Comic Book Resources

Random Thought! After saying for years that Joe Casey should be the one they tap to write Grant Morrison-created characters, finally, Final Crisis Aftermath: Dance #1 appears and proves me right. It feels good, I tells ya. Real good.

I didn’t read it. So he maintains the same level of pretentiousness, incoherence, ADD-pacing and poor story conclusions?

I kind of wish the Knight and Squire turned out to be the new Batman and Robin. No one would have expected it and it would actually work. I think.

I don’t know, DIck Grayson getting snubbed yet again would have been too bitter a pill to bear I think.

I didn’t read it either, glanced at it in the bookstore, and quickly decided it wasn’t going to be worth getting. I was thinking OC meets Teen Titans vibe.

“Random Thought! How come no one ever e-mails me to say “I disagree with your review, but still think your reviews are great”? They either agree and I’m brilliant, or they disagree and I’m an illiterate hack. I disagree with reviewers I respect all of the time. There’s a difference between disagreeing with a reviewer’s assessment of something and he/she not being a good reviewer.”

“Random Thought! Mediocre comics are the worst to review. Great comics and horrible comics both provide plenty of things to talk about, but mediocre, run of the mill, middle of the road, boring as all fuck comics? The line I always return to: they’re just sort of there.”

You see the connection?

Actually, here in Israel we get shipments on Wednesdays no matter what holiday it is in the US, and considering the stores open at least 7 hours before the stores in Canada – you’re not the fastest. Don’t know about other countries like in Asia or Australia, though.

I wasn’t kidding about Jimmy Olsen, either. I have a two year plan. It will even be more glorious than my proposed Aquaman relaunch.

I would love to read your Olsen script.

Random Thought! I’ve only been doing it for two months, but I’ve noticed through judging Marvel and DC’s covers that, it seems, the covers done for their children’s books are often some of the best covers of that month. Consistently so. Is it the freedom to be playful that leads to clever concepts?

Could be that. Could be that there are less books in need of covers, so they’re all priorities. Could also be the talent picked. When Skottie Young was drawing covers for the main MU, those were some of the best each month. Now, he’s drawing Marvel Adventures covers, and those are some of the best each month.

Random Thought! I kind of wish the Knight and Squire turned out to be the new Batman and Robin. No one would have expected it and it would actually work. I think.

I could definitely get behind a Knight and Squire series. Or, at the very least, seeing Knight and Squire in other books, on other teams. The legacy aspect makes them ideal for JSA. But, they could work just as well as members of the JLA or Teen Titans. Provided those books stopped sucking.

I expect they’ll show up at some point during Batman & Robin, which should tide me over for a while.

[quote]Random Thought! How come no one ever e-mails me to say “I disagree with your review, but still think your reviews are great”? They either agree and I’m brilliant, or they disagree and I’m an illiterate hack. I disagree with reviewers I respect all of the time. There’s a difference between disagreeing with a reviewer’s assessment of something and he/she not being a good reviewer.

[/quote]

I know that I read reviews by people who’s opinion I don’t agree with, I read the Buy Pile every time, and his opinion is almost exactly the opposite of what I like. I still go and read it because I like the concise nature of the reviews, and the hilarity when he really dislikes a title.

The Twitter narration in Dance #1 is too gimmicky for its own good (and this is from someone who uses Twitter). Too bad we’re stuck with it for another 5 issues.

Do YOU e-mail reviewers saying “I disagree with your review, but still think your reviews are great”? Ambivalent reactions rarely inspire a person to write.

While I think it’s the right time for Grayson-Batman, I would’ve liked to see a legit run for a female Robin (Spoiler doesn’t count). Squire would have been perfect.

After today’s blogs, I was thinking: Just what the bleedin’ ‘ell is going to replace the irreplaceable Lying In The Gutter?

It was always the highlight of CBR on mondays.

Capt USA – I read “The Buy Pile” the exact same way. If there is a book I haven’t been paying attention to, and Hannibal Tabu features it in his “No… Just No” section, I will at least flip through it in the store to check it out. I think it is because he seems averse to any depth of character or story at all — if it contains nuance, it ain’t for Hannibal Tabu, but it will probably work for me.

Additional random thought — who is the most polarizing comics writer around now, Grant Morrison or Brian Bendis? I actually like both (though I like Morrison a great deal more), but any mention of either at this point produces automatic whiny bitterness.

‘Peacekeepers Alpha’? The Tragically Hip?

Oy …

ever hear of a little band called ‘Rush’? Alex Lifeson? Neil Peart? Geddy Lee?

The Tragically Hip? No wonder it was rejected..,

I enjoy your reviews, even when I don’t agree. For more information on Rush, consult your local library.

(Remember ‘Hinterland Who’s Who?’ I sure do …)

It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who thinks that Hannibal Tatu guy has to have pictures of someone on CBR having sex with a donkey because that’s the only way he got this job.

He just mostly makes me angry, but there are some exceptions like when he reviewed the Uncanny X-men and mentioned “Greg Land’s gorgeous art” while everybody else on the website tore him a new one (Greg and Brian do so regularly). That was funny.

By the way, I’ve read Herogasm but I honestly can’t understand what’s being said. Can someone help me out on this one?

Ian A:

I could definitely get behind a Knight and Squire series. Or, at the very least, seeing Knight and Squire in other books, on other teams. The legacy aspect makes them ideal for JSA. But, they could work just as well as members of the JLA or Teen Titans. Provided those books stopped sucking.

JLUK! With the Knight! Squire! John Constantine! Um… the Beefeater!

The Dude: If you have read Preacher and/or understand Zatanna-speak, I think it makes for an easy joke.

I’m guilty of confusing Joes Kelly and Casey more than once. Then I remind myself that Joe Casey is good and only occasionally ultra-dense and semi-incomprehensible (The Intimates) and Joe Kelly is good, sometimes funny, sometimes mediocre, and sometimes entirely incomprehensible (Enginehead.)

I bought the first issue of I Kill Giants because I thought Joe Casey wrote it!

Enginehead had Ted McKeever art, so if you didn’t like the story it wasn’t a total loss.

Glamourpuss is a really good comic.

It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who thinks that Hannibal Tatu guy has to have pictures of someone on CBR having sex with a donkey because that’s the only way he got this job.

I seriously don’t get why he has his own column anymore. When there were fewer reviews on the site, it was maybe a necessary and welcome feature. But now? There’s a whole stable of strong reviewers, with a section on the front page specifically devoted to reviews, but his reviews remain separate? Why? Because they’re terse?

By the way, I’ve read Herogasm but I honestly can’t understand what’s being said. Can someone help me out on this one?

Read each word backwards, Zatanna-style.

I like Tabu’s reviews, fwiw. Most of the other columns on CBR are too long for me to enjoy over breaks at work, but I find I can breeze through his pretty easily. That said, it is funny to see how much he differs from reviewers on CBR and CSBG, especially the Final Crisis stuff. Like his reviews, it seems he mostly enjoys comics that can be read once and quickly. And I think he’s been pretty spot on with Justice League and Superman/Batman. I might be wrong.

Also, I chided him once for not mentioning Sam Kieth’s latest Batman/Lobo in his “No…Just no.” section. He seemed good natured about it.

His column will probably be the only feature I read on CBR until this mysterious new column that Jonah hinted at starts up.

And I totally would have blown by the Herogasm Easter egg if I hadn’t just read Preacher and the Seven Soldier’s Zatanna story. My LCS didn’t get Herogasm yet, so maybe by the time it arrives I’ll have forgotten. A poor memory has it’s benefits.

I know that apostrophe isn’t supposed to be there, but I couldn’t resist.

I actually got a “I disagree with your review, but still think it was great” once. Granted, it was from a CBR acquaintance, but it was pretty cool and unexpected.

“I like Tabu’s reviews, fwiw. Most of the other columns on CBR are too long for me to enjoy over breaks at work, but I find I can breeze through his pretty easily.”

Yeah, it’s easy to write short reviews when you have facile, idiotic opinions.

On the Taker / Michaels match: once again, more proof wrestling has innumerable lessons for comic writers who actually want to tell stories that make money (or avoid stories that don’t), but no one takes them into account.

Regarding Captain America #50:I would gladly pay an extra buck, or in my case euro, for a Marcos Martin back up every month. (Yeah, it wasn’t the best written piece ever but the guy is probably my favourite comic artist at the moment.)

And there’s plenty of reviewers whom I rate highly but don’t agree with all the time. In fact, that would be impossible.

Dan Felty: I hope you didn’t stop getting I Kill Giants b/c of that. It’s a great piece of work.

Weird, I never even would have considered contacting a reviewer to b!tch about their review, hrm.

Breaking News: My “When Words Collide” will be taking over the Monday slot on CBR!

I am, indeed, no Rich Johnston, but I hope some of the Monday regulars will stop by and see what’s going on in my brain each week.

And I am, indeed, no Hannibal Tabu either.

That makes sense since Wednesday currently has two columns…

Yeah, it’s easy to write short reviews when you have facile, idiotic opinions.

Well, yeah, if you want to be an ass about it, I guess.

I confuse Chuck Austen and Chuck Dixon regularly.

(Also Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman.)

When you see a book get 0 out of 5 stars, you tend not to take the review all that seriously.

In my defense, when I called you out on your Bang! Tango review I think it lead to a very informative, rounded discussion.

I confuse Chuck Dixon and Greg Rucka constantly. I have no explanation for this.

I wasn’t complaining about negative comments — that wasn’t my intent there. I love comments of all kind. I’ve just noticed — and this applies to other reviews I’ve seen commented on — that people tend to either respond with “I agree with you, you’re brilliant” or “I disagree with you, you’re a moron,” rarely somewhere in between.

And I must have pissed off the comics gods, because I got home to find a message on my phone from my local shop informing me that, due to a shipping error, all of the shops of this route (including my own) won’t have new books until Thursday. How great is my shop to call and tell me, though?

I liked the Twitter narration in Dance, and generally liked the whole issue. I think it was effective at showing just how superficial Superbat and the team is, more than regular captions would. They are obsessed with trends, so of course they use Twitter.

Been looking for a good new team book to follow. This one might be it.

I remember your Alpha Flight pitch, it was good. Too bad Epic went down the crapper.

@Ian A and Bill Reed: thanks a lot for the tip. The phrase now makes perfect sense.:-) I simply didn’t associate the line with a Zatanna-type character. Since it takes place in an orgy I just assumed it was someone talking with their mouth full (yeah, I’m a perv)

@joshschr: I understand what you say about the appeal of short, succint reviews but Tatu sometimes acts like an ass himself. He’s very dismissive and almost arrogant about stuff he does’t like. Everytime a Grant Morrison book comes out I just know he’s going to put it in “No…just no” section. I might be wrong but I think he doesn’t give any of his books a chance

Given Tabu’s love for the format, if DC put out a Who’s Who of Morrison’s stuff (I’m not at all a fan of the guy’s work, either, though I’m sure that’s attributable to some extent my instinctive iconoclasm kicking in because of the belly-crawling worship he receives from so many people here & elsewhere) his head would probably explode.

Ha! That’s funny Dan. I was just thinking the same thing, but with a Morrison’s Marvel Atlas or something like that. Tabu seems to love those and revel in their arcana, which bores me to tears. If you want to read 12 reviews on 1 page, you go to the Buy Pile. Don’t expect any deep insights when he has 24 hours to write a review for all of them. You can’t enjoy most Grant Morrison books if you have 24 hours to make a judgment, especially if you have other books to read and review. And besides that, he’s writing for CBR, not CSBG. I think he’s right to warn mainstream readers off books they might regret buying if they’re not going to spend a lot of time on them.

I’m taking too much time defending him. Basically, he’s a run of the mill reviewer in my book. He’s no more facile or idiotic than the next guy. But his reviews give me a reason to give other reviews and other books a second look, and I appreciate his column.

After today’s blogs, I was thinking: Just what the bleedin’ ‘ell is going to replace the irreplaceable Lying In The Gutter?

It was always the highlight of CBR on mondays.

Rich is launching his own website: http://www.bleedingcool.com/

I always confuse Chuck Austen and Chuck Beckum. Go figure.

If Lying in the Gutters is now dead, does that mean it can be a Black Lantern?

I liked the Twitter narration in Dance, and generally liked the whole issue. I think it was effective at showing just how superficial Superbat and the team is, more than regular captions would. They are obsessed with trends, so of course they use Twitter.

I just don’t understand why DC thinks a Japanese young superteam would be so shallow and trend-obsessed and clueless about real heroism, but in America, which has tons of Twitter addicts, trend-obsessed, MTV and American Idol watching, txt msging (omg fr rl?) Paris Hilton loving young idiots, the representative tean superteam are those ultimate rolemodels of teen heroism the Teen Titans.

I don’t really see much in the way of American teen culture vs. Japanese teen culture that would indicate that America would put forth such a mature and heroic and noble teen team in comparison to Japan. I find the whole notion mildly racist to be honest.

(Also Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman.)

They are, in fact, the same person. I’m pretty sure.

“krow eht tfahs… eldarc eht sllab…”

That was a Jim Norton outtake on the Zack and Miri Make a Porno DVD. Coincidence?

Was it? I haven’t seen the DVD of that yet.

OK… that’s it. I have to get the Zack and Miri DVD now. I was one of the five people who saw it in theaters, and liked it, but have been waiting for it to be available cheaply to pick it up on DVD. But the above comment has convinced me that the time to wait is over….

“If Lying in the Gutters is now dead, does that mean it can be a Black Lantern?”

As HPL said, That is not dead which can eternal lie…

I have to admit I stopped reading Tabu’s column when the phrase “Here’s a short story about that: No.” started popping up in every other column. It was a weird and capricious reason to stop, I know.