Comic Book Resources

Whatever happened to Up 'N Coming?

Everyone should buy FISHTOWN, because Kevin Colden is awesome.

And the Gerber-centric BACK ISSUE mag, because my "Omega the Unknown" article is the goddamn centerpiece! Well, it's not the centerpiece, but it's in there. Somewhere!

(And you don't think "Umbrella Academy" is so great anymore? Is that based on further reflection or a recent re-reading? Because I was a bit disappointed by the end -- although the art was stellar -- but then when I read the trade, I fell in love with the whole thing all over again.)

I had no idea that Card was an idiot. Thanks for that link.

Tim: Just further reflection on Umbrella Academy, really. I still enjoy it immensely, but as I've thought about it, it becomes more conventional than I realized the first time through. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but I don't think it's one of the best mini-series of the past two years anymore. Of course, maybe I'll reconsider at the end of the year when I do my lists!

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, stealthwise!

No problem, Agent_Torpor. It's disappointing, because I certainly don't mind reading people with whom I disagree, but when they're so far out there (and have written books I have liked a lot), it gets depressing.

No offense, but you ARE a pervert.

The Girls and Corpses magazine calender looks interesting.
Maybe I should get one for my kitchen wall.

On the "road of life", Orson Scott Card is a Volkswagen Beetle that has swerved into the lane of an oncoming convoy of transport trucks.
Guess who's gonna win that battle?...

What an idiot.

"A permanent fact of nature," what a jackass. If it weren't so Nazi-esque I'd encourage burnings of copies of Ender's Game. Sometimes I feel guilty about enjoying shows like My Name is Earl (Earl and Randy are scientologists), but Card's statements go beyond the pale.

Anyways, Up 'N Coming was a preview magazine similar to what Previews appears to be, only it was a bit more bare-bones and more direct with its information. I used to pick up free copies from my comic shop every month when I was 13.

I bought the Umbrella Academy trade pretty much based off the review posted about the series here... that review glowed so much it was radioactive; I started feeling ill and knew the only cure would be to swallow my "Ugh, the 'My Chemical Romance' guy? Seriously?" reluctance and buy the thing immediately.

At first read, I was disappointed. The story pacing limped, hopped, and flopped around like a fat frog with a bum foot. The art was soggy, the color work was extra-crispy; it looked like a Mike Mignola coloring book. The plot artifices were cliched goth embarrassments, aimed at appealing to the same Hot Topic-shopping starving-for-mass-manufactured-individuality consumers that kept the writer's band on the radio. I felt chagrined; cheated.

At second read, I realized I am very stupid. True, there are moments of awful overblown goth-i-ness (Vanya's speech to the Orchestra, anyone? Anyone?); and true, the pace is a little choppy, what with all the Foreshadowing Hammers whacking you on the head every other panel... but Way & Ba are using all of that heavy handedness with snarky self-awareness. It's the TONE of the book that I missed the first time--like I was listening to a song played in the wrong key--but it was my head that was out of tune. Um, that doesn't really make sense, but I don't feel like deleting it and typing anything else. My point is that I didn't like the book the first time because I am dumb, not because the book is.

This book has been dwelling on a low shelf in my room as a guilty pleasure. But I'm ready for the next installment and totally ready to come out of the closet about liking it... I might not even blush when I ask my comic shop guy for a pre-order.

"The Hero Initiative has something scary on page 285. Yes, it’s Stan’s Soapbox: The Collection, featuring all - yes, ALL - of Stan Lee’s columns from 1967 to 1980 with historical context so we know what the heck he’s talking about. Now, it sounds pretty cool, but can any sane person deal with that much concentrated Stan?????"

I think I'll try. Or try to try. When it comes to comics, I tend to want comics, not prose books about them, or with supplemental material from them. Even if the comics are about comics and not the human condition, as all of them should be. I should stop blatantly baiting T. like that.

Other books scheduled for the new DC Classic line include Batman: The Annuals Vol 1 (1950s), Legion: Life and Death of Ferro Lad (Shooter '67), Shazam: Monster Society of Evil ('43-5), Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis (Wein/Wrightson early '70s). Not much there compared to the Archive line they seem to be phasing out, and the Swamp Thing and Legion material are already available.

And this is nothing new for Card. I lived in Utah for 25 years, where you get used to this sort of thing.

... ... ...I still care about Wildstorm ... ... ... ::sad sigh::

I like Guiseppe Camuncoli and all, but that Ms. Marvel cover just bugs me. There doesn't seem any reason for her boobs to be that much more noticably bigger than the rest of her body. I don't mind a little "fanservice" with my comics, but at least make the proportions and context fit each other... :rolls eyes:

On the other hand, Amanda Conner provides a very stunning cover for Terra that is both attractive and fitting for the comic. I'm not terribly excited for the series itself, but if Conner is drawing, I'm buying...

I still don't see how Card has gone off the deep end. California judges really do overreach a lot.

Even if the comics are about comics and not the human condition, as all of them should be.

i don't think ALL comics should be about the human condition. I just don't think all comics should be reduced to metacommentaries on what the author thinks about the state of superhero comics either, which is the rut Morrison is falling into.

That European DD/Cap book is great. Absolutely fantastic art. It'll feel like you're reading a classic and semi-memorable Bronze/Silver Age story.

"According to Marvel, after Secret Invasion #8 (page 44), 'the Marvel Universe will, and we’re not joking, NEVER be the same again!' Jesus."

I'm sure they mean that it will never the same again because all of the readers will be haunted by the memory of the horrible conclusion to Secret Invasion, of course. (I'm making the easy prediction based on the conclusion of everything Bendis has ever written.)

"Other books scheduled for the new DC Classic line include Batman: The Annuals Vol 1 (1950s), Legion: Life and Death of Ferro Lad (Shooter ‘67), Shazam: Monster Society of Evil (’43-5), Swamp Thing: Dark Genesis (Wein/Wrightson early ’70s). Not much there compared to the Archive line they seem to be phasing out, and the Swamp Thing and Legion material are already available."

I wasn't aware that the planned Monster Society of Evil collection was going to be part of a line. That's the only one that's worth the $30+ dollars to me (including discount). The Superman arc is cool but not that cool.

I think the Kryptonite Collection is priced that high because DC is trying a work-around to the growing-rapidly-popular Amazon dodge. I doubt anyone will be fool enough to order it from their retailer at full price, though you never know. Far more likely readers will pre-order it from an online dealer that's deep-discounting it to $25 or so.

Or, if you're a patient fellow like me, you wait 3-6 months until you start to see it offered used. I read Planet Hulk in trade for $2 plus a nominal shipping charge.

Card has been an openly fascist lunatic for at least a decade or so, hasn't he?

T.: I'm not doubting that California judges overreach (not unlike the Supreme Court did in the 2000 election! ), but when Card starts talking about revolution, that's where he goes over the deep end. And Dan, he's been conservative his whole life, but I don't have a problem with that. T. is conservative, and although I don't agree with him, I don't think he's nuts. Card seems to be getting weirder. There was a time when I could disagree with him but at least he argued reasonably. That time seems to have passed.

So, we have someone calling for the overthrow of the duly elected government, in the name or religion. Why isn't he in Gitmo?

I do like how he calls them fascist for NOT forcing his beliefs on others. You'd think a professional writer would know what words mean.

That Mr T book confuses the hell out of me. The publishers - or someone, anyway - sent out a press release (on April 1st...) claiming a new T book was coming out, linked to the official website but went on about "Mr T Vs Vampires" and various other weird things. Quite a few other people got one, and they were confused by it too. A problem compounded by the fact that the senders didn't actually bother replying to follow-up emails asking if this was a stupid gag or not. I think there's a few copies of the mail on them thar internets, somewhere...

>>And Dan, he’s been conservative his whole life, but I don’t have a problem with that. T. is conservative, and although I don’t agree with him, I don’t think he’s nuts. Card seems to be getting weirder. There was a time when I could disagree with him but at least he argued reasonably. That time seems to have passed.<<

Ah, I see. I've never paid any sort of attention to Card, I guess, never having read a single word of his fiction, though not for political (heck, I've read a couple of dozen books by noted near-goosestepper Robert A. Heinlein) or religious (the fact that his cult of choice basically amounts to adopting "Chariots of the Gods" as a belief system gives me some pause, but then again my favorite writer ever, Philip K. Dick, was pretty wacked-out when it came to theology) reasons ... his stuff just doesn't seem to be my cup of tea.

>>Sometimes I feel guilty about enjoying shows like My Name is Earl (Earl and Randy are scientologists),<<

Huh ... the characters or the actors, or are they the same thing on this show? I haven't had any sort of TV reception in going on 4 years, so I know nothing about this one except its name. Scientologists *are* remarkably creepy -- the fact that L. Ron Hubbard invented all that crap out of whole cloth makes me think they're the most willfully gullible imbeciles on the planet, to the point that I'm sort of impressed that the likes of Tom Cruise, Beck, etc. even remember how to dress themselves every morning.

I've never read The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, but, somewhere, I do have the sequel Heart of Empire: The Legacy of Luther Arkwright. It's been a long time since I've read it, but I've been meaning to again for a while. I remember it being pretty out there as far as the concept went, and I also remember it being a lot more graphic (sexually) than I was expecting. Not that that's bad, of course. I mean, the very first scene (or at least very early in the first issue) has a monk getting, uh...something...from a nun. Well, that might be bad, but there was a lot of that sort of thing (like the Queen having a trio of soldiers in suspended animation in her room, that she would wake up just for a romp).

It dealt a lot with time travel, and telepathy, and I remember having to read it a couple times to really grasp it. I did enjoy it, but it's pretty involving for nine issues.

Well, I realize that's not much help. I've been wanting to read the original series for a while, too. I might be tempted to check this edition out.

Greg: I can heartily recommend "The Adventures of Luther Arkwright" As a collected work it's so much easier to pick up little bits and pieces that were missed the first few times. I've read it again and again. It's one of Bryan Talbot's best pieces of work. I don't knowthe history of it properly, but it's certainly influenced by Michael Moorcock's theme of the Eternal Champion, but there is so much more in there. I think it has ceratinly influenced others in similar veins, such as Grimjack, Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore. "Heart of Empire" was the full-colour sequel produced by Dark Horse in the mid-late nineties, and reads so much better when you've read Luther first...

"Jane" was parodied/satirised in "LOEG - The Black Dossier" as an insert... (The Absolute version of which by the way is an Absolute Waste of Money... The original Hardback is much better put together, and no disc either, or a Scripts book...)

As for Mr Card... hoo-boy! Ah well... at least I'm never going to have to sit through dinner with him or anything... Mind you the same goes for Mr Byrne... Mind you, at least he has obviously thought hard about his beliefs, which is more than you can say for the Scientologists...

I could cope with Heinlein's politics... Some of it actually made sense... (as most politics should) and you can kind of ignore some of the garbage that comes with it.. Fantasising about sleeping with his own female clone twins or becoming his own father by going back through time and sleeping with his mother? umm... right.. okay, Bob, nice seeing you... don't call...

Aliens who strap psychiatrists to volcanos and then nuke them?? That's right Mr Hubbard, keep taking the medication... yes.. with the other mediccation... good boy...

>>Aliens who strap psychiatrists to volcanos and then nuke them?? That’s right Mr Hubbard, keep taking the medication… yes.. with the other mediccation… good boy…<<

Especially given his background as a creative fount of fiction (sf & otherwise), I know of no reason to believe that Hubbard took any of that stuff seriously. The microcephalics who regard his words as Holy Writ are, of course, another matter entirely & can probably best be regarded as dangers to themselves & others.

Dan Bailey: True. Fair point. And didn't he famously say in an interview something along the lines of "You can never get rich writing. If I wanted to make money, I'd start a religion..." ?

>>Dan Bailey: True. Fair point. And didn’t he famously say in an interview something along the lines of “You can never get rich writing. If I wanted to make money, I’d start a religion…” ?<<

He did indeed say something very, very close to that.

Even the Devil deserves an advocate, and it doesn't sound like anyone else is going to do so, so I will.

What precisely did OSC say which is "over the deep end" or "calls for the overthrow of the government"? He's making an argument, which he's made before, which basically boils down to the typical religious conservative position. To me, that sounds like something with which one can easily disagree, but I don't see why ad hominem argument is necessary.

Besides, don't y'all separate the creator from the creation? Miller and Moore (for instance) would agree on very few things politically, but they both make good funnybooks.

David: Card writes: "Because when government is the enemy of marriage, then the people who are actually creating successful marriages have no choice but to change governments, by whatever means is made possible or necessary." Sounds like he's advocating the overthrow of the government ot me!

I was just wondering if Card's statements will affect sales. Again, I'm not terribly interested in buying Ender's Game in comic book form, but I wonder if his views will change people's minds.

"...with historical context so we know what the heck he’s talking about. "

Oh, like the intended audience for a collection of Stan's columns would need that.

Hi, Greg!

I love to read your post, especially form "comics you should own".

And I have one question - despite your choose to "comics you should own" and canon, what you can recommend from Batman universe? What can you recommend from not so popular comics and titles? I mean comics that are for some folks forgotten.

Thanks for reply!

Greg, I doubt that Card's opinions will have much of an effect on his sales. This isn't new crazy, just refined crazy. I worked for an editor for Tor books back in the early 90s, and read some inter-departmental faxes concerning an article he'd written containing homophobic statements. The basic conclusions the Tor folks came to was that "any press is good press". The majority of SF and comics fans have probably made up their minds about Card one way or the other, and will purchase accordingly.

Hush: Sheesh, I don't know. There's so many good Batman comics out there. I would look at what's in trade paperback, because that's usually the good stuff, but beyond that, there's so much I can't really go too far without turning this into the longest comment ever, and nobody wants that.

I've been boycotting Card for years now because of his views on gay marriage. It's a shame too. I used to be a big fan.

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