MAJOR PUBLISHERS
MARVEL COMICS
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #64 ($4.99): "The 8 Deaths of Spider-Man" continues.
BLADE RED BAND #3 (OF 5, POLYBAG, $4.99): A new Van Helsing arrives, and he's not a good guy.
HELLHUNTERS #1 (OF 5, $4.99) gives a backstory to Ghost Rider '44, who first appeared in Phillip Kennedy Johnson's run on Incredible Hulk. The WWII Spirit of Vengeance takes on a demonic Nazi army, accompanied by Wolverine, Nick Fury, Peggy Carter, Bucky Barnes and Soldier Supreme.
You remember Soldier Supreme, right? The combination Captain America/Doctor Strange from Warp World? Well, forget all that, because this ain't him. This is a different Soldier Supreme, who debuted in Jason Aaron's Avengers #57 (Aug 2022). I didn't read that particular issue, but from what I can gather he's the Sorcerer Supreme of the 1940s, an American sergeant named Sebastian Szardos, who leads a pack of monsters called the Secret Invaders. Man, there sure was a lot going on in World War II that didn't make the newsreels!
“Ghost Rider '44 is definitely my favorite guest star that's appeared in our Incredible Hulk series so far,” Johnson said. “I had a fully-realized origin story for Sgt. Sal Romero in my head before my partner Nic Klein brought him to life with his art, and the character turned out so unbelievably cool and fun, we knew the ‘War Devil’ arc wouldn't be his last appearance. NOW, with fan response being as overwhelming as it has, superstar artist Adam Gorham and I are giving Marvel fans the ORIGIN of Ghost Rider '44. The forgotten story of the toughest, bloodiest, scariest, most bad-ass squad of Nazi-killers to come out of WWII: the HELLHUNTERS.”
“HELLHUNTERS is shaping up to be a dream book for me,” Gorham (Immortal Hulk, Star Wars: Darth Vader) said. “Phillip Kennedy Johnson's scripts blend horror, super heroics and two-fisted pulp into one gritty adventure. On this title, I am pushing myself harder than ever to deliver visceral and gruesome action that I hope leaves readers blown away and wanting more.”
IRON MAN #3 ($3.99): The "Stark-Roxxon War" concludes. I hope Tony wins this time. The story of his company being stolen out from under him by bad actors has been told too many times.
KIDPOOL & SPIDER-BOY #1 ($6.99) is by Christopher Yost, Nathan Stockman and Jed Dougherty. I guess it's the kiddie version of Spider-Man/Deadpool. I enjoyed Spider-Man/Deadpool despite myself, so I never say never. But this is pretty close to never.
MOON KNIGHT: FIST OF KHONSHU #3 ($3.99): Marvel sent a press release for this issue, presumably to draw attention to new artist Domenico Carbone. (Former artist Alessandro Cappuccio is moving over to Ultimate Wolverine.) Jed MacKay continues as writer, with a story involving Tigra and Hunter's Moon.
“When I got the call to draw Moon Knight, I could not believe it!” Carbone said. “I had always wanted to collaborate with Marvel and draw their amazing superheroes, and Moon Knight is the perfect opportunity. I love what Jed has done so far and his amazing scripting ability fuels my creativity: I am really looking forward to growing as an artist for this!”
SABRETOOTH: THE DEAD DONT TALK #1 (OF 5, $4.99) is a story about Sabretooth's past,revealed by Wolverine, when Creed was apparently involved with gangs of New York. (Not Gangs of New York the movie, but maybe the real ones.) Man, Wolverine can't catch a break from this guy, even when he's dead.
STAR WARS: BATTLE OF JAKKU—THE LAST STAND #1 (OF 4, $4.99): The last of three four-issue miniseries telling the Battle of Jakku. I don't usually read Star Wars comics, but this is written by Alex Segura, so I may change my mind when it's collected.
TIMESLIDE #1 ($6.99) is by Steve Foxe and Ivan Fiorelli. Bishop and Cable team up to stop a threat from the future, which also serves the purpose of previewing 2025's biggest stories, like the Timeless one-shots of yore.
“I was thrilled when Tom Brevoort reached out about Timeslide,” writer Steve Foxe said. “These annual mega-issues have become a perennial favorite of mine, both as a standalone story of their own and as a sneak peak of what’s to come for the year ahead. Getting to structure this one around Cable and Bishop — two of my favorite mutants, and two I didn’t write much during my prior X-tenure — was icing on the chrono-cake.
“Ivan Fiorelli can truly draw anything, and this story proves that era by era on a tour of some of the X-Men’s most notable moments as a new threat opens his maw and threatens all of mutant history. We build on Cable and Bishop’s tumultuous relationship from Children of the Vault for a pulse-pounding ride that touches on some of my favorite parts of X-stories past — and teases some exciting upcoming mutant tales. And while the flash-forwards in this issue aren’t only X-related, it was exciting, as a diehard X-fan, to write the first Timeless that became TIMESLIDE!”
X-MEN #9 ($4.99) by part three of the four-part "Raid of Graymalkin" story, a crossover between X-Men and Uncanny X-Men. "Rogue and Cyclops come to blows as emotions come to a head," we are told.
You'd think they'd have outgrown this by now. Even in sliding "Marvel time," Cyclops has been doing this for about eight years. But it's written by Jed MacKay and Gail Simone, two of my favorite writers, so it must be better than the PR makes it sound.
DC COMICS
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #3 ($4.99): Enter ... Absolute Steve Trevor! Which sounds like a contradiction in terms! Nevertheless, he persisted.
BATMAN/SANTA CLAUS: SILENT KNIGHT RETURNS #5 (OF 5, $3.99): I have not been paying attention to this title, but apparently it has retconned the Silent Knight into a bad guy. And if these covers are to be believed, Brian Kent isn't even in the armor any more — it's empty.
The original Silent Knight published in the early-1960s Brave and Bold found his armor in the "Forest Perilous" — I don't know if they bothered to explain that — but this version was corrupted by the "Hollow Kingdom." And he was a former friend of Jason Blood. (Which makes sense, since Etrigan the Demon was retconned into DC's Camelot in 1972.)
I may have to read the series to get the part I'm most curious about, which is whether Silent Knight is still one of Prince Khufu's reincarnations (as he was during the Hawk-God story) and/or an ancestor of Jonathan Kent (as he was pre-Crisis). Because I fear that, as usual:
For the record, Cover B is an homage to Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight #2 (as what I used to call Dark Knight Returns is styled in the Grand Comicbook Database).
BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD #20 ($7.99): The hidden history of Zatanna and Bat-Mite. Final issue.
BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #2 (OF 6, $4.99): The original Black Canary guest-stars. I guess she's not dead any more. What pulled her from the dirt? Flashpoint? Doomsday Clock? I swear, one day I'm going to do a full-blown hero history of the JSA, just to keep track of all the times various members have been killed, only to be resurrected in the next line-wide reboot.
JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED #2 ($3.99): DC sent some unlettered interior pages. I have no idea what's going on here -- I haven't read the first issue yet, which is in a pile by my nightstand -- but I've never let ignorance stop me before!
METAMORPHO THE ELEMENT MAN #1 ($3.99): This character works best, I think, on the zany side of the street, instead of the grim-n-gritty, woe-is-me side. And it looks like that's the way DC is going with this title. Simon Stagg! Sapphire Stagg! Urania the Element Girl! And maybe even Java! (Please, let there be Java!) Also, the PR guy used "covalent bond" in the description, which I haven't heard since AP Chemistry in high school. Respect!
It's probaby impossible to fill Ramona Fradon's gigantic shoes on this book, but if anyone can, it's probably Steve Lieber. I've loved his work since I became aware of him with Whiteout (1998), a gripping thriller set in Antarctica. (It was written by Greg Rucka, who never sets a foot down wrong, and it's higly recommended.) Lieber showed his dramedy chops in Superior Foes of Spider-Man, which was so good I was moved to get the trades after I'd read the individual comics.
I like the work of writer Al Ewing as well. He's probably better known for his serious work like Immortal Hulk and X-Men Red, but I have no doubt he'll nail this. Ewing says he's a big Element Man fan, and even knows the Metamorpho theme song. I didn't know there was a Metamorpho theme song, and I've been reading Metamorpho since 1965! Live and learn.
IMAGE COMICS
CREEPSHOW VOL 3 #4 (OF 5, MR, $3.99) is by Mike Carey (Lucifer), Mark Torres (Cold Spots) and Acky Bright (DC vs Vampires). I haven't read this yet, but I have enjoyed all previous issues.
DUST TO DUST #1 (OF 10, $3.99) is by J.G. Jones (Wanted) and Phil Bram.
I'm a sucker for period pieces, and the Great Depression is a particularly dramatic era in U.S. history, rife with storytelling possibility. It usually gets overshadowed or subsumed in storytelling by the next great catastrophe, World War II, but here we have some A-list creators taking a deep dive into the misery for many that was the 1930s Dust Bowl. And oh, just look at that art. Is the whole thing in that lush sepia? Man, oh man, this is gonna be good.
“When I was a kid, I loved listening to the old folks tell stories of the difficulties living through the Great Depression, and surviving the American Dust Bowl. It was almost inconceivable what these poor people lived through as the result of rapid modernization, politics, war and blind greed,” said Jones. “Massive walls of dust that blew so hard they sandblasted everything in their path. Cattle killed by crackling rods of static electricity. Biblical plagues of hungry jackrabbits so dense it was like the earth itself was on the move. Shell-shocked, disfigured veterans staggering along lonely highways, looking for food and shelter. Entire communities packed their meager belongings and fled to California to look for work. I wondered how it could possibly be any worse. Then it occurred to me: No one is allowed to leave. Death rides the dust storms, and the town of New Hope is directly in its path.”
Bram added: “It must be 15 or 16 years ago now since I first met Jeff. We hit it right off over Dylan, John Prine, Sam Shepard, Raymond Carver, Goya, Otto Dix and the movie No Country For Old Men. But when I told him I was an Okie, his eyes really lit up. He had this idea for a story that takes place in Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl. Jeff pitched me the basic concept and asked if I would be interested in writing this story with him about a world that is no more. It’s all there in his spectacular art, in the people, in their faces, in their eyes. You almost don’t even need the words. Jeff, I thank you so much! You are my friend and you are my hero. I have never seen anyone pull off such an incredible feat in all my life!”
Rick Remender, architect behind the Giant Generator line, added: “I couldn't be more excited about this, the first book that Giant Generator has published outside of work that I have written. As soon as JG told me about a serial killer in the dust bowl I was in. And then I saw the pages. … This book is something special."
GEIGER #9 ($3.99)
G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #312 ($3.99)
DARK HORSE
YOJIMBOT VOL 1: METAL SILENCE TP (150 pages, $19.99) is by writer/artist Sylvain Repos, in English for the first time. In a post-apocalyptic future run by robots, a samurai-emulating robot -- a yojimbo -- takes a human child under his wing and protects him from the dangers of this world. I'm sure any similarities to Lone Wolf and Cub are entirely in my head.
MORE COMICS
ARCHIE MILESTONES JUMBO DIGEST #27 JUGHEAD’S NEW YEAR’S BASH (Archie, $9.99)
Complete story:
BURST ANGEL VOL. 2 TP (OF 3, Titan, 208 pages, B&W, $12.99)
DICK TRACY VOL 1 TP (Mad Cave, $17.99): I've been trade-waiting this book, and it looks like my patience has been rewarded. This is co-written by Alex Segura, whose Pete Fernandez books demonstrate he knows his way around crime noir, and whose comic book work I've enjoyed. The work of Brazilian artist Geraldo Borges (Wonder Woman, Red Hood and the Outlaws), looks pretty snappy in the preview below. Set after World War II, this is described as "a hardboiled and realistic take."
Except for the wrist-radios, I presume, which wouldn't be technically possible for another 50 years or so. But you've got to have the wrist-radios! Just like you've got to have the yellow coat and hat! And the chin that can cut glass! There are some things you can't change, or it ain't Dick Tracy.
This makes a perfect companion for the 1930s "Dick Tracy" comic strips, which I am currently reading in collected form for the first time.
IL GN (Titan, $16.99) is by Osama Tezuka (Astro Boy), a giant who needs no praise from me. It would be entirely inadequate anyway.
JONNY QUEST #5 (Dynamite, $4.99): This time-travel adventure ended the way I expected it to — the only way it could, really — but I enjoyed every second of it. This is "all ages" done right: Jonny Quest by Joe Casey and Sebastian Piriz is fast-paced, well-crafted and charming. Get it, read it, love it.
KING ARTHUR & THE LADIES OF THE LAKE HC (Black Panel Press, $24.99): Wait, there's more than one Lady of the Lake? Is there, like, a whole team of them down there? If so, who gets sword duty, and why?
Seriously, though, Vincent Pompetti illustrates his own story in gorgeous watercolors, as you can see from the preview below. And as far as I'm concerned, there's always room for more King Arthur.
NINJA HIGH SCHOOL #197 (Antarcrtic Press, $4.99): This is an homage to Betty and Me #16 (1968), recently released as a facsimile edition. Which I think I owned at one point, but I got rid of most of my 1960s-1970s Archies in the '80s when I mistakenly believed I had outgrown them. O, the foolish arrogance of youth! Anyway, It's pretty famous for the double-entendre — unintended, no doubt.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD #1 (American Mythology, $4.99): This book is described as "zombie comedy horror action — 1980s style!" I don't remember the '80s being quite that exciting.
TECTIV VOL 1: NOIRTOPIA GN (Mad Cave, $14.99) is by Richard Ashley Hamilton and Marco Matrone.
This is a post-apocalypse story, where only one person in Ellay -- a phonetic spelling of L.A. -- can read. When her best friend vanishes, she's inspired by ancient books about detectives to solve the mystery.
Post-apocalypse stories are a dime a dozen, but I love the premise of this one. Because literacy is the real hero, and books are the real weapons. Maybe civilization has collapsed, but the pen is still mightier than the sword! (Well, not really. And it never has been. But we nerds love to think so.)
VAMPIRELLA: HELLIDAY 2024 SPECIAL #1 ($4.99) has the titular heroine saving Christmas, as you'd expect, from vampires. I enjoyed it about as I can any sort of seasonal offering. Recommended for the Jae Lee cover, if nothing else, a parody of the famous 1958 Coppertone ad.
WEIRD MAGAZINE COLLECTED EDITION VOL 1 (Fantaco, MR, $39.95): I remember seeing Weird and other Eerie Publications on pharmacy magazines shelves (next to the Hey! Kids! Comics! spinner racks) in the late '60s. If I remember correctly from The Weird World of Eerie Publications: Comic Gore That Warped Millions of Young Minds, Eerie took public-domain (i.e., terrible) pre-Code horror comics and zhuzhed them up with extra blood and re-drawn panels to be more gory. The Li'l Capn took one look at them (and Skywald magazines), adjudged them stupid, and put them back on the shelf. I wonder if I'd have the same attitude today, now that I've read a mind-numbing number of bad pre-Code horror comics, courtesy of PS Artbooks.
Anyway, the first four issues of Weird, which this book purports to collect, includes reprints from Fantastic Comics, Fantastic Fears, Haunted Thrills, Strange Fantasy and Voodoo. There's one new story drawn by Carl Burgos in the first issue (which is actually numbered Vol. 1 #10), an 8-pager titled "Frankenstein." The cover is from the third issue, numbered Vol. 1 #12.
Replies
BLACK CANARY: BEST OF THE BEST #2: The original Black Canary guest-stars. I guess she's not dead any more. What pulled her from the dirt? Flashpoint? Doomsday Clock?
Honestly? I don't know, nor do I care. Continuity doesn't matter anymore, and the first issue was pretty damned good. As long as tom King is writing and turning out stories as good as this, AFAIAC he can bring any character back from the dead he wants to.
This makes a perfect companion for the 1930s "Dick Tracy" comic strips, which I am currently reading in collected form for the first time.
What do you think of those? (Keep in mind, the 1940s is generally considered to be the strip's best decade.)
JONNY QUEST #5: This is "all ages" done right
I agree. It is truly "all ages," not merely "for children."
Wait, there's more than one Lady of the Lake?
Ha! That is exactly the thought that just occurred to me.
Honestly? I don't know, nor do I care. Continuity doesn't matter anymore, and the first issue was pretty damned good. As long as tom King is writing and turning out stories as good as this, AFAIAC he can bring any character back from the dead he wants to.
Agreed. Once the continuity has been ditched, then it's up to indiviual writers to make the most they can of that freedom. Most writers fail, and just bring back Mr. Mxyzptlk for the 52nd time. (See what I did there? "52.") Tom King is sometimes awful, and sometimes mesmerizing. Someone on this board -- possibly you, Jeff, I honestly don't remember -- said that Tom King is brilliant when he discards continuity altogether (Mr. Miracle) and gawdawful when he tries to color within the lines (Heroes in Crisis). Now that it's been said, I kind of look for it. It's not a good rule of thumb, but it is a good lens by which to view his work. In this case, he probably brought back Dinah Drake, First of Her Name, because it accentuates the story. That's good Tom King. If he brought her back because the latest Crisis did, and editorial said she has to be involved in this story because they're using her in a concurrent Crisis, then it's gonna suck.
I honestly don't know if Dinah Drake is back from her latest death. But if she hasn't been resurrected, and Tom King just casually did so because he needed the character, then I am 100% behind it. Because that's when King's at its best. He's like Bob Haney, only good.
What do you think of [Dick Tracy in the 1930s]? (Keep in mind, the 1940s is generally considered to be the strip's best decade.)
I'm only reading them because of you, Mister Man. I'm not a big comic strip fan, but you have spoken so highly of "Dick Tracy" here that I had to try it. And I ended up ordering three before the first one arrived, because -- damn their eyes -- that's how they were solicited. I couldn't wait to see if I liked it; I had to order through the roof before I knew anything.
Turns out I do like it. (And I'm not surprised, because you liked them, and you have good taste.) I mean, I REALLY DO. Not only are they great material in general, not only are they great material for the era, but they are great material to inform my understanding of American pop culture. Now I know that so many of the comic books I've loved can trace their roots to Tracy and Sam and Flattop, that creators like Frank Miller and Max Allan Collins should be paying royalties.
I can't wait for the '40s, because you love and recommend them. But I am perfectly happy with the '30s. I am learning so much.
I agree. It is truly "all ages," not merely "for children."
I was thinking of you when I wrote that line. Because I agree with you about the usual "all ages" crapola that has been part and parcel of Puritan America for two centuries, and has bored American children and their parents for that same amount of time. True "all ages" isn't crap written down to children -- and every single one of them knows when they're being condescended to -- but is material that is written for adults but can also entertain children.
Look no further than the Brothers Grimm. Kids are entertained by the stories, because talking animals. But they also know that there's a lot of grown-up stuff going on there, that they better learn or suffer the fates of the protagonists in those stories.
The best example of perfect "all ages" I've ever seen is Jay Ward cartoons, specifically The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. When I was a kid I watched the "Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam" and laughed at all the jokes that kids could get. But I KNEW there was more going on there, and I wanted to know what I was missing. Eventually as a grown-up I watched it. And laughed my butt off. Because not only was there an English lit reference, but Rocky and Bullwinkle set it up and played it perfectly FOR ADULTS. It didn't matter if the kids got it or not -- what was important is that adults could have a great time with the kids, laughing at the same cartoon, but for different reasons.
Captain Comics said:
Once the continuity has been ditched, then it's up to individual writers to make the most they can of that freedom.
The Starman series killed Blue Devil, but he got better. The new Death: DC Compact Comics Edition is reprinting the death of Element Girl in Sandman (Façade) while she appears alive and well in the new Metamorpho series. This used to bug me, but I got over it.
The best example of perfect "all ages" I've ever seen is Jay Ward cartoons, specifically The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Locally, they have free “Movies in the Park,” which has tended toward the more childish animated movies. There have been a lot of movies over the years that could be seen by all ages, but they don’t show them.
Rocky and Bullwinkle started when I was 11 1/2 , so I was positioned to get pretty much all the jokes. I even got the Kurwood Derby (sic) episodes, which were a takeoff on the announcer/actor on the Garry Moore show (Durwood Kirby). Carol Burnett sprung from Garry’s show directly into her own show.
When I first saw Rocky, I immediately recognized the style as similar to the Crusader Rabbit show that had been on TV just a couple of years earlier. It was also a Jay Ward show and the voices of Crusader and Rags the Tiger sounded just like Rocky and Bullwinkle.
Someone on this board -- possibly you, Jeff, I honestly don't remember -- said that Tom King is brilliant when he discards continuity altogether (Mr. Miracle) and gawdawful when he tries to color within the lines (Heroes in Crisis).
It wasn't me, but I agree.
He's like Bob Haney, only good.
I don't say this very often, but "LOL."
Turns out I do like it... I mean, I REALLY DO.
True "all ages" isn't crap written down to children -- and every single one of them knows when they're being condescended to -- but is material that is written for adults but can also entertain children.
Like Dick Tracy.
The best example of perfect "all ages" I've ever seen is Jay Ward cartoons, specifically The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
As soon as you said "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" I immediately thought of the "Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam"! I remember watching that episode, for the first time in many years, when I was in college and marvelling at what went over my head when I was ten.
This used to bug me, but I got over it.
Same here.
This used to bug me, but I got over it.
Same.
If we need an excuse, there's all those reboots. Some mild Googling reveals that Doomsday Clock and Dark Nights: Death Metal erased the New 52 version of Black Canary, which erased the previous versions. (The original Black Canary had died in Secret Origins #50, 1990, as the result of Zero Hour.) The current version has re-acquired a number of attributes from those previous versions, and one can assume one of those is her mother.
I wasn't able to find as much on Urania Blackwell, the Element Girl, who famously committed suicide in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman #20 (1990). Since that was before Zero Hour, New 52, Flashpoint, Doomsday Clock, Infinite Frontier and Rebirth, we can assume that she was resurrected in one of those as if her death never happened. I doubt it will be referenced in this new series, which appears to be light-hearted.
Blue Devil has died a lot of times, but usually has an in-story reason for returning. I don't think Starman gave him one, but Blue Devil was already back by Shadowpact #1 (2008), which began seven years after Starman ended. I read the first Shadowpact (it launched during Day of Judgment as part of that crossover) but didn't think to question why Blue Devil wasn't dead. Maybe they explained it, maybe they didn't.
So even then I had stopped turrning a hair over DC continuity.
I would be in for a collection of the Dipsydoodle pages with Jughead.
I would be in for ANY Jughead collection, especially the title when drawn by Samm Schwartz. When Dark Horse was reprinting Archie comics chronologically, they got to around 1950 -- and the first Jughead collection -- when they dropped the series. So I have one (1) Jughead collection, from the very early days. It was a terrible time to terminate the series. The Archie line expanded in the early '50s, with Archie's Rival Reggie (1950), Archie's Girls Betty & Veronica (1950), Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals (1952), Archie’s Jokebook (1953) and the Archie Giant Series (1954)
But getting back to Jughead, even if DH or someone else took over the series, it would take a while to get to Schwartz (and Dipsy Doodle) but I'd buy every Jughead collection to get there with no regrets. And if they started with Dipsy Doodles, or any other '60s collection, I'd be right on board.
If we need an excuse, there's all those reboots.
It's even possible to use those reboots to account for changes in other universes. Case in point: I am currently working my way through various iterations of Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom. A key component of Unity 2000 (1999) is the "Armageddon Clock," which is very similar to the Doomsday Clock (2017). In it, Solar's plan is to wipe out every reality except his own, but the six-issue series came to an end after only three issues. I just finished reading Jim Shooter's plot, but the "Earth-J" explanation is simply that Dr. Manhattan wiped out Solar's reality before Solar had the opportunity to wipe out Dr. Manhattan's. This worldview is bolstered by the existance (in Unity 2000) of new character Loremaster, who keeps track of various realities in a storeroom full of comic book longboxes labeled with titles not only from the Valiant/Acclaim universe, but from Marvel, DC, Image, and other companies as well.
At one point, Master Darque picks up a copy of Super Mario Bros. and asks, "Does this represent a reality?" to which the Loremaster replies, "No, that one's just to read. It takes a special set of circumstances for a work of imagination to generate a new reality." PLUG: Tomorrow I will be delving into yet another new reality (Dark Horse) for Solar, specifically.
At one point, Master Darque picks up a copy of Super Mario Bros. and asks, "Does this represent a reality?" to which the Loremaster replies, "No, that one's just to read. It takes a special set of circumstances for a work of imagination to generate a new reality."
Heh, Nintendo gamers might disagree with that one.