THE AUTHORITY: RELENTLESS (VOL. 1)
Written by Warren Ellis
Drawn by Bryan Hitch
I really dig what Ellis started here. It’s kind of hard to remember reading these books now, but this was one of the first times we ever saw “heroes” take matters into their own hands and change the world how they saw fit to make it a better place. This trade collects two storylines, one introducing the team and pitting them against Kaizen Gamorra and his crazy superpowered kamikaze clones, and the other pitting the team against aliens from an alternate universe. That’s a lot of action in one trade. It’s also a lot of information, especially when it comes to exactly how the carrier works.
I’m not usually a big fan of Ellis’, but he really was dipping into a very cool well of ideas when he was putting this book together. But he doesn’t get too wrapped up in the small details as the big ideas are balanced pretty well with big action. I’d recommend this book to pretty much anyone who’s not easily offended (I love how, every time Jack Hawksmoore, who may be my new favorite superhero, he knocks their jaw or head clean off, that’s awesome). My only negative is that I don’t really get what the big deal about Hitch’s art is. Yeah, he’s pretty good and there’s some killer splash pages in there, but I don’t understand why people would wait so long for him to finish Ultimates (I have no idea how late, if at all, Authority was when he was drawing it, but I’m still waiting for that last issue of Planetary…). But, again, it’s a really great book, which obviously leads into…

THE AUTHORITY: UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT (VOL. 2)
Written by Warren Ellis & Mark Millar
Drawn by Bryan Hitch & Frank Quitely
Warren Ellis’ last arc, which featured the creator of the Earth coming back to terraform Earth for his own fiendish purposes. Plus SPOILER, the death of Jenny Sparks (she was the spirit of the 20th century after all). Again, I’ve got to say how impressed I am by these characters that Ellis created, whether it’s Midnighter or the limited Superman in the form of Apollo to The Doctor and The Engineer. So, yeah, Jenny goes out with a bang, which leads to Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s arc, which isn’t quite as good.
This is the famous arc that has the Authority facing off against Avengers proxies. The problem is that the story doesn’t quite measure up to memory as it seems to take a really long time to get to the point (the Authority kicking the crap out of the Avengers). There’s also a pretty big jump between Ellis and Millar’s runs where the Authority become celebrities which brings up a point I want to make. In both Ellis and Millar’s arcs, things happen that are explained but never shown and it’s a little annoying. For instance, why the heck are they so famous now? We’re never really told. Is it just because Jenny saved the world? If so, they did that before and we never heard about how the general populace reacted. We’re also never really treated to much in the way of origins for The Doctor or the Engineer beyond what we’re told. I’m not the kind of reader that needs everything laid out for me, but it would have been nice to see at least a flashback or something at some point.
Anyway, this arc is still pretty cool, as the Authority does eventually kick the crap out of the evil Avengers. Unfortunately, this trade reminds me of why I didn’t like Frank Quitely until All-Star Superman. This trade has some of the ugliest faces I’ve ever seen and not just the ones that are supposed to be ugly, Shen’s particularly bad looking. There’s still plenty of interesting ideas like the New X-Men-like Hive-Mind, HeadMailing and the Avenger-like group’s invisible hideout in the middle of NYC. Volume 2 is definitely worth buying if you liked the first villain and even though Millar’s arc doesn’t quite match up to Ellis’, it’s still a valiant effort that fits well within the post-Authority Wilstorm Universe.

THE AUTHORITY: EARTH INFERNO & OTHER STORIES
Written by Mark Millar, Joe Casey, Paul Jenkins & Warren Ellis
Drawn by Frank Quitely, Chris Weston, Cully Hamner & Georges Jeanty
With Volume 3, Millar definitely steps his game up. This arc focuses on the Doctor’s drug problems along with a rogue Doctor from the 60s who’s wreaking havoc on the Earth (or something, I’ll be honest, I didn’t quite get it). Wheston handles some of the art chores, which don’t even look as good as Quitely’s not-quite-there-yet art. But, the story makes up for it as we get to see the scale the Authority is working on (they evacuate the entire planet to alternate universes). I also really like how the Doctor comes back and defeats the old Doctor (this whole thing is kinda like Dr. Who isn’t it? I’ve never seen the show, but, it seems similar).
Anyway, this is another good book and we get our first look at Midnighter out of costume (at least in Authority). Apparently he’s blond (but only in this issue, as he appears as a brunette in every other out of costume appearance I’ve noticed). There’s also a few shorter stories here from other writer/artist teams. There’s an annual where Midnight and Apollo have to face off against zombie versions of their old Stormwatch teammates, a short story about the Engineer’s non existent sex life and one starring Jack Hawksmoor (love that guy). Good stuff.

THE MONARCHY: BULLETS OVER BABYLON (VOL. 1)
Written by Doselle Young
Drawn by John McCrea
Authority #21 was written by Doselle Young as a way of spinning Stormwatch’s Jackson King and Christine Trelane off into their own world-changing group The Authority. There’s a lot of cool, Authority-like ideas in this book (and the use of Union, one of the few Image characters I have fond memories of as a kid getting comics from a grab bag), but the problem is that this trade only collects the Authority issue and the first four issues of the 12 issue series, so you don’t really get to see how things play out. Hopefully DC and Wildstorm will put the rest of the series out at some point. Oh, I also really like John McCrea from his work on Hitman, one of the best in-universe mature reader titles of all time.

THE AUTHORITY: TRANSFER OF POWER (VOL. 4)
Written by Mark Millar & Tom Peyer
Drawn by Dustin Nguyen, Art Adams, Frank Quitely & Gary Erskine
And now presenting the trade where everything goes off the rails. Apparently there were some scheduling problems or something that pushed the stories in this book (half written by Millar, half by Peyer) back and made things screwy. I’m not sure if a regular schedule would have saved things as the Authority are seemingly killed and replaced by a new version of the team. It could really have been a 2-3 issue story, but ended up as eight freaking issues. The book really just seems to be spinning its wheels the whole time. Even art by one of my all time favorite artists Art Adams can’t save the issues he drew. I ended up just skimming them, waiting for these new jerks to die and for the Authority to kick some butt, which they eventually do (of course), but it and the marriage of Midnight and Apollo doesn’t save this book. Skip this one if you can.

THE AUTHORITY: HARSH REALMS
Written by Robbie Morrison
Drawn by Dwayne Turner & Tan Eng Huat
So, the Authority took some time off, but eventually came back under the stewardship of Robbie Morrison (don’t be fooled by the cover, which only cites “Morrison and Turner” as the creative folks, very tricky Wildstorm). This particular volume sets the Authority against Reality Incorporated, a group of jerks who use other realities for their own gain. It’s not a very memorable story (I read it over the past two days and still had to go back and see what happened in the issues I didn’t read today. It’s not bad stuff by any means, but it does make one think that the Authority is the kind of team that should maybe just hang out in limbo until someone has a really cool idea for them.

So, I know I haven’t read all things Authority yet, but I did have a lot of fun with the book. I love the characters, especially after this second reading where I’ve gotten a better idea as to who they are and what they can and can’t do. I’d like to check out the rest of the trades, especially the one where they actually take over the world, I’m curious to see how that played out aside from the obvious. I also like how they’re being handled now in the post-apocalyptic playground of the current Wildstorm U. They’re no longer the “we can do anything we want” team, they’ve got problems of their own, though I’m not a big fan of Hawksmoor being city-less. Oh well, we’re see where things go and if I’m able to snag the rest of the trades.

ABE SAPIEN: THE DROWNING VOL. 1 (Dark Horse)
Written by Mike Mignola
Drawn by Jason Shawn Alexander
Like I said the other day, I love the Hellboy-verse and a big part of the world is Abe Sapien. This trade collects the very first Abe mini which also recounts his first Hellboy-less mission back in 1981. Remember how I said that even stories like this that take place in the past refer back to other stories? Well, there’s a quick look at Abe’s origin, but again, you don’t need to know anything about that to enjoy this story. It’s really fun trying to work everything out because, while this story came out after the B.P.R.D. trade which explained Abe’s past, The Drowning, chronologically speaking, comes before that. I’d like to see a huge Hellboy timeline laying everything out (maybe even with the order you’re supposed to read them in).

I’ve got the same complaint about this trade as the B.P.R.D. Vol. 9, though, in that we don’t get treated to a Mignola intro (though there still is the requisite sketchbook). And speaking of the art, Jason Shawn Alexander is awesome. I have no idea what else he’s done, but the way he draws the creepy little ghost things with the writing all over them is pretty damn creepy. Well done Jason, someday I’d like to have you contribute to my Green Lantern or eventual horror movie themed sketchbook.

I guess I haven’t really talked about the story, so here goes. Abe’s on an island looking for a magic spike in a demon, but soon enough these short demon dudes show up and everyone on the island dies! So, it’s up to Abe to save the day. I don’t want to get too much more into it without giving stuff away, but it’s another great Hellboy-verse story that any fan or novice can pick up and love.

NIGHTWING: FREEFALL (DC)
Written by Peter J. Tomasi
Drawn by Rags Morales & Don Kramer
I’m not the biggest Nightwing fan in the world, though I did enjoy most of the Devin Grayson and Chuck Dixon issues I read back in the day. Of course, things haven’t been so great in recent memory. But no more! I’ve been loving former editor Tomasi’s run on the book. Tomasi has boiled the character down to his essence, added his own spin and really cemented him in his post-One Year Later setting of New York City. In this book we get to see Dick taking up skydiving, getting a new job and home and trying to track down a villain who’s stealing super-corpses. What Tomasi does that I love is, he shows how much a part of the DCU Nightwing really is (remember, he lead the JLA at one point when they were stuck in the past). Not only does Flash (Wally) stop by for a beer, interact with Batman and Robin and confab with Superman on a case, but he also ha the JSA help set up his new pad (they’re not too far away, also being located in NYC).

I also have to admit I’m fond of Peter’s use of the New York area. I’m not as familiar with the city itself, but I totally geeked out when Nightwing flew under the Bear Mountain Bridge, which I pass every day on my way to work. There’s also a few other locations that I think I recognized (hey, I’m still learning). Aside from the locations, I appreciate the writer’s creativity and logic when dealing with the superhero world. Nightwing flies around on a ‘Wing wing (a kind of jetpack with wings), but he also asked Bruce Wayne to purchase various buildings placed strategically throughout NYC to give him plenty of places to get to if he needs to hid out. Brilliant! Does Batman even do that?

There are a few downsides though. There’s a bit of wordiness int he first few pages of the trade explaining how much Dick loves skydiving. It’s not poorly written by any means, but it’s a little bit dense and I know it turned a few guys at the lunch table off from reading the book (though I convinced them too soon enough). I’m also not sure what’s up with Rags’ art. I much prefer Don Kramer’s work in the book. It’s a lot cleaner and crisper and I kind of hope he becomes the regular artist.

So, if you’re even a cursory fan of Nightwing or Batman, you should definitely check this trade out as it, in my opinion, greatly represents the character as well as the logical standing he has in the DCU as one of the very first sidekicks who has literally grown up in the superhero world.

B.P.R.D. 1946 Volume 9 (Dark Horse)
Written by Mike Mignola & Joshua Dysart
Drawn by Paul Azaceta
I love me some Hellboy, you guys and, of course, that includes B.P.R.D. I didn’t get into the Hellboy-verse until a few years ago, which was pretty good timing because I was able to read all the trades at Wizard and I was able to hop over the long gap when there weren’t any new books and Hellboy was spending a few years under the ocean. I’m a big fan of how intricate the history is. There’s elements in 1946 that resonate later on, though I can’t point all of them out, because it’s really hard to keep everything straight in my head. I do like to re-read the books every year or so, but I haven’t done that in a while and even right after I do it’s hard to remember.

This story follows Hellboy’s adoptive pops Trevor Bruttenholm in one of his post-WWII adventures with a group of soldiers in a bombed out Germany. This one’s got everything from vampires and werewolves to little girls in white dresses leading the Russian version of the B.P.R.D.

One of the great things about Dark Horse’s Hellboy and B.P.R.D. trades is that you can pretty much pick any of them up, understand what’s going on and enjoy a great story with a beginning, middle and end. Sure there are smaller elements that you might not pick up on, but might also drive you to check out other books. The other thing I love about these books is that they almost always have extras. Usually that includes an intro by Mignola along with a sketchbook with commentary in the back by Mike and whoever else is drawing the book. Unfortunately, this volume lacks the intro, which usually has Mignola explaining the genesis of the idea (where the mythology came from, that kind of thing). I really like those and was bummed to see there wasn’t one. There was, however an Afterward by Dysart explaining his first 1946 meeting with Mignola and the sketchbook.

Oh, one more thing, I really dug Paul Azaceta’s art. Like a lot of the non-Mignola or Dan Davis Hellboy/B.P.R.D. it took me a while to get used to his style (what can I say? I’m used to my superhero artists), but Azaceta seems like the perfect artist for this project. I look forward to seeing him on future B.P.R.D. projects almost as much as I’m looking forward to all the other Hellboy-verse books.

CATWOMAN: CRIME PAYS (DC)
Written by Will Pfeifer
Drawn by David Lopez
Catwoman’s one of those characters that I have an on-again off-again relationship with. I actually had a subscription to the Jim Balent-drawn version for a year which I dug. I’d also grab whatever crossover issues came out. I completely missed out on Brubaker’s relaunch and still want to go back and read it, but I have read a few of Pfeifer’s trades, this being, I believe, the second to last of the current run (it’s getting canceled right? I’m super behind).

Anyway, this story follows Selina’s attempt to start a new life with her baby, then get rid of the baby and finally waking up in her empty apartment which then explodes, leaving Cats on the run in Gotham without her mask or whip. There’s a character called The Thief who disappears due to Catwoman’s involvement in the Salvation Run storyline which feature supervillains being sent to a crazy planet far far away.

I was actually pretty interested in the Thief storyline and seeing Catwoman stripped of everything and on her own, but it got cut off by the Suicide Squad getting the jump on her and sending her to the prison planet. I wasn’t a big fan of the whole Salvation Run storyline, partly because it seemed a bit too close the Marvel’s Negative Zone prison (did they even really flesh that out? All things Civil War are a blur thanks to the Civil War Room column), even though it’s a pretty sound idea in theory. I don’t even know how that mini-series ended and this trade doesn’t offer up much insight. You get an issue of Cats wandering around from faction to faction only to end up with Luthor’s crew, but then she ends up in this weird world where’s practically SuperCat and runs everything. Once she’s out, she presumably rejoins the Salvation Run storyline. I feel bad for Pfeifer because it doesn’t feel like the Salvation Run stuff was very organic, probably more dropped on his plate. But he handled it well, though the story itself doesn’t hold much consequence (even though it’s pretty cool).

I’ve liked Pfeifer’s writing in the past, his Aquaman Sub Diego stuff was rad and HERO is one of the coolest books from the past five or six years not yet collected (seriously, what’s the deal with that? come on DC, where’s my omnibus?!), but for whatever reason Catwoman hasn’t really absorbed me yet, though I’ll probably grab the next trade when it makes its way into the Wizard office. I also like David Lopez, he’s a solid artist with a distinct style that makes him stand out. He seems equally adept at drawing grim and gritty street-level stuff as huge superhero group shots, which he also gets to do in this book.

I can’t really recommend Crime Pays to non Catwoman readers. There’s a lot going on in this book that’s not only connected to past Catwoman continuity, but also a part of DC’s last year that seems generally ignored (seriously, I read a ton of DC books, how did the villains get back?). Hopefully the next volume will wrap things up with The Thief (I’m seriously interested in that storyline, as well as what the heck Catwoman’s supposed to do with all her stuff gone).

SCALPED: DEAD MOTHERS (VOL. 3) (Vertigo/DC)
Written by Jason Aaron, Drawn by John Paul Leon, R.M. Guera & Davide Furno
Scalped is one of those books that I got to late in the game and have yet to actually catch up to the monthly issues, so I’m mostly grabbing the trades from the library as they come out. I dig the story for the most part, especially because it takes me to a world that I’m otherwise unfamiliar with in the form of an Native American reservation. Plus, there’s all kinds of action and intrigue and some great names (I especially like our main character’s Dashiell Bad Horse).

This particular trade focuses mainly on Dashiell working on a dead hooker case because he promised her son that he would while others investigate his own mother’s death. There’s obviously a lot of history between Dash and pretty much everyone else on the reservation and Aaron does a good job of giving just enough details as we read to keep us from getting completely lost but also not overwhelming the reader with needles detail. It’s a harder balance to achieve than you might think. I also like how the villain of the story, Lincoln Red Crow (the guy that Dash, an undercover agent is trying to pin a murder on) is more interested in finding his mother’s killer (they used to be lovers) than Dash himself. But even he’s got problems of his own as various outside forces are trying to push and pull him and the casino he runs.

Really, that’s what I like about the series as a whole: there’s a lot going on, but not too much. Aaron’s got a great sense of pacing and knows when to throw in some kick ass action scenes to balance all the other personal aspects of the book. I’m really curious to see where the series goes (they introduced a new character in the form of honest reservation cop Franklin Falls Down who seems like he’ll have a lot of potential). I’m also looking forward to seeing how Aaron writes a long form story like this one. I’m not sure if there’s an end point in mind that he’s working towards, but I’ve only read a handful of his other books, some I liked, some I didn’t, so I hope he ends this one with a bang.

SWAMP THING: LOVE AND DEATH (DC)
Written by Alan Moore, Drawn by Stephen Bissette, John Totleben & Shawn McManus
This is the second Swamp Thing trade collecting Alan Moore’s run on the book that helped launch his career and shoot comics to whole new levels. To me, it’s one of the last few epic comic runs that I haven’t read yet, so I’m glad to finally get to it (though I don’t have any more of the trades, so we’ll see how that goes), which is too bad because I really dug this book and am curious to see where it goes.

Most of the trade follows the developing relationship between Swamp Thing and Abigale including her short-lived death. There are all kinds of horror elements bouncing around these pages, including Swamp Thing’s visit to the afterlife which boasts guest spots by Etrigan, Phantom Stranger, Deadman and the Spectre. I really like how firmly Swamp Thing takes place in the DCU, proving that you can do Vertigo type stories in the same world that Superman flies around in (Sandman also did this on a few occasions).

I’ve also got to mention the semi sex scene between Swamp Thing and Abigale at the end of the last issue. It’s not as gross as it might sound as Abby eats a fruit that Swamp Thing grows from his chest and then they go on a super-trippy ride that we become voyeurs to.

But I didn’t like everything about this collection. There’s a story called “Pog” which featured some tiny cartoon-like aliens landing on Earth hoping to find a new home to call their own. The story itself is interesting, but the problem is the dialogue. These aliens talk different, making up words that seem and sound an awful lot like English, but took me way too long to read as my brain kept trying to read the words I’m used to. Props to Alan for coming up with this new language, but it drove me a little crazy. Oh well. I’m probably going to ditch these trades in favor of the hardcovers they’re putting out shortly (or is it out yet? I dunno).

DIANA PRINCE WONDER WOMAN VOL. 2 (DC)
Written & drawn by Mike Sekowsky
Man, I love these swinging Wonder Woman issues, each one is like a Roger Corman movie starring my favorite Star Spangled Amazon (missing her stars of course). For those of you who may not know, these Diana Prince tales follow Wonder Woman around after losing her powers and becoming a kung-fu boutique owner hanging out with blind martial arts master I Ching.

This volume not only collects Wonder Woman issues, but also a Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane issue in which the constantly swooning Lois gets jealous of Superman spending so much time with Wonder Woman who appears to have regained her powers. There’s even this hilarious scene where Wonder Woman takes Superman to a club and he starts dancing so intensely that he almost sets the floor on fire, after which he thinks to himself: “Did I goof! I can’t forget myself for an instant! That’s the trouble with being super! I can’t relax like ordinary people!” I don’t want to ruin the ending, but it’s your average cheesy silver age stuff (which is pretty different than the rest of the trade, because this particular story was written by Robert Kanigher).

There’s also an issue of Brave and the Bold with Wonder Woman and I Ching in another country (though I don’t think they ever say which one) in which a big car race is happening. It just so happens that Bruce Wayne is also there racing along with some bad dude (his name’s not really important). Well, the bad dude tries to kill Bruce because he’s such a good driver so Bruce calls Gotham and gets his buddy Batman to come race for him. There’s actual panels with Batman driving and his cape shooting out behind him flapping in the wind. I had literally just watched a Roger Corman movie with similar themes that I had just watched (Young Racers). Man, that movie was boring (hey, look, a movie review!), but this comic is great.

The rest of the trade involves the return of Dr. Cyber along with an adventure to Hong Kong and the addition of a new young lady who Diana saves from THEM (always written in big red block letters) and then gives a job in her boutique. I really love how the series bounces around from somewhat typical superhero stuff to all kinds of other genres without missing a beat. There’s also something fun about seeing Wonder Woman mingling with Superman and Batman even back in the late 60s/early 70s. These are great books for anyone even remotely interested in Wonder Woman or movies and TV from that time period, these are the books for you.

JACK KIRBY’S FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS (VOL. 4)
Written & drawn by Jack Kirby
I’ve had a very on again off again relationship with these New Gods Omnibi (Ominbuses?). Sometimes I’ll get really into them but then I’ll put the book down for weeks or even months at a time, which was the case with this, the last in series. The main reason is that, for reasons that are probably explained in the intro by Mark Evanier that I haven’t read yet, Jack’s books weren’t doing so well and were canned, which means this book collects the last issues of The Forever People (which I liked a lot more than I thought I would), New Gods (my personal favorite of the ongoings) and then a bunch of Mr. Miracle issues (it lasted longer than the others), the new stories Jack created for the reprints and finally the Hunger Dogs graphic novel. The problem is that it’s like watching a TV show that you know doesn’t have a real ending, one that got canceled before it’s time; all the pieces are good, but you’re not sure about the pay off.

I read the FP and NG issues completely but ended up skimming the Mr. Miracle stuff as it wasn’t really my favorite of the books. I did enjoy the final two stories though, because it felt like Jack was finally able to tell the story that he intended to tell years before. But, man, just think of how cool it would have been to see Jack get to do his thing for real. It’s too bad because it feels like that’s a huge missed opportunity, a story only preserved in the library of unwritten books. Oh well, I really like Hunger Dogs, especially the big huge collage spread that Jack did in the middle of it. Check it out and see how many Star Wars pictures you can find (I spotted the rear end of a Star Destroyer first).

Anyway, there’s a pretty interested ending to Hunger Dogs that I’m not really sure how it was resolved later on when the New Gods re-entered the DCU. I did have a basic history explained to me by Rickey. He said that, basically, Jack created the New Gods, but after he left they just kind of sat around and no one used them until the Super Powers cartoon came along and was looking for a villain. They dug up Darkseid and he’s been a dominating force of evil in the DCU ever since. For someone who’s been reading comics since the early 90s, it’s pretty crazy to think that there was a time when Darkseid and the rest of the New Gods weren’t a big deal.

And finally, if you’re like I was when I first started reading these books and think that these older stories don’t really offer up much to a modern, more sophisticated reader, give them a try. Sean Collins helped me realize what I liked about these stories even when I wasn’t quite sure if I actually liked them. The true art isn’t in the words (the dialogue boxes are pretty easily skipped for the most part in my opinion), but in the art and the emotions and gut punches that Kirby is able to convey with his trademark pencils. Plus, if you can’t find a certain amount of giddy joy in tracing the lines of a Kirby machine, I feel bad for you.

Okay, that’s it for now. Hopefully I’ll get another post in this week, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you (seriously, that’d be crazy).

Here’s the awesome Johnson original:

Then my lumpy, lopsided pre-colored verision:

And the final, colored piece, yeesh:

Haha, the finished product definitely looks like the kind of thing I would have drawn when I was about 10. Oh man…

Seeing as how I’m not much of an artist, I must resort to looking at an existing image and drawing it out. Basically copying it, but not tracing. I actually started on a Dr. Mid-Nite that I’m pretty happy with, but I left it at work and haven’t had a chance to finish coloring it. Well, tonight Em and I were at Target and I picked up a 50 pack of Crayola Super Tip Washable Markers so I could really show off the JSA’s vibrant costumes (there’s even 12 Silly Scents markers!). Well, I was pretty excited about my new markers (like I used to get as a kid when I got a brand new box of crayons) so I decided to give another JSAer the Dietsch treatment. Dr. Fate won the spot and here it is, first the image I copied, then the black and white and finally the colored version.

For what it’s worth, I start off with a pencil, sketching out the details and even where the shadows fall. Then I go over and outline things with a thin Sharpie. After that I fill in the shadows with a thicker black Sharpie.

After finishing the outlines and erasing any leftover pencil marks, it’s time to color. Crayola markers are a bit light and don’t saturate the paper as well, but they’re cheap and I really like seeing the drawings in color. Black and white is cool, but I love seeing those basic colors come to life. If Sharpie made a full line of cheaper markers, I’d be all over that. Of course, the problem would be the headaches. At least with the Crayola’s I’m guaranteed not to get a headache.

With the drawing over all, I skipped the cool hand effect which removes the light source. Even so, I still kept the shadows, but ditched the light spots in the original. I think this one came out pretty well. Em helped give me a second pair of eyes which helped. I’ve still got no idea what I’m doing and should definitely study anatomy or at least get a super poseable action figure that I can use as an artist model. Heck I could even use one of those How To Draw books, wonder where I could get one of those…

I’m definitely not as familiar with MAD as I am with golden and silver age DC comics, but I can definitely see why this calendar would be a treat for any fans of MAD. My personal favorite in the bunch is actually from this month originally printed as the cover to MAD #105 from September 1966. It features a painting by Norman Mingo of an Adam West Batman and Alfred E. Newman as Robin. Good stuff.

Each month, in addition to the huge piece of art you also get thumbnail sized reprints of various pages from the feature issue as well as the back covers and the name of each artist.

Okay, so on to the big whammy, the Vintage DC Super Heroes 2009 Calendar which feature 16 rad reproductions of the first appearances of Barry Allen as the Flash, the Justice League, Batgirl, Supergirl, Wonder Woman and the JLA/JSA crossover. There’s also some surprise picks like Captain Marvel #6, a cover I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen before and some great, campy holiday-related covers, my favorite being Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #1 with Lois Flying around on a broom and Superman wondering “Great guns! Lois has supernatural powers–and they may prove mightier than mine!” Great stuff. Each month also gives a brief description of the contents of the issue along with general info. This calendar is perfect for any fan of DC comics who wants to keep all his dates in order, maybe even as an early holiday gift .

I recently reread the entire Sinestro Corps War saga in the three hardcovers that DC has put out (Vol. 1, 2 and Tales of the Sinestro Corps) and dammit all if this isn’t one of the best comic book stories of all time. Geoff Johns helmed this epic with the help of fellow GL writers Dave Gibbons, Pete Tomasi and Ron Marz while artists like Ethan Van Sciver, Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason and others drew the heck out of it.

GREEN LANTERN: THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR VOL. ONE

Johns and Gibbons both seeded elements of this tale in both Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, but this is where all that craziness goes on, starting with one of my favorite one shots of all time the Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War one-shot which shows the Sinestro Corps waging war on the Green Lantern home world of Oa. There’s even a super patient Yellow Lantern who hid in an asteroid field just so that he could bust out and snipe the crap out of some GLs. There’s a real sense of “how the heck are the going to get out of this?” But before all that, the GL that will always have a soft place in my heart, Kyle Rayner, gets sucked the Qward where he gets infected with Parallax, the embodiment of fear (oh yeah, whereas the GLs represent willpower, the YLs represent fear on the emotional spectrum).

But the craziness doesn’t stop there (and neither does the issue). As the Sinestros slaughter the GLs (who can’t kill anyone with their rings) we find out that Superboy Prime (yeah, I called him SuperBOY Prime and I’m not gonna stop) and Cyborg Superman are on Sinestro’s side. And, as readers of GL will remember, Cyborg’s actually in charge of the Manhunters, the Guardians’ first crack at a police force (though robotic instead of “human”). But that’s not the biggest kicker. That boot belongs to the fact that their guardian is actually the Anti-Monitor. Now, they don’t really get into an explanation as to how the heck AM is still alive after Crisis on Infinite Earths, but they do mention something like “When the universe redid itself, we found him.” Hey, it’s good enough for me.

Okay, that’s the end of the first issue. Personally, I think the set up for all of this, which was inspired by Alan Moore’s BRILLIANT “Darkest Night” story which you can find in one of my favorite trades of all time: DC Universe:The Stories of Alan Moore. Bringing back Cyborg as leader of the Manhunters and incorporating Superboy Prime (who was involved with Countdown, but seriously, who was reading that?) just made so much sense. I love when creators actually do something with older characters that have been forgotten that were important at one time (like Prime was prior to Infinite Crisis).

And Ethan Van Sciver’s can’t be ignored. Like with Green Lantern: Rebirth, Ethan just kills it. He also continues one of my favorite elements of Geoff and Ethan’s reboot: the different ways the the GLs use their rings. Kilowog and Guy are like forces of nature, Kyle’s very artistic and John Stewart, the engineer that he is, designs all of his constructs from all their parts. Additionally, you’ve got nine splash pages and spreads that blow my mind, especially the spread of the Yellow Lanterns on Qward. Just sick.

Okay, so it’s not all one issue. After fending off the SC’s first attack, the Guardians decide to destroy the Blackest Night chapter of the Book of Oa which carries the prophecy of how the Corps will fall, causing a rift between Ganthet and Sayd and the other Guardians. Ganthet and Sayd appear to Hal Jordan via his ring and tell him he needs to be the leader of the Corps again, Hal doesn’t know how the others will take that, but he doesn’t really have time to think about it as the Parallax being (who was reinserted into the main battery) grabs Hal, Guy (my second favorite GL) and John Stewart to Qward where Hal rumbles with the Parallax-possessed Kyle.

There’s also a quick aside in the GLC book where Sinestro visits his homeworld of Korugar, the planet that he ruled with an iron fist when he was a GL (which is exactly what he got banished for) to meet Soranik Natu, the current GL from Korugar. Though it seems like kind of a throwaway issue, it’s not because we get more insight into Sinestro’s motives. He’s actually challenging the GLs with his Corps in order to make the GLs more effective. The big storypoint in this issue is that GL partners-but-not-really Stel (a robot) and Green Man realize that the Sinestro Corps is leading an attack against Mogo, the living planet GL. Holy crap!

From here on out the story is split between Hal fighting Kyle, trying to free him from Parallax, the Lost Lanterns joining in and the other GLs fighting on Mogo. But we also find out why Cyborg’s involved in all this: he wants to die and the Anti Monitor claims he can make it happen. We also get a creepy page of Superboy Prime sitting on the moon just waiting and watchign Earth. More on that later. The moments where Hal’s trying to help Kyle are really great to me because I actually started reading GL when Hal went crazy and destroyed the Corps and Kyle was the one and only. There’s something really cool about the two characters that a lot of fans never thought they’d see together (and definitely not on the same side) in reversed roles: Kyle’s the bad guy and Hal’s trying to help him. I also really like the Lost Lanterns because I really liked those guys and it makes me feel better about watching Hal’s exploits when I know that he didn’t really kill the only other GLs I knew about.

Of course, the Lost Lanterns don’t really see it that way as most of them still hold a grudge against Hal who they’re now forced to work with as they run for their lives on Qward as their batteries run out of juice and they try to find Guy and John.

Now we move on to the crazy fight on Mogo as the GLs defend him against an evil living city with a mad on for Guy (even though he’s nowhere near Mogo) full of 100 Yellow Lanterns which starts off with just Stel and Green Man standing between Mogo and the Sinestro Corps. Of course, Kilowog and company join up with them and put up a heck of a fight. The living city is actually pretty hilarious as it continues to whine about Guy Gardner, demanding his presence and death. There’s a whole lot of craziness going on, most of which I don’t want to get into, but the Sinestro Corps is basically trying to kill Mogo because he figures out where the rings go to after a Lantern dies. He’s also the soul of the GLC and, of course, the biggest member.

Another subplot I forgot to mention is that the Guardians tasked Arisia with keeping Sodom Yat safe. They’re not sure why he’s important, but anyone who read Alan Moore’s story knows that Sodom will be the savior of the GLC. Awesome! There’s also a big fight between Kilowog and his opposite member in the SC Arkillo, a weird toothy monster. They duke it out pretty bad, but they don’t finish until later.

The last issue of the first hardcover ends with Guy and John free, Hal sucking energy out of yellow lanterns, Ganthet and Sayd getting banished from the Guardians, the Anti-Monitor killing Lost Lantern Ke’Haan (Jack Chance got killed in an earlier issue) and the kicker of the Guardians telling the GLC about the first of the new ten laws: they can kill memebrs of the Sinestro Corps. There’s a lot I like about this issue. Of course, John and Guy getting back in the game is awesome. Also, Hal conquering the yellow lanterns is rad because it proves that he’s over the fear that poisoned him. The deaths of these characters also really got me. I’m not sure if it’s because of the older GL stories I’ve read or because Geoff had made them such interesting characters or if I just freaking love Green Lanterns so much that the death of any recognizable one gets me. I’m a softy that way. Finally, the first new rule makes a lot of sense. I mean, the Green Lanterns are cops, they should be able to ice the bad guys when necessary. Of course, there’s more to it than that as we’ll find out later on.

GREEN LANTERN: THE SINESTRO CORPS WAR VOL. TWO

So this book starts with the Green Lanterns saving Mogo in a cool way that, again, would take a while to explain and seeing as how this is already a pretty long post, I’ll skip it, but add that it was really cool (living planets who are GLs are always cool). From there we find out that the Yellow Lanterns actual target is Earth, the base of them multiverse. I’ve probably used the word “craziness” more than I should, but this is when the sh!t really hits the fan (it’s all kinds of craziness).

Oh man, I haven’t mentioned the other artists. Ivan Reis and Patrick Gleason do amazing jobs with the big splash pages and smaller moments. My facorite Reis spread in the whole series is the one in GL #24 as Superboy Prime leads Sinestro, Cyborg and a legion of Yellow Lanterns over the moon with a huge yellow Warworld behind them. I get chills. You could do a whole poster book out of Sinestro Corps War and I would cover my walls with it.

Okay, so the war has hit Earth in full force which means the superheroes we (at least I) all know and love get involved in the war. But before he can get into it, Hal’s got to save his brother’s family from Kyle-Parallax who actually switches to a crazy yellow version of his costume (this story has great costumes). But you just can’t keep my favorite lantern dawn as he finally fights his way out of Parallax’s grasp and shirks the fear-thing.

Then, BAM, Ganthet and Sayd are there and trap Parallax in Kyle, Hal, John and Guy’s lanterns. There’s a great moment where all four Earth Lanterns light themselves up and they’re ready to rumble. The GLs who were fighting on Mogo finally get to Earth as lead by Kilowog Salaak who has a great bit of business where he tells everyone to fix the damage done to their uniforms. “Use the time to regenerate your uniforms. We’re CORPS. Be PROUD.” After reading that I pumped my fist and shout “[EXPLETIVE] YEAH!”

And it wasn’t the last time as Arkill and Kilowog face off AGAIN, this time it’s even more brutal. Oh, this is a great time to mention this, even though the GLs can now kill the YLs, it doesn’t mean that they all do. Some go crazy Rambo-style, which is all well and good, but others, like Kilowog, choose not to, using their rings in other ways to incapacitate their enemies.

Oh, remember that Sodom Yat guy I mentioned? Well, he became the new Ion, which is a Lantern that doesn’t need to wear a ring. He’s also extra powerful. Plus he’s from the planet Daxam which means he’s got Superman-level abilities. Well, he’s the dude that throws down with Prime. We get some history about Yat while Superboy pummels him, but our hero doesn’t give up, he keeps fighting until Prime almost kills him.

Which brings us to the last issue. Damn, it’s another beauty. In the middle of this huge war, we get a look at the other colors of the emotional spectrum and what they represent, drawn by Ethan while Ivan handles the rest of the art chores.

As far as conclusions go, this is one of the best as it keeps the insanity going to the very end as the insanity ramps up continuously. You’ve got the Anti Monitor and Prime wreaking havoc on Earth’s heroes and the GLs, Guy getting sick with Despotellis the living virus whose killed entire planets, the Guardians jumping in and fighting the Anti-Monitor, dozens and dozens of Yellow and Green Lantern deaths, Hal and Kyle throwing down with Sinestro, using Warworld to destroy Cyborg and Anti-Monitor, Anti-Monitor coming back only to get supposedly killed by Prime (he’s still pissed about AM killing his home world, go figure), one Guardian giving his life to destroy Prime and finally Hal and Kyle defeating Sinestro in a fair, no-ring fist fight. Whew, it’s crazy awesome and I’m tired just explaining it all.

But even THAT’S not the end as we got some more Van Sciver-drawn bits. We see Superboy waking up somewhere saying “Oh my gosh. It’s really back.” Sinestro in GL jail, proud of the changes he caused in the Corps. His goal was to get the GLs to actually instill fear and thus be all the more effective against the evils of the universe. THEN, we see Ganthet and Sayd become the Guardians or something for the Blue Lanterns which represent hope and they create the first blue ring. After that those damn Manhunters find Cyborg’s dead body and reboot it, resulting in a heartbreaking tear trickling down his face. And FINALLY, we see the Anti Monitor’s corpse landing somewhere and getting trapped inside the black lantern.

Jeez, I forgot there’s a-whole-nother GLC issue that acts as a prologue. This is mostly a clean up issue that stars the featured players of the GLC book, which you should definitely check out. I’m especially partial to the scene where Rannian GL Vath takes a shot for each of his fallen comrades which number more than 432. It’s a touching moment that shows how one warrior deals with the loss of so many of his friends and fellow soldiers.

As if that weren’t all there’s also an interview with the creators in the back accompanied by sketches from the artists. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m always in support of beefing up trades with extra stuff you couldn’t get in the single issues. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Oh jeez, I completely forgot a few things. First of all, Natu used a sentient smallpox GL to defeat the evil virus Sinestro Corpsman inside of Guy. I was actually pretty nervous during this whole scene because it wouldn’t have surprised me if Geoff killed off one of the big GLs (I’m really glad he didn’t).

Now, like I said in the very beginning I love this story. Some people say that Geoff doesn’t end stories well and I can’t agree with that, especially when it comes to TSCW. The War definitely ends, for now at least, while still leaving the threat out there. It’s like in Star Wars, just because Vader and Palpatine are dead, doesn’t mean the Empire just crumbles. You also get to see Sinestro in prison again, which seems to be exactly where he wants to be. There’s all kinds of other lead-ins to future stories as well. I know that Geoff has said the he considers Rebirth the first chapter of his GL epic, this is the middle and then there will be Blackest Night when that hits next year (I think). But that doesn’t mean the regular series post-TSCW is boring. Geoff and Co. have gone into further development of the characters as well as the emotional spectrum and the new lanterns. Personally, I can’t wait to see where the rest of the story goes and what happens with the Blackest Night.

Finally, I know there’s also a Tales of the Sinestro Corps book, which I also read, but that with be another review because I’m tired.

Whew.

Back in college, I made a deal with Em where I’d read the first Harry Potter book if she read a trade. I made the mistake of giving her Watchmen. The problem with giving someone with limited comic book experience Watchmen is that it’s just so damn dense that it’s hard to get through. I’ve also discovered by giving non comic book fans different books, that there is a mechanic to reading comics that fans take for granted that new readers don’t necessarily know. The most difficult thing tends to be which order to read the word balloons in (something I still have trouble with). It seems like it should be something uniform like top left, then below that and over or everything in the top row and then the bottom (like a typewriter). I’m definitely off on a tangent here, but I’m curious to see what people who bought the new edition based on the coolness of the trailer think and whether they’ll move on to other Alan Moore comics or other trades in general.

Speaking of Alan Moore movies and trades, Em and I watched League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tonight (a.k.a. LXG, hehe). I actually like this flick. It’s very obviously a huge departure from the first LOEG volume (one of my all time favorite comics, I even wrote a 17 page paper on it in college) but it does have some fun elements. Also fun was trying to explain how much I liked the comic book and how different the movie is and also how much I like the movie. She just started laughing at me and said I sounded like her trying to convince me to watch a chick flick.

In the end she enjoyed (didn’t love) the movie, which is pretty much how I feel. Now I’ve just got to try and get her to read the trade. She’s also looking to re-read Watchmen along with me, maybe I’ll get her thoughts on the book after we’re done.

Okay, so here’s the deal with Sandman for anyone who doesn’t know. In the way-late ’30s Wesley Dodds comes back from a trip to “the Orient,” he’s having these crazy, prophetic dreams and decides to become a Mystery Man called The Sandman. Armed with a gas gun and a gas mask, he helps solve crimes in a pre-WWII New York City. The book was co-written by Matt Wagner and Steven T. Seagle and drawn by Guy Davis and launched from the Vertigo imprint in 1993.

Volume 3 is entitled “The Vamp.” Basically, the members of a gentlemen’s social club are getting aced and it all comes back to a pretty nasty fraternity “prank” they played back in the day. Interestingly enough, the mystery isn’t what really draws me into this Sandman story. I had a pretty good idea of who the killer was part way through the book and that was fine because I was really swept up in the world of the late-’30s NYC. Like I mentioned in the Batman: Thrillkillers review, I’m a sucker for certain time periods and this is definitely one of them. There’s this really interesting mix of British upperclassness, but with a very American twist to it. Plus you’ve got the building tension about what will be called World War II and on top of all that you’ve got the dawning of the Mystery Men in the DCU. This was back when Vertigo books could still have ties to the DCU. Wagner and Seagle also tackle some bigger issues like racism and homosexuality in ways that seem familiar even today.

The great thing about this volume is that it’s told completely from the perspective of Dian Belmont, Wesley Dodds’ girlfriend (and future wife). She’s a real smart cookie who fancies herself an amateur detective (here dad’s the DA). The story really follows her more than anyone else and we get to see why she’s one of the coolest unsung characters in comics as she navigates the worlds of jazz clubs and high society functions all the while trying to figure out how her friend from college is related to the killers.

“The Scorpion” follows a killer who uses a whip as he goes after the members of a particular oil company. Again, the killer’s identity is pretty obvious right off the bat. If you’re paying attention, you’ll be able to figure out who it is pretty quickly. But that’s kind of how some TV procedurals work too right? You get a pretty good idea of who did what, but it’s the process of watching Wesley figure out for himself while trying to keep Dian in the dark about his dual identity and really get a hang of this whole superhero game. What’s more interesting here is the why.

I’ve talked to some of my friends about this book and while some have read it, others couldn’t get into it because of the art. Davis’ art does come off as sketchy at times, but I highly encourage you guys to give it a shot. Once you get used to it, it’s like you don’t even notice anymore (like watching a movie in black and white nowadays). Davis does an amazing job of putting you in this, most likely, unfamiliar world and grounding you and the characters in it. And then he’ll throw some pretty wild dream sequences at you that look completely different, but really capture that dream quality that’s so hard to put on the page.

So, if you’re solely looking for a mystery book, I don’t think this would be the best pick. But if you’re looking for a great look at a group of highly complex and interesting characters in the unique setting of the 1930s DCU, I can’t make a higher recommendation. Let’s just hope DC keeps putting out the volumes. They’re up to 6 now, which I have, but I still need to get my hands on 2 and 5.