Paragraph Movie Reviews: Being Elmo

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

What makes a great documentary? I found this story of Kevin Clash's rise from his childhood dream of becoming a puppeteer to becoming the man who brings Elmo to life and all the steps in between to be captivating, heartwarming and inspirational. Clash is an intensely likable and interesting subject who speaks passionately and with great recall about his life and the adventures he's had throughout. The amount of archival footage that director Constance Marks was able to acquire dating back to Clash's high school days and detailing every step along the way from local Baltimore cable to Captain Kangaroo to Sesame Street is impressive and just cool (Clash either didn't believe what was happening and wanted to document everything, knew a documentary would someday be made of his life, or maybe a little of both with the amount of stuff he taped). The supplemental interviews from Clash's parents as well as figures like Frank Oz and other legendary members of Jim Henson's team were great; nothing felt tossed out. And of course the highlight (at least for me) was getting a behind the scenes look at how the Henson operation runs, be it through old test footage from a commercial Clash did with Henson and Oz to Clash helping train the staff of France's Sesame Street; it's fascinating to see what goes into these productions. I also loved watching the growth of Clash's relationships with grandfatherly Sesame Street designer Kermit Love as well as with Jim Henson himself, the stories of which I thought were supplemented in a neat way by the use of old photos and motion animation to fill in the gaps of what wasn't videotaped. Going back to the question I posed at the start of this review, though, does a documentary need some sort of tragic angle or obstacles the protagonists overcomes in order to be great? The bulk of Being Elmo tells me it does not, as most of the piece focuses solely on the positive aspects of Clash's life and career, and that worked just fine for me. There are a few spots, though, where Clash's strained relationships with his ex-wife and daughter come into play, and they just don't match up with the rest of the through line for me. There seems like there's a whole other documentary to be made about things like Clash's ex-wife telling him not to treat their daughter like a puppet or his regret over spending time making other children happy while not seeing his own; it's sad stuff and a provoking commentary on how people who never fully grow out of their childhood have difficulties with adult relationships and being parents. However, this portion of the documentary is dropped in somewhat haphazardly--his marriage is not mentioned until Clash talks about his daughter, and he already there refers to his spouse as his ex-wife--both souring your mood in the midst of this feel good tale and also raising questions that don't get fully explored. It feels like the filmmakers felt like they couldn't fully ignore this aspect of Clash, but also didn't want to give it more than minimal space; it's a 15-minute section you get the sense they felt obligated to put together rather than wanting to. However, warts and all, Being Elmo I would argue is indeed a great documentary and I'd highly recommend it.

Five Comics Worth Reading - June 2010

Every now and again I read a comic and am just like “Wow, this book is sick,” but don’t always have more than a few sentences to say about it, let alone a whole post. To that end, with no ambitions whatsoever of any sort of regular schedule, I use this recurring feature to babble about books I’m really digging.

Books like these.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
It’s a bit of a tricky thing to recommend Amazing Spider-Man to folks, since while Steve Wacker, Tom Brennan and their team do an incredible job not only cranking out three issues monthly but also keeping a large overall framework for readers to follow, at the end of the day you do still have a creative team and focus that rotates every issue or four (or three or six), so even if somebody digs one arc, they may not love the next. However, if you’re going to give ASM a shot or haven’t in awhile, now is a really good time as they just finished one very strong story and are about to embark on what I feel will be another. Zeb Wells’ four-part “Shed,” bringing back The Lizard and making him creepier than ever, was the kind of intelligent, outside-the-box mini-epic he’s so good at writing and managed to hit paydirt on both the psychological thriller and big action levels. And man—Chris Bachalo, dude. I mean, the guy is basically a legend in this business, but he is constantly stepping up his game, and did so again here as his Lizard literally made me scared to turn the page sometimes (whatever, it happens); Props to Emma Rios as well for helping get the book over the finish line with style. Now we’ve got Joe Kelly and Michael Lark coming in for “Grim Hunt,” another four-parter which is going to wrap the Kraven saga that’s been building nearly a year or so (and I do love me some Kraven). Plus back-up stories by J.M. DeMatteis and two-page “newspaper strips” by Stan Lee and Marcos Martin! Great time to jump on the Spidey bandwagon at least for a bit by tracking down “Shed” and then grabbing “Grim Hunt”—and on the topic, while you’re hitting the back issue bins, also try and snag issue #625, a freaking heartbreaking Rhino story also by Kelly with art by Max Fiumara.

BLACK WIDOW
I liked her fine as a Daredevil or Captain America supporting player—though not as leader of those much-reviled-by-me leather jacket-wearing Avengers—but have certainly never had enough affinity for The Black Widow that I thought an ongoing solo series with her as the star would interest me (I liked those Greg Rucka minis, but partly because they were short and mission-driven). I’ve thus been kinda pleasantly surprised by the first three issues of Marjorie Liu and Daniel Acuna’s series and how into it I’ve gotten. It helps that a genuinely intriguing mystery is being crafted that I can’t figure out but am able to follow enough to want the next set of clues, but Liu’s Widow is also just a smooth operator. She comes off bad ass in a way really only a chick in leather that doesn’t mind using her sexuality but can figure out six ways to kill everybody in a room can. The use of guest stars from Wolverine to Iron Man to Elektra has been well-tempered too, so that they enhance rather than overshadow Natasha. I’ve also grown quite fond of Acuna’s work the past couple years, and this is a really nice fit for him, as he draws beautiful women, but also really knows how to pull a fight sequence together, and both skills are pivotal here. Kudos as well to my buddy Alejandro Arbona, who edits this book and I know is putting the hours in to really make it sing; you’re doing great work, pal. Liu and Acuna are going to be departing after the first arc ends, so definitely give this one a try ASAP.

FRAGGLE ROCK
Ok, y’all know I love the Muppets, but honestly, I was even more into Fraggle Rock than the main Muppet Show or Sesame Street (to contrast to my musical tastes: I dig metal, but I dig hair metal particularly as a subset, so Fraggle Rock is the hair metal of Muppets metal to me—get it?). It’s such a fun but wickedly subversive concept; I swear guys, a kid can watch that show and parents can feel totally safe because they’re going to just learn good lessons about friendship and junk, but c’mon, you know Fraggle Rock is totally about drug culture. A bunch of hippie types who live underground, have constant munchies for radishes, destroy anything constructed by the “establishment” Doozers and commune with a soul-talking trash heap? Jim Henson wasn’t even trying to hide anything, dudes! Anyways, all that aside—and it’s a lot to put aside, maybe enough for another post someday—Fraggle Rock was always just a fun release for me because it was so bizarre and yet strangely relatable (even before I ever did anything to make it relatable if you smell what I’m cooking). Archaia has done an excellent job catching both the fun innocence and trippy weirdness of “The Rock” in their initial limited series that is wrapping this month. It’s a neat collection of short stories with tight morals and nice all-ages-appropriate adventure plus a solid tour of the Fraggles’ world, which really was Henson’s biggest triumph as far as physically laying out a large and varied space for his creations to inhabit. There’s also a nice mix of creators from more known folks like Jeffrey Brown to my boy Neil Kleid. On a related note, it’s a not-so-secret dream of Kiel’s and mine to do a black and white mature readers version of Fraggle Rock that really gets into what we know the mythology is all about, so do start any grassroots support efforts you can there.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SUPER HEROES
Touched on earlier this week, but to reiterate: this is a really fantastic comic. It’s ostensibly all-ages and each issue is standalone to a degree, so definitely this is the book to hand to any kids you want to catch the comics bug, but if you’re an adult who enjoys fun, clever, sequential art and storytelling, I find it difficult to conceive you wouldn’t also like what Paul Tobin is doing here. Despite the title, it’s really a series about an Avengers team co-led by Captain America and The Invisible Woman with Iron Man, Thor, The Vision, The Black Widow and Nova filling out the rest of the roster. Villains thus far have included Magneto and Mysterio, so right off the bat you get to see how the Avengers interact with X-Men and Spider-Man bad guys, which is just fun. Carrying over from the previous volume, Diablo is sort of the team’s frenemy, plus Reed Richards is a frequent guest star as he’s got some secret plot involving Black Widow and keeping tabs on Sue that gets teased out just a bit more each issue. There are actually a few subplots like that, including Cap having something of a crush on Sue and Vision trying to become more human. There are really limitless possibilities in a Marvel Universe where the Avengers are just getting started with a roster like this plus there’s not a lot of continuity or prior claims by other books to restrict the scope of the stories, which means you get a lot of bang for your buck every month. Also: Paul Tobin writes a really fun Nova.

R.E.B.E.L.S.
I wasn’t sure what to make of Tony Bedard’s DC space opera epic when it first debuted, and there were times during the first year or so where I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to follow for the long haul, but lo and behold, I’ve stayed tuned in each month and I think it’s really developed into something special. It took Bedard awhile to get all the pieces into place as he’s working with quite a large cast that seems to be growing monthly plus using that old school—or I guess it’s now also new school—“Paul Levitz on Legion” method of jumping the camera around to different planets every couple pages, but he’s gotten the hang of it and it works. His Vril Dox is exactly the complex bastard/hero he needs to be in order to remain one of DC’s more compelling obscurities while the infusion of cult favorites like Adam Strange, Captain Comet and now Starfire has been balanced well against new characters like Wildstar and the like. Initially I wasn’t so into the idea of one villain like Starro dominating so much time and space in the book, but now I can’t believe I was so opposed, as it works like a good TV show where the villain and their crew are basically part of the ensemble. Claude St. Aubin also does a stellar job on art, with a grainy style that also tackles big set pieces and large-scale action quite nicely. Very interested to see where this book heads with Brainiac coming in as a new major threat and Bedard continuing to grow his horizons out rather than substitute anything.

Comic Shop Stop: What I Bought This Week

Sometimes it's new stuff. Sometimes it's old stuff. Sometimes it'll be back issues or the same ol' thing I got 4 weeks ago. Whatever the case is, here's what I got at the shop this week (lemme know if you wanna borrow anything):



SATURN APARTMENTS VOL. 1 - This Viz Signature title's personal hook is that a young boy's father has died and now he'll have to take up the family vocation at an early age. The sci-fi hook is that the family vocation is window-cleaning the stellar ring of impossibly expensive apartments that now encircle the Earth since humanity evacuated it. This neato book is from writer/artist Hisae Iwaoke and it's the first manga Dave gave me a heads-up about this week...



I'LL GIVE IT MY ALL...TOMORROW VOL. 1 - ...this is the second. The plot of writer/artist Shunji Aono's tale of an unfulfilled family man who gives up his corporate career in favor of trying his hand as a manga artist really caught my attention. Also from Viz Signature, this book has the potential to break my heart.



DEATH TRAP - Lane Milburn's graphic novella first came to my attention when Sean reviewed it, and I'd planned on borrowing it from him down the line before a flip-thru in the store yesterday showed me something that prompted me to get it. That THING was a group of kids getting brutally murdered by a clan of nightmare-demon monsters. Maybe it was the nuts amount of '80s horror DVDs I've bought over the last week (more on that here SOON), but I felt more compelled to pick this up today than ever before.



STITCHING TOGETHER - I dunno a whole lot about Jim Henson, the man, but I've kinda always wanted to know more about how the ideas for the kinds of sprawling, genius designs and concepts he developed were birthed. This mini from Ed Choy Moorman (the above image is of a prior version of the book I bought – click here for info on its new printing and name-change) looks like it zooms in on intimate, specific scenes and the individual moments inspirations may have sparked for Henson as a young boy. Side note: Tom Hanks should produce a Henson bio directed by Ron Howard. Yeah, I said it.



HENRY & GLEN FOREVER - I didn't realize this was an anthology of 1-page gags featuring mostly cute, tongue-bursting-through-cheek depictions of rock icons Henry Rollins and Glen Danzig when I first heard about it here. I just thought it was a Tom Neely joint through and through. Even though I was mistaken and even though I don't really know dick about the music these bros created, I still giggled while flipping through. Go get it!

(Quick disclaimer: I borrow a LOT of stuff from Ben each week from Marvel, so I don't always buy single issues of the Marvel books. And I get everything from DC, WildStorm, Vertigo, and Zuda for free, so I never really buy anything from them unless I'm picking up for somebody else. So don't take my exclusion of DC stuff as a sign that the books aren't good enough to buy. They are. So there.)

Six more secret S.H.I.E.L.D. agents (I hope)

The first issue of Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver’s new S.H.I.E.L.D. series came out this week and seems to be making quite the buzz. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Mr. Hickman’s Fantastic Four and Secret Warriors and appreciate the fact that he takes the time to answer e-mails and calls for Marvel.com despite the fact that we’ve had conversations and I can thus attest to the fact that he is roughly a zillion times smarter than me and probably feels not unlike Sigourney Weaver trying to communicate with the gorillas.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, the first issue of S.H.I.E.L.D—it’s pretty gonzo and a lot of fun as well as quite bold and intelligent, which is no surprise given its creative pedigree. Another guy who is smarter than I, Dr. Sean T. Collins, did an excellent review, while over on Marvel.com we did a list of the top ten S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

However, this new book isn’t about Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan (yet at least), it’s about the secret history of S.H.I.E.L.D.—or the Shield—which involves real world figures like Imhotep, Galileo and Leonardo da Vinci fending off Galactus, the Brood and the like.

I love this concept, because it opens up a whole new world of rad possibilities and Hickman is a clever enough dude to be both accurate and entertaining.

So who do I have my fingers crossed for sneaking their way into S.H.I.E.L.D.? Read on…

SOCRATES
Ok, I’m kinda in love with the idea of Socrates and Plato as this ancient Greek Batman & Robin who psychologically bludgeon their opponents with the Socratic Method before Greco-Roman wrestling them to the ground. Socrates is a weird, mysterious guy with a fantastic beard who was always questioning everything, which would make him a very cool, polarizing figure as far as the ideas of pre-destiny Hickman is exploring.

FRANCISCO GOYA
This spot could be filled be with the more obvious Vincent Van Gogh choice, but I just read a book that had a bit about Placido Domingo’s obsessions with Goya last week, and I was intrigued, plus he’s a little less-known, so that allows for more liberties. Anyhow, this dude was a crazy-ass painter with a boatload of talent who went insane in the most glorious of ways, going deaf from cholera and then losing his mind due to paint fumes. Not a man of action really, but I could see him sitting all creepy sitting in the corner of the Shield chambers painting the ominous future. Oh, and Clive Barker wrote a play about him, Sean.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
A no-brainer if you ask me. No, he wasn’t on the cutting edge of the scientific frontier, but neither was Imhotep, and for my money, I’ve always thought Honest Abe is one of if not the greatest American heroes. And Lincoln could totally kick some ass, as he used to wrestle competitively and box as well, I believe. Seriously, how can you not picture Lincoln with his sleeves rolled up smacking around some Badoon or something? Big money idea: John Wilkes Booth is also a Shield agent who helps the President fake his death so he can go black ops!

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
I remember this dude from my childhood as the guy who invented the peanut. How do you “invent” the peanut? I have no idea, but if you do, you’re Shield-worthy, buddy. So he actually did more refinement in the field of agriculture technology and exploration into peanuts as an alternative crop to cotton, but still, badass enough. GWC could totally turn his research to weaponizing peanut bombs and lacing the soil with explosives if need be, basically making him a smarter Poison Ivy with a prodigious moustache. He didn’t like dealing with crowds though, so he’d probably be strictly behind-the-scenes.

JIM HENSON
Sure he seems nice, but those are the guys you need to watch. For real, how does the idea that the whole entertainment thing was a front and he was developing Muppet technology to build an army to safeguard the planet strike you?!?! Yeah, thought so.

MASAYUKI UEMURA
Designed the Nintendo—‘Nuff Said.

Comic Shop Stop: What I Bought This Week

Sometimes it's new stuff. Sometimes it's old stuff. Sometimes it'll be back issues or the same ol' thing I got 4 weeks ago. Whatever the case is, here's what I got at the shop this week (lemme know if you wanna borrow anything):



PUNISHER MAX #3 - Dave Johnson coverrrrrrrrrrr!



FEARLESS DAWN #2 - I remember Steve Mannion's pulpy, pin-up art style first catching my eye with The Bomb a long while back, so I've happily snapped up this Nazi-bashing cheesecake series for issues #1 and (today) #2. The main character faces off with her Nazi, monster doppelganger! Fun Eric Powell-esque mayhem!



THE MUPPET SHOW #1 - The first issue of the ongoing series from Roger Langridge! At 28 story pages, it feels so light, but the $2.99 price tag is justified with plenty of gags and fun.



ED HANNIGAN: COVERED - You may not recognize the name, but you definitely know Ed Hannigan's work. I knew him best for this iconic cover and this 1985 Marvel Universe poster that used to hang in a Wizard office hallway, but the guy's stuff ranges further and wider than you'd expect. That's why this special from the HERO Initiative spanning his career with quotes from him and his peers is such a rad read! The guy knew how to compose a fucking cover and it's neat to hear ideas about how to attract readers from a design-genius like him. Nowadays, Multiple Sclerosis has Ed in a rough spot, so good on Hero Initiative for putting this together. You'd be surprised how many covers in here you took for granted as another artist's work (like I did with this beaut), so grab this, help a good cause, and get your learnin' on!

How about you guys? Get anything good?

(Quick disclaimer: I borrow a LOT of stuff from Ben each week from Marvel, so I don't always buy single issues of the Marvel books. And I get everything from DC, WildStorm, Vertigo, and Zuda for free, so I never really buy anything from them unless I'm picking up for somebody else. So don't take my exclusion of DC stuff as a sign that the books aren't good enough to buy. They are. So there.)

Ben's First Minute New Years Comics Spending Guide 2010

Welcome to a new decade, ladies and gents! It may be 2010, but we’re still kids, we’re still cool and this is still our table.

Ugh. That was awful. I apologize.

Let’s forget all that mess and start the New Year off on the right foot with a tradition I started 12 months or so ago: The First Minute Holiday Comics Spending Guide. To sum it up, while other folks give you last minute guides to gifts you can buy for others, I’m lazier, so I provide some of what I thought were comics’ best products in 2009 for you to cash those Amazon and Borders gift cards on.

As always, I begin with the disclaimer that I don’t cover every comic I loved over the last year in this space as it would take several days and blog posts, but this is a nice start.

Onward!

BLACK LIGHTNING YEAR ONE
For my money, Jen Van Meter is one of the most consistently underrated and underutilized super hero comic book writers there is, with a clear understanding of what makes a fun, exciting story and firm grasp on how to get it done. Complementing those skills, Cully Hamner is an artist who has great design chops as well as the ability to make a quiet conversation pop just as well as an electricity-tossing brawl. Combine these two great creators with Black Lightning, a truly unique character who really needed a polish on his origin given the way continuity has played ping pong with his past of late, and you get a hidden gem of a limited series.

THE BOYS: WE GOTTA GO NOW
If you were a fan of Garth Ennis’ perhaps best-loved classic, Preacher, as I was, and don’t check out The Boys regularly for whatever reason, you’re definitely missing out. Boys has that same delightfully naught mix of over-the-top sex and violence with genuine heart and characters who straddle that line between lovable and excessive that Preacher did. This particular collection sees my personal favorite Boy, Wee Hughie, infiltrate an X-Men knock-off team—well, more a New Mutants or X-Force knock-off, as one of the tropes this arc plays with is the proliferation of X-teams—and try to solve a murder mystery while Ennis pokes a healthy bit of fun as the idea of mutants’ “outcast” status making them big-time corporate money-makers. Herogasm, a Boys spin-off mini that came out this year as well, was also a lot of fun, but while the capable John McCrea handles art chores there, few can top the energy of the great Darick Robertson, the regular series artist, when it comes to my personal tastes.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13: VAMPIRE STATE
No question that Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk’s brilliant and bizarre Captain Britain and MI13 series was far too short for this world based on how fun and well-executed it was, but if nothing else the book got an appropriately gonzo send-off with the Vampire State epic. As it has been put more eloquently on other blogs, basically any story that involves Dracula launching vampires at England from missile silos on the moon and then following at their heels in a glorified pirate ship has a lot going for it from minute one. But stripping away the so-crazy-it’s-awesome twists and turns, Cornell is so good with the emotional stuff, from the little beats to the epic romance; the stuff between Cap and Meggan, between Faiza and the Black Knight, between Spitfire and her son, and Pete Wisdom’s whole hero’s journey, all just wonderful stuff. And I’ll go ahead and say perhaps nobody has ever used Blade as uniquely effectively as Cornell and Kirk did in this series. I also dug huge the whole large-scale game of chess Wisdom and friends were waging with Dracula the whole time and how every time the stakes got upped, the counters had to become more clever and unorthodox. Sorely missed, this book.

DEADPOOL: SUICIDE KINGS
No lack of quality material starring the Merc With a Mouth in 2009, the completely unexpected Year of Deadpool, but perhaps the most fun had with Wade Wilson and friends (in his head) came from this little firecracker courtesy of Mike Benson and Carlo Barberi. The big picture stuff of Deadpool getting conned into taking a job that leads to him being framed for killing a bunch of kids because a guy owns Tombstone a gambling debt seems like a lot to swallow, but it’s easy to follow as you go. More importantly, it puts ‘pool at odds with Daredevil, Spider-Man and the Punisher, all of whom Benson instantly nails and creates beautiful chemistry and comedy with. The Deadpool-Spidey banter is top notch and the Punisher-created cliffhanger that ends one chapter is just perfect. At the end of the day though, I’m not a hard man to please; give me Tombstone and Deadpool making self-aware jokes about how crazy it is that he has as many titles as he does and I’m a happy fellow.

EX MACHINA: DIRTY TRICKS
There are certain books I consistently enjoy but don’t mention all that much because they’re so reliably of high quality month in and out that I don’t really have anything to say other than “still great” (Sean T. Collins during our Wizard days would probably have called this the “Brubaker Daredevil Syndrome”). Ex Machina is one of these books. However, I did think the “Dirty Tricks” arc, in which a sexed-up and crazed old groupie of the Great Machine attempts to become a super hero herself and causes Mitch Hundred all sorts of problems was a cut above even the excellent norm; Brian K. Vaughan is always good, and Tony Harris really shines in his design of the would-be super savior.

FABLES: THE DARK AGES
I’ve really been enjoying Fables with a renewed vigor of late, as the conclusion of the years-long war with the Adversary and brassy killing of several main characters has forced writer Bill Willingham to basically reinvent the series in many ways, and he’s taken to the challenge quite nicely. It all started here, with the post-war status quo of Fabletown and its inhabitants getting set up along with the introduction of Mister Dark, a comic book villain who actually creeps me out even when I close the issue I’m reading, so that’s something. Mark Buckingham remains one of comics’ artists most deserving of much more touting and there’s some stuff here with Boy Blue and Rose Red that is simply heartbreaking.

FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS
Technically most of this series came out in 2008, but it wrapped in 2009 and it’s also just soooo pretty. Basically any excuse to see George Perez draw a zillion characters and I’m there, but this also happens to be the Legion of Super-Heroes, among my favorites characters, and is penned by Geoff Johns, one of my favorite writers, so I’m more than there (whatever that is). Kudos to Geoff for crafting a crackerjack cosmic epic here that has some great beneath-the-surface arcs going on, but also not losing sight of the fact that, again, perhaps the book’s biggest draw is the aforementioned Perez drawing a zillion characters, which he cheerfully provides along with all the continuity minutiae and trivia winks a true Legion nerd would ever want. Double kudos to both men for balancing a literal cast of thousands, bringing back two fan favorite characters, disposing of a big-time villain and much much more yet still finding time to give just about every character right down to Gates and Kinetix their moments to shine. And for the record I called the Legion of Earth Prime revelation two or so issues early, so ha!

HOUSE OF MYSTERY: THE SPACE BETWEEN
On a monthly basis, House of Mystery is a great series if for no other reason than you get double bang for your buck, with Matt Sturges’ ongoing story always being supplemented by a short yarn with a talented artist. However, issue #13 broke format (not the last time the book has done so) and presented a series of stories, some with the regular cast and some without, just focused on the number 13 and utilizing the artistic talents of no less than Neal Adams, Eric Powell, Sergio Aragones and Ralph Reese. This is the closing bookend for an arc in which we get to learn more about the intriguing quagmires surrounding our “heroes” and this creepy house they’re all stuck in; House of Mystery is kinda like the “LOST” of comics sometimes, both in its central dilemma and also in its willingness to push boundaries when it comes to neat format experiments.

INCREDIBLE HERCULES: LOVE AND WAR
It’s quite possible that Incredible Hercules is my favorite ongoing comic book being published by anybody at the moment—I’m not sure I could defend that opinion at gunpoint (primarily because I’d be distracted by the gun aimed at me over a really weird question), but it’s possible. Every issue Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente deliver the perfect blend of action, intelligence, humor and pathos as they craft one of the best buddy books ever in this medium starring Herc and Amadeus Cho. However, amidst a sea of killer arcs, “Love and War” may well remain my favorite. No it’s not just because Herc sees Amadeus about to score with an Amazon and gives him the greatest thumbs up and shit-eating grin ever, but if I had to sum it up in a panel that might be it. It’s the playful romance between Herc and Namora, mixed with Amadeus falling in love for the first time, mixed with Namor showing up and being a cock, mixed with the actual throwbacks to Greek mythology that the book does so well, mixed with Clayton Henry’s fun-tastic art, mixed with the big alternate reality brouhaha that ties it all in a bow and so on; it’s all good.

INVINCIBLE IRON MAN: WORLD’S MOST WANTED BOOK 1
Did you like the “Iron Man” movie? Of course you did; everybody did. But dig this: Marvel’s got a monthly comic starring Iron Man where writer Matt Fraction has mastered translating the smarmy brilliance of Robert Downey Jr.’s big-screen turn as Tony Stark and meshing it with all that has come before in terms of the character’s continuity while Salvador Larroca is in top form on art chores. This past year, they put poor Tony on the run as an international fugitive courtesy of Norman Osborn, and this is the beginning of the balls to the wall thrill ride that sees him jumping from armor to armor and getting dumber as time goes on since he’s erasing knowledge from his brain he can’t let the bad guys get their hands on while everybody from Namor to War Machine is chasing him down. Also, after years of being kinda grating, Maria Hill becomes awesome. Tell your friends.

IRREDEEMABLE: VOLUME 1
Yes, the whole “What if Superman were evil?” road has been travelled many times before, but when it’s Mark Waid behind the wheel, you (or at least I) pay attention, because he’s really good at this sort of thing. I’ve been a bit surprised at how invested I’ve gotten in the story of The Plutonian and his rampage against all he once protected and loved, but I guess I really shouldn’t be, given what a Waid mark I’ve always been (see what I did there?). The things that really make the series work I think are how far Waid is really to take things in order to convey how dangerous this guy really is without it ever being cheap or depraved, and also Mark’s real love of Superman shines through in his passion for writing this book. Also, Peter Krause is a solid artist from the Jerry Ordway school of drawing, so that helps quite a bit.

THE MUPPET SHOW COMIC BOOK: MEET THE MUPPETS
I already did a whole post on how much I love this comic, and I feel no real need to add anything other than I got to meet Roger Langridge at San Diego where he did a Nova sketch for me and he’s a lovely man.

RUNAWAYS: HOMESCHOOLING
In their brief tenure on Runaways, Kathryn Immonen and Sara Pichelli really did an incredible job at capturing that lightning in a bottle Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona harnessed way back when for a terrific little story arc collected here. The voices of the kids really rang true for me as Immonen brought them to life, not just because they resonated with what Vaughan did, but because I could really imagine teenagers in the Runaways’ situation sounding like that, which reminded me how simultaneously horrible and awesome the Runaways’ situation is and why I loved this book to begin with. Pichelli’s art sidles up nicely to this feel of fantastic but real, and I also totally have a crush on her Karolina. The idea of a prom for four people is a great place to start, and then the disasters that follow just spin you for a total loop—in a good way.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE UNIVERSE
The first Scott Pilgrim volume I actually had to wait for (I only read the other four towards the middle of 2008), so it was a different kind of experience, but totally worth it. Unlike the previous Scott Pilgrim joints, I found the fights and craziness to be less the star here, and the growing ennui of Scott and Ramona’s relationship to be more center stage, which intrigued me, as I’m a sucker for a good tale of romance realistically going sour as much as I am fairy tale love stories. Of course the usual Scott Pilgrim video game tropes and general weirdness isn’t traded in the bargain for this renewed focus on a young man whose personal life seems to be stalling out, but I guess I found this to be the most relatable SP yet. And as with every other book in the series, I flipped the last page needing to know what happens next in the worst way, so Bryan Lee O’Malley definitely still knows what he’s doing.

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: DALLAS
I did not expect to like the original Umbrella Academy, but I did, so this go-around I wasn’t taken unaware by how rockin’ the sequel was, but it still upped the ante nicely and blew my mind appropriately. I love the wacko layers Gerard Way adds to 00.05 and the funny/sad existence of Spaceboy. All the characters continue to be really well-realized and bizarre while at the same time endearing and the plot spirals all over the place in a finely-planned chaos that spins you round but makes you smile. Gabriel Ba is just a virtuoso on art, so that certainly helps.

Nostalgia Trip: The Muppet Show

I picked up the first issue of the new Muppet Show comic by Roger Langridge that BOOM! Studios put out this week kinda on a whim. A few of my friends have been talking up Langridge for months now, but that wasn't the reason I bought the book, since if I bought every book by a lesser known creator who my friends have a boner for, I'd be selling Megan's engagement ring to afford my apartment. No, for some reason as I was walking the aisles of Hanley's the cover to The Muppet Show #1 caught my eye and, in large part because I wasn't getting much else this week anyways, I picked it up.

And I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Part of my enjoyment came it from it simply being a good comic, and that certainly wasn't the surprise. As noted, I've heard nothing but good things from trusted friends about Langridge's talent and BOOM! is a fine publisher with a fairly discerning taste for this type of product in particular, so I knew that in the most basic sense I'd probably get a good comic.

No, I was more surprised with how this comic hit my nostalgia button in a warm, fuzzy way, because it was a nostalgia I was not entirely aware I possessed.

Whenever the subject of the Muppets has come up (and that's really not terribly often, despite the company I keep), I give a kinda half-assed "Oh yeah, the Muppets, love the Muppets" in the same way you say how you like pizza or roller coasters (neither of which I like, but I digress). Everybody likes the Muppets, so of course I like the Muppets. Why not.

But why?

I truthfully don't remember my first exposure to the Muppets. I think it was one of the movies, most likely Muppets Take Manhattan, because reading over the wikipedia summaries, I remember that one the most distinctly. At the very least, I must have caught it on HBO or local TV or something a buncha times because I can picture the scenes (though I can do the same with The Great Muppet Caper; it's all a mishmash). I remember playing the "Pigs in Space" video game at my friend Brendan's house. I don't even remember the timeslot of the original Muppet Show, because I can only recall watching it during the day in syndication when I was home from school sick. Oh hey, looking it up, it turns out I can't remember the timeslot because the show ended two years before I was born.

It's all part of that shapeless, warm quilt of memories that makes up childhood. It makes me feel comfort but I don't really know why.

I do remember when Muppets Tonight premiered. I was 14 and I was super excited because it felt like I got cheated out of something by not being old enough but now my generation was gonna get a shot. The 90's were like that. I think that's where Woodstock '94 came from.

Anyhow, that rambling didn't really help me figure out why I had an affinity for the Muppets, so I'll try some more.

Even though I didn't quite understand it, I did on some level even then appreciate the spirit of Kermit searching for meaning in his life through the theater and finding this bizarre surrogate family. Though I had a great home life as a kid, I think I always felt like the community I grew up in wasn't entirely where I belonged and dreamed of belonging to a more eclectic group of people, which of course happened in college and certainly in my professional life. So there's definitely a parallel there I doubt I was ever fully aware of.

I also just appreciated how weird and out there the Muppets were and that there was clearly some higher intellectual and creative ideas Jim Henson was expressing in his work, but I never felt dumb for not knowing what they were. There's too much good art that alienates people because the artists don't know how to be bold without also being condescending, and with Henson, that was definitely never the case.

And of course, bottom line, the Muppets were entertaining. They were funny. The songs were catchy. The production value was the textbook for how to make a whole lot out of not so much.

So flash forward a decade or two and after writing this entry I think I can definitely see why I felt good after taking a gander at the work of Roger Langridge and friends this past week. I hope this venture works out well and in 10-20 years, there will be guys and girls creeping up on 30 writing holographic super blogs (or whatever they have in the year 2030) figuring out why they like the Muppets. I think it's off to an excellent start and I personally can't wait for the next issue.

(Also, I learned while reading the comic that Megan is apparently terrified of Muppets, which is both sad and wonderful and will likely warrant another blog entry someday)