| Will Everett presents.
. .
GINCHY! "Because e-zines
don't have to suck."
Getting back to the issue in front of us, Ginchy! #41 features the conclusion of Austin English's in-depth interview with Spain, the return of Joe Lunday's Nobody With an Attitude column, and the usual assortment of features, including Troy Nunis' always-challenging trivia, and an exceptionally full listing of the last two week's comic book news. Additionally, our reviews section hits upon several major recent releases, including Earth X #0 and Batman: No Man's Land, as well as some of the best recent indie comics, including James Kochalka's The Horrible Truth About Comics. One thing you'll note is missing this week is our letters column. We hate to beg, but we need more feedback! Let us know what you think about the topics which are touched upon herein. Also, for those who were eagerly awaiting this later-than-usual issue, please pardon the delays - various production problems (the most annoying being repeated booting from AOL) and perfectionism were the usual culprits. We hope that all is forgiven, and that you enjoy our latest issue! --
Joe Lunday & Matt Sommer (the new guy)
|
| PART ONE: | PART TWO: | PART THREE: |
| NEWS | A Sit Down With SPAIN III | RAVES |
| Nobody With an Attitude... | REVIEWS | LAST CALL |
| TRIVIA |
| NEWS
compiled by the GINCHY! staff This Week: -- Word comes from Marvel that the once-cancelled teen-hero book New
Warriors is set to return sometime in late 1999 with another ongoing series.
Writer Jay Faerber and artist Steve Scott will be handling creative chores.
In other Marvel news, time-displaced X-Man Bishop looks to be getting his
own solo title sometime in '99.
-- Dark Horse Presents #141, shipping in March, will be an all Buffy the Vampire Slayer issue, with stories and art by anyone and everyone associated with the ongoing monthly Buffy series. -- Joe Quesada tells Newsarama this week that although artist Mark Texiera
will no longer be involved with the Marvel Knights Black Panther series,
a Joe Jusko painted story as well as a 4-issue Mike Manley-drawn arc (which
will be some sort of throwback Kirby homage kind of thing involving Captain
America) are in the works.
-- Citing a desire to focus on the core Captain America book, writer Mark Waid will be leaving Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty after a special double-sized 12th issue in June. No word yet on a replacement, but my vote goes to Roger Stern, or even John Byrne ("Cap for Prez 2000" anyone?). *UPDATE* Ramblings 99 reports that Cap:SOL is truly s.o.l... it's being cancelled after issue # 12! -- Six new episodes of HBO's animated Spawn series will beging airing
in May.
-- Look for Green Lantern to make his 90's animated debut on the February
6th episode of the Superman Adventures series on the WB network.
The episode serves as an origin story for the animated GL (who will be
a mix of both Kyle Rayner and Hal Jordan), climaxing in a team-up battle
with Superman against Sinestro.
-- Marvel Enterprises, in an effort to get some much needed cash and
furthur streamline production costs, has sold its Fleer/Skybox International
trading card arm for $26 million. The sale isn't final yet, as consent
is needed from both F/S licensors and Marvel's lenders.
-- Starting with issue #50, writer Todd Dezago and artist Ethan Van
Sciver will be taking over creative duties on DC's Impulse. Dezago
plans to shake up Bart's world a little bit with a new supporting cast
and some big time guest stars in the near future (Batman and the Joker
for two . . . but hey, isn't Bats trapped in that whole 'Escape from Gotham'
thing?).
-- More Astro City action figures are on the way, and this time from
a brand new source: Flatt World Figures. Sporting a cloth costume,
8 inches of height and major poseability, the prototype Samaritan figure
seems to have impressed both Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross enough to make them
go with the unproven company. Fans can vote for who will appear in
future assortments at Flatt World Figures' website .
-- Ex(?) Marvel guru Stan Lee divulges a bit more about his new web-based
superhero project, http://www.StanLee.net, in a Playboy Online q&a
session. Initial plans call for 6 "stand alone" heroes as well as
a 6-member international team of heroes who gain their powers and meet
one another through the internet.
Last Week: -- On January 20th, Perennial comics figure Stan Lee offered a sneak
peek at his new online comic book venture, Stan Lee Media, which will focus
on brand new stories with new characters created by Lee. Co-founder
Peter Paul says Lee "wants to do on the internet what he did when he started
with comics and built Marvel as the biggest publisher in the world for
kids . . . developing the largest internet community of "family" enthusiasts
. . . through innovative online publishing and multiplayer games."
Other features will include free web pages, e-mail, games and the ability
to buy, sell and trade comics and digital trading cards and related merchandise,
with special access to the Internet's largest online comics distributor.
While the official word is that Lee has downsized his role with Marvel
because of this new project, rumor says it was the other way around, with
Lee's salary being drastically cut by the cash-starved Marvel after the
expiration of Lee's last contract. Whatever the case, this could go a long
way to proving the viability of an alternative to the current direct market
comic buying experience. The site is expected to be at full force
sometime this summer.
-- Writer David Goyer has given Newsarama some insight on the line-up of heroes to be included in the upcoming JSA ongoing series. While a few surprises may be in store, the main roster appears to be Ted (Wildcat) Grant, Jay (The Flash) Garrick, Alan (Green Lantern/Sentinel) Scott, Jack (Starman) Knight, Atom Smasher, Hourman, Sand, and a new Hawkgirl. -- Marvel editor Matt Idelson has let the cat out of the bag as to who
will be drawing and writing the upcoming Marvel Tech line of comics.
Michael Higgins and German Garcia will be on X-51, Joe Casey will be writing
Deathlok, and James Felder and Pascual Ferry will be on Magus.
-- It also comes through the grapevine that assistant editor Jason Liebig
is in line to edit the X-titles previously held by ex-editor Frank Pittarese,
including Mutant X, Generation X, X-Man, and X-Men Unlimited.
-- Dark Horse Comics has announced a bit of what to expect from them
in '99, including another Sin CIty series from Frank Miller, a new Hellboy
saga from Mike Mignola, the june release of a Mystery Men ongoing seires,
as well as a 3 issue mini-series staring Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In related news, Dark Horse has also acquired the domestic rights to publish
several titles from Italy's Bonelli Books, including Dylan Dog, Nathan
Never and Martin Mystery, to be released in March.
-- Tom Defalco, head honcho of Marvel's MC2 line of comics, reminds readers to vote for what character they would most like to see get their own book. Ballots will appear in the 6th and 7th issues of most of the MC2 comics, but fans can also vote on-line by posting a message to the rec.arts.comics.marvel.universe usenet newsgroup, subject heading "VOTE MC-2" --Marvel has also given a few more details on it's upcoming Contest of Champions II 4-issue limited series. Shipping on a weekly schedule during the summer of '99, CoCII will be written by Chris Claremont, with art by Oscar Jimenez. Similar to the Marvel vs. DC books of years past, fan voting will determine the outcome of all the "contests." -- Chris Eliopoulos, fan favorite letterer and creator of Image's Desperate
Times, will be joining Erik Larsen as co-writer for issues #55-57
of DC's Aquaman.
-- Artist Joe Quesada tells the Comic Book Continuum that readers should
expect the return of the Kingpin in issue #9 of Daredevil. Two brand
new villians for old "horn-head" are also set to appear sometime in '99.
-- Spurned by disappointing sales, Martin Wagner, creator of the comic
series Hepcats, has announced his intentions to end the series after 9
years, stating that "the independent arm of comics publishing is no longer
supportable." Most recently being reprinted by Antarctic Press, Hepcats
went at least 1/3rd or more of those 9 years without a new issue, which
seems a more likely culprit for the low advance orders than the overall
"unsupportability" of the comic marketplace.
-- Ginchy! News follow-up: Archie Comics, realizing the PR disaster they were headed for after all the major news sources picked up the story last week, has graciously decided not to sue 22 month-old Veronica Sams over the Sams family's ownership of the "veronica.org" internet domain name. -- Fans of cartoonist Matt Groening should keep a look out for the newest issue of WIRED magazine, which sports 4 different covers depicting scenes/characters from his upcoming animated show Futurama. --The International Horror Guild announced it's annual award nominees
this week. Comic related nominations include the Preacher: Ancient
History and Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street trade paperbacks for
best Graphic Story and Dave McKean and Gahan Wilson for best Artist.
Winners will be announced at the World Horror Convention, March 4th - 7th
in Atlanta.
-- Author Neil Gaiman is currently in the middle of a 21 city book tour
for his recently released novelization of Stardust, which will end on February
12th in Toronto (check local listings for appearances in your area).
-- Chris Bachalo has submitted character designs of Wonder Man and Ultron
for the upcoming Avengers animated series. Bachalo also mentioned
that Vision, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Tigra and Ant-Man are likely to fill
out the remaining spots on the roster. The series is expected to
be on Fox's fall schedule.
-- Along those same lines, Fox is also considering new episodes of a
Spider-Man animated series, possibly mirroring John Byrne's recent work
on Chapter One, which focuses on the early days of Spidey's career.
-- No Mercy Entertainment president Rikki Rockett told The Daily Buzz
that movies
-- IBM's newest version of Lotus Notes, R5, will prominently feature
DC's Superman in the program itself and in the "super.human.software" advertising
campaign which has already begun airing. The connection being, the
press release states, that the new Lotus Notes gives its user tools to
make work "super human." If you say so.
-- Lastly, rumors last week had Spawn creator Todd McFarlane pegged as the winning bidder for Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball, which went for a reported $2.7 million. Terry Fitzgerald, General Manager of McFarlane Productions, has officially denied the rumors. [Do you have a hot news tip or press release? If you'd like to
spread the word, please e-mail
|
| Troy's
Wild, wild World of Trivia
By Troy Nunis Hello and welcome back, trivia fans! Let's jump right into action and hit the questions. As ever, send your guesses for the questions, and the theme connecting them, to me at TNunRoy@aol.com. 1) His father was an enemy of the Titans who became an ally; he was a member of the Titans who became an enemy. Who is he? 2) This man has died several times, has been a real estate agent, a saxophonist, an agent of Chronos, and the father of an Avenger. Name him. 3) Who was the star of Space Trek 2022? 4) Who is Boston Brand's brother? 5) Which member of the Global Guardians is from Venezuela? And now, for the answers from last issue. . . 1) List the original Challengers of the Unknown.
2) In theory, who is Turok son of?
3) Who is Ron Lithgow?
4) Who was the first member of the Legion of Substitute
Heroes to be offered membership in the full Legion of Super Heroes?
5) Which private distinguished himself at the battle of Three
Stripes Hill?
There was a great turnout for last issue's contest, but TOMALHE@aol.com is the contestant whose name will be etched in stone for being the first to get the correct answers in last week. And so you can go tell it on the mountain, last week's theme was "Rocks." See ya next week with more trivia and more fun! |
| A sit-down
with spain III
by Austin English [If you missed Part 2 of Austin's interview with Spain - or, heaven forbid, Part 1 also - you can catch yourself up at our web archive, Ginchy! The Comics Zine.]
Austin: Well, you've done a lot of stories about WW 2, and sort of historical stories. Was your fascination with this stuff or just the way people reacted to it? What inspired your historical stories? Were a lot of people doing this at the time, these sort of historical stories? Spain: I think I was one of the first guys to do that kind of historical stuff. I'd seen other stuff, and it's really too bad that (Harvey) Kurtzman was sort of on his last legs when he was doing the revived Two-Fisted Tales. There was a lot of good stuff… it could have fared a lot better then it did. Especially because they were paying good page rates and… I pitched them a bunch of stories that I thought were good stories… Austin: To Kurtzman? Spain: Well, Kurtzman was already in the hospital and stuff. I pitched a couple of stories to the editor, one of them was about the German Ace in WW 1. He flew a plane that could sort of skid sideways. Nobody could quite figure out how he could do that. At some point this last plane, he was kind of trapped by four or five planes and he was going down, so I had a real good account of that where he flies down in blazing glory. Austin: It's so great that, when I was reading "My True Story" there's those stories about yourself and then you go into these kind of historical stories and they're so different. I mean, did you realize you were doing such wide range stuff? Spain: Well, no. You just kinda sit at the table and do whatever you do so… My wife Susan has kind of called comics smaller then life, which is kind of what they are. In other words, you pack everything into some little story. Of course, I'm just some guy, kinda running around the streets in biker clubs and all that, and here are these huge historical events. The thing is, here's all this fascinating stuff in history that's hard to top. So it's too bad that there's not a good historical book on the lines of Two Fisted Tales, or something like that. One of the formats in the new Two Fisted Tales was, they had a map of all the places that were featured in the comic. That was in the one that I did. Austin: Okay. Do you think comics can be used as a teaching tool? Because kids really respond to comic books. Spain: Oh yeah. I think it's a big neglect as far as education goes. Austin: Well, because they're viewed as such juvenile entertainment. Spain: Well it's hard for comics, because as far as EC comics go, what they were trying to do was make comics for adults. I mean, guys in the armed forces were reading EC comics. But yeah, they kind of got swept into a kid's ghetto. The whole comics code authority was a brutal effort to shove all that stuff to the kids. The comics code did some funny things. Y'know, the suppression of big breasts by the comics code had some kind of funny effect on me. Sexually, as a teenager, I thought I woman couldn't have any sexuality unless she had big breasts. It's silly because it all happened from these guys suppressing it. Austin: Well, right. I think society creates the kind of taboos it suppresses. Spain: Yeah right, so it just kinda had that sort of forbidden effect on me. And of course that all kind of a teen age way of looking at women, and as you get older you sort of broaden your horizons.
Austin: I kind of want to get into Trashman a little… you already talked a little about coming up with Trashman so I want to touch on other areas. There's been a lot written about Trashman as well. I read that he was a political satire, that he was an action hero. What was your overall vision? Do you see him as your revolutionary figure for the '60's? I mean he wasn't set in the sixties, but was he your political revolutionary guy? Spain: Oh yeah, definitely. I saw him as being kind of an icon for a lot of the street fighting that was going on. And, y'know, in any kind of army the bands are important, because they kind of lift the morale of the troops. So it's kind of important to have that sort of thing, so the role I saw that Trashman was, was an encouragement to our side, who's fighting for us. And also, I consider myself a socialist and a Marxist. And as a matter of fact in the most recent Zap, Crumb is asking Trashman, "Are you still a socialist?" Austin: Oh really? Spain: (Laughs) Yeah really. And of course, Trashman is still a socialist, as am I. Austin: So Trashman is basically an expression of your political views. Spain: Yes…
Austin: Okay. Before I get into you breaking into underground, let me say, you went to Silvermine Guild School Of Art. When you went there, did you already know you wanted to do comics, or what was it you wanted to do when you went there? Spain: Well, I wanted to get into comics. Going to art school was kind of a discouragement to that… Austin: Yeah. Lots of cartoonists say that they didn't like their art school experience. Spain: Right. Although it was broadening and useful to me. I kind of survived it, and could make use for all the stuff I learned. But it kind of all sidetracked me from doing comics. Perhaps for the better. When I got out of art school, I found it difficult to do comics. I did a lot of painting. Austin: Because you were kind of taught that that's not what's accepted in art? Spain: Yeah, you were taught that that's bad art, and even though I tried to resist that thought, somehow they kind of get to you. But there was still a part of me that wanted to overcome that. And in the mid sixties, I was able to put all that art stuff aside and do comics, which was what I wanted to do in the first place. Austin: So if after art school, you were having trouble doing comics, how did you finally break into comics? Spain: Well, what I did was… I was doing illustrations for EVO when I went to New York. And in Buffalo, we were putting out these publications… one of them was called Pith, which was on a silk screen. We had these underground publications, and I was doing artwork for that, but I still was doing Zodiac Mindwarp, which allowed me to focus on the panels and progressive stories and etc. So I'd been working on that one, but I had not been able to quite do a comic and so, doing Zodiac Mindwarp was just kind of the shove I needed, to force me back into the comic book format. Austin: And you did work in Zap, right? Spain: Well, Zap was later so, The first Zap I did was Zap #4, which was when I first came to San Francisco. Austin: So you and Crumb and S. Clay Wilson in San Francisco… was that really the birth of the underground comic, or had it really already come to be before that? Spain: Well there were people before me who had done comics. There was a strip called "Gentle's Trip Out." That's by a woman, her last name is Pansika. And there was a guy who did a strip called "Captain Hyde" by Danny Bill Beckman, who actually built the first geodesic dome in Beelines. And Trina Robbins did some stuff before me. And so when I started, there was already stuff that was going on, so… but y'know me and Kim Dougs did a weekly strip for EVO… Austin: But before these people and yourself came along, the field was all super hero stuff. And you really changed the course of comics, because it could have continued being superhero stuff, but instead you opened up this whole other vein. Spain: Well yeah. Zodiac Mindwarp was supposed to be a comic, but the printers weren't able to do that format for some reason. Austin: And what was Zodiac Mindwarp about? Spain: Basically it was a tabloid, and I left the voice balloons blank. And we went around and got stuff in Chinese and filled in the balloons with that, and other languages. Free wielding dialogue. But once I started doing stuff for EVO, the form tightened up. But the thing with comic books, Zap was a comic book, and it became a competition with all that Marvel superhero stuff. The 50's seemed to have this underground residence. This psychedelic thing that's hard to put your finger on. It seemed to have escaped all this boring post-Comic Code format. Before that, comics were hardly ever worth reading. Austin: As you and your troop were changing the field, how do you think Will Eisner with his graphic novels in the 70's helped change things? Y'know, with A Contract with God and all that. Spain: Well, y'know that certainly had an impact. I loved Will Eisner stuff in the 40's, which had a certain feel. The Spirit had that feel of late 40's NY. I've actually never read A Contract With God, and I should get into those, because Eisner… I liked his earlier stuff which seemed tighter to me. His later stuff seemed less strong to me. Austin: His graphic novels are kind of all over the place, but they're really well done. He understands panel to panel progression better then anyone. Spain: I have his book on graphic story telling, which is a bit wordy and pompous for me, but… y'know. Austin: Can you tell me a little bit about Rip-Off press? Spain: Well, they put out Gilbert Shelton… and Gilbert can do anything. In Zap, like Gilbert did some panels, and I told the other guys, "Hey man, if you even tried this, you'd start crying…" Gilbert really tackled drawing problems that are amazing. Also, he's just a genuinely crazy guy. We did a strip together and he was coming up with these crazy ideas that I would have never thought of. Austin: Can you give me some examples? Spain: Oh yeah, he had this thing, Fat Freddie, who was constantly going into different war personas, so you'd have the current, GI Freddie. He just kind of had him doing all this neat stuff. Austin: Is that where the My True Story stories originated, or can you just tell me what exactly you were doing for Rip-Off press? Spain: Oh, a couple of Subverts and I did some other stuff for them. I did some stuff for the Rip-Off Press comics that they were putting out. So, I was constantly doing different stuff. Over the years, these books would come out, and I'd forget the stuff I'd done. I mean, recently I was at some show, and this guy came up to me with a stack of comics that I'd done, and I'd completely forgotten. I mean, even after My True Story was collected, I'd forgotten about half of the stuff in it, and I said, "Wow…I did all this?" (laughs) Austin: How do you think underground comics have progressed today, with Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly? I mean, do you think underground comics have survived? Spain: Well, they've definitely survived, which is a feat in itself. But y'know certainly there's stuff that comes out. I mean, I get Zero Zero (an anthology published by Fantagraphics). I did the last Trashman to date for that magazine. Mack White's Homunculus (which can be seen in Zero Zero #2, alongside the last Trashman story Spain just mentioned) is also really great. There's a sort of direction of more surreal comics, which is the main trend right now. And that's not a huge change from the old psychedelic stuff. I was actually asked once, how I could do all my stuff, among a bunch of surrealists? (laughs) Austin: Right. Well, the historical stories were a lot different then everything else. Spain: I'm kind of a traditionalist in that sense. Austin: What do you think the problem facing the industry is today? The biggest one? Spain: Well, I think the industry has to have more straightforward stories, like have a book that's all about war, so that the reader knows exactly what he's picking up. Just more theme books.
Austin: Well you're kind of doing something in that vein with your online comic, The Dark Hotel. Could you talk about that? Spain: Yeah…I like what we've done, and we've got two more stories. Right now, I'm doing the "Manchurian Experiment," which has the format of a new episode coming out every week. So we're working on two more stories (rooms). But it's a great format. (The Dark Hotel can be seen at Salon Magazine ). Austin: I'm sure online comics are the future of how people will get discovered, but in the land of regular comics, do you think there's enough opportunities for discovery? Spain: Well, you have the phenomenon of Matt Groening, and The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And that's the thing… guys put out comics and then get scooped up by other media. Austin: But for every (Dan) Clowes, or (Chris) Ware who has great stuff and gets a break, there's always those guys who don't make it. Do you think it's luck for those guys since some guys are doing great work and can't catch a break? Spain: Well that happens, that always happens. That's always a problem. Any medium, there's guys that are great, but certain guys don't get discovered, but certain aficionados like them. The surrealists… there's great surrealists besides Salvador Dali, who were just as good, and no one knows about them. The aficionados know who they are, though. So if you dig deep enough, you'll find good stuff. But it's good that those guys are out there doing their thing. I'm gonna be out there as long as possible. Austin: Great. Now, second to last question… who do you think your readers are? Spain: Well, I mean, it's probably not people in the Christian right (laughs)… so y'know, I would imagine people like myself with similar viewpoints. People who are rebellious, and free, and sort of curious, and looking for people to satisfy that curiosity, which is what I intend to do. Austin: Okay, well let me end this by asking, what you feel your greatest contribution to the field is… how has your work helped it? Spain: Oh… very broad question, heh. I guess I've kind of tried to keep that EC spirit alive. Austin: Oh, well that's a wonderful contribution. Spain: Well thank you. [This interview was conducted on Monday, December 28th, 1998. It was then edited and written up by Austin English later that day, and further editing was done on the 29th and 30th.] |
| REVIEWS
Batman: No Man’s Land
With all the factors working against it (hype, an apparently implausible premise, untested creators), it’s a miracle that the first story arc of the year-long “Batman: No Man’s Land” storyline is not only good, but excellent. Writer Bob Gale, in his comics debut (Gale’s previous credits include several screenplays for Robert Zemeckis films, including Back to the Future), makes a premise that sounds unconvincing (even in the context of a superhero comic) all too real, and artists Alex Maleev and Wayne Faucher, new to this reader, are real finds, rendering a newly medieval Gotham City with the appropriate amount of grit, detail, and atmosphere. “No Law and a New Order” captures an elusive, suspenseful feel of simultaneous
dread and promise, a feel which so many other (often far more pretentious)
comics have gone for in the post-Dark Knight/ Watchmen era, and have so
often failed to capture. The tight structure of Gale’s story implies
beneficial editorial input (for once, ‘beneficial editorial input’ is not
an oxymoron), as well as a good deal of artful construction. (Batman,
in fact, does not appear until the third quarter of the story.) Gotham’s
feudal society is as fascinating as it is logical, and the motivations
guiding each principle figure’s actions and choices are well-considered
and interesting, building a foundation that should allow for some extremely
compelling stories in the year to come.
Bulletproof Monk #1
A provocative, ambiguous beginning to what looks to be a highly unconventional
series, Bulletproof Monk #1 deals in an odd combo of mysticism, slice-of-life
storytelling, historical fiction, martial arts, and espionage. The
introspective, philosophical narrative is contrasted against Mike Avon
Oeming’s (Foot Soldiers, Ship of Fools) fast-paced imagery. While
it’s built around an intriguing premise (outlined by Gotham Chopra in a
two-page introduction), the only problem with the book is that it’s too
diffuse. With that reservation in mind, I’m still very interested
to see where this goes, and hoping that future issues bring all of this
together in a more easily comprehended form. (A curious aside: editor
Gotham Chopra, son of author Depak Chopra, was featured on a recent episode
of ABC’s The View, discussing the book with Barbara Walters!)
Captain America #15
Issue #15 of Captain America represents a seeming return to normalcy after the plausibly infamous #14, which was notably missing a credit to writer Mark Waid, who requested his name be withheld in light of editorial changes that were made to the story. That near-surreal diversion showed us how the Red Skull escaped from his imprisonment in the Cosmic Cube, and gained apparently limitless power with which to thwart his arch-enemy. Captain America, however, becomes aware of the Skull's intentions due to the appearance of Uatu the Watcher. (Who's broken his "sacred vow of non-interference" how many times now?) The Skull doesn't merely want to kill his greatest foe; he wants to destroy everything he stands for and holds dear. But two other subplots make this issue interesting. The first is the supposed fate of Cap's long-lost shield, which is revealed to him by Avengers teammate Iron Man. Cap's reaction to this news is definitely entertaining, due to Waid's sense of comic timing and circumstance. The other subplot worth tuning in for is the continuing (sexual?) tension between Steve Rogers and his ex-girlfriend, Sharon Carter. This type of situation seems to be one of Waid's specialties. The addition of Carter to the supporting casts makes Steve Rogers a much more human and compelling character, and the dialogue between the two can certainly bring a smile to your face. Captain America seemed to be losing its steam for the past three or
four issues, which was quite disappointing in light of the tremendous hype
and fanfare this title received during its "Heroes Return" relaunch.
But Waid found magic with this character once before, and issue #15 indicates
there's still potential to recapture that winning formula. Here's
hoping . . .
Crusher Joe #1
You can definitely tell how popular manga is getting these days by looking at all of the translation houses that have cropped up in the last few years. From a field of one or two back in the early 90's, we're able in 1999 to enjoy a wider range of stuff from a growing number of companies. Ironcat is a relatively recent, yet prolific, manga publisher, which has made a name for itself translating "soft core" erotic manga, as well as some lesser known action and adventure titles. Ironcat must be doing pretty well for themselves, though, as they've recently gotten the rights to two slightly more mainstream titles, Futaba-kun Change and Crusher Joe. Both of these titles are quite popular in Japan, and while known only in fan circles in the US, both offer something a little different that a lot of the other manga titles on the shelves. Wait a minute, did I say different? Well, at first glance, Futaba-kun Change looks pretty similar to another hit manga from Viz, Ranma 1/2. Both titles use the same basic premise as a launching point-- Futaba, like Ranma, is a typical teenage male who during times of stress, and thanks to a family curse, turns into a female version of himself . . . as you can imagine, this "change" causes quite a few oportunities for comedic hijinx which serve to guide the humor and the plot. While Ranma 1/2 aims its sex-change jokes at a younger audience (Look! A boy in a dress!), Futaba-kun Change is skewed, shall we say, towards an older demographic (Look! Futaba gets felt-up by his sister, who happens to turn into a guy, who likes to sleep with girls!). This different viewpoint comes, I think, from the fact that Ranma is written from the view of a woman creator (Rumiko Takahashi) imagining what a boy turning into a girl would be like, while Futaba is written by a male creator fantasizing what a teen boy would really do with a girl's body . . . a tad pervy, true, but still amusing. The art isn't anything to write home about, but serves well enough for this comedic series. Crusher Joe, on the other hand, is something of an anime legend even
in the US. Spanning several movies and OAV's (the most famous
of which introduced the Dirty Pair), the story follows a group of spacefaring
"crushers" (gung-ho mercs) in the 22nd century. Led by the inscrutable
Joe, the crew takes on the jobs no one else can handle. The manga
version begun here introduces the mysterious disappearance and reappearance
of a ghost ship carrying a valuable cargo. Joe and his crew are hired
to find the ghost ship, solve the mystery of her disappearance and recover
the cargo. Easier said than done, of course, as the mission soon
goes haywire and the man who hired them seems to not be telling them the
whole truth. The art here is again decent, if not spectacular, and
while the story was interesting enough to draw me in, the stop-start pacing
and the abrupt ending left me feeling a bit flat. On the plus side,
there aren't many space-opera/ sci-fi comics out there these days, and
Crusher Joe may yet fill that void. You may want to wait for the
inevitable tpb, though, as the story seems likely to flow better in larger
doses.
Doctor Mid-Nite #1
For many of the fans who will read or consider reading Doctor Mid-Nite, the book has a bit of an uphill battle to fight. If you're a fan of the characters from the Justice Society of America (or, for that matter, any other superhero), it's possible that you'll be a bit biased, a bit skeptical of any attempt to re-invent them or to put an entirely different person in a familiar costume. But in a way, it's become something of a tradition at DC Comics. And almost every time, the creators involved have managed to come up with a character that is popular with so-called "new" fans, yet also appealing to those who enjoyed the previous incarnation. But if the new Doctor Mid-Nite (Dr. Pieter Cross) is to become a hit with old and new fans, I have a feeling it will result from the character's involvement in the new JSA project from DC, and not this mini-series. One of the factors that has made past re-inventions more digestible to fans is links to the characters' predecessors. I'm thinking especially of the Wally West Flash or the Jack Knight Starman. It's not always enough to simply create a modernized version of the character, giving them the same superpowers or setting them in very similar circumstances. However, if a writer creates an interesting enough character and places them in a believable, compelling story, ties to the past may not be as necessary. And that seems to be what Matt Wagner is going for here. The new Dr. Mid-Nite certainly seems to be noble, and extremely brilliant. But despite those qualities, Cross seems to become involved in situations which steal his sense of purpose away from him. What better way to create and test a hero than to make him fight through adversity? But it's difficult to say whether Cross is a compelling character.
For me, part of the blame for that goes to artist John K. Snyder III.
Snyder's painting is suitably "prestige" enough for the format of the book,
but it lacks emotion and passion. The characters are just on the
page; they don't seem to be feeling anything. And at times, his renditions
are virtually incoherent. Even if Wagner managed to pull you in with
his writing, Snyder's art keeps you at a distance, which is a shame because
this book probably needs to be as accessible as possible to readers.
It's too early to make a definitive judgment, of course, but Doctor Mid-Nite
could've used a better start.
Earth X #0
More continuity re-capping background than the actual start of this anticipated series, Earth X #0 is still worthwhile reading, making genuine entertainment out of often (cf. Marvel Saga) dull Marvel Universe 101 material. What makes this stand out is John Paul Leon’s outstanding artwork. Set up to disappoint those who’ll settle for nothing but Alex Ross, Leon is also bound to surprise at least a few readers with this high-profile project. His work on #0 combines slick layouts with heavy-lined texture, perfect for the sweeping subject matter and dark, foreboding atmosphere. That said, with issue #1, the law of diminishing returns takes affect,
and I start to wonder whether yet another “dark future” tale will manage
to weave the same spell that similar efforts have in the past. This
kind of project has an inborn curiosity factor, in that you can’t help
but want to see the changes wrought in the usually static characters populating
the Marvel Universe. But after awhile, the thrill of seeing these
changes wears thin, leaving a longing for more story meat and less flashy
“where are they now?” profiling. Earth X #1 definitely tries to offer
up the former, but the story is rather confusing, only beginning to make
sense when the appendix is read. A project this ambitious has to
have some surprises in store, so I’m not counting it out yet. But
I still wish it had a slightly stronger, fresher start.
Fanboy #1
The team of Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones have made many jokes at the expense of conventional superhero stories. Though their collective razor is still pointed at such tales, Fanboy pokes a little fun at the people who read these books, while celebrating the opportunity for escape that comics gives its readers. The "hero" of the book, Finster, takes us through his rather banal, disappointing life, jazzing everything up with his overactive imagination along the way. In Finster's fantasy world, gorgeous, bikini-clad women beg for his affections; "comic book zombies" are literally undead monsters who need their hobby satiated; and Superman needs help to foil the schemes of rude, obnoxious bikers. The "hook" for these fantasy sequences is the other artists who collaborate with Aragones. Matt Haley lends his talents to the bikini sequence, and he performs his job admirably, giving young men something that may keep them warm during these cold, winter nights. Jerry Ordway brings Finster's superheroic dreams to life, teaming him up with Superman in probably the best of the three imaginary diversions. But Bernie Wrightson adds what is easily the most disappointing - and overrated - contribution. It's fun to see Aragones' distinctive, cartoony drawings in the same panels with the clean, stylized renditions of superhero artists. And it might've been even more fun (if not at least interesting) to see Aragones' cartoons combined with Wrightson's dark, horrifying, freakish creations. But Wrightson only offers his ink over Aragones' pencils. Why bother? Wrightson only serves to add more black to the scenes. 72 other inkers each could've done that, and without the advance billing. It's quite a letdown, and if you ask me, a particularly annoying case of false impressions. If the credits didn't indicate which pages were Wrightson's, you could easily be left wondering. But that's only two out of 22 pages. Otherwise, this is an amusing
read, especially if you like Evanier's many one-liners (some of which are
groaners, but can still elicit a chuckle or two) and you enjoy the cartooning
of Aragones. I don't quite think this book is worth its $2.50 price
tag, but it's probably better than many of the awful "Elseworlds" books
that DC offers these days, and it's definitely more fun. And hey,
with the introduction of the "Hypertime" concept, this story is may actually
be legitimate!
The Horrible Truth About Comics
After reading The Horrible Truth About Comics, I have to believe that James Kochalka read Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, and decided to come up with his own spin on what comics are, what makes them work, etc. That's not to say that Kochalka is attempting the same deconstruction and analysis of the form. Not at all. But I think Kochalka is trying to justify his profession to some extent, analyzing what "art" is and how comics provide such a wonderful forum for expression leavened with a healthy dose of "play." He uses his protagonist almost as a motivational speaker; citing the cathartic benefits of art. According to Kochalka, art "makes sense of the world" by allowing creators
to gain an understanding of their experiences. And what form of art
can document those experiences better than comics? It doesn't matter
how good of a draftsman you are, as long as you're honest in your storytelling
and take pride in the work that you do. This cheerleader type of
approach reminds me of Anne Lamott's book about writing, Bird by Bird.
She celebrated the artform, and the process of creating it. Those
who are involved with comics, whether it's from a creative standpoint or
just reading them, can't get the artform out of their mind. James
Kochalka (as well as the other artists who contribute to the inside covers
of the book, such as Seth, Jen Sorensen, Dylan Horrocks, and Jeff Smith)
are telling you there's nothing wrong with that.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen #1
Reading the first entry in his America's Best Comics line, I get the impression that Alan Moore's intention with this concept is to continue the kind of work he's done with 1963, Supreme, and Awesome's Judgement Day (and I'd presume, the unpublished stuff Awesome is still waiting to publish when their cashflow and/or artist problems get resolved). Consequently, I suspect some people accustomed to conventional comic book 'realism,' and to Moore's more gritty superhero work from the past, won't quite 'get' it. A superhero group composed entirely of well-known pulp characters from the Victorian era, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an unlikely entry in Moore's ongoing life's work of simultaneously analyzing and capturing the ironic wonders of the superhero comic. For quite a while now, Moore has been expermenting with ideas that contrast straightforward superhero storytelling (in the trad, Silver Age manner, with hokey science and fantasy, rather than the predominant kind of 'realism' seen in most contemporary comics), with the self-referential knowledge that comes from being a mordant, educated student of the very same kind of superhero comics, and then revelling in the irony that this creates. Moore's best known work, Watchmen looks at superheroes from a more realistic light, creating irony by putting superhero cliches up against the backdrop of a realistic world (one actually affected by having superheroes in it); meanwhile, his contemporary work (typified by his great stuff on Supreme) is far brighter, celebrating the kind of imagination and wonder found in superhero comics at their best from the 40s through the 60s (and maybe sometimes now, too, although I'm sure Moore doesn't see it that way - good Grant Morrison comes to mind). LoEG continues in this fashion, and also dabbles in the kind of literary
allusions appropriate to the premise (the first issue takes off on "Murders
in the Rue Morgue" without coming out and saying so). The ad parodies
and design elements keep with the Victorian theme, and Kevin O'Neill's
line art even bares a slight resemblance to the looser pulp illustrations
of the period.
Luba #3
As much as saying this may damage my reputation as a comics hipster,
I never read any Love & Rockets whatsoever until about a year and a
half ago when I found the first few trades at a local used book store.
As I worked my way through the entire collection, my favorite "bro" slowly
shifted . . . while Jaime's flashier art caught my eye on first pass, it
was Gilbert's long running slice of life saga set in a nameless South American
village which became the story I most enjoyed. Now with L&R dead
and buried, Gilbert's new series Luba continues the storylines of the previous
series, focusing on main character Luba and her extended brood as they
make a new life in America. Issue #3 contains 5 short story segments,
each dealing with slightly different characters, but most intersecting
thematically in some way with Luba's once-beautiful, but now horribly burned,
husband Khamo's coming to the US. Hernandez's Archie Comics-influenced
artwork is as consistent as always, with a skillful economy of line that
expresses a surprising amount of emotion. His writing is equally
sparse and equally effective, although like the spin-off TV series' After
M.A.S.H. or Fraiser, much of what gives the stories in Luba their richness
is the context of what has gone before . . . and like all sequels, there
is the lingering doubt to it's need to be made. As a continuation
of his long running L&R series, Luba works on the level of catching
up with favorite characters, tying up loose ends and creating a few new
ones. And yet, if I can make another analogy, taking the characters
out of the richness of L&R's village setting feels sort of like a high
school reunion; yes, it's fun to see and catch up with old friends, but
there's also a pervading feeling that taken out of the HS context, things
just aren't as good as they used to be. Hernandez is very capable
of writing gripping, continuing fiction, as his classic Poison River saga
attests. But while the new 3- times-a-year publishing schedule may
prohibit that, a tighter focus and direction would elevate this good book
to a great one.
Poison Elves #40-41
Having long resisted the temptation to check out Drew Hayes’ Poison Elves, I now find myself validated by my many years of self-control. Hayes’ long-running cult book deals with a cynical, ‘wisecracking’ elf named Lusiphur and his travels in a relatively conventional sword and sorcery world. These two particular issues might have the benefit of presenting self-contained stories, but the tales themselves seem like they aren’t considered enough to take anything resembling real story shape. They’re just simple conflicts, one per issue, for which the necessary action takes up the bulk of the story pages, making both comics essentially fight scenes and nothing more. Additionally, the artwork is quite bad, with stiff figures acting out fight scenes that are simultaneously simple and confusing, and overly-busy line work in place of subtlety or sophisitication. Advocates of this series apparently enjoy Hayes’ superimposing of contemporary
vulgarity and attitude (as well as drinking, women problems, ‘worldly’
cynicism, etc.) onto an otherwise conventional fantasy backdrop.
But add to this his talky inside front covers and end pages, and Drew Hayes
gives off the impression of being the type who has a lot less to say than
he thinks he does. Amateurish, and not in a charming way.
Superboy #60
A comic whose content is notable more for its relationship to other comics events than for the quality of the content itself, Superboy #60 does at least build anticipation for the rest of this six-part storyline, and that’s really the most that can be asked of it. Sitting far away from the spotlight, Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett seem to have fashioned Superboy into a kind of Kirby-haven in the current DCU, perhaps an odd choice considering that The King didn’t work on the original Superboy. Nonetheless, Kesel and Grummett’s agenda is clearly zany wonder after the Kirby manner, and the modern Superboy’s origins, cast, and personality make this an excellent place for light superhero fun. This first issue of the six-part “Hyper-Tension” story builds upon ideas
first presented in December’s Kingdom, as Superboy elects to investigate
what may be the cause of his own death, and finds his only clues leading
him into Hypertime (see Kingdom, Grant Morrison interviews, etc.) for the
answers. This first issue offers little more than this premise, but
does go a good way toward setting up the promise of future issues, which
have the potential to be a good deal of head-spinning fun.
Interested in writing reviews for Ginchy!? Contact Joe Lunday at LundayJoe@aol.com for more information. (Submissions should adhere to the format used above, including letter grades, creators, company, and price information.) |
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