Warren Ellis' "On What Comics Can Do"

Warren Ellis has long been a champion of the power of the comic format, and has often delved into the--sometimes very technical-- act of creating a story using words and pictures. His GLOBAL FREQUENCY series was somewhat of an exercise in matching specific types of stories with specific artists, and a well done exercise at that. In fact, Ellis goes to great lengths to match all of his projects with artists that he feels maximize the storytelling.

Explaining why comics are important to people who have only a passing knowledge can sometimes be frustrating, but Ellis is in the process of breaking down the distinctions between comics, prose and film. He posted this bit on his site Warrenellis.com.

For the last three months or so, I've been working piecemeal in spare time on a short booklet about writing comics. Here's one small piece of it, the beginning of a section:

In what ways are comics not like film, you ask (in my head)?

Illustration creates a suspension of disbelief.

If Art Spiegelman’s MAUS had been filmed first, it would have had an audience of maybe three people at Sundance. Because the moment everyone trooped on wearing their mouse masks, any larger audience would have lost it and left giggling. Only in the space of cartooning could that conceit work. Not least because we’re already aware, when we come to cartooning, that we’re looking at someone’s processed and hermetic perception of the world. The great success of MAUS is that the mouse faces make us let our guard down, and so we’re hit by the horrible truth of that book from an unprotected angle.

There’s a page I often cite in these conversations, from the 1974 comic MANHUNTER by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson. It’s an entire Jason Bourne sequence in a single page. In a Marrakesh alleyway, Damon Nostrand is in a car attempting to run down Paul Kirk and Christine StClair. Kirk pushes StClair to cover, rolls under the speeding car, draws a knife, tears it through the car’s petrol tank as it passes over him, gets clear, lights a match, touches it to the trail of petrol the car leaves, the petrol blazes down the alley to the car, the car explodes, and then they do three or four lines of dialogue while watching Nostrand burn to death about how it’s horrible but really he was a bit of a git and completely deserved it. One page. Employing “camera angles” and compositions that even now the likes of Paul Greengrass would go blind trying to replicate.

Also: a curling, snarling Peter Kuper piece can sear the page with its anger in a way that no photorealistic artist will ever be able to communicate. A room drawn by Eddie Campbell will be more real than any snapshot, because his line is almost like handwriting, and has human breath upon it. Dash Shaw’s work may look rough on first look, but stay with it, look at how he conveys the essence of an idea in every panel, and you’ll realise how hard he sometimes works to evoke an entire world with so few elements.

All of which is to say you’re not necessarily hemmed in by realism, or naturalism of any kind. This is a field that combines, on the one hand, the novel and the poem and the slogan and the news story, and on the other hand every stop from pointillism to cave painting. Understand comics as the marriage of word and picture, as simple as that, and you’ll get a sense of how broad the medium’s reach really is.

I’m currently driving my FREAKANGELS artist Paul Duffield mad by making him draw a sequence partly inspired by the main titles of Gaspar Noe’s ENTER THE VOID. Which is all typography and signwork.

Comics are not film. Film can do some things we can’t. But we have a far larger toolbox.

What do you think? How are comics different than film? How are they different from prose? Let us know in the comments.

Write Club! "Alan Moore!" V. 3, Ep. 3

This is what happens when the theme of the next issue of Slice Magazine is Villains: You get a crazy idea in your head that just won't leave. At the last Slice Magazine editorial meeting I was asked if I wanted to contribute an interview for their upcoming Villains issue, issue 7. I'm pretty sure they asked me because A) I'm into comics B) I'm into comics C) Most, if not all of my friends are either into comics also, or work in the comic industry.

As soon as they announced the theme I immediately knew who I wanted to interview. I wanted to talk with Alan Moore. I tried to get such a crazy idea out of my head, I mean...Alan Moore? Me? How could that happen?? Suffice it to say, I couldn't get the idea out of my head. I had a great spin on the interview, I'm a tremendous fan of Moore's work, and here was the perfect reason to try and contact him. So I set to work. Moore doesn't have an agent, he doesn't have any official representation, so I just sent out an email to pretty much every publisher he'd ever worked with. Blanketed the field, and heard nothing back.

Until. Until some nice folks at Avatar emailed me and told me that they'd forwarded my request to Top Shelf comics, which is his main publisher here in the US. Not long after, Chris Staros over at Top Shelf emailed me back to let me know that he'd contacted Alan with my request, and that I should be hearing something soon. Let me pause for a moment here to say how awesome Chris Staros is, because he is. In all of my communications with him he's been nothing but friendly, and professional. A true gentleman. Eventually I was contacted by Mr. Moore's assistant editor at his magazine Dodgem Logic, Joe Brown, and Mr. Brown said that Alan would love to speak with me. He gave me a time and a date. I threw up. Well, almost, because I had about a week to prep.

Background: One of the first comics I can remember reading (and understanding) was Swamp Thing #40, which was about this woman who was a werewolf. The central idea was that werewolves and women both cycle with the moon, and it was horrifying, and sad, and human, and amazing. And written by Alan Moore. Alan Moore is pretty much responsible for my comic book obsession.

So, I had a week to prep to talk to one of the most influential figures in my life.

Here is the result. Write Club and Slice Magazine presents Alan Moore:

Comics and Drugs!

Strange objects granting their users powerful abilities is not out of place in the comics world; Steve Rogers took a serum to become the apex of human achievement known as Captain America, Rick Tyler crunched Miraclo pills which gave him the super-abilities he needed to become Hourman, even Batman popped a vein with some venom when necessary. In the comic world these methods are often the means to an end, in the real world it's known as drug use. And it's illegal.

Now, to be fair, Venom proved to be harmfully addictive and Batman went cold turkey. Miraclo, the "miraculous vitamin" also had its addictive properties so Tyler had to kick that habit, though later he resorted to a special black-light that would activate the residual traces of Miraclo in his system. Probably sweating and shaking in a back-alleyway somewhere.

While those are, generally the most popular, I thought it would be interesting to run through a few of the other, lesser-known comic book drugs:

In homage to Captain America we've got the Anabolus Serum, invented by Dr. Anabolus it was intended to create a legion of super soldiers. Anabolus tested it on a K-9 corps. puppy thereby creating Rex the Wonder Dog.

In usual fashion, Anabolus was killed soon after, and was therefore unable to replicate the serum. Crazy foreign doctors and their serum compound memorization skills.

Who could forget the Bio-Restorative Formula invented by everyone's favorite would-be plant-man, Alec Holland? Instead of being able to use his invention to turn deserts into forests, he got it all over himself and blew up. He then became the creepy monster-fighter Swamp-Thing.

At least until Alan Moore got his hooks into him and changed him into a...well...maybe I shouldn't spoil it for you!

We all love to be scared, but psychologist Jonathan Crane takes it to a whole new level with his Fear Gas. Oh, and also dressing up like a freaked out Scarecrow as well.

Crane uses his Fear Gas to terrorize the inhabitants of Gotham City, at least up until a man dressed as a freaked out bat hits him in the face.

Mutant Growth Hormone is a drug extracted from a genetic mutant in the Marvel Universe. It was invented by Dr. Hank McCoy, also known as The Beast, and is responsible for his azure hirsuteness. MGH has been recently making the rounds as it has become a popular street drug which gives the non-powered powers, and ramps up the abilities of already powered characters.

I couldn't find any pictures of characters using MGH, so here's a cool picture of Daredevil, who doesn't use drugs, but beats up people who do.

The Terrigen Mists are a time-honored and traditional part of the Inhuman's culture. Much like Ayahuasca is to the Peruvian Indians, except Terrigen causes the Inumans to randomly mutate and gain super-powers.

Non-powered humans that breathe in the mists gain abilities for a time, and depowered mutants regain their abilities for a little while.

Of all the crazy drugs in the Marvel Universe, ZAP takes the cake. Not so much for its effects, which seem to be psychotropic in nature, but where it comes from. ZAP stand for Zootoxic Acid Psychogalvanide, and it comes from the hypothalmic fluid of the extinct Madripoorian Spider Monkey. I mean...WHAT!?

It appeared in Wolverine #32, and apparently when further refined it becomes yet another power granting drug, this time called Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt causes death in one hour.

So, in the comic world taking drugs gives you incredible strength, speed and endurance, sometimes at the penalty of death, but most likely just uncomfortable addiction, or a profound change in morphology.

In real life taking certain drugs can give you the feeling of incredible strength, speed and endurance, sometimes at the penalty of death coupled with a prolonged and wasting addiction, or profound change in morphology.

In the morally simplistic realm of comics drug addiction always has an immediate and intense benefit, and is generally pretty easy to kick. Unless you're a bad guy. Then you probably O.D. and die.

Got any favorite comic book drugs that I missed? Chime in and let me know about them!

"Crazy Horses" V. 3, Ep. 1

Tim, Kurt and Rick Lacy start off an all new volume with an original ramble-cast about everything from Iron Man 2 to Frank Frazetta's recent death and everything in-between!

Catch up with the boys of Write Club!



Intro: "Crazy Horses" The Osmonds

Outro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

This Week in Cool

Twitter Saves Comics

Last week there was a Twitter conference called the 140 Characters Conference, discussing its importance and role in various aspects of media.

'The 140 Characters Conference: New York City (#140conf) took place April 20-21, 2010 at the 92nd Street Y. This event was the largest worldwide gathering of people interested in the effects of the real-time Internet on both business and “we” the people.'



For those of us who were unable to attend, fear not, for Write Club is here to deliver the video of the panel.

Participants:
Jeff Newelt (@JahFurry) - Editor, The Pekar Project; Comics Editor, HEEB, SMITH, & ROYAL FLUSH Mags
Jonathan Maberry (@JonathanMaberry) - Author, Marvel Comics Writer
Micah Baldwin (@micah) - CEO and Chief Community Caretaker, Graphic.ly
Ryan Penagos (@Agent_M) - Editor of Marvel.com. Writer
Tom Brevoort (@TomBrevoort) - Executive Editor/VP, Marvel Comics

Write Club! "Left Handed Past!" V. 3, Ep. 0b

WRITE CLUB!

In our transition from one volume to another we get some help from the enviously talented writer Josh Jenkins.

We chat with Josh about his Plan B series, mainstream comics, BBC Comedies, and surgically removing frag from the Earth. And some other stuff, I'm sure...

Understand, you will like it!

Intro: "Protect Ya Neck" Wu-Tang Clan

Outro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

Anomalous is pretty hard to spell

Single Issue Spotlight: PunisherMAX Butterfly By Valerie D'Orazio

More often than not, knowing a bit about an author's personal history greatly enriches both the reader and the reading. Such is the case with Valerie D'Orazio and her recent PunisherMAX: Butterfly one-shot. For those who are unfamiliar, it's time you looked her up. She's a fascinating woman, and her perspective will make you think deeper about your relationship and dedication to comics. Knowing a bit about Miss D'Orazio's history in the comic books industry adds a deeper layer of significance to PunisherMAX Butterfly. After all, the first comic book material she ever wrote was a Punisher pitch she sent to Marvel at the age of about 13. So, yeah, Valerie D'Orazio writing a PunisherMax one-shot as her grand return to comics is a pretty big deal in and of itself.

But even without this real world context, Butterfly is a phenomenal read. The story of a dissociative hit woman and her attempt to connect with the world via a tell-all manuscript, Butterfly, like so many other good crime stories, focuses on the protagonist's professional and existential crises. Abused and molested at an early age, Butterfly's ability to live outside of her mind is severely handicapped. Throughout her adolescent and adult life, she makes a series of failed attempts to feel anything other than anger, disgust, or apathy. Even in her manuscript, Butterfly struggles to convey a relatable story.

Granted, she is a hired killer, but that's not the real issue. Her editor explains that the manuscript lacks plot and structure, before advising her to write using the same step-by-step process she uses when killing. On both points he's right, but for the wrong reasons. What he sees as her failure is actually a reflection of his own: he cannot understand because he cannot relate. This is where the Punisher comes in. Chapter 13 of Butterfly's manuscript, which she is told is the most important chapter, details the first and only time she saw Frank Castle in action. It's during this encounter that Butterfly, for maybe the first time, feels genuine fear. Confronted with another deeply dissociated, homicidal personality, Butterfly feels briefly human. Needless to say, this complicated psychology is the stuff of fantastic crime fiction and must-read Punisher tales, and D'Orazio's exploration of these troubling character types through a female foil is refreshingly profound.

Beyond the criminal goodness of Butterfly, there is an underlying theme about the dangers of honest expression. Rather than feeling shoehorned in, this secondary thread is expertly woven into the narrative. By the nature of her manuscript, Butterfly is exposing the world to it's own dangerous truths; and not only is she revealing the world for the nasty place it can be, but in writing her story she also exposes herself to the murderous wrath of her employers. The fact that Butterfly is a woman in a traditionally male role makes this an even more pointed power struggle. One has to wonder if some of the conversations in the book were tweaked from D'Orazio's own experiences in the industry, but we'll save that speculation for another time. Without exploiting the sexual undertones of this conflict, D'Orazio shows that the suppression of truth can lead to a dangerous alienation from reality.

Finally, it should be said that in keeping with our month-long series on women in comics, this review purposely focused on Valerie D'Orazio and the themes of PunisherMAX Butterfly, largely ignoring artist Lawrence Cambpell. For the record, Cambpell's art is every bit as good as D'Orazio's writing, and it adds yet another layer of quality to this already incredible comic.

My Top 5 Favorite Feminists in Comics

by Josh Jenkins

Kate Corrigan

Powers: Wrote sixteen books on folklore and occult history (not a super power? Let’s see you do it.)
Why I love her: One of my favorite moments in comics involves Kate and her first encounter with a ghost in “The Wolves of St. August.” She doesn’t freak out or run away, she starts balling. So educated on the supernatural she can view ghosts for what they really are: a representation of human tragedy. She is by no means a shrinking violet bookworm; she also outwits an ageless marquis hell-bent on trading her for a homunculus.
Greatest Hits: “The Wolves of August,” “The Universal Machine”

Power Girl

Powers: Nigh Invulnerable, Flight, Super-strength, Very distracting.
Why I love her: The jokes practically write themselves and yet, they don’t. It annoys me to no end when a character is bogged down with all of the “Earth: who gives a rat’s ass” minutia. It isn’t her difficulties that make her interesting, it’s her ability to deflect the way she’s treated by looking the way she looks.
Greatest Hits: “Power Girl: A New Beginning”

Jaka

Powers: Melting the heart of one of the coldest meanest misogynists in comics (Not me, Cerebus).
Why I love her: “How do you write women so well? I think of a man and I take away reason and accountability,” Dave Sim is most noted for being a self-proclaimed misogynist, which befuddles me considering the way he writes this character. I have never bought into the idea that dancing naked for money is feminism. I find the idea completely absurd and offensive, however in Jaka’s case I make an exception. She loves to dance; it is her art form, and she takes great pride in it in the way of monetary value. It’s easy to armchair quarterback and say you’d never exploit your art for money, but if Marvel asked, I’d write the shit out of a Power Pack story quicker than you can say “Snarks and Carmody”
Greatest Hits: “Cerebus Vol. 5: Jaka’s Story”

Jen Walters

Why I love her: Here’s an equation I hope you can follow; I hate She-hulk, She-hulk hates Jen Walters, so I love Jen Walters. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a super-hero more embarrassed by their alter ego. Imagine if you had a version of you that was infinitely stronger, more exotically beautiful, and way more famous than the “real” you will ever be. Would you ever go back to being the real you? How would you ever know if people really liked the real you? Imagine how hard that is. It’s a perplexing dichotomy that’s worth exploring. All I know is, I love ya Jen, hope you get on a cover one day.
Greatest Hits: “She-Hulk Vol 1. Single Green Female”

Mina Murray

Powers: Monster Wrangling
Why I love her: Ya know what’s uninteresting in Hollywood? A woman with no superhuman abilities that can keep rapists, murders, terrorists, and opium addicts in line. Ya know what Hollywood loves? Sexy Vampires! Fuck You everyone involved with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie! Sorry, I have to pull my bloody fist out of 6-inches of drywall to finish this article. Alan Moore has always written strong women well, and I think Mina is my favorite (no offense Evey). I love her for all the reasons mentioned above, AND she helped take down Dracula for god sake!
Greatest Hits: “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Vol. 1 and 2”

Write Club! "You Heard it Here Second!" V. 3, Ep. 0

Ever been between one place and another? Say, home & abroad? Or a rock & a hard place? Or the real world & the rended veil of shadows? US too! So here we present an episode as we move from Volume 2 to Volume 3: Episode Zero!

Enjoy as we chat with Act-i-Vate co-founder, & Girl Comics artist Nikki Cook!

seriously, it's like the Phantom Zone in here...

This Week in Cool

Write Club! "Words are the Worst!" Ep. 10, Vol.2

Kurt is back! The two Presidents of Write Club are joined by special guest star Reilly Brown! We recap King Con (months later), kick back and talk about comics, character design, and even philosophy.

ALSO! This is the last episode of Volume 2! Collect them all!

Intro: "New Wu" Raekwon (Feat. Ghostface Killah & Method Man)

Outro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

You're fired Jay!

PS- Your happy funtime links for this ep:
Reilly Brown's DeviantArt Gallery
Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club
NY Daily News
Ong Bak Trailer
Raging Phoenix Trailer
Kill Bill 2 Deleted Fight
Rick Lacy's Blog
Neal Adams
Continuity Comics
Alan Davis
Bryan Hitch
Art of John Byrne
Brothers Timony: The Nite Owls
Agents of Atlas
Jeff Parker's Interman
Paul Tobin (Dot) Net
Chicken Boy Implores You
The Unwritten
G. Willow Wilson
The Goon

Write Club Funnies!

Write Club! "Handsome Criminals" Ep. 9, Vol.2

Kurt takes a powder this episode so Tim and Rick Lacy hold down the fort. The two gentleman-mayors discuss everything from fictional weapons to fictional murders. Is this entire podcast fictional? Tune in to find out!

Intro: "Vengeance" The Protomen

Outro: "Write Club Theme" Scott St. Pierre

Run the Gamut with us!

Have a favorite fictional weapon that we should know about? Drop us a comment, or head over to the Write Club message board at Ten Ton Studios!

Omega the Unknown Review

When my girlfriend bought me a copy of Paul Pope's artbook Pulphope for my birthday, a great gift that I unfortunately had picked up for myself when it first came out, I returned it to Forbidden Planet. So when looking over the store for a book that I could exchange it for, I knew I needed something significant.

I finally came across the hardcover of Omega the Unknown, published by Marvel Comics in 2008. It was written by Jonathan Lethem (w/Karl Rusnak) who I knew from his first novel "Gun With Occasional Music" rather than his more famous "Fortress of Solitude". His name to me was like that of a hipster literary rockstar.

The art was done by two of the best indie comic creators from the last decade. Farel Dalrymple of PopGunWar, his work has a honest beauty to it, every day fairy tale quality to it. Along with Paul Hornschemeier, of Forlon Funnies, who's work is hauntingly somber and sentimental. Both artists can present the fantastic as mundane mythology.

This combination was enough to sell me on the purchase. How could I miss out on these creators coming together to create a Marvel comic. Omega the Unknown was one of those odd 70's series that I've heard of but regarded it with a cryptic oddness.

Then I found out that it was co-written/created by Steve Gerber, who is about one of the most fascinating and stalwart comic creators who has done more great things than he is recognized for. This was a ten issue series in 1976 that had a quirkiness to it that the comic industry tried to mold into a generic superhuman brawl book.

I've never read the original series, and in a way I don't necessarily need to. This current ten issue series skirts a sort of remake/sequel thin line just as the writing and artwork pushes what is mainstream comics. A lot is left to the reader's interpretation, and in its own way it's a little clunky and meanders a bit along the way, just as any good auto-bio comic or indie flick does.

The story revolves around a mute alien in a costume fighting robots, but only as a backstory to the tale of a child raised by robots sent off to live in the big city to confront his destiny: to save the earth from invading alien robots. There's also a gloryhound hero called The Mink who has a rather unique and realistic approach to millionaire superheroics.

The series reads as an exploration of cycles within superhero literature, as well as in life itself. It gives us a young hero origin laid under the story of a fish out of water, robotic genius, adjusting to life in Washington Heights, NYC. It confronts school bullys and their victims, showing us the battle of villains against the weak, and what happens when the meek are introduced to the superhuman.

It leads to suicide, which is handled realistically, if not cold and emotionally detached. The main character even meets with the dead boy's soul and everything is matter of fact. But nothing is cut and dry with the badguys here, except the replicating robots that are infecting and replacing humans, and even they are treated as more passive, zombie like swarms, devoid of deeper thought.

There's overtones of mythology complete with a labyrinth, superhero meta tropes such as the "Over-Thinker" parodying Marvel's "The Watcher", a spectator and occasional omniscient narrator. It feels to be almost kind of trite in its plotting at times, but it wins you over with the art and the genuine realness of the characters.

There's a great commentary with select panels from the original comic in the back that give some insight into why Jonathan Lethem and his co-writer, Karl Rusnak, loved the original series enough to bring us an updated version. Also, Gary Panter's guest art when Omega details out his origin in comic format is amazing.

The book itself is goregeous, with a well designed cover, nice organic style to it that clashes with the slick colored pages and high production values. It really is an opposing forces parallel throughout every aspect of the book. Top it of with a quote on the back from Michael Chabon, author of Pulitzer Prize winning "Kavelier & Clay", and you've got the mainstream graphic novel with the most indie cred around.

K

Write Club Funnies!

Comic Reviews: Week of December 16th

Marvel:

1. Amazing Spider-Man #615:

Simply put: one of the best written Spidey comics to date. Superb. Javier Roderiguez continues “The Gauntlet” by next having Spider-Man battle Sandman, and while not a single punch is thrown in this issue, Roderiguez had written a stellar story that involves Spidey using his detective skills. The subplot involving J. Jonah Jameson (building off of last issue’s amazing ending) is, alone, intriguing enough to keep a reader interested. Buy this. While a comic that’s published tri-monthly may lose something in the switch between writers, this does not occur with Amazing Spider-Man 615. Terrific issue.

2. Dark Avengers #12: I’ve said before that I love the way Bendis writes The Sentry. He excels at it in this issue. The story is phenomenal, and a character I’ve never heard of, Molecule Man, is presented as possibly the most powerful villain in the Marvel U -- until The Sentry shows us his true power. Again, buy this. An incredible issue that sets up Marvel’s next big event, “Siege”.

3. Captain America Reborn #5: I’m looking forward to this series finishing because I think the conflict of two Captain Americas is much more interesting than the concept of bringing Captain America back. It’s a fight we all knew was coming, and now we have it -- except it feels too trite, too forced, and too clichéd. Wait for Brubaker to finish this “event” before returning to the regular Captain America series.

4. Ultimate Armor Wars #3: I love Warren Ellis’ writing. Here, however, it’s forgettable. I’m reading this series because I’m interested in the Ultimate Marvel Universe. While I like it, I’m not pushing anyone towards it because I feel nothing will be gained or lost by sticking with it.

5. Spider-Man -- Clone Saga #4: The original Clone Saga was what got me in to comics. I know -- a pretty crappy entrance. But, I was intrigued by the back story, and how the writers had used a pretty insignificant part of Spider-Man’s background to build a new character and a new life for him. It was Marvel’s first attempt at a Spider-Man reboot. While it didn’t take (for a myriad of reasons), it was, I feel, partially responsible for the Ultimate Universe. Plus, I still have a thing for clones. So, I’m reading this series because I’m curious to see what Tom DeFalco and Howard Mackie are going to do. Otherwise, don’t waste time on this. Read the summaries online and save yourself the money.

IDW:

1. Locke and Key Crown of Shadows #2:

Joe Hill has become a surprisingly adept comic book writer. I read his novel, Heart Shaped Box, and felt that it was a typical first novel -- neither bad nor good. I hope, however, he sticks with comic book writing because he can craft a hell of a story. If you haven’t been following Locke and Key, I recommend picking up the trades. Gabriel Rodriguez captures Hill’s timing perfectly, and both men have been able to create a lucid world filled with fantastical elements. Read this. Well, read the older issues, then read this. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

2. Ghostbusters Displaced Aggression #4: I can’t tell if there’s a cult love for Ghostbusters, a true love of the material, or if it’s just the “in” 80’s thing. I love that IDW published a Ghostbusters mini-series; I wish they would make it a regular thing. It would be fun to read about the Ghostbusters in their prime, showing them doing what they do best -- capturing ghosts. It’s the formula that worries me. Heroes meet villain; villain destroys heroes; heroes regroup; heroes defeat villain by combining forces. I would prefer a few stand alone issues rather than complicated arcs that involve Gozer over and over. The movies have spectacular montages that could be explored in more depth. What IDW really needs is Dan Akroyd and Harold Ramis to pen a Ghostbusters tale. The people who are trying to imitate the material are not succeeding.

DC Comics:

1. Green Lantern Corps #43:

I’ll give you two reasons to buy this issue. 1. Guy Gardner becomes a red lantern, pulls off the arm of a yellow lantern and stuffs it down his throat. 2. Mogo returns (Mogo is a planet sized green lantern). I professed my love for Peter J. Tomasi last week. I picked up GLC this week because he penned it, and I’m not disappointed. Plus, DC has been able to put some pretty stellar artists on their Green Lantern comics. It’s a good mix that makes the series so incredible. Keep up with “Blackest Night”. It’s DC’s shining moment.

Write Club Funnies!

The Secret Origin of Write Club

Comic Reviews: Week of Dec. 9th

MARVEL:

1. Amazing Spider-Man #614:

Mark Waid is one of my favorite writers, so usually I'm biased when it comes to reviewing a comic he wrote. Amazing Spider-Man is building up to something, and I'm glad Waid is the one behind the wheel. Spider-Man has a group of foes which occasionally band together to be known as the Sinister Six. This is a build up to a similar story (I think). So what we have here is Waid empowering Electro in a way that makes him seem extremely dangerous to the point where, when he was off panel at the end, I assumed he had escaped and I felt a tinge of disappointment that Spider-Man's efforts were for naught. The end of the comic is pretty shocking (no pun intended), and I'm glad Waid was the one that delivered. If you're a Spidey fan, I'd pick this up. I see an impressive storyline in the making. Paul Azaceta's art adds to the mess of the situation. He's good at maintaining the chaos that Waid is writing.

DC:

2. Action Comics #884: First off, Pere Perez and Bit do a fantastic job on the art here. They capture the agony of Nightwing, and the ache of Flamebird. Greg Rucka is a wiz when it comes to comic writing. The issues here are leading up to Superman #700, and Action Comics is only ten issues behind, so I feel like something big is on the horizon. I feel the weight of a convoluted storyline, however, and I wouldn't recommend this title unless you're interested in what's going on in the Superman universe right now.

3. Red Robin #7:

Okay. So, I started picking this up because, like most other comic fans, I was excited by seeing Red Robin back in action (last glimpsed in Mark Waid & Alex Ross' brilliant "Kingdom Come" series). Now, however, I'm getting ready to drop the series. Chris Yost is attempting to build a world for Tim Drake, but I really could care less. I got to the end, looked at the characters, realized I didn't know who some of them were, and realized I didn't care. I'm going to see this arc through to the end, but nothing much is going on here. While I like the idea of Tim Drake being the detective, and searching for Bruce Waye, I feel no urgency to keep up with this title.

4. Adventure Comics #5: Have you ever wanted a glimpse inside the DC Comics offices? This is your chance. Geoff Johns crosses the fourth wall (or is it the fifth?) by taking Superboy Prime into the REAL world where he encounters Dan DiDio and the rest of his staff. Since Johns is scripting "Blackest Night," glimpses of that story are found here. For the most part, however, this is a forgettable issue. Johns has been mostly covering the Conner Superboy. That story is interesting. This one? Not so much.


IDW:

5. Ghostbusters: Past Present and Future (one shot): I love IDW. They publish the greatest stuff! They have recently undertaken a Ghostbusters series that is . . . okay . . . and my problems with it are reflected in this issue. While I love the idea of a Ghostbusters comic book, Rob Williams writes Venkman as the consistent comic relief. It gets tiresome. Ray, Egon and Winston do little here to contribue to the story. While I got a chuckle out of some of the references penned in this issue, I feel that the strengths of the other characters is dropped in place of a few (not well done) cheap laughs. I do hope, however, that IDW continues to publish a Ghostbusters comic book because while I would love to see a Ghostbusters 3, I feel the comics can capture the best elements of the movies and condense them into interesting, one, two, or three part stories.

IMAGE:

6. The Walking Dead #68:

Robert Kirkman is a great writer, and The Walking Dead is a great series. I remember being bored with The Walking dead in the early 40's issues. But when I hit issue 48 through 52, and was able to see all that Kirkman had built up? I was floored. This is a similar issue. I will always recommend the Walking Dead, and if you haven't read an issue, I recommend collecting the trades and joining in. This is the beginning of something big. It has the same feel as the "Governor" arc (which, if you've read TWD, you know what I'm referencing; if you haven't, you're missing out). This issue has the same feel -- we're building to something. The newest character, Aaron, is creepy as hell. He's a little TOO perfect, and if you're a fan of TWD world, you know that anything that's too good to be true usually is. Pick this up and enjoy the hell out of it.

(If you like The Walking Dead be sure to check out the "Fear The Hunters" review/essay by Pete Lenz! Natch! -Terrif Tim!)

P.S. Some big comic book news came out this week as well: We heard that the Vulture may be the villain for Spider-Man 4, Bruce Wayne--much like Captain America--is lost in time and DC will explore his travels through history in a brand new series entitled "The Return of Bruce Wayne."

DC has also announced a new series called "Earth One" that will retell the origins of it's major characters 75 years after their creation. J. Michael Straczynski and Geoff Johns will pen the tales of Superman and Batman (respectively) and Shane Davis and Gary Frank (respectively) will illustrate. While I'm not familiar with Shane Davis' art, I know Gary Franks' art very well (he's one of my fav's) and you can Google his art for Bruce Wayne's Batman costume. Check it out. It's worth the price of admission.