Good Girl Art: Young X-Men no. 2 by Terry and Rachel Dodson

That title sounds so wrong.

According to wikipedia "good girl art" is:

"...found in drawings or paintings which feature a strong emphasis on attractive women no matter what the subject or situation."

Whereas Young X-Men was a secondary storyline to the X-Men "Divided We Stand" story.

However, my interest really lies with Terry and Rachel Dodson's artwork!

I was first introduced to Terry and Rachel's work when I stumbled upon DC's Harley Quinn in 2001. There was something special about the comic. Well written, great characters, fun stories, and the clincher - Harley herself. No longer a whimsical cartoon depiction from Batman The Animated Series, Harley took on a whole new level of reality. Terry and Rachel drew Harley with the form of a fully realized person (albeit an 'idealistic' person). But here was a Harley who was athletic, emotional, capable, and ultimately, sexy.

And right there is the truth to why the Dodson's artwork is so appealing. The women the Dodson's draw are not weak, docile characters whose only strength is their exterior. The women they draw are fully realized both internally and externally and in essence are not just attractive women, but attractive characters.

Over the years I've kept an eye out for Dodson's work, be it their run on Spider-Man or their current work on X-men, but a few years ago I realized that I had seen their work from way back in my past. Digging through my comics I came across my old copies of Mantra. Judging from the cover art I knew why I purchased these comics as a 13 year old boy and looking at them now as an adult I appreciate them for much more than a prepubescent thrill they were then, but now a realization that even at 13 I had great taste in good girl art.






Young X-Men #2 written by Marc Guggenheim, penciled by Yanick Paquette, inked by Ray Snyder, colored by Rob Schwager, lettered by Dave Sharpe. Marvel July 2008.





Terry and Rachel Dodson Gallery




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Fan Expo 2010 - The Bomb

Writer/Artist: Steve Mannion
Publisher: Asylum Press
Published: August 2008

One of the comic book creators I was most excited to see at the Fan Expo was Steve Mannion. A few months back I picked up The Bomb on a whim. When I saw Steve I mentioned this,... well I said this: "I had never heard of The Bomb, but based off the cover I picked it up, and well, it's the bomb!"

This statement could have gone two ways with him: awkward silence or laugh. I got a laugh. Nice. I knew right then this guy's alright. We talked for a few minutes. He struck me as a goofy guy who easily breaks a grin. These qualities definitely come through his work. I asked if he plans on continuing his Fearless Dawn run, upon which he responded yes, and flipped to a drawing of Helga and her Nazi buddy on the moon!

The Bomb is a collection of great looking goofy stories ranging from a Jungle girl and a dinosaur, to a juiced up pirate, to nazi shenanigans, to zombie robots. It has a swimsuit edition that is nice play on Archie Comics. Anyway, I can't express how much I like this collection of comics. There just good ol' fun comics...

As an final note, at the Expo, his sketchbook was the best purchase of the day. As far as sketchbooks go, for $10 you won't find a better deal. I have a feeling he'll be realizing this and the price will go up...but good for him!




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All Star Superman # 10

Writer: Grant Morrison

Artist: Frank Quitely

Colorist: Jamie Grant

Publisher: DC

Published: May 2008

All Star Superman is probably one of the finest stories to emerge in the last decade. I was reminded of this particular issue after reading an interview with Grant Morrison. (It is a great interview, and I highly recommend it.)

Issue 10 has Superman continuing his journey to make things right and do as much good as he can before his inevitable demise due to solar poisoning. In this issue Superman creates life, frees an imprisoned nation, cures all disease, and in one of the most touching moments in the series, saves a life.

With one page, broken into 5 panels, Morrison, Quitely, and Grant reminded me why I love comics. As Morrison states, one of the things he hoped readers of All Star Superman would take away with them was that a few words and some figure drawings would have the ability to "make you cry, make your heart soar,..."

Well I nearly lost it in this issue. I've been feeling glum as of late. Very glum. But after reading this issue I feel a little better. This is going to sound weird, but I really like that Superman chooses to save us not because he can, or because he needs to, but because he wants to...(alluding to Mark Waid)...it's nice to know that Superman believes in us. That we're worth it.

Scalped # 12

Writer: Jason Aaron

Artist: John Paul Leon

Colours: Giulia Brusco

Publisher: Vertigo

Published: February 2008

My town's local public library is a great place. They have DVD's, CDs, a huge assortment of books, magazines, but more importantly they have a pretty decent selection of graphic novels. The library has Paul Pope's Heavy Liquid, Darwyn Cooke's Selina's Big Score, Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing, Grant Morrison's WE3 - we'll as you can see they got's the greats....however, they also have Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera's Scalped; which catapults this great selection to a spectacular selection.

Being fairly on-top of the comic scene, I am ashamed to say that this series has slipped under my radar...boy am I grateful for my library! Scalped is a story about a group of individuals on the Prairie Rose Reservation. It is dark, crime-noir story, filled with murder, deception, lust, betrayal, pride, heritage, drugs, and well, you get the point. Aside from these basic noir elements, what makes this series so great, is that Aaron has brought Aboriginal Americans to the forefront of his story. In 12 issues, Aaron has covered government interference vs. autonomy, measuring one's aboriginal status in fractions, spirit totems, protests, reservations vs. prisons, and remembering one's heritage, no matter at what price that memory costs.

In issue 12, Aaron and guest artist John Paul Leon deliver a standalone story to bring new readers up to speed on Dashiell Bad Horse's situation. The story consists of Dash caught in vicious dreams of his past, present, and possible future.

Of key note, in six pages, Dash relives and experiences

horrific events of Aboriginal American history. He is confronted with hate, prejudice, murder, theft, foreign disease, and ultimately, the importance of heritage and unity. I don't want to give away too much, but let me just say that the image below is enough to drive home the fact that Scalped is a great series that merits immediate attention.

Living in Canada, and having lived in a town that was less than 10km away from a First Nations Reservation, I have had many opportunities to consider what life may be like for a First Nations person. However, before I start, I want to preface my thoughts with the fact that although I may think and imagine what life is like for a First Nations person, I can never actually know or understand what that life is like....

Nevertheless, from what I do know and understand, if I were to imagine myself in the same shoes as a First Nations person, I know for fact that I would be in a very negative mood. First, being segregated into reservations is a negative for me. I don't like being told were to live. Second, if I were to leave, I don't like being told there will be consequences, be it social, financial or otherwise. Third, I don't like that on government forms I am constantly confronted with the "aboriginal" check box. Fourthly, I don't like the idea that political posts that work with Aboriginals are called 'Indian Affairs.' Fifthly, I don't like that children who attend schools with aboriginals don't see aboriginals as classmates, but see their aboriginal classmates as just aboriginals.

Maybe I'm the biased one and my frustrations are unfounded, but one thing I do think is valid is that a persons identity and self worth can never be fully realized as long as someone else is telling them what they are and what they should do.

Tek Jansen # 3

Writer: John Layman & Tom Peyer, Jim Massey
Artist: Robbi Rodriguez
Cover: Darwyn Cooke
Publisher: Oni Press
Published: September 2008

Issue # 3 has Tek Jansen (Stephen Colbert's Sci-Fi alter ego) furthering his war against the sinister Opticlons! This is about the only series that has consistently made me chuckle aloud.

Think he saw that one coming?

Heavy Metal September 2008

Writers/Artists: Felix Vega, Matt Wilson, Nathan Fox, Various
Publisher: Heavy Metal
Published: September 2008

Heavy Metal. Did you know Heavy Metal is owned and edited by Kevin Eastman? If you're wondering who Kevin Eastman is, think walking talking ninja turtles. Anyhoo, Heavy Metal is a collection of different stories aimed at a mature audience, ie. the stories often have graphic violence and nudity.

2008 September's issue has an artist I have been keeping my eye on: Nathan Fox. His run on Pigeons from Hell was pretty cool, so I picked up this issue. His tale is called Fluorescent Black and is written by Matt Wilson. The story is a bio-sci-fi-punk story where genetics rule the day. Check the vid as Fox explains it better than me.


Another story inside the issue involves Vincent. The Vincent. Van Gogh. It's bit of bizarre tale that explores an alternate view of why he lost his ear. Written and drawn by Felix Vega, it's a pretty cool ride.


If your not sure what he is holding, head to your local library (or Wikipedia) and read up on this remarkable artist!


Ok, that's it, I'm done with tentacles in comics (for now). I had planned to integrate some pics of tentacles in film, but I can't be bothered now, so I'll just post 'em.

Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs
Oldboy

Jungle Girl S2 # 2

Writer: Frank Cho, Doug Murray
Artist: Frank Cho, Adriano Batista, Frank Martin
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Published: December 2008

Ladies Night # 5

So continuing on my comics with tentacle monsters, and this week lacking a comic dedicated to a female lead, I couldn't help but find a comic with both elements. Thus we have Jungle Girl! As all folks know, Frank Cho is the latest in a long line of pin-up artists, who has successfully fused cheesecake with action packed stories. On Jungle Girl Frank Cho provides stories with plot and cover, with Murray and Batista filling in the rest.

Issue # 2 has Jana (Jungle Girl) and crew boarding a submarine, only to be stalked by the seas most horredous monster: A GIANT TENTACLE BEASTIE!




But Jana ain't afraid of no beast!


Too bad it's bigger than she is!



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H.P. Lovecraft's Haunt of Horror # 1 of 3

Writer/Artist: Richard Corben
Publisher: Marvel
Published: August 2008

Marvel's Haunt of Horror centered on HP Lovecraft is equal, if not better, than their last limited series focusing on Edgar Allan Poe. (Of course that all depends on your preferred story teller). Corben really sinks his teeth into Lovecrafts method of madness and delivers a great read with great art.

Issue one has 3 tales: 'Dagon,' 'The Scar,' (after Lovecraft's 'The Recognition') and 'A Memory.' Dagon has a man on the brink of madness who won't let Them get him, at all costs. The Scar is a boy attempting to face a great fear, or else someone will die. Finally, A Memory, is a tale of revenge throughout the ages. Check some scans!!

Ghostbusters # 1: The Other Side

Writer: Keith Champagne
Artist: Tom Nguyen
Publisher: IDW
Published: October 2008

When the Ghost Mob has dire plans for you and the ones you love, "Who you gonna call?"

GHOSTBUSTERS!

That's right! The Ghostbusters are back! In comix form no less! This issue has our boys back in business, but instead of tackling the typical monster ghost and ghouls, they're running head first into the ghost mob! No sliming here! We're talking made men, who don't take shit, armed with real guns!

The issue has Venkman becoming possessed and his spirit forced out of his body. The remaining Ghostbusters are charged with finding his soul, lest he be lost forever. Meanwhile, the ghost mob is making plans to put the Ghostbusters out of business, ie. swimming with the fisheys. And those real guns are certainly going to help.

Check Winston hand out some blue collar justice to the possessed Venkman:

"I LOVE THIS TOWN"
Oh, also check the ad for Rick Remender and Bret Blevins Legion of the Supernatural. It was supposed to be out by now, but due to some unforeseen events it's going to be delayed. I emailed IDW about this and they were kind enough to send me some scans of the first few pages, and let me tell you it looks great. When it does hit, it's gonna be awesome.

American Splendor # 4

Writer: Harvey Pekar
Artists: Darick Robertson, Ty Templeton, Dean Haspiel, Rick Geary, Gary Dumm, Greg Budgett
Publisher: Vertigo
Published: September 2008

I'm going to cut to the chase - I'm home sick with a cold like pestilence that derives me off all will to conquer my ability to exit the bed/couch let alone tackle the task I have laid out before me on this blog.

I've been giving this task quite the thought lately. In my enthusiasm to blog about comics, I ignored the cold hard reality of the work this thing would entail. First, I have to get/read a comic everyday. Second, I have scan images from it. Thirdly format the photos and add credits, and finally I have to write about it. All of this is difficult to do everyday, but the real hard part is keeping myself motivated, and when I'm sick, this is the last thing I want to do...

So, long story short, I'm going to stick true to my goal, even if I have to 'fudge the numbers'. But, to keep myself motivated and interested, it's time to let my blog reflect the reality of me and my life, even if it means I don't blog at all...

But not today!

American Splendor by Harvey Pekar was first turned on to me by the movie of the same name. A great movie that I would highly recommend to anyone. Harvey specializes in creating and delivering stories of 'real life.' He doesn't go for the capes and speedos, or the big bang explosions that most comics opt for. Instead he talks about his day, his cat, or the impending crisis of not filing his taxes early.

Issue # 4 has Harvey up to his same old shenanigans: having a dead car battery, thinking about writing stories, filing taxes, buying a gift, and writing about writing a comic. Good 'real life' stuff.

Fantastic Four: Ilsla De La Muerte!

Writer: Tom Beland
Artist: Juan Doe
Publisher: Marvel
Published: February 2008

The FF delivers in this issue!

Ben Grimm takes a 3 day vacation every year and he never tells anyone where he goes. Of course, this annoys Johnny to no end. Once Ben is gone, Johnny persuades Sue to pester Richard to find out where he goes. Turns out Ben goes to Puerto Rico every year. The remaining FF crash his vacation, much to Things chagrin. Too bad for Ben, not only does he have to deal with the invasive FF, but the mysterious El Chupacabras have returned to Puerto Rico to claim what is theirs.

Oh, and Mole Man is involved. I have only a handful of Fantastic Four comics and at least half of them have the damn Mole Man. I can't seem to get away from the guy!

This was a great issue though, even if it has the Mole Man. The art was *ahem* fantastic, and all the characters mannerisms were dead on. Plus, this was a Ben Grim comic, so it got into that whole 'being accepted' thing, and even manages to mention the other quintessential Ben Grimm issue "This Man...This Monster." What a great issue.