Comic Book Resources

@HoboDarkseid revealed!

A Twitter user called HoboDarkseid took the internet by storm this past August, leaving the world wondering "Who is the mad genius behind the dumpster-dwelling super villain?"

Actually, that's a question I never thought to ask, as I assumed it was probably just some really clever fan. Turns out, though, that it's a really clever comic writer, as revealed in this story on NPR.

Now we just need to find out that Spider-Man is really Grant Morrison, and the day will be complete.

The Fifth Color | Our Own Heroes

Like boy bands, sentai teams and sitcom pals, the X-Men thrive on fan identification. Mutants aren't just the outsiders, they are in many ways just like us. They've been multi-gender and multi-racial, with backgrounds as rich and diverse as they are simplistic and stereotypical. Just enough to give the reader something to identify with and hook them into the rest of the story. While it might seem odd since I certainly can't 'relate' to being possessed by an innate cosmic power only to be resurrected while my genetic clone has had a baby with the boy I crushed on in high school, you have to admit that the X-Men, above all other Marvel comics, find a way to relate to all of us and we likewise see ourselves in Xavier's students.

They have grown with us pop-culturally, from Kitty Pryde's interest in home computers to Jubilee's rollerblading mall-rat 'tude to Pixie's 'Chemical Romance' so to speak. They have loved and lost and grown older (but not too much older) and wiser (but not too much wiser) as we grew up along with them, each generation it seems getting their own freshmen class of mutants. They've been heroes, they've been villains and then they switch around in that gray area for a story or two, I could go on. But today is not for the X-Men as a whole, but one particular member not cited on Marvel.com or listed by the inexhaustible uncannyxmen.net. Someone I got to know through the talents of Joe Casey and John Paul Leon... and the funding of Steven Spielberg and General H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

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The Fifth Color | Marvel Solicitations for September 2009

Okay guys, this is September. Time to get serious. The summer blockbusters are either put to rest or coming to an end, and we have 11 different #1 issues to sort through, not to mention the other 11 #2 issues that are kicking it into high gear from last month. And what about the eight issues we know NOTHING about?? Pencils down, kids. The Marvel U just got real.

Or kind of ridiculous in regards to the ongoing narrative. But don't be afraid, not everything is all new and different. Let's take a gander at the September solicitations for the House of Ideas and see what we can look forward to hearing about when we're darn good and ready.

Okay, no joke, there are indeed 11 #1 issues coming out, from the benign Thor and Punisher Annuals (I actually find myself missing when they used to number annuals by the year they came out) to the long-awaited Spider-Woman #1 and Wolverine: Old Man Logan Giant-Size #1. There's even the ridiculous, but I'll get to that later. Point is, this is just as much a month for starts of things to come as August, which tips the scales at 14 #1 issues. Marvel may tout their 600th Captain America, Spider-Man or Incredible Hulk, but let's face it: #1 on a cover gives the book that delectable little collector's spice.

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'Casanova' returns as online comic

Casanova

Trying to legitimately blog on April 1 seems like a lost cause. Reading through my usual sites, Twitter feeds, etc. is like playing some sort of puzzle game, where you read closely to try and figure out what's real and what's not, as you certainly don't want to be duped.

Some are obvious. Despite their new masthead, I feel safe in saying that The Daily Cross Hatch hasn't really been bought by Wizard. And Even Bigger Numbers looks like a very timely prank, even before I made it all the way to the punchline at the end.

But then there are other posts you see out there, like the Planetary one I posted about earlier, where you kind of have to wonder. In that one, Ellis was pretty clear he wasn't joking, so I suspect we can safely "run around the floor in circles Homer Style" as one commenter suggested. Then there's this one by Fabio Moon, who announces that he and Matt Fraction are bringing Casanova back as a free online comic starting tomorrow:

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Marvel team-up: Spider-Man, Fraction and ... Lincoln?

Presidents' Day Special

Matt Fraction teased on CBR TV last weekend that he'll be "writing Spider-Man again sooner rather than later -- really sooner rather than later." But what he didn't say is that he'll also be writing ... Abraham Lincoln.

And "sooner" is Monday.

In this week's "MyCup o' Joe," Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada announced Marvel will release on Monday -- Presidents' Day -- a free six-page digital comic in which Spider-Man and Captain America witness the Gettysburg Address.

The comic, by Fraction and Andy MacDonald, is in honor of Lincoln's 200th birthday.

Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited's Presidents' Day Weekend celebration also includes the "Spidey Meets the President" story from Amazing Spider-Man #583, with a new prologue by Zeb Wells and Todd Nauck.

WonderCon '09 | Panel schedule announced

Comic-Con International has posted the programming for WonderCon, which is coming up Feb. 27-March 1 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. As its run by the same folks who do San Diego, it has that same feel and variety, but is a little more laid back and low key than the madness that is the San Diego Comic Con. My brother and I were able to walk right into the X-Files panel last year just as it started ... same with the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles panel. I don't think you could ever do something like that at San Diego. In any event, it's a great opportunity to see creators and actually chat with them a bit.

Let's see what will be going on ...

• Marvel's been absent from WonderCon for the past couple of years, and while they don't appear to have a booth, they do have a presence this year. Both Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction are guests of honor, and it looks like Jeph Loeb, Mark Paniccia and Axel Alonso, among others, will also be there. Of note is a discussion between Fraction and author Michael Chabon on Saturday that will likely be worth the price of admission alone.

• Speaking of special guests, Brian Azzarello and Dave Johnson are also attending and will host a panel on 100 Bullets on Saturday ... followed by a night at Isotope Comics. And although Dan DiDio won't be at the con this year, DC's got Jim Lee, Will Dennis, Ian Sattler, James Robinson and Aaron Lopresti, among others.

• Oni Press, IDW, Dark Horse, BOOM!, SLG, Aspen and Top Cow will also be on hand, both on the floor and at various panels to talk about their latest projects.

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Fraction: Bringing the awesome longer than you've realized

With Marvel chief Joe Quesada out of pocket, Jim McLauchlin has been interviewing other folks from Marvel for their weekly MySpace feature. Usually he talks to editors about what's going down at Marvel, but this past Friday McLauchlin interviewed Uncanny X-Men, Invincible Iron Man and Casanova writer Matt Fraction about his career in comics. Fraction talks a little bit about his first comic, Rex Mantooth, Kung Fu Gorilla ... I've never read Rex Mantooth, but I give it a five-star review based on the title and cover alone:

Rex Mantooth by Fraction and Kuhn

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