Lucid Comics – July 29th
Written by Adam A. Donaldson
Wednesday, 29 July 2009 10:26
Bullet Points from San Diego Comic Con
A lot of stuff goes on at Comic Con International, some of it even related to comic books and graphic novels. Here presented are the Top 5 comic-centric stories to come out of San Diego.
1) Todd McFarlane will pencil the 200th issue of Spawn – “It’s issue #200, a big anniversary book, so I thought I'd come in there," McFarlane told Comic Book Resources. "I've got some ideas for the story where I might have some pages done by guest artists for some flashback sequences. I'd do the A-story, and then within the confines of that there would be three or four little B-snippet flashbacks. So it'd kind of put together an all-star team, but until I get them to fully commit, I'll hold off on the names."
2) Bill Willingham takes on Angel – IDW announced that fan-favourite Willingham (Fables) was taking over writing duties on its In-continuity Angel series starting with issue #28. Willingham talked a bit about his grand plans for the character and the book. “The last thing we've found out is that Angel is now known in LA as a vampire and he's famous. So we'll see what happens when you're a hero who's suddenly so famous that, wherever he goes a crowd develops because he's famous,
but then they start getting panicky because, doesn't he fight demons wherever he goes?” the writer said. “So the attraction, the flee-in-panic, the two forces are colliding together and we're going to see what happens.” Also, look for some attention to be paid to Angel’s son Conner during Willingham’s run. “Connor, who's been a brat and done some pretty diabolical and just tantrumy things so many times, let's find out if there's a core to him,” Willingham continued. “You're done being a teenager, let's do some smarting-up. I'm looking forward to that. He's going to become an interesting, effective, crown prince of Angel Enterprises.” 3) Hulk Family Reunion – Green Hulk, Red Hulk, She-Hulk, Red She-Hulk and Skaar Son of Hulk will all be having a family get together in the upcoming “World War Hulks.” Amongst the developments is the introduction of a new group called The Intelligencia, who like The Illuminati are a clandestine group that’s been operating behind the scenes of the Marvel Universe for some time. Two one-shots will open the storyline, World War Hulks: Alpha and World War Hulks: Gamma. “WWHS: Gamma is the actual flashpoint of the War,” explains current Hulk writer Jeph Loeb. “There is a single stunning incident that will bring everyone into play -- the three Hulks (Green, Red and Son) and three She-Hulks -- (Jen, the new Red She-Hulk and the new Savage She-Hulk). As this family has expanded, this gigantic confrontation became inevitable.” World War Hulks gets underway in 2010.
4) Blackest Night Updates – With only one issue out, Blackest Night is already the talk of the industry, and a whole panel was dedicated to it at Comic Con. Ian Sattler, Geoff Johns, Eddie Berganza, and Pat Gleason were all on hand for a Q&A as fans tried to get their most pressing Blackest Night questions asked and answered. Many of the questions concerned the nature of the Black Lanterns and their power rings. "The Black Rings aren't about who's dead, they're about who's alive," Johns said, noting that this hasn't been seen in the series. "The rings are picking out the dead that matter. It's going to affect everybody" But do Black Lanterns have free will? Johns said he did not want
Black Lanterns to be mindless zombies, because this lessens the emotional impact. Giving them personality makes it more "terrifying." "What does a Black Lantern Ted Kord say to Booster Gold?" Johns said as an example. And yes, there will be a Booster Gold and Black Lantern Ted Kord fight and Johns added that T. Krul's Blackest Night: Titans will feature "a hell of a lot of dead Titans, as Titans fans know." Johns also teased about a coming villain called Necron, who he didn’t reveal much about and that "We'll see Sinestro vs. Carol Ferris in what you'd think would be a one sided fight. But Carol is much stronger than Sinestro." In non-Green Lantern news, Johns said that he’ll be returning to pen The Flash once Blackest Night is over and that a new speedster will be introduce at the end of The Flash: Rebirth. 5) Dark Horse the Winningist Publisher in Comics – Dark Horse Comics took the most Eisner Awards out of any other comic publisher for the second year in a row. Especially honoured was Hellboy and B.P.R.D. creator Mike Mignola, as well as several members of his team including B.P.R.D. penciller Guy Davis and colourist Dave Stewart. Mignola won Best Graphic Album Reprint for Hellboy Library Editions Volume 1 and 2 and shared Best Limited Series honours with Richard Corben for Hellboy: The Crooked Man. Dark Horse also took home Best Humour Publication, Best Archival Collection/Project and Best Cover Artist for James Jean on The Umbrella Academy.
Reviews
Amazing Spider-Man #600Dan Slott and John Romita Jr
Marvel Comics
Marvel crammed a lot into this seminal 600th issue of Amazing, and I don’t just mean the supplement material (of which there is plenty). We get Doc Ock with a fiendish new Modus operandi, guest appearances from the Fantastic Four and the New Avengers, at least one Family Guy reference (“Everybody gets one”), a potential new romance for Pete, and, dare I say, the first appearance by a certain red-headed ex with a penchant for using the nickname “tiger.” Phew, and on top of it all, Aunt May marries Jay Jameson despite the best efforts of Peter’s new brother-in-law (AKA: J. Jonah Jameson, the still Mayor of New York). This issue’s got everything an anniversary edition should have: humour, a compelling problem and villain for the hero to solve and beat, some big superhero team-ups and tease at stuff to come. And if that weren’t enough, we get Romita pencilling the issue. Seriously, you almost have to put this issue down a couple of times and take a break it keeps hitting you with so much.
Blackest Night #1 of 8Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis
DC Comics
It seems like we’ve been teased about this for months (oh yeah, we have). But then anyone reading the first issue of Blackest Night will have to agree that so far as event kick-offs go, this one was a work of art. It’s a home run of a hat trick of a first issue that’s compelling, well-paced, and containing a few surprises. In the underbelly, there’s a feeling that there’s a big shift coming. Johns teases that perhaps there’s some reason behind the resurrection rules of the superhero characters; why do some come back and others don’t? What’s clear is that Johns is going for the jugular. Like a cross between Night of the Living Dead and Revenge of the Sith, Blackest Night dares to revel in something that superhero comics rarely do: death. Seeing the Black Lantern Ralph and Sue Dibny brutally beating to death Hawkman and Hawkgirl is something that wins real shock points, to say nothing of seeing the fallen Guardian Scar take a bite out neck of one of the Guardians of Oa like a little blue vampire. Hooked? You bet. And as a bonus, despite it’s universe wide scope, its still insular enough to seem like a Green Lantern story.
Green Lantern #44Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke
DC Comics
Picking up on one of the loose threads from the main Blackest Night miniseries, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen come face-to-face with Black Lantern J’onn J’onzz., and a whole host of interesting questions arise from the encounter. What is a Black Lantern exactly? Are they some kind of space zombie or the shadow of the living person with all their negative impulses and tendencies brought to the surface? And why does Barry Allen seem so ill-affected by the Black Lantern’s, for lack of a better word, magic? Johns creates a compelling companion piece to the main series, and doesn’t waste too much time on what’s going on elsewhere; in other words he knows where the attention of the reader lies. And I had forgotten how much I enjoy the work of Mahnke, his work is solid without having to draw attention to itself through any stylized exaggeration. Overall, I think Ivan Reis more expressionistic Black Lantern zombie heroes suit the tone of what Johns is going for, but I don’t think you can get too much more pro than Mahnke.
Unthinkable #3 of 5Mark Sable and Julian Totino Tedesco
BOOM! Studios
I’ve been loving this series and at the halfway point I’ve been loving it even more. The compelling mix of Dale Gribble-like internet conspiracy paranoia with Tom Clancy-esque thriller remains a winning combination as Sable weaves a tale that makes the implausible kind of real. The Think Tank team finds themselves the scapegoats for the attacks they thought up as the government consolidates its power in this new world order. Now proactively trying to stop the impending disasters they inadvertently helped to create, the find their road leading to the literal place of Armageddon, Megiddo in Israel. In some ways it should feel like Sable trying too hard with squeezing in some of these references, but the man’s got some serious storytelling acumens. This series could have easily been just about one “effects sequence” after another, but I give the man credit for reaching and telling something that’s compelling on a base dramatic level as well as a sensationalistic one.
Avengers: The Initiative #26Christos M. Gage and Rafa Sandoval
Marvel Comics
For this week’s “Checking in with Norman” segment, we move over to The Initiative to see how the Man’s changes have affected this tattered and battle-worn organization, and from the outside looking in you’ve got to say they’re being treated not-so-good. A new piece of the big plan comes into effect as The Hood’s criminal syndicate are being rebranded as heroes and assigned to teams in the 50 State Initiative. This kind of superhero espionage isn’t what works about The Initiative as a book usually, but this step in Osborn’s plan is a compelling one because I was wondering why a snot-nosed punk like The Hood was playing with the big boys in the first place. The other element of The Initiative, the politics of being a superhero, works still as the New New Warriors, with the castaways from the Initiative, work to do good and expose Norman’s Initiative as Villains-are-Us. The Initiative remains a strong book thematically, but character-wise I can’t find anyone I can really latch on to and root for. It makes reading the book on an ongoing basis problematic because you want to root for someone, you want to see someone achieve their goals and be a hero, but you’ve got nothing. Unfortunately for The Initiative, unless something changes, it will remain a superhero book without a hero, which almost defeats the purpose.
New Releases
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ARDDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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ASPEN ENTERTAINMENT
Aspen Splash 2009 Swimsuit Spectacular
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AVATAR PRESS
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Jesus Christ In Name Of Gun TP Vol 1 Hollow Cost
BOOM! STUDIOS
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Last Reign Kings Of War TP
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Toy Story Mysterious Stranger #3 (of 4)
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BROADSWORD COMICS
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COMIC SHOP NEWS
Comic Shop News #1154
DARK HORSE
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DC COMICS
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Justice League Of America #35
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Madame Xanadu #13
Northlanders #19
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Superman #690
Superman Batman Vs Vampires Werewolves TP
Teen Titans #73, $3.99
Terror Titans TP
Unknown Soldier #10
Wednesday Comics #4 (of 12)
Wildcats #13
Wonder Woman #34
DEL REY MANGA
Air Gear GN Vol 13
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DEVILS DUE PUBLISHING
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DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
Army Of Darkness #23
Complete Dracula #2 (of 5)
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FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
Complete Peanuts Box Set 1971-1974 (contains Vol 11 and Vol 12)
Complete Peanuts HC Vol 12 1973-1974
MOME GN Vol 15 (Summer 2009)
Skin Deep GN
GIRL TWIRL COMICS
Janes World TP Vol 9 The Quest For Love
IDW PUBLISHING
Astro Boy Movie Prequel Underground #3
Barack Obama #2 The First 100 Days
Complete Chester Goulds Dick Tracy HC Vol 8
Device SC Vol 2 Reconstructed
Leo Pulp GN
Star Trek Archives TP Vol 5 Best Of James T Kirk
Star Trek Missions End #5
Transformers Energon TP Vol 1
IMAGE COMICS
Dynamo 5 TP Vol 3 Fresh Blood
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Kaboom TP, $14.99
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Proof #22
PvP TP Vol 6 Silent But Deadly
Spawn #194
MARVEL COMICS
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Civil War Punisher War Journal TP
Dark Reign Goblin Legacy (One Shot)
Dark Reign Hawkeye #4 (of 5)
Dark Reign Hood #3 (of 5)
Dark Reign Lethal Legion #2 (of 3)
Dark Reign Sinister Spider-Man #2 (of 4)
Dark Reign Young Avengers #3 (of 5)
Dark Tower The Fall Of Gilead #3 (of 6)
Dark X-Men Beginning #2 (of 3)
Essential Parker Spectacular Spider-Man TP Vol 4
Fantastic Four #569
Ghost Rider TP Last Stand
Invincible Iron Man Premiere HC Vol 2 Worlds Most Wanted
Kid Colt #1 (One Shot)
Marvel Previews #72
Marvel Masterworks X-Men TP Vol 2
Marvel Zombies 4 #4 (of 4)
New Avengers #55
Scourge Of The Gods Premiere HC Vol 1
Secret Warriors #6
Son Of Hulk #13
Spider-Girl TP Vol 11 Marked For Death Digest
Terror Inc Apocalypse Soon #4 (of 5)
Thunderbolts #134
Ultimatum #5 (of 5)
Ultimatum Spider-Man Requiem #2 (of 2)
War Of Kings Ascension #4 (of 4)
Werewolf By Night TP In The Blood
Wolverine Noir #4 (of 4)
X-Men Forever #4
MIRAGE STUDIOS
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collected Book TP Vol 1
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