Mary Louise Eklund

Category: Comic Comments

I share my thoughts on comics that have on my pull-list. I wait until an arc is complete before giving my commentary.

Comic Comments – Happy Holidays!

So I’m either late or early depending on how you want to look at it. I was going through my comics to be reviewed and noticed the Marvel Holiday Edition 2012 fell through the cracks. I always enjoy it and loved the Wolverine and the X-Men story last year that I thought I had to do a quick review. We are coming up on the holiday season again. Heck stores even have Christmas decorations out! It seems now from Halloween to New Years it’s all one push through the holidays. So I’m joining the early kick off with this review.

There are 4 stories in the issue “Cold Hearted Christmas” writer Miljenko Horvatic, Artist Andrew Trabbold, Colorist Jeff Campbell, Letters Rob Steen, and Editor Jody LeHeup. Next my personal favorite of course “Logan’s Lost Lesson” Writer Kurtis J Wiebe, Penciler Patrick Schergerger, Inkers Patrick Scherberger & Cory Hamscher, Colorist Veronica Gandini, Letterer Simon Bowland, and Editor Jodan D. White. Third is “Ol’ Saint Nick” writer Aaron Shaps, Artist Sebastian Piriz, Colorist Jeff Campbell, Letterer Rob Steen, and editor Sebastian Girner. The final one is “Chinese Food For Christmas” Writer Jamie S. Rich, Artist Paco Diaz, Colorist Jean-Francois Beaulieu, Letters Jeff Eckleberry, and editor Daniel Ketchum. Cover artists are Tim Seeley & Leonardo Olea. The Digital Production Manage was Tim Smith3, Collection Editor Cory Levine, Assistand Editors Alex Starbuck & Nelson Ribeiro, Editors Special Projects Jennifer Grunwald & Mark D. Beazley, Senior Editor Special Projects Jeff Youngquist, Senior Vice President of Sales David Gabriel, SVP of Brand Planning & Communications Michael Pasicullo, Edior in Chief Axel Alonso, Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, Publisher Dan Buckley, and Executive Producer Alan Fine.

Next we’ll get the legal disclaimer out of the way: All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

First story features Spiderman and some villian called Cold Heart. Don’t know her – don’t care but it’s a sweet story where Spiderman is after her after she escapes. However he gains insight into her while assuring she’s captured. He remembers her on the holidays. Aww….

Second goes after my heart with Logan willing to be the one the staff and students team up against. He has the main student characters out in the snowy woods to play hockey and learn about teamwork and situational awareness while they play hockey without powers. Oh and since this is detention for wrecking Hank’s lab – no fun shall be had. However despite his best efforts – the kids and staff pull together to have fun at Logan’s expense thus “accidently” building community spirit.

Next is another one of my favorite characters – Nick Fury. Here it’s Christmas and he’s breaking into a Hydra base to find The Scar “a young upstart rising quickly through the ranks of the insidious organization as a genius saboteur.” Exactly why Nick himself is doing this when he’s supposed to be in semi-retirement as well as what happens when he gets to The Scar are all part of the holiday surprise. Nick is again another character with a tough exterior but heart of gold.

The final story is about what do the Jewish Marvel heroes do while the others are celebrating Christmas. The answer is have a Chinese food feast. Apparently it’s something Ben Grimm looks forward to every year. There’s just one problem Ben winds up chasing a Christmas thief when he’s Jonesing for some Chinese. It makes him late to the dinner.

Overall this is what a Holiday Special should be – fun short stories that fill in the gaps between the big action stories. It’s a romp with beloved characters. The stories only reaffirm the aspects that make us love the characters in the first place. Sure during the year I rant and rave about things going on in the plots – but it’s stories like these I’ve always enjoyed and get to the heart of why I come back even after being totally pissed off. I honestly care about the core of my favorite characters.

The art of the stories varies showing a range of styles. Some styles I love – like Spiderman’s tale (minus the Photoshop generated snowflakes in the air) to ones I just don’t care for – Fury’s tale and the cover. Still none are so bad then make me cringe or I’m pushing through. I liked Logan’s tale’s art and think Patrick Scherberger would be an improvement to be a regular in the Wolverine and the X-Men title. The final tale with Ben Grimm was a bit too cartoony for my every day taste but it fit the light story and added to the fun.

Over all it was a book that took me out of the holiday stress for a bit and gave me a few smiles along the way. Isn’t that what a Holiday Special is supposed to do? This one did it well.

I want to see the poutine lesson from the next day. I can see Logan teaching the original and the T-Rex. He’d call the one with veggies a sissified poutine.

Who knew Fury want to learn needlepoint so much?

You know it’s a happy ending when Ben Grimm finally gets to his Chinese feast and General Tso’s chicken!

Until next time!

October 9, 2012
Treated Like Alabama Royality

Last week I made a trip to Alabama with my mother. The point was genealogy research. Her father, John Hollis Rolen’s next younger brother, Milas, settled in Alabama after World War II. We went to connect with his descendants. Boy were we beneficiaries of true Southern Hospitality! We stayed with Milas’s son Milas aka Doodle and his lovely wife Miriam. Peggy, Doodle’s sister, showed us around and made arrangements to meet her kids and their kids and their kids… Then Doodle took us about Wetumpka to see the town and do research in the library.

It was a very productive trip. I’m busy with information. Apparently Doodle’s great grandfather a Confederate fought our great uncle Union Calvary at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. I’m working on their service records to be sure they were there with their units then. Also got a huge box of pictures from Mike’s mother to scan. I’m set this winter for genealogy.

Don’t worry Comic book fans – I’m reading and have arcs as well as single issue stories to comment upon. Those will be coming.

Jewelry/crafting – hold on I’ve got sets I need to photograph. Bought lots of beads in Bama so new works in process. Also doing some pins for winter. On top of all of that I’ve got a class on how to make wire wrap rings. So more coming on the crafting front.

Finally I’m collecting photos to write a farewell to my good friend Sandra Jean Brown. She died Saturday after a long heroic battle with cancer. I’m sad for selfish reasons because I’m going to miss her light in the world. Honestly she’s free now and I couldn’t wish anything better for her. Still I wish she could be free AND we could still meet every 6 months with Kathy to have a great girls weekend. Until later Sandy – I miss you.

October 2, 2012
Comic Comments – Wolverine Worst Day Ever

This was a small book for young readers that was offered to me for 50 cents when I was buying some used copies of Wolverine Novels on-line. Thought what the heck give it a try. I was a volunteer at an elementary school library for two and half years. So I do enjoy YA material.

So let’s get the legalese out of the way – All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique.

Now for the credits: Barry Lyga, author, Marvel Entertainment Inc., Publisher, Copyright 2009, ISBN 978-0-7851-3757-3. The cover art is by Todd Nauck and John Rauch. The interior features art work by the follow: Roland Boschi, John Cassaday, Phil Jimenez, Julia Bax, Kris Justice, Hugo Petrus, Francis Portela, Roger Cruz, Andrea DiVito, Salva Espin, Clayton Hentry, Steven cummings, Bob McLeod, Sal Buscema, Matteo Lolli, Jim Calafiore, Andy Park, Dave Cockrum, Mark Robinson, GURIHIRU, Joe Barney, Joe Madureira, Mike Norton, Juan Santacruz, and Julia Bacellar.

Okay X-Men fans let’s roll the clock way back to when Xavier ran a school for mutants in Westchester with a non hairy Beast on staff, Jean Grey called herself Marvel Girl, Cannonball was a student, and Wolverine was the new teacher on the block. That’s the setting for this story. It is written as if it is a blog from a new student to the school. The pages are set up to have a bloggy-computer look to them to add to this feel. (more…)

September 21, 2012
Comic Comments – Wolverine Noir

This is a 4 issue limited series. It takes the characters of the Wolverine stories and casts them in a hardboiled private eye Noir story set in in 1937 Bowery NY. All the characters appear as versions of themselves Logan, Dog, Mariko, Yuriko, Smitty, Thomas Logan, Victor Creed, and Rose. They all put in an appearances in the tale. None of them are mutants, just regular people. It is well done and I enjoyed this take on them.

The series is written by Stuart Moore; C. P. Smith, Artist; Rain Beredo; Colorist, Jeff Eckleberry, Letterer; Daniel Ketchum, Editor; Axel Alonso, Executive Editor; Joe Quesada, Editor In Chief; San Buckley, Publisher; Alan Fine, Executive Producer; C. P. Smith and Dennis Calero, Covers.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

As I said when I placed this on my pull-list I love Noir fiction. I’m not sure what my passion for dark tales with no one is clearly a hero but there are clear villains says about me personally but I do enjoy a good dark tale. This certainly falls in that category and pulls all the tropes of Noir into play.

Wolverine is cast as Jim Logan a private eye with his “brother” Dog Logan they run a seedy detective agency in the Bowery called Logan and Logan. Dog is a simple muscle head with Jim being the brains of the outfit. The story starts with the high class dame walking in off the street and hiring them. Classic! This is Mariko’s role. She’s a rich Japanese woman here on business for her father. She needs them to find out who has been following her and why. Clues lead to a local flophouse. Dog pleads to investigate that on his own and Jim lets him go. That’s when Dog goes missing and Jim sets out to find him. Along the way we meet Amiko and Victor Creed. In flashbacks we get the story of how Jim and Dog wound up in the Bowery and in doing so meet this story’s versions of Smitty, Thomas Logan, and Rose. In true fashion the story ends with Jim not being totally innocent over all but being a victim all the same. The twist at the end is who is behind making him the victim. Like all good Noir tales it’s a shocker but makes sense. I’ll not divulge it well worth the read.

I love the seedier versions of the familiar characters. Some actually wind up better in this tale they they are in the main continuity. Thomas is a preacher. Victor is rich and gets the best of Jim at every turn. Some are worse, Jim doesn’t get all the noble qualities of our Logan but has enough to make him recognizable. Amiko comes out equal but Mariko get short changed of true love in this tale. Rose is totally different but still is the ‘Little Redhaired Girl’ of Jim’s heart. I thoroughly enjoyed the story but I don’t want to see it continued. Sometimes a good tale is enough – don’t mess with it.

The art suits the style of the story. I like it here very much. It’s dark gritty and never quite gives you a clear image of what is really going on. Which matches what a true Noir tale is completely. However I’d find this annoying in a regular comic. I think it is important to match art style with the script and this is a perfect marriage. The perfect match gave more punch to the story overall and made this a success in my book (and I’ve read A LOT of Noir books). Cudos.

This covers all the completed recent arcs in my in-box until my next shipment. When that shipment arrives several titles will be completing arcs. Until then I’ll hit some older issues I like of various titles.

Next – panel and pages comments:

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September 7, 2012
Comic Comments – A Field Guide To Flying Saucers

This is a new comic book to me but I’m jumping in at issue 6. Saucer Country touted this as a good jump on issue and it is. I’m sorry I missed the past five, I’ve got them on back order. This comic dovetails into my fascination with paranormal, flying saucers, and the like. I’ve been fascinated with them since a bulletin board in the hallway when I was in third grade collected ‘true’ flying saucer tales during a big surge of interest in them in the early 70’s. (These times are know as flap among ufologist.) I have to say this issue gives a good over view of the classic cases and various theories about what these unknowns are.

First off we’ll get the legal disclaimer out of the way and give credit where credit is due. All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

Credits for the issue are: Paul Cornell, Writer; Jimmy Broxton, Art & Color; Sal Ciprano, Letters; Mark Doyle, Associate Editor; and Will Dennis, Editor. Other special credits listed are thanks to Mark Pilkington for research help. Also Saucer Country created by Cornell & Kelly.

I’ve enjoyed reading flying saucer/UFO stories for going on four decades now. I’m pretty familiar with the classic stories and various theories about them. The highlights are well summed up in this issue from Kenneth Arnold’s sighting of crescent shaped craft just before the Roswell thing happened to how modern movies change what’s the predominate reports to blurring the lines between what was believed to be nut & bolt alien craft and paranormal occurrences. Even the current rage (I remember the first time it came around & I read Chariot of the Gods) of ancient gods being aliens is hit upon. It’s all covered here. Cudos for to the writers even in fiction on fringe topics do your research and get it right.

The frame for this summary of UFO lore and history is a lecture by researcher to a Senator and some other people. Apparently the audience had some unexplained experience in the first 5 issues and are now interested in the history of these types of events. The Professor gives a great history of the origins of the terms flying saucer, little green men, the greys and so much more. It’s a fun recap of what you’ll see bandied about should you delve into this subculture of UFOs. The frame works well to present it all. Along the way there are some twists aside – like who are the ‘sources’ the professor refers to? I’m sure that’ll be built upon in other issues. What the audience does with the information is another building block for the stories. Will they buy current theories, will they take the dubunker’s perspectives, or will they build their own explanations for what they experienced? This was enough of a taste to have me add this to my pull-list. I love a good alien story and have for over 40 years.

The art is excellent! I really enjoyed the panels illustrating what the Professor was saying. It gives a rich take on what was basically a lecture issue but instead became a travel through time. The art is sharp and realistic when it comes to the people but soft and at times cartoonish when it comes to the aliens. Perfect to walk that line without buying or discounting the various perspectives put forth in the lecture.

Okay I know you are wondering “Is she a believer or not?” The answer yes and no. I do believe that most, the vast majority of sightings and experiences can be explained in terms of things we understand today. They can be such things as hypnagogic sleep paralysis to test flights of secret experimental aircraft. BUT I do think that a very,very small bit of them are truly unexplained. What those things are – I haven’t a clue! BUT I enjoy hearing other people guess. I’ve not found an answer yet that I’ll buy. In the end I find it all great fuel for the creative engine and inspiration for stories of pure fiction.

So I’m sold on Saucer Country it’s on my pull list now! I’ve been a sucker for a good alien story for 40 years.

Up next on Comic Comments is Wolverine Noir this was a limited 4 book series telling an alternate story of Logan and Logan Private Investigations run by James Logan and his brother Dog. Next is panel and page comments.

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September 5, 2012
Comic Comments – The Gathering

This arc of Grimm Fairy Tales: Myths & Legends takes Issue 16 and 17. It deals with the story of Helios and his relation to the searching for an artifact today. I’m newish to this title and am still learning my way around the characters and universe. I tried to get into the main title Grimm Fairy Tales but never could. I did enjoy the last arc in this title and have kept it. I’ll explain more once the legalese and credits are out of the way.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

The credits are a bit long and complicated given each issue has multiple covers. Just hang in there with me and let’s thank those who make our comics possible. Issue 16 story by Raven Gregory, Joe Brusha, and Ralph Tedesco; Raven Gregory, Writer; Joyce Mauriera and Ilias Kyriazis, Art; Jeff Balke, Sean Forney, & Ramon Ignacio Bunge, Colors; Jim Campbell, Letterer; Cover A (Pictured here) by Stjepan Sejic; Cover B by Robert Atkins & Sanju Nivangune; Boston Comic Con Exclusive Cover limited to 500 Copies by Elais Chatzoudis; Edited by Matt Rogers & Anthony Spay. Issue 17 Story by Raven Gregory, Joe Brusha, & Ralph Tedesco; Raven Gregroy, Writer; V. Kenneth Marion & Marco Constino, Art; Jeff Balke & Roland Pilcz, Colors; Jim Campbell, Letterer; Cover A (pictured here) by Ale Garza & Sanju Nivangune; Cover B by Mike Capprotti; Big D Comics Exclusive Cover limited to 500 Copies by Nei Ruffino; Phoenix Comic Con Exclusive Cover limited to 500 Copies by Eric Basaldua & Nei Ruffino; Phoenix Comic Con Exclusive Cover limited to 250 Copies by Eric Basaldua & Nei Ruffino; Pheonix Comic Con Exclusive Sketch Cover Limited to 75 Copies by Eric Basaldua; Edited by Matt Rogers & Raven Gregory.

Okay like I said I’m new to this and still trying to catch on to all the characters. The set up of each issue is a frame story of things going on today in the modern world with a fairy tale being told that has a bearing on the events of today. In the modern aspect there is a female police detective that is aware of these magical/fairy tale goings on slipping into our world from theirs. She acts as the police here to get them back to where they belong. While doing that she’s trying to keep down the freak out here over things we think aren’t real. Actually they aren’t real in this dimension but they are in other dimensions. That’s the basic concept and we’ll build from there together.

This two book arc has to do with the tale of Helios. He was born with the power of the sun in him. Unfortunately this meant he could touch no one without burning them to a cinder. He finds a way to control his power but must perform a secret ritual nightly for it work. He builds a normal life but the secret eats away at his wife. Where does he go nightly? What does he do? She sets out to find the answer and learns more than she bargained. In the modern story various entities are scrabbling to find parts of a medallion that contains the power of Helios. If someone gets all the parts and puts them together fire will be let loose upon the dimension where they are assembled. Needles to say our detective doesn’t want that to be here! or any where if she can help it.

In this arc the strong story is the fairy tale. It’s a tragedy but it’s well spun and brings out a life lesson about secrets, trust, and love. All good fairy tales have a lesson to them. Most fairy tales if you go back before the Disney-ification of them were not sweetness and light. They were warnings of dire consequences if lessons weren’t heeded. This one is a good illustration of what secrets, even well intended ones, in a relationship can do.

The modern one flashes so many characters I don’t know that didn’t have much meaning for me. I did get the idea of who is good and who is evil. Easy one – Devil = evil! I get that some of them have faced our detective before and want to destroy her for what she did in their last confrontation. Apparently some have newly allied to this purpose of striking down our dimension and its guardian detective lady. Don’t worry she’s got the glowy girl that talks in squiggly bubbles to help her out. She provides the back story to what Helios’s powers were.

As for the art, it’s cheesecake art. Yes just like the cover so goes the interior. I don’t mind topless mermaids I get that. I just don’t get some of the outrageous poses or going to battle in less clothes than you wear at your desk back in division headquarters. Hey I love some beefcake as much as the next person so I get cheesecake is the other side to that. Fine but there are times it’s practical and times it’s just ridiculous. Which I think is a fundamental difference between fangurls and fanboys – just where the suspension of belief is in favor of the cake of your choice. I think this title which is known for it goes over my boundary but I do enjoy the fairy tales so I’ll hang on another arc and see if the writing over comes my eye rolling.

The other thing that annoyed me was the changing font. I get doing something to bubbles to let us know this person speaks mentally (mind to mind) rather than out loud. I get doing something to the bubbles to indicate this person sounds different than anything around this dimension. I don’t like all the odd fonts for that. It throws off my reading. It’s like reading one of Aaron’s 3rd grade papers when he discovered how to change fonts, do bold and italics. Very annoying – stick to one font and change the bubbles.

This title is on probation with me. I can’t say I dislike it because I don’t. I can’t say I don’t enjoy it because I do. I can say that finances spent on comics are limited and this one isn’t as liked or enjoyed as much as others. If a really interesting new title comes along and I need to drop a title this one is on the short list to be dropped – unless the next arc will blows my socks off or given the cheesecake art should I say pants?

Next up on Comic Comments is Saucer Country Issue 6 which was touted as a good jump on issue entitled A Field Guide To Flying Saucers. Panels and pages comments after the jump (warning could be considered SPOILERY)

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September 3, 2012
Comic Comments – Wide Awake

This is the first arc of the Fable spin-off Fairest. It takes issues 1-6 to tell the story of Sleeping Beauty (Brier Rose) and the Snow Queen (Lumi) waking from their slumber imposed by Brier’s curse but used by the Fables to destroy the Adversary. Okay, I know if you don’t read the Fables title this a lot of jargon to take in. Hold on I’ll do some ‘splainin’ after we get the legal disclaimer and artistic credits out of the way.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.

I love giving credit to the creators. First off Fairest is created by Bill Willingham. The credits beyond that are as follows. If not issues are noted the credit stands for all the issues 1-6. The credits are: Bill Willingham, Writer; PHil Jimenez, Pencils and Variant Covers for Issue 1, Andy Lanning, Inks Issues 1 & 2, pages 1-7 & 12-20 in Issue 3, Issue 4 with Andre Pepoy on pages 12 & 13, pages 1, 3-9, 12-14, & 17 or Issue 5, pages 2-14, 16-20 of Issue 6′ Andrew Pepoy, Inker pages 2, 10-11, 15-16, 18-20 of Issue 5 and pages 1 & 15 of Issue 6; Andrew Dalhouse, Colors Todd Klein, Letters; Adam Hughes, Covers, Romulo Fajardo, Jr., Variant Cover Colors Issue 1; Special Thanks to Zander Cannon, Issues 2-6; Gregory Lockard, Assistant Editor; Shelly Bond, Editor.

For those who don’t follow Fables let me first explain the concept. Think of any fairy tale, folk lore, or fable you’ve ever heard that is now in the public domain and those are the denizens of Fables. There are many different worlds in Fables Oz, Arabian Tales, King Arthur’s Court, and so-on. These are call the homelands. We are a world in this universe know as Mundy because magic isn’t as predominate here. The book started when many characters were fleeing the homelands because of a villain called The Advisory. These refugees settle into life in New York City in a neighborhood called Fabletown. Except for the animals because talking animals would draw attention land was bought in upstate New York for them and they settled there on The Farm. The war raged on with The Advisory for many issues but finally his empire in the homelands was defeated with a multi-pronged attack that included Brier Rose (Sleeping Beauty) sneaking into his capital and pricking her finger at just the right moment to put all in charge of the empire into a sound sleep due to her curse. There have been many arcs since then and the capital slept away as Fabletown/Farm won the war and started the return of those who wanted to go back to the homelands. Recently goblins took Brier and Lumi (Snow Queen was formerly of Advisory inner court) not sure which one was the Sleeping Beauty since both were beautiful. Upon leaving they torched the capital killing all the other sleepers in the city. THAT’s where the Fairest series begins.

I do encourage you to read all of Fables it’s a fantastic story way beyond the normal comic. It’s well written, entertaining, adult centered, story using characters from our childhood. However if you aren’t up to reading all those TPBs (even from your local library) then you can catch up with the Wikipedia article on the title or peruse the list of characters at Wikipedia.

Now we are all on the same page as it were, let’s get on with Wide Awake where the ladies awaken. The story starts with Ali Baba finding a bottle in the ashes of The Advisory’s capital. In the bottle is a Bottle Imp whose power isn’t to grant wishes but instead to know things, specialty being the Mundy world. Still he knows where the greatest treasure of the capital city that has not been looted is kept. He leads Ali to the goblin encampment and the women. After some adventure and misadventure Ali wakes the beauties by kissing Brier with true love in his heart. Only the twist is the true love isn’t for Brier. The Lumi wakes in a really bad mood. She freezes all the goblins immediately and but feeling generous tells Ali, the Bottle Imp, and Brier to RUN! They take her at her word. Eventually they are caught and held as guests/prisoners of Lumi. There we learn Lumi LOVES stories. Bottle Imp tells how Brier became cursed something she didn’t know herself, how Lumi came to serve The Adversary, and a bit about how Ali became the Prince of Thieves. Later the knowledge gained from these stories helps Lumi and Brier win a large battle and come to a chilly friendship. Bottle Imp is granted his freedom for his help. We find out who was the true love in Ali’s heart when he kissed Brier. Brier not only gets revenge on the Dark Fae that cursed her but also learns that what she wants isn’t true love but true builders love – a foundation to build a future with someone else.

The story is like all in the Fables franchise extremely well written. Honestly the character development that continually builds on itself. This series is impressive and multi-faceted. It has a good sense of humor in it with the Bottle Imp bringing most of it. I love how things that were small at first become more important as the story moves along. If you read any in this universe you have to be on your toes watching for where those small plot pivots are! Excellent for engaging a reader beyond surface entertainment. There is a lot of thought and writerly talent brought to bear in the story. Excellently done.

Fables is know for extremely artistic covers that represent characters in the story. Fairest is following in that tradition but I don’t think it’s as strong. The cover of issue 5 falls very short of that mark. The Photoshopped glowy fire in the background is pathetic. If it had centered on just Lumi and her polar bear that would have been great but now we had to grey them up and add some Photoshop horror. Issue 1 is by far my favorite cover. It is a wraparound cover with all the fair ladies that will make up Fairest pictured tending the waking Brier who kicks off the series. Great concept! Excellent execution!

The interior art lives up to the VERY HIGH standards of the Fables franchise. It’s beautiful but story supporting. The people are consistent and well done. The sheer details put into the panels are breathtaking. It’s wonderful to just thumb through and enjoy the images. However I do miss the Fables trademark theme page boarders but that’s never been a feature of their spin-off books. I’m a big fan of the theme boarders. I think it comes from loving the old line illustrated books. Except these are in color! I’ll point them out when reviewing Cubs In Toyland arc when it is complete in that title.

Over all this didn’t disappoint it brought great story with fantastic art the very things I expect from the Fables franchise. It’s a sound and strong beginning for this title. It did not fall short on any measure and honestly I expected nothing less.

Next up for Comic Comments is a Zenescope title. We’ll visit Grimm Fairy Tales, Myths & Legends issues 16 & 17 for The Gathering story arc.

Up next is pages and panel comments: **SPOILER ALERT**

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August 31, 2012
Comic Comments – Reborn

We join Deadpool in issues 55 -57. The arc is Reborn and Deadpool is. He’s gotten his wish for Death in a way – he can now die which makes life sweeter. However being Deadpool he’s not thought about what the other consequence would be. Some are great others not so great, he sets out to fix one of the not so great ones.

Now for the legalise and credit. All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced. The credit for this arc is as follows: Daniel Way, Writer; Shawn Crystal, Artist; John Rauch, Colors; VC’s Joe Sabino, Letterer; Dave Johnson, Cover; Jordan D. White, Editor; Nick Lowe, Senior Editor; Axel Alonso, Editor In Chief; Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer; Dan Buckley, Publisher; and Alan Fine, Executive Producer.

One of the good things that resulted from Deadpool losing his regeneration ability. He’s got his rugged good looks back! He’s pleased with that. He’s just not comfortable without his face covered after having it covered for years. Understandable and tragic in any one else but in this case it’s funny, being DP and all.

One of the downsides is he can now be killed. Even worse he’s lost his edge in fighting because he could always rely on regeneration to fix any damage. Now it’s not true and a simple low class supervillain wanna be can kick his ass. His answer is to go get more training to hone his skills. That leads to an attempted heist of Pym Particles from SHIELD. Except things don’t go as planned, Deadpool is set up but the tables turn and he winds up saving the one who set him up and the wanna be supervillain that attacked him. I love it when Deadpool’s plans come together.

The other downside is that word has gotten out to DPs various enemies that he can now be killed. So once our insane hero had again honed his fighting edge to go save Bob in the three days Wolverine gave him. Except now he has people gunning for him that just might take up his time.

The story is fun and DP is as crazy as ever. He’s good in that he couldn’t let someone who double crossed him die nor could he let a guy that brings a glue gun to a real gun fight get killed. That’s the endearing part of DP. The amusing part is his prattle. That’s classic here from his trying to remember how to shave to wondering why the Trickster wants to work with him. Great DP story – not too heavy but amusing all the way through. This is a great read for the laughs. DP bumbles through like the Mr. Magoo of superheroes. Not only does he save the two but he also foils the robbery. Well worth reading, I’m surprised at the end he didn’t say “I love it when a plan comes together.” LOL!

The art is strong for me. It’s got a slight cartoonish edge but that works well for DP given his take on the world. The covers are pretty. Issue 56 has a 1960s feel to me kinda invoking Fury Max covers but with a comical DP twist. I like that. Issue 55 cover has women in the back ground and while I don’t disagree with the concept women would find the newly restored DP handsome it’s not really addressed in the book. His restored looks are addressed but women’s response isn’t. Again a pet peeve of mine, I’d been happier with just him making love hearts to his own reflection. Still it’s a pretty cover.

That concludes our visit with Deadpool for now. We’ll leave him with Dresden Files and Fables to finish their arcs before I write a Comic Comment on them. Up next will be the first arc of Vertigo‘s Fairest entitled Wide Awake.

On to the panels and pages comments…

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August 28, 2012
Comic Comments – Dead

Ahh back to routine. We are now to another Marvel title – Deadpool. This 5 book arc is entitled Dead and takes issues 50 – 54. I like him because of his constant stream of conscious prattle. I enjoy it when it’s more pop culture centered. Still this story fits him to a T and I enjoyed it. The art was great and life is good in the Deadpool universe. Except he wants to die.

Let’ s do credits and legal statement. First off all images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced. Now the legal is out of the off to give credit for the Merc with a Mouth Dead arc: Daniel Way, Writer; Carlo Barberi, Penciler Issue 50; Ale Garza, Penciller Issues 51-54; Walden Wong, Inker Issue 50; Sean Parsons, Inker Issues 51-54; Dommo, Colorist Issue 50; Dommo Sanchez Amara, Colorist Issues 51-54 (not sure if the same person since credit is listed differently); VC’s Joe Sabino, Letterer; Dave Johnson, Covers; Jordan D. White, Editor; Nick Lowe, Senior Editor; Axel Alonso, Editor in Chief; Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer; Dan Buckley, Publisher; and Alan Find, Executive Producer.

The covers for this arc are awesome. I do enjoy them and like how the hold true to the spirit of the content and reflect Deadpool’s style. The interior art is done by two artist and is very similar in style. I can’t say I prefer one over the other. There are things with each that I love and stuff I don’t care for but nothing I despise. The style leans a bit toward cartoonish at times but that suits Deadpool given his almost Road Runner like behavior at times. I think both the covers and interiors are solid comic book art that I enjoyed very much.

The story is one that builds on Evil Deadpool from the previous arc. For those of you who don’t know Deadpool has a regeneration ability so that makes him unkillable kinda like Logan in that fact. Except a mad scientist kept parts Deadpool had lost frozen and those were thawed out to grow together to make an EVIL Deadpool. Which in theory would also be unkillable. Except in the battle against Evil DP, someone shot him with a serum dart that killed him. Now the real Deadpool thought that was great! He can finally die! He wants the serum. Thus starts this arc where he’s trying to die.

Other mutants who have the regeneration/healing abilities aren’t so keen on the serum and want to control it. Deadpool being his crazy self drags his buddy Hydra Bob into the mess he creates trying to find the serum. DP goes to Fisk, the leader of a world-wide crime syndicate, and tells him about it. Fisk says he’s not interested then goes looking for himself. Which is also the response of Daken. Except Daken wants it to mess with his father Logan. Finally DP goes to the Uncanny X-Force who agree to work with him to find the threat.

What follows is a series of ever more complicated follies of trying to find the serum. Think A-Team when the plan comes together, well DP’s plan of dying is coming together. In the end, the serum isn’t exactly what they thought it was and DP decides he REALLY doesn’t want to die any way. He comes to that conclusion once Bob points out once DP is dead there won’t be anyone to protect Bob, DP’s BFF. Only problem is it’s a bit too late when DP changes his mind because everyone is out to kill him for stirring up more than needs to be stirred up.

Deadpool is classic Deadpool. His internal dialogue is sharp and witty. Everyone’s reaction to him adds a bit of humor to the classic superhero/supervillain match-up. I find it funny that we get what’s going on in his head because we have the stream of consciousness narration boxes in both his internal voices. Psylocke on the other hand is at a loss to make sense of his mind. In the end it is Logan who gets the guy, he knows what it’s like to stick around to save a friend, even when you are tired of sticking around.

I think this starts a new era for Deadpool. For once I’m hoping not too much changes. Sure there are some changes, some that are major but essentially I want him to remain the wacky not quite right reluctant hero. The one that annoys the heck out of everyone even Capt. America. We’ll see what’s up next for the Merc with a mouth, Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.

Up next is another Deadpool arc. This one takes issues 55-57 and is called Reborn. After that we’ll be leaving Deadpool to finish his current arc. That’ll take us out of Marvel for a while. We’ll pass over Dynamite’s Dresden Files and Vertigo’s Fables for the same reason – let them finish their arcs. We’ll settled into Fairest‘s first arc taking issues 1-6, it’s entitled Wide Awake. I think you’ll enjoy that one!

You know what’s after the jump! Panels and Pages Commentary!

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August 27, 2012
Comic Comments – Batman Earth One Special Preview Edition

This was a freebie I got with my monthly shipment. It contains teasers from Batman Earth One, and Batman Vol.2 story arc entitled Court of Owls which was told in issues 1-6.

As I said I’ve not been into DC for years. I tried Wonder Woman about 4 years ago but didn’t like it. Before that it’d been oh… since 1976 that I’d bought a regular DC title (excluding their other imprints like Vertigo). Still of their lead characters Batman is my favorite. His being my first word and all. So when this became available for free I thought – sure why not. I mean it’s FREE. Since it is the stuff after the jump isn’t spoilery since there’s not a full story to spoil in a teaser.

Okay here’s the credits – I’ve got. The full credits for Batman Earth One weren’t listed but Geoff Johns was the writer and Gary Frank was the artist. Batman Volume 2 Court of Owls full credits were listed as follows: Scott Snyder, Writer; Greg Capullo, Penciller & Cover; Jonathan Glapion, Inker; FCO Plascencia, Colors; Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt, Letters; Katie Kubert, Assistant Editor; Janell Asselin, Associate Editor, Mike Marts, Editor; and Bob Kane, Creator of Batman.

All images are the property of their owners I reproduce them here under the Fair Use Doctrine of the copyright law for commentary and critique. No more than three pages total from any one issue is reproduced.
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August 23, 2012