Comic Book News
A Comics Odyssey - Issue #26
By Wayne Hall Oct 8, 2011, 5:22 GMT
DC Comics New 52 continues to break records, but that's not all there is to talk about, so let's check out this week's headlines from the scifipulse.net website.
Joshua Jackson Writes ¡®Fringe¡¯ Digital Comic
Joshua Jackson has written a ¡®Fringe¡¯ story for DC Comics, according to ew.com. ¡°Now we know what happened to Peter Bishop after he disappeared from history in last May¡¯s season finale of ¡®Fringe¡¯ ¡ª he took a job writing comics,¡± said the site¡¯s Jeff Jensen.
¡°In advance of the Fox¡¯s sci-fi saga¡¯s season four premiere on Friday, DC Entertainment is launching ¡®Beyond The Fringe,¡¯ a new comic book series that fans of the show can buy for 99 cents via digital download,¡± the site reported. The first installment ¡ª now available at read.dccomics.com ¡ª was written by Jackson and drawn Jorge Jimenez. (Cover art is by Drew Johnson.)
Look for new issues to become available every two weeks and will alternate between ¡°A storylines¡± and ¡°B storylines,¡± with the former exploring uncharted regions of the show¡¯s mythology, and the latter featuring ¡°what if?¡± tales that imagine variations of events and adventures. ¡±Jackson¡¯s three-part ¡®A¡¯ arc is entitled ¡®Peter And The Machine¡¯ and takes place between the events depicted in the season three finale and the forthcoming season premiere,¡± Jensen said.
¡®Robocop: Road Trip¡¯ In Comics Stores Everywhere This December
In December 2011, Dynamite Entertainment proudly returns to the future of law enforcement to clean up the mean streets of Detroit. ¡°Serve the public trust, protect the innocent, uphold the law.¡± And it all begins in the all-new, high-octane adventure of ¡®RoboCop: Road Trip #1.¡¯
Based on the cult classic film of the same name, Dynamite¡¯s ¡®RoboCop: Road Trip¡¯ series combines director Paul Verhoeven¡¯s original world of a futuristic dystopian Detroit with a larger, overarching conspiracy theory (in the spirit of All the President¡¯s Men) and high action, extreme violence and satire. Once again spearheading RoboCop is the acclaimed writer, Rob (¡®Ghost Rider¡¯) Williams, with art by Unai and covers by the amazing Fabiano Neves! Be sure to pick up ¡®RoboCop: Road Trip¡¯ #1 this December!
¡°¡¯Road Trip¡¯ is our first chance to take a look at Robocop¡¯s twisted version of America outside the confines of Old Detroit,¡± says series writer Rob Williams. ¡°But OCP isn¡¯t going to just let Murphy and what¡¯s left of the Old Detroit Police Department run off to get help. An entirely new deadly robot prototype is on their tail. And with Murphy¡¯s mind fracturing following the death of his partner, Lewis, Road Trip has a somewhat psychedelic double meaning. This is Robocop¡¯s world as you¡¯ve never seen it before.¡±
DC¡¯s ¡®New 52¡¯ Keeps Moving On Up
The news from retailers at the end of the first week of DC¡¯s New 52 initiative was so positive that it¡¯s hard to believe they¡¯d report even higher sales two weeks later, reported newsarama.com.
¡°Retailers are reporting the momentum is actually building and sales of DC #1¡äs are continuing to rise,¡± writes the site. ¡°But that also means books are selling out, which is starting to become a problem in some stores.
¡°It¡¯s been a landslide,¡± said Matt Price, owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Okla., as he spoke of this week¡¯s sales. ¡°Keeping up with product has been tricky, but that¡¯s a great problem to have. This Wednesday, we had the most people in that I can remember outside of an event or signing. And next Wednesday could be even bigger.¡±
¡°Hard to believe, but the second full week of DC books saw more enthusiasm than the first, with many books selling out on the first day even though we had upped our orders by five-to-10 times what some of those books sold pre-relaunch,¡± said Cliff Biggers, owner of Dr. No¡¯s Comics in Marietta, Ga. ¡°I think a lot of that enthusiasm was amplified by the high quality of last week¡¯s books ¡ª people liked what they saw, and they were eager to read more!¡±
¡°Customers old and new are now pre-ordering the following week¡¯s books causing what can only be described as a comic book frenzy!¡± said Mike Wellman, co-owner of The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
¡°We¡¯re had an increase over last week and easily the best Wednesday we¡¯ve had all year. About 80 percent of our sales this week were DC 52 comics,¡± said J.C. Glindmyer of Earthworld Comics in Albany, N.Y.
¡°As busy as we were last week, we are even busier this week,¡± said Gerry Gladston, co-owner of Midtown Comics in New York City. ¡°It¡¯s a madhouse, and we¡¯re lovin¡¯ it.¡±
And now, here are my reviews for this week:
1. ¡®Batman¡¯ #1. This is the flagship title for the Dark Knight, so it¡¯s terrific that it hits the ground running on all cylinders!
Here¡¯s this comic¡¯s description: ¡°Be here for the start of a new era for The Dark Knight from writer Scott Snyder (¡®American Vampire,¡¯ ¡®Batman: Gates Of Gotham¡¯) and artist Greg Capullo (¡®Spawn¡¯)! A series of brutal killings hints at an ancient conspiracy, and Batman learns that Gotham City is deadlier than he knew.¡±
I¡¯ve read a great number of Batman stories in my day, but there¡¯s a lot that¡¯s fresh and interesting about this comic. I loved the way the story started, talking about what ¡°Gotham is.¡± Then we see Batman and ¡°The Joker¡± take on a breakout at Arkham Asylum¨Cstart with a bang, I always say!
We discover that Bruce Wayne hasn¡¯t been idle¨Cinstead, he¡¯s busy trying to upgrade his city just as much as he updates his technology. We meet someone who¡¯s likely to be the next mayor (poor soul!) and Batman has to examine a dead body.
But like all of the ¡®New 52¡ä I¡¯ve read so far, that last page is a shocker! When we see just who may be behind what¡¯s happening, I have to say that I was really surprised! And considering that I¡¯m a long-time reader, that¡¯s saying something!
It really is true what you¡¯ve heard¨CScott Snyder does effectively mix horror with superheroes!
As great as the story is, I loved Greg Capullo¡®s incredible art functions on the same level! It¡¯s dynamic, it¡¯s reminiscent of Frank Miller¡®s ¡®The Dark Knight Returns¡¯ at times, and it¡¯s some of the best Batman art I¡¯ve seen in a long, long time. Wow, I¡¯m impressed! And I even love the new logo!
The only negative I¡¯m experiencing is that I have to wait a whole 30 days to get the second issue! Already seems like forever! What a powerful beginning for Batman!
2. ¡®The New Teen Titans: Games.¡¯ Ah, good times!
Here¡¯s the description: ¡°Legendary creators Marv Wolfman (¡®Crisis On Infinite Earths¡¯) and George P¨¦rez (¡®Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds¡¯) reunite for a lost tale from their classic run on the best-selling New Teen Titans! This original graphic novel features a mysterious villain playing a deadly game with New York City as the gameboard ¨C and the Teen Titans as the pieces! Twenty years in the making, ¡®The New Teen Titans: Games¡¯ is a can¡¯t-miss for fans new and old.¡±
¡°Two decades in the making,¡± touts the back panel of this hardcover graphic novel. And it¡¯s well worth the wait.
I dropped out of comics for a few years, and it was Wolfman and P¨¦rez who brought me back with ¡®New Teen Titans.¡¯ That dynamic duo has always had a magic all their own to their work. It¡¯s really great to see this ¡°final¡± adventure of theirs.
This story is much more ¡°adult¡± than many superhero comics, especially those dealing with teen heroes. The Titans now have family and friends to protect, and they must take on the government¨Cwho happens to be the ones threatening them! There is an interesting mystery at the bottom of what¡¯s going on, and it did surprise me!
The tale is a good one, and the art is very strong and appealing in its use of action and color.
When things come to a close, there are significant changes in the lives of several Titans, and it is a longer and satisfying read. I just have to wonder¨Cany other ¡°lost¡± Titans adventures we could buy when they are ready for us to pick up? I hope so!
More ¡®New 52¡¯ Reviews: Here are more quick thoughts on the other DC books out this week. ¡®Green Lantern Corps¡¯ #1 by Peter J. Tomasi really ratcheted up the danger from the previous incarnation. There were also a lot of great comedic moments as well, so it was my second favorite comic of the week. Next, I enjoyed ¡®Nightwing,¡¯ as Kyle Higgins does a superb job of differentiating Dick Grayson from the rest of the Bat-team. ¡®Supergirl¡¯ hearkens back to the first origin of the Girl of Steel, so I liked that. ¡®Red Hood And The Outlaws¡¯ went a very different direction than I expected¨Cand another great last page. Also, ¡®Catwoman¡¯ #1 has an Ed Brubaker¡®s ¡®Criminal¡¯ feel to it. (I hope Batman remembered to bring a condom!) ¡®Legion Of Super-Heroes¡¯ continues on from the recent finale of the last series. ¡®Wonder Woman¡¯ is a return to her mythological roots, with a hearty dose of action included. ¡®Birds Of Prey¡¯ featured a visit from a previous member of the group who now has her own title. ¡®Blue Beetle¡¯ seems to be building on the character¡¯s origin as it appeared in the ¡®Batman: The Brave And The Bold¡¯ animated series. The ones I am reserving judgement on are ¡®Captain Atom¡¯ and ¡®DC Comics Presents,¡¯ both of which are intriguing, but need more time to see just where they¡¯re headed. As in previous weeks, I¡¯m not saying I don¡¯t like them¡ªI¡¯m just wanting a few more months to see how I roll with them.
More news and reviews next week!
Wayne Hall contributes to the Smallscreen, Film and Graphic Novels/Comic Book sections of the Monsters And Critics.com website. He writes recaps for Fox¡¯s ¡®Bones,¡¯ Syfy¡¯s ¡®Warehouse 13¡¯ and the BBC¡¯s ¡®Doctor Who.¡¯ He is co-editor and a news writer for SciFiPulse.Net. He also serves as a host for the ¡®SFP-Now¡¯ weekly podcast and produces and stars in the ¡®Wayne¡¯s Comics¡¯ weekly podcast. You can check both of them out at http://www.sfp-now.com.
