Trouble with Comics: The Group Blog of Comic Book Galaxy

I know my contribution to TWC (as well as my own place) have been somewhat slack, mostly due to a hellish workload lately- now, stay with me, this is not another non-posting apology post. Stuff happens, I'm not losing too much sleep over it. That said, I have been trying to think about what I could do on a more or less regular basis here, and while I do have a couple of pieces in the pipeline (and keep your sewer jokes to yourself, please), they're still a ways away. It did occur to me that I could perhaps post a list of things that I've noticed here and there throughout the Comics Blogospheriverse, with the attendant commentary, so that's what I think I'll do. Now, I know there are no shortages of these sorts of columns throughout said CBverse, and chances are you read them all. I don't presume to be any sort of linkblogger, nowhere near in the same league as Heidi or Tom or Dirk or the fine people who write for Comics Should Be Good or Robot 6 or Blog@Newsarama. However, as always, I do strive to not suck, and try to remain true to my writing voice...and for better or worse, you won't find that at any of the other sites!

So...shall we begin?

I didn't really have much of an opinion one way or the other about the whole Kirby Heirs vs. Marvel and Disney thing, in fact, I only knew what I knew from skimming some posts at the aforementioned sites and the buzz on Twitter. I think Steven Grant put it in perspective very well in his latest Permanent Damage column, though. I say, go for it, Kirby Heirs, get what you can, and hopefully a satisfactory solution can be reached. And to those who whine about how Kirby knew what he was getting into when he did all that wonderful work back in the day, since when does knowing you're getting screwed make a difference when you don't have choices? If Wal-Mart is the only game in town, and you need to feed your family, then by God you're going to go hat in hand to Wally World and put up with it till something better comes along. And unfortunately for the King, by the time something better came along, he was in the twilight of his career. It wasn't like Kirby could tell Martin Goodman and Stan Lee or Irwin Donenfeld to take their jobs and go to hell and take his fertile imagination and start his own comics company- and nobody self-published on the level at which he was accustomed to in those days, either. As a product of the WWII generation, he did what he had always done- cooperate and pitch in to make his situation work. He was getting a wage, and he felt like he needed to justify it...and pitching ideas to Stan was one way of making comics the way he wanted to do it. Means to an end, if you will. People forget that then isn't now, and modern business practices in the comics industry (for good or ill) didn't exist. And don't worry- it will be in Marvel/Disney's best interests to settle in order to maintain control over these properties. They won't let the Kirbys take them away, which I doubt they'd want to do anyway, none of them being publishers.
I am finding myself wondering, and if it was mentioned in Blake Bell's otherwise fine book I missed it...but does Steve Ditko have any heirs? Did the man ever marry? Have kids? Does he have a sister somewhere in western Pennsylvania that he will leave whatever passes for his estate to? Or will he be buried at state's expense when he passes, if he ever does? Don't mean to be morbid, but I would think that Steve (not that he would pursue it) or his heirs, if they exist, would have a pretty good reason to take similar legal action, get their share of the pie, so to speak, for not only Spider-Man but Doc Strange as well. Just the type of rampant supposition that you don't find at respectable comics news sites!

A few comics that have made an impression lately: Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire #'s 1 & 2- I've never really been a big fan of the Ghost Rider character, but I am an admirer of Jason Aaron's scripting, and I've been reading all over the place about how good his take was, so I broke down and checked the first two issues (I think #3 comes out next week)- and imagine my surprise when it turns out to be a continuation of Warren Ellis' excellent 1990's refurbishing of the Daimon Hellstorm/Son of Satan character! I am on record as being an unabashed fan of Ellis' short-lived run, and while others have brought the character back in years since, none of them had the same, proper mix of dry wit and Lee Marvin-style badassery...until now. He even brought back Daimon's girlfriend in that series, "occult terrorist" Jaine Cutter. There are tweaks- Daimon has a shaved head and goatee now instead of shoulder-length hair and five o'clock shadow- but all of them work just fine. Aaron's one of the best writers going right now, and this somewhat-gnarly storyline, continued from a previous series (but not especially hard to follow because of it), is shaping up nicely, and Aaron seems to be having a blast. Beasts of Burden#1 reunites Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson on the animal characters from Dark Horse's Books of... series; I own two of the four, and read the BoB stories in those, but I hate to say I found myself at a bit of a loss when it came to figuring out this dog from that dog and that cat from that cat, and if I don't identify, I don't feel the tragedy when something bad happens to one or more of them. Definitely one time you should acquaint yourself with the previous stories, and you can do just that right here. Anyway, the main attraction for me isn't the premise, or even Dorkin's serious scripting side (to one who came to his humor work first, it's interesting to see him expand his palette)- it's Thompson's wonderful watercolor artwork. Now, I know nothing about "serious" art circles these days, or who the best watercolor artists are...but based on what I've seen here and elsewhere, she's got to be in the conversation. I've tried to paint in watercolors, and let me tell you it's fucking HARD. She makes it look effortless. Models, Inc.#1- So now, on the heels of the better-than-you-expected Marvel Divas, we get the Mighty Marvel Model Stable, all in action, all in the present day, and all with modern continuity intact- Patsy "Hellcat" Walker is indeed the very same member of the Avengers who starred in her own funnish miniseries, was married to the aforementioned Son of Satan, and is doing double duty in Divas. Millie the Model's the nominal star, but Hedy Wolfe, Chili Storm (she's a LESBIAN, the writer wishes us to know), and others all get their turn in the spotlight. It's an uneasy mix of what used to be fun and what we get in its stead now, and I wish the art was a little more idiosyncratic and less plain, but it works in spite of itself and while I'm sure the rank and file X-buyer won't be bothered, I think I'll see where it goes. Finally, it's official: I was intrigued by Blackest Night there for a little while, but that dog has gone hunting and won't come back. It's just not yanking my crank, if you know what I mean.

Speaking of Aaron, he recently informed his readers that he signed a contract with DC/Vertigo that ensures that his masterful Scalped series will at least make it to issue #49, and you have to believe that they'd at least squeeze out a #50 before it was over. This makes me happy, and I hope it does you too.

Artist Trevor Von Eeden recently informed all his Facebook friends, of which I am honored to be one, that he had recently secured the rights to re-ink and publish his Original Johnson, which had originally been serialized at ComicMix.com. Here's what he wrote: Mike Gold requested a sit-down with me last August--and told me that the pages from "The Original Johnson" that were inked by Don Hillsman were done on overlays (for Internet presentation) and that my original pencils are to be inked by me--for the print publication of the book. I said "Ok." We had no further problems. My book is mine again. Johnson was some of the most committed and original work I had seen from Von Eeden in many years, and it's great news that he's going to take it further.

I've written about this in other places, but not here, and I want to draw as much attention to the plight of writer Steve Perry as I can. Perry co-created (with artist Tom Yeates) and scripted one of my all-time favorite comics series, the mid-80's Marvel/Epic Timespirits...and, down on his luck in recent years, he's been diagnosed with cancer and is destitute to boot. Recently, his friend, artist Steve Bissette, posted an entreaty on his blog, asking anyone who could to help him by sending money to help him meet his expenses. Apparently, it's doing some good, as this more recent post bears out. I hope that if you can, you'll find it in your heart to help out.

I like the Cyclone character in Justice Society of America, another in a long line of redhead comics characters that I've been fond of over the years. Cf. Killraven, Son of Satan (see above), Kinetix of the Legion of Super-Heroes. She's cute and fun, or at least as cute and fun as a DC character gets these days. I'm surprised she's avoided rape and evisceration so far. Maybe that will happen in the new title she's apparently been farmed out to; I don't know. I won't buy- the mother book has become increasingly leaden and dull, and I don't see this being any better.
I see where DC plans to release a hardcover reprint edition of Steve Ditko (and Dennis O'Neil)'s Beware the Creeper; I approve of this, and if you can afford it, then go for it. I can't, so I won't...but I still have my original copies, so I'm content. You'll be getting what I consider Ditko's last hurrah before he slowly slid into irrelevance. The stories are nothing special, but the character has a kooky charm, and the art is '60s Ditko good in a lot of places. The rest of the volume is padded with Steve's late '70s return to the character via World's Finest, and it's weak beer indeed.
Finally, your art appreciation this week is Mr. Eric Canete, whose dynamic, energetic work on the recent Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin miniseries had me raving and keeps me mentioning it two years later. Here's his blog, and here's his new Deviantart site. At right, a recent commissioned illo of Zatanna. Click to see even bigger.