As I’m writing this, it’s Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States, so I think it’s important to start this blog off with a reminder of the difficult and important work that MLK undertook, the impact that his murder had on the Civil Rights movement, and the legacy of love that he has left in his wake. Dr. King is an inspiration to us all, and his message of togetherness and community can be seen in the pages of countless comics over the last 60 years. From the Avengers to Superman, Batman to the X-Men, we can see the teachings of this great American figure on display for us all to learn. So today, put aside your differences and step out of your comfort zone to meet and befriend someone different than yourself, be they of another race, gender, religion, ability set, or sexuality. The comics community is diverse and wonderful, and if you are limiting yourself to a homogenous social group, you truly are missing out. Break down your barriers and spread some positivity.
Speaking of comics, it’s been another great week for content and industry news. There were lots of amazing things that took place in the pages and panels of way to many comics to name. We’ve also had some big industry news come out that have us excited about the future of a particular barbaric pulp figure. This blog isn’t pointing out “the best” things that happened in comics last week, simply things that I found awesome and want to drop some praise on. If you are reading this, and have some different moments you think need some love, shout them out in the comments and lets keep the conversation going. Now, here are #5ThingsToLove in comics this week.
- Getting to know Dejah Thoris: As one of the most renowned female figures of all of Edgar Rice Burrough’s literary catalogue, Dejah Thoris has been a key player in the John Carter canon and a fan favorite in the Martian saga’s. But who is she really, and what were her formative years before her adventures with the Warlord of Mars like? These are questions that writer Amy Chu and artist Pasquale Qualano seek to answer in the #0 issue of the self titled book from Dynamite. Readers get to see Dejah as a young Princess learning political dynamics and the ugly side of ruling Helium as she encounters the militant prisoners held in the palace dungeons that she is expected to execute.
- Hercules carries the world on his shoulders: Avengers No Surrender debuted this week bringing with it some epic moments from Earth’s mightiest heroes. No Surrender is an in-continuity Avengers event that is going to be fully self contained, that is, there are no tie-ins to buy. The event is going to a weekly surge through the zeitgeist of Marvel’s flagship team by an All-Star team of writers: Al Ewing, Jim Zub, and Mark Waid, all of which have been making their mark on the Avengers mythos in The U.S.Avengers, the Uncanny Avengers, and the main title, respectively. The manner in which No Surrender kicks off reminds me a lot of the Kurt Busiek-George Perez run where even the B and C list heroes are called in for a crisis. We start off with the Lightning, formerly the Living Lightning, as he thwarts the plans of a few low level criminals. Then, *something* happens, which takes several of the major players out of the game and unites those left over. Buckle up, this is going to be a wild ride, and its going to be beautifully drawn by Pepe Larraz, who is no stranger to the Avengers rolodex, having drawn books like the Uncanny Avengers alongside Zub and his predecessor on the title, Gerry Duggan.
- Conan is in the News: This week it was announced that the publication rights for the Conan franchise are returning to its former holder, Marvel Comics. Now, this is not the best news for Dark Horse Comics, whom have held the rights for several years now. The small publisher has taken a lot of hits over the past year and I certainly feel for them, however, Marvel has a long history of producing some of the Cimmerian’s most well known and adventurous stories. It is even being rumored that Jason Aaron, writer of The Mighty Thor, is gearing up to pen the title. Crom be praised, I can think of very few writers who I would rather be on the title.
- Superman and Booster Gold blast through time: Writer and Artist Dan
Jurgens continues his buddy cop, space romp through time as Clark and Booster continue to attempt to separate fact from fiction in what unfolded during The Oz Effect storyline. The story is equal parts action, comedy, and heart. Jurgens has a strong grasp over the identity and the nuance’s inherent in not only the two main protagonist, but in the peripheral characters such as Lois and Jon as well, who also are involved in their own adventure to rescue Lane’s father, a U.S. General who has been captured and is set to be executed by enemies of the states while on an unsanctioned black ops mission. As someone who isn’t historically a Superman fan, this book has really sunk its teeth into me and made me fall in love with the individuals and the story being told. 5/5 recommend. - New Podcast on the Block: If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, I’ve been pre-promoting a new podcast that I am a co-host and producer of. The Southern Fried Geekery Podcast is now up and available for download. We still haven’t been approved by iTunes, but its pending and we should be on most other podcast sights already. Myself, along with my counterparts Craig Lantz and Sean Litten, bring hot takes on geek culture, comics, manga, and more. Give us a listen and feel free to send feed back to southernfriedgeekery@gmail.com. If you like what you hear, rate and review us on whatever source you downloaded it from.
Go check out these comics, read up on the news, and listen to a new podcast. These are all things that I’ve enjoyed immensely and I thing you will as well. Got something that you love that you want featured? Holla at ya boy on Twitter at @councilofcaleb or on Instagram at @Council_of_Caleb. While your on social media, reach out to the creators you enjoy and tell them how much you enjoy what they are doing. Those incredible people get blasted by negativity from online trolls all the time. Give them some warm and fuzzies to build off of. Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and as always…
Go forth and love comics.
Battle Elves- If I’m ever elected God-King of the Universe (We should all pray that doesn’t happen), one of the first things I’m going to make mandatory is that we all celebrate Ben Templesmith. You may know the writer/artist from his work on HellSpawn or 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow, but it’s his creator owned series, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse that really solidified my love for his work. This week, Templesmith gives us a Christmas Special wherein our favorite corpse-driving Worm is visited by one of Santa’s elves and taken into the Christmas realm which has been conquered and usurped by the capitalists, killing the spirit of the holiday in effort to monetize everything and maximize profits. Wormwood is forced to hijack the body of everyone’s favorite red-clad fat man and call on the Old-Gods to outwit the corporate layers who control the North Pole in a way they don’t see coming. It’s a hilarious and beautiful crafted dark-comedy that satires some very real problems in our materialistic society…and I say that fully aware that I’m writing a blog about comic books.
different extremely good books from this week in one slot because both books reference the same extremely important event in Marvel’s History, Namor’s flooding of New York City. Way back in September of 1941, Bill Everett, Alex Schomburg, Carl Burgos, and a handful of other creators, along with the editorial prowess of Joe Simon, produced The Human Torch #5. In this issue, the original Human Torch, an android named Jim Hammond, went toe-to-toe with Namor, The Prince of Atlantis, a battle which ended in the catastrophic flooding of the entire city. This week, Marvel harnessed the spirit of it’s Legacy line-wide rebranding and went back to it’s roots in two different books: Ed Piskor’s X-Men Grand Design and Marvel Two-in-One: The Thing and The Human Torch. Piskor’s X-Men Grand Design #1 is a gorgeously crafted retelling of the long and 
celebrated history of the X-Men. It starts at the very root of Stan Lee’s mutant manifestation and condenses decades of continuity into one cohesive narrative telling. Both written and drawn by the Eisner winning creator (See: Hip-Hop Family Tree), this first of a two issue series was made with an encyclopedic knowledge of the X-Men, not to mention an obvious love of, and dedication to, the characters and what they mean to both the Marvel Universe and hundreds of thousands of fans who saw, in the X-Men, a metaphor for overcoming the ugliest parts of human bigotry. Namor, being the “first mutant” had to make an appearance in such a title.Marvel Two-in-One, written by Chip Zdarsky and drawn by Jim Cheung, returns
something that many fans have felt to be absence in the Marvel Comics Universe; The feeling of family that is inherent in The Fantastic Four. Zdarsky pulls back on the comedic tone for which he is famously known, and takes on an emotive and reverent voice while penning the remnants of the First Family, The Thing and The Human Torch. Receiving a pre-recorded message from Reed Richards (via the Hand of Doom, seriously…go get this book), Ben Grimm and an emotionally and physically unstable Johnny Storm embark on a mission to “find Reed and Sue,” but mostly to stabilize and comfort the seeming lost Storm sibling. Of course the two can’t get together without taking a walk down memory lane, referencing the great flood.
stories. In this weeks finale of “Super Friends,” the Bat and the Cat don civilian clothes go on a normal double-date with Clark and Lois to the fair. Of course, nothing is easy, and it’s actually Super-Hero night at the fair, and there’s no admittance with out a costume. Fortunately, as Lois reminds the group, they never go too far without costumes. Worrying that they might be recognized as the real deal, the boys swap costumes, Lois throws on the Cat-suit, and Selena just wings it and gets by on her feline seductively. While this is taking place, we are given some amazing panels of Bruce and Lois in the changing room that feature some little-black-bat-briefs and spotlight Mrs. Lane’s impeccable taste in not-so-secret bikini G-strings that will have everyone who picks up the issue thirsty AF for more of Clay Mann’s incredible pencils. There is actually no over-sexualization of the scene, instead Mann’s art depicts common and accurate movements of normal behaviors in the changing rooms. That’s where the genius of Mann’s masterful lines come into play. It’s (relatively) easy for an artist to use body references to depict “sexy” figures, but it’s a whole other level of artistry to be able to exude sensuality in the art with-out being overtly sexual, especially in a scene where the only clothing is undies on a couple of folks with banging bodies.
win in an arm wrestling match, Jane Foster’s Thor or Hercules’s Herc? I’m not going to spoil it for you, so you’ll have to go pick up the issue to find out, but when you do, you’ll be treated to some Grade A trash talk penned by Aaron and more breath taking art from Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson. Joe Sabino also deserves a shout out for his impeccable lettering throughout the issue. There truly is an all-star cast of talent helping to produce this title. Foster, along side the Odinson, continues to fight the war raging across the Nine Realms and the cancer raging in her body. The outcome of neither battle looks very promising for the Goddess of Thunder as she confronts Odin for his complacency. Meanwhile, Mangog…
from the klutches of Kobra terrorists. The quintet have to find a balance between Deadshot’s might and the Trinity’s right as they race against the clock on a wild goose chase to find a proverbial needle in a haystack. The Kobra enforcers claim to have Lawton’s little girl Zoe strapped to a bomb in the back of one of the many armored trucks they have scattered throughout Gotham. Do they find the girl and disarm the bomb? Does Deadshot kill everyone or can the DC bigs keep their consciences in tact and tamp down his murderous instincts. Go pick up this issue from Rob Williams and V Ken Marion, read it, and then enjoy time with the people you love.
the events of the first issue, Juggie is on the run and no where is safe. He’s horrified of himself, those around him, and the very world he has been thrust into. Frank Tieri isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel. He’s writing an old school chase script with classic horror tropes that are soaked in the long established characters of the Archie-verse, none of which are easy to do by themselves, but combining them and keeping the train on the tracks takes an incredible amount of talent, of which Tieri has in excess. Pat and Tim Kennedy, along with Joe Eisma, bring the artistic heat in this book. The cartooning is phenomenal. Each panel is filled with just enough detail, not too much, not too little and the colors pull the tone and mood of the work out of the script and into a visual representation that we can all enjoy.
launched himself back in time to discover the truth about whether or not the man who recently identified himself as Jor El was being honest about being Clark’s father. Firstly, why do they still let Flash have a cosmic treadmill. I mean seriously, all he ever does is screw up the timeline with it. Secondly, Superman is back on Krypton!!! A pre-explody, broken world Krypton where he see’s his father and General Zod working together. Things get complicated when Booster Gold follows him through the time stream, they fall under attack, and there is no yellow sun. Meanwhile back on Earth (yeah I said it), Lois Lane receives some troubling news about her estranged father, which is overheard by her son, Superboy.
of Ed Brubake, Sean Phillips, and Elizabeth Breitweiser is set to be adapted to into a feature film by famed “John Wick” director Chad Stahelski. Comics continue to become the main springboard for Hollywood hits. In essence, they are ready made storyboards for filmmakers to pull from. In this case, Brubaker has penned a brutal narrative of a man forced to be a vigilante under fear of being killed, all the while attempting to keep his identity hidden from the world. Unfortunately, the consequences of what he is forced to do starts to take a toll on his friends and family. As an Arkansan myself, it has been wonderful seeing Elizabeth Breitweiser achieve continued success in creating comics. I’d like to send her my personal congratulations for this monumental achievement.
odd that I put it in a “things to love” list, considering that it is not an overly happy book. In fact, its an incredibly emotionally charged issue, but comics don’t have to leave you warm and fuzzy in order for you to love them. Writer Mark Waid and artist Jesus Saiz have showcased their impeccable talents in this book that builds on the Vision family ties created by Tom King, and blends with the famed continuity of the legendary Roy Thomas. When Vision cries, we all cry. Fans following the story know that the Vision’s daughter, Viv, has had a contentious relationship with both her father and the Avengers team at large. She, along with a few other younger heroes left the Avengers and started their own team, but now find themselves reunited with their mentors on Counter-Earth, attempting to thwart the High Evolutionary’s apocalyptic plans. Deep with-in the core of the planet, Viv is faced with a choice–the outcome of which will tear at the android’s soul.
Roman numerals together to dive back into the second round of a fan favorite crossover. This comic is pure, adventurous comics joy made by two individuals who love the Bats and the TMNT crew. Tynion’s story is weaved with easter eggs for people who have followed the two separate story’s for years. Bruce and Damion face down old enemies deep beneath Gotham, while Leonardo comes to terms with inner turmoil and his own limitations. Worlds collide when Leo mistakenly opens a portal and finds himself face to face with his old friend, The Bat-Man, who is happy to see the nerdy ninja, but extremely concerned that the venom-fueled fiend he was fighting is nowhere to be found. Williams’s art is animated, almost moving across the page. His pages are a perfect mix of styles, blending the cartoonish style of Eastman and Laird with the heavily detailed, anatomical lines of countless DC artists. His color palate ranges from deep blacks and gray wash to vivid, bright electric colors begging readers to study every square inch of the page.
comic reach out of the shelf and grab the customer? How do you pull together a line wide brand? At the end of the day there is no “right” answer to these questions, but one good answer is simply this: the cover. It’s the first thing you see, the first thing that grabs your eye and makes you think you might like the stories stapled in between the covers. Graphic design plays in big part in the marketability of comic brands. There’s a long history of marquees and bullets, and this week, DC adds another to the list with it’s new corner box design. Corner boxes have long been a staple of DC’s main competitor, Marvel, but now the company has added its own new sleek and updated design to its covers.
not me, but the characters in Carl Stark’s hobo hit from Image comics. If you want to laugh at a book that refuses to take itself too seriously, you need to be picking this book up. It’s equal parts levity and American nostalgia, possessing a cartooning style reminiscent of early Dell comics but with an updated edge and the most hilarious sound effects ever put between panels. Its a cross country, train hopping adventure capable of pulling in a diverse audience of long-term superhero fans to lovers of Sunday comic strips.
in case you’re that one person who was lost in the Himalayas for 3 months, just got rescued, and this is the first thing you are reading, I will. Disney/Marvel dropped the official trailer for the upcoming feature film Avengers: Infinity War this week and it was so incredible that Donald Trump was heard whispering “real news.” In all seriousness, this action packed 2 minutes and 25 second video almost broke the internet, and actually did break the record for the most watch trailer in 24 hours, stealing the spot from Stephen King’s IT. There is a ton of stuff packed into this trailer, but the most important thing you need to know is that Korg is back and no one’s mother is named Martha (this is the part where you laugh). Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZfuNTqbHE8
shelves. Publishers like to adhere to there monthly printing schedule, so *most* books are held off for a week to stay on their usual track. This month, DC comics decided to utilize the 5th Wednesday slot to pump out a few annuals, and bless them for it, because writer Tom King asked a few friends to come over and play in his sandbox and they turned out a book that is on my shortlist for one of the best single issues of the year. (Editors Note: King’s Batman/Elmer Fudd crossover is also on that list.) King, who is the regular series writer on Batman, joined forces with artists Lee Weeks and Michael Lark on pencils, and Bettie Breitweiser and June Chung laying down the colors. This one-shot masterfully plays in to the ongoing relationship between the Cat and the Bat happing over in the regularly monthly, giving readers a taste of what King has been working on over the past year of Rebirth. The book will pull on your heart strings, both because of its dedicated homage to the spirit of those characters and the acrobatic depiction of one of the worlds greatest hero’s finally getting what he’s been denied over the last 75 years: a life of happiness. Head over to your LCS and pick up Date Nights/Last Rights as soon as possible.
Comics
it’s brilliant, beautiful, and brutal. If anyone was worried about whether or not Bemis and Burrows would be able to find success in the wake of Lemire and Smallwood’s much loved run on the title, they can rest at ease. The issue makes the reader wait for connectivity to last months debut of the new villain, the living aspect of the Egyptian sun God Ra, allowing that story to build slowly. Instead, Marc Spector has his hands full with another big-bodied villain known as The Truth who is infecting victims with harsh realities leading them to violence and death. If Spector is the aspect of Khonshu, this guy is the living aspect of Twitter. Issue two is basically an opportunity for Bemis to remind readers of the four separate personas under the hooded cowl, and for Burrows to give us a taste of it is going to look as the narrative cycles through them, relying on their particular traits and skills, and also half naked ironing.
the now 31 issues of Old Man Logan, the story has unsurprisingly focus on matters related to the continuity of Mark Millar’s original series from which this version of Logan is born from. In issue 31, however, writer Ed Brisson backs away from inbred Hulk gangs and wastelands, and dives deep into what longtime fans might consider the Wolverine character’s real, or at least canonized, history. For most of the character’s history, Logan has been synonymous with Japan, Hand ninja’s, and women eager to stab in the back…and also the front…and side to side. Basically Wolvie is well known to inspire beautifully drawn women to want to kill him. That’s where Brisson, along with penciller Mike Deodato, seek to take us, and it works. It works well. We’ve got Mafioso street gangs kung-fuing it up, corporate espionage, a Hand assault of a high rise building, and last but not least–the Silver Samurai gleaming in the moonlight. It doesn’t get more Wolverine than that.
councilofcaleb 