Blog 2.0

Halloween is a happy time of the year for me.  It usually brings back fond memories of past costumes.  Of course, there have been a few recurring themes over the years.  Science fiction and fantasy.  Classic horror characters.  And, naturally, comic books.

 My first comic book costume was Batman.  I was probably 10 at the time.  My mom sewed a homemade costume for me and I cut a Batman logo out of yellow cardboard.  My brother dressed up as Superman.  It’s funny how the mind can play tricks with your memory.  As we grew older, I gravitated more to Superman and my brother to Batman’s darker side.  We even reminisced a few times about the year that he dressed up as Batman and I as Superman until

               (As an aside, my little sister who was 3 at the time dressed up as Cookie Monster.  She had a blue snowsuit with ping polls painted to look like Muppet eyes glued to the top.  She was so excited that my older sister had to hold her head still for the family photo.) I stumbled across an old family photo. 

               I don’t remember dressing up as a comic book character again until I was in college.  This time, I opted for the slightly obscure route and went as Starman.  I already had a Starman T-shirt (which everyone mistook for a 

communist flag).  I used tinfoil and a broom handle to create my own cosmic rod.  Then I got a nice trench coat and some aviator goggles for the finishing touches.  The only thing I skipped was the tattoos- probably because I didn’t think of it at the time. 

Most of my friends had never heard of Starman before so I had to explain my costume over and over again.  However, once I explained it, they usually nodded appreciably.  Looking back, this was a significant step forward in my life.  It signaled that I was becoming more comfortable as “a comic book geek” and I didn’t mind other people knowing.  It also showed that other people were generally more accepting than I would have guessed.

This year, I’m going out as a comic book character for the third time. 

 He’s one of my all-time favorite characters.  We share a Canadian heritage.  We even debuted in the same month (I was born in July 1974).  He’s Wolverine.  Or, I guess should say, “I’m Wolverine.”  

I have a couple of kids now.  They’re about the age I was when I first dressed up as Batman and they’ve dressed up as comic book characters in the past (my younger daughter had a home-made Raven costume for the Teen Titans cartoon).  They’re super-excited to see their dad dress up.  They grinned with glee when they saw first the claws and then the T-shirt arrive in the mail.  I also have a very supportive wife who enjoys all of the same geeky stuff I do and bought the costume pieces at the first hint. 

That’s one of the things I love so much about Halloween- it’s time for us to have fun as a family.  The candy and free comics are an added bonus.

P. S. Since I mentioned it in the opening, I figured I should share my other costumes.  For science fiction and fantasy, I’ve dressed up as Harry Potter and Jayne from Firefly.  In the classic horror category, I’ve dressed up as a vampire and a zombie (a Michael Jackson Thriller zombie rather than a George Romero or Walking Dead zombie- and boy, did that incite a few arguments in the Fluit 

house when I was a kid).  I’ve gone as Dr. Seuss and Goofy.  I’ve gone as Caesar as a special request by my daughters who were dressing up as Cleopatra.  And, one my favorites: I put on a leather jacket to be Ed from Northern Exposure.  What about you? 

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

Oct. 23, 2012: The third season premiere of The Walking Dead Oct. 14 on AMC scored record-breaking ratings, with almost 11 million people tuning in.

And that’s deserved, because TWD is a terrific show. But it started as a terrific comic book, and if you’re not reading it, you should be. If you think the comics would spoil the TV show, or that the TV show makes the comics redundant, that’s not the case: AMC has made the canny decision to follow the general outline of the comic book, but not the specifics.  

With this season, the gang on the show is just now moving into a Georgia prison for safety, which happened in the comics back in 2004. But already stark differences between the two formats are in evidence. In the comics, for example, Dale Horvath was alive when they reached the prison, but Hershel Greene wasn’t – but on the TV show, that’s reversed. Also, in the comics Rick’s gang was larger, and the composition was different, with a lot more children. And finally, in the comics Rick allowed the surviving convicts to join the group, whereas on the TV show he isolates them in a different cell block.

Those are just the obvious contrasts a fan of one format would notice when sampling the other. But there are plenty of subtler differences as well, many an inevitable result of a story playing out in two different media with different strengths and weaknesses. For example, the characters’ internal struggles are much more evident on an actor’s face than in a pen-and-ink drawings – but in a comic book, you can know what characters are thinking. So there are pluses and minuses in each approach.

Which is why I heartily recommend that non-readers give themselves a Halloween treat and catch up on The Walking Dead in print. Image Comics has made that as easy as buying soft drinks: You can buy any size you like. There’s the $3.99 monthly comic book (now up to issue #103); the $14.99 trade paperbacks, which collect six issues each; the $34.99 “Book” format, which collects 12 issues in hardback; the $35.99 “Compendia,” which collect 24 issues in massive trade paperbacks, and the $59.97 “Omnibus” format, which collects 24 issues per volume in hardback with a slipcase.

But lock the door before you start reading, and leave all the lights on. You’ve been warned.

In other spooky stuff this month, Hotel Transylvania premiered, which I have not seen. But I have seen The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania ($34.95, Titan Books), which I quite enjoyed.

Art takes us through the process of creating each character, each background, each plot point of the movie. As a frustrated cartoonist myself, I found it fascinating to see all the variations on the main character alone. There’s a page of fat Draculas, old Draculas, imperious Draculas, modern Draculas, old-school Draculas, you name it – until creator Genndy Tartakovsky (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) settled on a version that played to the strengths of the voice actor, Adam Sandler.

“One of the challenges of new versions of classic characters such as Dracula and Frankenstein is finding the balance between the expected and the unexpected,” writes author Tracey Miller-Zarneke. And with more than 400 pages of concept art, character designs and digital art, along with interviews with creators, filmmakers and crew, the reader gets to go along for the ride.

Meanwhile, the latest American Vampire collection is out from DC/Vertigo, and I have to say it’s the first one that hasn’t completely blown me away.

American Vampire Volume Four ($24.99) is the first that doesn’t star the usual group of characters we follow, the current representatives of the Book and Cash families, whose history forms the spine of the American Vampire narrative. That may explain my tepid interest.

But it may also be that the three, almost-unrelated stories in this collection didn’t grab me.

The first is set in the old West, starring Skinner Sweet in his pre-vampire days and his half-brother and later nemesis Jim Book. While Skinner has been believed to this point to be the first American vampire, this story – “The Beast in the Cave” – reveals an earlier one, from around the 16th century. But there is no doubt by the end of the story that the title refers metaphorically to Skinner as much as it does literally to the ancient bloodsucker – which comes as no surprise at all to regular readers.

The second, "Death Race,” is set in the 1950s with every cliché from that decade. Our hero is a vampire killer who steps right out of The Wild One (or Grease), with James Dean hair, a cigarette perpetually hanging from pouted lip, black leather jacket, white T-shirt and rolled-up blue jeans. I’m half-surprised he wasn’t named Elvis, and the ending was telegraphed pretty early.

The third story promised to be the most interesting, with the first African-American vampire starring in a two-part story set during the Jim Crow South. But it failed to tackle these issues directly, instead essentially serving as a set-up for the next adventure, which will take place in the next volume.

But, while I’ve been a bit critical of this book, it is still head and shoulders above most comics fare. This book is a solid double, and is only a disappointment in that we’re used to home runs.

ART

1. The Walking Dead Book 8 is the latest in the hardback collection, with The Walking Dead #85-96. Copyright Image Comics

2. The Art and Making of Hotel Transylvania pulls the curtain back on the creative process. Copyright Titan Books.

3. American Vampire Volume 4 includes one story set in the old West, and two in the 1950s. Copyright DC Entertainment

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

Things That Would Have Shocked My 12-Year-Old Self

Oct. 26, 2012: As I may have mentioned a few thousand times, science fiction (and fantasy and horror) were nearly non-existent in American pop culture in the 1960s when I was growing up. The conventional wisdom in Hollywood was that "science fiction doesn't sell," perhaps because all the SF movies in the 1950s were dopey B-movies about giant radioactive insects with really cheap budgets and lousy special effects. Regardless, Hollywood was convinced SF was a loser, and that idea pretty much permeated media across the board.

There were occasionally SF TV shows, but none of them were success stories. Lost in Space and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea became jokes. Star Trek failed after two seasons, and was only extended for an extra year by a coordinated letter-writing campaign. The Time Tunnel only lasted a year. Batman was deliberately silly. 

So for kids like the young Captain, who loved extra-normal stuff, the only good material available was early Universal horror movies (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, etc.) and comic books. Both areas were pretty seriously marginalized, so my friends and I were pretty resigned to being on the periphery of pop culture (and avoided mentioning our passions at school). 

Then along came this thing called Star Wars in the 1970s. And suddenly SF, fantasy and horror were cool. This would have shocked my 12-year-old self. Moreover, Star Wars kicked open a door that hasn't ever closed, and more wonderful stuff has poured through that door so that even now, more than 30 years later, my inner 12-year-old remains giddy with disbelief through each revelation. Here are just a few of my favorite things:

* There is an Element Lad action figure. If comic books were a marginal hobby in the 1960s, Legion of Super-Heroes fandom was a subculture within a subculture. While even our parents could name Superman and Batman, most comic-book fans could be stumped at naming any member of the LSH outside of Superboy. And yet, not only did DC Direct release a series of Silver Age Legion of Super-Heroes action figures, they released the figures in the order the characters joined the team. If that doesn't tickle your fanboy heart, your heart comes from Stone Boy's planet.

* There are superhero movies, and they don't suck. When the Captain was 12, the only breakthroughs superheroes made into broader media were bad cartoons, the aforementioned Batman and reruns of the Adventures of Superman TV show. The Marvel Super-Heroes cartoons of 1965 were simply gawdawful, and the initially respectful Superman, Batman and Aquaman cartoons quickly devolved into Super Friends. The Superman show was wonderful, but it was OLD -- often B&W -- and, let's face it, the special effects were nearly non-existent. The fact that Hollywood pours millions into X-Men, Batman, Spider-Man and Avengers movies is astonishing to my inner 12-year-old, and even better, they're popular. I feel a weird sense of affirmation. Speaking of which:

* My mother knows who Wolverine is. My parents -- and most of their generation -- thought of comics as juvenile pap, and knew nothing about superheroes beyond vague ideas about who Superman and Batman were. But thanks to the movies, even my mother has heard of Wolverine. Wolverine! He didn't even exist until 1975!

* I have a Captain America shield. In the 1960s, I could fantasize about a decent Superman, Batman or Spider-Man TV show or movie because I could imagine -- just barely -- those characters being popular/familiar enough that maybe somebody would put up money for such a movie, and maybe enough people would go so that it wouldn't bomb. But Captain America? He was a back-up series in Tales of Suspense, and during the Vietnam War kids and young adults were turning against pro-war jingoism and deeply suspicious of mindless patriotism. I was a big Cap fan, so much so that I made a shield out of a garbage can lid and tempera paint. But a store-bought shield? My 12-year-old self could not imagine such a thing.

* Iron Man is an A-list character. I loved Marvel Comics in the 1960s, but they were the new kids on the block and virtually unknown to non-comics-readers. And, just like DC, where Superman and Batman were the top dogs, there was an hierarchy at Marvel: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and maybe the Hulk were A-listers, and everyone else was B-list or below. (And even the FF were a bit sketchy; kids at school and church would generally refer to them as "rock guy," "stretchy guy," "fire guy" and the like.) So the idea that Iron Man might someday be A-list was an alien concept to me; that he would headline an Avengers movie unthinkable. And yet, here we are. God bless Robert Downey Jr.

I could go on in this vein, but Gen Xers are probably yawning and younger readers have probably drifted off. I hope not, though, because the whole point of a forum is to share experiences and perspectives. I am always fascinated, for example, how fellow Legionnaire Chris Fluit views Uncanny X-Men, since it was the best-selling comic book of his youth, while it sold so poorly when I was a boy it was canceled when I was 12. So we are both big X-fans, but in my case it's my love for the underdog, while his experience is almost diametrically opposite! 

So I hope some of you find this amusing, despite the age/experience gap. Because, honestly, I couldn't be more tickled by today's options, and I hope that rubs off!

It was Labor Day weekend 2009, when I embarked on an ambitious project that would eat up more than 3 years of my life. I decided to read every X-Men comic. All of them. In order.

I’d read most of them before. In fact, I’d read most of them more than once. But this was the first time that I would start in 1963 with X-Men #1 and systematically read right up through the present day. Actually, I started before X-Men #1 by reading the origin story Children of the Atom published in 1999 first. This was also the first time that I would include every one-shot and mini-series associated with the X-Men. However, I opted against reading ongoing spin-off titles except for the issues that were directly involved in a crossover. If I had done that, it probably would have taken a dozen years. But who knows? I may get to that next.

This week, I finally finished. I intentionally saved Claremont’s future-set story X-Men The End for the end. That way I’d have a specific end point rather than having the project peter out when I caught up to the present day. I finished the final Avengers vs. X-Men tie-ins last week and blazed through The End over the weekend.
With the exposition out of the way, let’s get to your questions…

George Poague: Any reactions? Have your eyes stopped bleeding? ;) Did you just read issues of Uncanny X-Men, or did you also read the spin-offs (from New Mutants on)? And the guest shots and miniseries?

Yes. I feel a strange sense of accomplishment. It took an unexpected amount of dedication. When I did reading projects like this in the past, it would usually take a couple of months, no more than a year. This was the biggest project that I’d ever attempted and I had no idea that it would take this long.

I was never tempted to give up but I did set the project aside a couple of times. In each case, I had binged at some sale or another- a trade paperback blowout or back issue bargain hunt- and I took a break from the X-Men while I read new comics. That’s probably what prevented bleeding eyeballs or insanity (though the latter diagnosis is debated).

At the same time, it was a lot of fun. I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t love the X-Men. I enjoyed it and I’m glad I did it.

As I answered earlier, I didn’t read the ongoing spin-off titles like New Mutants and Excalibur except for issues that were directly a part of a crossover like the Morlock Mutant Massacre. I did read the guest shots and mini-series. I even picked up the other half of shorter crossovers like Ghost Rider #26-27 and guest appearances in other titles like Spider-Woman #38 (though I eventually had to abandon that angle as well).

John Dunbar: What held up? What didn't? Did anything surprise you, as in "I think I liked this better the first time" or "I don't remember this being this good before"?

In most cases, the answer is what you would expect it to be. There are a lot of great X-Men runs and they remain great whether you read them for the first time or the fifth: Roy Thomas & Neal Adams, Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum & John Byrne & Paul Smith & John Romita Jr. & Marc Silvestri & Jim Lee… [takes a deep breath], Scott Lobdell & Joe Madureira, Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely, Joss Whedon & John Cassaday and so on.

There were also some rough patches. One of the things that I discovered is that I had less patience for those rough patches this time ‘round. For example, I couldn’t tolerate Claremont’s heavy-handed narration during his return to the X-Men in 2000. I was willing to read every word the first time because I didn’t know what was going to happen. But I found myself skimming a few narrator speeches this time. I also didn’t bother reading The Arena story in X-Treme X-Men as I hated it the first time. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t count. Plus, I didn’t bother buying two issues of X-Men Legacy I had originally skipped.

Even so, there were a few surprises. I enjoyed the Arnold Drake issues more than I remembered. A big part of that is the early Jim Steranko and Barry Windsor-Smith art. Partly, the first Roy Thomas run that preceded those issues was so bad anything would look good in comparison. Yet Drake deserves some credit for mixing things up a little with the introduction of Polaris and Erik the Red.

Some of the recent runs held up really well. I loved Ed Brubaker’s epic Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire when I first read it but it was even better when I was able to read the entire story again in one sitting. Second Coming was better than I remembered. The crossover had a very strong narrative progression through different stages of the battle and a deep emotional core with the deaths of Cable and Nightcrawler. It was a story I enjoyed at the time- I even wrote a eulogy for Nightcrawler- but I admired the story-craft that much more now. I also appreciated the way that it subtly set up future storylines- this is where the rivalry between Cyclops and Wolverine really begins to turn into animosity, and where Cyclops starts to reject Captain America and the rest of the “outside” world.

I was disappointed in a few things. Warren Ellis’ run on Astonishing X-Men wasn’t as good as I remembered it. It was all flash, no substance and the stories didn’t really move forward. The X-Men/Micronauts mini-series didn’t live up to the hype. I hadn’t read it before but it came across as a typical team-up. It’s probably not something I’ll bother to read again. And there’s one other…

Jeff of Earth-J: Chris, I know you said you didn't read any of the spin-off series, but I'm wondering if you made an exception for X-Men: The Hidden Years...?The title knocked Avengers out of my personal "#1 favorite Marvel" spot at the time, but I've never gone back and re-read the entire series. I have a feeling that it might not hold up in a marathon reading session and that it might not fit very well following directly on the heels of [having read] X-Men #66.

You guessed right, Jeff. I read The Hidden Years between the first X-Men series and the All-New revival and it did not hold up well. I loved the series when it came out. I appreciated the way that John Byrne imitated Neal Adams’ art style. And it was a lot of fun to spend time with the original X-Men plus Havok and Polaris. But, on reflection, it wasn’t as good as I thought at the time.

30 DAYS OF NIGHT ONGOING #11

A PLUS X #1 NOW
ABSOLUTE FINAL CRISIS HC
ACTION COMICS ANNUAL #1
ALL STAR WESTERN TP VOL 01 GUNS AND GOTHAM (N52)
AMERICAN VAMPIRE #32 (MR)
ANGEL & FAITH #15
AQUAMAN #13
ARCHIE #638
ARCHIE ARCHIVES HC VOL 07
ARMY OF DARKNESS ONGOING #6
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #1
AVX CONSEQUENCES #4 (OF 5)

BATGIRL ANNUAL #1
BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #9
BATMAN EYE OF THE BEHOLDER TP
BEDLAM #1 (MR)
BLOODSTRIKE #32
BPRD HELL ON EARTH #100 RETURN O/T MASTER #3 (OF 5
BUCKAROO BANZAI #2 (RES)

CALL OF WONDERLAND TP (MR)
CAPTAIN MARVEL #6
CBLDF LIBERTY ANNUAL 2012 #5
CHARISMAGIC DEATH PRINCESS #1
CHARLES BURNS HIVE BOOKPLATE ED
COLONY TP

DAN THE UNHARMABLE #7 (MR)
DARK SHADOWS #9
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER TP JOURNEY BEGINS
DEADPOOL KILLS MARVEL UNIVERSE TP
DISNEY PRINCESS MAGAZINE #9
DOCTOR WHO VOL 3 #2

EC KURTZMAN CORPSE O/T IMJIN AND OTHER STORIES HC
EC WALLY WOOD CAME THE DAWN AND OTHER STORIES HC
EPOCH TP (MR)

FASHION BEAST #3 (MR)
FATALE #9 (MR)
FAUST LOVE OF DAMNED ACT 14
FEAR ITSELF TP HOME FRONT
FEAR ITSELF TP UNCANNY X-FORCE DEEP
FERALS #10 (MR)

GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #22 (MR)
GHOSTBUSTERS ONGOING #14
GHOSTS #1 (MR)
GODZILLA ONGOING #6
GREEN HORNET #30
GREEN HORNET STRIKES #10

HAPPY #2 (OF 4)
HAUNT #27
HEAVY METAL RELOAD SC
HIGHER EARTH #6
HIGHER EARTH TP VOL 01
HIT-GIRL #4 (OF 5) (MR)

IDOLIZED #3
ITS TOKYO CHARLIE BROWN GN

JOE KUBERT PRESENTS #1 (OF 6)
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL #1

KISS GREATEST HITS TP VOL 02
KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #189

LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #23 (MR)
LEGEND OF OZ THE WICKED WEST ONGOING #1
LOONEY TUNES #209
LORD OF THE JUNGLE TP VOL 01 (MR)
LOT 13 #1 (OF 5) (MR)

MARS ATTACKS HOLIDAYS ONE SHOT
MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE THE ORIGIN OF SKELETOR #1
METABARONS ULTIMATE COLL ED (MR)
MIGHTY THOR #22 BURNS

NANCY DREW & CLUE CREW GN VOL 01 SMALL VOLCANOES
NEW DEADWARDIANS #8 (OF 8) (MR)
NEW MUTANTS #50

PHANTOM LADY #3 (OF 4)
PREVIEWS #290 NOV 2012

RACHEL RISING #12
REAL GHOSTBUSTERS OMNIBUS TP VOL 01
RED HULK TP MAYAN RULE
RED SONJA ATLANTIS RISES #3
RISE O/T GUARDIANS HIDDEN TRUTH & OTHER GN
ROBYN HOOD #2 (OF 5) (MR)
ROCKETEER CARGO OF DOOM #3 (OF 4)

SECRET AVENGERS TP RUN MISSION SAVE WORLD
SHATTERED ASIAN AMER COMICS ANTHOLOGY TP
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #242
STAR TREK ONGOING #14
STAR WARS DARTH MAUL DEATH SENTENCE #4 (OF 4)
STEED AND MRS PEEL ONGOING #2
SUPERMAN EARTH ONE HC VOL 02
SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES #6
SWAMP THING ANNUAL #1
SWEET TOOTH TP VOL 05 UNNATURAL HABITAT (MR)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ANNUAL 2012
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ONGOING #15
TICK #101 TICK MEETS MADMAN
TRANSFORMERS CLASSICS TP VOL 04
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE ONGOING #10
TRUE BLOOD ONGOING #6

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #16.1
ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #18 UWS
UNCANNY X-FORCE PREM HC BOOK 01 FINAL EXECUTION

VAMPIRELLA #24
VAMPIRELLA VS FLUFFY ONE SHOT

WARRIORS OF MARS TP
WHISPERS #4 (MR)
WINTER SOLDIER #12
WITCHBLADE #161
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #19
WONDERLAND #4 (MR)

X-MEN HIDDEN YEARS TP VOL 02
X-MEN LEGACY #275

Comics and Collectibles of Memphis posted this list on Facebook. Arrivals at your local comics store may vary.

If you were a Jimmy Olsen fan during the Silver Age, it was a tough row to hoe.

For every story in which Jimmy demonstrated intelligence, resourcefulness, and competence, there were a dozen in which he was depicted as a vainglorious, overconfident doofus.  And that might not have been so bad, if most of those tales had been smartly scripted ones about a vainglorious, overconfident doofus. But most Jimmy Olsen plots fell into the category of ridiculous, relying on outlandish gimmicks and impossible coïncidences.

A Jimmy Olsen fan longed for his appearances as Superman’s partner in a Nightwing and Flamebird story.  In those, Superman family editor Mort Weisinger insisted that Jimmy be presented as responsible and mature.  The same held true after Mort took over the editorship of World’s Finest Comics, when Jimmy appeared regularly at the side of the Man of Steel.  “Upgrading” Jimmy was the only way readers would accept the notion that Superman would rely on his assistance so heavily.

But those occasions were infrequent.  Most of the time, fans got the doofus Jimmy.  Toss in an alien or a magic relic or anything invented by Professor Potter, and you were stuck with a plot that would insult the intelligence of a first-grader. 

So you had the goofy Jimmy stories and, on a blue-moon schedule, the heroic Jimmy stories.  That was pretty much it.

What the Silver-Age Jimmy fan wasn’t expecting was a trio of Jimmy stories that struck a different note.  They weren’t silly or juvenile, and they weren’t dramatic and filled with hero-type derring-do.  They were intriguing, and a little bit charming.

For three stories in 1964, Jimmy Olsen fans followed the whimsical romance of Magi the Magnificent and Sandra Rogers---the courtship of two people who didn’t exist.

If you had picked up Jimmy Olsen # 74 (Jan., 1964) back in that long-ago winter, you really didn’t get too bad a deal for your twelve pennies.  The opener, “The Pranks of Jimmy the Imp”, was a standard Mr. Mxyzptlk tales with some twists.  This time, Mxyzptlk focuses on Olsen as the target of his pranks and Jimmy isn’t too much of a blunderer.  He actually comes up with a refreshing curve on the “saying your name backward” business.

The second story, “Jimmy Olsen and the Forty Thieves”, was actually a pretty decent “heroic Jimmy” adventure, marred only by the out-of-thin-air device used to send the intrepid cub reporter back to the time of Ali Baba and the improbable circumstance of running into Lex Luthor in the same era. 

So far, so good.  But the third story . . . ah, that’s where the gold was struck.

“Jimmy Olsen’s Secret Love” opens up with a coïncidence too.  But not an outlandish one, and it’s tolerable for the fact that it sets the premise for everything which happens afterward.

Jimmy’s more-or-less girl friend, stewardess Lucy Lane, is assigned to travel on her airline’s Flight 408 and report on the efficiency of the flight crew and staff.  Because she is known to many of the airline employees, she disguises herself with a red-haired wig and an evening dress.  Just before take-off, Lucy remembers that she had a date with Jimmy but she is unable to reach him to call it off.

A little earlier, at the Daily Planet---and the story makes no bones about it, calling it “a startling coïncidence”---Perry White gets a tip that a wanted jewel thief, “Slick Eddie”, will try to sneak out of town on the same Flight 408. Perry assigns Jimmy to board the flight and expose the thief.  With typical Olsen modesty, the young reporter figures that he is too famous and will likely be recognised by Slick Eddie.  So he stops off at his apartment and creates a new identity from his disguise trunk.

One tuxedo, top hat, black-hair wig, fake moustache, shoulder-padding, and pair of high-lift shoes later, Jimmy is ready to tackle his assignment.  He, too, remembers his date with Lucy, but he also fails in his attempt to reach her.

And there is one other coïncidence, but since already one can see that this story is forming up to be a misadventure of sorts, it doesn’t rankle.  On Flight 408, the disguised Lucy Lane is assigned the seat next to the disguised Jimmy Olsen.

“Wow!  What a terrific looker!” thinks Jimmy.

“He’s a living doll!” thinks Lucy.

Once in the air, Jimmy makes a move to impress the “terrific looker” in the seat next to him by performing some minor sleight-of-hand tricks.  He is stage magician “Magi the Magnificent”, he explains.   The tricks have the desired result and soon the two are head-to-head in conversation.  As they say, nothing propinks like propinquity, and in no time, Lucy realises, “I’ve never been so strongly drawn to a stranger!  He’s smooth, sophisticated!  So unlike Jimmy!”

“Magi” is aswirl in thought, as well.  “Lucy isn’t in the same league with this glamorous babe!  I’m falling for this gorgeous tomato!”

However, in a less giddy moment, Jimmy and Lucy both realise that it’s unfair to misrepresent themselves, and both determine privately to tell the truth at the first opportunity.  Before either can do so, though, fate intervenes---first, in the form of a newsreel before the in-flight movie, one depicting Jimmy Olsen helping Superman capture a crook.  Testing the waters, Magi asks his “gorgeous tomato” was she thinks of Olsen.

“He’s too conceited!  Too dependent on Superman!” she snorts.  “Where’d he be without Superman?”

It’s no surprise that Lucy Lane would express that opinion; it pretty much represents the fickle way she treated Jimbo throughout the Silver Age.  Jimmy was rarely more than a fallback option for Lucy, in the event that a stalwart pilot or a handsome movie star didn’t ask her out.  And if one did, she’d cancel a date with Jimmy in a snap, usually when he showed up at her door, so she could rub his face in it.  But let Jimmy go out with someone else and her eyes turned a ripe shade of green.  Opportunistic, deceitful, and possessive---one wonders what Jimmy ever saw in her.  (One of the few satisfying developments of the Bronze Age for me was when Lucy finally figured out that she lost out on a good thing with the Jimster; when she tried to win him back, he showed her the door, and with a lot more class than she ever displayed.)

Lucy’s honest personal appraisal of Jimmy Olsen derails Magi’s intention to reveal who he really is.  Meanwhile, Lucy is on the verge of telling him who she really is, when she accidentally drops her valise while getting it out of the overhead compartment.  It falls open, revealing a number of wigs she had planned to wear during her undercover assignment.

Magi/Jimmy flashes a look of disgust when he spots a blonde wig among the pile.  “Ugh!  This blonde wig annoys me,” he remarks.  “It reminds me of a former girl friend who was very fickle!  I’ll bet she’s with some other guy right now!”  (What goes around, comes around, my dear Lucy.)

Lucy covers why she’s carrying so many wigs by explaining that she is “Sandra Rogers”, a British movie starlet visiting America, and the wigs are costume props for various rôles.  Inwardly, though, she is aghast at the fact that Magi doesn’t like blonde-haired girls, and decides to hold off revealing who she is until he’s known her long enough to overlook his dislike of blondes.

As they settle back for the rest of the flight, “Magi” and “Sandra” each reflect, and without too much distress, on the fact that, as Jimmy and Lucy, they’re dumping each other. 

After an interlude which does little but intensify their growing feelings for each other, Magi/Jimmy and Sandra/Lucy, along with the rest of Flight 408’s passengers and crew, find themselves in real trouble when a fuel leak forces an emergency landing of the airliner.  Fearing the worst, the disguised couple share a good-bye kiss.

The pilot manages to safely land the ship on a submerged ice floe, but as everyone disembarks, they discover that it’s only a temporary reprieve; the weight of the plane causes the floe to start cracking apart.  With lives at stake, Jimmy reaches to activate his Superman signal watch, despite knowing it will reveal his true identity to “Sandra”.  However, other circumstances bring the Man of Steel to the scene without Jimmy having to expose his imposture.  Superman rescues the plane and also nabs jewel thief Slick Eddie (remember him?) in the bargain.

Magi/Jimmy and Sandra/Lucy get separated in the excitement, and each is left wondering if they will ever see each other, again.

As a stand-alone tale, “Jimmy Olsen’s Secret Love” is a nice bit of light romance, worthy of Preston Sturges.  The apparent plot of Jimmy locating and identifying the criminal Slick Eddie is immediately subsumed by the ironic situation of Jimmy and Lucy each falling for the other in a different guise.  Their playful banter masks feelings of romance and the dawning realisation that they are better off continuing to be their phoney selves, rather than their true ones. 

Unlike other tales of whimsy that DC would occasionally run, this one begged for a follow-up.  And Weisinger and company delivered, with “The Return of Jimmy’s Lost Love”, in Jimmy Olsen # 78 (Jul., 1964).   This tale picks up a short time after “Jimmy Olsen’s Secret Love”, and Jimmy is still Lucy’s lapdog.  After finishing a visit with her sister, Lois, at the Planet, Lucy hits up Jimmy for a lift to the airport.  During the drive, it becomes obvious that the young couple’s relationship has stalled.  Jimmy’s sincere efforts to woo Lucy fail to impress her, as she is preöccupied by her memories of Magi the Magnificent.  And Lucy’s now-constant rebuffs send Jimmy’s thoughts more and more to Sandra Rogers.

At the airport, Lucy receives another uncover assignment from her boss.  Someone, and it’s believed to be an airline employee, has been stealing mail from the planes.  Lucy is assigned to try to identify the thief.  Unlike Slick Eddie from the last story, the mail thief will play a greater part in the end, so he’s not just an excuse for Lucy’s masquerade.

In a private office, Lucy once again, “for sentimental reasons”, becomes Sandra Rogers.  As she walks through the parking lot on her way to the main terminal, she unknowingly passes Jimmy’s convertible, where the cub reporter is still daydreaming over Sandra.  He’s jolted from his reverie when he spots her in the flesh.  From a spare disguise locker in the trunk of his car, Jimmy digs out his Magi disguise.  Putting it on, he then rushes to the terminal from a different direction.  Thus, he and Sandra “accidentally” meet.

“Sandra” is just as thrilled to see “Magi” again, and they lock in a passionate embrace.  They both whip up white lies about being stuck in the Metropolis Airport for a long layover and make plans to spend the hours together.

Sandra/Lucy asks Magi/Jimmy to perform some of his magic tricks.  One has to give points to Jimbo for cleverness here.  Seeing the fresh edition of the Daily Planet being delivered to the airport, he produces a crystal ball and “divines” the headline.  For his next trick, he pulls out a magic wand and commands Superman to appear.  And he does, thanks to Jimmy secretly pressing the button of his signal-watch hidden in his coat pocket.

The Man of Steel plays along with the gag, having learnt in the previous tale that Magi was actually Jimmy.  What he didn’t learn in the earlier story was that Sandra was really Lucy.  As far as Superman knows, he’s just helping his pal impress a hot-looking redhead, so the Metropolis Marvel lays it on thick.  He remarks on how he’s lucky that Magi is his good friend and not an enemy before he takes off.

If Jimmy seemed cavalier about stepping out on Lucy Lane in the last story, he redeems himself here.  During the remainder of their afternoon, Jimmy is caught up in a true conflict of emotions.  He adores the way Sandra showers him with affection, remembering the cold shoulder Lucy had given him on the drive to the airport earlier.  But then, he recalls occasions when Lucy has been genuinely sweet and affectionate and he begins to feel like a rat.  His conscience begins to gnaw at him.

Lucy, however, shows no such recriminations.  All she can think about is how much she wants to be with Magi.  So much so, in fact, that she deliberately shirks her assignment to catch the mail-thief.  Later on, when plot permutations require Magi to change back to Jimmy in order to deliver a message to Sandra, Lucy fears that Olsen’s sharp eye will see through her disguise---not because she feels guilty for two-timing him, but because Jimmy may expose her in front of Magi.

Things come to a head in the last scene, when Magi and Sandra stumble across the mail-thief in the act of stealing another delivery.  Unfortunately, the crook reacts quicker than they do and has them helpless as he prepares to gun them down.  Magi/Jimmy discovers that he doesn’t have his signal-watch this time, but pulls off a last-second gambit that brings the Man of Steel to the scene in time to save them.

The close call makes both Magi and Sandra realise how much they care for each other and drives any lingering doubts about double-dealing Lucy out of Jimmy’s head.  In an awkward moment, they stand silent, as they both consider revealing the truth about themselves, realising that their increased closeness will inevitably lead to exposure. 

Then, in their private thoughts, each imagines an angry response from the other over being deceived and they keep still.  Instead, making up excuses, “Magi” and “Sandra” reluctantly part company.

Afterward, Jimmy meets Lucy, and it’s evident that, even more than before, they are simply going through the motions.  Their thoughts say it all.

“Wouldn’t it be awful if I married Jimmy on the rebound,” she thinks, “and he never knew that, in my secret heart, I love Magi most of all?”

“Sigh!  I guess Sandra’s the type you worship hopelessly!” muses Jimmy.  “Then you settle for someone like . . . Lucy!”

The second Magi-Sandra tale was more downbeat than the first.  “Jimmy Olsen’s Secret Love” took the idea of Jimmy and Lucy falling in love with each other under false pretenses lightly, focusing on the ironies of the situation.  “The Return”, however, took a look at the more serious implications of such a thing.  As a couple, Jimmy and Lucy grew more and more remote, ironically falling short in competition with their own fake identities.  Within Jimmy, his lack of faithfulness to Lucy began to dig into his conscience.  And lastly, both of them understood that their impostures would not hold up long under the intimacy of a long-term romance.  These were mature subjects for DC at the time, and especially striking to find in a Jimmy Olsen story of all things.

One thing Mort Weisinger wasn’t prepared to do was leave things on such a downcast note.  Mail had started to come in.  The saga of Magi and Sandra had scored high with readers and they beseeched Mort not to let it end sadly.  Weisinger was nothing if not responsive to his readership.  No doubt the fans were overjoyed to see that Jimmy Olsen # 82 (Jan., 1965) brought them---“The Wedding of Magi and Sandra”.

With Lois away on assignment, Lucy is left alone at home, where she continues to dwell on her feelings for Magi.  She considers calling Jimmy for a date, but she is in no mood for “his juvenile yakking.”  Instead, she relives her romance with Magi by doing herself up as Sandra Rogers and going out for a walk on a moonlit night.  As chance would have it, Jimmy happens to drive by on his way to call on Lucy and spots “Sandra”.  Pulling into a deserted alley, Jimmy dons his Magi disguise and hurries back on foot to catch up to her.

He arrives just as an armed robber jumps out of the bushes and shoves a gun in Sandra/Lucy’s face.  Jimmy ignores his impulse to summon Superman; he wants to rescue the girl he loves himself.  And he does. 

Following a hot clinch and an even hotter kiss, Magi squires Sandra to Metropolis’ most expensive nightclub.  It is a magical, whirlwind evening for both of them and as they gaze as the stars from the club’s terrace, Magi decides to propose to Sandra.  He asks her to meet him at the same place the following evening, when he shall ask her “something very special.”

However, in the wee hours, after the glow of the evening has faded and she’s alone again in her apartment, Lucy’s thoughts are fitful.  She realises that, if she marries Magi, she will have to reveal herself for who she is.  Afraid that Magi will feel that she trapped him into marriage, Lucy determines not to see him the next night or ever, again. 

The same thing is vexing Jimmy, who has walked the streets in his Magi identity until dawn.  He knows he got carried away but he doesn’t know how to get out of it.  Along the waterfront, a solution presents itself when a little girl falls into the bay.  Jimmy dives in, rescuing the child.  But  as he hands her off to a police officer, he fakes a sudden attack of cramps and shouts out that he is Magi the Magnificent just before he goes under.

Deliberately evading his rescuers, Jimmy swims off, and when he reports to work, he writes up the account of Magi’s death by drowning.

Jimmy and Lucy continue their relationship, more out of inertia than anything else, since Lucy can think of no-one but Magi, and Jimmy’s thoughts are consumed by Sandra.  Nevertheless, Jimmy eventually pops the question to Lucy, mainly because it’s what he’s “supposed to do” as this stage in their relationship.  And Lucy accepts, because it’s what she’s supposed to do.  They decide to elope and slip off to a remote resort.  They both manage to put on a cheerful front.

“I hope my smile looks genuine,” thinks Lucy. 

“Am I . . . a grinning rat-fink who marries in haste,” ponders Jimmy, “only to repent at leisure?”

Even after the justice of the peace pronounces them man and wife and they share their first kiss as newlyweds, Jimmy can only think of Sandra and Lucy, of Magi.

Leaving Lucy in their hotel room, Jimmy goes for a walk but can’t shake his doubts.  He decides that it is unfair of him to remain married to Lucy when he really loves Sandra.  He’ll break the news to Lucy at dinner that evening.

Lucy has arrived at the same conclusion, for the same reason---that her heart belongs to another.  But she cannot bear to tell Jimmy to his face.  She writes him a letter, telling him of her desire to have their marriage annulled, before she leaves the resort.  She decides to leave the letter on his disguise trunk, but pauses to take a last look at some of his disguises, as a final remembrance of happier times.

As she delves through the disguise trunk, she finds a tuxedo, a black wig, padding, etc., and realises the truth.  That night, Lucy shows up for dinner and stuns Jimmy by donning a red wig.  Now, Jimmy knows the truth, too.  Their initial resentments at being deceived lead to a food fight.  Jimmy takes a cherry pie in the kisser, while Lucy is treated to a faceful of wedding cake.  Facts fly along with the foodstuffs and eventually the entire comedy of errors is revealed. 

Suddenly, Jimmy and Lucy embrace in a fit of laughter, discovering that they had been in love with each other all along.

And now they know they are still in love.  But, as the young couple prepares to depart on their honeymoon, fate tosses them a curve.  As it develops, the official who married them just discovered that his justice-of-the-peace licence had expired a few days earlier.  Jimmy and Lucy aren’t legally married.  The renewal paperwork will take a few days, but if they can wait until then . . . .

With a happy shrug, Jimmy and Lucy decide not to fight fate.  Driving off, they privately realise that they both have more interesting facets than they had suspected.  They’ll make sure, though, that the next justice of the peace has his documentation up to date.

Not surprisingly, this triptych of tales was written by Jerry Siegel.

Jerry Siegel’s status as the co-creator of Superman, I think, tended to overshadow his skill as a writer.  More than anyone else in Mort Weisinger’s stable of writers, Siegel had the ability to mine human interest out of Superman’s adventures, to tap into the emotional drama of being the Man of Steel.  Siegel’s classic tales---“Superman’s Return to Krypton”, “The Death of Superman”, “The Sweetheart Superman Forgot”---all engaged the reader’s heart more than his thrill of adventure.

With his three Jimmy Olsen stories about the confused romance of Magi the Magnificent and Sandra Rogers, Siegel demonstrated that his talent wasn’t limited to heavy pathos.  Had he chosen to craft a plot with only one of the principals being disguised---either Lucy or Jimmy---and then having the other fall in love, he actually wouldn’t have accomplished much more than he had when he set up the original Superman-Lois Lane-Clark Kent triangle.  But by mirroring the artifice, putting both Jimmy and Lucy in disguise, he created a parallel circumstance which permitted the reader to compare the couple's individual attitudes and reactions.

Not surprisingly, we find that Jimmy and Lucy have different personal ethics on the idea of stepping out on the other.  Jimmy displays a sense of guilt at the idea of two-timing Lucy for Sandra.  On the other hand, Lucy is untroubled by the idea of cheating on Jimmy.  In fact, it barely occurs to her that she is.  This is consistent with the way the two characters have been presented all along; Jimmy always had a larger emotional investment in his relationship with Lucy than she did.

It is also telling that, after they both decide that they have made an ill choice in marrying, Jimmy is prepared to tell Lucy to her face and endure the consequences, while Lucy opts to just leave him a letter and sneak away.

None of these distinctions is hammered over the reader’s head; they are subtly inserted, forcing him to engage his brain and ponder over what he is reading.  If he wants to.  Certainly, the story can be enjoyed strictly on the superficial level of its premise.  But Siegel also included sly indicators as to the moral compasses of Jimmy and Lucy and to the nature of their relationship, and if the reader bothers to do so, those nuggets are there for him to discover.

Jerry Siegel tended to insert emotion into his stories with a broad brush, but the Magi and Sandra tales show that he was also capable of coaxing human interest with nuance.

Two viewpoints on the financial aspects of the hobby

Comics and convention economics

By Andrew A. Smith

Contributing editor

Two excellent books involving comics and economics have arrived in time for this all-review issue of CBG; one is a book about general economics in comics form, another is about comics economics in prose. Both are well worth the time of comics fans.

COMIX + ECONOMICS = ECONOMIX

The first is Economix: How Our Economy Works (and Doesn’t Work) in Words and Pictures (Abrams ComicArts, $19.95), by writer Michael Goodwin and artist Dan E. Burr. It’s essentially a history of capitalism from roughly the system’s beginnings to the present, along the lines of Larry Gonick’s The Cartoon History of the Universe – which, Goodwin told CBG in a phone interview, was an inspiration.

Goodwin, a freelance writer, came to write the book from an honest interest in the subject. “I’m a history nut,” he said, “and if you learn enough history, history keeps coming back to economic patterns. And at some point, I thought ‘OK, I have to understand more about the economy.’ It just keeps on coming up – the price of bread in revolutions, and everything.”

So around 2002 Goodwin began immersing himself in the subject. Before long he realized he had quite a story to tell – one that hadn’t been told in comics form before.

And that’s a medium that came naturally to Goodwin. His step-father is Rick Meyerowitz, once a major cartoonist for National Lampoon, so Goodwin grew up around comics. Another reason was “I knew from Larry Gonick that you just remember things better when they’re in comics form.”

Yet a third reason was the discipline the medium forces on the writer, which prevented Goodwin from writing “a 20-volume work,” he said with a laugh. “I’m interested in everything and any panel in this book I could have expanded into another book. Often what happened is [that] I was looking at a book on my shelves, and I remembered I read that book, [so] I wrote, like, 20 pages on it, cut that down to two, cut that down to one, cut that down to a panel, and [then] took the panel out.”

Not having any artistic talent himself, Goodwin, his agent, and his publisher searched for someone who would mesh with the content. That resulted in the award-winning Dan E. Burr (Kings in Disguise).

“Dan just got the tone right,” Goodwin said. “When I look at the book it’s what I imagined it being. Other artists I’d be ‘Oh that’s good, but not what I was thinking.’ Also we brought all the samples to the publisher, and the publisher was, like, ‘That one.’”

The result was Economix, which not only explains the “dismal science” in an entertaining way, but forages for truth amid the myths. For example, Goodwin says, today’s free-market advocates completely misrepresent Adam Smith’s ground-breaking Wealth of Nations, as do many economists, who fall back on ideal models that don’t take into account the real world.

“Basically they took one part of his idea, which is the invisible hand [of the marketplace], and it’s very important, [but they] sorta plucked it out of the book and forgot everything else in there,” Goodwin said. “Smith’s approach was to look at everything in the real world and draw conclusions from that. … People who came after him … didn’t even look at how the free market worked any more. They took Smith’s free market, assumed that it had already done its work, and looked at what the economy would look like if that had happened. That’s often still the case today.”

Another problem with those ideal models is that they exclude the exercise of power to influence the free market, so that it’s no longer really free. “Trying to explain the economy without mentioning power is like trying to explain politics without mentioning money,” he said. “Economic power and political power always go hand in hand. If you have money you have power, and if you have power one of the things you use it for is to get money.”

Despite today’s economic problems and political deadlock, Goodwin – and his book – remain fundamentally optimistic. He looks back to the Depression for inspiration, where the political ice broke at a critical moment, allowed FDR to push through the New Deal. That resulted in “a good 30-40 years of real prosperity,” he said. “What’s forgotten now is how unthinkable all these advances seemed in even in 1932. … But there was a whole generation there when people actually remembered the Depression and the New Deal and the war, which were a great economic lesson. So for a whole generation nobody listened to the conservatives.”

Which raises one problem for Economix – it skewers a lot of sacred cows on the right of American politics, like free-market fundamentalism and trickle-down economics. Is Goodwin worried about a conservative backlash?

“I should be so lucky to become big enough that they have to respond to it,” he laughed.

Goodwin on Famous Figures

On Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan, the Republican presidential ticket:  I think at the very end [of the book] I’ve got, like, Tea Partiers being rabid. That’s pretty much where I’d put Romney-Ryan. The thing I would say about Romney, though, Romney shows our responsibility to know what’s going on. Because when he was governor of a liberal state, he was a reasonable liberal. He did what the electorate wanted more or less. He gave them Romneycare. When he became a national candidate, and he has to suck up to the Tea Partiers and the [right-wing millionaire Sheldon] Adelsons of the world, and he has no principles, because he’s a politician – and we shouldn’t necessarily expect principles from our politicians – so he abandons basically winds up savaging Romneycare, even though he did it, because now it’s called Obamacare, and [he] takes on these complete right-wing positions. The problem is not him, essentially. We’re always going to have politicians like that, who do whatever they need to do to get elected, and the responsibility is on us to make sure that what gets them elected is doing reasonably sane things. That’s what I’d say about Romney. Ryan is just crazy.

On Ayn Rand:  To put Ayn Rand into historical context … the individual entrepreneur is still around, but the individual entrepreneur is not the real story any more. There are very few people [who] actually start a small business and build it into a giant empire the way [Andrew] Carnegie did. … Ayn Rand is a romanticization of the small businessman, who is no longer the engine of the economy the way that he was in the 19^th century. The ideals that she puts forth are often quite good, just as chivalry is a noble ideal. Just don’t mistake that for what’s actually going on. … She’s also nuts.

On Nobel-prize winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman: I end up dismissing in one panel all of the developments in economics since the 1970s … because nobody talks about them. Krugman does talk about them, but his real influence is just as a pundit bringing common sense thinking, not necessarily that he’s bringing the abstruse developments in modern economics..

On Ron Paul, champion of the gold standard: I agree with some of Paul’s position but not the gold standard one. It was tried, it didn’t work. … It’s a yearning for a golden age rather than a well-considered idea about policy. And I think that’s what gives it its power. Not everyone wants to sit around and think about policy and look at the past and look at the 19^th century and the gold standard and see how often the economy was crashed even though we were stripping entire continents of their gold. … People look back at the 19^th century and say look at that incredible century and they were on the gold standard and they must have been doing something right. And what they were doing right was stripping the earth of its gold.

THE BUSINESS OF COMICS

The second book is sort of the inverse of the first. Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture: What the World’s Wildest Trade Show Can Tell Us About the Future of Entertainment (McGraw Hill, $27) explores how the comic book has ended up at the center of pop culture, through the lens of Comic-Con International: San Diego.

Comic-Con is written by Rob Salkowitz, an author, teacher, expert in digital media, and a man who calls himself – like Tony Stark – a futurist. He walks us through Comic-Con 2011 – the panels and trade meetings he attends, the shows, the cosplayers, the media presence – and uses that as a spine, and source of examples, for his narrative.

The specifics of the Comic-Con experience won’t be of much interest to those of us who have already attended a San Diego show, or anything comparable – we know that part already. But it should prove fascinating to the business executive who is (probably) the primary target audience for the book, and, what the heck, it doesn’t hurt us experienced fans to re-experience a comics show through different, business-oriented eyes.

Where Comic-Con really takes off is when Salkowitz does his thing: Explaining how things got to where they are, and where they are likely to go. I know he’s good, because every time he makes a point, it seems completely obvious, even inescapable, in retrospect. You know in your bones he’s right, and vaguely surprised you didn’t see it yourself. Plus, Salkowitz is a clever writer who can really turn a phrase.

And he knows his beans, from a comics-fan perspective. In discussion of the synergy of comics and other media he uses Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Guild as examples of how a property can use the “feedback loop” between media to build a brand – but cautions that not every writer is as “multilingual” in various media as are Joss Whedon and Felicia Day. He explains how the big comics publishers have “lashed themselves to the mast” of mainstream entertainment media, to rise or fall based on Hollywood’s interest in exploiting Marvel and DC characters, which itself relies on the fickle public’s interest in continuity-centered, overarching universes. He shows how the minnows of the comics industry survive on the crumbs falling off the table of the Big Two, waiting for the one big break into movies that will make them all rich. He goes into the dichotomy of old-school, continuity-minded fandom, which he describes as “the rudder that helps all pop culture media steer toward the future and the anchor that keeps them bound to the past.”

In short, this is a book to make every fan exult in how our years of comics reading has been validated thanks to acceptance by the larger pop culture – and fall into despair, because this, too, shall inevitably pass.

But that latter part is still in the future. For now, read Comic-Con and enjoy being a fan. We deserve it!

Some Salkowitz gems:

On comics creators: “As someone who studies entrepreneurship in creative industries, I am constantly stunned by the low returns on ingenuity and effort that seem to haunt the comics business. … Publishers like Dynamite, IDW, and Avatar Press … are all fighting like dogs over scraps in a tenement yard.”

On Hollywood catering to fans: “Even the biggest film stars who come to San Diego now act as if they are casual comics fans, as steeped in esoteric trivia as the guy in the third row in the Ambush Bug costume.”

On actresses claiming geek cred: The burden of having to seem geek-tolerant and totally not the kind of popular girl that dissed nerds in high school falls especially heavily on the shoulders of the hot young actresses cast in comics-oriented action movies. … But, you know, they’re actors. They can pull it off.”

On the future of mainstream comics: “Their future is in the hands of studio executives and marketing teams, who see them, and the comics audience, as useful but ultimately disposable pieces in a much bigger game. Waiting in the three-hour line to get into Hall H on the weekend, it’s easy to imagine the future of comics with the transmedia winds at their back. It’s also chilling to consider what might happen if the gales ever subside.”

On digital delivery: “It is a huge unknown for an industry and a fan community with a conspicuous cultural preference for the tried-and-true.”

On digital piracy: In a media world where no content provider or publisher welcomes piracy, the revenue-poor comics industry’s posture toward the “online sharing” community resembles that of a starving man guarding his last bread crust from a nest of rats.”

On the future of creators: The comics business comes down to the individual visions and talents of creators, people with imaginations and stories to tell in the most profound and ancient human tradition. Changes in the business might disrupt their income, changes in technology might affect their craft, but nothing will silence their voices.”

On The Big Two’s Business Model: “They derive most of their income from licensing … properties to everyone from toymakers to fast-food restaurants. … The income they make from selling comic books amounts to a rounding error in the corporate balance sheets.”

Comics” Smith has been writing professionally about comics since 1992, and for Comics Buyer’s Guide since 2000.

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

It’s October, so the scary is coming thick and fast – especially in books and comics.

Topping this week’s list is The Lovecraft Anthology Volume II (SelfMadeHero, $19.95), a collection of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft’s short stories adapted to comics.  Volume I appeared in April, and was a similar quality anthology, using a variety of mostly A-list writers and artists to adapt Lovecraft’s shorter works.

For the uninitiated, Lovecraft is famed for horror, fantasy and science fiction stories, published primarily in the 1920s and ‘30s in pulp magazines like Weird Tales. Lovecraft’s overarching themes were those of forbidden knowledge so awful it drives the bearer insane, of the universe essentially being indifferent or actively belligerent to the existence of man and of our helplessness in the face of these threats. Often these themes manifested in stories about ancient, inhuman elder gods seeking entry to our dimension to rule/rape/eat us, with many of these stories tying together, some of them known to fans as “the Cthulhu mythos.”

As a middle schooler I devoured what amounted to the Sacred Canon of the Precocious Geek Clan of my era: Isaac Asimov, Ambrose Bierce, Edgar Rice Burroughs (Tarzan, etc.), Arthur C. Clarke, Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Maxwell Grant (The Shadow), Robert Heinlein, Robert E. Howard (Conan, etc.), Edgar Allan Poe, Kenneth Robeson (Doc Savage), Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), E.E. “Doc” Smith, Bram Stoker (Dracula), Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and, of course, comics and mythology. But Lovecraft’s work (which surely belongs in the list above) didn’t tickle my fancy and I never read much of it.

I think my disaffection was largely born of Lovecraft’s guiding philosophy as a horror writer, that it’s better to suggest something horrible than to describe it, letting the reader’s imagination scare him far worse than anything the writer can do. I agree with this philosophy in principle, especially for horror movies, where the unknown – and un-shown! – is far more terrifying to me than a guy in a hockey mask. But Lovecraft’s vagueness didn’t launch my imagination into overdrive. Instead, I wanted a few more nouns and a few less adjectives, so I could figure out just what the heck was going on.

My problem is completely obviated by translating these stories into comics. Here the various artists have a tightrope to walk, in showing enough for literalists like me to understand what is going on, but not so much as to rob us of our ability to scare ourselves. And these books have done that so admirably that I am now, at long last, a Lovecraft fan.

Meanwhile, DC Comics has resurrected an old concept in a new series, with the first six issues collected as “I, Vampire Volume 1: Tainted Love” ($14.99).

“I … Vampire” originally ran in early 1980s issues of House of Mystery comics, the story of Andrew Bennett, a 400-year-old vampire at war with his former lover (and his first victim), Mary (called “Queen of Blood”). Frankly, it wasn’t very good.

The new I, Vampire uses essentially the same basic storyline and characters, but is immeasurably better. For one thing, Mary is given an actual personality – and, like all good villains, she is given a strong motivation for her to believe she is justified in her actions. This is due to Josh Fialkov, a writer whose 2009 graphic novel Tumor impressed me by using the tropes of crime noir in ways I’d never seen before. Fialkov also guest stars Batman (virtually a requirement these days) and provides a shock ending that makes me ridiculously eager for Volume Two.

Finally, I can’t let the season go by without mentioning the unashamedly weird but delightful Horrorgami: Creepy Creatures, Ghastly Ghouls, and Other Fiendish Paper Projects (Running Press, $13). Just like you’d expect from the title, “Horrorgami” is origami for Halloween, with instructions for creating 25 various creatures out of folded paper!

I have never tried origami, but these instructions were clear enough even for my fumbly fingers. And while some of these “creatures” don’t work for me (“Ghastly Raven” isn’t ghastly at all, and “Phantom of the Opera” is kinda lame), others are surprisingly effective. “Hooded Grim Reaper,” “Maleficent Medusa” and “Stupefying Spider” are not only amazingly recognizable for what they’re meant to be, they might actually be a little scary (in a fun way) for youngsters. All that, plus the book includes Halloween-colored paper in the back to get you started.

Horrorgami is one of those things where you wonder why it’s never existed before. Now that it does, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

ART:

1. The Lovecraft Anthology Volume II features A-list writers and artists adapting Lovecraft's prose to comics. Copyright SelfMadeHero.

2. I, Vampire features two ancient vampires in combat for makind's future. Copyright DC Entertainment.

3. Horrorgami shows how to make spooky party favors and decorations using folded paper. Copyright Running Press.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

It was the biggest story of the year: DC started over. They canceled their entire line of comic books and, in September 2011, started over with 52 new titles. It was a bold, unprecedented move in the history of comic book publishing. Of course, DC didn’t exactly start from scratch. A number of the new titles were relaunches of old favorites like Justice League and Superman. A few even continued with their former creative teams like Batman and Green Lantern. Even so, it was a big move and it shook up the comic book industry.

The restart excited a lot of fans and admittedly angered a few. It has been alternately praised as an unqualified success and derided as an unmitigated disaster. The truth- as always- lies somewhere in the middle.
The “New 52” is a qualified success. It’s a success in some ways, but not in others. It’s a success overall, but not in every particular. It’s a success, but it’s not immune from criticism.

A Brief History of Sales

To understand the success of the “New 52,” it’s helpful to know a little about the state of comic book industry in 2011. At the beginning of the millennium, comic books were on an upward trajectory. The industry experienced seven straight years of growth from 2000 to 2007 (don’t let the old cranks and pessimists tell you otherwise). It was one of the longest periods of sustained growth in the history of the medium and it culminated in 2007 with the Marvel’s Civil War and the Death of Captain America. However, 2007 was the peak year.

In 2008, the comic book industry started to come back to earth for a number of reasons, some external and some internal. 2008 was the first year of the Great Recession. Comic book critics had previously theorized that comic sales were immune from recessions as people still needed cheap entertainment but that theory was undone when people cut discretionary spending on a lot of things, including comics. Internally, there was also the problem of diminishing returns as successive- and near constant- crossovers lost their luster.

By 2010, comic book sales had dropped to their lowest level in a decade and the first half of 2011 looked even worse. DC rightly recognized that they needed to do something drastic to turn the market around. Their answer was the “New 52.”

A Smashing Success

The first month of the “New 52” was a smashing success. Every single title sold out and went back for additional printings. The enthusiasm carried over into October as fans gobbled up nearly as many second issues as debuts and as second and third printings reached the stands. By November, DC had clearly turned things around. Three months of the “New 52” was enough to offset eight months of anemic sales from earlier in the year. 2011 ended up ahead of 2010 sales-wise. It didn’t compare to the heights of 2007- though that’s mostly because the “New 52” only accounted for a third of the year.

That success has continued into 2012. The first eight months of 2012 have tracked well ahead of 2011. It’s too early to know for sure (we still have three months to go, after all) but 2012 could rival 2007 as the best sales year of the century. It’s at least in good shape to contend with the slightly off-peak years of 2006 and ’08. There’s no question that the “New 52” has been successful, despite what a few contentious critics have claimed.
And yes, there are a few contentious critics out there claiming that the “New 52” has failed. The problem is generally one of unrealistic expectations: they set the bar too high. It’s unreasonable to think that every new title will achieve equal success. And it’s ridiculous to expect the “New 52” to reverse not only the last 4 years of decline but several decades of decline that preceded it.

What DC Did Right

Obviously, DC must have done some things right to achieve this level of success. They certainly mustered an impressive marketing campaign. They excited the existing fanbase and reputably drew a lot of new or lapsed fans into the marketplace.

Marvel has noticed. This fall, Marvel is restarting their entire line as part of their “Marvel Now” initiative. They’re doing things a little differently. They’re rolling the restart out over several months. They’re maintaining their current continuity. And they’re exempting a few of their recent relaunches or new titles like Captain Marvel and Daredevil. Yet, as much as Marvel may try to deny it, they’re obviously trying to copy DC’s success with a restart of their own.
So what worked?

The Big Guns

The biggest success stories are DC’s most familiar characters. They successfully renewed interest in their icons. Their top-sellers today are Batman, Justice League, Green Lantern and Superman (in Action Comics). Those characters and titles are the beating heart of DC’s comic book line. As long as they’re doing well, the company is in decent shape.

Two of the more surprising successes are Aquaman, which is currently outselling Superman’s eponymous title, and Wonder Woman, which is outselling the Green Lantern spinoffs. They are familiar, iconic characters but they don’t have a recent history of strong sales. The “New 52” brought some of DC’s oldest characters back into the spotlight.

Diversity of Genres

DC should also be complimented for their commitment to a diversity of genres. Comic books are strongly associated with superheroes yet there is also a rich history of other genres in the medium. DC included war comics and westerns in the initial 52. Those titles weren’t altogether successful but DC didn’t use that as an excuse to give up on other genres. They replaced one war title with another and included a fantasy title in their third wave of comics launched last month. These titles show DC’s commitment to not only capitalize on current sales, but to grow the market. They should be commended for it.

This is one way in which Marvel misses out. Their “Marvel Now” titles emulate DC’s success by concentrating on familiar iconic characters. There’s Captain America and Iron Man and Thor. There are multiple versions of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. But Marvel isn’t showing the same commitment to strengthen the marketplace by appealing to non-superhero customers. There’s no horror comic or western despite their strong history with those genres. Marvel will probably maximize their sales but it would nice to see them stretch a little.

Integration of Vertigo

DC’s diversification included the integration of characters from other lines. Several characters who had been loaned out to their Vertigo line for the past two decades returned to the DC mainstream. They also tried to incorporate characters from Milestone- a 1990s imprint distributed by DC- and Wildstorm- a company they purchased at the turn of the century.

In this case, the results were mixed. It worked with the former Vertigo characters. Swamp Thing and Animal Man have been welcome successes for DC. They’re strong mid-level sellers- well ahead of the typical Vertigo title. But it didn’t work with Milestone and Wildstorm. Characters from those imprints have been some of the earliest cancellation casualties and now there are rumors that Milestone will be leaving DC entirely.

An Issue of Pace and the Pace of Issues

The earlier zenith of comic book sales had been driven in part by the expansion of trade paperback collections as a secondary market. As a result, comic books began to be “written for the trade.” A slow moving deconstructed style proliferated and six-issue stories that could be conveniently collected became common.

That style of story was already on the wane before the “New 52” but the restart widely abandoned it. A few “New 52” titles opened up with six issue stories but most opted for shorter tales of two or three issues. After a couple of months, done-in-one stories were common again while individual chapters of longer stories made sure to have enticing cliffhangers and significant plot progress in each issue. The improved pace is a welcome side-effect of the “New 52.”
The change in pace has impacted the industry. Although it can’t be entirely credited to DC’s “New 52”- as I noted, the deconstructed style was already on the wane- other publishers have also abandoned the practice of “writing for the trade.”

It’s not as important but DC has also done a good job of maintaining a monthly schedule. They haven’t had a late book in an entire year. And they’ve also eschewed the practice of double shipping that’s common at Marvel. Marvel defends double shipping by claiming that it doesn’t affect sales. That’s only partly true. It may not hurt individual titles but it affects the entire line. Double shipping concentrates sales in a few top titles and cannibalizes others. It’s a big reason why Marvel’s mid-list is almost non-existent.

Bridge to Digital

The previous style of storytelling had been a by-product of format and this reversal is no different. The “New 52” was also DC’s major initiative to bridge from paper sales to digital. In the digital market, DC has to make sure that every issue is satisfying in itself so that the customer will come back for the next installment.
This is not a coincidence, by the way. The future is digital- although it’s hard to predict exactly when that future will arrive. DC knew that they’d have to switch to digital eventually. But they also knew they’d need a time of transition. They couldn’t simply abandon the print market or the brick and mortar stores that they’ve relied on for so long. The “New 52” provided a huge boost to the market that undercut potential complaints from storeowners about DC’s digital forays.

What Went Wrong

A lot of things have gone right for DC over the past year. But that doesn’t mean they have a perfect track record. They’ve made more than a few mistakes along the way. That actually puts Marvel in a good position. They’ve been able to watch DC and learn from their mistakes. Their restart might be more successful in the long term because of it, even if they don’t reach the phenomenal first month sales of the “New 52.”

Haste Makes Waste

DC’s biggest problem was that they rushed into the “New 52.” Earlier in the year, they had looked to their big crossover “Flashpoint” to turn things around. The crossover was going to be accompanied by 17 different tie-in titles. It still sounds crazy. The early sales and orders showed that another big crossover wasn’t going to cut it. As I already noted, there was a case of diminishing returns when it came to big crossovers. You might call it “crossover fatigue.” “Flashpoint” was not the game-changer DC needed. So DC decided to use “Flashpoint” as the launching pad for their restart.

However, due to their desire to keep up with a monthly schedule, DC needed to give the new creative teams several months of lead-time. DC pulled multiple creative teams off of their “Flashpoint” series in order to get them started on the “New 52.” They pulled other creative teams off of their current series for the same reason. Fill-in writers and artists were asked to finish the “Flashpoint” minis and outgoing titles. DC essentially punted their sales in July and August while setting up for a big September.

The sudden changes also gave the “New 52” the look of desperation rather than a long-term strategy. If DC had been planning this as long as they claimed, they wouldn’t have put so much energy into 17 mini-series that would be abandoned before they were completed. It didn’t hurt the September sales, which were impressive. But it did turn a few pundits against them unnecessarily.

Marvel learned the lesson. They’ve taken more time to get things together going into the restart. They’ve made sure that current creative teams have the opportunity to wrap up their stories and go out on a high note. They’re even promoting these final issues. Naturally, some cynics are skeptical of final issues for titles that are coming back next month but I see them more as final issues for the creative teams- some of which were critically acclaimed- rather than the titles themselves.

Shuffle Up and Draw

Another noticeable problem has been the changing of creative teams. Now, some of this is overstated. It’s unreasonable to expect that 104 writers and artists would all remain on their respective titles. There are going to be different opportunities pulling people away and the inevitable conflict of creative ideas. Even so, the “New 52” has had a remarkably high turnover rate. Titles have been reassigned and then reassigned again. Writers have left DC entirely- and publicly. Some of the titles are on their third creative team in thirteen months. The monthly consistency on the stands belies a surprising lack of stability on the creative end.

This is one of the reasons why I’ve called the “New 52” a marketing success, but not an editorial one. This might be a by-product of the rush into the restart but these aren’t good signs for the health of the company. It’s unfortunate that DC has burned so many bridges with creators, pundits and fans while trying to turn things around.
Once again, Marvel looks to have learned the lesson. It’s too early to know for sure- Marvel might have high-level defections in the next six months that affects our impression of “Marvel Now”- but there isn’t the same kind of public carping going into the restart.

Quality Control

I’ve saved one of the biggest questions for the end. As a fan, comic book sales don’t have an immediate impact on my enjoyment of a book. It doesn’t matter to me if a book is selling well or not except in the sense of whether it might be canceled. The real question for me as a reader is simply “Is the comic any good?”
The answer is unfortunately mixed. Some have been really good. Some have been really bad. Most have been fairly pedestrian.

I was excited about the “New 52.” I sampled broadly at first and bought a bunch of extra titles. Yet, a year later, I’m buying the same number of titles as I was before the restart. That’s partly because of budget restraints. But, honestly, it’s due more to a lack of interest. The only new titles I’m still getting are Aquaman and Batgirl- and I would have bought those anyway because of the creative teams irrespective of their place in the “New 52.” I’ve been disappointed in some titles and bored by others.

The quality simply hasn’t been there. Again, that’s possibly a by-product of earlier problems- the hasty way they went into the restart and the shuffling of creative teams. Yet it’s been a year and those excuses no longer hold water. For me, personally, there’s been no real progress in the “New 52”- even though it’s been good for the industry as a whole.

The Rising Tide

That last point is true, by the way. DC’s restart has been good for the industry. There’s an old axiom in comics that a rising tide lifts all boats. That’s not universally true- a specific title or publisher might flounder while others enjoy success. Yet it is generally true. IDW experienced significant success last September, such as multiple sellouts on a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title. Image has experienced broad success this past year launching new series such as Saga. And Valiant has enjoyed a successful return, after a couple of aborted restarts in previous years.
Some of this can be attributed to DC’s widely publicized restart drawing new readers into stores. The publisher at IDW certainly gave credence to that claim. Some of this can be chalked up to older readers dissatisfied with “corporate comics” abandoning DC for creator owned fare. That seems to be the case with Image’s slate. In either case, DC’s success has not come at the expense of other publishers. Many are experiencing their own revivals, even as they live in DC’s shadow.

The one publisher who hasn’t been a part of the rising tide is DC’s rival for the top of the ticket: Marvel. Marvel has struggled to keep pace with DC over the past year which is why they’re jumping into a restart of their own. They try to deny it, claiming that they’re doing something completely different. And there are key differences, though that can be partially attributed to the luxury of learning from DC’s mistakes. But it’s clear that Marvel was sufficiently feeling the heat to motivate them to build a new kitchen of their own.

It’s the New DC versus Marvel Now. And nothing will ever be the same.

(note: for comic book sales numbers, I consulted John Jackson Miller’s Comichron at http://www.comichron.com/yearlycomicssales.html and icv2’s top 300 index at http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/1850.html)

A-BABIES VS X-BABIES #1
ADVENTURE TIME #9
ALAN ROBERT KILLOGY #1 (OF 4)
ALL STAR WESTERN #13
ALTER EGO #113
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #696
ARTIFACTS #22
ASTONISHING X-MEN #55
ASTONISHING X-MEN TP VOL 09 EXALTED
AVENGERS #32 AXFO
AVX CONSEQUENCES #3 (OF 5)

BART SIMPSON COMICS #76
BATMAN INCORPORATED #4
BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #13
BATTLE BEASTS #4 (OF 4)
BRAVEST WARRIORS #1 (OF 6)
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SPIKE #3 (OF 5)

CAPTAIN AMERICA #19
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND BLACK WIDOW #638
CHOSEN #1 (OF 3)
COBRA ONGOING #18
CROSSED BADLANDS #16 (MR)
CROW MIDNIGHT LEGENDS TP VOL 02 FLESH & BLOOD

DARK HORSE PRESENTS #17
DEADPOOL #63
DEBRIS #4 (OF 4) (MR)
DOCTOR WHO DALEK PROJECT GN

EXTERMINATION #5

FABLES #122 (MR)
FEAR ITSELF TP YOUTH IN REVOLT
FF #23
FLASH #13
FULL MOON PHASES O/T MOON HC
FURY OF FIRESTORM THE NUCLEAR MEN #13

GAMBIT #4
GFT HALLOWEEN SPECIAL 2012
GFT MYTHS & LEGENDS #21
GHOST #1
GHOSTBUSTERS 100 PAGE SPOOKTACULAR
GIANT-SIZE GFT 2012
GREEN LANTERN REVENGE SYMBOL T/S
GRIMM FAIRY TALES #78

HACK SLASH #19
HELLRAISER #19
HERO WORSHIP #4 (OF 6)
HUNTRESS CROSSBOW AT THE CROSSROADS TP

I VAMPIRE #13
ICE AGE PAST PRESENT & FUTURE ONE SHOT
INCREDIBLE HULK #15
INVINCIBLE #96
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #527
IRRESISTIBLE #4 (OF 4) (MR)

JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #645 BURNS
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #13
JUSTICE LEAGUE GREEN LANTERN AF WAVE 2

KISS #5

LEGION SECRET ORIGIN TP
LETS PLAY GOD #1 (OF 4)
LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS #29 DR PHIBES SPECIAL
LORD OF THE JUNGLE #8 (MR)

MAGGIE #1
MARVEL SUPER HEROES #4
MARVEL TALES BY ALAN DAVIS TP
MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #7
MIKE NORTONS CURSE GN
MIND MGMT #6
MMW CAPTAIN AMERICA TP VOL 02
MULTIPLE WARHEADS ALPHABET TO INFINITY #1 (OF 4)

NATIONAL COMICS MADAME X #1

PANTHA #4
PROPHET #30
PUNISHER WAR ZONE #1 (OF 5)

RALPH AZHAM HC VOL 01 WHY LIE SOMEONE LOV
RED LANTERNS #13
RED SONJA #70
REVIVAL #4
ROBERT JORDAN WHEEL OF TIME EYE O/T WORLD #30

SAVAGE HAWKMAN #13
SAVAGE HAWKMAN TP VOL 01 DARKNESS RISING (N52)
SHADOW #6
SHAOLIN COWBOY ADVENTURE MAGAZINE TP
SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE FLASH TP VOL 04
SPAWN #224
SPIDER-MAN FLYING BLIND TP
STAR TREK TNG DOCTOR WHO ASSIMILATION #6
STAR WARS AGENT O/T EMPIRE TP VOL 01 IRON ECLIPSE
STAR WARS DARK TIMES TP VOL 05 OUT WILDERNESS
STAR WARS KNIGHTS O/T OLD REPUBLIC TP VOL 10 WAR
SUPERCROOKS PREM HC (MR)
SUPERMAN #13

TALON #1
TEEN TITANS #13
TERRY MOORE HOW TO DRAW #5 COMICS

ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #17 UWS
UNTOLD TALES OF DOG MENDONCA & PIZZABOY ONE SHOT
UNWRITTEN #42 (MR)

WALKING DEAD NOVEL HC VOL 02 ROAD TO WOODBURY
WARRIORS OF MARS #5 (MR)
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN BY JASON AARON TP VOL 01
WOLVERINE MAX #1 (MR)

X-FACTOR TP VOL 16 TOGETHER AGAIN FOR FIRST TIME
X-TREME X-MEN #5

Comics & Collectibles of Memphis posted this list on Facebook. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.

By Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

A number of people have adapted Sun Tzu’s The Art of War into comics. But writer Kelly Roman is the first to tell an actual story.

Roman’s graphic novel is set in the near future, when China is the dominant economic superpower, and Wall Street is weaponized. It stars a Special Forces soldier with bio-enhancements who infilitrates the financial organization run by Sun Tzu (which appears to be a title more than a name), to find out who killed his brother, who worked there. What happens next is an imaginative adventure story, which I won’t spoil for you here.

But what needs to be spoiled is why the protagonist’s name is Kelly Roman – the same as the author. Kelly the character even looks like Kelly the writer. In an interview, Roman revealed his unusual storytelling method:

“It was an experiment in method acting that impacted the writing process, an extremely personal approach,” he said. “I’d go out for a run while working on a scene involving Kelly Roman, and I’d live the scene in my head as I ran, and it began to feel like I was remembering something that happened to me. It transformed the experience of writing the book into a surreal process of recording memories.

“It was an experiment,” he continued. “There’s no author bio on the back of the book, no author photograph.  The only Kelly Roman you get is the character in the book, who is shown writing the book, and there’s his name on the cover.”

Readers at this point might be wondering what all this has to do with the “The Art or War.” It is that classic that is the spine of the story, as Roman records his adventure in his diary, writing down what Sun Tzu has to say – and putting those strategies to work. Which raises the question of which came first – did Roman marry Sun Tzu to an existing narrative, or write a narrative suggested by, and constrained to, the original book?

“I chose the more restrictive path,” he said. “I wanted to preserve how the text was organized in its original chapters, and structured a story that followed the flow of these chapters, in the same order.  Restrictions spark creativity.  I wanted to honor the text as much as I could, both thematically and structurally.”

But did he use it all?

“The first draft integrated every single sentence from the original,” he said. “My editor suggested that I cut out any line that didn’t really fit, while still preserving the same chapter structure – in other words, every line in Chapter 10 in the graphic novel appears in Chapter 10 of the original ‘The Art of War,’ although I did take liberty with the order of the lines within each chapter.  Instead of using every line, I ended up using about 75 percent.”

Of course, The Art of War was more an instructional manual than a story, so Roman had to craft an entire world, peopled with characters of his own making. Were these new characters simply there to serve the narrative, I asked, or were they metaphors for Sun Tzu’s instruction? A little of both, he said.

“In the original text, Sun Tzu warns that spies often hide in swamps and thorny brambles,” Roman said. “That works literally as well as metaphorically. In the graphic novel, Sun Tzu’s daughter is a bit of a succubus, and I think of her as swamps and brambles incarnate. The original The Art of War has a whole chapter dedicated to using fire against the enemy, and I wrote the sadistic assassin in the graphic novel as fire incarnate, a monster who likes to burn people alive.”

All of which is pretty ambitious. What brought Roman to The Art of War, and why did he think he would do it better than the other attempts?

“I think it’s a perfect moment in history to adapt China’s most famous and influential book, given the nation’s spectacular rise to power,” he said. “The Art of War was written in China thousands of years ago by a great general who unified competing fiefdoms into a single empire.  Thousands of years later, it’s the strategic backbone to China’s current rise, beginning with its use by Mao and Nixon and Kissinger. Mao and Kissinger would recite it.

“I thought I could do the text justice in an adaptation because I was so focused on writing a good story and making sure every page of art was good enough to be cover art,” he continued. “It’s like adapting Shakespeare – you should give it your all.  I don’t think the other versions out there really made that same commitment that [artist] Mike [DeWeese] and I made to storytelling and quality.  It took us years of 70-hour weeks.”

And was it worth it?

“We loved most of it,” he said. “Sometimes it was a nightmare, but we fought through to give the book all we had to give.  I wanted to create something that might be read in a thousand years like the original.  That’s a lofty goal of course, but it’s the mental space that produces the best work we could produce.”

Roman’s The Art of War is $22.99, copyright Harper Perennial.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

A-BABIES VS X-BABIES #1
ACTIVITY #9
AFTER EARTH ONE-SHOT
AIRBOY DEADEYE #4 (OF 5)
AMERICAN VAMPIRE LORD OF NIGHTMARES #5 (OF 5) (MR)
ANDREW LOOMIS CREATIVE ILLUSTRATION HC
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (NEW) #3
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #8
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN TP FRIENDS BEAT UP YOUR FRIEND
AVX CONSEQUENCES #2 (OF 5)

BATWOMAN #13
BEFORE WATCHMEN MINUTEMEN #4 (OF 6) (MR)
BETTY & VERONICA #262
BILLY KIDS ODDITIES & ORM LOCH NESS #1 (OF 4)
BIRDS OF PREY #13
BLOODSTRIKE TP VOL 01 REBORN UNDER A BAD SIGN
BLUE BEETLE #13
BPRD 1948 #1 (OF 5)

CAPE 1969 #4 (OF 4)
CAPTAIN MARVEL #5
CATWOMAN #13
CAVEWOMAN NATURAL SELECTION #2 (OF 2)
CHARLES BURNS HIVE GN
CHEW #29 (MR)
CLASSIC POPEYE ONGOING #3
COURTNEY CRUMRIN ONGOING #6
CYBER FORCE #1 (NET)

DAREDEVIL #19
DARK AVENGERS #182
DARK TOWER GUNSLINGER MAN IN BLACK #5 (OF 5)
DARKNESS #107 (MR)
DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #13
DICKS (COLOR ED) TP VOL 01 (MR)
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FORGOTTEN REALMS #4

EX SANGUINE #1 (OF 5) (MR)

FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #264
FEAR ITSELF TP SPIDER-MAN

GARTH ENNIS JENNIFER BLOOD #18 (MR)
GFT SLEEPY HOLLOW #1 (MR)
GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO #183
GLORY #29
GODSTORM #1 (OF 5) (MR)
GODZILLA HALF CENTURY WAR #3 (OF 5)
GRAY MORROWS ORION TP (MR)
GREEN HORNET #29
GREEN LANTERN CORPS THE WEAPONER TP
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #13
GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS HC VOL 01 RING BEARER

HARBINGER (ONGOING) #5
HAWKEYE #3
HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #3 (OF 6)
HELLBLAZER #296 (MR)

IT GIRL & THE ATOMICS #3

JAMES BOND OMNIBUS TP VOL 04
JUSTICE LEAGUE #13

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #13
LOVECRAFT ANTHOLOGY TP VOL 02

MARVEL NOW POINT ONE #1 NOW
MARVEL SUPER HEROES #4
MARVEL ZOMBIES HALLOWEEN
MICHAEL AVON OEMINGS THE VICTORIES #3 (OF 5) (MR)
MIGHTY THOR #21 BURNS
MIKE NORTONS CURSE GN
MIND THE GAP TP VOL 01 INTIMATE STRANGERS (MR)
MORTENSENS ESCAPADES GN V1 MYSTERIOUS MANUSCRIPTS
MUDMAN TP VOL 01

NEW AVENGERS #31 AXFO
NIGHTWING #13
NO PLACE LIKE HOME #5 (MR)
NOT MY BAG GN

PEANUTS VOL 2 #3 (OF 4)
PETER CANNON THUNDERBOLT #2
PROPHECY #4
PUNISHERMAX TP HOMELESS (MR)

RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #13

SAUCER COUNTRY #8 (MR)
SAVAGE DRAGON #182
SGT ROCK ARCHIVES HC VOL 04
SHADOW BLOOD & JUDGMENT TP (MR)
SHINKU #5 (MR)
SIMPSONS COMICS #195
SIXTH GUN #26
SKULLKICKERS TP V3 SIX SHOOTER ON THE SEVEN SE
SNAKE EYES & STORM SHADOW #18
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #241
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMPLETE COMIC ENCYCLOPEDIA TP
SONIC UNIVERSE #45
STAR WARS AGENT O/T EMPIRE HARD TARGETS #1 (OF 5)
SUPERGIRL #13
SUPERGIRL TP VOL 01 LAST DAUGHTER OF KRYPTON
SWORD OF SORCERY #1

THE LONE RANGER SNAKE OF IRON #3
THUNDA #3
TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE TP VOL 02

ULTIMATE COMICS IRON MAN #1 (OF 4)
ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #16 UWS
UNCANNY X-MEN #20 AXFO
UNTOLD TALES OF PUNISHER MAX #5 (OF 5) (MR)
UNWRITTEN TP V6 TOMMY TAYLOR WAR OF WORDS (MR)

VENOM #26
VENOM TP SAVAGE SIX

WALKING DEAD #103 (MR)
WARLORD OF MARS DEJAH THORIS #17 (MR)
WITCHBLADE DEMON REBORN #3 (OF 4)
WOMANTHOLOGY SPACE #2
WONDER WOMAN #13
WULF #6 (RES)

X-FACTOR #245
X-O MANOWAR (ONGOING) #6

YOUNG JUSTICE #21

ZAUCER OF ZILK #1 (OF 2)

Comics and Collectibles posted this list at memphiscomics.com. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.

Fear Itself, Uncanny X-Men 540-543, 2011: The last couple of years have been somewhat crossover heavy for the X-Men, especially following the success of Messiah Complex. And yet, these crossovers have generated some very good stories- especially on the periphery. The X-Men aren’t featured stars in the Marvel crossover fear itself, but they do join in for a tie-in story in this arc. The premise is fairly simple. Juggernaut’s powers have been exponentially increased and he’s about to attack San Francisco. The X-Men have to stop him. But how do you stop an unstoppable force? Fear Itself features some great action scenes and showcases Cyclops as a great, decisive and creative leader. The best part is the solution. I don’t want to give too much away but Magik and Colossus make an end run around Juggernaut by depriving him of his powers. The ending is fraught with tension- time is running short before Juggernaut reaches the city limits- and emotion.

Five Miles South of the Universe, X-Men Legacy 254-258, 2011: “Five Miles South of the Universe” represents the end of a multi-year saga spanning multiple titles. It all began with Ed Brubaker’s “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire.” At the end of that story, Havok, Polaris and Phoenix were left stranded in Shi’ar space. They joined up with the Starjammers and continued a guerrilla campaign against the new emperor, Vulcan, who also happens to be Havok’s brother. Their story continued through a number of mini-series before finally culminating in X-Men Legacy. Rogue borrowed powers from a Phoenix avatar, allowing her to pinpoint the location of their missing X-Men. She then leads a team into Shi’ar space to rescue them. But it’s not quite as easy as that. They’re in the midst of a battle on a space station that’s in danger of falling into the sun. The X-Men have to quickly work resolve suspicions and forge allegiances so that they can save friend and enemy alike. It’s a very good space story with the added bonus of returning X-Men favorites to the fold.

Schism, 2011: This is one of the better X-Men events. In this self-contained mini-series, Cyclops and Wolverine finally come to blows over the differences that have been building up for several years. Cyclops sees himself as the steward of mutantkind, staving off extinction for his people as they face a world that hates and fears them. Wolverine sees himself as a mentor to the next generation, teaching and training them- not necessarily turning them into soldiers but instead allowing them to find their own place in the world. It’s the classic argument between “protect” and “prepare.” The argument is heightened by several momentous occasions. Quentin Quire attacks the United Nations. The Generation Hope kids are ambushed at a museum. And a squad of sentinels attack the island refuge of Utopia. These big moments and the major emotional conflict make for a great story. However, I do wish that the X-Men faced a more compelling set of villains. I find this child prodigy version of the Hellfire Club to be both precocious and boring.

The X-Club, 2012: This oddball mini-series took time to grow on me. I like the idea of the X-Club, the X-Men’s science team. And I’ve enjoyed their independent adventures, including a one-shot during Curse of the Mutants. But the first issue of this mini didn’t grab me right away. I’m glad I stuck around. Simon Spurrier splits the club up into separate but connected adventures. And issue after issue, he ratchets up the action and the comedy. Dr. Nemesis has an alien telepath leech onto his skull which translates his thoughts for the rest of the world. It’s a hilarious shtick, exposing his self-assuredness as a false front while providing a handful of laughs. Meanwhile, Madison Jefferies is portrayed as a lovesick admirer of the android Danger in a hilarious, and occasionally slapstick, romantic comedy. I’d guess that a lot of fans didn’t know what to make of this mini-series but if you’re willing to sit back and enjoy the ride, the excessive silliness of the X-Club can be a winning formula.

Inner Space/Outer Space, Wolverine & the X-Men 5-7, 2012: I would have loved to include this set of issues from Wolverine & the X-Men. It was the last one I cut to get down to my self-imposed limit of 12. These issues actually contain two stories. In one story, Kitty has been impregnated by the Brood and her gestation is progressing very rapidly. Beast leads a science team to discover the cause of the pregnancy and to see if they can stop it before she dies in an explosion out of Ridley Scott’s Alien. Several characters, including students Broo and Kid Gladiator, are shrunk down and sent into Kitty’s blood stream in order to destroy the alien invaders. Hence, inner space. In the other story, Wolverine has to find a way to fund the school now that Angel’s resources have been tied up in legal issues. He flies to an alien gambling world with Quentin Quire in tow. The two get involved in all kinds of hijinx as they try to get off of the planet with both their winnings and their lives. Hence, outer space. The juxtaposition of the two stories is well done. Jason Aaron does a great job of highlighting his large cast and the students in particular come to fore. Plus, both tales are a lot of fast-paced fun making Wolverine & the X-Men the best X title on the stands today.

And that’s it. Well, unless I decide to write another one of these in 4 or 5 years. Thanks for reading along. I hope you enjoyed these reflections (and these stories) as much as I did.

The Best X-Men Stories of the Past 4 Years, Part III: Honorable Mentions Part 1.

The Best X-Men Stories of the Past 4 Years, Part II

The Best X-Men Stories of the Past 4 Years

Andrew A. Smith

Scripps Howard News Service

It’s still a few weeks from Halloween, but the scary comics are already here. Some examples:

* Swamp Thing has a history of renewal, and the character has been reborn once again as part of DC Comics’ “The New 52,” the line-wide re-launch that started in September 2011. The new Swamp Thing is by writer Scott Snyder (Batman) and artist Yanick Paquette (Ultimate X-Men), and has been a surprise hit for DC.

This new version owes quite a bit to its predecessor; in fact, it’s more a continuation than a reboot. The “Old 52” version started with botanist Alec Holland, who had invented a serum that turned him into a monster searching for a cure, only to discover he really was just a plant monster who had Alec Holland’s memories. (Holland himself was dead.) That led Swampy on a journey of self-discovery, where he found out he was just one in a line of swamp monsters whose job it was to protect the plant world, known as “The Green,” which itself had a group consciousness which coalesced in The Parliament of Trees, all the former swamp monsters now rooted in the Amazon rainforest.

However, at the end of the “Old 52,” the Swamp Thing had more or less been destroyed, and Alec Holland had been resurrected from the dead. That’s how this series begins, with Holland being forced to recognize that The Green is without a champion – a job he is destined to fill – and that The Green, and his family, are under assault by something awful, an ancient enemy called The Rot. The first seven issues, which have been collected as Swamp Thing Volume 1: Raise Them Bones ($14.95), tell the story of Holland’s decision about whether (and how) to embrace that destiny.

It’s also creepy as all get-out. Swamp Thing is a genuinely scary book, as it was always meant to be. It’s also gently slouching toward a crossover with another surprise hit, Animal Man, starring Buddy Baker, a former superhero who is now the champion of The Red (animal life), who is also battling The Rot. Finally, Them Bones rings in former supporting character (and Swamp Thing lover) Abby Arcane – although she is not quite what she used to be, either.

Even if you’ve never enjoyed Swamp Thing before, you should try this version. It will, ahem, grow on you.

*I haven’t read the first three collections of Roman Dirge’s Lenore, so I entered the latest, Lenore: Swirlies (Titan Books, $17.95), with no idea what it is. After reading it, I’m still not sure.

I can only describe Lenore as Casper the Friendly Ghost on acid. Lenore is a dead girl living in a forest doing ordinary things, except for that fact that everyone she knows is as unliving as she is. There’s a damaged, animated doll (I think) who is Lenore’s best friend, and some kind of shape-changing demon who wears a jack-o-lantern candy bucket as a mask (or possibly head), and an animated sock-puppet that seeks Lenore’s affections. It’s all grisly black humor, but in such a light-hearted way you almost laugh at all the human children who get killed in the first story. Well, almost.

As I put down the book I realized I had been somewhat entertained, but could not imagine for the life of me who the target audience might be. It seemed too grisly for children, but insufficiently sophisticated for adults. But by sheer coincidence, my wife donned a Lenore T-shirt later that night! It was a shirt she’d gotten at the comic shop without any idea who Lenore might be, because it tickled her rebellious, bad-girl, tomboy side, and I had never noticed it before. When I showed her “Swirlies” she lapped it up like a starving cat.

If any of that makes sense to you, you might give Lenore a try.

* Halloween Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Twenty-Three (Eureka Productions, $17.95) is the latest in this series of collections of literary adaptations. Given the title, you can imagine that the stories therein are on the scary side, but even better, they fall into the category of “not often adapted.”

Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is probably the best-known tale included, but I was also pleased to find The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (adapted from the screenplay of the 1920 silent movie), and stories by Mark Twain (A Curious Dream), Arthur Conan Doyle (Lot No. 249) and H.P. Lovecraft (Cool Air).

As with all anthologies, styles and – to some degree – quality varies. But I didn’t find a clunker in the bunch.

1. Raise Them Bones collects the first seven issues of the new Swamp Thing. Copyright DC Entertainment Inc.

2. Lenore: Swirlies is the fourth collection of this black-humor series. Copyright Titan Books.

3. Graphic Classics Volume 23: Halloween Classics adapts scary stories from literature. Copyright Eureka Productions.

Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics@aol.com.

ADVENTURE TIME MARCELINE SCREAM QUEENS #4 MAIN CVRS
AME COMI GIRLS #1 FEATURING WONDER WOMAN
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (NEW) #3 CHAR DESIGN CVR
ARCHER & ARMSTRONG (NEW) #3 LOZZI CVR
AVENGERS #31 AXFO
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE TP VOL 05
AVENGERS CAPTAIN AMERICA SHIELD PEWTER KEYRING
AVENGERS CHILDRENS CRUSADE TP
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #13
AVX CONSEQUENCES #1 (OF 5)
AVX CONSEQUENCES #1 (OF 5) RIVERA VAR

BATGIRL #13
BATMAN #13
BATMAN #13 BLACK & WHITE VAR ED
BATMAN #13 COMBO PACK
BATMAN #13 VAR ED
BATMAN AND ROBIN #13
BATMAN ARKHAM UNHINGED #7
BATMAN BLACK KEYCHAIN
BATMAN ODYSSEY HC
BATMAN STEEL KEYCHAIN
BEFORE WATCHMEN DR MANHATTAN #2 (OF 4) (MR)
BEFORE WATCHMEN DR MANHATTAN #2 (OF 4) COMBO PACK (MR)
BEFORE WATCHMEN DR MANHATTAN #2 (OF 4) VAR ED (MR)
BIRDS OF PREY TP VOL 02 THE DEATH OF ORACLE
BLOODSHOT (ONGOING) #4 CHAR DESIGN CVR
BLOODSHOT (ONGOING) #4 LOZZI CVR
BLUE ESTATE TP VOL 03 (MR)
BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #14 JEANTY VAR CVR
BTVS SEASON 9 FREEFALL #14 NOTO CVR

CAPTAIN AMERICA #18
CAPTAIN AMERICA BY ED BRUBAKER PREM HC VOL 03
CARS MAGAZINE #9
CASTLE PREM HC RICHARD CASTLES STORM SEASON
CHRIS WARE BUILDING STORIES HC
COMBAT JACKS #1 (MR)
CONAN THE BARBARIAN #9
CREATOR OWNED HEROES #5 (MR)
CREEP #2
CROSSED BADLANDS #15 (MR)
CROSSED BADLANDS #15 RED CROSSED CVR (MR)
CROSSED BADLANDS #15 TORTURE CVR (MR)
CROSSED BADLANDS #15 WRAP CVR (MR)
CROSSED TP VOL 04 BADLANDS (MR)

DAMSELS #2
DAN THE UNHARMABLE #6 (MR)
DAN THE UNHARMABLE #6 RETRO INCV CVR (MR)
DAN THE UNHARMABLE #6 WRAP CVR (MR)
DARK REVELATION #2 (OF 3)
DARK SHADOWS #8
DARK SHADOWS VAMPIRELLA #3
DEADPOOL #62
DEATHSTROKE #13
DEMON KNIGHTS #13
DF DEJAH THORIS #15 RISQUE RED CVR
DIABOLIQUE #12
DICKS COLOR ED #9 (MR)
DICKS COLOR ED #9 CLASSIC B&W INCV (MR)
DICKS COLOR ED #9 OFFENSIVE CVR (MR)
DOCTOR WHO CLASSICS TP VOL 08
DOCTOR WHO POSTCARDS FROM TIME & SPACE SET
DOCTOR WHO TARDIS NIGHT LIGHT
DOMINIQUE LAVEAU VOODOO CHILD #7 (MR)
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FORGOTTEN REALMS TP VOL 04

ESSENTIAL THOR TP VOL 06
EVIL ERNIE #1
EVIL ERNIE #1 10 COPY SEELEY B&W INCV
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #4 CVR A OUM
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #4 CVR B CAFARO
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT ASSASSINS #4 OUM PIRATE INCV
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT HIT LIST AGENDA TP
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT IRIS TP VOL 02

FANBOYS VS ZOMBIES #7 MAIN CVRS
FANTASTIC FOUR #611
FEAR ITSELF TP AVENGERS ACADEMY
FEAR ITSELF TP IRON MAN
FIRST X-MEN #3 (OF 5)
FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE #13

GENTLE GIANT RED HULK PX MINI-BUST
GI JOE SILENT BUT DEADLY BLK PX T/S XXL
GI JOE VOL 2 ONGOING #18
GI JOE VOL 2 ONGOING #18 10 COPY INCV
GRAPHIC CANON TP VOL 02
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #13
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #13 VAR ED
GREEN LANTERN KEYCHAIN
GREEN LANTERN THE ANIMATED SERIES #7
GRIFTER #13
GRIMM UNIVERSE #1 NEPTUNE ANGEL A CVR CAFARO (MR)
GRIMM UNIVERSE #1 NEPTUNE ANGEL B CVR QUALANO (MR)

HACK SLASH TP VOL 02 DEATH BY SEQUEL NEW PTG
HALLOWEEN EVE ONE SHOT CVR A
HALLOWEEN EVE ONE SHOT CVR B
HAUNT TP VOL 04
HAUNTED HORROR #1
HELLBLAZER THE DEVILS TRENCH COAT TP (MR)
HOAX HUNTERS #4
HOBBIT TP NEW PTG
HONEY WEST #7
HORROR I/T WEST GN (MR)
HOT DONUT SALAD GN (MR)

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #526

JIM BUTCHER DRESDEN FILES FOOL MOON #8 (RES)
JUDGE DREDD DIGEST TP DARK JUDGES (MR)
JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK TP VOL 01 IN THE DARK

KEVIN KELLER #5 PARENT VAR CVR
KEVIN KELLER #5 REG CVR

LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #22 (MR)
LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #22 ART DECO 3 COPY INCV (MR)
LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #22 SULTRY CVR (MR)
LADY DEATH (ONGOING) #22 WRAP CVR (MR)
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT ALAN DAVIS HC
LEGION LOST #13
LIO TP VOL 01 THERES A MONSTER IN MY SOCKS
LOVECRAFT ANTHOLOGY TP VOL 02

MACGYVER FUGITIVE GAUNTLET #1 (OF 5)
MARVEL COMICS THE UNTOLD STORY HC
MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS EARTHS HEROES #7
MARVEL UNIVERSE VS AVENGERS #1 (OF 4)
MASSIVE #5
MATTIAS UNFILTERED TP ART SKETCHBOOK ADOLFSSON
MEGA MAN #18 GREENE VAR CVR
MEGA MAN #18 REG CVR
MONSTER TURKEY HC
MORNING GLORIES #22 (MR)
MU AVENGERS HULK AND FANTASTIC FOUR DIGEST TP

NEW CRUSADERS RISE OF THE HEROES #2 BATES REG CVR
NEW CRUSADERS RISE OF THE HEROES #2 CHRISCROSS VAR CVR
NEW CRUSADERS RISE OF THE HEROES #2 HERO VAR CVR
NIGHT OF 1000 WOLVES TP
NIGHTWING TP VOL 01 TRAPS AND TRAPEZES
NORTHANGER ABBEY GN TP

ONCE UPON A TIME MACHINE TP

PHANTOM STRANGER #1
PHANTOM STRANGER #1 VAR ED
PINOCCHIO VAMPIRE SLAYER GN VOL 04 WOOD & BLOOD PT 2
PLANET O/T APES CATACLYSM #2 MAIN CVRS
POINT OF IMPACT #1 (OF 4) (MR)
POPEYE #6
POUND GHOULS NIGHT OUT #2 (OF 4)
POWERS TP VOL 14 GODS (MR)
PUNK ROCK JESUS #4 (OF 6) (MR)

RAVAGERS #5
RED SHE-HULK #58 NOW
RED SHE-HULK #58 YOUNG BABY VAR
RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #127

SAGA TP VOL 01
SCARLET SPIDER #10
SCREAM MAGAZINE #13
SECRET AVENGERS #32
SECRET SERVICE #4 (OF 6) (MR)
SMOKE & MIRRORS TP
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMPLETE COMIC ENCYCLOPEDIA TP
SPACE PUNISHER #4 (OF 4)
SPARROW AND CROWE #2
SPIDER-MAN SPIDER-ISLAND COMPANION TP
SPONGEBOB COMICS #13
STAR WARS CLONE WARS MAGAZINE #13
STAR WARS CLONE WARS MAGAZINE #14
STAR WARS ESSENTIAL READERS COMPANION TP
STAR WARS KNIGHT ERRANT ESCAPE #5 (OF 5)
STAR WARS LOST TRIBE O/T SITH SPIRAL #3 (OF 5)
STEAMPUNK HALLOWEEN 2012 #1
STUFF OF LEGEND TOY COLLECTOR #1 (OF 5)
STUMPTOWN V2 #2
SUICIDE SQUAD #13
SUPERBOY #13
SUPERMAN RED KEYCHAIN
SUPERMAN STEEL KEYCHAIN

TEAM 7 #1
TEAM 7 #1 VAR ED
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES COLOR CLASSICS #5
THINK TANK #3 (MR)
TRANSFORMERS REGENERATION ONE #84
TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ONGOING #10
TRANSFUSION #1 (OF 3)
TRANSFUSION #1 (OF 3) 10 COPY INCV

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #17 UWS
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 ACUNA VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 AVENGERS VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 BLANK VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 COIPEL VAR
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 DEADPOOL CALL ME MAYBE SKETCH VAR
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 DEADPOOL CALL ME MAYBE VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 GRANOV VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 PICHELLI VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 UNCANNY VAR NOW
UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 YOUNG BABY VAR NOW
UNIVERSAL MONSTERS SELECT METALUNA MUTANT AF
US ARMY ZOMBIE TRAINING MANUAL SC

VALENTINE TP VOL 01 THE ICE DEATH
VERY HUNGRY ZOMBIE HC
VOLTRON YEAR ONE #5

WALKING DEAD MICHONNE SPECIAL (MR)
WALKING DEAD MINIMATES SER 1 ASST WOLVERINE #314
WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #18 AVX
WORLD OF ARCHIE DOUBLE DIGEST #22
WULF #6 (RES)

X-MEN #37

ZORRO RIDES AGAIN #12 (OF 12)

Pittsburgh Comics posted this list on Facebook. Arrivals at your LCS may vary.