go do that. You have a good weekend and I'll see you back here early next week. Deal?

Please Release -- A few years ago, an excellent s...

2007-05-25T09:18:00.000-04:00

Please Release -- A few years ago, an excellent self-published alt-comix title called Walkie Talkie impressed the hell out of me with its attention to craft and devotion to setting a mood in its individual stories. It lasted four issues, and I wish I had raved more about it at the time. Consider this an apology.

Walkie Talkie's creator was Nate Powell, who has now created a tighter and even more appealing anthology of four short stories called Please Release, published by Top Shelf. All the stories take place during a period from 2002-2005 in which Powell, working as support staff for people with developmental disabilities, seems to be struggling with two goals. One, to be an ethical force for the betterment of the people under his care, and two, to determine his place in the world (the world of comics, and just, the world) as he enters early middle age, a period he sharply brings into focus when he says (quoting song lyrics, I think -- there's a lot of that mostly to good effect) "I never felt brand new, just half-done and one-third through." It's a mindset I think most adults who've emerged alive from the hot flush of adolesence are familiar with, wondering what the passions of youth and early adulthood will be replaced with, fearing the answer is "nothing much."

Not all the stories focus directly on Powell's support staff role, although the sense of dignity and thoughtfulness he brings to the job informs every panel in the book. Walkie Talkie was the work of a younger man, and though both young and somewhat-older Nate define themselves by a punk aesthetic, in Please Release, Powell is found reflecting on the use of that definition as boundary markers for his own existence, not so much questioning its usefullness as its shelf-life, or at least its half-life. The artwork is uniformly striking, both loose and highly focused, staking out territory intersecting somewhere in the lovingly illustrative neighbourhood of Farel Dalrymple and Jim Rugg.

So, yeah, Nate Powell as depicted in his own comics is a reflective guy, and Christ knows right now the world needs more people asking themselves questions about their own motives, deeds and ultimate goals. Society -- the one I live in, anyway -- has come to be defined not by the good deeds you do, but by how many people you can convince that your deeds are good, despite their blatant harm to others, and to the world. Powell spends his time in these four elegant, meandering stories trying to be better, trying to help, trying to share. In fact, counseling a troubled young man upset by a relative's illness, Powell says others "have felt the same things as you, that's why sharing is important." Another symptom of the sickness so rampant in my part of the world right now is the demonizing of others, the shutting down of sharing and the opportunistic destruction of those who've been demonized and marginalized and made other. So I'd guess at the very top of my country's food-chain, humanistic storytellers like Nate Powell would be defined as dangerous, if not outright "enemy combatants" in a war of lies against our fellow humans.

Powell comes off as decent in Please Release, and we currently live in indecent and obscene times. All the more reason to read Please Release and listen to what Powell is trying to tell us. Pass on what you've learned, cherish human dignity, and from time to time luxuriate in the wonder that comes with being more fully alive.

Welcome to the World, Logan! -- Big, BIG congrats ...

2007-05-21T15:33:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the World, Logan! -- Big, BIG congrats to Chris Hunter and (increasingly populated!) family. Chris, as you may know, was CBG's webmaster a couple years back (and a damned good one, at that), and he has become a dad once again. Lots of great pix in the link!

Maybe I'm Vague -- Despite the interpretations of ...

2007-05-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

Maybe I'm Vague -- Despite the interpretations of a couple of my favourite bloggers (hi, Chris and Bill!), I swear my recent "Where I'm At" post was an explanation of how I am trying to resume regular blogging here, NOT quitting again. That trick NEVER works!

Jenna Fischer -- There's no more radiant or talent...

2007-05-21T14:59:00.000-04:00

Jenna Fischer -- There's no more radiant or talented actress on TV right now than Jenna Fischer, so I was saddened to learn she'd been injured in a fall.

It's safe to say that Jenna's character Pam on The Office is just about the favourite character on the show of everyone I know, certainly of everyone at my house. Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery, Jenna.

Where I'm At -- It's been nearly two years since t...

2007-05-17T11:28:00.000-04:00

Where I'm At -- It's been nearly two years since the ill-fated launch of "The New Comic Book Galaxy," and while my posting here has been pretty limited the past few months, the site is never far from my mind. Other than my kids, it's probably the most rewarding thing I've ever been involved in, and if anyone is even still reading this, believe me, I really regret that the site has not managed to regain any momentum in calendar year 2007.

This came to mind this morning for a couple of reasons...firstly, I realized that the site's seventh anniversary is this September, and it hit me how unexciting that prospect is to me, and likely anyone else, because of the slow petering out of the vitality that once resided here. Second, one of the columns slated for "The New CBG" back in '05 was a series of pieces on the now-defunct but much-missed Albany, NY comics shop/indy publisher FantaCo. Former FantaCo employee Roger Green was to have written the columns for the new version of this site, but that never came to pass for one reason or another. He mentions that in passing in this terrific remembrance of the Counterfeit Cerebus incident at FantaCo (and other shops) in the 1980s. I was really looking forward to Roger's FantaCo columns, and even though they never materialized, I still read his blog daily and love his personal, intimate writing.

But it never quite made it to Comic Book Galaxy, and soon after "The New CBG" launched, things started going wrong and a lot of momentum was lost. I don't know if I could have somehow prevented it, if so, I apologize. As I say, I feel the absence of a vital, alive Comic Book Galaxy as much as anyone.

For months I have told myself I will somehow get it back together, the magical combination of inspiration, vision, passion, fascination and free time. Oh, and, money. That's always an issue, isn't it?

My passion for comics is as strong as ever, I promise you. But everything else has been lacking, and to be totally honest, I can't see any light at the end of this particular tunnel. A number of factors suggest themselves as contributing causes.

* I write all day for money. This is a big part of the inertia that has settled in. I just don't feel like writing about anything by the time I get home in the evening, and even if I did, the kids expect dinner and help with their homework and sudddenly it's 9 PM and damn, yawn, tomorrow's another day.

* The sense of urgency I felt when CBG was created in 2000 has diminished. This is actually quite a good thing, in my opinion. Back in the days when Marvel and DC could still be called "mainstream comics" without sneer quotes around the term, artcomix -- you know, the good, worthwhile comics published by folks like Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly, Top Shelf, Pantheon, First Second, etc. -- needed help. I'd like to think Comic Book Galaxy was at least in some small way a participant in the total revolution that has occurred in the comics artform in the past few years. I don't know that we need to push as hard as we used to, I think the tipping point has passed, maybe around the time Time named Fun Home the book of the year, correctly. But seriously, it seems like a lot of the work I thought we were doing has come to fruition, all to the betterment of good comics.

That all said, man, I miss being "Alan David Doane: Comics Blogger." If you loved or hated this blog in its heyday, there's no denying it was a blast to write, and I appreciate every reader who read what I had to say, especially those who found actual value in my opinions from time to time. Believe it or not, I still have opinions, and I still want to share them with anyone who wants to know what I think, but after all of the above, I really am left kind of scratching my head wondering how to recreate this blog so that it still in any way matters in a world where Dirk, Tom, Johanna and a select few others really have good blog writing about comics kind of all sewn up. And I don't bother to read the shitty or otherwise aggravating blogs anymore, because really, I'm 41 years old and who has the time to spare for that sort of obnoxiousness?

When I started this blog post, I thought maybe I would come to some sort of conclusion about the fate of Comic Book Galaxy. I haven't, really, but it's been kind of a relief to share with you -- whoever you may be -- what has been going on and where I am at, vis a vis comics and this website. The one thing that I have learned while talking to you (myself, really, but you know what I mean) is that a new approach is called for. None of the old methods seem to be working for me anymore. I miss having a dialogue with comics readers, and more importantly I miss having a dialogue with comics. So I can promise you that I am thinking about how to renew that public love affair, but, I'm not promising dinner and a movie, not just yet.

Monday Meanderings -- Since last Thursday I have s...

2007-05-07T15:03:00.000-04:00

Monday Meanderings -- Since last Thursday I have seen Spider-Man 3 twice and I have to say, it's probably the best film of the three. Even having three villains (four if you count a certain one-armed scientist), it all flowed together well, and the special effects blew away any other superhero movie I've seen.

Also, Tony Millionaire sent along a pilot DVD screener for "The Drinky Crow Show," which I think will air on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. It is everything Maakies fans love, and more. Must-See TV, indeed. Don't miss it!

Free Comic Book Day 2007 -- This has already been ...

2007-05-03T07:44:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Book Day 2007 -- This has already been the busiest Free Comic Book Day I've experienced, and it's not even here yet. (It's Saturday, May 5th, FYI).

A few months ago I was thinking about how the radio station I work for could get involved with FCBD, and put together a proposal for a promotion that would include prize giveaways and a live broadcast on the day. To my delight, the radio station was behind the idea 110%, and fully half of the comic book stores in our region signed up to be a part of the promotion.

So for the past few weeks I've been working with folks at the station and with participating comic shop owners on putting together prize packages and, most exciting for me, scheduling our live broadcast this Saturday afternoon. I'll be live from Comic Depot in Greenfield Center, inviting listeners to stop by and pick up their free books and register to win free graphic novels and other prizes from a ton of great publishers, like Image Comics, Top Shelf, Dynamite Entertainment, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, Top Cow and others. You can get details about FCBD at Comic Depot by going to the Comic Depot FCBD page.

Darren at Comic Depot was kind enough to set aside a set of FCBD books for me, which I went through last night. I wasn't able to read every page of every one, but I have to say that DC and Marvel seem to have made cannier choices for their free offerings than in years past. Marvel's Spider-Man freebie is new material by solid creators, but unfortunately is tied into current, godawful Marvel Universe continuity. So, a good effort, but as a reader I found the story (and the current state of both Marvel and DC's collective universes) very disappointing.

DC's freebie is a reprint of the first issue of their Legion cartoon adaptation, and that should go over well with kids on FCBD, although as Johanna noted, a lot more story and a lot less introductory material would have made the issue a lot more compelling and much better served its purpose, which of course is to get readers to come back for more on the regular monthly title.

There seemed to be quite a few quite awful FCBD offerings by folks you've never heard of, and probably never will. It never ceases to amaze me the number of people who can come up with the cash to print their own comics, and yet never really stop to evaluate whether those comics are at all worth publishing.

That aside, though, Free Comic Book Day is always a great opportunity to get out and support your local comic shop, and pick up some free comics in the bargain. Make sure you bring as many non-comics readers as will fit in your car/truck/mini-van/stolen city bus, and find a comic shop near you right here.

I hope everyone has a fantastic Free Comic Book Day!

Roger on the DD Omnibus -- Head over to Roger's pl...

2007-04-24T14:01:00.000-04:00

Roger on the DD Omnibus -- Head over to Roger's place for the scoop on Marvel reprinting pages from the Daredevil Chronicles published a couple decades back by FantaCo.

You can occasionally find the Chronicles specials in the quarter bins, and they all are well worth picking up if you can find them, by the way.

Another Car Bites the Dust -- It was nearly two ye...

2007-04-23T14:35:00.000-04:00

Another Car Bites the Dust -- It was nearly two years ago this week that I chronicled the death of my beloved red car. This morning as she was driving me to work, my wife's car burst into flames.

We called 911 when the black smoke started pouring out from under the hood, and by the time the fire trucks arrived, flames were shooting three feet in the air.

No one was hurt, but it seems unlikely the car will be able to be repaired. Which leaves us, for the moment, a carless family.

On the bright side, hoping my luck would change, I bought a three dollars worth of scratch-off lottery tickets. I won ten bucks. See? Things are turning around already!

My Eisner Picks -- The Eisner nominations are out ...

2007-04-19T13:11:00.000-04:00

My Eisner Picks -- The Eisner nominations are out (full list is at The Comics Reporter; thanks, Tom!), and I thought I'd run down my choices. "No choice" in a category means I either have not read any of the nominees, or don't think any of them are deserving of an award.

Best Short Story
No choice.

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
* Batman/The Spirit #1: "Crime Convention," by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke (DC)

Best Continuing Series
* All Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Limited Series
No choice.

Best New Series
* Criminal, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon)

Best Publication for a Younger Audience
No choice.

Best Humor Publication
* Schizo #4, by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics)

Best Anthology
* Kramers Ergot 6, edited by Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura Press)

Best Digital Comic
No choice.

Best Reality-Based Work
* Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)

Best Graphic Album--New
* The Ticking, by Renee French (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album--Reprint
No choice.

Best Archival Collection/Project--Strips

* The Complete Peanuts, 1959-1960, 1961-1962, by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project--Comic Books
* Abandon the Old In Tokyo, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material
* Pizzeria Kamikaze, by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka (Alternative)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material--Japan
* Walking Man, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Best Writer
* Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil (Marvel); Criminal (Marvel Icon)

Best Writer/Artist
* Renee French, The Ticking (Top Shelf)

Best Writer/Artist--Humor
* Michael Kupperman, Tales Designed to Thrizzle (Fantagraphics)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team
No choice.

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art)
* Melinda Gebbie, Lost Girls (Top Shelf)

Best Cover Artist
* John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); The Escapists (Dark Horse); The Lone Ranger (Dynamite)

Best Coloring
* Dave Stewart, BPRD, Conan, The Escapists, Hellboy (Dark Horse); Action Comics, Batman/The Spirit, Superman (DC)

Best Lettering
* Ivan Brunetti, Schizo (Fantagraphics)

Special Recognition
No choice.

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

FOUR-WAY TIE
* Comic Art 8, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press)
* The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Dirk Deppey, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
* The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael
* �Journalista!, produced by Dirk Deppey (Fantagraphics)

Best Comics-Related Book
* In the Studio: Visits with Contemporary Cartoonists, by Todd Hignite (Yale University Press)

Best Publication Design
* The Ticking, designed by Jordan Crane (Top Shelf)

Hall of Fame
* Ross Andru & Mike Esposito
* Matt Baker
(Judges' Choices: Robert Kanigher and Ogden Whitney)

Bachelor Week -- Since last Friday night, my wife ...

2007-04-12T12:01:00.000-04:00

Bachelor Week -- Since last Friday night, my wife and kids have been vacationing in North Carolina with her parents and other family members, while the cat and I have been holding the fort in upstate New York.

Despite the fact that it is spring, it has snowed twice, the heaviest storm being last night and this morning, when five inches or so of heavy, wet snow dumped itself on our region. On my way to work this morning, I was making a right turn into traffic with my window open for better visibility, when a passing 18-wheeler threw a softball-size load of slush right into my face. That was fun, and reminded me once again of my desire to see it made illegal for anything bigger than a mid-size sedan to be on the roads when the weather is anything other than sunshine and 70 degrees.

Last night was probably the biggest event of Bachelor Week, and certainly the most expensive -- I finally scored a copy of the enormous hardcover Daredevil by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson Omnibus. I own two others in Marvel's Omnibus series, Fantastic Four Vol. 1 and Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1, and I have to say that while it is nicely designed as a book (I got the variant black-and-red version), it is a bit sloppily produced compared to the other two I have. The binding is quite tight, and no allowance was made for the reformatting, so a lot gets lost in the gutters of the book. It doesn't lie flat when reading it, so a good deal of force is needed, and I refuse to ply it back far enough to crack the spine, as that seems a bit stupid to do to a book this big and expensive.

Some of the features, like the reprint of a great Miller/Janson interview from the ancient Fantaco Chronicles special are shot from the printed book rather than re-done, so that seems a bit cheap and the pages a bit blurry, instead of the sharp blacks the outside design would lead you to expect inside.

I'm not sorry I got the book, just surprised that something that would have been so easy to get perfect was done a bit on the cheap. The lack of some stories, like the second Miller What If...?, wherein Elektra lived and Miller was delightfully inked by Terry Austin, makes me wonder if a second volume is planned. It could include:

Born Again (Miller/Mazzucchelli)

The Man Without Fear (Miller/Romita Jr.)

Bizarre Adventures (Miller's solo Elektra story)

The Elektra Saga (at least the extra pages done for the re-working of DD #168-190)

Miller's one-off DD issue with John Buscema

What If Elektra Had Lived?

Spectacular Spider-Man (the two Miller-drawn, DD-guest-starring issues that came before Miller was assigned to Daredevil)

That's gotta be around 18-20 issues worth of material, plus there's DD-themed covers Miller did for Amazing Heroes and The Comics Journal, and I'm sure other stuff I am not thinking of.

I wonder if Marvel got anyone's permission to reprint those Fantaco Chronicles pages whole? Did they ask folks like George Perez if it was okay to reprint his spot illo that illustrates the piece? I wonder if Roger would know? He used to work at Fantaco...

Update: Roger says the issue is complicated, and has promised to write about it on his blog soon. Looking forward to that, thanks, Roger!

Anyway, again, the book is not perfect, but I am glad to have it. I'd give it a B- or maybe even a C+ if I thought much more about the quality of some of the reproduction. Quite a surprise given how sterling the FF and X-Men Omnibus volumes were.

Back to Bachelor Week...today is my last full day, the gang should be back tomorrow night sometime. This is the longest I have ever been separated from my kids, and I miss the hell out of them.

Mary -- I found out yesterday that Mary had died, ...

2007-04-10T14:12:00.000-04:00

Mary -- I found out yesterday that Mary had died, last week, in a Texas hotel room, with her two-year-old son her only companion. No immediate cause of death has been revealed, but it's not thought to have been suicide.

Mary was the ex-girlfriend of my longtime friend Brian, who hosts Comic Book Galaxy. They first met in 1994, when she was a teenager living in the midwest. They fell immediately in love, and eventually lived together not far from where I live. I saw her often when they were together, and I guess my most vivid memory is taking her out to lunch one day while we were waiting for Brian to get out of work so we could all hang out.

I'm pretty much speechless from the news of her death; after she and Brian broke up, she moved away, changed her name and her look and even got married and had a baby. She got in touch with me through MySpace a year or so back, and we had some nice e-mail exchanges. It seemed like she had finally gotten her life where she wanted it to be. I never really understood her, but I liked her, and at her best, she was vital and alive and fun to be around, and she was stunningly beautiful.

Brian posted some video he shot of Mary back in 1995 on YouTube, and there's one moment, between 1:47 and 1:50, where just for a second she widens her eyes like she's sharing a secret joke with her closest friend (which she probably was). It's that look that I remember most about her, the way she made you feel like you shared the same wavelength.

I wish I had known her better, and I wish we had stayed in touch more these past few months. Most of all, I'm glad I knew her, even if just for a short time. Nothing I've said here feels adequate to the task of describing how it feels, knowing she is really gone, and I'm sorry for that.

Goodbye, Mary.

April Showers -- And now it's April. Sorry once ag...

2007-04-05T15:46:00.000-04:00

April Showers -- And now it's April. Sorry once again for the lack of posting, which recently prompted a prominent (and even reputable!) comics journalist to drop me a line asking what the hell is going on. The short answer is, for me, online, not much. The long answer is mostly boring and involves work and family and blah blah blah, and hey, look, you're bored already.

So just to make it worth your while having stopped by, I thought I'd note that yes, it is still my desire to resume this blog full-time. I just need to find the time and wherewithal to make that happen.

I made that most painful of comics decisions this week, switching comics shops. Ever see that Seinfeld episode about switching barbers? It feels a lot like that, like leaving your girlfriend or cheating on your wife. It's made even harder because I love the staff at my old shop, and their selection is probably the best between New York City and Canada. But financially, having now not worked in Albany for close to three years, I can no longer justify the expense for gas to get there, which has in recent months kept my comic-shop visits to once a month (if that)...

On the bright side, the shop I'll now be getting my books at is close to home, so I will be able to better keep up on timely comics issues...you KNOW you were aching to hear my rant about Captain America's tragic demise, right?

Right?

Groundhog Day -- It seems only appropriate after w...

2007-02-02T09:27:00.000-05:00

Groundhog Day -- It seems only appropriate after weeks of online hibernating to pop my head up today and say hi.

Hi!

If you're still checking in here occasionally, you're no doubt aware that my hoped-for New Year's return to regular posting on Comic Book Galaxy didn't materialize. There are a lot of niggling factors involved -- personal, professional, financial -- but mostly I had hoped somehow that things would just come together (as they often have in the past) and that we'd be back in the swing of things by now. So far, not so much. Seriously, if this matters to you, please know it also matters to me, and I sincerely apologize for the delay. I know eventually I'll get things back on track, and I appreciate your patience in the meantime, more than you know.

In other news, my birthday was a week ago yesterday. I turned 41, and am now forced to accept that I am, indeed, a man in my 40s. It is enough to give one pause, but as I try often to remember, much preferable to the alternative.

Someone asked me the other day what comics I am reading, and the truth is, as always, as many of the good ones as possible. At the moment I find myself surprisingly energized by Garth Ennis's Punisher MAX series -- Ennis's clarity of vision for the character is just riveting, and the plots are tight, suspenseful little exercises in storytelling. I'm also enjoying most of the stuff Ellis and Brubaker are doing these days. Of course, Brubaker and Phillips's Criminal is absolutely fantastic. If you're not reading it, you're missing probably the best monthly title being published today. But Brubaker and Phillips have been achieving that goal for years now and only get better, month after month.

Happy Boxing Day -- After the solstice, I think Bo...

2006-12-26T12:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Boxing Day -- After the solstice, I think Boxing Day is my favourite holiday of the year. I have to work today, but I hope you and yours are boxing the hell out of Boxing Day.

The holiday hiatus is drawing to a close, by the way...tell your friends.

Holiday Hiatus -- As you've probably noticed, the ...

2006-11-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

Holiday Hiatus -- As you've probably noticed, the site has not been updated in a while, and likely will not be for the next few weeks, at least.

We've experienced serious technical difficulties throughout 2006, and some of those remain unresolved, but at the moment finances and time-management are the main problems. Keeping Comic Book Galaxy alive and active is always a top priority for me, and no one is more disturbed than I am at the recent inactivity on the site. My hope is that by the beginning of 2007 we'll be back in action in some manner, but at the moment that is more a hope than a definitive plan of action.

As always, thanks for your interest in Comic Book Galaxy, and I hope you and yours enjoy a peaceful and prosperous holiday season.

ADD