Comic Book Resources

What Are You Reading?

Another Sunday is upon us again. Time to kick back, crack open a Snapple and tell you all about the comics we’re reading. Our guest this week is Ivan Brandon, whose prose you may have come across in books like NYC Mech, 24Seven or the new Image series Viking.

To discover what Ivan’s reading, click on the link below, Snapple or no Snapple …

Tom Bondurant: Having come across it during my latest reorganization, I read the Keith Giffen/J.M. DeMatteis/Kevin Maguire Defenders miniseries from a few years back. It held up pretty well, although I would call it more of a Dr. Strange story guest-starring the Hulk and Sub-Mariner. It would have been nice to see this team’s take on Nighthawk, Valkyrie, Hellcat, et al., but I suspect that a larger cast would have made it feel more like Justice League International. As it was, I thought Giffen and DeMatteis found a good angle on Strange and Namor’s relationship, and used that as a stand-in for the non-team concept generally. Plus, Maguire’s Dormammu was both funny and menacing.

And yes, it was just a coincidence that I read Defenders the same week that the boys got back together for the “Metal Men” backup in the new Doom Patrol series. I found the main DP feature (written by Giffen, pencilled by Matthew Clark) fairly interesting, if a bit generic. It certainly didn’t have the off-kilter charm of Grant Morrison and Richard Case’s work, but it wasn’t as self-consciously quirky as the John Arcudi/Tan Eng Huat series (which I also enjoyed) and I suspect it wasn’t as self-consciously retro as the John Byrne series (which, admittedly, I didn’t read). For its part, Metal Men was quite good — probably just long enough to preserve the momentum of the main plot’s action sequences while not wearing out the familiar riffs and quips. I liked Copper, and I liked the running gag which accompanied her. I’m not as familiar with the other characters’ personalities, but it seems like Giffen and DeMatteis.

Going through those stacks of comics also turned up Teen Titans vol. 1 #44, the first issue of the group’s brief mid-’70s revival. In this issue, the Titans (Robin, Kid Flash, Wonder Girl, and Speedy), plus their office manager Mal Duncan, are brought back together by an emergency signal which turns out to be a Dr. Light trap. Light wants to use the Titans to destroy the Justice League, of course. The issue was written by Paul Levitz and Bob Rozakis, pencilled by Pablo Marcos, and inked by Bob Smith, and it’s kind of a mess. Kid Flash wants Wonder Girl to notice him, but she’s only got eyes for Speedy. Mal becomes the new Guardian thanks in part to an exoskeleton he finds in Titans Lair, and somehow this makes him strong enough to punch through one of Dr. Light’s “solid-light” walls. Marcos and Smith’s art is all over the place as well. Still, as I remember, this book got better. I didn’t read this particular issue back in the day, and I doubt I would have remembered it fondly.

Fortunately, in the stack with that Teen Titans were two issues of Superman Family (#173 and #178), the former featuring a rogue Jimmy/Flamebird and the latter promising “a gallery of Lois Lane’s robot doubles!” Those should be fun….

Brigid Alverson: This week I started reading two superhero comics, and although I have been away from the genre for over 20 years, I liked both of these.

I’m enjoying the Wednesday Comics Superman comic online at the USA Today site for two reasons: The art is beautiful and the story is familiar enough to follow. It’s the Superman I grew up with; he’s more emo than the guy I remember, but all the familiar characters are there and the creators are retelling a story I already know. I love the very painterly, dramatic watercolor style. It has an old-fashioned look that appeals to me, although I admit I never associated it with Superman before. I don’t care much for the online interface, though — it only shows you a single horizontal strip of the comic and it’s a bit shallower than the panels, so I feel like I’m peering through a knothole to read the comic. I’m actually feeling a mild urge to go to a comic store and buy the thing, but I’m sure if I lie down it will go away.

The other thing I’m reading is the manga version of X-Men, which is written from the point of view of Kitty Pryde. I come to this with absolutely no preconceptions, as I have never read an X-Men comic. I’m not even sure what Kitty Pryde’s superpower is supposed to be, but in the manga she keeps falling through physical objects, like the floor. It’s set at a high school for teenage mutants, which is promising, although the fact that she is the only girl there strains credulity a bit. It’s very much in the shoujo manga tradition, focusing on Kitty’s anxiety about her powers, her desire to fit in, and her relationship with an arrogant bad boy. I’m not a fan of the artist, Anzu — the figures are way too stylized for my taste, and I’m saying that as a manga reader—but I think the writers, Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier, are doing a good job with the material, at least so far.

Tim O’Shea: A few times when the topic of Irredeemable comes up in conversation with folks who have not read it, invariably the phrase “it’s just what if Superman was evil” or something along those lines is mentioned. Mistakenly I have shrugged my shoulders in agreement at that point.But then I started mulling it over recently. Waid could never pull this off as a Superman storyline. The negative press and fanboy outcry alone would derail any chance of the story’s success. But there’s a bigger point to why Irredeemable is not a variation on Superman. And Waid nails that point in his introduction to the Irredeemable TPB of the first four issues, which came out this week (along with a one-time priced 99 cent issue 5). “In superhero comics, pretty much everyone who’s called upon to put on a cape is, at heart, emotionally equipped to handle the job. I reject that premise.” It’s Plutonian’s mental instability that fuels this story (and makes the character vastly different than Superman). I’m a long-time fan of Waid’s work, but I think five issues into this story, I finally have found a Waid project that I enjoy more than CrossGen’s Ruse.

Jason Aaron’s first issue of Ghost Riders: Heavens Fire is as fun a romp as the ongoing monthly was. I’m partial to the 1970s style Damian Hellstorm, the Son of Satan (he’s bald now in the modern day), but I’m glad to see Aaron using the character in the first place. Meanwhile in one page, Roland Boschi details Johnny Blaze and Sister Sarah’s quest for the anti-christ kid. He takes the readers through Las Vegas, Hollywood (along the Walk of Fame, near the stars for Russ Meyer and Roger Corman), DC and New York in four delightful landscape panels. I appreciate Aaron’s love of the original 1970s Ghost Rider stories (part of which are reprinted in the back part of the issue). But I wish Marvel paid me $3.99 to endure scenes like when a cop tells Johnny’s friends that he’s been seriously injured: “I hope he pulls through! He’s the greatest stunt biker alive!”

The latest arc in the amazing adventures of the Williams Brothers wrapped this week with the release of Astro City: The Dark Age–Book Three #4 (my god that’s a mouthful). It’s staggering how much time and effort Busiek and artist Brent Anderson have devoted to the tale of the Williams Brothers and their quest for revenge. One of these days, I hope I can interview Busiek after the Williams Brothers’ story has been told just to hear his thought process on the tale. This issue in particular reminds me what I love most about Astro City — it’s everyday citizens. I’ve already gone on record how overjoyed I am that Busiek is well enough to resume a monthly pace with Astro City. But his statement in this month’s issue was eye opening to me. “My health problems aren’t gone, but they’ve improved enough so that I’m more able to write the kind of material Astro City demands…” I could not fathom dealing with the health problems and trying to write a monthly comic of the caliber of Astro City. I appreciate the effort he makes, in spite of his health problems and more importantly I hope his health continues to improve. One more thought, monthly Brent Anderson art? Life is good. Anderson is an artist that deserves far more praise than I think he gets.

Note to Jeff Parker: You clearly want and need to write Ken Hale/Gorilla Man miniseries. As fun as Ken is in this latest issue of Agents of ATLAS, the greatness of this character demands a spotlight. Write the miniseries, I will buy it. Failing that, consider some sort of back-up tale featuring Ken.

Last week, I neglected to mention J. Torres & J. Bone’s Batman: The Brave and The Bold #7, where Batman teams with the Doom Patrol. Any comic book that features Batman using Robotman’s disconnected head as a weapon is a must read for me.

Also last week, Tom Spurgeon’s Five for Friday: Clearly Comics Were Better When I Was A Kid inspired me to go back issue bin diving. Essentials and Showcases cover a great deal of reprint ground, but they do not include the letters column. This week I picked up Giant-Size Defenders #3 which featured letters from future comic book industry veterans Dean Mullaney and Mary Jo Duffy.

Chris Mautner: I finally finished God of Comics Osamu Tezuka by Natsu Onoda Power. Power takes her sweet time getting to her main subject — the first few chapters are devoted solely to background and the history of comics in Japan before World War II — but once she starts going it proves to be an entertaining if cursory overview of Tezuka and his work. Power focuses on a few central themes — his “star” system, his use of comedy, his theatrical influences and his time spent in animation — to underscore the artist’s importance and significance. She also name-drops a few interesting-sounding titles that haven’t been translated yet. We can only hope …

Continuing on the manga theme, I recently tore through Amefurashi: The Rain Goddess, a new series from Del Rey by Atsushi Suzumi, who also did Venus vs. Virus and Haridama: Magic Cram School. I don’t recall caring much for Cram School, and really, Amefurashi doesn’t really ring my bell either. It’s about this uppity but rather dim-witted goddess who lives in a “cloud tree” (you read that right) and protects a nearby village by providing it with water. Enter an equally dim-witted teen who inadvertently ends up becoming the goddess’ sidekick, just before a rival goddess shows up, steals the source of her power, and generally shoots everything to hell. From here, I imagine, the stuff writes itself, but I wasn’t really captivated enough to find out if that’s true or not.

John Parkin: The folks at DC/Vertigo sent me photocopies of the first two issues of Jeff Lemire’s upcoming monthly, Sweet Tooth — the second issue, actually, was just the art, sans any word balloons. I’m a big fan of the Essex County Trilogy, which was recently collected into one mammoth edition by Top Shelf, but I haven’t read The Nobody yet (it’s on my “to read” stack). So this is my first exposure to his Vertigo work.

A lot has been made of Lemire setting his stories outside of cities or the suburbs — I think in everything he’s done, the settings have been more rural, small towns or, in this case, deep in the woods (at least in the first issue). The story revolves around a boy with deer antlers; he has no mom, and his father has moved them into the deep woods to protect his son from hunters and “fire.” There’s also reference to some sort of “accident” that caused kids to be born with things like antlers and deer tails. It’s a set-up issue for what’s to come, and I won’t blow any of the surprises, but it was a compelling enough read that I was wishing the photocopies of the second issue had word balloons. You can see some of the themes carrying over from some of Lemire’s earlier work — there’s the desolate setting, plus I couldn’t help but think of Eddie Elephant Ears a little as I read about Sweet Tooth — but the bigger mystery of what’s happened to the wolrd and to the main character added a bigger sense of mystery that went well beyond the cabin where we start, like that’s the first stop on a bigger road map. And I really can’t wait to see where Lemire goes with it.

BTW, I spoke with Lemire a little bit in San Diego about the book, and he said he was already pretty far ahead with it … I want to say he was working on issue 7 or 8 already, if I’m remembering correctly. Which is pretty amazing, considering he’s doing both the writing and the art.

On another note, it’s in no way comic book related, but I really recommend the movie The Hurt Locker. I saw it this afternoon and my heart is still racing.

Ivan Brandon: The unfortunate reality is that I’ve got so much to read the last few months as reference for the assorted comics I’m working on, and I haven’t really been able to keep up with my comic reading as well as I’d usually like to. But you’ve got your own problems, internet, and I’m going to do my best.

Scalped: Jason Aaron came out of the gate with one of the most engaging new voices in comics and adding R.M. Guera to the mix, this book is unique and filthy and exceptional. Everything Jason’s done so far has been good to read, but this is the crown jewel of his writing every month.

Fear Agent and The End League are Rick Remender with some of the best artists in comics and both are in the home stretch before hiatus. Both books are simultaneously dead simple and enormously complex… incredibly straightforward and pointed worlds with room for endless story possibilities. Rick’s moved on to Punisher, now, and what he’s doing on the book is nothing compared to the insanity he’s got coming up in the next few months.

Pluto: Naoki Urasawa is a master storyteller telling stories at the peak of his game. I wish the American comics industry had a Naoki Urasawa.

Asterios Polyp: maybe the best work Mazzucchelli’s ever done, and that’s saying plenty. An ocean of experiments and subtlety. Brilliant all the way through and one of those books you can and should read a dozen times.

Batman and Robin and Detective Comics: Morrison and Quitely when working together are maybe the best team in mainstream comics. Everyone’s spoken about JH Williams’ work on Detective, but it bears mentioning that Dave Stewart is turning in what is probably the best color work ever done on a “Big 2″ comic.

The Invincible Iron Man: Iron Man’s one of my all time favorite superhero characters and Fraction is doing one of the best runs the character’s ever seen. It’s the perfect balance between a completely human character piece and a flying robot man shooting lasers.

I’m sure I missed a bunch, but I’ve gotta get back now to writing my own comics. But this is a good start, internet. We’ll talk again soon.