Cyclops. This guy is one of my all-time favorite mutants, as well as favorite comic book characters. I get a lot of slack for making that statement, but I stand by it. People always say, “Why do you like that lame boy scout? He’s sooooo boring,” to which I reply, “Would you rather have the stoic boring guy as your leader, or the guy with anger issues who also can’t remember who he is?” That usually gives me some space in the conversation. Cyclops is easily one of the better team leaders in Marvel Comics by a long shot. Especially now, with all that is going on in the Marvel U. The “King of Mutants”, Cyclops, carries a weight on his shoulder that not too many other characters have. Whether its training young mutants to have control and responsibility with their powers, or ensuring the perseverance of Mutant-kind with the establishing and upkeep of mutant island, Utopia, Cyclops does it to the best of his ability. And if my word wasn’t good enough, even Magneto, the master of magnetism, pledged his allegiance to Cyclops.
For the few of you don’t know who Cyclops is, here’s a brief rundown of his awesome. Cyclops, born Scott “Slim” Summers, has the ability to emit concussive beams of red light from his eyes which are strong enough to blow off the top of a mountain. One would gather that he has the same level of mastery of spacial geometry as Captain America (Steve Rogers), meaning that Cyclops can bounce his beams off of surfaces and hit his desired targets, just like Cap’s shield. This guy is also one of the greatest tactile minds in the Marvel U. And, because of his constant dating of psychics, it would appear that he has developed a bit of his own psychic ability. While not used for offense or recon, it is best described as being able to mental lock away or hide a thought or concept from himself and other psychics. This was recently shown during Scott’s defeat of The Void (The Sentry’s dark alter-ego), by mentally locking the dark entity within a box in a secret closet within Cyclops’ mind. Plus, his incarnation in MvC2 (Marvel vs Capcom 2) is a beast. He also wears cool glasses.
And sure, there are some downfalls. For a long time, he was one of the most boring characters in the Marvel U, rather, he was one of the most square of the super powered community. He probably could’ve made Superman think that he was lame, but all that has changed now. Cyclops is ordering Wolverine around with grand authority. He’s told a select few mutants to kill those who would kill another mutant before they get the chance. He turned his back on Professor X, and has even put X in his place in front of everyone. He’s outsmarted Norman Osborn and the rest of the Dark Avengers and is always good for making an awesome comic book cover. These past couple of years, Cyclops has stood out more than any other Mutant. I’m glad to see it happen. Cyclops is a force to be reckoned with, not to be made a fool. The leader of the X-Men deserves your respect.
>I listen to quite a bit of NPR and often fall asleep to the sounds of the BBC news while I do some reading at night. Most times, it’s just pleasant background noise, and sometimes it provides for some interesting stories. When I heard mention of big news in the world of comics, my ears perked up. Not too surprisingly, a copy of Action comics #1, the first appearance of Superman, sold for $1,000,000.00. That’s right, a million bucks.
I’m not a big Superman fan, but I certainly understand the significance of Action #1. Without it, or Superman, comics may not be what they have evolved into. I’m also not a big fan of comic book speculation either, I’m of the opinion that comics were meant to be read and enjoyed and not hoarded and hidden away. Although if I had something like an issue of Action #1, I would not hesitate to sell that bad boy to the highest bidder. One nagging reoccurring question we get at the store is “do you buy comics.” which thankfully we don’t. Even the kind of stores that do aren’t particularly interested in your collection of X-Men comics from the 90’s. E-bay seems to have cornered that market. Unless you have some prime comics from the early 60’s or earlier in good condition, you’re not holding on to a particularly valuable investment. C’mon, you know you have all 5 copies of the X-Men second series, the X-Force #1 in its bag with the trading card, and the Death of Superman issue with the black bag, bleeding S-shield and black armband in it. You’ll be lucky to get the cover price from the early 90’s for it. Sadly, I find these issues in the quarter bins all the time.
I’m sure if you had told someone in 1939 that they should hold on to that silly comic magazine featuring the guy in tights and a cape that they bought for a dime, because one day it would fetch you a million bucks, they’d say you were crazy.
In an industry over-saturated with big-busted heroines and vixens, created primarily from the male mind, it’s hard to separate the female characters that are essentially just male eye-candy from those idealized in a more feminist perspective of a modern heroic woman. If that’s not enough, your average comic reader could likely name 50 male comic creators for every 1 female creator they struggle to remember. Coming in March, Marvel aims to break this glass ceiling when they introduce Girl Comics, a three part comic anthology series created entirely by female writers and cartoonist. Girl Comics will celebrate the large role women play in the comic industry, and will feature such diverse talent as Stephanie Buscema, Jill Thompson, Jo Chen, Colleen Coover, and many, many more.
Girl Comic will be presented much like the similar indie anthology Strange Tales. Each individual story will not only be written and illustrated by women, but every detail of the comic, from inker, letterer, all the way to editorial will be overseen by a female staff. Reported from the Beat, series editor Jeanine Schaefer elaborated about the purpose behind the series:
“My original hope with this was to show that women in comics are already creating just as diverse a range of stories as men. I think the characters and the stories will draw in just as many men in as women, and will get people thinking that good comics aren’t about the gender of the writer or artist, it’s about where what you like to read intersects with what they like to create.”
The series is not intended to only feature female Marvel characters, and the whole cast of the Marvel universe is being consider for each individual chapters. I think one of the most interesting character choices is the Punisher, written by Valerie D’orazio and art by Nikki Cook. It will be exciting to see how they will approach the traditionally machismo character.
With any luck, this will not only be a limited anthology, but a progressive change in the industry as a whole. Girls Comic #1 hits comic shelves March 3rd.
I know I’ve blog a lot about the Sentry lately, but just listen to this. Okay… last night I had an actually nightmare about the Sentry. I woke up frightened that the Golden Guardian of Good had destroyed the world as the frenzied Void. Even with all the efforts of Marvel’s mightiest heroes, including a desperate distress call to the intergalactic Silver Surfer, there was nothing they could do to calm Sentry’s schizophrenic fury. This tells me two things. One: obviously, I read too many comics. I’m having horrifying dreams about a fictional character that the majority of older comic readers have never heard of for Christ’s sake. Two: the initial Marvel Knights’ Sentry mini-series by writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee was brilliant.
I just read the original Sentry story for the first time last week. The graphic novel had either been out-of-print for a long while, or Star Clipper was just mistakenly not carrying it, but I got it back in stock and bought it right away. I was shocked at how foreboding the treatment of the character was from the get go. I don’t think I’ve read anything from Marvel that is quite like it. As the reader, you don’t want this guy returning to the Marvel universe, and apparently, neither do any of the other superheroes. Even the freakin’ Hulk is scared of this guy. Writer Jenkins adds to the suspense by elaborating on the mystery of the Sentry with a haunting sense of déjà vu. The Marvel heroes don’t quite remember the strange golden man, but are somehow alarmed by his limitless power and curious arrival outside the under-construction Baxter Building.
The air of fear is only magnified with artist Jae Lee’s muted palette and eerie designs. One by one, Marvel heroes like Spider-Man, the X-Men’s Angel, and Mr. Fantastic remember the Sentry’s forgotten past and gather on Liberty Island with him to face the return of his arch-nemesis the void. Here Lee’s art is its most indescribably alarming, with Mr. Fantastic in particular never looking more fascinating. This, juxtaposed with the colorful memory sequence illustrated by artist like Rick Leonardi and Phil Winslade, makes Sentry’s jarring return menacing but still intriguing and whimsical. By the end, the revelation that the Sentry is the Void is still haunting, even though I was already well aware of this having read the character’s history in subsequent stories.
Had Marvel chosen not to add Sentry into the normal Marvel universe, the Sentry mini-series would easily hold up on its own. I personally feel it is on the same caliber as the original Wolverine: Weapon X story, another story in a league above the majority of Marvel usual output. The book is also supplemented with the magazine articles of the press hoax Marvel created that the Sentry was an actually forgotten silver age character, which is a bonus feature well worth having.
My nightmare looked much like the Jae Lee illustration, and having the Silver Surfer come into the mix was admittedly cool. However, Jenkins suspenseful story was truly enough to get into my psyche, and coupled with Sentry’s current inclination to rip people in half, it really wigged me out. This character is really worth reading about. Come on, when’s the last time a comic book gave you a nightmare?
>So… I’m taking a page from Jon’s playbook this week and have decided to talk about an awesome arcade game from Marvel’s past. Today, I bring you a tale about a 6-player arcade cabinet… A game so awesome, that when played on the 6-player cabinet, your position dictated which character you were. The game? X-Men Arcade. Yes, Konami’s 1992 Beat-em-up staring the primary X-Men of the failed 1989 cartoon pilot, Pryde of the X-Men. This game featured the awesome team of Cyclops (Prepare yourself to learn more about this guy in a few days), Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Dazzler… Yes, Dazzler. And let me tell you, when you did have the fortune to play with 5 other people, no one wanted to be Dazzler. Anyway, the basis of the game was that Magneto, the master of magnetism, kidnaps Professor X and Kitty Pryde and takes them away to Asteroid M. You’re job, as the X-Men, is to get them back while defeating members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This take on the Brotherhood was made with these characters on the roster: Blob, Wendigo, Pyro, Nimrod, Emma Frost, Juggernaut, Mystique, and of course, Magneto.
So why am I talking about this? Well, while the game was pretty fun back in the day, there are certain elements of this game that just crack me up now-a-days. Primarily, the voice clips for the characters. For example, if you happen to fall off of a stage, your character lets out an awful scream. A friend of mine recently recorded Colossus’ death scream for use as a ring tone. But the screams are nothing when compared to the villains’ dialogue. Whether it’s Wendigo’s constant shouting of “WENDIGO,” or Nimrod’s death or if it’s just Magneto talking period. All of these are very great things. But what about the gameplay? Well, it pretty much consisted of beating up human sized Sentinels until you got to the boss of a given level. Each member of the X-Men could use their special ability to cause massive damage, however, it was at the cost of some of their life bar. Wolverine shot out some sort of claw laser, Cyclops sent out a mini optic blast, Dazzler exploded the floor (yep), Storm shot out a massive tornado, Nighcrawler Bamf’d around the stage killing things, and Colossus screamed loudly and transformed violently from steel-to-human-to-steel again. Awesome. I had a lot of good times with this game, and I hope that if you should ever find yourself near a working X-Men Arcade cabinet, pop a quarter in and witness the magic of the game. And if you’re wondering why the title of this blog is called, “X-CHICKEN!”, look no further than this video.
>Lately, Marvel and politics have mixed quite a bit. Civil War was a big allegory for the Patriot Act and civil liberties. During the course of Secret Invasion, faux-pundit Stephen Colbert ran for president complete with campaign posters in the background of a lot of issues, and you may have read one of my more recent blogs about Siege Embedded’s satire of cable news network pundits. These jabs at modern politics and current affairs were done in good fun, and so far no one’s been particularly offended. So how surprising was it when folks did finally get riled up, and it’s in the pages of a Marvel comic about a character who embodies our country: Captain America.
If you watch the news, you may be acutely aware of the Tea-Party Movement and their rising visibility in the media. They are known for leaning towards the more conservative end of the political spectrum, and have earned the moniker “tea-baggers”, which you hopefully know the more subversive meaning of without me having to explain to you. The Tea-Party Movement is gaining visibility through public protests, and have become inescapable in the past year. Most recently in Captain America #602, the Falcon and Bucky Cap are discussing an infiltration of an organization called the Watchdogs on a rooftop, when a panel pans down to a crowd of protesters holding signs that read “Stop the Socialists”, “No new taxes”, and then the big one, ” Tea bag the libs before they tea-bag you!” This panel led Marvel EIC Joe Quesada to publicly apologize to the Tea-Party Movement, causing blame to be pegged on various members of the creative team, and the panel will be altered in all future printing. Ed Brubaker is denying any involvement in the affair attributing it to a “lettering error”. So what started as a bit of political satire has turned into a relatively small controversy. Who’d a thunk it would be in the world of comics?
Now, I’m not here to sway anyones political opinion in any direction here, I’m just some guy blogging about comics after all. I’m just slightly tickled to see a comic book can rile up the world of politics in the first place.
“Nemesis makes Kick-Ass look like ****!” That’s a hell of a marketing campaign for Mark Millers’s new book and follow-up to Kick-Ass. Essentially, Nemesis is a story that asks the question “What if Batman was the Joker?” That sound’s pretty cool to me. Most people who know me know that I’m no fan of Batman. I think the majority of his Rogues Gallery is pretty cool, but on the hero side of things, Batman doesn’t rank very high on my list. That’s not to say that I think he’s a stupid character, I just feel that there are some things missing in his character that keep me from enjoying his adventures… And to clarify, I’m speaking on Bruce Wayne, not Dick Grayson. But this conversation is for another time. What I want to focus on here, is why this type of “Batman” is interesting to me.
To begin, let me state that this isn’t actually a Batman book. Nemesis is a product of Icon, an imprint of Marvel, that deals with a very bored and very smart billionaire who just happens to be a douche. The idea is that this villain goes around terrorizing cops for fun. He picks a very prominent “best of the best” type of cop and makes there life a living hell for a year, then he kills them. It starts with the delivery of a funeral wreath that has a future date and time of the cop’s death. Then… When that day and time comes, the cop is dead. The villain keeps his promise, then he moves on to his next target. The starting point for the bulk of the Nemesis story deals with the villain dispatching a big-time Japanese officer and moving on to America to do his “battle of the wits” with what is essentially Commissioner Gordon. This cop character is described as a young Clint Eastwood type. In the pencils that I’ve seen of the cop, he looks to be a mix between Gordon and Dirty Harry. He’s a good cop, and it would seem that he tends to get the job done. And I would imagine that he keeps the collateral damage down to a minimum.
Up until last week, the names of the main characters, Nemesis and the cop, were left up to the public to decide. Just like how Kick-Ass’ alter-ego was named, Dave Lizewski, through the efforts of a charity auction for a school for handicapped children, another auction was held to name the new villain and hero. $16,900 was raised in this current auction, and as a result, the cop’s name is Blake Morrow. I’ve gotta be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of that name, but in the name of a good cause, I’ll not whine. As for the alter-ego of Nemesis? That’s still being kept a secret. Which is going with the in-comics perspective of not immediately knowing who Nemesis is. Which, I’ve just realized that I have yet to really give a good description of who or what this character is. As you may have noticed, Nemesis is the anti-Batman in just about every way, save for superpowers. Keeping in line with Kick-Ass, there are no super powers here. Nemesis is dressed in all white, a very sleek looking costume with no kind of armor or design. The only thing his costume has in common with Batman’s is that he has a cape. Nemesis also uses guns. Let’s hope that Nemesis gets better results than Batman when he uses a gun*.
Nemesis also seems to be a complete psychopath. The first few pictures of the character that I saw were of him drenched in blood. It’s a good thing he’s a billionaire, because his dry cleaning must cost a fortune. lol. But seriously, This is one of the coolest designs for a character that I’ve seen in quite some time. Steve McNiven has done an excellent job in the design of this character and I look forward to seeing where his art will take us in this new book. So please, keep an eye out for this book on March 3rd. The only other thing that I would ask of this comic is that maybe Hollywood could leave the property alone long enough for a few issues to come out. Kick-Ass took a really long time to finish it’s run. 8 issues in 2 years isn’t something that I’d want to see happen with this book. The Kick-Ass movie really took a toll on the release dates for its own comic. No one wants to go through that again… But other than that, I can’t wait for Nemesis.
* In DC’s Final Crisis, Batman breaks his “No Guns” rule in an attempt to kill Darkseid with some sort of God bullet. While Batman succeeds in wounding Darkseid, it is at the cost of his life, as he was hit with Darkseid’s Omega Sanction attack. Although, if Batman had just stayed in the shadows (like any other time) and fired the gun, his skull probably wouldn’t be in a constant state of being licked by Black Hand…
Way back when I first started writing blogs, I was committed to writing what I called “Semi-annual Clowes updates.” Well, it has been exceedingly hard to write these Clowes updates because the writer hasn’t released a new graphic novel since Ice Haven in 2005. Finally, almost five years since his last graphic novel, Clowes will be releasing his newest work Wilson this coming May. With this news, I give you the “half-decade annual Clowes update.”
Wilson is the first book from the legendary cartoonist that will not be reprinted from Clowes’ seminal Eightball comic. The story has never been serialized before, and will be released as an entirely original graphic novel. It will also be Clowes first published work from publisher Drawn & Quarterly, not from his mainstay Fantagraphics or recent publisher Pantheon Books. The story will be told in a variety of different art styles as one page comic gags, similar to his last Eightball issue The Death-Ray. The character Wilson is lonely egoist who finds himself searching for his long separated ex-wife. When he finally reconnects with her it’s also revealed that he has a long-lost daughter that was given up for adoption shortly after their divorce. The three all reunited with a disastrous and deluded outcome.
Much like Jim Jarmusch’s 2005 film Broken Flowers, the sad protagonist must find some sort of redemption from his past mistakes and current idle-state. Wilson finds Clowes following a more mature theme, similar to his only other recent material Mister Wonderful from The New Yorker. Hopefully, Wilson will spark the fire back in Clowes, so the next update won’t be in another five years.
So I finally read the first book in the Walking Dead series. Yes, I know, what rock have I been living under? Every member of the Star Clipper crew has read it and have been chiding me for the past year or so to read it and that I was really missing out. Now that I’ve had the opportunity to check it out, here’s my perspective:
I admit to having a pre-conceived notion about it. On the surface I just thought, “Oh, okay. Zombies. That doesn’t sound particularly original.” I’ve seen Night of the living Dead, thoroughly enjoyed Shaun of the Dead as well as Zombie-land. I figured all the good material on zombies had been done and that pop-culture was just going through a zombie phase. These perceptions painted my view of the Walking Dead. After having read it though, I have to say, I think it transcends being a story about zombies. The main subject is just the hook. What I discovered in the first volume, Days Gone Bye, was a study in human emotion and human nature in the face of catastrophe. The story had more depths and substance than I originally thought, and at times reminded me a bit of the Road by Cormac Mc Carthy, with the idea of something awful happening that destroys modern society and forces people to survive on their own devices amidst the ashes of civilization.
I honestly could not put the first volume down. I was completely immersed in this world created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore. I really felt for the characters and the artwork made me feel like I was there. This has made me a fan of Tony Moores ability to draw, and has really turned my original impressions about this series on it’s ear. So fellow Star Clipper crew-mates, and regular customers rejoice, you finally broke me down, and I really like it.
Check it out, Zombies vs Robots is back, with a brand new anthology type series entitled, Zombies vs. Robots Aventure. The spelling of “Aventure” is as such because writer, Chris Ryall, likes the French feel of the title. So what can we expect from this new outing into the ZvR universe? It would seem that they all take place before the events of the original story dealing with the Robots protecting the last human child on Earth. There are three stories here, all written by Chris Ryall, but each is illustrated by a different artist. The first story, painted by Menton Matthews III, deals with one of the earlier battles of the ZvR War. It features a team of handpicked human soldiers and robots put to the task to crush the zombie threat. Prepare yourself to be sad when the story runs it’s course… Or delighted… I suppose it’s all a matter of taste. The second story, illustrated by Paul McCaffrey, focuses on the beginning of the infestation with the meddling of scientists and portals… If I read this right, this takes place just after the first two scientists bring the first zombies from the future to the present. It deals with a maintenance man finding the plans for the mechanical suit the scientists made, he gets some robot help the build the suit, and then he starts fighting zombies… Simple enough. This story is the one that’s supposed to be a fun ride. The last story takes place in Haiti and deals with a group of survivors who attempt to use black magic to help deal with the hordes of the undead. This is the story I’m most excited about. Unfortunately, due to the tragic events of the recent Earthquakes in Haiti, I feel it to be a bit inappropriate to explain in full detail of why? I would like to point out that it isn’t because of anything in poor taste, it’s just the rich history that Haiti has with dealings with the Supernatural that brings intrigue to this story… I think with a bit a research, the explanation is clear. Anyway, this last story features art from Gabriel Hernandez.
That pretty much covers the basics for what is going on in this book. I welcome any addition to the ZvR universe, and I just can’t wait until Wednesday morning so I can pick up the first issue. And for those of you who are asking, “Where’s Ashley Wood’s art?” To that I say, “Look no further than the covers!” It would seem that for this go around, Ashley Wood only had the time to contribute cover art, but for some of you patrons of Star Clipper, that seems to be a good thing. I don’t know why, I love Wood’s art, but I don’t mind other people doing good work with the property either. It’ll be fun. So yeah, February 17th. Zombies vs Robots Aventure. Get it… Or at least read it, tell someone about it, and have them get it.
One of my favorite bookstores in St. Louis. Star Clipper offers not only the best selection of comic books and graphic novels in the city, but also a cornucopia of art, design and pop-culture related books and magazines. 
