Hugh Jackman is "writing" a comic for Virgin Comics.
Say what you will about TV and movie writers (Whedon, Guggenheim, Lopresti) coming to comics. What I'm talking about is something different, and seems, at least for now, to be primarily a Virgin Comics thing.
It's the "Created by" credit. Virgin currently has their "Director's Cut" line with three books; The Megas (Jonathan Mostow), Dock Wallooper (Ed Burns) and The Game Keeper (Guy Ritchie). Previously they've had John Woo's Seven Brothers and Shekhar Kapur's Snake Woman.
"Virgin Voices" has the Nicholas Cage Voodoo Child book and Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter (I'm assuming this will be the branding under which Jackman's book exists).
Now, full disclosure, I've only read the first volumes of Seven Brothers and The Game Keeper respectively. I gave Seven Brother's a try mostly due to Garth Ennis, and Game Keeper looked like a simple enough action tale in the quasi-vein of Andy Diggle's best work, The Losers.
Now the marketing copy for all of these books gives you the idea that the famous names are knee deep in the story, working with established comic writers to bring their singular vision to the printed page.
But I do sometimes wonder.
Is Guy Ritchie really story-conferencing with Jeff Parker over each issue of Gamekeeper? Is he reviewing each script and penciled/inked page? Maybe I'm overly cynical but I just don't see it happening. I imagine a business deal between Virgin and Ritchie that goes something like this:
Virgin - "So, we think your name above the title might push a few more of these books out the door, you got any ideas"
Guy - "Some action thing, a badass military guy or something whose renounced his life of violence?"
Virgin - "Great, we'll get on that and send you the trade in about ten months"
Guy - "That's fine, you wanna cut a check or just wire me the money?"
It's the marketing that bugs me.
Would Dock Walloper! have been published if Ed Burns name wasn't on the cover? Who thinks that putting Ed Burns name on the cover is gonna bring the readers in in droves anyways?
Why do companies think that attaching "famous" names to comics is enough to make them good/popular?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Mighty Avengers #1-2
Please understand something.
I have next to no frame of reference for the long and storied histories of most comic book characters.
This might end up being something that I write at the beginning of all of my reviews just to give you a feel for where I'm coming from.
I know the basics of most characters; origins, powers, general demeanors and so on but when it comes to defining runs and moments I'm pretty hit-or-miss. I've never read Armor Wars I or II, or the alcoholism storyline from Iron Man. Really only know about Carol Danvers from recent New Avengers stories, never read Ares mini-series and could probably fit what I know about Wonder Man on the head of a pin.
I'm pretty good on The Sentry though.
So what does this make me, as a reviewer?
Horribly inadequate?
Or the best reviewer ever!
More than likely somewhere in the middle.
The thing is, I'm not pointing out my lack of knowledge as a mark of pride or anything, I don't disdain anything that came out before 2002, I just haven't gotten around to reading all of the important arcs in every characters history. And I probably never will.
Does that matter?
Should I read the whole history of Wonder Man before I read The Mighty Avengers #1? Should I even go to his Wikipedia page and get a quick primer on the salient points of Simon Williams' adventures?
No.
To be honest, I just don't care about Wonder Man. I have nothing emotionally invested in the character. I have no fond memories of great stories, no bitter disappointments at bad characterizations.
So I come to Mighty Avengers #1 and Wonder Man with a clean slate.
I have no Wonder Man "continuity" you could say.
I'm an "Ultimate" reviewer.
I also make lousy puns.
Mighty Avengers# 1-2 marks, to me, a nice stylistic change for Brain Bendis. The thought balloons are the big thing that everyone's talking about but what caught my eye was the noticeable difference in tone from New Avengers (also Bendis-penned, in case you didn't know). For one thing, not every single character sounds like Spider-Man. Sure they all have their "Bendis-dialog quirks" but it's not like Ares is making "my costume itches cause it has Ninja blood on it" jokes.
The other significant difference is the art. Frank Cho's bright, oversized panels are a sharp contrast to Leinil Yu's current darker, character detailed, heavily-inked style. I like this distinction a lot. Cho's visuals work well for Tony Stark's a-list, public face Avengers and their wacky government sanctioned adventures. Yu's darker/moodier tones however, fit well with the renegade New Avengers, subverting the Registration Act to continue fighting the good fight on the run.
I really get a sense that these are two entirely different books and that Bendis is trying hard to keep them that way, so, you know, keep up the good work in that department.
The other department though, is the Bendis-created "Could-this-all-have-been-done-in- one-issue-or-even-like-sixteen-pages" department.
In this instance I think Bendis performs admirably. At 3.99 for issue 1 and 2.99 for issue 2 we've set up the team, fought a few giant monsters, and premiered some crazy new Wasp-look-alike female Ultron.
Could the "Hey will you join?" flashbacks from issue 2 have been condensed into issue 1? Maybe.
Did everybody really need to take a solo whack at naked female Ultron before the Wasp trots up to her to ask what's going on? Who knows?
Could it all have been condensed down to one issue and been as satisfying? Probably not.
I like the Tony/Carol banter in issue one over who to choose (and the individual breakdowns of each hero were nice for a guy like me), I liked Ares working construction, I'm tired of The Sentry fighting with his wife. I liked Carol struggling with leading the team (I especially liked the decision to retreat at the end of issue 2), The Sentry continually apologizing, the "Simon's Back" panel and naked female Ultron being a stock jerky/cocky Bendis villain (see Ultimate Dock Ock for best example).
All in all it's a fun little romp that delivers a new team, new villain, and a decent fight scene.
And, I gotta be honest, four years ago we'd have probably needed four issues to get to this point.
Say what you will, I think Bendis is improving.
Thanks for reading.
I have next to no frame of reference for the long and storied histories of most comic book characters.
This might end up being something that I write at the beginning of all of my reviews just to give you a feel for where I'm coming from.
I know the basics of most characters; origins, powers, general demeanors and so on but when it comes to defining runs and moments I'm pretty hit-or-miss. I've never read Armor Wars I or II, or the alcoholism storyline from Iron Man. Really only know about Carol Danvers from recent New Avengers stories, never read Ares mini-series and could probably fit what I know about Wonder Man on the head of a pin.
I'm pretty good on The Sentry though.
So what does this make me, as a reviewer?
Horribly inadequate?
Or the best reviewer ever!
More than likely somewhere in the middle.
The thing is, I'm not pointing out my lack of knowledge as a mark of pride or anything, I don't disdain anything that came out before 2002, I just haven't gotten around to reading all of the important arcs in every characters history. And I probably never will.
Does that matter?
Should I read the whole history of Wonder Man before I read The Mighty Avengers #1? Should I even go to his Wikipedia page and get a quick primer on the salient points of Simon Williams' adventures?
No.
To be honest, I just don't care about Wonder Man. I have nothing emotionally invested in the character. I have no fond memories of great stories, no bitter disappointments at bad characterizations.
So I come to Mighty Avengers #1 and Wonder Man with a clean slate.
I have no Wonder Man "continuity" you could say.
I'm an "Ultimate" reviewer.
I also make lousy puns.
Mighty Avengers# 1-2 marks, to me, a nice stylistic change for Brain Bendis. The thought balloons are the big thing that everyone's talking about but what caught my eye was the noticeable difference in tone from New Avengers (also Bendis-penned, in case you didn't know). For one thing, not every single character sounds like Spider-Man. Sure they all have their "Bendis-dialog quirks" but it's not like Ares is making "my costume itches cause it has Ninja blood on it" jokes.
The other significant difference is the art. Frank Cho's bright, oversized panels are a sharp contrast to Leinil Yu's current darker, character detailed, heavily-inked style. I like this distinction a lot. Cho's visuals work well for Tony Stark's a-list, public face Avengers and their wacky government sanctioned adventures. Yu's darker/moodier tones however, fit well with the renegade New Avengers, subverting the Registration Act to continue fighting the good fight on the run.
I really get a sense that these are two entirely different books and that Bendis is trying hard to keep them that way, so, you know, keep up the good work in that department.
The other department though, is the Bendis-created "Could-this-all-have-been-done-in- one-issue-or-even-like-sixteen-pages" department.
In this instance I think Bendis performs admirably. At 3.99 for issue 1 and 2.99 for issue 2 we've set up the team, fought a few giant monsters, and premiered some crazy new Wasp-look-alike female Ultron.
Could the "Hey will you join?" flashbacks from issue 2 have been condensed into issue 1? Maybe.
Did everybody really need to take a solo whack at naked female Ultron before the Wasp trots up to her to ask what's going on? Who knows?
Could it all have been condensed down to one issue and been as satisfying? Probably not.
I like the Tony/Carol banter in issue one over who to choose (and the individual breakdowns of each hero were nice for a guy like me), I liked Ares working construction, I'm tired of The Sentry fighting with his wife. I liked Carol struggling with leading the team (I especially liked the decision to retreat at the end of issue 2), The Sentry continually apologizing, the "Simon's Back" panel and naked female Ultron being a stock jerky/cocky Bendis villain (see Ultimate Dock Ock for best example).
All in all it's a fun little romp that delivers a new team, new villain, and a decent fight scene.
And, I gotta be honest, four years ago we'd have probably needed four issues to get to this point.
Say what you will, I think Bendis is improving.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
The Wednesday Run
So...
What's this all about then?
The Wednesday Run is basically my excuse to talk about comic books.
I love comic books, all kinds of comic books. It seems simple to say but it's true, I get excited about the writing, the characters, the art, I love the whole thing. Superheroes, serialization, "events", wired little indie books, all of it.
I go to the comic store on New Comic Day every Wednesday and I pick up the stuff I can't live without, the monthly comics I have to have as soon as they hit the store.
I also order trade paperbacks, original graphic novels and some monthly books from www.dcbservice.com an online ordering service with huge discounts. I receive a package from them once a month with all the previous months stuff in it and I race through that in two weeks or so.
I would say I'm an average type of fan, I buy mostly superhero books from Marvel and DC but I have a nice range of independent titles I read also. Three or four years back I finally broke myself from character obsession; meaning that I would buy books regardless of their quality simply because I liked the character or had been collecting the series for some time.
Now I pretty much buy according to writer.
Any book from the following will guarantee a purchase, no matter what the content or genre: Warren Ellis, Brain Wood, Joss Whedon, Brian Lee O'Malley, Alan Moore and Garth Ennis.
The next group used to be in the first group but got dropped for some reason, maybe overexposure, a lousy story or a shift in style (or something else altogether): Brain Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Frank Miller and Greg Rucka.
Finally all the rest get serious consideration of any new work. I mean, lets be honest, one of the beauties of comics is their try-out-ability. I can pick up an issue or two of a book and gauge my interest in the story against buying it every month for the next two years or so. So serious consideration goes to: Paul Dini, Gail Simone, Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Brain K Vaughn, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Robert Kirkman, Adam Warren, Tim Seeley, Rick Spears, Brad Metzler, Ben Templesmith, Jeff Smith, Joe Casey, Michael Avon Oeming, and Andy Diggle.
Something needs to be made clear though...
All of the writers I just listed have, at one point, produced something that I read in singles, read again, bought in trade and read few times in that format. In other words, something I loved.
The top list it so small because those guys produce an automatic "have to have it" response.
If Brian Wood signed a picture of his daughter I'd probably buy two at San Diego this year.
Ideally all of that gives you a view into my mindset.
I hope to use this blog to basically say things that my wife could give a crap about, to talk about comic news, books and rumors just to get all of this out of my head.
Starting tomorrow.
What's this all about then?
The Wednesday Run is basically my excuse to talk about comic books.
I love comic books, all kinds of comic books. It seems simple to say but it's true, I get excited about the writing, the characters, the art, I love the whole thing. Superheroes, serialization, "events", wired little indie books, all of it.
I go to the comic store on New Comic Day every Wednesday and I pick up the stuff I can't live without, the monthly comics I have to have as soon as they hit the store.
I also order trade paperbacks, original graphic novels and some monthly books from www.dcbservice.com an online ordering service with huge discounts. I receive a package from them once a month with all the previous months stuff in it and I race through that in two weeks or so.
I would say I'm an average type of fan, I buy mostly superhero books from Marvel and DC but I have a nice range of independent titles I read also. Three or four years back I finally broke myself from character obsession; meaning that I would buy books regardless of their quality simply because I liked the character or had been collecting the series for some time.
Now I pretty much buy according to writer.
Any book from the following will guarantee a purchase, no matter what the content or genre: Warren Ellis, Brain Wood, Joss Whedon, Brian Lee O'Malley, Alan Moore and Garth Ennis.
The next group used to be in the first group but got dropped for some reason, maybe overexposure, a lousy story or a shift in style (or something else altogether): Brain Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, Grant Morrison, Frank Miller and Greg Rucka.
Finally all the rest get serious consideration of any new work. I mean, lets be honest, one of the beauties of comics is their try-out-ability. I can pick up an issue or two of a book and gauge my interest in the story against buying it every month for the next two years or so. So serious consideration goes to: Paul Dini, Gail Simone, Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Brain K Vaughn, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Robert Kirkman, Adam Warren, Tim Seeley, Rick Spears, Brad Metzler, Ben Templesmith, Jeff Smith, Joe Casey, Michael Avon Oeming, and Andy Diggle.
Something needs to be made clear though...
All of the writers I just listed have, at one point, produced something that I read in singles, read again, bought in trade and read few times in that format. In other words, something I loved.
The top list it so small because those guys produce an automatic "have to have it" response.
If Brian Wood signed a picture of his daughter I'd probably buy two at San Diego this year.
Ideally all of that gives you a view into my mindset.
I hope to use this blog to basically say things that my wife could give a crap about, to talk about comic news, books and rumors just to get all of this out of my head.
Starting tomorrow.
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