Comic Book Resources

The Fifth Color - What About Bob?

The Sentry has come a long way, baby.  Bob Reynolds's story is no longer a man struggling with an addiction who was close to his dog, he's just about as far from that as possible.  The original April Fool's Prank for The Golden Guardian of Good turned out to be a larger tale of a man with the greatest amount of power having the greatest amount of responsibility.  That when you create the equal and opposite reaction to the power of a thousand exploding suns, the only way to win was to do nothing at all.  At his first introduction, we are left with a very quiet and beautiful study of the greatest good and the worst evil residing in an everyday man and the world that had forgotten him.

When Bendis puled him out of the Vault for his New Avengers, the stakes had already been changed.  The balance of good an evil was gone, just an implanted a virus from Mastermind and possible delusion villain The General that created psychological problems and the existence of the Void, which was just another extension of Reynolds himself.  We lost our philosophical battle and our more peacable idea of wrong and right to be able to tear Carnage in half in space.

Okay, there's nothing wrong with that.  Bendis even brought in Paul Jenkins as a character in the book to explain everything, kind of having him sign off on the project.  Despite his immense power and complexity, the Sentry was going to be an Avenger.  Hey, they've worked with gods and demi-gods before, what's the difference?

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Halloween Treats!

Miles Burnside-Clapp of Santa Barbara, CA invites you to read some fine literature.

Local comic shop Metro Entertainment in Santa Barbara, Calif. held a costume contest yesterday in honor of the season, and the results were amazing!  Visit their Facebook photo gallery and see a fantastic collection of comic, TV and game-inspired costumes... maybe even a cheeky columnist from Robot 6?

The Fifth Color - Marvel Zombies Field Guide

Marvel, with its finger oh so close to the pulse of popular culture, let an idea fester in the minds of their bullpen, slowly creating a deadly infection through the titles of the Marvel Universe.  We can trace it from an original source, the strain of the disease that would later spread, to one man:  Mark Millar.

As much as I would love to chase him down with a bunch of dudes in HazMat suits, Mark Millar is our Patient Zero in the visual juggernaut that is 'Marvel Zombies'.  Who know where he got it from, the end of a bottle of alcohol, the late night viewing of one too many George Romero movies, some internet clicks and a savvy mind for a play on the not-so affectionate terms for the True Believers, but it is here and it's here to stay.  What Millar wrought, Kirkman forged and Arthur Suydam perfected, three men taking us on a wild ride since 2005 and it shows no sign of stopping.  As long as zombies entertain the pop culture brain, someone's going to want to eat those brains.

So, in no particular order, here are some simple signs and helpful tips to the wide multi-universal world of The House of Undead Ideas.
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The Fifth Color - Forward Into the Past Jan 2010 Marvel Solicitations

It's like looking back and seeing the tide recede.  You turn and think, 'Wow, that's a lot of water back there, all going backwards... I wonder what's going to come next?'

We have three major plotlines coming to fruition or at least the first blossom of a long road ahead:  the Siege, Fall of Hulks (wait, wasn't this War of Hulks?), and the start of the new era of Captain America.  No one is surprised that Steve Rogers is back in the old costume, but what he does next will have to rock the foundations of the Marvel Universe as did his passing.  2010 will one of those years we'll look back on as a point of interest on the Marvel superhighway, but for now, we can plan our trip along it's crazy, windy route and hope for a next rest stop along the way.

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The Fifth Color - Leader in Red

I don't think I'm fooling anyone when I note that Marvel's merry Mutants are bite-sized metaphors on the human condition.  Each one had their own little quirk or personality touch that makes us think about ourselves and our place in the universe.  Lonely girl who can't be touched.  Check.  Ice queen who's more empathic and natural when she puts down her facade of material power.  Check, though it's a new turn on Ms. Frost when her reup'd power set.  There's the teenage girl who feels like she fades out of the room, the sensitive man behind a layer of steel, the intellect of a genius in the body of a beast, the list goes on.  Try it yourself on long car rides or waiting for the bus!

Boiling each X-Man down to their essential humanity seems super easy in the case of Cyclops.  He's the blind guy at the steering wheel.  The one guy who can never truly control his powers yet tries to control the entire world around him, and can't see the world outside a single shade of red is in control of the X-Men team.  Yes, yes, there's a lot more to that and it could be easily disagreed that this isn't his essential point (I eagerly await your comments below), but for today, let's humor the lady and say he is a man who can never see anything but red trying to lead possibly the most colorful organization in town.

How's he doing?

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The Fifth Color - New Practice

Doctor Voodoo: Avenger of the Supernatural is yet another book to cash in on that 'Avengers' gold that does New, Mighty, the Initiative and Dark so well these days but it doesn't really need it.  Jericho Drumm doesn't need a byline for being Sorcerer Supreme, the job title should be enough.  I also don't think he should be so quick to tack on his PhD.  Sure, it's in Psychology and that's nothing to sneeze at, but that degree will do him jack all in the days to come.

Having been chosen specifically by the Ancient One for the power/responsibility gig of the century, Brother Voodoo (again, no offense to the Doctorate but Brother Voodoo is a much cooler moniker and his actual brother's spirit is such an essential part of his character; besides, it's not like anyone calls Speedball 'Penance'...) has taken the role rather quickly and with little fanfare.  He still wants to go back to his job at the clinic, he grabs whatever magics he can (even scary dark stuff) to patch up holes in the barriers between this world and the next and if Doctor Doom shows up, well he'll add him to his To Do list.  There's no messing around in his first issue, no lingering doubts no fond retelling of his origin, it's right to business.

It's about time.

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The Fifth Color | Raise the flag high

All day, last week, I was kicking myself for my very important omission. Yes, I have disappointed my fan (Hi Mom!) by leaving out of my December preview-o-rama with the most important book to hit the shelves since Moses's Ultimate Ten Commandments:

Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield One-Shot #1

Kind of looks biblical, doesn't it? Well, it is! Captain America: Who Will Wield the Shield One-Shot #1 isn't just a mouthful of an awkward rhyme to get your mouth around, it's titanic in scope and importance. It means Captain America: Reborn will shock no one with its conclusion but will leave two men to wear our star-spangled tights and, unless they start switching off on Tuesdays, only one will be raising that shield come 2010.

And in a moment of horrific honesty, I will tell you I don't want to see Steve Rogers back.

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The Fifth Color - Marvel Solicitations for Dec '09

Walking into the local Borders bookstore, I noticed that the rack by the front is already starting to stock Christmas cards.  This surprised me as much as seeing the latest and (as always) greatest next event brewing on the horizon for the Marvel U.  Remember, Dark Reign is supposed to be over by the end of the year, so let pick up a pack of Santas and go look at the end of a banner title.

Oh, Dark Reign!  How will miss you!  Your only vaguely reasonable introduction brought us a bevy of brand new teams that make me ponder when Force Works is going to pop up next.  You dismantled SHIELD in favor of his own private army 'HAMMER', an acronym that not only hasn't been explained, but hasn't really done much when you think of all those 'dark' superhero teams at Osborn's disposal.  And they haven't really done much when you consider that Clint Barton ran amuck through Osborn's hand-picked Avengers team in their own base until he got to the God of War.  And Ares.

Really, what has Osborn done for us besides hand out frustration and stalemates and have to use a crappy acronym like GRANPA for a global supernatural/superhuman monitoring organization (like the Weird Happenings Organization wasn't doing anything)?  He's been a fantastic and obnoxiously unbeatable object of hate, a red-haired target for all our heroes as he held are the cards.  Perhaps Spaceballs was right, perhaps evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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The Fifth Color | Writer with a Home

It's been said that Sean McKeever has a survey group of teenage girls chained in his basement and, in exchange for their opinions and feelings, they get one hour of Gossip Girl a week and a poster of the Jonas Brothers to encourage development.

Wait.  That's probably not true.  But it has been said, mostly cited as a reason for why his Mary Jane-focused series-mini-series-then-series-again comics were such absolute joys to read for fans of all ages and genders.  By the time we got Mary Jane Loves Spider-Man (a very Joanie Loves Chachi title for me but that reference was so not in the target demographic), we had to say goodbye as our Pal left for the Distinguished Competition.  Never fear, I thought to myself, some good could come from this!  Maybe they'll put him on Supergirl, another can-do gal who could easily be put into that rich and delicious McKeever high school setting that feels oh my gosh, just like <i>mine</i>.  At DC, the plucky can-do gal can fight super-villains at the same time she's trying to get her best friend on speaking terms with the friend's ex and oh, the stories just write themselves!  Sean McKeever can really set the stage of high school life without making it feel hackneyed or childish so I expected they'd really let him work with the DCU.

Short answer:  it didn't go very well.

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The Fifth Color | Joe Quesada gave good face

Wednesday we were treated to the first and last one-on-one with Joe Q wherein we get the skinny on the Marvel/Disney buyout for the time being. It's pretty skinny, folks, as we're told up front (and at the back) that until the deal goes through, the shareholders make their vote and the checks get written, all the juicy details of what could and could not happen are in the hands of the legal department, not the comic editor.

There is no possible better man for the job, however, than our own Joe Quesada then to handle the multitudes of questions and concerns we fans have because there is no finer EEK out there who can just put his fingers in his ears and go la-la-la!

Kiel Phegley: There are also lots of properties that aren't in comics these days within the Disney catalogue from some of the classic animated movies through modern hits like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and teen-centric stuff like "High School Musical." Are there any Disney stories you'd like to bring into comics given the chance?

Joe Quesada: La-la-la-la-la, I can’t hear you. You’re sneaky Phegley, but I know what you’re trying to do! This is your version of “Duck Season-Wabbit Season!” isn’t it? Oh wait, wrong company (laughs).

Brilliant! Even though it was even phrased as a softball "In your, not the company's, opinion" question, Joey Q just can't be stopped. Or started.

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The Fifth Color - Marvel Queens

Oh man, I have never been so glad I do this on Friday.  Hopefully, Dear Reader, we're far enough from Monday and the hyperventilating, bad joke-cracking, internet outrage over the Big Announcement has passed the majority of us by.  Either you've read or listened a little more to those on the inside, fears, doubts and flailing have been soothed or at least put to bed for now as the fallout of this 4 billion dollar purchase of the House of Ideas is going to take years to have any sort of crazy effect on the brand we love.

Then again, some fans may still be unsoothed and are continuing to photoshop Mickey's head on Marvelman in milking out that one last drop of sneering humor.

We here at the Fifth Color have decided to eschew all ribbing and ranting at the House of Mouse... except for one thing.

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The Fifth Color - How We Handle Crisis

This week on Totally Biased Opinion with No Real Numbers Backing up a Gut Feeling Theater, I'll put on my comic shop clerk hat and say that, as a retailer, there was a drop off of customers reading Ultimatum as the issues chugged along.

Keep in mind, this is not me as a comic fan or as a critic (as laughable as the term is in my case), but for awhile the comic shop I work for sold Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men and Ultimates like gangbusters.  That is, with a loud and explosive beginning; I can recall barely getting my copy of Ultimate X-Men #1 as Marvel's newest set of titles did remarkably well and the speculator market turned its Saruman-like eye on the brand.  Years went by and we continued to put our stock in the Ultimate titles, through the rocky road that was Ultimate Fantastic Four, through the non-existent road that was Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine.  Yes sir'ee, if it had word 'Ultimate' on the cover, you could practically call it the 'Gold Standard' by which Marvel Comics could be judged by!

Man, remember those days?

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The Fifth Color - TIMECRASH! November 2009 Solicitations

Our pal, the EEK in charge Joe Quesada has been very clear with us that Dark Reign won't last out this year (God, willing, the creek don't rise and shipping schedules don't fail us).  At SDCC's Cup O' Joe he was asked this pretty directly and all on the panel sort of nodded calmly to the inevitable fact that whatever madness that got Norman Osborn to be in charge of national security would be put away by the end of 2009.

I know, direct, huh?  Not exactly like our extravagant exaggerators and hold-out experts to just give us a timeline and shrug as they'll meet you at the finish line.  Where's the panache?  The bells?  The whistles?  The hows and whys and hey, look.  November's solicitations.  Maybe we'll find some answers here, at the second to last month of year when it all ends for Dark Reign.

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The Fifth Color | Man Made Monster

There it is.  Bask in its glory.  There is so much in so little that this teaser image can be dismissed as cheap marketing, stringing readers along, chasing after a dead horse in the form of the zombie bandwagon, even vaguely familiar.  But, the longer you look at it, the more you start to see and if you really think about it, turning Frank Castle into some sort of sewn together undead abomination is simply what's left, America.

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The Fifth Color - TIMECRASH! October Solicitations for 2009

As a wise man once said, "Fool me once, shame on you..."  Last month, HeroesCon sniped my preview review in the land of Spider-Man reveals so no!  Oh no.  Not this time.  I waited, went to Comic Con and then came back to sit with you Dear Reader and get to the bottom of these little "TO BE REVEALED AT SDCC" notations.  Classified info be damned!  We're gonna look at the big picture, no matter how lines we had to stand in (I mean, no matter how cozy and thorough the primetime CBR coverage was)!

Here it is, folks, October at the House of Ideas and we're in for something mighty and massive.

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