What Comic Books Have You Read Today?

[Wandering Sensei: Moderator Man]

Report what comic books you have read today--and tell us a little something about it while you're here!

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I just read Stargirl, and wow! That's a character we haven't seen in a while!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

TOO DEAD TO DIE: Back in the '80s, Simon Templar was the American James Bond. His comic book series, published by Phoenix Comics, stood shoulder to shoulder with Claremont & Byrne's X-Men and Wolfman & Perez's New Teen Titans. It was written by Geoffrey Harris, drawn by Howard Chaykin and it came to an abrupt end after 36 issues. Co-creator Harris died in 2007, "the unfortunate victim of an autoerotic asphyxiation mishap." Recently, Chaykin was granted the opportunity to return to the character, and he chose Marc Guggenheim as his writing partner.

If this fiction "history" of the character doesn't sound quite right to you, just ignore it; it's just the "real world" background around which this story is set. As the story opens, Simon Templar is 65 years old and is retired from the CIA, but when a former lover is murdered before his eyes, he discovers a 32-year-old daughter he didn't know he had. It's fun guessing the "James Bond" counterparts, and Simon Templar even grows as a person by story's end. The "estate of Geoffrey Harris" even provided an unpublished short story plus two unpublished comic book scripts newly illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Michael Golden. The tpb also reprints the last six issue of the Simon Cross - C.I.A. comic book series, a.k.a. "The Bedlam Saga," largely considered to be the best of the run. Too Dead to Die is an OGN, so the six chapters are each as long as they need to be. 

Recommended.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Chip Zdarsky's Public Domain and Howard Chaykin's Too Dead to Die (above) led me to my third choice of the day...

THE ESCAPIST #1: 

The Golden Age Escapist, by Sam Clay and Joe Kavalier, was published 1940-1954 by Empire Comics, then by a variety of publishers (including Score Comics, Hi-Tone Comics and Fab Comics) after that. A variety of these later comics were reprinted in 2004 by Dark Horse Comics.

OR...

The Escapist was the premiere comic created by the titular characters in Michael Chabon's 2000 novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and was made into an anthology comic book in 2004 by Dark Horse Comics by some of the top talents of the day.

The first issue features stories by Michael Chabon, Jim Starlin, Kyle Baker, Howard Chaykin and others, and guess what? I've never read it. Inspired by the novel (as well as the creators involved in the comic), however, I bought it with the intention of reading it someday. (Although my precept "Don't buy what you don't read" was already in place, I didn't always follow it.) "Someday" has at last come, and my judgement to buy it has proven true. 

[JD DeLuzio]

I read a reprint of Whiz Comics #1. I know I'm judging from the perspective of another time and age but, for the most part, it's.... not very good.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

SECTION ZERO - "There is No Section Zero" tpb: Tom Grummett is an artist whose style I greatly admire. Unfortunately, his work often appears in titles I do not read. Case in point: Section Zero. This one flew in under my radar but, when I saw it solicited, I pre-ordered it based on his name alone. (It is written by Karl Kesel, and that was also a plus.) It's not exactly an OGN (it collects the first six issues) but, for all intents and purposes, it is as far as I am concerned. So I bought it and kept it, unread, for... three and half years? Reading Too Dead to Die (an OGN) and The Escapist (a comic I've kept unread for even longer) reminded me of Section Zero.

I'll tell you one thing: it's not decompressed! It took me all day to read. (I took a break between certain chapters.) The story is told in distinctly non-linear fashion about a group of super-powered operatives reminiscent of the Doom Patrol crossed with the Challengers of the Unknown. The multiple flashbacks show how the team has evolved over the years; in that respect it like "Amalgam" or "Tangent" as well. By this time, there may even be a second collection which I missed. If there is, I'll certainly buy it. 

Recommended.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THE ESCAPIST #2: This issue features the artwork of Jae Lee (cover), Bill Sienkiewicz, Gene Colan, Val Mayerik amd Dan Brereton (among others). This series reminds me a bit of Erik Larson's Next Issue Project, which features the "next issue" of cancelled Golden Age series. Most of those series I haven't read, but it doesn't really matter. They aren't remotely like Golden Age series in the first place, and neither are the stories from The Escapist, either (which is a fictional series in the first place). But the text features (which mention the contributions of Neal Adams and Jim Steranko and Steve Ditko) are a hoot.

[Luke Blanchard]

Jeff of Earth-J said:

SECTION ZERO - "one flew in under my radar but, when I saw it solicited, I pre-ordered it based on his name alone. (It is written by Karl Kesel, and that was also a plus.) [...] The story is told in distinctly non-linear fashion about a group of super-powered operatives reminiscent of the Doom Patrol crossed with the Challengers of the Unknown.

The feature originally appeared in 2000. It was Kesel's and Grummett's contribution to a short-lived Image imprint, Gorilla Comics, featuring creator-owned comics by top creators. The original title ran three issues. My recollection is Kesel said the similarities between Challengers of the Unknown and Fantastic Four led him to imagine the one group evolving into the other.

The GCD tells me the opening issues of the 2019 series were reprints of the original three. I suppose more of the material may have been created at that time, since work is often in progress when a plug is pulled: I remember seeing cover A #5.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

There might have been a little unpublished work from the time of the original 3 issues of Section Zero, but there was definitely still a lot to do to complete the story for the eventual graphic novel. 

There's a second Section Zero story in the works -- Section Zero, 1959! It completed its crowdfunding 4 years ago, but still isn't done. Kesel brought Jerry Ordway in to work with Grummet on the inks, but as of January 2023, it doesn't yet look close to completion.  

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

I recently re-read the first 27 issues of The Question (along with a Green Arrow and a Detective Comics Annual) in the first volume of The Question Omnibus. It's funny: Some of the things I found deep when I read these books as an older teen felt a little less so...but there were undercurrents about Vic's character, about Myra, about Hub City, that honestly feel richer than they did before. And the final big storyline in the book -- about political violence on the day of the mayoral election -- feels more real and possible than it ever did to me in 1989. There's also some deeper throughlines -- minor characters, settings in Hub City -- that we touch base with every now and then throughout the issues.

I've held these books in high regard for ages, but it was a long time since I'd read them...and I was worried they might not measure up. And while some parts are a little creaky, I wound up incredibly invested in it... possibly more so than I was in the beginning, once the book got into its 20s. Late in the second year, inker Rick Magyar left, and was replaced by Mike Dringenberg. Dringenberg's work made Cowan's work rougher, and sometimes uglier. It didn't appeal to me then, but I can see more of its merits now. And he and Cowan do an excellent (and terrifying) job depicting a tornado that whips through the city. 

[JD DeLuzio]

I finally read Essex County-- don't know why I've waited so long, especially as I live an hour away from the titular county-- and found it excellent, if a tad depressing. I was finally spurred to tackle it when I realized the CBC live-action adaptation will be making its debut later this month.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

THE GIMMICK #1: the new AHOY! Comics series is about the world of professional wrestling. It takes as a starting point a former-wrestler-turned-manager who kept his superpowers secret during his career but accidentally murders an opponent in the ring and is forced to go on the run. I know we have some wrestling fans on the board; you may like this.

SCARLET WITCH #3: The main story is set in Sub-Atomica and is basically a prose fable told in ten full-page panels, but what I find most noteworthy is that it co-stars Polaris, whom the Scarlet Witch considers to be her "sister." Since when? Wanda admits, "We haven't always been close," but when have they ever been close? Polaris was once thought to be Magneto's daughter and the Scarlet Witch actually was, but, last I heard, that had been overturned (for some stupid reason having to do with movie rights or something) in a story I didn't read and do not accept as canon. Still, what's up with that?

FANTASTIC FOUR #5: In a tale featuring old Perez-era villains Nicholas Scratch and Salem's Seven, the Fantastic Four have the "handedness" of their DNA, RNA and amino acids reversed thereby creating "mirror life" in a tale based in real science. I do appreciate the effort, but the story didn't really grab me to be perfectly honest. Mr. Fantastic's "Plastic Man" powers continue to bug me. I'm giving this series two more issues (until LGY #700) to win me over.

SPIDER-MAN #21: A year or so ago (story-time), something mysterious happened which alienated Peter Parker from his fiends, loved ones and other superheroes to the point Norman Osborn was the only person who would have anything to do with him. Mary Jane came out of the experience in a new relationship and as the mother of two young children. This is the first chapter (of six) which will explain what's going on. 

LOVE EVERLASTING: Some time ago I picked up the first issue of this series, liked it, but then forgot all about it and never noticed another issue... until today when I spotted the v1 tpb collecting the first five issues. I refer to this phenomenon as "unintentional tradewaiting." 

[Richard Willis]

LOVE EVERLASTING: Some time ago I picked up the first issue of this series, liked it, but then forgot all about it and never noticed another issue... until today when I spotted the v1 tpb collecting the first five issues. I refer to this phenomenon as "unintentional tradewaiting." 

Because these things are non-returnable, it’s likely you didn’t notice another issue because the store was only ordering for pull-customers. Unfortunately, most stores can’t afford to order things that won’t sell.