Mark Chiarello, DC’s Art Editor Supreme, once again proves himself one of the driving visionaries in comics today. Following on the heels of his SOLO series (A critical, if not commercial success, that I hope DC tries again) he masterminds what I consider another DC homerun, WEDNESDAY COMICS (Dedicated to the great Archie Goodwin). WEDNESDAY COMICS is getting me to go to the comic shop every week to pick it up, and I didn’t do that for any other weekly book. Heck I don’t do that for monthly books. Just the format, and the fact that it’s a complete self-contained reading experience (no tie-ins etc) makes it for me an attractive read. So with the series half done, I thought now was a great time for an issue by issue overview: #1 WEDNESDAY COMICS 8 JUL 09- BATMAN is a solid choice to launch this collection of strips. Nice art, nice story, keeps you on tap for next issue. B. KAMANDI-A lot of praise has been heaped on Gibbon’s and Sook’s KAMANDI and rightly so. Completely captures the feel of classic Prince Valiant strips. And does a great job with the cliffhanger. B+. The SUPERMAN strip has beautiful art, but doesn’t feel as successful as the others in being compelling in one page. B-. DEADMAN- Nice art, layout, fun story, strong cliffhanger. Though, feels a little back-story heavy, B. GREEN LANTERN- Love the art, but feel the story doesn’t really make itself work in the one page format. B-/C+. METAMORPHO- Great art, Interesting story. B-/B. TEEN TITANS- Uggh. Neither the art nor the story particularly worked. Very off-putting every time I try and read it. D. STRANGE ADVENTURES- Pope’s STRANGE ADVENTURES gets a lot of praise, and while not my favorite of this issues’ strips, it’s a fun, relatively effective 1 pager. B/B+. Palmiotti and Conner’s SUPERGIRL is cute, and fun, kid friendly stip. B. METAL MEN- Dan Didio impressed me with this effective one pager, and the art by Jose Garcia-Lopez, and Kevin Nowlan (two of the greatest artists in the business) is stunning. Fantastic work by Didio to tell a compelling story in one page. A. WONDER WOMAN- It’s a beautiful strip and like Pope and Baker, Ben Caldwell is doing everything himself. So just for the body of work he’s producing on a weekly basis, he deserves praise. That said the story/structure is largely impenetrable and definitely off-putting. To take an oversized format and still make it squinting, eye strain material, is at the best a misstep and at the worst a crime. All in all, even less reader friendly than the TEEN TITANS’ piece. D-. SGT. ROCK- It’s hard to go wrong with the Kuberts, and this strip so far is no exception. Compelling. B/B+. FLASH/IRIS WEST- Just a lot of fun, and a throwback to the romance comics of yesteryear. And the art is beautiful. B+. DEMON & THE CAT – Great art, found the story not very intriguing or memorable. C+. HAWKMAN- They have Kyle Baker bringing up the rear but for my money that was a good thing because he ended strong. For me this was my favorite strip of this issue, hands down. Just fantastic art, story, and composition, with an effective cliffhanger. It had weight, and gravity to it, no pun intended. “And we Flap”. A+. #2 WEDNESDAY COMICS 15 JUL 09- BATMAN- Solid art. Though I’m not sold on the pacing of this yet. B-. KAMANDI- Wow. It’s just gorgeously drawn and composed. And effectively told. It is beautiful. B+/A-. SUPERMAN- Superman meets Batman. What’s not to love. While the characterizations seemed… off (“Super-Prozac” is that a comment that Batman would make?). Overall good. B. DEADMAN- Good strip. Nice art, relatively compelling. B. GREEN LANTERN- Improvement over last installment. Love the art, and ends on a good cliffhanger. B. METAMORPHO- Not much storywise here but I really enjoy how Allred plays with the page layout. And the kid commentary at the bottom is nifty. B-/B. TEEN TITANS- It’s better than last issue, though it still feels like they are not making use of the 1 page format. STRANGE ADVENTURES- I think here is where Paul Pope for me begins to earn his accolades. Fun art, fun story, effective use of the format. B+. SUPERGIRL- Not exactly my cup of tea. But great art, and kid friendly fun. B. METAL MEN- Loving this series. Didio and Garcia/Nowlan are knocking this out the park and perfectly using the format. Who would think a VP could actually be a great writer? Wow I’m impressed. A/A+. WONDER WOMAN- Still reader kryptonite. D-. SGT. ROCK- Good if taking its time about actually progressing the story. B-/B. FLASH/IRIS- is solidly fun and fantastic. B+. DEMON CAT- Uhhh— beautiful art, story is not doing anything for me. C-. HAWKMAN- Is still beautifully drawn, however reads perhaps a little awkwardly compared to that fantastic opening last week. B/B+. #3 WEDNESDAY COMICS 22 JUL 09- Batman-Nice art, story progressing. Just not terribly interesting so far. C/C+. KAMANDI- Continues to be one of the consistently best strips. B+/A-. Superman- Art beautiful, but starting to feel like it’s treading water. B-/C. Deadman- Nice page layout. Not particularly compelling. B. Green Lantern- Great art. Still trying to get a hang on the story. B. Metamorpho- I still appreciate Allred’s layout, though it’s getting a little repetitive. Same with Gaiman’s lack of actual story/story progression. It is starting to actually annoy me. C-. Teen Titans- Art is not my cup of tea, but the story seems like its starting to shape up. C. STRANGE ADVENTURES- I’m really enjoying this series. Paul Pope is consistently entertaining. B+/A-. Supergirl- More of the same. Fun but not my cup of tea. B. METAL MEN- Man!!! I keep having to sing the praise of these guys. Another brilliant mating of story and art and a cliffhanger! Wow! A/A+. Wonder Woman- Reader Kryptonite still. Sgt Rock- Okay, but still waiting for the story to progress itself. C+. Flash/Iris- Continues to be a joy. B+. Demon and Cat- Wonderful art, not sure what to make of the story. C+. HAWKMAN- Well, that was an unexpected twist. Art is still good, and intriguing story, though I do miss the clean, grittiness of the opening. B. #4 WEDNESDAY COMICS 29 JUL 09- BATMAN- If you’ve seen the Big Sleep, and the thick verbal foreplay Bogie and Bacall do over a meal, you’ll appreciate what Azzarello and Risso are doing here. First one I really loved of their installment. The best Batman I’ve read in a bit, and it had no Batman in it. Excellent. A+. KAMANDI- Wow! Kamandi also ups there game with their best installment yet. Fantastic. A+. Superman- Beautiful art, but Arcudi seems to be pacing his story for the book, rather than the page. B-/B. DEADMAN- Picking up the slack from Superman manages to turn out their best installment to date. Fun. B/B+. GREEN LANTERN- I’m finally getting into this series and its right stuff feel. B+. METAMORPHO- Finally Neil Gaiman has decided to start actually writing a story and I’m intrigued. B/B+. Teen Titans- I don’t know what it is about the number #4 but even the Titans turned in a compelling installment this time. B. STRANGE ADVENTURES- Paul Pope continues to rock. A/A+. SUPERGIRL- What the heck. Even this one was great! Made me laugh! B+. METAL MEN- Brilliance. Pure Brilliance. A+. Wonder Woman— nope Sgt. Rock- Still feels like it’s treading water. C. Flash/Iris- Is still very good, but perhaps a bit confusing. B. Demon and Cat- Uhhh— beautiful art. Story is a nope. HAWKMAN- Wow. I thought this was fantastic. From the invasion to the JLA to the last line. B+/A-. #5 WEDNESDAY COMICS 5 AUG 09- Batman- Azzarello and Risso are hitting their stride. B/B+. KAMANDI- Kamandi rocks! A. Superman- Nice retelling of an oft told origin. B. DEADMAN- Wow! Pretty intense. B+. GREEN LANTERN- It’s rockingly good now. B+. Metamorpho- not a fan of what Gaiman is doing here. C-/D. Teen Titans- A little heavy-handed been there done that. But at least it’s solid storytelling now. C. Strange Adventures- A nice lull. But still fun. B. Supergirl- Fun. B. METAL MEN- Beautiful art. Solid fun. B+. Wonder Woman- unreadable Sgt Rock- Good art, but it’s like Andy Kubert has no idea how to advance the plot. FLASH IRIS- Good stuff. B+. Demon Cat- Great art, a boring story. C-/D. HAWKMAN- Here’s the best compliment I can give this HawkMan serial… I want to own every single page! Baker is amazing, particularly when you consider outside of Ben Caldwell he’s the only one doing the entire strip by himself (Paul Pope does everything except colors). But where Caldwell’s strip is not reader friendly, Baker’s has weekly been one of the serials I look forward to and enjoy the most. B+. #6 WEDNESDAY COMICS 12 AUG 09- BATMAN- Some beautiful visual storytelling. B+. KAMANDI- Beautiful as always. Fun/ great. B+. Superman- Beautiful art. Not enough there to say anything about the story. C+. Deadman- Intriguing. B/B+. Green Lantern- I’m on board. Fun stuff. B/B+. Metamorpho- uhhh— Gaiman’s work leans heavily toward filler/treading water. C-/D. Teen Titans- I’m enjoying the story now. Intriguing. B. STRANGE ADVENTURES- Lives up to its title. Pope consistently weaving an engaging and brilliant narrative. A-. SUPERGIRL- Okay since issue #4 this has been consistently really fun! And this issue continues the streak. B+. METAL MEN- I continue to toss accolades at this strip, but that’s because week in and week out it continues to earn them. Here the METAL MEN take on the mastermind of the bank robbery they’ve been foiling the past 5 weeks, only to realize that bank robbers are the least of their problems. B+/A-. Wonder Woman- unreadable Sgt Rock- Well story is finally moving. C. FLASH/GRODD- I was getting confused, timetravel does this to me, but I read all six issues back to back again, and confusion is cleared up. Remarkably inventive and fun. Wacky stuff and fun Grodd strip this time. B+. The Demon and the Cat- I hate a non-rhyming Demon. D. HAWKMAN- I’m really loving the heck out of Hawkman. After a couple odd steps, it’s feeling back on solid ground. And I’m loving Bakers art. B+.

Following up on my previous post, and after yet another disappointing Academy Award season, I’m going to give you an award that IS worth your time. THE HEROIC TIMES 1st Annual Welles Awards! Nifty title huh. I wanted to create an award show for this new generation of audio shows, podcasts and streaming radio. And while I toyed with a few people to name it after who had extraordinary voices, the great Paul Robeson, Paul Frees… I settled on naming it Welles after Orson Welles. Listening to Welles’ SHADOW episodes pretty much single-handedly got me hooked on audio dramas and Old Time Radio, and thereby New Time Audio Dramas and Podcasts. So without further ado, let’s give out…. THE WELLES AWARDS! 1st Category is Top Ten Podcasts of 2008, I won’t bore you with the hundreds of nominees I went through to compile this list (and this section is strictly for podcasts that are hosted, and or referential/review based in nature, be that movies, music, books, whatever. If you have a podcast, but it’s basically just an audio drama, it will be in the audio drama category. There’s some bleed over but that’s basically the division). So let’s get to the ones who made the Podcast list, these are in no particular order, but suffice to say if you see them below the shows were the best most entertaining podcasts I came across in 2008 (notice that “I” if you don’t see your podcast, it doesn’t mean I don’t love you, maybe I just didn’t come across you in 2008— how’s that for being a politician ). The best of the best ( And keep an eye out for next installment Top Ten Audio Dramas of 2008, and yes, you’ll find THE RED PANDA there): 1. COMICBOOK GEEK SPEAK- This US, Pennsylvania based show with nearly 600 episodes is one of the oldest, one of the longest lasting, and one of the most popular podcast shows and for good reason. For current fans of comics, lapsed fans, and curious newcomers this show is like hanging out with good acquaintances and is just a great way to stay in the loop on a hobby that needs all the inroads it can get. And again this show admirably illustrates the ability of the passionate amateur to be more in touch with the medium then the so-called professionals. In an age when the major comic companies are losing readers in droves due to bad will and poor public relations skills (particularly at a time when they should be taking advantage of the current Hollywood spotlight), this podcast has probably done more to introduce new and lapsed readers back to comics than all the corporate ’suits’ and gimmicks and stunts combined. 2. FREQUENCY OF FEAR- I’m cheating a little with this one as I became aware of this Arizona, US based variety horror/anthology/comic/music show in 2009. But I’ve listened to its 2008 episodes and they are great. It is really tailored to fans of old time radio and those old horror records, but if that’s you, you’ll love this show.- http://frequencyoffear.com 3. GEEK SYNDICATE- I became aware of these guys at the end of 2007, and have been a fan ever since. A two-man British podcast covering all things pop-culture, David and the Nuge providing one of the most enjoyable and informative shows of 2008. Their Buzz Aldrin episode being the funniest podcast of 08. http://www.geeksyndicate.co.uk/ 4. MONDO MOVIE- With 86 episodes and counting this 2 man British podcast covering all things of genre, cult, horror cinema is eagerly awaited every week or so. Shows are top notch entertaining, and informative too. – http://www.mondomovie.com/ 5. HORROR ETC- http://www.horroretc.com/index.html- The Canadians toss their hat in the ring, with this always entertaining two man podcast, covering horror films from classics to current hits. 6. COMIC BOOK OUTSIDERS- A brother podcast to GEEK SYNDICATE, this 2-man Brit show (do you see a trend here) is right up there with GS, but concentrates on under the radar, and Independent comics. Definitely Recommended- http://comicbookoutsiders.libsyn.com/ 7. B-MOVIE CAST- True to its title, this podcast covers classic B-movies, with a leaning toward horror, scifi, cult flicks. Well produced, it includes news, DVD releases, and the main course which is usually a pretty thorough interview of one or two B movies. Recommended! – http://bmoviecast.com/ 8. ISR- Indie Spinner Rack had a strong 08 with great Ted McKeever, Jeff Smith, Jeff Lemire interviews and great Indie Comic Reviews. (And peek back in 2007 for their Steve Bissette and Alan Moore Interviews. Two of the best interviews you’ll come across.) 9. THE LOST PICTURE SHOW- This Two-Man Brit Podcast (Nooooooo! Not another one! ) each episode explores a, if not lost, definitely under the radar film. But unlike other podcasts the films selected belong to no specific genre. They go from comedy to classics to cult. -http://thelostpictureshow.com/ And last but definitely not least 10. This slot is a tie between CRANKCAST and COMIC BOOK SAVANT , both shows that are very off the cuff, and can range far afield of comics but in very engaging and in very different ways. SAVANT particularly, as a one man show I find it to be… in places almost a meditation on life, and the living of it. I think all of us hope, that we can meet our… time in Gethsemane with grace. And here is one man who consistently amazes me with his ability to do that. You can find these podcasts at http://crankcast.net/ and http://www.comicbooksavant.com/cbs/index.cfm respectively. Well that’s it folks, the HEROIC TIMES WELLES AWARD Podcast winners for 2008!! Jolly Good Show (that’s my brit speak. Yeah I’ll keep working on it)! And here’s wishing all those podcasts a great 2009! And if you haven’t already received your really hokey award just keep bugging me till you get it. Next installment, best Audio dramas of 2009!

A picture of how the Academy Award losers really feel!

Honorable mentions:

WATCHING THE DIRECTORS- A wife and husband duo each show tackle a different legendary director. A great show, that unfortunately came to an end in 2008, however you can for now still sample their old shows online here… http://watchingthedirectors.com/

BATTLESHIP PRETENSION- Well produced show, with two friends giving their views on films and filmmakers. The reviews are hit and miss with me, but the shows are well produced. http://www.battleshippretension.com/homepage.php

RADIO FREETOWN- A streaming audio show, that covers classic African music of the 70s. It’s a must listen. Unfortunately went on hiatus in February, but old shows for now are still up. http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/RF

And now shameless advertising time! If you like this blog, ladies and gents do Papa Heroic Times a favor, and support this blog by going to

this link

and buying a whole bunch of stuff. Any funds you spend make it possible to keep these internet doors open as it were, and would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I just found out that Eartha Kitt, the multi-talented one, Catwoman has passed away. A touchstone of my youth, on Dec 25th 2008, four days ago as of this writing, has departed.. has left. My god, everyone I grew up with, all the icons of my youth, are passing away. Ozzie Davis, Gordon Parks, Paul Winfield, James Brown, Issac Hayes, Paul Newman… now Eartha Kitt. My Catwoman. I grew up watching her on reruns of the old Adam West Batman, as Catwoman, a role she shared with the equally brilliant Julie Newmar. My god, I had such a crush on those two women. Eartha Kitt had a career that was far larger than her guest role as Catwoman, that role was just a small piece of a grand and varied career, that included music, dancing, theater, and films… but for a little kid, that small piece of her career, playing a purring, feline felon, was the piece that mattered. Those two women, for me, were the twin suns of my youthful sky. And now one of them has set. And the world is that much dimmer. But I’d like to believe someplace else… is far brighter. Thanks Eartha, for my youth. And wherever you are… dazzle them. ******* On a related note, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) every year, does their TCM remembers segment. It’s one reason TCM is my favorite channel. They understand history, the importance of it. And the importance of people. Every year their TCM segment breaks my heart, and enriches it. Breaks it for the share number of those who have passed, enriches it, in the knowledge that they will be remembered. Years 2005 through 2008 are available on Youtube for viewing. I recommend it. **************** And turning toward life. My other Catwoman, the ravishing Julie Newmar, the sun that still lights up my horizon, is still wowing people, and has a book coming out in 2009. Go swing by her site and give her much love. http://www.julienewmarwrites.com/

OH MY GOD!!!!!!! I’ve tried to write this stupid 2008 Holiday gift guide half a dozen times, and each time it turns into WAR AND PEACE. Raaaaaaaarrrgghhhhhh! I hate being so… so….. complete! I want to tell you everything that is good to give as a gift….and quite frankly… taking a long time. So no research, no looking up, just off the cuff, I’m tossing out items I think will be great gifts: AMELIA RULES- Great for kids. Great for adults. It’s on trade number four, and I highly recommend all of them. BOONDOCKS- Both the TV show (both seasons available on DVD) and the trades rule. Pick em up. MADMAN- The newest trade from Mike and Laura Allred does not disapoint. Issue #3 alone, you can spend days! DAYS! researching each panel, and his influences, and their influences… etc. TED MCKEEVER LIBRARY BOOK 1 TRANSIT- Mckeever is one of my favorite creators. His style somewhere between Giffen and Mazzuchelli. You can see him in this volume riffing on DAREDEVIL BORN AGAIN (A classic!). And surprisingly I like the Dark Horse small hardcover format. Though I do think that given the size the price is a little steep. But that aside a great book. If you’re a classic comic fan, it is a REALLY good time to be a collector, because there are a ton of great companies, putting out long sought after collected editions. “Like what” you ask? Well DC’s JACK KIRBY FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS set (4 books in all) is a long time coming, and done in chronological order, it’s really a must have. DC has better designed books, their ABSOLUTE EDITIONS are the most impressive hardcovers currently being produced (sorry MARVEL), but THE FOURTH WORLD books are arguably the most important collected edition DC has produced (and they are just fun!). They are great comics, and they are also historically important to the medium. If you like comics I think it’s a must own. DARK HORSE is to be applauded for bringing to hardcover quite a few acclaimed properties, from BUFFY to HELLBOY. But the three I want to single out for praise are the CREEPY ARCHIVES VOL I and VOL II, THE TED MCKEEVER LIBRAY, and BERNIE WRIGHTSON’S FRANKENSTEIN. They are all MUST HAVES! It’s funny DARK HORSE is collecting Warren’s CREEPY and EERIE, but the other acclaimed Warren publcation BLAZING COMBAT is being released by FANTAGRAPHICS. I guess FANTAGRAPHICS beat them to the punch, but I’m just happy to have this one back in print. A must own! And finally last quick recommends for this installment: BLUESMAN, MAGE, REX LIBRIS (First trade is fantastic! And last issue #13 has just wrapped), JOURNEY, and SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN, BLACK JACK (an older trade by Alex Simmons, but quite good). Okay that’s it for now. I’ll have more recommendations later, and will mix it up with books, movies, music, etc.

Moving on to other books

Oh, what a frigging week.

Working… who invented that.

Hey guys the “Good Guys” post, a followup to my last rant, is still under construction… should have it in a couple installments.

But for now just some brief, non-ranty goodness:

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First, much hate to COMIC BOOK SAVANT, for recommending much great stuff that I’m going to hunt up. Among the titles he put on my radar is:

John Ostrander’s STAR WARS LEGACY — and I’m not a star wars fans, but James of CBS raved about it, plus Ostrander is a good writer

COMIC BOOK SAVANT recommended DYNAMO 5, as a great read and he was right. So going to trust his recommendation on STAR WARS LEGACY.

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… Looking to complete my FOURTH WORLD OMNIBUS Collection, as well as my EC ARCHIVES collection. And Harris publications will be releasing (Finally) CREEPY and ERRIE collections (downside being the price is outrageous!). Also Bernie Wrightson’ s FRANKENSTEIN is FINALLY being re-released!!! Woah!

For those of you who don’t know… The original Wrightson FRANKENSTEIN printing goes for a couple hundred when you can find it. So a new printing (due this summer, I believe) is definitely going to be on my buy list.

Wrightson’s MARY SHELLY’S FRANKENSTEIN is one of the greatest artists of the medium, at the height of his abilities, helping to transcend the medium.

Pick it up.

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Also much love to RETURN OF THE SUPER PIMPS. If you are not picking up this book, you really should be. It’s everything I look for in a comic: fun, endearing, positive, engaging. It’s about 70s type heroes with a SHAFT and SUPERFLY vibe, who come out of retirement to deal with a modern age of drive-bys and drugs and crime.

I’ve tried the first two issues and loved them, it’s the kind of book that you would want on the new stand, so inner city kids, and all kids, could find it and pick it up. It’s the kind of book that if there were still newstand distribution… it would be selling 100,000 copies easily.

And it’s not just a kids’ book, take it from a thirty something, it appeals to all ages. A solid B+ ! Strongly Recommended!

I think the writer Richard Hamilton is doing good work, crafting positive characters of color (and better yet a team where all the characters are of color, rather than the standard of the all White team, or White team with one token Black character), something unfortunately you see too little of. So now we just have to get the books into the hands of readers of all colors.

I really believe in this book, to see why… check the following link:

www.dialcforcomics.com

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Also some quick reviews:

SCALPED TPB- Covers the first five issues of the series, and is by Jason Aaron of THE OTHER SIDE fame. I loved Aaron’s THE OTHER SIDE, a solid B+. And I heard much praise for this new series by him, but I have to say the first trade… didn’t love it. It was okay, good…. but never went much beyond that. Not really that interested in the story up to this point. Much like DMZ, I found the read… underwhelming. And I still hate the Vertigo paper stock. The art just looks muddy and soaked up in their cheap paper. C.

SAVAGE TALES #5- From DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT is an anthology series sporting a simply gorgeous Arthur Suydam cover. I love wrap-around comics, have ever since Bill Sienkiewicz’s phenomenal wraparound cover on MOON KNIGHT #18 from the first FANTASTIC 1980 series, with him and the amazing Doug Moench.

However a cover is not enough for me to try a book, the preview blurb is… and it mentioned Don Lomax of VIETNAM JOURNAL fame, would do the writing on one of the stories. And that spurred me to give SAVAGE TALES #5 a try.

Verdict?

The interior art was simply atrocious. Very reminiscent of very bad 90s style art, And the stories were just wooden and uninteresting. Best thing about this book, only good thing really, was the cover… however I don’t buy a comic for the cover.

Grade: D-.

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And brief aside… Doug Moench, early 80s… best frigging writer in comics. People completely forget him, when talking about the comics renaissance, or the sophistication of comics.

People tend to think ONLY Alan Moore, and Frank Miller, when discussing creators who helped the medium grow up, and be seen as valid entertainment for adults. But there’s a definite progression, you don’t go from Stan Lee to Alan Moore. There’s a generational progression From Stan Lee in the 60s who created the Marvel blueprint, which was really the first line that really appealed to college kids… and hence the first step as comics as more than just kids stuff… to Roy Thomas who followed and maintained and expanded that blueprint in the 70s.

And primarily Roy Thomas did this by bringing aboard new hungry, amazing writers, from Steve Englehart (the flagship writer of the early 70s, who everyone else took their que from, his work on CAPTAIN AMERICA and AVENGERS being defining work) and Steve Gerber and Gerry Conway (the Pitch Hitter of comics, he came in when other people dropped the ball, and always did a brilliant job), to David Kraft, Keith Giffen, Jim Shooter and Chris Claremont(the flagship writer of the late 70s, early 80s).

So the late 70s, early 80s Chris Claremont was clearly THE writer of the age, making the larger than life grand superhero comics far more emotionally involving, and arguably the first superhero series to appeal to female readers. But Doug Moench, at the same time, relatively unheralded… was making involving, gritty comics, that didn’t involve people who could shoot bolts out of their eyes or read minds. His were espionage tinged tales, MASTER OF KUNG FU, MOON KNIGHT, SIX FROM SIRIUS, and some of his BATMAN work, (the stand-alone issues drawn by Pat Broderick— are frigging phenomenal!) that defined what was best in comics. And his work and Denny O’Neils and Don Lomax and Doug Murphy and Marv Wolfman’s and JM DeMatteis and Larry Hama and Steven Grant and Jim Owsley/Christopher Priest and Peter David work in the early 80s is another growth spurt in terms of quality and sophistication, that sets the stage for the writers of the mid and late 80s. The Frank Millers, and the Alan Moores and the Grant Morrisons. Who, after a slight stagnant period, then led into the Warren Ellises and Brian Bendises and David Macks and Alex Rosses (Ross is far more than an artist, is coplotter and creator on everything he’s done).

And these creators in turn lead into the Christos Gages and Brian K Vaughans and Johnathan Hickmans and Joss Whedons.

So when you say great or significant creators, just be aware of the chain of creators that came before, tilling the soil, without whom you don’t get a WATCHMEN or RONIN or DARK KNIGHT or PUNISHER. So the next time you’re at a con, don’t just search out the hot writer of the moment, but search out some of the creators that influenced him.

Here Endeth the Lesson.

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Well kinda. There is this thing made in this country called Comic Books. I know, most of you thought they didn’t exist anymore. But they do, unfortunately the mediums low visibility is a problem. It’s gotten better since Hollywood and Television has started pillaging comics for salable franchise ideas to market to an increasingly sporadic movie going audience. So while the big comicbook companies can license out their characters and generate revenue on everything from lunch boxes to ipod commercials to toys to film, the little comic book companies and one man creator owned comics, the guys who are doing the truly great and interesting and adult work in comics… Well nobody hears about them. And their book, which is better than the formulaic pap that the big boys puts out, dies… quietly. Enter UNDER THE RADAR. A PDF guide I started to help get attention for books on the horizon that might otherwise go unnoticed, and to let retailers and fans know, in plenty of time to preorder these books. (In the comics world, books don’t just show up on the shelves, they need to be pre-ordered… particularly the small publisher’s books. So UNDER THE RADAR is back, to continue that mandate. However, there is no way I can do the nifty 14-20page, graphics filled pdf I was doing before. So we’re going to do it right here, a quick short painless listing of comics you should order from your local comic store, reliable mail-order store, or this website. Deadline to order these books is 3 March 2008, and they ship in April. Without further ado… let’s get to it!! Biggest issues with comics are: -Too many, and obtrusive placement of ads. Particularly noticeable by the two biggest companies -annoying product placement in comics. Again, the big two, MARVEL and DC Comics -Price. Many comics are between $3 and $4 per 22-40 page magazine. That’s a really high price point for fans, much less the newbie just trying to get his feet wet. So my picks take that into account and try to steer you toward books that sound smart, original, and worth your time and money. I’ll break my recommendations down by publisher. Now buckle up and let’s go!!! MARVEL: MARVEL COMICS (ICON) $3.50 CRIMINAL Vol2 #3- Ed Brubaker’s best book. With co-creator Sean Phillips providing the oh-so-right visuals. Film Noir, and the Heist Flick… distilled. Out of 100 or so titles Marvel puts out, this is the only one I’m picking up. DC COMICS $2.99 HELLBLAZER #243 Written by Andy Diggle Art by Giuseppe Camuncoli Cover by Lee Bermejo Part 1 of the 2-part “The Mortification of the Flesh.” There is a room at the heart of the Vatican known as The Confessional, where any act may be committed without fear of guilt or sin. Here, the temptations of the flesh are drawn out and expunged through indulgence. But when something goes horribly wrong, a priest with a terrible secret is forced to turn to an outsider for help … an outsider named John Constantine. On sale April 16 * 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US * MATURE READERS- Andy Diggle is a great writer and this sounds like a perfect jumping on point Okay, that’s all for the big two! Now let’s get to real comics. . IMAGE COMICS $2.99 MADMAN ATOMIC COMICS #10 art & cover MICHAEL ALLRED & LAURA ALLRED “KNOWLEDGE COMES WITH DEATH’S RELEASE” To be or not to be in The Atomics? That is the question. Recent changes in the team lineup is shaking up Frank “Madman” Einstein and cosmic repercussions are at stake. Plus what happened to the guy from the cable company?! Why is he so late?! Shouldn’t he have shown up by now? APRIL 23 * 32 PAGES * FC * $2.99 $2.99 WALKING DEAD #50 story ROBERT KIRKMAN art & cover CHARLIE ADLARD & CLIFF RATHBURN variant cover ERIK LARSEN & RYAN OTTLEY All alone now. For this landmark 50th issue we present a special stand-alone tale that will both warm your heart and chill you to the bone. APRIL 23 * 32 PAGES * BW * $3.50 WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AGES- Everyone knows,that while I loved the first two years of this serious, I gave up on it when it became too sadistic for my tastes. I think this is a good issue, to pop my head in and see where it stands. DARK HORSE COMICS $49.95 CREEPY ARCHIVES HC Various (W/A) On sale June 18 b&w, 232 pages $49.95 HC, 8 3/8″ x 10 7/8″ Gather up your wooden stakes, your blood-covered hatchets, and all the skeletons in the darkest depths of your closet, and prepare for a horrifying adventure into the darkest corners of comics history. Dark Horse Comics further corners the market on high quality horror storytelling with one of the most anticipated releases of the decade, a hardcover archive collection of legendary Creepy Magazine. This groundbreaking material turned the world of graphic storytelling on its head in the early 1960s, as phenomenal young artists like Bernie Wrightson and Neal Adams reached new artistic heights with their fascinating explorations of classic and modern horror stories. * Brilliant, classic Creepy stories from 1964-1966 raised from the dead after twenty-five years. * Featuring work by such comics luminaries as Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, Alex Toth, and Frank Frazetta. * Archive editions of Creepy will be the cornerstone of any comic-book library. * Volume One reprints the first five terrifying issues of the magazine’s original run, reprinted in the original magazine size!- I’m a huge fan of Creepy and Eerie Magazines, and I think a collection is long overdue. But $50 for five issues!! I understand the original issues are scarce, but that’s no reason to jack up the price on a reprint! For $25 this is a no brainer, at $50 it’s too rich for my blood. $2.99 USAGI YOJIMBO #111 Stan Sakai (W/A) On sale Apr 23 b&w, 24 pages $2.99 Ongoing Rabbit ronin Usagi and the bounty hunter Gen rescue a young girl without realizing it, only to find themselves the target of her captors, in this first part of a new story! Traveling through the countryside together, Usagi and Gen cross paths with another intriguing wanderer: a female gambler nicknamed “The Whip,” who journeys across the land with a unique and mysterious mission. When The Whip meets a young girl at a gambling den who was sold into slavery by her destitute father, she determines to set the girl free. Unable to buy the girl from her owner, The Whip kidnaps her. The next morning, Usagi and Gen awake to a surprise – the girl has been left in their care, and they’re surrounded by irate gamblers thirsty for blood! AARDVARK VANAHEIM $3.00 GLAMOURPUSS #1 COMICS ED by Dave Sim Master graphic novelist Dave Sim – the creator of Cerebus – returns! Glamourpuss is three comic books in one: a parody of fashion magazines, a history of photorealism in comics (starting with Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby in 1946), and the strangest super-heroine comic book of all time! Featuring the first appearance of Glamourpuss, her evil twin sister Skanko, and the heroine’s long-time therapist Dr. Norm. Available with two covers – a “Comics Edition” with a classic EC-style cover, and a “Fashion Edition” that parodies fashion magazines. COMICS EDITION – 24pgs, B&W SRP: $3.00 FASHION EDITION – 24pgs, B&W SRP: $3.00- Along with CRIMINAL, probably the book I’m most jazzed about. $30.00 DAVE SIM COLLECTED LETTERS VOL 1 by Dave Sim “After you’ve finished writing the longest sustained narrative in human history, it’s time to answer the mail.” Beginning on January 23, 2004, Dave Sim did just that, getting caught up on a three-year backlog of reader mail and then answering the letters that came in after Cerebus #300. Volume One covers January through May 2004, and Volume Two covers the months of June and July. VOLUME 1 (FEB052434) – SC, 580pgs, B&W SRP: $30.00 VOLUME 2 (MAR073054) – SC, 6×9, 580pgs, B&W SRP: $22.00- I still have to make time to read all of Cerebus, but as I do would probably be nice to have this book at my side. ABSTRACT STUDIOS $3.50 TERRY MOORES ECHO #2 by Terry Moore When Julie Martin becomes exposed to the fallout of a new, hi-tech weapon she seeks help, but instead finds she’s become the target of a military contractor who wants her dead. The people she once depended upon either cannot or will not help, so Julie runs. Now her only allies are a park ranger she’s never met and a woman who is dead. Don’t miss this second chapter of the exciting new series from SiP creator Terry Moore! 7×10, 24pgs, B&W SRP: $3.50- I find it very daunting to get into Strangers in Paradise, so I’m getting in on this series by Terry Moore instead. I’m running out of time, so sppeed round… pics of recommended picks with Diamond Distributors order code beside it INDEPENDENTS: APR073291 $2.99 GEORGE R R MARTINS WILD CARDS #1 (OF 6) HARD CALL by Martin, Abraham & Battle In 1946, an alien virus was unleashed that changed the world forever, and people who were affected made their draw. Most drew the Black Queen and died horribly. Almost everyone who survived drew the Joker, and became deformed, broken, hated and feared. But a handful drew the Ace, and gained super powers that allowed them to achieve almost anything the mind can conceive – both in dreams and in nightmares. Sixty years later, an ace named Croyd Crenson, better known as “The Sleeper,” is framed for the murder of a young nurse in Jokertown. And as it turns out, the killer is another ace, with the ability to walk through walls! Meanwhile a group of teenagers in Colorado accidentally activate the dormant Wild Card Virus, causing the entire town of Whiteoak to experience the effects of the virus. Most draw the Black Queen, but emergency crews will find themselves faced with two people who have drawn the ace! Set in the world of the long-running series of popular Wild Card novels edited by George R. R. Martin, Wild Cards: The Hard Call is written by Daniel Abraham with art by Eric Battle. Featuring beloved characters from the original stories, this six-issue limited series also introduces us to an entirely new generation of aces and jokers sure to change the Wild Card universe forever! 32pgs, FC (1 of 6) SRP: $2.99 $5.99 NEGATIVE BURN #20 by Various The Eagle, Eisner, and Harvey Award nominated anthology returns this month with yet another issue packed with today’s top creators and tomorrow’s brightest talents. MATURE THEMES 64pgs, B&W SRP: $5.99 $16.95 ABRAXAS AND THE EARTHMAN TP by Rick Veitch Rick Veitch’s unforgettable 8-part Epic Magazine series is finally one mind-bending full-color graphic novel! Abducted from Earth by space whalers, cetologist John Isaac endures physical and spiritual mutation by order of the ship’s cruel master, Rotwang. Pressed into the mad captain’s hunt for Abraxas, Isaac finds his own destiny in the belly of this monstrous red-horned whale. (JUL063278) MATURE THEMES SC, 88pgs, FC SRP: $16.95 $16.95 SHINY BEASTS GN by Veitch, Bissette, & Moore Another spell-binding showcase of Rick Veitch’s innovative Epic Magazine stories that seared the minds of a generation of Marvelites. These nine fully-painted fantasy shorts create unimagined worlds that entertain, enlighten, shock, and horrify. Completely remastered from the original art, this deluxe companion volume to Abraxas and The Earthman also includes: “Love Doesn’t Last Forever” (written by Alan Moore) and “Monkey See” (with S.R. Bissette). (FEB073614) MATURE THEMES SC, 10×8, 84pgs, FC SRP: $16.95 $3.95 TALES FROM THE CRYPT #6 by Various More modern-day madness in the EC tradition! Thomas Donalley, the hapless soul from Tales From The Crypt #1, who made the mistake of acquiring the wrong fully-poseable, micro-articulated action figure, returns in an all-new terror-tale. Slowly recovering from his many wounds, Donalley works a menial job at an old folks home, where he hatches his latest insane scheme – stealing a vast fortune from a sick, elderly resident. Will Donalley’s luck finally change? The answer’s in “Graveyard Shift in the Twilight Gardens.” But that’s not all! In “Jumping the Shark,” a reality TV producer, fond of dreaming up horrible ways to torture the show’s contestants, doesn’t stop pitching shows, even after he dies! And of course, it wouldn’t be Tales From The Crypt without the Crypt-Keeper, the Old Witch, and the Vault-Keeper acting as macabre masters of ceremony! (C: 0-1-2) 48pgs, FC SRP: $3.95 $17.99 SOLLITARIA GN by Various It’s the month for graphic novels at Praxis Comics – a great occasion to re-live all the fantastic stories brought to you by Sollitaria! If you missed any issues of the series so far, this is the first collection of the stories and characters that inhabit this fantastical city. Containing 7 full stories, featuring favorites like Lost Station, Panopticon, As Time Goes By, and more. Sollitaria the Graphic Novel is truly an amazing work of twisted imagination! The scenarios created by the writers and artists will amaze, entertain and intrigue readers with its underlying messages and macabre twists throughout. A must-read for fans of all things dark, fantastic and incredible! MATURE THEMES SC, FC SRP: $17.99

All books can be ordered from your local comicbook shop, or from this site. Order inquiries can be sent to heroictimes at care2 dot com. All orders need to be in by 3 Mar 08.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #11- I’ve heard differing things about this series, none of what I heard spurring me to jump aboard. However I heard this particular issue was a stand alone, and was good. The reviewers did not lie. A contained story, in every sense of the word about two heroes, trapped alive. Well written by Brad Meltzer and wonderfully drawn by Gene Ha. B/B+.
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #12- Meltzer’s last issue, if this is what the other ten issues have been like, I can see why people are complaining.

First I hate the art.

Really, really not a fan of Ed Benes. Very “Mike Turner light”, and I’m not a fan of Mike Turner’s very early Image comics type art. Plus I hate the redesign of Black Lightning. And the issue is all killing time, filled with subplots I’m not interested in, such as Red Tornado.

Once again Dwayne McDuffie is given a crippled book to take over. Well first and foremost I hope he gets a different artist, At least that will give him a fighting chance on the book.

NEW LINE CINEMA’S TALES OF HORROR #1- While a nice pool of talent on this two story anthology, ultimately just not interested in comic rehashes of lame movie properties. Forgettable. C-/D.

BAD PLANET #2- over a year to finally get a 2nd issue. The good is that the art and panel layouts throughout most of the book , particularly the beginning, is very inventive and painterly. However toward the end it unfortunately loses the painterly (totleben) look and becomes simpler, not as accomplished as the early work.

Add to that, that the overall story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and ends jarringly, and you have an issue that underwhelms. But I’m willing to give it a couple issues to see if it picks up. Grade=C.

BLACK MANE by Michael V LaRiccia- I became aware of this book through an interview the writer gave on Indie Spinner Rack. That and the great discount the writer was offering for his book, piqued my interest. So I promptly ordered, and I have to say I’m glad I did.

It’s the really rare book that in the first three pages can have me alternately horrified and laughing out loud. BLACK MANE did that. The author describes it as a treatise on rage, and sexual, racial, and cultural dynamics in a society proverbially on the edge. and while that may sound high-faluting, dry, and boring… it’s not.

BLACK MANE tells a tale laced with the fury, and futility of life. And like Life, there’s at times a strange, awkward humor, in the exaggerated moments of our extremes. The artwork and panel arrangements and borders, work wonderfully to convey the extremes of paranoia and rage, that LaRiccia works in.

It’s a wonderful, wonderful book, and to LaRiccia’s credit it will seem oddly evocative to you, it will make you think of the extremes of America… that you have run into. The book is 80+ pages and at $10 is worth the money. If you purchase it from the author’s website he’s running a not to be missed discount. Recommended. Grade=B+.

ZEROKILLER #1- I picked this up, just on a hunch that it would be something different and interesting, a standout in the often formulaic medium of comics. I’m glad to say Arvid Nelson’s ZEROKILLER is that and more.

The first thing that hits you is the colors. Dave Stewart creating only one of two books that floored me with it’s beautiful color pallete. The other book being the phenomenal GATEKEEPER from Virgin Comics.

The first page alone is an impressive introduction to the world of ZEROKILLER. It looked like sunlight.

That page (and successive ones )fairly glowing, with a life and vibrancy that immediately pulled me in. 2nd the clear effective art by Matt Camp, is nicely done. But really owes much to the coloring of Mr. Stewart. keep this art team together.

Now pretty pictures will only take you so far, luckily this issue has a plot and script and characters that in a scant # of pages made me a believer. While this book being post apocalyptic, can’t avoid comparisons with DMZ meets WATERWORLD, I found with this first issue a world more enjoyable and intriguing and compelling than its inspirations.

First I love the protagonist of Zero. He manages to exude cool, while being quiet, and contemplative without being brooding, or a fool, or comedy relief.

Fantasy/scifi/horror when not in the hands of Octavia Butler, or Steve Barnes or John Carpenter is typically not kind to characters of color. So it’s great to see a series about a post apocalyptic future/present with lots of characters of color. BLACK DAHLIA being as interesting an antagonist, as Zero is a protagonist. One of the best reads of the month, and is now on my pull list. keep em coming. Grade=B+.

DUST #1-is another title that also caught my attention, mostly due to the look of the art. plotwise it’s a post apocalyptic world set in our past rather than our present, wherein alien technology has by 1946 put the axis on the verge of conquering the world, utilizing such nifty things as zombies, mechanized apes, and space weapons. All in a really beautifully illustrated book by Paolo Parente and David Fabbri.

Sounds great right? uh… the art…. yes. the art is glorious. the story… isn’t.

Scripted by someone called mink, this reads more like a game briefing or an ad for a game rather than a complete story. Everything is so cookie cutter and bereft of heart, so by the time I get to the double page ad in the back of the issue for the DUST board game, I’m not remotely surprised, nor remotely interested in reading more. d.

CASANOVA #8- I was hoping with this being a new story-arc, I would like it better than the previous arc. in a word… no. just find it so much spinning its wheels. Grade=D.

CRECY ONE-SHOT- “We’re not a very pleasant people, the English. the French speak in music, but English only soars when we start being bloody ‘orrible to people.”

That line tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this Warren Ellis one shot. CRECY tells of a battle between the English and the French at a place called, you guessed it, Crecy. But it’s also as effective a history dissection as you’ll find; told from the viewpoint of a British longbow man.

This book will probably not have much of a French fan base. Also I’m not crazy about the black and white artwork, or avatar artwork in general, but it’s effective enough. and the selling point of this is the words.

Ellis has been doing pretty much the same character his whole comics career. The cold, satiric bastard that does what he has to do.

From HELLBLAZER to AUTHORITY to PLANETARY to TRANSMETROPOLITAN at the heart of all Ellis’ work is always this cynical bastard (with the exception of FELL, Detective Fell seems to be his most… hopefull character) , and CRECY is no exception.

So it says a lot for Ellis that despite the interchangeability of his protagonists, he is still able to weave a gripping, page-turnng yarn. It’s obvious he’s done his homework, and some of the info can give even a modern, media numbed, audience… pause. All in all this is a keeper, and the last panel especially… haunting. Strongly recommended. Grade=B+/A-.

SPAWN #170-Spawn written by David Hine, and drawn by Brian Haberlin continues to be a great horror book. Probably the best horror comic since Ellis’ run on HELLBLAZER, though you still get the idea they don’t know what to do with the character of Spawn/Al Simmons. B.

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• MASTER OF KUNG FU REVIEWS: THE MOENCH/GULACY YEARS
• ******************
• Favorite CDs and Musicians
• Grant Morrison: A Life in HyperTime
• The Films of Tsui Hark
• Must read Novels!
• 100 Favorite GRAPHIC NOVELS!
• ESSENTIAL Art/Photography Books
• Reviews: CRECY, JLA, BLACK MANE, ZERO KILLER, BAD PLANET
• LOBSTER GIRL Review! Must Read!
• 2007 Philadelphia Black Age of Comics Convention/Nifty Reviews!
• EC Comics CRIME SUSPENSTORIES Reviews
• SUPERMAN VS MUHAMMAD ALI, KING SIZE BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT and JERIMIAH JOHNSON Review
• Rick Veith’s MAXIMORTAL! Must Read!
• Christopher Priest’s THE CREW! Best Ever!
• Today’s Postings ie THE NEW STUFF

Silly rabbit, comics aren’t just for kids !

I could never really figure out the appeal of a comic con, even being a comic reader. I mean I’m not into getting things signed, I’m not really a people watcher or someone interested in standing in line to say I met someone, and you can generally buy books anyplace, so the real need of a con was lost on me, until I started up this blog and got serious about writing again.

The New York Comic Con… Two months ago, my first con ever… showed me the beauty of a con.

I’m not a big people person, but there’s something great about being around like-minded men and women. I heard other people on various podcasts say that, but it’s true; it’s a great thing to be in a venue, to be among people who you don’t have to educate or justify or explain that comics can be for adults as well as kids.

Great to be around people, writers, artists, fans, that GET it’s a valid medium, like any other medium… as juvenile, as adult, as horrific, as funny, as romantic, as historic, as insignificant, as important as any other medium. So it’s beautiful to be in that environment with creator and fan, networking, sharing a common language and discovering new voices and new visions.

And as great as the NEW YORK COMIC CON was for all that, the EAST COAST BLACK AGE OF COMICS CONVENTION, sans the three days, and sans the Star Wars stuff, and the Video Game stuff, was just as great (and without the horrendous waiting in line, that was part of the NY con).

Hosted at the stunning Temple University in Philadelphia, I had a blast. The show stayed crowded and packed the whole day, with creators an attendees all sharing that common language and common love of a medium. The sixth year for the event the place was jammed, it is DEFINITELY going to need a bigger space next year, and they really need to consider making it two days for the con. Saturday and Sunday. And moving the award ceremony from Friday (when most people are working and can’t get there) to Saturday night.

That and the space issue aside (the aisles were too small, the space was too small, it often became bumper to bumper traffic. **Note to con, bigger space, much more room between tables**) the con was a hit. Many creators I’m happy to say sold out of books, and I think for everyone it was a great experience.

Everyone was in a good mood, fun approachable, nice, self effacing. That’s generally the thing about comic book people, creators and readers, specifically Indie Creators and Readers, they tend to be people I want to be in room with. Comes back to that common language.

A lot of California and New York Creators were represented, but also Baltimore, Detroit and everywhere in between.

And it was a great con for fans to meet creators, as well as for creators to network with each other.

The con offered me the chance as fan and blogger and always mild manned freelancer , to speak to well known greats such as:

Kyle Baker (NAT TURNER, THE BAKERS, KING DAVID fame) and Dwayne McDuffie (MILESTONE, STATIC, JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED fame),

As well as brilliantly talented under the radar creators such as:

Masheka Wood (DEEP DOODLE), Ayo (80 GUN), the lovely Mikhaela Reid (ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT MIKHAELA), Robert Garrett (GALTOW), Akinseye Brown and his beautiful wife whose name races away from me (SANNKOFAMAAN:PET THE BEAST), KENJJI and his beautiful Fiancee (sorry, me and names, if it’s not written down it goes in one ear and out the other) creators of WITCHDOCTOR, Tdreerah who introduced me to the work of Turtel Onli.

As well as other Amazing creators who cover all points and mediums in between, including art, toys, children’s books, games, and of course comics:

Keith Knight. His K CHRONICLES series continues to justly win awards and acclaim. I own DANCES WITH SHEEP and FEAR OF A BLACK MARKER and recommend them. Keith’s work manages to be funny, irreverent, smart, and somehow universal. As he with deft crosshatching, makes the moments of his life into a rich, funny, and often courageous mirror… of all our lives. This is a great age we live in when you have artists like Aaron McGruder, Masheka Wood, and Keith Knight all producing brilliant comic strips. And all available in collected versions direct from the creators, or from better bookstores everywhere.

Larry Fuller (aka A Christian White): Award winning, acclaimed and influential underground comic writer/artist, from the swinging early days of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It was my definite pleasure and honor to stumble upon him, He’s a walking trove of information about the history of this medium.

And more than that he remains a vital proponent and active participant in the medium, and embraces the new technology of Wacom tablets, and various 3D programs. Check out some samples on his site: http://webs.lanset.com/lfuller

A site which I highly recommend. But make sure you’re a mature viewer, it does contain some sex and nudity, but it’s an invaluable look at the heyday of underground comix. Look at EBON 1, a very early effort, but there’s some strong storytelling chops there that holdup. And his adult comics, not typically my cup of tea, from the samples on his site are funny, and brilliant, and amazing.

And he has an art style, that particularly in his later adult work you see a nice, Toth like sensibility. Unfortunately the work is out of print, but it’s work I’m on a mission to collect. Like similar underground artists Crumb and Robt. Williams, Fantagraphics should collect Fuller’s work in one over-sized tome. His work is an important and influential part of the medium, that helped birth the current Indie scene.

As a struggling creator I’m definitely learning from his site, an definitely look forward to seeing more work from him. MARVEL/DC if you’re out there listening, you should be knocking on his door to write for you.

Also I was able to record, with Mr. Fuller’s permission, much of our conversation. It’s a very informative, and interesting audio interview. I’m in the process of cleaning up the audio now, but will be posting soon!

Eugene Randolph Young Has a great kids book and puzzle, which you can find at www.leslurn.com. A great resource for parents and teachers seeking positive, entertaining, and educational materials for all children, but specifically for children of color. But what floored me about ERY was the AMAZING!!! sketch books of art he brought out! Phenomenal artwork, and a wonderful vision that you can see samples of at www.eurayo.com and www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?artid=7930.

Think Wayne Barlow meets Alex Schomburg (not his comic work, but his painted work, and book covers) meets Luis Royo meets Giger, but all filled, fueled with an aesthetic, a meaning, a story, a richness that is uniquely his.

If you need a GREAT comic or book cover, you would do well to snatch this guy up. highly recommended.

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So lots of detailed reviews and audio interviews to bring you, but for right now, some quick recommendations:

Masheka Wood’s DEEP DOODLE is a book collecting his extremely well illustrated, and extremely insane cartoons! I loved it. I was trying to think who to compare it to, and I really couldn’t. While the art has a little Jim Woodring in it, it definitely has its own voice, and the humor and sensibility is uniquely Masheka. Strong recommendation!

I also wanted to give attention to Masheka’s fiance the talented Mikhaela B. Reid who I mercilessly teased, and she has now put out a hit on me. The hit aside, pick up her book ATTACK OF THE 50FT MIKHAELA. Buy enough copies and she may drop the hit on me. Thanks!

For me, the find of the con is a tie between two books. The first is:

WITCHDOCTOR PROTECTOR OF THE PEOPLE is a 3 part 2002 Xeric Award Winning series that I somehow missed when it initially came out, but thankfully Kenjji the writer/artist was at the con with the whole series for sale.

About a Haitian Doctor coming to terms with ghosts of his past that still haunt him into his present, it is absolutely phenomenal story and art. This is the kind of fresh energy the medium needs, and the mainstream is lacking.

And I really look forward to more from Kenjji and GRIOT Publishing. He has an anthology in the works to address Japanese/Black relations and the stereotypes that are perpetuated in their media. Negative images of people of color, that are primarily there because those demeaning images have been, and continue to be… the number one export of corporate America. Images of Division, Derision, and hate. So I think Kenjji’s project is an incredibly important one, and will definitely do all I can to support it.

That said, I really want to see more WITCHDOCTOR from this creator. So people, publishers, everyone… please support this guy.

It’s a crime for an amazing talent like this to be unknown. It’s analogous to a world where Jack Kirby had never been given work at Marvel or DC, the loss would have been everyones.

Kenjji’s website is appropriately enough entitled www.kenjji.com and if Marvel and DC don’t run over there and hire this guy, they’re even more out of touch than I thought.

That said Kenjji, don’t take too many jobs, cause I have work for you. See it’s this comic with a lady in black, and… okay we’ll talk. But seriously, a Highly recommended book by a highly recommended writer/artist.

The other best of the con comic book, just may be the most important comic currently being published… by anyone!

The significance of this comic is pretty akin to someone in 1939 America (a period when much of America’s wealthy were in favor of Hitler), doing a comic addressing Nazi atrocities and concentration camps.

This comic I’m discussing deals with an issue as current as that would have been, and as horrific.

It deals with the continuing genocide in Nigeria of an entire people, to steal their oil. The hiring of paramilitary neo-nazi and south african death squads by oil companies, to enforce their theft of natural resources, enslavement of workers, and destruction of the environment.

The book is called AKINSEYE’S SANNKOFAMAAN: PET THE BEAST by Akinseye Brown, and it uses the familiar tropes of the costumed hero to address real world issues, and does it brilliantly, being didactic (which is a great thing, following in the footsteps of the Pan-African movement which did the same thing for film, using films such as HOUR OF THE FURNACES, BATTLE OF ALGIERS, GOD AND THE DEVIL IN THE LAND OF THE SUN, and even relatively recent films such as HYENAS and DARESALAM… to bring the continuing horrors of colonialism out of the shadows), while still managing to be entertaining and rousing and uplifting. Our fictions perhaps being the ultimate place to change our facts.

Akinseye writes and stunningly illustrates this series, and it boggles my mind that I had never heard of this comic or this writer. I’m going to do my best to change that.

I went to his site for more info, but couldn’t get in because his site must use Flash or Javascript, and as all long time readers know… I don’t surf with either one of those turned on.

I HATE Flash, Active X, and Javascript.

Sites need to offer a plain HTML entrance for those of us who don’t dig the bling bling and potential security issues of flash, active x, and javascript. My biggest pet peeve, sites that aren’t easily navigable.

But that caveat aside, the book is Highly, Highly Recommended!

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Stumbling across the work of Mr. Brown and Kenjji and Eugene Randolph Young and so many others, is one reason that this is a convention I will be attending every single year.

Talent like this should be sought out, and books like this should be supported.

Come back next installment for yet more reviews and interviews from the great ECBACC con!

**********

• MASTER OF KUNG FU REVIEWS: THE MOENCH/GULACY YEARS
• ******************
• Favorite CDs and Musicians
• Grant Morrison: A Life in HyperTime
• The Films of Tsui Hark
• Must read Novels!
• 100 Favorite GRAPHIC NOVELS!
• ESSENTIAL Art/Photography Books
• Reviews: CRECY, JLA, BLACK MANE, ZERO KILLER, BAD PLANET
• LOBSTER GIRL Review! Must Read!
• 2007 Philadelphia Black Age of Comics Convention/Nifty Reviews!
• EC Comics CRIME SUSPENSTORIES Reviews
• SUPERMAN VS MUHAMMAD ALI, KING SIZE BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT and JERIMIAH JOHNSON Review
• Rick Veith’s MAXIMORTAL! Must Read!
• Christopher Priest’s THE CREW! Best Ever!
• Today’s Postings ie THE NEW STUFF

CRIME SUSPENSTORIES

Lots of reviews to get to from the NY Comiccon, but let’s start out with one non-con review.

Just received my order, the complete EC Crimesuspenstories from Gemstone publishing, and I have to say… worth the wait. This series was much talked up… all over the web, as being a high point of EC specifically, and comics in general. Couple issues in and it is living up to the hype. A lot of the stories, given the 50+ years of adaptations and reworkings, are going to be familiar to noir fans. Take the first story… MURDER MAY BOOMERANG which has been adapted a couple of times, most notably on the TALES FROM THE CRYPT tv show.

But that said, even knowing the payoff the story still manages to impress and have its own voice; because the writing, surprisingly, is very, very good. I thought the actual story had a sense of cyclical damnation that wasn’t in any of the adaptations I’ve come across.

The stories are sharply written, and get you to endings, both telegraphed and not, with enough style and craft, to make the journey itself a joy.

Onto the reviews of the series thus far:

CRIME SUSPENSTORIES #1 (1950)- Four stories in this first issue. The first, written and drawn by cover artist Johnny Craig, MURDER MAY BOOMERANG is a strong introduction to the series and made a believer out of me. As well as giving me an immediate appreciation for the art of Johnny Craig. In eight pages you get a solid payoff. B+.

DEATH’S DOUBLE-CROSS- Wally Wood art, that I’m not as keen on, and you know where the story is going from panel one, but there’s a vibrant gall in how Albert Feldstein (writer and editor) chooses to end it, that works for me, and gives this old horse of a story… enough legs to cross the finish line. B/B-.

DEATH’S SNAPSHOT-The cover story, is evocatively rendered by Graham Ingels, you see in his line work… artists to come, such as Wrightson and Totleben. The story itself (by Feldstein who scripted all the stories in this issue except MURDER MAY BOOMERANG and HIGH TIDE) is one well known to fans of the genre, but the story manages to generate a real level of intensity despite the familiarity of the subject. Very impressive. B.

HIGH TIDE-Is an amazingly written/narrated piece of craft (I love that first paragraph), that really impresses me, like all of these stories not for its conclusion, as much as its overall structure. Like film noir, the ending is foregone, it is the style in getting to that ending, that makes the film (or in this case comic).

Nicely done, and Harvey Kurtzman who is a triple threat here as writer, penciler and inker, is indisputably effective. B/B+.

Add in a couple text pieces (the good DOUBLE INDEMNITY, and the not so good REWARD)… and you’re getting your money’s worth.

All in all, a book that 5 decades later, reads better than most of the stuff on the stands today, and that is no small feat. And just think, but for the tenacity of two men, Bill Gaines and Russ Cochran all this work would have been lost to future generations. Strongly Recommended. Thanks to the GCD [www.comics.org]for providing detailed info on who wrote, drew, inked, etc.

CRIME SUSPENSTORIES #2 (1950)-A great Johnny Craig cover (I love this cover!), highlights another quartet of criminal comeuppance. DEAD-RINGER-The cover story, opens with a splash page which is among the best I’ve ever seen. I opened the book and was like… “Wow!”. You don’t expect this kind of craft from a 50 year old book, sold for 10cents to kids. Johnny Craig writes and illustrates this eight page marvel, and it’s a page turning treat. B+.

A MOMENT OF MADNESS- Wonderfully illustrated by Gruesome Graham Ingels and scripted by series stalwart and editor Al Feldstein, about a brilliant surgeon who blacks out, and discovers carnage when he awakes. Great stuff in 6 pages. B/B+.

PERFECT MURDER-is a very enjoyable text piece by Feldtein. B+. And I have to say I love Russ Cochran’s letter page…CRIME TIME. Next up is THE CORPSE IN THE CREMATORIUM, another nail-biter dramatically drafted by Johnny Craig about… uh.. the title says it all. Good stuff. B. CONTRACT FOR DEATH-so I’m reading this story, and I know it like the back of my hand because I’ve listened to the audio drama from which it is based, and it’s good if by the numbers, but starts twisting into original territory, until it reaches a very satisfying, and suitably ironic ending. A ghoulish guffaw inducing ending. B/B+. Another great issue of CRIME SUSPENSTORIES.

More Crime Suspenstories reviews in future installments. Now onto what you’ve been waiting for….

NY COMICCON 2007 COMIC BOOK REVIEWS

CITY OF WALLS by Stand Alone Productions- Is my fav discovery of the 2007 NY Comiccon.

I saw these two morose looking gentlemen manning their table at the con (with few exceptions a lot of people at the con, were like that. I don’t know if Sunday was just a rough day or what, or it could be that creative people by definition are not the most social lot, but guys [talking to everyone who goes to the con to sell books] you’re there to sell your books, scowling at potential customers… not the best way to do that), but I’m the sociable hard to deter type, and the cover of the book, CITY OF WALLS grabbed me.

So I dragged a description of the story out of the creative team, and when they saw I was actually buying the book, they got down right affable. : ) They signed and even bagged the book for me.

The gentlemen were writer Shaun Noel and writer/artist Abede Lovelace, and the book… finally read, I have to say… impressed the heck out of me. The story about a self-contained city, is largely setup, and slightly mysterious, but it intrigues me, I like what is there and I’m really interested in learning more.

However, the standout feature of the issue is the visuals. The layout and pencils by Abede Lovelace are innovative, exciting, and experimental… and very, very good. This praise extends to the inking, by Mark Morales, and lettering by Latoya Burns and book design by Antonio Lopez.

The lettering is wonderful, clear and legible and presents ever-changing/fluctuating font styles, and I love the shadows on the word balloons, really helps to keep the look interesting. And finally the whole book, from cover to cover, looks wonderful. The inside cover pages, etc. It is a very pleasing to the eye and well designed book. Keep this team together and I will definitely be looking forward to future issues. STAND ALONE PRODUCTIONS looks to be a creative group to watch.

Now my recommendations to the creative team: Independent companies are a hard sell these days, so my recommendations would be for them:

1/ finish the story arc, even if you have to do it online. Put out the other issues.

2/Do a trade, and put it out through Diamond Comics and the usual channels. If you can’t aford color, may want to consider getting it grayscaled.

3/ Market the book to the book publishers, I think similar to ABADAZAD and TRICKED, collected this book, if it ends as strong as it begins, could do really well in bookstores.

4/ start work on the second story arc.

No, no, please no applause or payment for my unsolicited words of wisdom. But seriously, really glad I stumbled across this book, and hope the creative team keeps at it. I think they have stories worth the telling. B/B+. www.lonemanstanding.com

SAND STORM #1-2 by Newave Comics- I’m something of a fan of ancient Egypt, this subset of Nubia, their battles with the Hyksos, their grandeur and their greatness, this rich mythology but rarely touched on. So it was a given… that I would pick up this book.

Written by Keith Lovely, with story and art by Rashida Lewis, it has something to do with a power struggle, and a young woman’s struggle for survival and ascension. It’s a nice production job, full color, cardstock covers, a nice package, However I found the story in the first issue a little hard to follow, as was the art in places. In some places the computer coloring was too dark, or not enough separation/contrast, so sometimes dark brown characters, were lost against dark brown walls.

So a few problems with the first issue, that said I’m very happy to see more books about characters of color, and more creators of color.

Rashida Lewis shows a lot of promise in this initial issue by stepping up and doing, what others just pay lip-service to. So for that, Rashida is to be commended, and I look forward to her art improving by leaps and bounds, and with a stronger, less chaotic script; the story of Anumari should begin to take shape.

That said I’ve just read the 2nd issue written by Eugene Argent, and that is so much better than the 1st issue. “Sir, for my talents- I need only the word… and the word is given.” That rocked, and a lot of lines in this book rock.

However the flow of the story at times is still chaotic. Example, we leave the fight with the princess in mid thought, go to another subplot, and return to her finishing the thought. It’s a distracting, and poor choice for a cut. Also the coloring is still an issue. [though in newave's defense (hold on is the company called New Wave or New Ave, if the former you guys need one more W, cause you're killing my spell checker ) the scans on their site look much better and brighter than the printed version. Which leads me to believe everything is printing darker than they intend it]

Recommendations: Farm out the inking and coloring. A solid inker and colorist , could make a dramatic improvement in the art/storytelling. Ala Laura Depuy.

But recommendations aside, overall a very strong improvement over the first issue. Looking forward to future issues. C-/C. www.newavecomics.com

REVOLUTIONARY WARFARE by Alpha Godz Entertainment #1-2- Was one of the first books I picked up at the con.

An anthology book by Christian “Xian Trujillo” Montalvo and Antonio Montvalvo, anthologies are typically a hard sell, because of their hit and miss nature. I like the pieces accredited to Xian Trujillo, and the social conscience of the work, and probably the best thing in issue #1 is a short 3 page story called LOCKED OUT, but the stories do have a tendency to blend into one another. Still, definitely promising work. And these guys have an awesome logo.

INTERNAL FURY #1 by Vexed Comics- Written by Charles Dixon, Drawn by Jason Ross, and Editing/Production Art by De Ettra Wells.

Really great greyscale art highlights this tale of a jailbreak. Jason Ross the illustrator is a talent to watch. I thought the story moved well, however the main character’s monologues/soliloquies to himself just rang as false and forced. When the character wasn’t ranting, the book worked better. Hopefully future issues get better and better. But definitely worth checking out, the visuals by Ross are worth the price of admission.C+.

BRIELLE AND THE HORROR #1 by Loaded Barrel Studios [www.loadedbarrelstudios.com]- This easily has the best production value of any of the books I picked up at the con. Visually it’s incredibly impressive.

A photo-manipulated comic, with the “star” of the book at the con, taking pictures and doing a signing. These guys at LOADED BARREL are marketing the book hard, and they are doing a great job. They have an army of people pushing the book, it is a virtual class on marketing, and making an event happen. Really a high energy group, they and the CRAZEE COMICS guys know how to sell themselves and their books.

Now onto the book itself. It’s frigging impressive. You could put it on the shelves beside most of the output from the big two, and this book, just production wise, will take em. Absolutely gorgeous book, and possibly the future of comics.

That said it’s not without issues. The most glaring being the book visually gets darker and darker, and more muddled looking, until by the end I honestly could not tell you what the heck that is on the last page. Not good. Rule one of story telling, especially visual storytelling… make it clear. Don’t let substance get obscured in style.

Also minor typos, spelling, etc. But those minor issues aside, I really enjoyed the first issue, up until the last couple of muddled pages. Brighten the art up a bit, and these guys have a homerun on their hands.

Well written, strong and realistic dialogue and visuals, great use of lettering sans word balloons… yeah, I’ve seen photo-comics before, but never done so well. Looking forward to future issues. B/B+.

Wanted to give very, very quick shoutouts to the last few discoveries of the con, they are:

UVC #1- I was handed this magazine by the Editor Rich Watson, when we were both bending the ear of Reginald Hudlin.

UVC is a new magazine, published by Ron King it should be on everyone’s radar. Full color, glossy pages, high production values. It covers the world of Black comics, animation, and creators. Think WIZARD if it was good. Loved the first issue, looking forward to more. You can pick up issues at www.UVCMag.com.

BKF RAW #0- Is a sketchbook by Infinite Line comics, showcasing the artwork of David Quiles, Daniel Richards, Carlos Montanez. It’s a sketchbook to promote a new series called Bare Knucle Fighting, and mixes a sexy woman with said sexy woman punching people and getting punched. Not my sort of content. Now I try not to be a prude, and I like sexy, beautiful women as much as the next guy.

But I don’t like the idea of anyone hitting a woman, much less a guy punching a woman. That’s just me, I’m a dinosaur, I don’t think the idea of women getting hit in the face is a sport. I don’t watch women’s boxing, just not my thing. And I think the idea of making a bloodied woman look sexy, is perhaps a little disturbing, that maybe our society does enough mixing of sex and violence as it is.

That said there’s good art in this book. But it’s not a subject I’m too interested in seeing more of.

And to go out on a positive note:

SANFORD GREENE DEADLINES SKETCHBOOK- Sanford is a big dude, nice guy, and an amazing artist. There’s definitely an anime vibe in his work, and I’m not a fan of anime, but he also brings a level of detail and weight that goes beyond the anime label.

His sketchbook showcases an artist who can do scenes of near Geoff Darrow complexity. I’d love to see him move further from the anime style, but other than that… he’s definitely an artist to keep an eye out for. www.Sanfordgreene.com.

Finally the NY Comiccon Reviews are all in! Thank all of you for your patience. And swing by the links I provided and support these creators.

**********

• MASTER OF KUNG FU REVIEWS: THE MOENCH/GULACY YEARS
• ******************
• Favorite CDs and Musicians
• Grant Morrison: A Life in HyperTime
• The Films of Tsui Hark
• Must read Novels!
• 100 Favorite GRAPHIC NOVELS!
• ESSENTIAL Art/Photography Books
• Reviews: CRECY, JLA, BLACK MANE, ZERO KILLER, BAD PLANET
• LOBSTER GIRL Review! Must Read!
• 2007 Philadelphia Black Age of Comics Convention/Nifty Reviews!
• EC Comics CRIME SUSPENSTORIES Reviews
• SUPERMAN VS MUHAMMAD ALI, KING SIZE BIG GUY AND RUSTY THE BOY ROBOT and JERIMIAH JOHNSON Review
• Rick Veith’s MAXIMORTAL! Must Read!
• Christopher Priest’s THE CREW! Best Ever!
• Today’s Postings ie THE NEW STUFF

I had a great time at the NY comiccon. I thought with the exception of the rat like maze, laughingly referred to as a line, that it was a well conducted event.

Being my first con, I was definitely a little overwhelmed. The sales floor really was too much for me. Navigating it on Saturday (and I tried), was a herculean task, and I couldn’t find anything.

So I mossied (I couldn’t find it in the dictionary, but you know mosying , that thing cowboys do when they can’t find a horse. It’s kinda like walking ) my way down to the panels.

The panels I had researched and knew what I wanted to hit. With one exception I hit pretty much every panel I was interested in, and on Sunday got to touch base with creators and personalities I’m a fan of.

Here’s a pic from the great Marvel Bullpen panel. Lot’s of fun, packed house. Sorry for the blurry pic, but I think you can pretty easily make it out. From left to right it’s Stan (The Man) Lee, Jolting Joe Sinnot, and Gracious Gene Colan!.

Stan was a riot! Panel also included Ralph Macchio and a lady they only referred to as Flo. Fun panel, full of reminisces of Marvel’s glory days. My 2nd favorite panel!

But in this installment wanted to talk about the panel that surprisingly was my favorite of the con. Michael Davis’ The Black Panel NYC.

Now, now… don’t give me that look, it was actually really good. .

The unfortunate truth is you can’t say Black in this country without some idiot saying, “why it gotta be a Black thing” and the answer is always the same. For the same reason there is an Asian thing, or a Jewish thing, or an Italian thing, and let’s be honest America is a defacto white thing.

And for the absence of a strong sense of identity amidst that defacto standard, prisons are filled, and drugs go into veins. So it is very, very important to have a china town, or a little Italy, to have a language, and a country, and a history, and a culture, and idioms to call your own.

And a lot of that infrastructure is in need of building.

Not just for the good of the minority mind you, but for the good of the majority. It benefits the majority, for the pieces that make up the whole, to be able to bring their own identity, and strength to the table.

So trust me, a Black Panel, A China Town, a Little Italy…. these are good things.

Now quick thoughts on the panel:

Above is a nifty pic of the panel. From left to right you have:
Denys Cowan (You can just make out the tip of his hat, and his shoulder, but have a better pic below), Chuck Creekmur, Cheryl Lynn, Prodigal Sunn, Michael Davis, Reginald Hudlin, and Mark and Mike Davis of Blokhedz. I’ll get into who everyone is, and what they work on)

“I would love to work with (Christopher) Priest. Along with Denys (Cowan) he’s one of the creators I’ve reached out to.”
…Reginald Hudlin, Writer, Filmaker, Comics Pro, President of BET, and Renaissance Man, an excerpt from the absolutely was not to be missed Black Panel that took place at this years NY Comiccon. A panel decisively and brilliantly moderated by Michael Davis.

Because many times even when the panel is great, the questions are idiotic and insipid. As in the Stephen King panel, “well I haven’t read the book Mr. King, but a friend of mine told me….”

So it was great to not see that happen, and that Michael Davis steered the panel with a deft and strong hand. The panel was great, the questions were great, the vibe was stunning. You had a great Asian-Latin-Black lovefest and mutual admiration society going on, which is great and fitting, because Black really does encompass all those people, the mass media’s attempt to fractionalize that truth, aside.

Above is a pic of Prodical Sun, Michael Davis, Reginald Hudlin.

And I want to get further off topic here, Mr. Davis took flak from someone regarding using the term Black for his panel. Isn’t that amazing? You can have a Jewish Anti-Defamation League, or an Asian that, or a Korean this, or an Italian that, but noooooo… you can’t have a Black so and so.

But Luckily he told the guy go jump in the lake. Because honestly I frigging despise the term African American.

“OHHHHH!!” And the crowd gasps!

“No he didn’t just say that!”

“That Negro has lost his mind!”

Well actually I did say it, and I have as firm a grasp on my sanity as I ever had, which of course isn’t saying much.

But for you in the cheap seats, let me say it again so you catch every word: I frigging despise the term, African American.

Why?

Because it’s a very marginalizing, mass media term; that doesn’t encompass the rich vein of people and culture that word is tacked over, but segments them based on national/geo-political boundaries.

An idiotic way to define a people, painting them with a nationalistic brand or brush. And an inaccurate way.

60% (a low #) of what we consider Latin nations, Brazil/Cuba/Venezuela are heavily of African ancestry. So as a person whose blood line runs from Senegal to the islands to the Americas… Black works really well for me, hey I’ll even answer to Pan-African, Nubian, on an especially jovial day perhaps even colored(smile when you say that boy!) but you can take your African American and choke on it.

Because AA is a marginalizing divisive term taken out of the context it was first used in.

“Man that Negro is crazy!” “Pan-African please. ”

So getting back on topic, the fact that it was called the Black Panel, worked for me. And I think it worked for the people who were there.

Because unlike my tirades it was all about the creative process, and new projects, new visions, upcoming work, and generally just moving forward.

With Animation projects, comic projects, book projects, publishing ventures it was a really informative panel, bursting with networking goodness.

I should have recorded the panel, and hope someone did, because it was that good.

Here’s a better pic showing Denys Cowan and Chuck Creekmur.

Panelists were:

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Denys Cowan-Writer, Artist, Martial Artist. Very long, very brilliant comic career. Highlights for me being his work on the Question, Black Panther, Batman Blind Justice and his Milestone work, such as Hardware. Now VP of BETs new Animation Studio.

I’ve been a loud detractor of BET, since their sale to Viacom, my issue being how you can honestly call it Black Entertainment when it’s owned by a white company, you may be able to call it blackface, or propagation and fulfillment of black stereotypes but not necessarily Black entertainment.

But with names like Hudlin and Cowan at the helm I’m inclined to actually give the channel another look, and hope it becomes more than a station that panders to stereotypes.

Though I would love to see these men working on their own company rather than a subset of a larger company. Because end of the day as Michael Jackson, and Magic Johnson, and Prince have found working their projects under Sony, end of the day you are generating income for interests outside your community, making Sony’s name at the expense of your own, and end of the day when you stop generating income you will be discarded. As will your work.

That’s always the fear when talented creators of color invest their time, in properties they do not own. But again with Hudlin and Cowan in the game I’m inclined to be positive.

Check out Newsarama’s interview with him here:

http://www.newsarama.com/general/Cowan/DenysInt.html

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Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur- President of WWW.ALLHIPHOP.COM. I admit to being out of the hiphop loop, but the site looks like a fun, easily navigated, and thankfully Flash free site. I’d love to see him partner with creators such as Aaron Mcgruder and Keith Knight, to bring their respective funny endearing, and satire filled cartoons, BOONDOCKS and THE K CHRONICLES, to a hiphop audience.

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Ms. Cheryl Lynn- Unfortunately the only beautiful panelist (no offense guys) was not captured in any closeups. I consider myself pretty schooled on Comic/Cartoon history, but I was mistaken. As Ms. Lynn eloquently informed the audience about a wonderful female cartoonist who worked in the golden age of the medium, of whom I was totally ignorant… Jackie Ormes. She has a great site, and I urge you to do what I did, go to her site and get informed. And also it’s a great resource for cartoonists of color to join, or for finding great cartoonists to work with. http://theormessociety.com/.

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Prodigal Sunn of Wu Tang Clan- Wu Tang Clan is among the most effective musicians to use the comic medium as an expression and extension of the story their music told. And Prodigal with a solo CD about to launch, television work, animation, and film projects on the burner remains one of the busiest and most steadfast supporters of the medium of comics.

I’d love to see Prodigal’s website become Flash Free. [Black people, can't we stop using Flash. ]

But seriously, what I would like to see is Prodigal’s Wu Tang Clan comics syndicated/reprinted on ALL HIPHOP. Also what would be great is if ALL HIPHOP offered a store where you could purchase the books, of WU TANG CLAN, BOONDOCKS, K-CHRONICLES direct from their site. A win-win situation for everyone.

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Okay all the time I have for this installment. Next installment we’ll cover the last 4 members of NY Comiccon’s THE BLACK PANEL! ([ feel like that should be in big lights, and the name echoing ]

All in all a fun, fun panel.

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