By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/4/2015
Well, this is a shocker for the first time ever, The Hulk is going to be…a teenager! As predicted many times, the hulk in TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1 will be Amadeus Cho, a Korean American teen who is described as a Boy Genius.” Greg Pak and Frank Cho (no relation) are the creative team. The […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/30/2015
Normally I don’t do Kickstarter columns but so many of them are coming and so many of them are cool, I’m BREAKING WITH TRADITION.
§ Kieron Dwyer and Todd Rinker are trying to get funding for WEST PORTAL, a new creator owned series about…
West Portal is the story of Dexter Allen, a struggling artist with a failed marriage and a young daughter.


After he’s diagnosed with a strange brain anomaly, Dex finds himself transported into bizarre worlds from popular fantasy and fiction.
One minute, Dex is reading a comic strip featuring Glint Granger, a space-faring sci-fi hero in the mold of Flash Gordon…

…and suddenly, Dex is Glint Granger, trapped on some far flung planet, fighting for his life against evil alien Space Squids!
Catchy concept and the creators are seasoned pros so maybe give this a spin?
§ Greg Pak is a crowdfunding master, and now he’s teaming with artist Takeshi Miyazawa, colorist Jessica Kholinne and letterer Simon Bowland for ABC Disgusting, a children’s alphabet book about disgusting things. I don’t think you need to know too much more than that. They’ve already raised more than $8000 of the $24,000 they’re asking and when you see the art you’ll give the rest:
ABC Disgusting tells the story of a boy trying to shock his older sister with an alphabetical series of disgusting things. But in the end, she hits him with what might be the biggest gross-out of all.
WARNING: VERY DISGUSTING. (And maybe a little heartwarming.) INCLUDES FLATULENCE, LAMPREYS, MAYONNAISE MILK SHAKES, NOSE HAIR, ZOMBIES AND ZORILLAS.
“This is a book for anyone who’s ever laughed at a fart,” says Pak. “I’m also hoping it might be particularly great for reluctant readers, kids who might need a little more incentive to pick up and read a book.”
“I’ve been having such a fun time drawing it, I can’t wait for everyone to see it! It makes me proud to be able to reach new readers and, just maybe, inspire them to read more or even draw something silly,” says Miyazawa.
§ Finally the third volume of Matt Fitch’s Frogman 3: The Death of Frogman is up. The artist is Gibson Quarter, and if this isn’t supposed to be a pastiche on 80s independent comics, I don’t know what is. They’re also about a third of the way so go for it.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/4/2015
The second Special Edition: NYC comics-only show from ReedPop runs June 6-7 at Pier 94, and ReedPOP has just announced the first guests: Amy Reeder, Chris Claremont, Alex Maleev, Mark Texeira, Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak, Kevin Maguire and Marguerite Bennett.
Tickets for the event go on sale Wednesday, February 4 (THAT”S TODAY) at 12:00 PM EST.
Unlike it’s loud, tumultuous and pulse-pounding big sister New York Comic-Con, SE:NYC is planned as a more mellow comics focused event with more Special Guests from the pages of mainstream, alternative, indie, international and web comics.
“We launched Special Edition: NYC last year, because we knew fans were clamoring for a more exclusive event aimed specifically at comic books since New York Comic Con has grown into the massive success that it has,” said Lance Fensterman, Global Senior Vice President of ReedPOP in a statement “and we felt that it answered this call. Fans and artists were able to interact and the overall environment fostered such a strong community of comic book fans. We’re excited to see what this year brings in a new location with an even better lineup.”
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/8/2015
And so we wrap up this year’s with the last round of replies, and if one thing is clear it’s that a lot of people are looking forward to a new Star Wars movie. Once again, thanks to everyone who took the time from their busy schedules to respond. Previous parts can be read here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.
Greg Pak, writer
2015 Projects: ACTION COMICS, BATMAN/SUPERMAN, STORM, and my new online store,gregpakshop.com, where you can buy signed copies of my books!
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Diversity. After the success of MS. MARVEL, there’s no going back. We’re going to continue seeing more and more diversity of casts and genres and art styles in mainstream and independent comics, and that’s a fantastic thing that’s healthy for the entire industry in every way.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? Diversity. Not just among casts, genre, and art style, but among actual creators. I think there was a time not too long ago when I was the only person of color writing for the big two. That’s going to change. And we’re going to see more and more women writing and drawing, and comics will continue to tap into new audiences as a result, which will be better for the entire industry.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? I got one of those fancy blenders, and it’s gonna be fruit smoothies 24/7, y’all.
Richard Starkings, writer/lettering guru
2015 Projects: ELEPHANTMEN — 60 issues and still counting! THE BEEF with Tyler Shainline and Shaky Kane! This years comicbookfonts.com New Year’s Day sale… we’ve been posting Lettering Q&A videos everyday on the Comicraft YOUTUBE channel
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY becoming such a huge hit.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? Probably STAR WARS comics, toys and the movie!
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? THOUGHT BUBBLE 2015. Best comic festival IN THE GALAXY!
JIMMY PALMIOTTI
2015 Projects: Harley Quinn, The Con Job, Abbadon, G.I.Zombie.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014?
I think getting more women in the business and hearing from different voices with many different ethnic backgrounds as well as mainstream comics becoming more global. With this, I hope we get to a place where we look at the work with a better eye and less about the person that created it. I am hoping traditional superheroes mature a bit in the process.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015?
Hopefully it will be the direction of certain creators getting behind their own creations and the audiences out there supporting them. I also think IMAGE comics will finally beat out one of the big two companies and cause them to rethink they way they share profits and creator owned ideas.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? For me, the guilty pleasure I am now enjoying is moving a lot of what I do out of my house and into a studio surrounding and making our Paperfilms website the place to find my own future projects. That, and a couple of movies on my radar that are not franchises or part 30 of something that has already been beaten to death.
J.T. Yost, publisher/creator
2015 Projects: As a publisher (Birdcage Bottom Books):
As a distributor:
Birdcage Bottom Books continues to expand its roster of indie-comic artists and micro-press publishers with a focus on limited-edition hand-made mini comics. Our mission is to make comics without barcodes easier to find and own while allowing comic artists to focus more time on creating and less on marketing & promotion.
As an artist:
Finishing up several short comics for various anthologies (including “Not My Small Diary #18 (pets)”) and hopefully working on finishing the final issue of my “Losers Weepers” series.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? I don’t know that it’s the biggest story, but I found it interesting that several of the larger indie-comics publishers (Fantagraphics, Last Gasp, Sparkplug, etc.) have turned to Kickstarter to help fund their publishing endeavors.
My own publishing company has used it for two anthologies (“Digestate: a food & eating themed anthology” and “Cringe: an anthology of embarrassment”) with great success. Kickstarter is a great way to reach a broader audience and offer additional incentives to “pre-order” a book.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? The success or failure of The Peanuts movie will probably make some headlines.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Visiting one of the “cat cafés” opening in NYC this year. My cats died a few years ago, and my wife is allergic (plus we have a chihuahua who hates cats). I actually don’t feel guilty about this at all, but there are some who would insist that I should be.
Josh Elder, writer and Comics Ambassador for the US State Department (Yes, that’s really a thing.)
2015 Projects: The trade paperback for Scribblenauts Unmasked by myself, Adam Archer, Ian Hering and Saida Temofonte (with edits by Alex Antone) drops in February from the fine folks at DC Comics. I’ve got a couple additional unannounced projects from DC on the docket in 2015, the relaunch of my Mail Oder Ninja series from Andrews McMeel Publishing and about a half-dozen personal projects that have been long in the works. I’m also continuing in my role as Executive Director of Reading With Pictures and Comics Ambassador for the US State Department to promote the use of comics in the classroom all around the world.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Amazon’s acquisition of comiXology. The world’s biggest and most influential e-retailer just bet big on comics. ComiXology itself is obviously the big winner here, but the Amazon acquisition is a clear sign that the big boys of digital content distribution think that comics could well be the next big thing. And that is very exciting indeed.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? I know of a certain something that, should it come to pass, would be a major contender for the top spot (How’s that for a tease?), but since I cannot yet speak of such matters, I’ll instead go with all the ch-ch-changes at DC Comics due to the Great Western Migration. Jobs will live, jobs will die and nothing will ever be the same again!
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Against all reason and better judgment, I am getting crazy excited for Star Wars. The movie, the comics, even that kooky, cross-guard lightsaber. I’ve been burned so many times before, yet I still think I’ll be waiting in line opening night to return to a galaxy far, far away…
2015 Projects: Revenger
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Conversation of gender around comics.
Guilty Pleasure: New Star Wars!
2015 Projects: The Late Child and Other Animals with Marguerite Van Cook, a graphic novel just out from Fantagraphics Books; plus I am currently working on the second issue of Post York for Uncivilized Books and also finishing my critical book about Jim Steranko.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? The Jack Kirby estate’s settlement with Marvel Comics/Disney that ensures Kirby’s creative credit and gives the family substantial financial compensation.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? I’d like to think it would be an epiphany in America regarding the superior quality of Hugo Pratt’s work, due to IDW/EuroComics’ new Corto Maltese reprint series.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Now having the option to read a Marvel Comic or watch a Marvel movie without feeling like I am helping a corporation rip the Kirbys off.
Allison Baker & Chris Roberson
2015 Projects: Chris is busy scripting funny books like ALIENS and DOC SAVAGE (and a whole list of other projects he can’t talk about yet), while Allison is the Director of Operations for IDW.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Our perspective is a little skewed because of personal involvement, perhaps, but one of the most interesting things about comics in 2014 was more about the influence of comics on another medium than about comics as a medium in itself: namely, television. Comics being adapted into successful movies is nothing new, as a quick glance at the box office results for any recent year will attest. But successful television adaptations of comics have been pretty thin on the ground in the past, with occasional standouts. But the success of THE WALKING DEAD may have signaled a changing landscape. Marvel’s AGENTS OF SHIELD will soon be joined by an AGENT CARTER spinoff. And it was announced that DC’s ARROW will be joined by FIVE new series that will air on various networks based on their comics, including one that is near and dear to our hearts, Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero-Wright’s adaptation of Chris and Mike Allred’s iZOMBIE. Recently, Sony’s Playstation Network announced plans to adapt Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming’s POWERS. And there were probably more that we’re forgetting. In the short term, we’re sure that many of us hope that the increased exposure these kinds of adaptations bring will mean for increased sales for the titles that are being adapted themselves (that’s what WE’RE very much hoping for, anyway). But on another level, it might suggest that there is a far larger potential audience for the kinds of stories these comics are telling than the comics themselves are reaching.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? There were some really interesting trends the last couple of years, with independent publishers taking increasingly large market shares and retail sales in direct market shops rebounding, in addition to more and more creator-owned titles ending up on mainstream bestseller lists. We’re still in a transitionary period, with the ground continuing to shift underneath our feet, and the biggest story in comics next year could be what the landscape ends up looking like when the dust has settled.
2015 Projects: GOTHAM ACADEMY (DC) SOUTHERN CROSS (IMAGE)
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Comics are for everyone! Diversity took the spotlight this year, diversity in creators, characters and fans. Yes there was a lot of ugly stuff, but I like to remember the positives and there was a lot of good discussions and progress made too. Publishers are paying more attention to how they are hiring and marketing, and who is reading. I love comics and looking back on this year it makes me really happy and proud to be a part of this community. Serious feels.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? Creator owned books are going to own 2015. Like how they owned 2014 except even more.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? I am going to learn all the lyrics to Journey’s Separate Ways specifically to rock at karaoke.
Tom Hart, cartoonist, educator
2015 Projects: Rosalie Lightning, due hopefully in 2015, from St Martins Press
Continued running of The Sequential Artists Workshop with guest workshops in 2015 by Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree) and Aidan Koch (q, The Blonde Woman, etc.)
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Oversized archive books
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? The decline of ink as medium of choice
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? Reading Amanda Palmer’s book, the Art of Asking. That probably doesn’t count, does it?
Adam Koford, writer/cartoonist
2015 Projects: I just hit #2600 with the Laugh-Out-Loud Cats at HOBOTOPIA.com with no end in sight (though I am sending them underground for a while), and I wrote the Spider-Man Play Set for Disney Infinity 2.0.
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? The success of the Guardians of the Galaxy film and the subsequent ubiquitousness of Rocket and Groot.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? DC’s move west will be fun to watch.
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? My kids have got me hooked on HeroClix, so I’m a little too excited for the upcoming Spider-Man Symbiotes figures.
Alex Segura, writer/editor
2015 Projects: Writer of crime novels and comics, Archie Comics PR guy and Editor of Dark Circle Comics
What was the biggest story in comics in 2014? Comics are everywhere. It isn’t just movies – but TV, video games and more. Selfishly, I also felt like the ARCHIE #1 news caught a lot of people by surprise. I also feel like Image continues to defy preconceptions about what a “big publisher” is in comics, dovetailing nicely with what cable TV seems to be doing.
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2015? For me, it’s the launch of Archie’s superhero imprint, Dark Circle Comics with THE BLACK HOOD, THE FOX and THE SHIELD. Overall, I think it’ll be a continuation of what we’ve seen over the last few years – creators getting to tell their own, personal stories/creating their own characters as their livelihoods, as opposed to something done between work-for-hire gigs. I think you’ll also see that influencing how IP-owning companies approach their own characters and promote them. Los Bros Hernandez
What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2015? I don’t believe in guilty pleasure – but I’m always happy when there’s more Achewood!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/27/2014
It’s happening, hurrah! Marvel have today announced the news that Greg Pak and Victor Ibanez will be the creative team for a Storm ongoing series. Starting this July, the series will see the character take off around the world on a one-woman peacekeeping mission. She’ll be toppling corrupt governments, stopping natural disasters – it sounds like she’ll be literally the greatest hero on the planet.
The series is set around the idea that the character – who has never had an ongoing series before, can you believe it – will be going proactive. Whereas for Cyclops and Wolverine this meant forming murder-teams and messing everything up, Storm’s mission is to help the planet in every way she can. By reaching her fullest potential and helping mankind, she’ll provide herself as a sort of mutant icon for everybody to look up to. And, when your idol is a mutant, it becomes a lot harder to be, y’know, anti-mutant.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/11/2013
We head into week two of Villains Month, with thirteen more titles out this week. Ranging from Harley Quinn and The Riddler through to Mongul and Black Manta, a theme seems to emerge this week – DON’T EVER GO INTO SPACE!
Follow the jump for every issue reviewed, from my least-favourite through to my favourite.
One thing that you should note is that some of the comics take place as part of Forever Evil – the Batman and Flash comics, it seems – whilst the Green Lantern/Superman issues are more general. So some issues follow on immediately from the first issue of the event, whilst others are more general stories. Keep that in mind as you buy the comics – they’ll all make sense, but some will be directly following on from the main story whilst others are unconnected origin stories.
Solomon Grundy
Matt Kindt (w), Aaron Lopresti (a), Art Thibert (i), Travis Lanham (l), Michael Atiyeh (c), Anthony Marques, Mike Cotton (e)
It feels like there’s a big missing section from this comic somewhere, which would help tie the two stories together. This is an origin story interweaved with a scene of Grundy causing chaos in the modern day, but the end of the comic leaves readers with a whole load of questions. The issue starts with the character crash-landing on Earth from outer space…. the origin sequence ends with Grundy being created, a hundred years ago, on Earth. So how did he end up in outer space, so he can subsequently crash back to Earth? No idea.
It’s a massively melodramatic story as well, veering almost immediately into complete manic camp – especially in the origin sequence, which is the craziest thing I’ve seen in a long time. It’s almost parody of itself. This is a bad comic, but at the same time? Enjoyable BECAUSE it’s so bad.
Brainiac
Tony Bedard (w), Pascal Alixe (a), Hi-Fi (c), John J. Hill (l), Rickey Purdin (e)
There’s a lot of horror in space this week, and Tony Bedard’s Brainiac story – although not really capturing the character’s intelligence – offers another imminent threat. Crucially though, I simply didn’t find any of what happened to be particularly interesting. Hi-Fi’s colours have picked a strange palette which makes every page into a fuzzy blur, like we’re watching an out-of-focus tv channel. Their decision muffles Pascal Alixe’s artwork significantly, and also seems to cause some real problems for the narrative. It’s quite hard to tell how some of the images relate to each other due to the colouring, especially when panels move around within a fixed space.
The story isn’t all that interesting either, explaining the duller parts of Brainiac without telling us anything about the cool bits – why don’t we get to find out the point of the pink disks he attaches to his head halfway through? What do those do, then?
Lobo
Marguerite Bennett (w), Ben Oliver, Cliff Richards (a), Daniel Brown (c), Sal Ciprano (l), Rickey Purdin (e)
I didn’t understand the ‘controversy’ about this issue, but the story itself doesn’t really help endear this new character to readers. Despite Simon Bisley’s Lobo on the front cover, the character doesn’t make an appearance anywhere in the story. This is, instead, about a younger, sleeker Lobo who speaks in the same way (Bennett’s script absolutely nails the dialogue) but doesn’t really get much of a chance to shock the reader. The story is slow and doesn’t go anywhere, and the whole point of Lobo, surely, is that he does outrageous and over-the-top things – this issue doesn’t give readers any of that craziness.
It’s not a bad comic, but it’s nowhere near as dynamic and enjoyable ridiculous as a Lobo story should be.
Zod
Greg Pak (w), Ken Lashley (a), Steve Wands (l), Pete Pantazis (c), Anthony Marques (e)
There’s a miniseries hidden inside an issue here, with Zod a character who has a lengthy backstory which struggles to be crammed inside a single issue. The main concern with this issue is that Pak simply can’t get the whole story into this issue, leaving us with an issue which leaps around in time and sequencing almost as random, leaving readers slightly confused as to what’s happening. Ken Lashley’s artwork manages to do some heroic efforts in this regard, however, establishing the alien world Zod surrounds himself in as a really bizarre, weird place to live in.
Lashley seems to be the perfect fit for an outer-space story, as he manages to design around five different outfits for Zod (like I say, the story races through time like a dervish) which all seem appropriate to his place in Krypton’s society and his role as a constant outsider to it. If this had been expanded into a longer piece of work, it could have made for an interesting tale. As it is, this is a story which is constantly rushing forward, and the reader falls behind sooner rather than later.
Trigon
Marv Wolfman (w), Cafu (a), Jason Wright (c), Steve Wands (l), Anthony Marques, Mike Cotton (e)
Marv Wolfman returns to a character he co-created and gives him an utterly horrific backstory and motivation which I presume will be setting up some future storyline in Teen Titans. This wasn’t a bad issue by any means – almost every issue this week seemed fine, at the very least – but it is a bit reliant on the central shock value of the character’s actions. If you strip out the villainy, I’m not sure I really felt a true sense of what the character’s ambitions are beyond ‘be horrible’.
Cafu and Jason Wright offer some brilliantly realised artwork, however – Wright’s colouring is especially fantastic, and ensures that this isn’t an issue which looks as grimy and dirty as it reads. There’s a brightness and vibrancy in the colouring which takes the character and makes him seem more impressive and powerful. The secondary characters are all muted, leaving Trigon the brightest character on each page.
Harley Quinn
Matt Kindt (w), Neil Googe (a), Wil Quintana (c), Taylor Esposito (l), Harvey Richards, Will Moss (e)
Remember how Harley Quinn is a terrible person wrapped up in a sweet and adorable harlequin bow? Matt Kindt’s issue reminds you that within that candy coating beats an evil, evil person. Struggling a little to connect the two halves of her personality to each, Kindt’s script eventually resorts to having the two narratives in her head shout at each other – which actually seems to fit her pretty well. This is a madcap issue, running at a very quick speed thanks to Neil Googe’s utterly wonderful artwork.
Googe steals the issue, in fact, emphasising the utter horror of Harley’s power fantasies during a particularly grim, extended joke sequence in which she acquires her new costume. There’s an overwhelming presence of character on the pages of the issue and it’s very good fun, even if it is rather aimlessly. The final page is a mega disappointment in that regard – it puts her back to square one for the New 52.
Mr Freeze
Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray (w), Jason Masters (a), Dave McCaig (c), Jared K. Fletcher (l), Darren Shan, Rachel Gluckstern (e)
Mr Freeze has gone through an interesting development during the New 52, in that Scott Snyder invalidated the whole ‘dead wife tragedy’ aspect in the character. With Nora now a distant memory, Palmiotti and Gray are left with the task of finding a new thing for the character to fixate on. That they magae to do so may well be the greatest triumph of the New 52 thus far.
The character was so heavily motivated by a need to protect his wife that a more straightforward villainous agenda feels beneath him, but the creative team here do their very best to work on the character and make this new aspect work. Their tactic is to make him so amoral and unfeeling as to be completely unpredictable, and McCaig’s colours assist this greatly. The bright red goggles, the only dynamic feature of Freeze, hide his eyes for the entire issue – a very effective tactic. It’s a solid issue.
Mongul
Jim Starlin (w), Howard Porter (a), Hi-Fi (c), Carlos M. Mangual (l), Kyle Andrukiewicz, Joey Cavalieri (e)
An excellent reimagining for the character which realises the original design doesn’t really need to be changed. The last I saw of Mongul, he had one eye and was terrorising the Green Lantern Corps. Here, though, the New 52 reimagines him as a military genius, living on a massive spaceship the size of a planet and defeating every force in his wya.
Starlin writes the issue as a celebratory monologue from the character, as he takes his latest defeated foe for a tour round his house and gloats about how easy victory is for him. On a character level, we now have a great sense of what Mongul is like and how his mind works. Starlin’s script is tight, but still allows the character to show himself off repeatedly; aided by some of the best art I’ve seen from Howard Porter, whose style usually puts me off.
Reverse Flash
Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato (w), Scott Hepburn (a), Buccellato (c), Carlos M. Mangual (l), Harvey Richards, Will Moss (e)
It wasn’t until the last page that I realised this wasn’t an issue DRAWN by Manapul, but was instead the work of Scott Hepburn. Coloured by Buccellato, Hepburn hurls himself wholly into this issue, producing some dynamic and wonderful pages with a zip and pace only Manapul himself could match. For the most part, this is an issue featuring the Reverse Flash as a regular person, and the pages reflect that with a blocky style. But whenever he transforms? Suddenly the pages explode apart with zagged borders and fractured panels.
It’s a fantastic showcase for Hepburn. As far as story – this is okay. It gets the idea across of the main character, but in doing so it accidentally breaks one of the supporting characters. By establishing Reverse Flash as a sympathetic figure, it has to make his sister – Iris, perhaps you’ve heard of her – seem rather cruel. I didn’t buy that, particularly. As this is, however, essentially an advert/prelude to the next big arc on The Flash, perhaps the team will be able to sort that out later.
Court of Owls
James Tynion IV (w), Jorge Lucas (a), Dave McCaig (c), Steve Wands (l), Katie Kubert (e)
A paranoia thriller of a one-shot, here James Tynion IV lets loose with the conspiracy angle of the Court of Owls and manages to just-about put their ship back on water. Which is a strange metaphor to use, but I’ve written ten reviews about villains already and my mind hurts. The Court of Owls were an interesting idea which didn’t quite hit the target during Scott Snyder’s original story, but here Tynion manages to get the concept together and make it seem plausible that they would exist.
Jorge Lucas and Dave McCaig nail the issue, absolutely. Coupled with the disturbing white-on-black lettering from Wands, the issue manages to create an investing and fascinating tonal style which gives the concept of a secret society in Gotham a feeling of realism. There is one panel where Lucas misses this mark and creates an unintentionally funny moment, but overall this is an engaging issue.
Black Manta
Geoff Johns, Tony Bedard (w), Claude St. Aubin (a,/i), Blond (c), Carlos M. Mangual, Taylor Esposito (l), Kate Stewart, Brian Cunningham (e)
The most interesting aspect of Forever Evil is undoubtedly that several of the villains seem to have immediate plans to overthrow the Society of Super Villains and go their own way. This is once more the case with Black Manta, and the character seems primed for an interesting future following this issue.
Following Geoff Johns’ plot, Tony Bedard quickly sketches the basics of the character’s personality despite the book being heavily connected to Forever Evil. At least half the issue is working through the events of Forever Evil #1 from Manta’s perspective, expanding his role and motivations within a narrative we’ve already seen unfold. As a result, this is an issue which requires the reader to have seen the main event in order to get the most out of it. But, if you have, what follows is a surprisingly effective character issue.
The bulk of this story is based around the enmity between Black Manta and Aquaman, which makes one scene towards the end particularly effective – where Manta has the choice between two objects, and picks one over the other. It may be a little slight, but Black Manta is a quick and fun piece of the Forever Evil storyline, and shines a spotlight on a character who has seen significant growth over the last year.
Killer Frost
Sterling Gates (w), Derlis Santacruz (a), Brett Smith (c), Dave Sharpe (l), Kate Stewart, Brian Cunningham (e)
Killer Frost is a proper done-in-one horror story which then trails into the DC Universe right at the end, and is all the better for it. If Villains Month is proving anything, it’s that a lot of American writers struggle to create a proper done-in-one issue. Killer Frost – and the final issue of this month – are perhaps the two best exceptions to that rule, thus far. Sterling Gates and Derlis Santacruz take a note right out of Whiteout and The Thing, by stranding the central character in an Arctic Colony where people are acting suspiciously.
The majority of the issue is spent with her before she becomes a super-powered villainess, and as a result we get a real feel of her and her motivations, making her a sympathetic protagonist. When things go wrong, we get to experience John Carpenter-in-reverse, with Santacruz offering some exceptional suspense work which shows just enough of the violence to get the concept across – without ever showing so much that the comic feels gratuitous.
And when the issue moves into the DC Universe proper, Gates reconnects the character with her most well-known opponent, but adds a new wrinkle to their enmity which again serves her brilliantly. I knew nothing of the character before – now I’m excited to see where she moves next.
Riddler
Scott Snyder, Ray Fawkes (w), Jeremy Haun (a), John Rausch (c), Taylor Esposito (l), Katie Kubert (e)
The Riddler finally gets a showstopping sense of definition at DC, as Scott Snyder and Ray Fawkes take the character and evolve him into a fully-formed, unpredictable theorist. Creating several rather clever riddles (I only guessed two out of five) and leaving them on the first page of the issue, readers are then asked to work out how these five riddles are going to allow the character to complete his goal of breaking into Wayne Tower.
This is gripping stuff, with Haun’s artwork methodically detailing the character’s movements and body language. There’s a moment where the character plays golf halfway through the issue which is a brilliantly quirky detail, and demonstrates just what makes him so fun to root for. There’s a playfulness in this violent and mentally ill supergenius, and Fawkes’ script allows the character several interesting new tics and ideas. Riddler comes off as evil, but in a way which suits his high intelligence levels – he’s a bag of tics and fears and arrogance, shaken up and then let loose into the world.
Taylor Esposito’s lettering is a great asset to the story also. If the reveal of each riddle weren’t placed as perfectly as Esposito places them here, the issue would fall flat, regardless of the great script, art, and colouring. Esposito carefully works out how to set up each page, creating a seamless reading experience for the reader. It’s really a tremendous issue. I’m biased because I have a previous love for the character… but this issue took everything I like about him and made it sing.
Here are the numbers:
* four books directly follow from Forever Evil – including all the Batman books, aside from The Court of Owls.
* eight have no connection to Forever Evil whatsoever
* there is no origin story for Lobo or The Riddler
* Batman created by Bob Kane, Court of Owls created by Scott Snyder/Greg Capullo, Aquaman created by Paul Norris, Mongul created by Len Win/Jim Starlin, Harley Quinn created by Paul Dini/Bruce Timm, Superman created by Jerry Siegel/Joe Shuster, Lobo created by Roger Slifer/Keith Giffen, Trigon created by Marv Wolfman/George Perez
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/4/2013
DC sent along a lovely pack of review copies for Villains Week, and I feel like it’s only fair that I read through all of the ones out this week and review ‘em. I’ll go from my least favourite to my favourite, ending with my favourite of this first lot. And hey! If DC send along a second selection next week, I’ll review those ones too!
Slight spoilers below, but nothing particular.
One thing that you should note is that some of the comics take place as part of Forever Evil – the Batman and Flash comics, it seems – whilst the Green Lantern/Superman issues are more general. So if you pick up Poison Ivy or Grodd, it’ll make reference to two of the more immediate moments which occur in Forever Evil #1. Keep that in mind as you buy the comics – they’ll all make sense, but some will be directly following on from the main story whilst others are unconnected origin stories.
Desaad
Paul Levitz (w), Yildiray Cinar (a), Jason Wright (c), Carlos M. Mangual (l), Anthony Marques, Mike Cotton (e)
I’m astonished this issue was made. Impossible to understand as a standalone story, it features a sequence about a mass shooting which is in extremely poor taste. The rest of the comic doesn’t explain who Desaad is or what’s going on, and is filled with concepts and ideas which are neither fleshed out nor coherent. The art tells the story – what little there is – well enough, but there are some dodgy character designs going on. I didn’t care at all about Desaad by the end of the issue.
Relic
Robert Venditti (w), Rags Morales (a/i), Cam Smith (i), Andrew Dahlhouse (c), Dave Sharpe (l), Chris Conroy (e)
There’s an interesting story in here somewhere, but the artistic choice made here turns an origin story into a complete chore to read. Every page is a splash page from Rags Morales, and he chooses some absolute clunkers. The first page shows a pretty galaxy with an arm floating into the left frame. What’s going on? Who knows. It’s boring.
Morales doesn’t make any of the concepts in Venditti’s script work, and his character designs are uninspired and uniform. Andrew Dahlhouse does his absolute best to clean up this mess, but it’s a lost cause. I can see that Venditti’s story would be interesting, if only the comic had been told sequentially instead of as a series of misconnected splash pages.
Joker
Andy Kubert (w), Andy Clarke (a), Blond (c), Jared K. Fletcher (l), Katie Kubert (e)
As you might expect, there’s really no reason to try and offer any backstory to The Joker. This issue tells a nonsense side-story from some point in Joker’s past, during which he has some flashbacks to his childhood. Really, any attempt to flesh out the past of the character is always going to flop – the more we know about Joker, the less interesting he is. As a result, the issue flails with an un-involving main story which bombs the final gag, and flashbacks which take away from the story entirely.
Andy Clarke’s artwork is lovely, as always, although the weak script means it’s very difficult to determine how some scenes are meant to be interpreted. There looks to be some intent at offering a subtext, but this is only conveyed in the art and not the script. It seems as though one of the supporting characters is secretly working at a cross-purposes, but there’s only so much the art can do without clear dialogue. Clarke attempts to elevate a completely throwaway storyline, but can only offer a very pretty, very weak, story.
Grodd
Brian Buccellato (w), Chris Batista (a), Tom Nguyen (i), Wes Dzioba (c), Wes Abbott (l), Kyle Andrukiewicz, Joey Cavalieri (e)
Grodd’s a curious character. The main reason he exists as a villain is because gorillas are scary, I guess? This is an issue which struggles because the character comes into this issue with a goal that doesn’t make any sense. Every single character in the comic calls him out for his strange decisions and ambition, and he basically hits them until they give up trying. Does it forgive a strange character if every other character CALLS him strange? I’m not sure on that.
Chris Batista, to me, is one of those artists DC have never appreciated quite enough, and his work here is really good fun – not everybody can draw an expressive gorilla. Not a bad issue by any means, but one which doesn’t manage to quite fix the character.
Cyborg Superman
Michael Alan Nelson (w), Mike Hawthorne (a), Daniel Brown (c), Carlos M. Mangual (l), Rickey Purdin (e)
Interesting, this one. It’s going to upset fans of the character, but tells a reasonably involving story. Framing two sequences against one another, the final few twists are very obvious, although Nelson mines from really fun laughs from Cyborg Superman’s sadistic quest for a sidekick. I don’t know how this actually fits in with established continuity – it would seem to wreck Green Lantern’s past storylines, for example – but we’ll have to see. It’s a perfectly fine comic, and Hawthorne’s art is like somebody put Jamie McKelvie and Stuart Immonen’s art in a blender. Good, in other words.
Two Face
Peter J. Tomasi (w), Guillem March (a), Tomeu Morey (c), Dezi Sienty (l), Darren Shan, Rachel Gluckstern (e)
Featuring an astonishingly drawn and coloured opening sequence between Two Face and Scarecrow whilst both are stood ON the Bat-Signal, the issue sadly then moves into familiar territory for the rest of the issue. Morey’s colouring is spectacular though, especially in the early stages of the issue. At first it feels like there’s a definite plan for the issue, until the story turns into a typical Two Face/anti-hero narrative. There’s nothing especially new here, especially for those who have read No Man’s Land and other stories where Two Face similarly has no Batman opposing him.
It’s entertaining, but it also feels like Tomasi is killing time for the last half of the page-count. There’s some good puns about duality, though, which is half the battle in a Two Face story.
Bizarro Superman
Sholly Fisch (w), Jeff Johnson (a), Andy Smith (i), Javier Mena, Jordie Bellaire (c), John J. Hill (l), Ricky Purdin (e)
This is actually a Lex Luthor story, and it follows familiar ground in an entertaining way. No other character in comics quite has that mix of ambition, arrogance and disregard that Luthor has, and Fisch nails the character. Bizarro Superman himself is a strange creature in the comic – his arc is obvious from the moment he appears. Interestingly enough, Bizarro at no point takes on the design he has in the cover – this is a step far removed from the ‘classic’ rendition of the character.
But despite the by-numbers nature of the narrative, the creative team fit enough touches of silliness and character into the story that the comic works very nicely indeed. I was surprised to find I enjoyed the comic so much, but it was a really solid issue.
Ventriloquist
Gail Simone (w), Derlis Santacruz (a), Karl Kesel (i), Brett Smith (c), Dave Sharpe (l), Katie Kubert (e)
Very much in-tone with her run on Suicide Squad, Gail Simone’s story here puts focus on different mindsets of villainy. One thing the writer has excelled at recently has been creating villains who do evil acts no other villain would do – her Deadshot felt like a unique person rather than a sarcastic goon with a gun, and she’s created some of the most genuinely unsettling villains of the last few years. So it is again with Ventriloquist, which focuses on the second iteration of the villain, Shauna Belzer.
Carefully told, even if it does require a rather large suspension of disbelief towards the end, the story gives us a version of the characters – both ventriloquist and dummy – which keeps readers surprised and unprepared for what might happen next. And when Simone does leave a blatant piece of foreshadowing in the story, she does it to drum up tension and let readers stay one step ahead of the characters. It’s a well-done story, which takes an (probably rightfully) underused villain and give them a bit of purpose and character. It might be deeply silly, but there’s a deadly slice of horror tucked away in there too.
Count Vertigo
Jeff Lemire (w), Andrea Sorrentino (a), Marcelo Maiolo (c), Rob Leigh (l), Harvey Richards, Will Moss (e)
A considered and underplayed issue, Green Arrow’s team make the most of this opportunity to build up one of the character’s most famous villains. Despite a slightly silly design, the character gets a much-needed redevelopment and sense of purpose which feels genuinely menacing. This doesn’t feel like a villain who is insane, but rather a methodical and calculated man who realises that breaking a moral code is preferable to getting left behind.
Sorrentino and Maiolo do some more wonderful work on the issue, continuing their incredible run of form. Sorrentino is the most distinctive and impressive artist at DC, and creates a wonderful sense of space in his work. On one page, for example, he breaks the story into ten page-width boxes, but without any of them feeling cramped on unintelligible. He does masterful work with POV framing, as well – he has an innate sense of perspective which makes it feel as though we’re looking directly out the eyes of the character, without things seeming like they’re overly-crafted and false.
It’s a very very strong issue indeed. Lemire unfolds an inevitable story as his own leisure, and leaves us with the indelible impression that Count Vertigo just became one of DC’s finest.
Poison Ivy
Derek Fridolfs (w), Javier Pina (a), John Calisz (c), Taylor Esposito (l), Kyle Andrukiewicz, Joey Cavalieri (e)
Like with the Two Face issue, this is an exploration in what Poison Ivy does when Batman isn’t around. And again, it’s basically what happened in No Man’s Land. The creative team manage to spread that idea out, however, and fill in some great details about the character and her origin. Also, there’s something quite enjoyable about seeing the character cut loose and have fun, because unlike most other Batman villains, her goal is philanthropically sociopathic. Fridolfs details how her ambitions are almost-so-close to being understandable, and Kalisz’ colours actually go a long way towards aiding that.
In the flashback sequences his colours highlight the character as a total innocent, in bright, warm pastels which makes the reader feel empathetic to her. Pina’s artwork is also excellent, presenting the character over the years as she ages – young and adult Ivy look like each other. I have a soft spot for the character, but the issue doesn’t rest on that hope. Instead, it offers a coherent origin story which binds the character’s personality together and leaves her in a stronger position than before.
Darkseid
Greg Pak (w), Paulo Siquiera, Netho Diaz (a), Hi-Fi (c), Dezi Sienty (l), Anthony Marques, Eddie Berganza (e)
The best issue so far, and likely to be the best of the initiative in general. Greg Pak offers us a talking Darkseid who earns his position as villain #1 in the DC universe. He’s scary and performs crazy, ambitious feats. What’s most notable is how Pak seeds his own just-started stories into the first Justice League story Geoff Johns wrote in the New 52 – it feels seamless and goes a very long way in fixing the problems many readers had with that first story.
A brilliant showcase for Darkseid as a villain, the issue is big and grandiose, explains who he is and why he does what he does, and makes the reader eager to read more Darkseid stories in future.
As I mentioned it in the Joker review, I should also mention it here – it’s a bit strange reading a Darkseid origin story. At the same time, so far in the New 52 Darkseid has been a bit rubbish… so I’m really just happy that the issue deals with him, gets it out the way and pushes the whole thing forwards.
Siquera, Diaz and Hi-Fi offer distinctive, eye-popping visual images whilst letterer Dezi Sienty handles the Kirby-esque dialogue with consummate ease. The ideas presented here could look silly and ridiculous, but for the intervention of Siquira and Diaz as artists. They handle everything thrown at them and turn it from nonsense into a believable (if strained) reality. If there’s one villain issue to pick up – it’s this one, for my money.
And here’s some numbers:
* five of the books are origin stories set primarily in the past
* six are set in the ‘present’ day, after Forever Evil #1
* three of them do not feature the ‘origin’ of the character profiled
* two books have a completely different character in the starring role, rather than the original pre-52 character
* four of the characters have a backstory of familial abuse/murder
* Batman, Superman, Darkseid, Count Vertigo, The Cyborg (Superman) and Desaad all get ‘created by’ credits.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/5/2012
Marvel have revealed what their ‘X-Termination’ teaser image is all about: a crossover storyline between X-Treme X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and Age of Apocalypse. Spinning around the fact that there are currently a series of different Wolverines being used right now (along with a couple of Nightcrawlers) the story will be a cross-dimensional adventure between the three books. There will be an opening and closing one-shot, with each series crossing over for one issue, for a total story in five parts.
CBR have interviewed Marjorie Liu about her side of the story in Astonishing X-Men, which will be drawn by Matteo Buffagani. The essence of the story will revolve around Age of Apocalypse’s Nightcrawler – last seen on the run in the current arc of Uncanny X-Force – attempting to get back to his homeworld, now he’s killed the men who betrayed him. With the ‘regular’ Wolverine on her team, it looks like things will be getting very personal for the team-members of Astonishing X-Men. Also, Gambit will be reunited with Sage, which is secretly the most exciting thing about this part of the story.
Newsarama spoke with David Lapham about his side of the story in Age of Apocalypse, which the article suggests will be drawn by Roberto De La Torre. In this interview, we get a little more of a look into how the teams will mingle together, as well as the structure of the story. Lapham will write an ‘Alpha’ issue starting things in March – as is standard for Age of Apocalypse-based storylines – to set up the crossover, before ending with an Omega issue in April. There’s no details here about what it’ll be like when Sage meets up with Jean Grey, although early speculation suggests that it’ll be one of the most exciting things about this story.
Nobody seems to have interviewed Greg Pak yet. Poor old Greg Pak.
“…for the first time ever, The Hulk is going to be…a teenager!”
Second time: Chester Weems was the first, in Crazy Magazine. Hama and Severin, creators?
How soon before Hulk meets the New Avengers?
Hmm. Curious. Does this affect Greg Pak’s work at DC with the Superman books? After years of exclusive contracts from both companies, the possibility that Greg Pak might be working for two companies is more of a surprise to me.
another white male replaced with a faggot/minority who’d guess!
Looks interesting, unlike most of the other Marvel relaunches. Think I’ll give it a try.
fkumarvel: How’s life in the nineteenth century, pally?
This sounds interesting but I really think such story arcs would be better served as a separate miniseries where they would be immune from the horrible events that pop up every 6 months.
Cool. Amadeus Cho is a-okay in my book. Nice to see Pak back on the character. I look forward to finding out who the series’ regular, non-“superstar,” comes-on-board-to-pencil-half-the-fourth-issue-announced artist will be.
This reads like an April Fool’s Joke, like most of the news out of Marvel these days. It seems like a parody of Marvel’s “diversity” revamps.
If Marvel wants a teenage Korean-American superhero, why not create an all-new superhero? Answer: Fans won’t buy anything that doesn’t have an iconic name going back several decades.
Amadeus Cho is almost as contrived a comicbook name as Raito Yagami.