Showing posts with label M - June. Show all posts
Showing posts with label M - June. Show all posts

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Heavy Metal Presents Moebius

Writer/Artist: Moebius
Publisher: Heavy Metal
Published: June 1979 (based on the intro by Federico Fellini)

Moebius, the alter ego of Jean Girand, is a force unto himself. Moebius's work is a psychedelic blend of space, time, and power. His illustrations force the viewer into a new realm of experience.

This issue is a showcase of some of Moebius work...I won't go into detail as I think the art speaks for itself.




Friday, July 3, 2009

Detective Comics #854 - Batwoman

Batwoman nearly jumping out of comic!Writer: Greg Rucka
Artist: J.H. Williams III
Colors: Dave Stewart
Publisher: DC
Published: June 2009

Batwoman interogates! Now this is what I call a comic! Great intrigue, conflicted characters, and most spectacularly, out of this world art design and layout! Williams knows his shit! I don't think I've seen a comic look this slick.

Batwoman's costume is awesome. I didn't realize it until this comic, but the color red on a Bat-costume is outstanding. Batwoman looks both stylish and deadly, which really, is what we want in our comic heroes.

Now the unavoidable: Batwoman is gay. This fact has heated up the comic world (at least some comic corners). Honestly I don't know why. When I bought DC 854 I bought it based on the previews of the artwork. I had no idea who the new Batwoman was or that she would be gay. I admit I was a tad surprised when I found out during my read. I even remarked to my girlfriend after reading DC that Batwoman was now a lesbian. My girlfriend tsked and remarked "oh great." As in "oh great" just wait till they break out the girl-on-girl scenarios.

Now don't get her wrong, she has a valid point. Comics, unfortunately carry the stigma of appealing to more stereotypical desires of males. This is because most comics (but not all) comics are written by males and read by males.

This presents a unique situation where women characters are written from the point of view of a man. How can a male accurately/honestly create and portray a woman character? I'm sure I don't know...but I'm sure glad that in Detective Comics 854, Rucka and Williams avoid the cliches and pandering that can easily be exploited from portraying a woman who looks good, wears tight leather/spandex, beats the tar out of people, and is also a lesbian. Good on them for keeping things in perspective.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Batman and Robin # 1

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist: Frank Quitely
Colorist: Alex Sinclair
Publisher: DC
Published: June 2009

From the imaginations of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely comes an unlikely duo: Batman and Robin!

Well, I guess it is far from unlikely, but nevertheless, Morrison and Quitely are teamed up once again, but this time instead of tackling a 'strongman in tights' they're diving into the Batcave. (ooh that sounds bad.)

The players are the same, Batman and Robin, but this time things are vastly different. Batman/Bruce Wayne is gone/dead. Now you may ask: "gee Comix 365 guy, who ever could be Batman and Robin then?" Being a gentlemen, this would be my answer: "a Batfan never tells."

Anyway enough of that. There are 5 reasons to get this issue:

1. The art is beautiful, and the sound effect captions are particularly nice.
2. The new Batman opens a world of new possibilities.
3. Robin is bad ass.
4. They have a Hover Batmobile.
5. The villain is creepy. Real creepy.

So go get it!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Zatanna # 1 of 4

Writer: Grant Morrison
Artist/Inker: Ryan Sook/Mick Gray
Publisher: DC
Published: June 2005

Ladies Night # 3

Zatanna is, as some folks say, a second stringer when it comes to heroes. This is something that she is painfully aware of. In this issue, she is in a superhero low self-esteem meeting discussing her frustrations and past. She is a spellaholic who can't use her magic anymore because she can't speak backwards anymore.


Turns out she did some bad magic during a group seance to battle evil and she ended up summoning a monster, which killed her fellow magicians. To top it off, her old man died in a similar fashion, dying in a seance years before. (see Swamp Thing # 50)

So, she's a loser. But as everyone knows, with losers, they never really turn out to be just that. She's got 3 other issues to prove it!

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness # 2 of 5

Jim Lee Uncanny X-Men issue zombie-d upWriter: John Layman
Artist/Colorist: Fabiano Neves/June Chung
Cover: Arthur Suydam
Publisher: Marvel/Dynamite Entertainment
Published: June 2007

90 seconds starting now!

Ash is in the Marvel Universe where zombies have taken over. He meets Spider-Man and the Punisher. The Punisher punishes people. Ash then saves Dazzler, and is impressed by her. They decide to go to visit Dr. Strange to get the Necronomicon to stop the zombies. the zombies are winning, and Ash is running out of one liners...or is he?

Oh and Howard the duck makes a very special guest appearance. A pretty good comic considering it's just capitalizing on the zombie madness. Time!






More Comix 365 articles:  

The Raven via Richard corben
Mantra
Wolverine, Captain America and Black Widow heroic pose
Uncanny X-Men #268

Monday, March 2, 2009

Lady Death # 4

Writer: Brian Pulido
Aritist: Steven Hughes
Publisher: Chaos! Comics
Published: June 1995

Ladies Night! # 2

90 seconds starting....NOW!

Lady death is fighting Lucifer to regain her true self. She beats him up and kicks him in the nuts. Ouch. The artwork is pretty chaotic, with no defined panels, which makes for a cool and crazy read. So really there isn't too much beyond that. Lady Death kicking ass in a black bikini, and in this issue you are greeted with two tones of her: red or white. The devil is all red and bad. Did I mention he gets kneed in the nuts? TIME!





SHAZAM!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Forlorn Funnies # 1

Writer/Artist: Paul Hornschemeier
Publisher: Absense of Ink Comic Press
Published: June 2002

The store attendant that sold me this issue is a sarcastic douche bag - and if that big haired prick is reading this - I stand behind my statement you 1950's greaser asshole cast off wannabe.

Shit that was a bit harsh I guess...but the guy is still an asshole. I suppose I've had worse experiences dealing with comic shop employees. Back in Fredericton NB the manager of the comic shop I attended seemed to be always giving me a hard time. I thought it was personal. For instance, whenever I entered the store the manager always eyeballed me, acting as if I was going to rob the joint, always following me around. Never mind I was there at least 3 to 4 times every week. I once asked the manager to hold a comic for me that was coming in the next shipment. He said to me he wouldn't do it because 'they don't hold comics for customers who only buy one comic.' Fine, I thought, and let it go. Another time, I asked one of the employees if I could open the $1 comics to peruse them and he said ok, but then in comes the manager, and he instantly blurts out I have done wrong and that I shouldn't be opening the comics.

There were a few other instances that pissed me off, but there not worth going into, but there is one instance that is worth sharing. I hadn't been to the store for about a year, (I wasn't living in Fredericton anymore), and during a visit I went back to pick up a few comics. I had chosen a selection, and I went to the front desk and asked the manager that I had bought comics from for years if I could open them in front of him so I could decide which ones I wanted. He said he wouldn't allow it because he didn't want to put them back. I said I'd put them back. Then he just said no he wouldn't allow me. I said "you know you're going to lose a sale because of this" and he said "I am aware of that." I then bitched that I had been buying comics from him for years, grumbled to myself, bought half the selection, and left.

I was pretty irritated, but as I look back, I can't blame the guy. This is because he's nearly blind. Now don't think I'm forgiving him out of pity, 'cause I'm not. It's because I woke up and realized that he has a uniquely shitty situation. He works in a comic store full of sorts of tiny things and he can't see. He probably has developed different defense mechanisms to help him run the store, and his interaction with me probably wasn't personal. He probably didn't know I was a regular customer because he couldn't see me clearly. Plus, Fredericton has more than its fair share of jerks and he probably has been ripped off by assholes, so he treats everyone with suspicion when it comes to his comics. When I asked him to let me open some comics, his first worry was probably that I would steal them. I know that would be my worry if I were in his shoes. Anyway I was in the wrong and I've accepted that, but as for the big haired dick weed that works at the current shop I go to, he has no excuse for being a prick. Fuck him.

Forlorn Funnies is an experimental comic that has several different stories blended together. The first story has a 'bad bad man' attempting to kill the wrong man and failing, whereupon he then heads home to read "Thesaurus The Literate Dinosaur." The bad man then heads to town to score some lovin' and during his walk the art/story transitions to a lonely young woman watching Mr. Dangerous on TV, which then transitions into Mr. Dangerous world as his show is axed, which then transitions again into a fast food diner where he is offered a job to dress up as a woman, which transitions again into the life of a character who has a complicated crush on his neighbor.

I really liked the transitions between tales. Check out the transition between the bad man tale to the lonely woman's story.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Solo # 10: Damion Scott

Writers: Damion Scott, Rob Markman, Randee Carcano
Artist: Damion Scott
Colorist: Damion Scott, Brian Stelfreeze
Publisher: DC
Published: June 2006

Another masterpiece of DC's Solo series drawn/written by the comic graffiti dynamo Damion Scott. During his introduction, Damion states that graffiti art is a major influence on his work. He wasn't kidding. His style of art for the four tales he presents don't belong in a comic - they belong in a major city, downtown, scrawled across the backs of restaurants, apartments, and pasted to the brick enclosed alleyways. It was this comic that started me on my obsession to collect the entire Solo series.

The first tale is of Flash and his race against Death. The second chapter is Scotts visual depiction of the different elements of what Superman means to him. The third tale concerns a brutal training of Robin by Batgirl, and finally, the last tale has Batman in a unique dance with Batgirl.

I could go on and on as to why this Solo issue is a masterpiece, but I'll just let some scanned images of Scott's work speak for itself. Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? # 1

Writer: Barry Liebmann
Artist: S.M. Taggart
Colorist: Rick Taylor
Publisher: DC Comics
Published: June 1996

As a kid I watched this show obsessively, and because of that elusive Carmen Sandiego, I was able to pass my geography tests in school. So, when I was in the comic shop the other day, I noticed this issue and flashing back to my childhood I was compelled to pick it up. That and it was only 25 cents.

The comic sticks true to the Carmen Sandiego formula. Carmen steals some of Earths major landmarks, and the Acme Agency recruits Evan Sawyer, a Carmen Sandiego computer game champ, to hunt her down. After traversing the globe, capturing some of Carmen's crazy henchmen, Evan is able to locate the stolen landmarks, but alas, that damn Carmen Sandiego is gone.

Besides being an educational read of global proportions, the writers do explain Carmen Sandiego's origin. Turns out out she was originally an Acme Agent, but grew bored with solving crimes, so instead turned to a life of crime. So right from the get go, it's been personal war between Acme and Carmen Sandiego. Speaking of personal war, the Chief of Acme on the television program was played by Lynne Thigpen, who was the radio announcer in The Warriors. Neat.
That's right - he has a rat as toupee.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Adventures of Max Mallard # 1

Writers: Stephen Brander, Dano Leblanc
Artists: Mick Harrison, Gene Fowler
Publisher: 2Tongues Comics
Published: June 2008

While away for the Thanksgiving weekend in New Brunswick, I visited Fredericton's Strange Adventures comic shop. Next to the cash register was a free comic titled The Adventures of Max Mallard - The Boy With Ducks For Hands. No, I didn't just make that up, and yes, it is a comic about a boy whose hands are talking ducks.

The first issue opens with Max's duck hands being fired upon by local NB hunters. As the duck hands fly Max to safety, the story flashes back to moments in Max's life. Unlike most first issue comic flash backs, this one doesn't have an origin as to why Max has ducks for hands. Conveniently enough however, the authors have posted a web address where you can explore Max's duck hand origin. Moving along, Max understandably has a hard life living with duck hands. He meets a man in a chicken costume that tells him the Magic Fiddlehead will cure him of his affliction. Finally, to cut a long story short, Max gets a job, meets some french speaking hockey players, and learns to converse with his duck hands. As for the Magic Fiddlehead, it's really just a plot catalyst to get Max to interact with his duck hands.

This was a bizarre comic. First off, Max's hands are talking ducks. It's hard not to giggle when you see a drawing of kid with his arms stuck up two ducks butts. Second off, the story was purposely written to get kids to tune into bilingualism. (To find out Max's duck hand origin, you have to visit 2tongues.ca, where you learn about NB bilingualism.) It's at about this point that the story starts to make sense. Only in a comic can you have a kid with hands made of talking mallards go on adventures with the intended purpose of promoting bilingualism. Because if you can't speak more than one language, you may as well be a kid with you hands stuck up a ducks butt.