The Essential Doctor Strange Vol. 3

Welcome once again to What Are You Reading? Today our special guest is John Jackson Miller, writer of Star Wars: Knight Errant and Mass Effect comics for Dark Horse and various Star Wars prose novels. He’s also the curator of The Comics Chronicles research website. His next comics series, Star Wars: Knight Errant, Deluge, starts in August.

To see what John and the Robot 6 crew are reading, click below.

*****

Tim O’Shea

Marvel Adventures #14

Marvel Adventures #14: This story by writer Todd Dezago and the art team of Ron Lim and Scott Koblish reminds me why I love all ages books. A standalone story rarely occurs in monthly comics these days (unless a filler issue is required)–and the set-up needed for multiple issue arcs (and ultimately TPBs) prevents stories from being all-out action like this one. I mean, in Journey Into Mystery #623 (also released this week), I literally had to read one page 4/6 of a page devoted to a bird waiting for the next plot point to occur. I imagine there will be a great deal of padding like this as long as the Fear Itself event plays out. Anyways back to Lim’s art, it’s far simpler (for the younger audience), but I found it refreshing in this Spidey/Thor team-up (a quirky combo in and of itself). At the outset of the story, the creators credited Gerry Conway and Ross Andru for inspiring the story. I may be mistaken but Lim’s layout even seems to carry an extra level of kineticism (much in the vein of Andru’s style).

Free Comic Book Day: Captain America/Thor: It breaks my heart to read this Roger Langridge/Chris Samnee tale..,because it’s so straightforward and delightful. And I’m still wondering why the hell the Langridge/Samnee series underperformed so badly–because it was just as solid as this tale. Extra points to Langridge for working in a Fighting American joke (as well as avoiding the whole “heroes meet/heroes fight/heroes clear up the confusion” cliche. I’ve praised Samnee’s art enough in the past, but this issue it really struck me how great he is at distinctive facial reactions.

Flashpoint #1: This was more enjoyable when it was called Elseworlds. One highlight in this rather uninspired read: Barry Allen drives a car. Extra bonus, he has to borrow his mom’s car, because apparently he’s paid so poorly in this alternate universe he does not own one.

Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #4: How accurate is the 1985 flashback in this month’s issue? A character is wearing an unstructured jacket (thanks to Miami Vice, a 1985 mainstay), so my hat’s off to artist Shawn McManus. Later in the story, there’s a 1986 flashback in which writer Chris Roberson has a chance to work with Snow White and Cinderella’s character dynamics (and how frustrating Cinderella’s cover story could prove). In that same scene, Roberson makes Vertigo history (I am fairly certain) and works in a 1980s Cheers sitcom reference.

Superman #711: Such is the way of media trends: all the outlets that covered that odd “Superman considers renouncing his US citizenship” in Action 900 seem to have missed out on Superman’s speech in tribute to the American Way at the end of Superman #711. (Sidebar: DC and 7-Eleven missed out on some sort of Slurpee cross-promotion giveaway with this issue’s number). Roberson’s run (which he has confirmed on Twitter ends with 714) will only turn out to be seven issues, but it has benefited by being graced with the overall JMS isolated storyline mandate. What I mean is that the story has not had to work in Blackest Day, Doomsday or Flashpoint. It’s just Superman on this Grounded quest. Much was made of Nick Spencer’s recent writing of Jimmy Olsen, but Roberson in essence writes a damn fine Olsen/Superman team-up in this one. And while the overall tale is tied to the Grounded arc, this issue has a slight done-in-one vibe.

Chris Mautner

Flashpoint #1

Flashpoint #1 — I had promised myself I would never delve into another mega-superhero crossover again after going through the drudgery that was Secret Invasion, but having read the first issue of Flashpoint (provided to me by the good people at DC) I may have to rethink my vow. I’m a sucker for the alternate universe/”what if” type stories anyway, but I thought it was a pretty solid introduction. You can see where a good number of the pieces are going to fit in the narrative — The Flash is clearly going to have to make a choice between setting things right and living in a world where his mother is still alive — but I really liked the way Kubert and Johns set this up. I liked that I didn’t have to work too hard to remember who The Outsider was or Shade, just simple, broad introductions that let you know as briefly as possible where everyone stood. I thought Batman’s narration was a bit too purple, and the expository dialogue was stilted at times (especially among the Captain Thunder crew). Also, wouldn’t be this Batman be … really old? At least too old to do the things he’s doing? Those are relatively minor caveats though. I’ve been wooed by solid first issues before only to be swiftly let down, but for now I’m tentatively anticipating the second issue, albeit with crossed fingers.

The Heavy Hand by C. Cilla — A deeply off-kilter graphic novel about a middle-aged schlub who leaves his podunk town to try to get a job with an eccentric professor who is doing something unseemly in a cave. Surreal, nonsensical things happen in between and during his adventures. Then they all go to a party and things really get weird. The likely comparison would be Jim Woodring I suppose, but Cilla seems to be dealing with different demons. Not bad, but the pacing feels slack in parts and just a wee bit too random at times.

JK Parkin

Invincible #70

I recently got caught up on Invincible; I’ve always been a trade or two behind on it, but since it’s being released day-and-date on Image’s iPad app, I figured why not download everything I was missing. I’ve read through the two recent “wars” — the alternate reality Invincible attack, and the Viltrumite war. You can tell the creators are just having a ton of fun with this one, from the big world-altering plots to the character development between Mark, his dad, Eve and my favorite character, his little brother Oliver.

I mentioned earlier this week how much I liked Flashpoint #1. A little background: Barry Allen was never my Flash, not really. I was never a fan or reader of the comic until Wally West took up the mantle. I thought Barry’s death was handled well in Crisis, and he became, to me, one of those characters whose death brought out the best in another character — kind of like an Uncle Ben or a Bucky.

But looking at Flashpoint #1, the Barry Allen plot line was actually my favorite part of the book. I mean, yeah, it’s the main plot line, as we’re introduced to this alternate universe , from his initial discovery that everything is wonky to the parts with his mom and Iris, to the absolutely wonderful traffic jam scene to his confrontation with Batman at the end of the comic. That last page was obviously going for the Big! Shocking! Moment!, but I think it worked in the context of the story, as it really nailed down the “Everything is messed up and I gotta fix this” plot involving Barry. Like Chris, I’m hoping subsequent issues live up to this one.

Finally, I also recently finished the novel The Passage by Justin Cronin. It’s an epic, decade-spanning novel about the vampire apocalypse — with the vampires here being a far cry from what you’d find in Twilight or even American Vampire. They’re monstrous, barely human creatures created in a lab by the government, with mind control powers that lead to things going horribly wrong. The novel is basically broken into two halves, with the first taking place a few years in the future as we learn the back story of this world and the second taking place about 100 years later, as the last remnants of humanity struggles to survive in a vampire world. Excellent, excellent novel that really draws you into the lives of the characters in both time periods.

Tom Bondurant

Batman Inc. #6

Batman Incorporated #6 (written by Grant Morrison, drawn by Chris Burnham) was great fun from start to finish, showing off the “Incorporated” concept in all its versatile forms. I’m hoping Chris Burnham stays on the title for a good long time. His work has echoes of recent Morrison collaborators (and Bat-artists) Frank Quitely and
Cameron Stewart, plus a little Kevin Maguire and Linda Medley to boot; but with an energy all its own. As Justice League International revitalized DC’s signature super-team, so this book is transforming “Batman” from a singular avenging figure into something much more pernicious: an idea. “We’d have to invent him,” indeed.

Speaking of ideas, part of the reason I enjoy the Fantastic Four is their honored spot in the Marvel U’s hierarchy. As such, I always looked forward to their team-ups with other heroes — but especially with Spider-Man, since he has unique relationships with each of them. He’s Johnny’s contemporary (which makes Sue something of a big sister), he shares Reed’s intellectual curiosity, and he and Ben have both felt like outsiders, monstrous or not. Nevertheless, I haven’t really warmed to the Future Foundation’s role in these past couple of issues of Amazing Spider-Man. They’re not bad stories, but I found myself drawn more to the subplot with Carlie than to the FF’s switched-around powers or the secrets of the Sinister Six. Meanwhile, I don’t mind Spidey’s role in FF, because he’s supposed to be part of that book; and I liked when the Avengers showed up earlier in “Big Time.” I guess it’s similar to what Carla talked about a couple of weeks back — my idea of Spidey hasn’t quite expanded to include his being a regular part of Marvel’s first family.

Jesus Saiz picked a heck of a story for his debut as Birds Of Prey‘s regular artist (in this week’s #12, expertly written as always by Gail Simone). While Huntress and the Question team up, the rest of the team goes undercover in what seems like perfunctory caper style. By the end of the issue, however, things have gotten extremely bad, and the worst part is, the Birds have no clue. It reminded me of the end of The Blair Witch Project, in that same it’s-too-late-BANG!-it’s-over sense. (It helps that the setting’s almost the same.) Saiz is a good fit for the book — closer to Nicola Scott’s style than Ed Benes’, but more earthy, and with a good eye for storytelling. It’s more of a subdued feel, which suits this book better than something over-the-top like Secret Six. Ironically, though, this particular issue has a very Secret Six-ish vibe, and I suspect the next one will too….

Brigid Alverson

Bat Boy

I’m a Weekly World News fan from way back‹back when space aliens were endorsing Bill Clinton’s run for president, some guy was frying an egg on his bald head, and the talking carp was telling us to read our Bibles (there were actually two talking carps, and the second one only told us to read our Old Testaments, because he was Jewish … but I digress). So I was tickled pink by IDW’s collection of Peter Bagge’s Bat Boy comics. Based on an actual character that was regularly covered in the paper, Bat Boy was a four-panel strip that picked up on the paper’s obsessions and ran amok with them. In the first sequence, prophetically, Bat Boy kills Osama Bin Laden, but not quite the way it happened in real life. Columnist Ed Anger (“I’m madder than a canary in a blender!”) pops up in these strips, which makes me very happy. I can’t say I exactly miss the WWN — the quality deteriorated quite a bit toward the end‹but these strips bring back some good times.

Still following up on creators I met at Boston Comic Con two weeks ago, this week I checked out Gabriel Dunston’s A Funny Thing Happened Today. It’s a slice-of-life webcomic that follows Dunston’s personal life pretty closely, from big events like having a baby and putting his dog to sleep to little things like losing his toothpaste or the baby farting. The art is competent, and the format is all over the place–strips, pages, photo comics–but the writing makes it a lot of fun to read. By the time I had read all the strips I felt like I really knew Gabriel and his whole family, and that they were the kind of people I would enjoy knowing. One criticism, though: It seems like every blog entry is an apology for posting late or missing a post. While this adds a certain verisimilitude, given the events of his life in the past year and a half, it also gets tiresome, and it’s not very relevant if you are reading through the archives. Other than that, though, it’s a fun read, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next.

John Jackson Miller

Star Trek

My “new” comics reading stack is so tall it’s no longer able to defy gravity, so a lot of what read right when it comes in is limited to the other Dark Horse Star Wars comics that I need for my own writing. But consistent with my work on The Comics Chronicles website I do enjoy digging through older comics — reading some for the first time, and others with new eyes.

For example, I just finished the first several years of Marvel’s Doctor Strange title (the one that came after Strange Tales) as it appeared in The Essential Doctor Strange Vol. 3. I’d read some of this before but it was fascinating as a writer to watch four greats of the game, Steve Englehart, Marv Wolfman, Jim Starlin, and Roger Stern writing the same storyline in succession. Strange, by its nature, was a relatively title to make course-corrections to; it was amusing, for example, to watch Englehart send Clea into a love affair with Benjamin Franklin (!) and to see Wolfman make sure that it never happened. Also, reading it now and knowing it was one of Marvel’s few bimonthlies at the time, the back burner was truly the back burner, plotwise. Doctor Strange invites some house guests one issue, goes off on an interdimensional fandango, and we suddenly remember the guests are still in the Sanctum something like a year later in real time!

I also picked up at C2E2 the complete Marvel run of Star Trek — the first one, right after The Motion Picture. Having adapted a movie for comics myself, I did not envy Wolfman and Dave Cockrum their job of cramming the movie adapt into three issues, but it was interesting to see moments in the comics version that were cut from the script, such as Kirk saving Spock from being mummified in crystal by V’Ger.

In prose, I recently read Then Everything Changed, the new book by Jeff Greenfield, late of CBS — in-depth counterfactual histories of what would have happened if John F. Kennedy had been assassinated before taking office, if Robert F. Kennedy hadn’t been killed, and if Gerald Ford had won reelection. It differs from a lot of “What If” histories in that Greenfield was part of RFK’s campaign, so there’s a “you are there” feel to it. Greenfield wrote an interesting novel some years back, The People’s Choice, that used as its springboard some of the really crazy outcomes that are possible in presidential elections because of the rules embedded in the electoral college. I enjoy stories where strange-but-true minutiae like that can have an outsize bearing on events — I tried to insert some of those moments during my Iron Man as Secretary of Defense storyline a few years ago.

Hoping to get started on the to-read stack before it buries another piece of furniture!

Mighty Fine T-shirts, makers of the Squirrel Girl shirts I linked to last month, have a few groovy additions to their Marvel line. Inspired by “fantasy-tinged black light posters” that were popular in the 1970s, the shirts feature Galactus, Thor and Doctor Strange … as well as rainbows, a Pegasus and a heavy metal album skull.

While the real ones don’t glow in the dark, the ones in my head do. Check out Dr. Strange and Thor after the jump.

*****

Spider-Man: Fever #1

One of the biggest problems with comics these days is that Brendan McCarthy simply isn’t making enough of them.

The UK artist, known mainly for his inspired and frequently surreal collaborations with writer Peter Milligan during the 1980s and 90s, (most notably Skin and Rogan Gosh) hasn’t produced any sequential art since his mind-bending issue of Solo (fittingly the last issue in that late, lamented series) six years ago, a comic which in itself marked a lengthy hiatus. In between those periods, McCarthy has opted instead to mostly work on various television and movie projects like Reboot, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and most recently a potential fourth Mad Max sequel.

Thankfully Marvel is about to change all that. The company that Disney bought has enlisted McCarthy to write and draw Spider-Man: Fever, a three-issue limited series starring the wall-crawler and Dr. Strange that will arrive in stores this April (or at least the first issue will).

I talked to McCarthy over email about the new series and the challenges it offered.

Q: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think your last published comic was that final issue of Solo back in 2004. What have you been doing in the interim since then and what made you decide to return to comics after such a lengthy hiatus? More specifically, how did this particular project, FEVER, come about?

From Spider-Man: Fever #1

Steve Wacker asked me if I was interested in doing something for Marvel, after he had seen the DC Comics’ SOLO material. I always thought I could do a decent take on Dr. Strange. He’s my favorite Marvel character. One of my best-loved comic stories is the 1965 Silver Age Spider-Man and Dr. Strange annual story by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. FEVER was inspired by that strip.

Q: Obviously it’s not just coincidence that the two stars of Spider-Man: FEVER happen to be the two Marvel characters co-created by Steve Ditko. I know Ditko was a big influence on your work. Did you see this project as a chance to pay tribute to him? And if so, how did you go about doing so without it being too obvious or slavish a homage?

You’re exactly right. Steve Ditko is a singular genius and I wanted to ‘pay homage’ but not be slavish… I’m obviously not in his artistic league, he really is a master, but I was happy to invent a story that utilized the amazing dimensional realities that he created all those years ago. Having done Shade and now Spider-Man and Dr. Strange — all that I’d like to do next is The Creeper! (I have to admit, Hawk and Dove never really did it for me.)

I absolutely adore those pre-superhero short stories that Ditko did with Stan Lee. One day, I’m going to persuade Marvel to create a collection of the best of them and get them to print those classic stories on good quality paper with good inks. Those modern reprints in those garish colors are unbearable to me! Maybe best to scan off the original comic pages.

Q: Apart from Ditko, what were some of the other specific influences on Fever? I detect a bit of Lovecraftican horror in the mix for example.

No, not Lovecraft. I just can’t get through his incredibly dense prose. The spooky story element is purely my own invention.

Other influences on this FEVER strip are Heinz Edelmann, the designer of the beautiful ‘Yellow Submarine’ film and some rather obscure Australian Aboriginal artists. There are some pages in the second issue where I was using aboriginal ‘dot’ designs with the lettering, to create swirling, psychedelic effects.

The UK designer Steve Cook contributed some very nice sfx and color throughout the strip as well. His own Alternity photographic work is very well done.

The occult artist Austin Osman Spare was looked at while I drew this, but more for the ‘magickal atmosphere’ of his thought.

From Spider-Man: Fever

Q: Apart from Ditko, what was it about Dr. Strange and Spider-Man that appealed to you? What is it about these two particular characters, that, say, Captain America or the Fantastic Four don’t have?

My original pitch was for me to write and draw a Dr. Strange story, but Steve Wacker, as editor of the Spider-man line, said that if Spidey was in it, we would have a better chance of selling it to Marvel — and it would help sales.

I’d quite like to do a good FF story sometime, as the Lee/Kirby run is still stunningly great. I did have a pitch called “The Fabulous Four” which was Stan Lee’s original name for the group, an alternative ‘take’ on their origins. But let’s see how this FEVER series goes down with the readers.

I think Mark Millar’s version of Captain America, in the recent “Civil War” series, was right on the money. I have nothing to add to that character.

Q: I’m probably wrong about this, but apart from your Solo issue and Judge Dredd, you usually haven’t worked on licensed or big pop culture characters (at least in comics at any rate). Were there any specific challenges in working with as familiar and beloved a character as Spider-Man that you didn’t necessarily experience before? If so, how did you handle it?

I’ve always been interested in my own characters more than other people’s. But for Dr. Strange I make an exception!

Otherwise, I feel I could do a really good “All Star” Flash for DC. I’d make it very 60s Infantino, using all that gallery of villains. Next to Batman, I’d say The Flash has got the best bunch of bad guys lined up against him.

The Creeper interested me too, for obvious Ditkovian reasons! Steve Niles had a decent stab at it but I don’t think DC have nailed him properly yet.

I’d like to do a good Swamp Thing graphic novel too, as I really love the original — and very bizarre — Wein/Wrightson comic series.

Q: One of the things that struck me about the issues I read is the blend of humor and horror that runs through the series. One the one hand you’ve got these genuinely frightening spider monsters saying some very funny things. Is that blend of the serious and the silly important to you in your comics work? Do you worry at all about having one undercut the other?

No. Tonally, I like the comedic dialogue playing against the horror elements. Tarantino used opposing streams of comedy and extreme violence in Pulp Fiction to good effect. So it can work well if executed properly. There’s definitely a ‘Monty Python’ type of surreal humor running through this story. But there’s also some deeply emotional moments for the characters to live through as well. I like these things playing off each other.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about your working process on this comic at all? I notice for example, that you use a lot of vertical, as opposed to more traditional horizontal, panels in your layouts. What was the thinking behind that?

I am trying to get away from comics ‘aping’ movie storytelling. Comics are not films, so panels don’t have to be shaped like movie screens. Comics do not move or have sound. They are really, a completely different medium. I know people want to get Hollywood to buy their stories, but I think it’s now getting boring to merely copy movie storytelling tropes. Comics are comics, a totally different form! Time for comics to cut loose again.

Q: Am I correct in assuming that the sorcerer Crawley is a stand-in for Aleister Crowley?

Yes, you are correct. I have chosen to use Aleister in his tabloid-baiting “Wickedest Man in the World” persona. But unlike writers like Grant Morrison and Alan Moore, etc, I don’t have that much regard for him. It all seems a bit silly when you’re no longer a teenager. Crowley was a brilliant occultist and opportunist, but as a human being, he was a dismal failure. He was also quite mistaken in his final understanding of the nature of reality. He was never able to dis-identify with his ego and ‘cross the Abyss’. I tend to prefer the other major British magician, Tommy Cooper.

Q: In some ways Fever has a much more straightforward or linear storyline than, say, your work in Solo or Rogan Gosh, despite the spiders and supernatural elements. Do you see this as being separate or different from your past comics projects because of that?

This is a Marvel Comic, so I think I should try something different, but keep it within mainstream sensibilities. I’d like it to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. And if it’s a hit, well, I have a kind of sequel planned…

Q: A lot of times online I come across descriptions of your work as being “trippy” or “weird for weird’s sake” which seems to me a bit shallow and dismissive. Does that sort of surface reading of your art bother you at all?

Not at all. My main pre-occupation in writing and drawing FEVER was to keep myself interested all through the process, as I get easily bored… So I make sure I’m surprising myself, moving in different directions with the art and writing. I like lots of ideas to be in a comic — the ideas are what interest me the most really.
Hopefully the readers will be entertained by the book. Sometimes I make myself laugh when I’m creating the story. That’s a good sign. It means that at least I had a good time!

Q: What’s up with Swimini Purpose, your limited-edition art book? Any chance of a second printing coming out anytime soon? While I’m asking, any chance a new edition of Skin, Paradax! or Rogan Gosh will appear as well?

I’d like to do a completely new edition of SWIMINI PURPOSE at some point in the future. If a decent offer comes up, I’d certainly consider it. But it’s probably best if I produce it myself as I get tired of people wasting my time.

As to all my other comics work, mainly created with Pete Milligan, well, I’m sure that one fine day a good quality ‘collected ‘ edition will be available. We’ll probably have to die first though. Currently, none of my past work is in print.

Q: What’s happening with the new Mad Max movie, Fury Road? Are you still involved?

Over 8 years ago, I co-wrote and did core designs on Mad Max: Fury Road. That was quite a while ago, so I’m not sure how much of my script or design is still there. But I’m pleased to say that it’s back in production. The director, George Miller is a very talented and savvy fellow and I look forward to seeing it. I just hope it’s a good movie.

from Brendan McCarthy's Spider-Man: Fever

Comics Alliance scored themselves an exclusive preview of writer-artist Brendan McCarthy’s upcoming Spider-Man/Doctor Strange miniseries/voyage into prime Ditko psychedelia, Spider-Man: Fever. I hear that if you press play on The Dark Side of the Moon when you open the cover, it syncs up perfectly.

You can breathe, breathe in the air from Doc’s Sanctum Sanctorum when the book hits this April.

(Via Douglas Wolk)

Joe the Barbarian #1

For several months, there’s been a great amount of interest in Sean Murphy‘s work on Joe the Barbarian (the artist’s latest project/eight-issue miniseries with writer Grant Morrison, the first issue of which goes on sale this Wednesday, January 20). I was looking forward to meeting Murphy at the late October 2009 SCAD event (covered here). After talking about his craft with him (and seeing his work first hand), I am genuinely enthused to see the release of the first issue. I truly relish Murphy’s candor, as evidenced in this interview, and appreciate him giving me the opportunity to discuss Joe the Barbarian (as well as other topics).

Tim O’Shea: How did you come to be involved with Joe the Barbarian?

Sean Murphy: I’ve had a rough ride with DC for many years it seems. After Batman/Scarecrow: Year One I couldn’t get work there. My editor apparently pushed hard for me but the people in charge didn’t like my stuff and blacklisted me from the DCU. I’ve got a Teen Titans story that was never published because of how I reinvented Cyborg (shame on me for bringing him out of the 90s).

Then one day Karen Berger calls from Vertigo. She wanted me to work on this book they were doing with Neil Young called Greendale. Needing cash, I of course agreed. But there were a lot of delays for about a year. At one point I passed on Spider Man 1602 because I thought Greendale was almost ready. In the end Neil opted to go with another artist, so I started talking to Marvel about working there. When they offered me Dr. Strange, Karen countered with a Morrison book called Warcop. Soon they were both talking exclusives.

It was a rush. I remember thinking that I must have given the lord of comics a hand job in a past life or something.

Long story short, I signed with DC for two years to do Warcop and DV8 (with Wildstorm). Again, both scripts were delayed so Karen created some Hellblazer for me. When that was finished she offered me Joe the Barbarian because Grant was putting Warcop on hold. Of course I took it—it’s Grant Morrison and who wouldn’t?

The short version of all of this—it was a weird, rough ride but I’m glad to have the momentum now.

O’Shea: Have you been surprised at the amount of praise the book’s received, well before its release?

Murphy: It’s hard to say. There’s been a ton of buzz that’s caught me off guard, so I’ve started assuming that “buzz” is part of the deal when it’s a Morrison creator-owned. Is this the normal amount of press a Morrison book gets?

O’Shea: Grant Morrison has worked with a hell of a lot of artists over the years, so when he says (as he did in this recent CBR interview): “He’s one of the best artists I’ve ever worked with, and he’s really pulling out the stops to create a world that’s never been seen before. This book is worth it for the art alone, to be honest.” It takes a great deal to impress Morrison–how intimidating or demanding has the dynamics of this project been for you?

Murphy: Haha. I just assumed that Grant is supposed to say things like that for a sound bite. But he seems happy so that makes me feel good. There are a lot of ways that an artist could interpret the details of the scripts so I’m glad to be given the freedom that he’s allowed.

But to answer your question, it’s been really demanding. I try using photo refs whenever I work, but with the book mostly taking place in a fantasy world there’s been very little I can shoot. Because of that my style’s gotten a little more cartoony—which has worked out fine because it’s nice seeing cleaner characters standing against these carefully rendered backgrounds. I reminds me a bit of how Calvin and Hobbes looked when Calvin was envisioning realistic dinosaurs. That’s my aim at least.

O’Shea: In terms of pulling out the stops, have there been any pages where you feared maybe you were too ambitious or carried things too far?

Murphy: Absolutely. There’s a two-page spread of Joe meeting an army of toys in his fantasy world. For two days I was inventing Transformers, GI Joes and other knock-offs of my own childhood playthings. It’s a detail heavy page with little regard to design—which drives me crazy. Sure, rendering is cool. But I more enjoy finding simple creative solutions that take me less time.

And there have been other places where I’ve dropped the ball. Issue 3 has an underground dwarf kingdom made of pipes (to mirror Joe’s journey near the bathroom sink). I got so into it that I ended up focusing more on the buildings, turning them into French-style villages. The pipe thing is still there but probably not to the degree that Grant wanted. There have been a lot of little errors like that.

O’Shea: How long did you have to read the script before you got into Joe’s head and felt you had a grasp of what Morrison’s goal was with the series?

Murphy: Haha. I still don’t really know his goals of the series.

Joe is a very surreal book—something I never considered myself to be good at. Grant’s scripts are loose and the dialog is incomplete, but they’re also filled with very particular details about the environment, some of which are suggestions and some of which have to go in. I feel like I’m in a batting cage with the pitching machine going wild. And even though I’m hitting 85% of the balls, some are still going by.

But again, Grant’s been kind when I’ve missed something or added something. Sometimes when I make mistakes, he’ll insist that I leave them in because he likes the new direction it’s taking the story. I can’t believe how little ego he has even after all these years.

O’Shea: Can you give folks a glimpse of how the miniseries expanded to an 8-part miniseries?

Murphy: When I signed on the series was 6 issues, but Grant realized he needed 8 to tell the whole story he had in mind.

Then I read on the Vertigo website that it was going to be 3. But that was a marketing tactic. In their minds, if they announced it going from 3 to 8 then they could get more publicity by reposting something like “we love this book so much that there will now be 8 issues instead!” I find the slap-happy business tactics we see in comics to be hilarious.

To be honest I’m probably not supposed to be pointing this stuff out, but whatever. I like arming people with the truth if I can, even if it’s a tiny detail.

O’Shea: You love to capitalize on the use of black, as evidenced by this cover for issue 3. How crucial is it to have a good colorist and inker when exploiting black space in your work?

Murphy: For anyone using a lot of spotted blacks—I feel it’s very important. Which is why I don’t trust inking to anyone other than me.  

And as far as colors, sometimes I think that spotting a lot of black makes life harder for a colorist. Most artists draw for color and leave a lot of open shapes. Guys like me tend to draw for black and white even though it’s a colored book. That leaves less choices a colorist can make. Even most artists who spot their blacks still leave open areas where color is obviously supposed to go. Very rarely do they go all the way and leave nothing for a colorist. And most of my influences leave nothing for colorists and that’s probably why I hate seeing their work in color: Toppi, Zaffino, Coker, Canete, and Zach Howard. Dustin Nguyen’s good at switching it up. Somehow he can adjust for his colorist when he’s getting colored. Still, his black and white published work is some of my favorite.

But we’ve got Dave Stewart coloring the book, and he’s exceptional of course. Dave is pulling out all the stops (that phrase is getting a lot of play with Joe is seems).

O’Shea: As you revealed at your website, you once did a Titans inventory story that was never published (due to a continuity error with the story). Of the project you note: “The style I used here marks the last time I tried a clean look with my art. From here on out it’s no more compromise.” What was the catalyst for abandoning the clean look?

Murphy: The catalyst was that I wasn’t getting hired for anything. And I finally hit a wall and said “why should I try to draw for these guys when these guys still won’t hire me?” And when I stopped trying to meet these weird, mainstream standards, that’s when I started to improve. I found that I had a lot more in me than feathering, cross-hatching and tick marks. And I was way happier with my work.

A lot of guys struggle for years—I did too. We all have bad luck. But when is it more than bad luck? When does an artist have to stop and really look at what he’s doing and realize that maybe the problem is him? After years of resistance I had to swallow the fact that my honed house-style-attempts weren’t good enough to get me work. So I abandoned them.

O’Shea: Back in September you wrote the following under a post called Controversy: “The power of the press plays a huge role in the system of checks and balances in our business. Every time you write an article, post a comment or hop on Twitter you essentially become the press. Artists occupy an important position in these networks because there are tons of people who are willing to listen. But I don’t understand why more professionals don’t call “bullshit” more often.” What do you think it will take for more pros to call bullshit–and is there a backlash to situations where you have called “bullshit” on a situation?

Murphy: I have gotten a lot of comments on that post. And in person, people will tell me that I’m controversial—which I’m not. When I think of true controversy I think of MLK, Rickard Dawkins and Karl Marx. But I understand what they’re getting at. In the context of comics it is, for some reason, considered controversial for someone to blow the whistle when part of the industry isn’t working efficiently.

For younger guys, I can understand them being timid. They’re hitting cons and meeting their favorite creators—often times artist, editors and companies whom they grew up admiring. For a newbie to rock the boat is risky. But there are a lot of established guys who have really great styles which almost guarantees them work for as long as they want it. And I’ve sat among them at shows and heard them complaining, and I always wonder why they don’t make their thoughts public. Their readers are thirsty for information on how to become a professional, so why not give them a list of people, companies and situations to avoid?

Tommy Lee Edwards is a perfect example of a guy who actually does. He’s wildly talented and has the chops to call bullshit. He did a post a month or so ago about the downfall of movie poster designers. He had examples and even named names. I love seeing that. Tommy’s a guy who climbed the ladder, went through the ropes and made it to the top with his integrity, honesty and fearlessness intact. And bad artists should be afraid of his wraith because he’s untouchably good. Without his post I wouldn’t have noticed how awful a lot of new movie posters actually are.

The trick, I think, is to be fair and check your bias. And I think that goes for everyone, not just people in comics. In a world where everyone has their own website, their own voice, and 24 posts a day on Twitter, it’s too easy to mouth off. Humans type in the same voice that they’d speak, and you wouldn’t tell a crowd of thousands of people that so-and-so should be kicked off of X-men. And that’s what we’re doing with Twitter and blogging minus the confrontation.

And to answer your question, I’ve been guilty of it too. And I’ve been caught, called out and made to apologize. And I’m better for it. Now that people are reading my journals I find that I’m a lot more careful about what I say—which is exactly how the freedom of the press is supposed to work. Say what you want, but your peers might shame you. But if you’re fair and can defend what you’re saying, you’ll win more readers and respect.

What the leaches in this industry need is a good public shaming.

And as far as “the press” goes, you’re a perfect example of someone who’s doing it right. When I first met you, it was in Atlanta after an hour of telling a room full of students about my negative experiences with DC. I didn’t hold back at all, basically given everyone my hate-list of certain people at DC. So when you came up and told me you were at Robot 6 I thought, “great, now he’s gonna print all that shit I would have never said in an interview.” But then you told me that all that stuff would be off the record, which I of course appreciate. It’s more rare to find someone who takes it seriously and who genuinely wants what’s best for everyone. You could have easily gone for the ratings and the drama and spilled all the beans but you didn’t.

Sorry to go off on a few tangents there. These kinds of discussions really get me going.

O’Shea: You almost worked on a Vertigo project back in the mid-2000s (correct me if I’m wrong about the timing)–what is the story about Term Life, which you were going to ink? (skip this question if it delves into aspects you don’t wish to discuss publicly)

Murphy: Nothing to avoid at all! I was living with Zach Howard and he got offered a gig with Vertigo called Term Life—which I was going to ink. After a few pages they decided that it wasn’t a book they wanted to more forward with. It sounded like it might have been DC politics, but who knows. Often times they won’t tell you the truth because they don’t want to offend.

It was probably the inks that killed it.

O’Shea: In looking over your website, I ran across this potential project, Punk Rock Genius. Is that book something that will be done in the near term–or has your creative instinct made you want to go in a different direction after you finish Joe?

Murphy: Punk Rock Jesus? Yeah that’s my next OGN which I put on hold because of my exclusive with DC. But rest assured that’s my goal next year—even if I have to starve—to put that out. With the momentum of Joe and then Hellblazer (which is due out shortly after that), I should be able to afford some time away from the public eye so I can get it done. Doing my own stuff is my ultimate goal so I’ll probably be taking a financial hit for a while. But I find those ‘close to the heart” projects pay off in small ways in the future.

O’Shea: Is there anything you’d like to discuss that I neglected to ask you about?

Murphy: Yeah, I’m working on a series of pieces called the Wolverine ABCs, which you can view on my Deviant page. It’s basically Wolverine and some of his Marvel friends posing in the shapes of the letters in the alphabet.

Because I’m not allowed to post new pages of Joe, I wanted to find something fun and memorable that I could do on the side so I’d have something new to post. And because I talk a lot of idealistic propaganda (which not everyone is interested in), I thought having some alphabet fun would help lighten things ups.

If my page is the holocaust museum that becomes a little much after a while, then the ABCs is the waterslide in the lobby. (And before I get hate mail, let me tell you that I have a lot of Jewish friends who have laughed at that.)

Fever promo

Mark Kardwell shares with us an “idea sketch for a ‘Coming Soon” type of advert” for Fever, the upcoming Dr. Strange/Spider-Man miniseries written and drawn by Brendan McCarthy. This Marvel Knights series is due in April, McCarthy told Kaldwell.

Doctor Strange: The Oath

No doubt inspired by his arrival to Comic-Con, Tom Spurgeon has made up a list of what he feels are 10 properties that should be fast-tracked into movies or TV shows. No. 1 on the list is Dr. Strange, and Tom has an interesting suggestion as to who should don the Eye of Agamotto:

While some folks reading that original post thought I was hinting at Johnny Depp being best suited for the role, the actor I was thinking of was actually Leonardo DiCaprio. A number of you probably just vomited, but DiCaprio is already 34, he can act, he’s as believable as Downey Jr. — albeit in a different way — as someone who once had a glamorous career, lost it and has seen tough times since, he’s a major motion picture star, he has considerable onscreen charisma it’s fun to see him embrace rather than flee and he’s adept at playing romance. But so many actors would do.

Go check out the whole list. There are some interesting and eclectic choices found there.

Kurosagi Delivery Service Vol. 9

Is it Sunday again already? Time for another What Are You Reading then. Our guest this week is blogger and Bleach fanatic John Jakala. Has John been reading Bleach this week? Click on the link to find out. Oh, and don’t forget to tell us what you are reading in the comments section below.

Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps

Tom Bondurant: Boy, that Prince Valiant hardcover looked great, didn’t it?  The color is just stunning.  The stories (what I’ve read so far, at least) are fun as well, with a nice mix of realism and fantasy.  I’m looking forward to future volumes, both to see how Hal Foster’s style and Val’s character develop over the years.

I liked Blackest Night:  Tales of the Corps #1 more than I thought I would.  The lead story (written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jerry Ordway) was a somewhat odd duck, like “The Twilight Zone” meets the Old Testament.  It’s the origin of Saint Walker, leader of the Blue Lanterns, and I suppose it’s a superhero-ish take on the Book of Job, except without all the smack-talk from God.  The second story is about the early years of today’s Mongul, leader of the Sinestro Corps. (Remember, his dad was the Mongul of “For The Man Who Has Everything,” the Superman-in-space storyline, etc.)  Written by Peter Tomasi and drawn by Chris Samnee, it shows Kid Mongul emulating his dad by making a group of marooned extraterrestrials his conquered subjects.  Dad shows up at the end, leaving Junior with a fairly ironic life lesson. It’s disturbing in a darkly funny way — more EC sci-fi than “Twilight Zone.”  The last story introduces the Indigo Tribe, an inscrutable quasi-Lantern-Corps who speak in an untranslatable language and who do some mysterious things to a mortally wounded Green Lantern and his similarly-situated Sinestro Corpsman foe.  Overall, I thought the issue was entertaining, and it will probably provide some relevant insight into the various rival Corps.  (Well, the Mongul story not so much — I suspect we could have figured that out about him on our own.)

Seems like there must have been some behind-the-scenes shenanigans surrounding Steve Englehart’s departure from the ’70s Doctor Strange, because finishing up Essential Dr. Strange Vol. 3 felt like jumping through a series of corrective hoops.  First Englehart wrote two issues of “The Occult History Of America” before that arc was completed by editor Marv Wolfman.  Wolfman then introduced the Creators and the Quadriverse as another challenge to Strange’s (and the reader’s) understanding of reality.  Then, Jim Starlin came aboard for a few issues, and finally Roger Stern wrapped it all up with the In-Betweener, who apparently was related to Adam Warlock, Thanos, and a recent Avengers storyline.  Thus, over about ten issues, the book went from Englehart’s quirky take to a more mainstream, shared-universe-friendly status quo.  Not that Stern’s story was bad — it seemed more reasonable than both Wolfman’s and Starlin’s take — but it purported to show what was “really” going on.

I’ve started reading the new Madame Xanadu paperback, written by Matt Wagner with art by Amy Reeder Hadley.  After two issues I like it quite a bit, especially Hadley’s art. The cameos from various magical DC characters (and the one artifact) are fun too.  On deck are Showcase Presents Bat Lash and a couple of ’70s Marvel series in Essential form.

Wednesday Comics #1

Tim O’Shea: Last week, I had one minor beef with Wednesday Comics — and that was the Simonson & Stelfreeze credits with the Catwoman/Demon story. Did I mention it was a minor quibble? Well, minor or not, I was pleasantly surprised to get an email from WALT Simonson last weekend — explaining quite simply why the credits are the way they are. “Sorry. Didn’t want to screw up the symmetry of Simonson/Stelfreeze.” Makes sense to me. Thanks for the explanation, Walt.

Now on to this week — and Wednesday Comics again. Karl Kerschl’s framing of two “strips” (Iris West/The Flash) in one with Flash Comics is delightful. It would have been my top story of the Wednesday Comics collection this week, were it not for Kyle Baker. Kyle Baker gave readers a scene with Hawkman, a child and a smile. Four simple panels in the midst of a frenetic adventure that reminds me yet again why Baker is one part artist/one part cinematographer in his storytelling.

Mark Waid finishes up the first major arc with The Incredibles this week. My son is loving the book and so am I, but for different reasons. For me, I’m loving it for the comedic moments that Waid works in, almost as asides it seems (and that’s a compliment). My favorite bit in The Incredibles 4 is the “heights” that Violet’s boyfriend goes to get in a good cell zone to call her.

Any week I get to type the name Gene Colan is good for me. Go get Captain America 601, sure it’s a filler issue to a certain extent, but it’s Gene Colan.

Finally I greatly appreciated Jess Nevins’ analysis of Fu Manchu in the back of Incognito 5. Kudos to Brubaker for working in content like this into his Icon series.

Batman & Robin #2

Matt Maxwell: Light comics week reading this week.  (Mostly books from last week anyways).

WEDNESDAY COMICS #1
There’s some great pieces here, but Ben Caldwell’s WONDER WOMAN is the standout.  Okay, SUPERGIRL is a standout too.  And Risso…well, it’s  Risso. I mean, you can’t pass that up.  Oh, and Garcia-Lopez on METAL MEN. Everything he does is a master class in storytelling.

But Caldwell’s take on WONDER WOMAN is a real gem that actually does something intriguing with the space he’s been given.  Don’t get me  wrong. The others are nicely done.  But they don’t jump out as really exceptional.

I’ll probably buy all of these as they come out, but I would be lying  if I said that I didn’t want to read all the stories collected instead of  anthology style.

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2
Morrison and Quitely make this seem like it’s so easy.  Like it’s a  breezy little jaunt through the back alleys of Gotham City and it all just came off  the tops of their heads.  But it didn’t.  There’s a real weight and substance and insight at play.  Instead of working with the ultra grim “I must become a bat” school, Morrison and Quitely instead play up “I’m an actor playing a role” angle.  And giving the role of Robin to Damian allows him to be a  great foil for Dick Grayson’s Batman.  It’s a far better book than I thought it would be and I figured it’d be pretty good (and I lost interest in Morrison’s run on Batman when it became BATMAN RIP).  But this book is something else entirely.  I don’t want Bruce Wayne back as Batman.  Let him vacation
for awhile.  He’s certainly earned it.

AGENTS OF ATLAS #7
At least I think it’s #7.  I’m not used to keeping track of numbers in the comics I’m reading, since I switched over to mostly trades.  You know why I like this book so much?  Because it’s not about characters that I was reading thirty years ago.  This is uncharted territory in the Marvel U.  And who better to set course for it than Jeff Parker, who has a sense of history, but isn’t enslaved by it (as well as a sense of adventure but isn’t interested in breaking toys just to break them.)

Research reading?  Who has time for that?  I’ve got kids out of school and they need entertainment, dammit!  HERE WE ARE, DAD ENTERTAIN US.

The Ice Wanderer

Brigid Alverson: I always loved classic comic strips as a kid, so I was delighted to see NBM’s collection of Frederick Opper’s Happy Hooligan strips from the early 1900s. The book is beautifully produced, with an essay summarizing Opper’s professional work and very nice reproductions of the strips themselves—not an easy feat when you’re talking about yellowing newspaper comics. They probably look a lot better on these pages than in the original. Every strip turns on the same device: Happy, a well-meaning hobo, tries to help someone, is misunderstood, causes all sorts of chaos, and winds up being hauled off by a truncheon-wielding policeman in the final panel. Opper tells each of these stories in six panels with an ascending degree of mayhem and lots of side comments. The similarity of the storylines make this a book that’s better to dip into than to read cover to cover, but it’s a great summer diversion.

Speaking of summer, it’s finally getting hot and sticky here on the East Coast, so I’m escaping with Jiro Taniguchi’s The Ice Wanderer, which comprises six short stories that all share a certain sensibility with the works of Jack London. The first story is a ghost story that is old as the hills, but Taniguchi makes it fresh and ties it so tightly to the place, it’s hard to believe he isn’t from the North himself. His art is crisp and clear, with little of the stylization people usually associate with manga; this is a good example of manga that an indy comics lover can enjoy.

Finally, Alan’s Letters is not a comic but an illustrated nonfiction book, the story of Alan W. Lowell, a World War II soldier who died in combat in 1944. The book, by his niece Nancy Rial, collects his letters starting with basic training and presents them alongside photos of army equipment, vintage postcards and flyers, and modern photos of the sites in France where Alan fought. It all adds up to a very complete and moving picture of army life, as seen through the eyes of an earnest young man.

Crime!

Chris Mautner: I recently finished Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of The Hunter and will have a full review up next week.

I’m also reading a couple of books for The Comics Journal, including the latest (and presumably final) For Better or for Worse collection, Just a Simple Wedding. I have a love/hate affair with creator Lynn Johnston. I think she’s one of the most talented cartoonists working in newspapers today, but she lays on the sentimentalism with a trowel. And don’t get me started on Anthony.

One book I just started was Larry Gonick’s Cartoon History of the Modern World Part II: From the Bastille to Baghdad. The book’s not out until October, but HarperCollins sent me an advance review copy to read. I’ve been a big fan of this series since it started waaaaaaay back when, and am eager to read this final volume, if a little sad that it’s finally ending.

Bleach Vol. 27

John Jakala: I’m perpetually behind in my comic reading, but this past week I actually managed to read several books that have been sitting near my bedside for weeks.

Bleach 27: The latest installment of one of my favorite shonen manga series. It’s mainly a series of downtime vignettes before the next multi-volume fight scene kicks off, but there are some satisfying moments for long-time Bleach fans. I loved finally seeing Urahara in action, especially when he frustrated his opponent by finishing his sentences. It was great to see Chad and Uryū get some screen time hopefully they’ll be able to pull their weight and not merely serve as punching bags before Ichigo steps in to save the day. And although Orihime’s abduction by the Arrancars reeks of the same damsel-in-distress syndrome that befell Rukia in the never-ending Soul Society arc, I’m hopeful that Orihime will be a more active protagonist than Rukia was because Kubo is upping her powers in interesting ways.

Slam Dunk volumes 3 & 4: I’d already read the material in these volumes back when Gutsoon published the series (first in the Raijin Comics anthology and then in the TPB collections) but I still bought the Viz editions because (1) I want to support the series and (2) I find the differences in translation fascinating.

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service 9: KCDS is the series that received my vote for best ongoing series of 2009, and this volume is a great example why:  In addition to the usual ghastly and gruesome scenarios the gang finds themselves in, we also learn a bit more about the tragic personal backgrounds of two members of the Delivery Service. Combining pathos with horror makes for a surprisingly rich reading experience.

Pluto 3: There is so much I love about this book. I’ve been enjoying the series, Naoki Urasawa’s reworking of Osamu Tezuka’s classic Astro Boy storyline “The World’s Strongest Robot”, since the beginning, but this volume is where things really started to click for me.  Come the end of 2009, I have a feeling this series is going to be sweeping a lot of critics’ “Best Of” lists.  In fact, this single volume alone could pretty much lock up all the “Best Of” categories as far as I’m concerned:  Best (and Most Adorable) Character:  Uran; Best (and Most Sympathetic) Villain (TIE): Adolf Haas, Pluto; Best Social Commentary; Best Visualizaiton of Futuristic Society; Best World-Building; Best Remix of Older Material; and Best (and Most Surprising) Use of Limited Color
Printing in a B&W Book.  In fact, one of the only awards that Pluto wouldn’t win would be “Best Series Title” because that would go to…

Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu:  Again, this has got to be one of the best book titles ever.  Coming next month from Last Gasp, Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu is the latest surreal, psychedleic manga from off-beat artist Junko Mizuno and it details the exploits of Pelu, a strange, cottonball-shaped alien who escapes to Earth in search of a mate so he can fulfill his dream of making a baby.  (Pelu himself is kind of a sentient space sperm ripped from the womb before he could copulate with his egg-like wombmate to produce an alien baby, so he’s feeling a bit lost, alone, and incomplete on Earth.)  The book is filled with bizarre, disturbing, but utterly engaging adventures, like the chapter where Pelu’s friend the Space Hippo arrives on Earth, eats too many unfamiliar foods, and ends up vomitting an acid-like substance all over the town’s local poodle ranch.  The “Vol. 1″ in the title makes me hope we’ll see more imaginative tales featuring Pelu and his quest for love (or at least reproduction) in the near future.

Otto Porfiri: Drama on the Cliff and Red Moon: These two books were entries in Dark Horse’s short-lived Venture … venture, where DH worked with Strip Art Features to release European GNs in the US several years back. I picked up these two books for 80% off during one of TFAW’s big Nick-and-Dent sales almost a year ago and am just now finally getting around to reading them. These stories of a portly private eye bumbling through one bizarre case after another are short, self-contained, and a little thin, but they’re saved by artist Franco Saudelli’s wonderful art, which alternatively reminds me of the styles of José Luis García-López and Steve Pugh.

Finally, I’ve been slowly picking away at the mammoth Luba for the past couple weeks. I keep feeling like I should go back and re-read Palomar to reacquaint myself with the characters and settings from the Gilbert-o-verse, but I know that if I do that I’ll never get around to actually reading Luba.  It is interesting to go back and see how Gilbert Hernandez’s art style has evolved over the years, though.

Longbox

This past weekend Philadelphia welcomed Wizard World, while Charlotte hosted HeroesCon. Two East Coast conventions, separated by more than 500 miles and a couple of states. If you were away from your computer, then you may have missed some of the announcements that sprang from both venues:

• For years people have been asking for an “iTunes for comics.” Well, it looks like we might actually get one. Rantz Hoseley’s Longbox will be a free download available later this year for PC, Macs and Linux. Comics can be download for a suggested price point of $.99 per issue, with the potential for block and subscription pricing. BOOM! and Top Cow have already signed on.

• Marvel had a lot of announcements at the show. Spinning out of the Uncanny X-Men/Dark Avengers crossover that kicks off any day now will be a series of one-shots that fall under the heading of Dark Reign: The List. Basically Norman Osbourn starts making a list of everyone standing in his way who he needs to do dirty, nasty things to.

The eight one shots and the creators working on them are:

Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil by Andy Diggle and Billy Tan
Dark Reign: The List – Wolverine by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic
Dark Reign: The List – Hulk by Greg Pak and Ben Oliver
Dark Reign: The List – Amazing Spider-Man by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert
Dark Reign: The List – Avengers by Brian Bendis and Marko Djurdjevic
Dark Reign: The List – Uncanny X-Men by Matt Fraction and Alan Davis
Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors by Jonathan Hickman and Ed McGuiness
Dark Reign: The List – Punisher by Rick Remender and John Romita Jr.

The project was announced at around the same time both in Philadelphia and in Charlotte. For more info, check out CBR’s interviews with Bendis, Fraction and Remender, as well as Pak, Hickman and Aaron. Also, Aaron talks a little bit about his Wolverine one-shot on his blog; it will feature both Marvel Boy and Fantomex, as well as a new Weapon XVI.

• Several of Spider-Man’s classic villains, like Electro, Rhino and Mysterio, are returning in a storyline called “The Gauntlet.” It also looks like the Black Cat is back for some Spidey lovin’.

Astonishing X-Men

• Creative team shuffles … Andy Diggle and Roberto De La Torre are the new creative team on Daredevil with issue #501. Rick Remender and Mahmud S. Asrar are doing a guest issue of Thunderbolts, which will feature Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Phil Jimenez is the new artist on Astonishing X-Men, joining Warren Ellis as of issue #31. And apparently Sean McKeever’s exclusive contract with DC is up, as he’s working on a new series for Marvel called Nomad: Girl Without a World, starring the Bucky from the Heroes Reborn comics.

• The new Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Voodoo, gets his own series in October written by Rick Remender, while the old Sorcerer Supreme gets a mini-series by Mark Waid.

• Marvel is launching another Moon Knight ongoing series by crime novelist and Punisher writer Gregg Hurwitz, with art by Jerome Opeña.

• Daniel Way and Richard Corben are working on a Starr the Slayer mini-series for Marvel MAX.

• Psylocke will star in a mini-series written by Christopher Yost. “The mandate on this series was ‘Tell us a story that reminds everyone of why she’s so kick ass,’” Yost told Kiel Phegley.

• Kieron Gillen and Cary Nord are working on an Ares mini-series.

• Gregg Schigiel and Jacob Chabot are doing an X-Babies mini-series that will feature the return of several Star Comics characters.

• There’s more Marvel Zombies coming.

• DC Comics used both conventions to show off their new Wednesday Comics title. Check out this picture from HeroesCon:

Wednesday Comics

That’s editor Ian Sattler, showing off a copy.

• In Philadelphia, Dan DiDio announced a new Jonah Hex hardcover by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray and Tony DeZuniga. He also announced a new Doc Savage series by Brian Azarello and Rags Morales set in an alternate universe where he’ll interact with the Spirit and the Blackhawks.

• Andy Runton’s Owly, published by Top Shelf, is now available on the Kindle.

• Jeff Katz revealed the first four titles for his American Original company.

• Former Wizard employee Steven Hoveke, who now runs Square 1 Press and has published convention sketchbooks by both Walt Simonson and Howard Chaykin, was barred from re-entering Wizard World Philadelphia on Saturday. He tells the story of what happened on his company’s blog and posted on Twitter that he was barred because of his affiliation with the Long Beach Comic Con. (Via Bleeding Cool)

• Artist Michael Cho was upset to find out someone was walking around HeroesCon wearing a shirt featuring his art. (Via the Comics Reporter)

New Avengers #51

I always knew it would take a Brian Bendis story (do I use his middle name anymore? It’s like John Cougar, isn’t it?) to really get me back in the fight again.

Okay, New Avengers #51 has put a battered Stephen Strange at our feet and in that last image, I had the sinking feeling that he was asking for OUR help. A character who had sadly been taken to the sidelines and given the worst possible albatross-title of ‘Deux ex Machina,’ Doctor Strange literally sat out Civil War and was shoehorned into the

New Avengers as Swiss Army Knife and Guy Who’s Place We Hang Out At, and this is where the problem started. Using such an amazing character to house the Avengers and toss out a couple illusions was a waste and started a habit of looking at the Sorcerer Supreme as a disposable entity. Who doesn’t have a holo-emitter in the MU? Plus, Iron Fist buying them a new home after Strange takes off makes the Sanctum Sanctorum and mastering the mystic arts kinda… meh.

The very issue we find out he got the boot from being Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange tells a young Billy Kaplan that the job of the Sorcerer Supreme is to see the forest for the trees, the greater, grander picture that all these alien invasions and crises fit into. It’s not that these Big Tent Events get in the way of someone who’s Mystic Arts Inclined, it’s that they are only drops of water in a ginormus pond mere mortals can’t fathom. It’s why everyone with a mask doesn’t act as protector of our plane of existence and why that job solely remains with the Big Sorcerer Cheese. In the back of Stan Lee Meets Doctor Strange (hey, work with me here), there’s a reprint of Marvel Premiere #3 and what caught my eye (aside from the stellar Barry Windsor-Smith art) is that in this story, Strange feels something out of tune with the universe. He goes through the story, crossing dimensions, pouring through mystical energies, looking under rocks, and not only does he not find it, but I AM SO ENTHRALLED BY THIS HUNT. What kind of story just says “Well… something’s weird” and then entertains you for pages on end? A tale of a man who’s entire sphere of influence is just incomprehensible. Where seeing the world through his eyes is a treat for the imagination.

Doctor Strange: The Oath

At the same time Strange was having Avengers sleepovers at the Sanctum Sanctorum (oh ha, it’s disguised as a coming Starbucks), Brian K. Vaughn was discovering the true beauty of handling a character with phenomenal mystical powers in Doctor Strange: The Oath. Joe Quesada himself has complained that having Strange in the Marvel U makes trouble too easy to thwart. Where’s the challenge if you can just wave your hand and make it all disappear? Vaughn proves how utterly wrong that idea is by taking all that power and more and putting it to test under the most human of motivations. The power to cure all of mankind’s diseases… or save Wong’s life. How does someone cope when the problem is taken from the large and unfathomable to something more desperate and personable?

Doctor Strange is not going to handle your problems. He’s not going to wave his hand and make the Civil War stop (though really, I’m starting to get the ugly feeling that he did). Helping you personally is a moral challenge for him. Just look at the Defenders! The Defenders consist of four people who SHOULD NEVER WORK WITH ANYONE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER. Keith Giffen tried to bwah-ha-ha’edly tell us this in his mini with DeMatteis and really, just look at the roster. All of these people are incredibly powerful in their own right and even they can’t make it together as a team.

This is how Real Ultimate Power is handled, not by defining it and putting down rules and regulations, but by making the difficulty something beyond guys robbing banks or even invading alien nations. Just as the Sorcerer Supreme’s job encompasses where humans fear to tread, so should the stories. The idea of replacing Stephen Strange as Sorcerer Supreme hits me where it hurts, just as losing Bruce Banner as a viable character in the Hulk book did. Both are cases of lining up new entertainment when what has come before is just as relevant today. All of the tools to tell great stories are all there within what’s come before. LEGOS are awesome, you don’t need Duplo blocks.

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Bendis does adore his curveballs and he’s put one over on us before. This Battle for the… the… Sanctum? (if a Cowl could be a House of Incredible Magical Power and All the Goodies Therein) could just lead us back to the beginning with a Stephen Strange whose not only won his rightful title back, but the hearts of fans as well, but who am I kidding? History has shown us that, love it or hate it, “new” sells comics (it’s why they keep tacking it onto book titles). While no one wants to hamper anyone’s creativity when it comes to character development, I just wish we didn’t have to completely dismantle characters in order to catch people’s attention. It happened to the Avengers, to Spider-Woman, and now Strange is next.

“My Spider-Man/Dr Strange story is now at the half way point. It’s a three issue mini-series that will appear under the Marvel Knights banner, probably in the early summer. It’s been great fun drawing and writing the series, and Marvel seem to love what I’m creating so far. I’m coloring the book with Steve Cook, who designed the SWIMINI PURPOSE book for me a few years ago.

If Fantagraphics can’t have Dr. Strange, as Eric Reynolds suggested in August, this is equally as awesome.

McCarthy says he can’t show any art from the book yet, but he does share this piece, proclaiming he’s from the lineage of Ditko:

by Brendan McCarthy