Ben's Indy Odyssey: Further Grickle

I liked this Rickey Recommendation (TM) from the very first page, where a guy agonizes over not having said something witty enough at a dinner party to the point where his stomach is hurting and he can't sleep (his next step is to build a time machine and keep going back to try come up with a more clever interjection). I'm not sure if this collection of Graham Annable's short and slightly longer stories had a formal theme when he put it together, but I found most of them to have the common thread of dealing with insecuirty and the ensuing awkwardness that can ensue, something I can both relate to and am pleasantly surprised that I can be entertained by.

The book is essentially two parts: a series of unrelated (except tangentially in one case) strips of varying length make up the first half while one longer story takes up the back. As always with stuff like this, my enjoyment peaked a vallied (verb? maybe?) from segment to segment, but I must say I was entertained and chuckling a lot more than I wasn't.

My favorite stuff from the front half was the aforementioned time travel dinner party bit (it has a great ending) and another short about two friends hitching a ride to a party with a third guy who is a bit socially awkward and who one of them can't stand; it's an extremely mundane type of experience that even when it takes an unexpeced turn doesn't veer far outside the realm of everyday occurence and yet I was riveted for reasons I can't fully articulate; I'm going to just chalk that up to solid craftsmanship and call it a day.

There was a slightly more unorthodox story about a guy going to see a doctor for a bad cough and the doctor's bizarre approach to helping him which I also really liked. The visual gags didn't do so much for me, but the relatable stuff like just having to wait in a doctor's office really grabbed me; I guess Annable just has a real gift for storytelling when it comes to the commonplace where he so accurately depicts experiences I've had that seeing these bizarrely-rendered cartoon characters go through them is just neat. I had a cold this weekend and the visual of this poor guy just exploding--vibration lines and sound effects flying off him while his stick figure composition breaks down--every three panels is so spot-on how I felt represented in cartoon form that it gave me pause for a sec.

Some of the shorter, less sequential stuff didn't do much for me, but hey, it was short. I alo have to give a lot of credit to Annable for doing a story about farts that I actually kinda dug. Toilet humor is one of the least funny things in the world to me for whatever reason (yeah, I know, I suck), but he has this honestly heartwarming little strip about an old guy telling some kids where farts came from that made me smile; given my stuck-up tastes, that's about as high a compliment as I can give.

The longer story that makes up the book's second half is pretty good on its own merits, but I didn't get as into it because it seemed more standard fare as far as what I've read from indy books. Basically it's a day (or half day) in the life of a guy who is out of work and having trouble adjusting to living with his girlfriend and how he deals with his neuroses. There is some stuff with his dog and the old lady next door's pet wombat that held my attention and I'm sure there is more going on beneath the surface that I'm not digging into, but I couldn't shake the feeling of "been there, done that." It's a solid story, but it didn't jump out at me the way the stuff I described above did.

Given that the title of this book is Further Grickle, I'm sure there is a Grickle out there somewhere (I also know this because Rickey told me already) and I'm anxious to read that and to see what similarities and differences there are between the two volumes. I'm always intrigued when I like something and can kinda tell why but not quite nail it down, so I'm looking forward to reading more by Graham Annable and trying to figure out what in his work appeals to me so much; even if I don't figure it out, I'll still get to read some more good stuff, y'know? Slam dunk.

I already linked it earlier, but here is a link to Graham Annable's blog, where I presume you could purchase this book and other work by him, were you so motivated.

Happy Fifth of July...

...from the Force of July!




Silent Majority: an awesome super hero name.

Paragraph Movie Reviews: He's Just Not That Into You

If you don't have plans to see this movie, you can check the spoilers here and then come back.

This was just excruciating. I'm shocked that A) Somebody made this movie (ok, not that shocked, Hollywood is crazy), B) Somebody else thought it needed to be over two hours and C) That so many talented actors read the script and still signed on. It's basically 129 minutes of people having the types of annoying conversations about relationship cliches that you fast forward in other movies and avoid in real life. The dialogue is wooden and stilted and for the most part every character is horribly unlikeable to the point where you want to punch them in the face and then you feel bad because you really like the people playing them. Poor Ginnifer Goodwin, who is so very cute and talented and yet gets stuck playing a neurotic, whiny siren who would fit better in a Wayans movie making fun of such stereotypes in her first major movie role! And Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar once upon a time! Bradley Cooper makes his stuff tolerable by virtue of being Bradley Cooper, but that's also because his career has consisted mostly of taking douchebags and making them endearing, so he's ahead of the curve here. Justin Long is just unbearable though, and Scarlett Johansson ain't much better. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston have the only real chemistry in the cast and theirs is the only remotely compelling story, so of course it gets about ten minutes total screentime. There are also little "testimonials" throughout from average folks and the mom from "Heroes" about supposed relationship truisms that come off like shallow versions of "The Vagina Monologues." As a man, I'm insulted for women everywhere that this movie got made and would be considered by anybody anywhere to have any sort of feminist message. I bumped my rating up half a star out of respect for Kris Kristofferson and would see a sequel only if it consisted of him driving around on a motorcycle dispensing justice on the people who wrote, directed and greenlit this crap.

Linko! XIII

* I must admit, every time one of my friends starts a new link blog I feel a little more inadequate about Linko! but my perpetual self-loathing be damned...I have to point all of you in the direction of Dave Press' new gig: Blogger for New York's killer Forbidden Planet store! I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who follow the Forbidden Planet UK blog, and so far Dave looks to keep up the store's online rep for providing great content. In that respect, it's pretty lame of me to call what he does link blogging as he's doing interviews, reviews, commentary and the whole gamut of bloggy goodness. It should be fun, and as you can tell from the above pic, Dave loves fun.

* Link that everyone sent me but is still TOTALLY worth reposting: A 13-year-old reviews the Walkman.

* Surprising to me that I have a follow up link: A few weeks ago, I posted a link to a story about a mom who was less than impressed with Marvel's Marvel Kids website. Oddly enough, this week I got a link to a very positive review of the site from a dad who praised it for the same reason the mom hated it. Maybe it's a boy/girl thing?

* Link I'm told it's OK to laugh at: I don't have the foggiest clue who fashion designer Zandra Rhodes is, but my friend Emily claims to have ridden in a car with her and says this story about how Rhodes drove her car into the front of a hardware store is legit and hilarious. The headline would have made me laugh anyway.

* Are you bored? Go read the first two issues of Agents of Atlas and other books for free. You're welcome.


* The main problem I have with the proliferation of manga in America over the past few years is that for the most part, the series I seem to be the most interested in are hard to find, rarely translated or generally underground even in Japan. I don't have the manga knowledge to dig up a lot of cool stuff without the help of others, but hot damn am I lucky to have so man fans of dope boys adventure manga producing North American works inspired by the best of what I want to know more about. Everyone knows Bryan Lee O'Malley, but I've also had a blast over the past few years reading stuff by Corey Lewis, James Stoke and most of all Brandon Graham. Doubly cool: Graham has a blog where he not only posts plenty of awesome manga and manga-influenced comics for me to dig up, but this week he also posted an introduction to the latest volume of Stoke's Wonton Soup that he drew but was dropped due to a printer's error. Go read it, then buy books from everyone I mentioned above.

* Speaking of Japan link: I know I give the Japanese shit for their collective robot fetish often, but at the same time they make all sorts of awesome things, including this insane and intense and gigantic paper castle. (Via Sam)

* Weirdest news story you'll read about a dead celebrity in a week when all we're reading about is weird stories about dead celebrities: the dee friendship between Farrah Fawcett and Ayn Rand.

* I really dug Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg's Plain Janes books from Vertigo's short-lived Minx imprint, and not just in the "I think it's nice they're making comics for girls" way that most people seemed to like before slagging the line. Those books were smart, fun comics with great art, and the second volume improved on the weaker parts of the first. While the books are now done, Hope Larson sent along this like to a kids site called Reader Girls that has all sorts of rad tie ins to the books including new art by Rugg and an accompanying song mix by Castellucci that feels like it was copped from my iTunes.

* According to AOL, Dominic O'Brien has the world's greatest memory, but according to his picture, he has the world's 38,944,673rd greatest hair dresser.

* Link to art that must have showed up somewhere by now, right?: I kind of dug this photo gallery of Ethan Van Sciver designs for DC's upcoming Blackest Night series, and I don't usually like Van Sciver's art.

* There's too much to make comment link: Neilalien outlines his problems with the current state of Doctor Strange. When the dude generally credited as being the first comics blogger blogs about the comics subject he started his blog for, you should all go read it.

* Finally, America celebrates Independence Day tomorrow. If I feel the way I'm expecting, I'll probably spend the day hiding out in bed, but for those who will be partying, enjoy the greatest comic book patriotic theme song ever:

Underrated/Overlooked: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

It may not be entirely accurate to label Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes as underrated as I've never read a review of it that's been anything less than complimentary. However, I would classify it as overlooked by virtue of the fact that most people to tend to see it as just a very good comic and I think it belongs in the pantheon of truly great Avengers stories, right up there with The Kree/Skrull War, Under Siege and the seminal Kurt Busiek/George Perez run. Let's discuss why (it will be a one-sided discussion as I will be doing all the talking)...

First off, it's just visually gorgeous. I think it may be my favorite work of Scott Kolins' career, and I am a huge Scott Kolins fan, particularly of his Flash run. However, Scott's work here is not just vibrant and filled with energy as per usual, it also has a polish that you can tell came from him being able to work long and hard on a finite project. His Captain America is heroic, his Thor is larger than life, his Hulk is wonderfully grotesque and his Iron Man is a fantastic meld of retro and cutting edge. The art also has the benefit of the great Morry Hollowell, one of the very best colorists in the business, who makes the already crackling visuals pop even more.

That's just the gravy though, Joe Casey's story is the meat, and what a tender, delicious steak it is.

Casey bobs and weaves between the pivotal moments in the Avengers' earliest days to provide a stark, personal look at the men and women who lived those incredible adventures during their downtime. Away from the big fights and larger-than-life villains--though we get those too--Casey delves into what happens when you throw powerful figures with such vastly different personalities together in one place at one time. The appeal of the Avengers--and the Marvel Universe really--is that it's not a group of grinning demigods slapping one another on the back, it's a tempestuous powderkeg of clashing egos, and Casey explores that dynamic with a modern approach to classic relationships, something he does so well.

In the early issues of EMH, Iron Man gets a fair share of the focus, and Casey focuses on the stress put on a fairly ordinary (albeit rich and super-smart) guy like Tony Stark when he tries to become the lynchpin of a group that includes a tempermental monster, a neurotic giant, and a god who defies all scientific explanation. Before Civil War, we see that monstous sense of responsibility combined with more than a little arrogance that makes Tony such a fascinating if divisive figure. He believes so strongly in what the Avengers can accomplish that he becomes lost in the possibilities and appoints himself the caretaker of that potential without asking anybody's permission; in Tony Stark's mind, he's doing everybody a favor by taking on this tremendous burden because he's the only one who can handle it, never mind what they think. We all have that friend who agonizes over being the one who "has to" organize everything, but won't hear of anybody giving him a hand; Iron Man is that guy.

Casey ups the ante by showing a degree of government involvement in the Avengers' early days not present in the actual comics of the era. One of the running themes of the series is contrasting the general public's awe and excitement over the emergence of the Avengers with the government's fear over not being able to control the situation from both a PR standpoint and in terms of sheer firepower. As he has done in other similar series, Casey does a wonderful job journeying back to a time when the common man wasn't a pivotal part of Marvel history and showing where he stood.

Once the story really gets rolling, Captain America becomes the focal point, which is groovy because Scott Kolins draws a stellar Steve Rogers and Joe Casey has a good handle on his character from this period. When I say "from this period," keep in mind that the Cap of the early Silver Age was not the shining and unshakeable symbol of heroism he would become in later years, but a man out of time, uncomfortable with a world he found new and frightening and dealing with crazy survivor's guilt. The Steve Rogers who first joined the Avengers was not a well man, and while Stan Lee and others did explore this back in the day, Casey comes at it from a style of psychological storytelling that had not been refined fifty years ago. The somber and crushing experiences of Captain America trying to find his place as a man while also living up to the iconic status he had never quite prepared for is sobering and powerful. Cap's heroic journey over the course of EMH is the heart of the book; a limited series or even ongoing exploring Captain America's Silver Age adventures through a modern lens by Joe Casey and Scott Kolins is one I'd jump on in a heartbeat.

In the final few issues of EMH, the character of Hawkeye emerges, and after chronicling the stress of Iron Man and shellshock of Captain America, it's neat to see Casey and Kolins cut loose and have fun with Clint Barton. While the idea of bringing Marvel's big guns together was an appealing one, I feel like the Avengers didn't really become The Avengers until Hawkeye, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch joined Cap's Kooky Quartet, and EMH sells that idea in convincing and sophisticated fashion. If the first few issues show what the Avengers could be through Iron Man and the middle portion shows how those hopes can be dashed by human flaw with Captain America, the home stretch demonstrates that potential realized by the heroism the original Avengers inspired in Hawkeye and how they have already transcended into legend.

I'm not doing Earth's Mightiest Heroes the justice it deserves here, but that's tough to do for such a meaty series in limited space. I would hope that if you haven't read EMH, my words have done a bit to persuade you that doing so is a worthwhile endeavor and then the morsels of Scott Kolins art sprinkled throughout this entry do the rest.

Pimping My Stuff: War of Kings: Warriors #5

It's Blastaar time!

Truth be told, prior to War of Kings, I never thought much one way or the other about the ol' Living Bomb-Burst. I figured him for a stock cosmic heavy to be used when Terrax and Annihilus weren't available. Ironically enough, the only really cool Blastaar story I read was from the kick-off to the second volume of New Warriors, written by the War of Kings: Warriors writer I didn't assign to the big guy's story, Mr. Jay Faerber.

However, Blastaar had a pretty cool turn during Annihilation: Conquest and when Bill Rosemann told me he'd be one of our focus characters in Warriors, I thought there was some solid potential there. A lot of that promise I saw came from the fact that Blastaar is totally a Christos Gage character if I ever saw one. Chris loves big, obnoxious bruisers like Juggernaut and Blob, and Blasty is all that plus he's a fucking space pirate.

Potential.

As expected, Chris nailed Blastaar right from the start, even moreso than I hoped, weaving a neat twist into the story that gave it that extra emotional oomph. However, good as Chris' script was, the real sweet stuff came when Carlos Magno began turning in his pages. I was somewhat familiar with Carlos from work he did on Countdown and other books, but he has totally reinvented himself on this story and if you think you've seen him before, you haven't seen anything. Mr. Magno is working on a whole new level here and I'm kinda excited to see where he goes from here (I'm hoping wherever that is will be still at Marvel).

So without further ado, enjoy the fruits of our labors as Blastaar continues his campaign of terror across the Negative Zone in War of Kings: Warriors #5!

The Definitives: Batman

In the Essentials feature on this very blog, I take an in-depth look at my very favorite comics, the runs that shaped my enjoyment of this genre and the stuff I would present to an outsider as my "this is why I love comics" evidence. However, given the sheer amount of comics I've had the good fortune to read over my nearly 28 years on this planet, there is plenty of material that while it would not make my personal "Best Of" list still had a profound effect on me as a fan.

For instance, there are certain characters who may not be among my absolute favorites, but I've come to appreciate them because of certain stories where I get the fundamentals of what makes them appealing. While I may not start a Spider-Man sketchbook or Green Arrow fan club anytime soon, I get why they are worthwhile characters and in most cases can point you to the reason why.

That's why I'm embarking on this new feature talking about the stories that personally define some of comics' biggest characters for me and help me to appreciate them; I thought about calling this "The Definers," because I'm pretty sure that's not a word and I dug that, but went with "The Definitives," because it's tried and true and you can dance to it. My hope is that you all check out some of these goodies and come to appreciate some characters you may not otherwise give a second look, because good, bad and ugly, it's all comics, and I looove comics.

So where better to start than Batman? He's not a character I'd get tattooed anywhere on my person, but I think even that guy in South Dakota who still uses rabbit ears on his TV (shout out to my South Dakota readership) knows who Batman is and knows he's pretty bad ass. Great origin, cool look and while he's been featured in plenty of bad stories across all mediums, he's been in a helluva lot of good ones too.

Here are the stories that I consider my definitive Batman reading list.

Year One
The second biggest strike against my nerd credibility behind not really liking Star Wars is that I'm not much of a fan of The Dark Knight Returns. While I'm sure that is a whole blog post in and of itself, let me counter by saying I love Batman: Year One, Frank Miller's other Bat opus with artist David Mazzucchelli. Like I said above, Batman may have the best origin in all of comics (Spider-Man runs close behind if not dead even), and here Miller picks it and the days that follow to perfection, really taking you on a ride. If you go into Year One thinking Batman is just too big an unapproachable a character, I think you come out feeling like you took his hero's journey with him; I think Frank Miller did the near impossible and made Batman relatable (well, as relatable as he can be), something the character has always lacked. The parallel journey of Jim Gordon is the perfect companion piece and really helps to build the world of Gotham City outside Wayne Manor. Just about all the best stuff from "Batman Begins" came from Year One.

"The Garden of Earthly Delights"
This little gem from Swamp Thing #53 hit right as Alan Moore was hitting the beginning of the home stretch of his legendary run on that title and while I only came across it a few months ago, I still consider it one of the best Batman stories I've ever read. Truthfully, Batman might not be at the heart of the story (Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane's love affair is), but his role is great fun and really hits on the core of the character. Swamp Thing has declared war on Gotham City until Abby is released from police custody and Batman is way over his head, but he gives it his best shot against Swampy anyhow. Watching Bats throw the best he's got in his utility belt against a foe far more formidable at the Joker is a bit humorous, but also really shows you both his ingenuity and his deep commitment to protecting his city, both big keys to what makes the Dark Knight tick.

Knightfall
This would be the prerequisite "I read it when I was a kid, so it's awesome" entry on this list, but I don't have much trouble defending the Knightfall trilogy (which also included the so-so Knightquest and pretty cool Knightsend). The basic premise of the story is "Bruce Wayne is the only man who can be Batman," a strong one, and one explored the long way around as Bruce is taken out of the picture, replaced, and forced to reclaim his mantle, and along the way we learn why that absolute is the case. Considering this story took place in and around 1994, not exactly a benchmark period for writing, I found it pretty well-executed, but moreover impactful and fun. The video-game-like "beat one bad guy and the next is waiting" approach taken by Knightfall isn't exactly high art, but it's cool and a structure with pretty wide appeal. I think the final leg, Knightsend, is one of the better psychological breakdowns of Bruce Wayne you'll get, and the conclusion is one you'll see coming, but it's satisfying nonetheless. Also: I thought Azrael was fairly cool.

New World Order
While I dig Arkham Asylum, I really consider it more of a villains story than a Batman story (just like I consider Killing Joke more of a Joker story), so the first arc of JLA is what I look to as Grant Morrison's first true crack at Batman, and he does not disappoint. I know the "Batman can beat anybody given sufficient prep time" can be polarizing, but I think it's the only way the character really works in the context of the Justice League, and Grant perhaps did the best job of making it a help rather than a hindrance. Batman alone against a team of super-powered Martians really is an unbeatable badass scenario to showcase how much he truly rocks, but Superman's whole "You've pissed off the most dangerous man on the planet" routine is really what sells it. Just killer stuff.

Dark Victory
Most times Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale come together you get magic, and Dark Victory is no exception. Like Arkham Asylum, a lot of its appeal comes from a focus on Batman's awesome rogues gallery, but they're really shown in degrees of how they reflect on the hero rather than on their own, so it's definitely a character-defining piece. Given that the story also re-tells how Robin came into the picture, it really is an exercise in world building, and since Batman has a fantastic world of characters and locales surrounding him, you could do a lot worse as far as a primer. Sale's art is gorgeous as expected, and again, a lot of stuff from the current Batman film franchise originates here, including much of the Bruce/Batman-Harvey Dent/Two-Face relationship from The Dark Knight. I would definitely recommend reading this story's prequel, The Long Halloween, first, but with a gun to my head I prefer this one by a slight margin mostly because of the Robin stuff.

No Man's Land
In many ways this sprawling years-long epic seems the opposite of what a Batman story should be (simple, grounded, focused), but it's so much fun read as a whole and gives such an interesting window on every character in the Bat-Family, not the least of which is the big guy himself. No Man's Land is about a zillion parts long (and probably a couple billion parts too long) and has everybody in Gotham freaking the fuck out after a massive earthquake hits and basically sets the city back to caveman days in terms of both tech as well as mob mentality and martial law. Initially, Batman seems to give up, but he claws his way back into the fight and slowly but surely takes back his city, rebuilding himself and his allies along the way and proving that not even mother nature is a match for him. The status quo is irrevocably changed many times over and if you commit to the whole thing, you will undoubtedly be frustrated many a time, but ultimately fulfilled.

"Batman: The Animated Series"
Quite simply, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm's vision of the Dark Knight in "Batman: The Animated Series" and its successors is the end all for me; it is the definitive definitive. When I visualize Batman, it is as drawn by Bruce Timm. When I hear Batman, it is as voiced by Kevin Conroy. When I "listen" to a Batman comic, the score from this cartoon is playing. This show took the essence of everything that makes Batman awesome--the origin, the look, the bad guys, the gadgets, the mission--and bottled it up for a cartoon that was both more mature than anything I had ever seen and yet so universally appealing that you could show it to anybody from ages 8 to 80 and they would immediately get it. There were soooo many great episodes, but if I had to pin down one as the absolute demonstration to me of what the show was capable of, it's "Perchance to Dream", where Bruce Wayne is given the paradise of a world where his parents never died, but learns why it can never be real in the most crushing of ways. Powerful stuff from a show that could do action, humor, horror and so much more so perfectly.