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- I am very much looking forward to reading Captain Britain, because Wisdom was oh-so-good (and Cornell also wrote two of the best Doctor Who episodes ever last year). John the Skrull, yes, looks like Lennon. No, it's not very Infiltrate-y, it's just fun. And Captain Midlands is awesome.

- If Casanova cut his hair, he would look like Reggie, I suspect. "Also in this issue... Big Ethel and Ruby Berserko go boy-huntin'!"

- The only Virgin comic I ever bought was Dan Dare, and I dropped it after three "eh" issues. Really, I think the problem with Virgin Comics is the name; they're only perpetuating a stereotype. Heh heh.

You really should read Wisdom. It's a shame it undersold like it did. One of the best hidden gems from the Marvel line.

As for the book, Faiza was just so freaking great. The combination of fangirl and competent doctor was brilliant combination. I really can't wait to see more of her.

John the Skrull was a Skrull agent in the 1960s (with the rest of the Skrull Beatles). it made sense then, you see.

I think the "House of M" crossover issues from Claremont's UNCANNY X-MEN run are where Captain Britain stopped being King of Otherworld. Or something like that. It was a Claremont storyline, at any rate. The Siege Perilous thing . . . as I understand it, in addition to being the name of the X-Men's magic gateway, it's also the name of the Stonehenge-like ring where Captain Britain gained his powers. Blame Claremont for that confusion, too.

And you should really read WISDOM. It's surprisingly great.

"And the Siege Perilous shows up, and the last time I saw that, Donald Pierce was crushing it so that none of the X-Men could ever come back. Now, that was quite some time ago, but when did it show up again, and is it just explained as being “something magical”?"

Different Siege Perilous. You're thinking of the second one, while the first one appeared in Captain Britain's 1976 debut and was the circle of stones where Brian Braddock gained the mantle Captain Britain.

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/article/showquestion.asp?faq=4&fldAuto=22

Did you complain that Captain Britain #1 wasn't continuity heavy enough Greg?

Shame on you!

That said, I picked up the trade of Aztek: The Ultimate Man yesterday, and am finding it to be a great read.
I recommend it to one and all.
(The best part was I had no idea it was coming out! I walked into the shop and there it was! It's like being a kid again when I had no idea how or when or what would ship, I just went into the shop and saw what was about!)

Before I even read the content of this post, I skimmed down to see what you said about Casanova #14, and didn't see a picture of it. So I thought, "how could he not buy Casanova #14? Is he a crazy person?"

Then I actually read this whole post I laughed and laughed and laughed. Not because you couldn't get your hands on the amazing final (for now) issue of Casanova, but because that Archie cover is so hilarious. Are they on some kind of safari?!?! And is Jughead wearing a crown?!?!? That is genius.

I'm off to write a new essay that you CAN read: "Why Archie Matters."

Also, speaking of the Black Glove, I usually don't speculate on what's going to happen either. I tend not to care and just analyze what the writer gives me. But the Black Glove is in my dreams. Weird, I know. I need to get out more. Maybe I'll drive to your house and drop off a copy of Casanova #14. Too bad you don't live near the "United States." Oh, well.

To clarify further, yes, John the Skrull was a Skrull infiltrator sent in during the 1960s with others to impersonate the Beatles. But when his superior officers were hypnotized into believing they were cows, John and the other three decided it was a lot more fun to just live on Earth and pretend to be the Beatles than it was to be officers in the Glorious Skrull Army.

The Skrull Beatle Reunion is one of the most majestic and wondrous things about the 'Wisdom' mini-series.

Spitfire's a (reluctant) vampire, BTW, hence her neck-biting angst. Quite why that makes her a speedster, erghm, HEY ITS THE SKRULL BEATLES!*

*Not a jab at Cornell - I loved WISDOM - as Spitfire's not a creation of his. The GENIUS Skrull Beatles are, though. As is Captain Midlands.

Wow Greg,

I agree with you quite a bit about stuff, but I thought the first issue of Young Liars was anything but wonderful. Cardboard would be a better word in my mind. It's the only comic in the last five or six years that I just couldn't finish. I got halfway through and I was sick of it, and I like Stray Bullets fine.

Matt D --

I had precisely the same response to YOUNG LIARS #1 (except that I did manage to force myself to read the entire thing), for what it's worth. The fact that Lapham can write & draw while sleepwalking is rather impressive, I must admit.

Of all the weeks to get screwed on Cassanova....

That issue was INSANE.

I like the backstory of John Lennon the Skrull, but it seems like an odd person to impersonate. Did Cornell make the point that if someone saw him doing his spy thing and claimed it was John Lennon, people would think he's crazy? That makes sense, I guess. And I don't know if I was complaining about the continuity, FGJ, as much as appreciating that Cornell knows the history of the character. I think it was pretty accessible to a new reader, so I don't think it was too continuity-heavy.

Yes, I'm quite bitter about Casanova. It's bad enough that I didn't read it because I love it so much, but I have to avoid, as I mentioned, any discussion of it too. DAMN IT!!!!!!

Yeah, Matt (and Dan), Young Liars seems to have divided people pretty evenly. I'm still on the fence about it, but I do like the energy Lapham is bringing to it. That's going a long way toward glossing over some of the silly plot devices for me. We'll see if that continues, though.

See, Greg, I'm flipped with you on Young Liars. Really didn't like #1 very much, LOVED the second issue and liked #3 with some misgivings. Regardless, I'm transfixed by it for now as well. The key words being "for now" - as much as I respect Lapham's artistic energy, Stray Bullets lost me after a couple of trades.

The only Virgin books I've checked out are The Stranded and The Megas, and I guess I agree with you about their being pitches for Hollywood, but I don't think that really effects my enjoyment of them. What does is the generic, 2nd string 90s Image art that I've seen in most of their books. Slapping a director's name or a TV network's logo on a book isn't going to cause me to pick-up or drop it, but the presence or lack of a good story that utilizes the specific toolkit of the comic book medium will.

Lastly...ahhh, Morrison's Batman, how you vex the interwebs...This Jezebel Jet stuff better be going somewhere good, because otherwise it's a really ham-handed way to have your own Silver St Cloud character. Compare her introduction, character and relationship with Bruce to Sasha's. Anyway, am I the only one who read this issue as revealing that the Black Glove are an organization, not a person? Somebody help me if I'm way off-base. Whether they're "the Black Glove" proper or not, I like the concept of this anti-League of Batmen, and I'm really intrigued by the discussion of Bruce's mental state and curious how much of the Damien & Jezebel stuff is real. But...am I the only one who doesn't care for Morrison's take on the Joker? It's so jarringly "grim & gritty", especially in contrast to the general silver age love of this run (and I concede that that could be tGoAC's point, but I still don't like it). Anyway, like I said, vexing.

Oh yeah, not to rub it in, but Casanova is, officially with #14, my favorite comic book of the decade. (Tim C's essay is spot on, too) Just so richly layered and poignant and beautiful and kick ass. I wouldn't worry too much about not getting it in time, because you'll probably read it multiple times immediately and countless times over your lifetime. Think of it as postponed joy.

Haven't read CASANOVA #14 yet ... mainly because I haven't read #s 2-13 yet, either. I'm so ashamed. (The first issue didn't do much for me -- to be honest, I'm not sure I even finished it, much like Matt D with YOUNG LIARS #1 -- & I dropped it from my pull list, though it took my LCS about 4 more ishes to get around to actually discontinuing the order, so I amassed those as well. Then repeated ecstatic reviews here & I suppose elsewhere convinced me that I had to be wrong [not exactly unheard of -- people here were right about BLUE BEETLE & VINYL UNDERGROUND & GODLAND & a few others as well, leading me to a similar reversal in course], so I've resumed getting it. Just haven't gotten around to catching up.)

Best comic I read this week (& I bought an absurd amount -- something like 20) was Marvel's THE TWELVE. Highly recommended to everyone who isn't already reading it.

Image's SCREAMLAND continues to be awfully fun as well.

On the other end of the spectrum, I gave up reading the new LAST DEFENDERS about 2/3rds of the way through. Granted, I was sleepy (though, y'know, somehow a few minutes after that I managed to pick up my newly acquired DEMO trade & read it *all the way through*), & I'm sure I'll go back & read the last 5 or however-many pages, but ... that doesn't bode well. I think it's off the ol' pull list.

The first GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY was a blast.

As was, to a slightly lesser extent, the new GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY. Having no history whatsoever with the guy's comics, I forget ... why are we supposed to hate Winick?

Oh, yeah -- also probably off the ol' pull list is INFINITY INC. The review of #9 elsewhere on CBR sums it up as well as I could, but suffice it to say that I kept putting this issue aside & forgetting whether I'd actually finished it or not. That happened, like, 3 times. That's *bad*. Maybe this sort of muddledness has been a problem all along, & I just didn't see it because I read #s 1-8 (acquired recently in a lot off eBay for pennies on the dollar) in one sitting, but ... ugh.

Darn it. I also forgot to echo the compliments for CLANDESTINE. There. Consider them echoed.

As for Virgin, next time I have some spare money to spend I'm hoping to include the STRANDED back ishes on my next order from Lone Star or Mile High. I think the only title from them I've read was WALK-IN, which I've written elsewhere (unless it was here, in which case I apologize for repeating myself) started out very promisingly but then got a bit too loopy after midway through the run.

I am reading DOCK WALLOPER right now & liking it OK, though issues 2 & 3 (I think) haven't done much to advance things beyond the first ish.

Captain Britain ceased to be King of Otherworld when the character Roma decided Earth needed a protector yet again. He was King up until the 'House of M' crossover, when the Scarlet Witch's reality warp knocked everything out of whack and did some damage to Otherworld.

As for the Siege Perilous . . . Who knows how it came to exist again. Donald Pierce destroyed it, but come on . . . He's a wussy cyborg knock-off of Maxwell Lord and the Siege is a mystical item. My guess is that it simply got better.

About the only things I liked in the first arc of Casanova were in the first and last 2 issues, with the middle ones just leaving me completely cold. I started reading the second arc, but ended up dropping it when I didn't even like the second issue all that much. I just found it funny when Callahan said that Casanova wasn't one of those things where you were thinking "I have to slog through this thing because it's supposed to be important," because with "good" substituted for "important," that was exactly my reaction to issues #3-5 and 9 of this series before dropping it.

I figure I should get around to reading this arc eventually, as I did enjoy the Dr. Topogrosso issue (#11?) when I read it in the store and I've heard nothing but good things about the ending of this arc, but at this point I'm just not feeling the fanatical love for the series that some people are.

As was, to a slightly lesser extent, the new GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY. Having no history whatsoever with the guy’s comics, I forget … why are we supposed to hate Winick?

Because within two issues, there will be a brain-damagingly stupid ending to a comic (see Connor being shot by a cloud and "Oh no it's aliens") and because the characters seem more interested in laughing than in actually rescuing Ollie's son.

If you can get around those issues, GA/BC is a fun comic. (Titans 2 on the other hand, doesn't even have that.)
---------
Would Morrison be helped by a scripter? And can we get DeMatteis to be said scripter?

Marvel should tap Greg Rucka to write some sort of espionage-themed book. CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 would be right up his alley.

ZORRO is a fantastic read. I love the old pulpy heroes and I think they represent a purer heroism than the mangled versions of the classics we're seeing from the Big Two lately.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that your greatest criticism of ZORRO is that by showing too much backstory, they're robbing him of his mysterious essence? If you fully flesh out a character and give him a complete origin story, he's missing the mystery but if you keep him and who he is and what he's all about fully in the shadows, we'll never learn his heart or mind or motivation. Isn't the problem with these "dark mysterious" characters that they're just images instead of fully realized characters? Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Greg: "I don’t have a problem filling in his back story as the series progresses, but like Batman and especially Wolverine, Zorro works best when we don’t know who he is or how he came to be."

Wha huh?? Since when is Batman's origin story not wholly integral and completely necessary to his character? His origin was revealed in Nov. 1939, six months after his first appearance. Was the character better before we found out?

I know there's a lot of controversy around Wolverine's origin, but I think that's the best Wolvie story ever told (not a lot of competition, but still). It humanized him, gave him a lot of heart and introduced us to his world, and it did so in a beautifully realized story. For my money, that trumps all the faux-suspense created by never telling the origin in the first place.

Yeah, Batman was a bad example. What I meant was the seminal event is fine, but that should have been it. We don't need all the other stuff that's been added.

As for Wolverine, I have to strongly disagree with you. Origins became necessary, but it's not particularly good. When we didn't know much about Wolverine, he was more interesting. We didn't know the claws were part of him until Banshee found out, and he (and we) were stunned by the realization. We didn't know he was such a killer until he started killing, and it shocked us. The Claremont/Miller mini-series is far better than Origins, and that simply added in a little of his backstory. As the years went by and more writers added their own little bits and pieces to his history, Origins became necessary, but that doesn't change the fact that learning about him bit by bit was better.

That's what I mean about Zorro. You could argue that everyone already knows his schtick, but I think this series would be better, especially early on, by having a full-blown Zorro adventure, where nobody (including the reader) knows what's going on. It would heighten (in my opinion) the mystery. Maybe if this initial arc was shorter, giving us an introduction to how cool the adult Zorro is before going back and delving into his origin - something like that. As for knowing his "heart and mind and motivation" - well, he robs from the rich and gives to the poor. That's all we need to know for a little bit, and when we're fully invested in the present Zorro, then we can get the backstory.

But that's just my opinion. I still like the book, because I like the writing and art and I'm patient, but I wonder if people who picked up the first issue said, "Where the hell is Zorro?" and then dropped it. Maybe they didn't and everything I've written is moot!

I gotcha. You make a valid point, but I still prefer ORIGINS to almost all Wolverine stories... but that's just my personal opinion.

I do see what you're saying about ZORRO and you might be onto something. They might have held off on the "Year One" style origin story until later in the run. That's very true.

Matt D

That book about that Swedish fellow

Young LARS

(hah!)

Would be so much better without color. I think the color distracts from the story. Stray Bullets is a great book in B&W.

>>Because within two issues, there will be a brain-damagingly stupid ending to a comic (see Connor being shot by a cloud and “Oh no it’s aliens”)

I have no intention whatosever of defending WInick, because as mentioned I'm not sure I've read a single thing of his other than GA/BC, but I guess I look at that sort of stupidity from an editor's standpoing. (I've mentioned elsewhere that I was trained as a book editor, worked for most of my adult life as a newspaper edtior & am now employed as an online editor.) In other words, if the ending is so gratuitiuosly, deus-ex-machine absurd, where was the editor?

Hell, if Winick can slip one by some braindead desk jockey stealing money from DC by pretending to edit comics while instead playing computer games all day, why shouldn't he?

[...] hot dogs until he exploded, and I don??t know how it was allowed, but the reveal that Casanova ...http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/05/15/what-i-bought-14-may-2008/The immovable harshness apropos of Flame-red Keith O?Brien. Where towards downy create partnered [...]