Metropolis

What a crazy time these last two weeks have been.  For those of you who don’t know, last week was the 2nd Annual Lubbock Comic Book Expo.  It was a raging success thanks to the Lubbock Arts Festival being downstairs.  We had twice as many people this year, and we really couldn’t have done as well in foot traffic on our own.  Thanks to everybody who came out visited with us.  Even if you were just there to snag the Free Comic Book Day stuff – you made our weekend. 
 
As for this weekend, I worked a 16 1/2 hour day yesterday, took my baby boys to get haircuts at Sports Cuts and then celebrated the victory of Lubbock Voters in making our city “wet”.  For those of you who don’t know – Lubbock, TX is/was the largest “dry” county in the country.  Those of you who wanted to purchase alcohol had to drive out of the city limits to a stretch of Vegas-esque stores called, collectively, The Strip.  It has been a pain in the ass and a bit of an embarrassment for all my life.  Lubbock voters have tried to get this put on the ballot before, and for one reason or another it never made it very far.  But finally Lubbock has seen the light and agreed to allow alcohol within the city limits.  This is an historic day for Lubbock. Thank you, Lubbock Voters!
 
Now – on to the comics!
 
CEREBUS ARCHIVES 1 – Fans of Dave Sim’s glamourpuss and/or CEREBUS, will probably want to pick this up.  Sim uses the format used to such magnificent effect on glamourpuss to explore his own personal archival material from his career pre-, and one assumes post-, CEREBUS.  It is a much more eloquent personal and fun book than the previous post-Cerebus book FOLLOWING CEREBUS, which he collaborated on with the WRAPPED IN PLASTIC fanzine guys, and yet this first issue isn’t nearly as much fun as glamourpuss is for some reason. GOOD STUFF.

 
ATOMIC ROBO: SHADOW FROM BEYOND TIME 1 (of 5) – This issue Robo teams up with HP Lovecraft and Charles Fort, or rather – he spends the issue arguing with them about Armageddon.  As fun as this book usually is – this issue was probably my all-time favorite. The action takes a back seat to expository dialogue that is smart, funny and reveals dimensions of the world of Robo thus unseen.  Everything you could ask for from a first issue.  FANBOY FUN!
 
JONAH HEX 43 – The first half of this book is largely sans words of any kind (dialogue, captions, sound effects, etc.), and Palmiotti and Gray let the legendary Paul Gulacy really shine on the artwork and storytelling.  GOOD STUFF.
 
BATTLE FOR THE COWL: THE NETWORK 1 (of 1) – This was not only pointless – it was horrible. If this is what the future of the Bat-titles is going to be like, I won’t stick around for long.  AWFUL!  Why? It seemed like Fabian Nicieza was attempting to write a quick epic battle from the perspective of Oracle, who is removed from the battle, but it came off choppy and poorly executed. Again – AWFUL!
 
FLASH: REBIRTH 2 (of 6?) – Am I the only one who is bored by this? Geoff Johns does a good job of trying (TRYING) to make Barry Allen interesting, but he says himself that everyone always thought of him as a saint or a boy scout. And that is the problem – that is how he was always written and my memory is long – any attempt to retcon that, or shift it in any way just seems to me like they are trying too hard.  Plus – I can’t be the only one having trouble telling Wally and Barry apart when they are in costume. EH!
 
POWER GIRL 1 – I really wanted to like this, but the text heavy way this read just seemed like overkill, and the scene shifts just kept it from really coming together for me.  Amanda Conner’s art was absolutely beautiful though, as always.  Here’s hoping the next issue gets better.  OKAY.
 
AGENTS OF ATLAS 4 – I really like the way Marvel is using their big company wide crossovers to really make their new series seem consequential to the whole of the Marvel U, like they did with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13, but I’m afraid in the long run the stories may seem dated.  Fortunately this book is also using Silver Age history to flesh out the characters, and create a book with as much past as present.  It is a plot device Jeff Parker used to great effect in the original AoA mini-series, and continues to utilize well here.  This issue we see the Atlas interact with Capt. America in the past and the present.  BUENO EXCELLENTE!
 
WAR OF KINGS 3 (of 6) – I’ve always loved the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, being Legion of Super-Heroes analogues as they are.  So to see them really step up to the fore front of this massive cosmic saga has been a delight.  Unfortunately they have been on the opposite side of the “good guys” (Starjammers, Inhumans, etc.), until now…. ***Spoiler Alert Activated*** Man, was it cool seeing Gladiator finally step up and switch sides? I’ve been wondering how the Hell he could continue to serve Emperor Vulcan while knowing he was an evil despot, and then POW! He blows the head off of one of his own teammates. Ho!  Man, that was awesome! ***SPOILER ALERT DE-ACTIVATED*** If you aren’t reading the WoK, you are missing out. This book is some serious FANBOY FUN!!!
 
BUFFY TVS: SEASON EIGHT 25 -  Well…at least Dawn isn’t cursed anymore.  EH.
 
THE BOYS 30 – A bit of a wrap-up to the latest story arc, as well as the first thirty issues. Not much happens, and the character development didn’t really hit home for me as well as I had hoped. It was OKAY, but not the excellent heart breaker I was hoping for. 
 
~*ReTro ReVieW*~  SEAGUY 1 – 3 – I read this when it came out back in 2004, and loved every bizarre throwback to the psychedelic age of comics.  Anticipating the new series, and failing to remember what had happened to make some of the events of the new series seem so significant, I decided to drag it back out for a reread.  It was more fun and chaotic than I remembered.  Just a totally unexpected almost whimsical look at a superhero who is the last of his kind, and his cigar chomping best pal, Chubby da Chuna, a flying air breathing tuna fish with a sailor hat.  They go out looking for adventure and run into a gondola operating Death, an ocean filled with chocolate, a warrior woman with a curly beard, and more. I had forgotten the bizarre stuff with Mickey Eye, the Egyptians and the secret history of the moon. I just – I just can’t really do justice in explaining this book, and I can’t really even begin to put it into words how weird it is to have a book this silly and fun come from the uber-serious mature readers Vertigo imprint of DC. This book also brought Cameron Stewart to my attention, and his pencil does not fail to really bring this character to three dimensional life.  BUENO EXCELLENTE!
 
SEAGUY: SLAVES OF MICKEY EYE 1 & 2 (of 3) – This mini-series picks up right where the previous one left off, and continues the trend of the first with a fun bizarre romp through the world of Seaguy.  This time around we catch up with Seaguy and his friends in New Venice before we meet three heroes inspired by Seaguy, and then watch as Seaguy himself becomes a “bull dresser” (which has to be seen to be believed). Morrison has called this book his own Watchmen, referring to the 1980s deconstructionist super hero series (you may have heard of it), as each series examines the super hero from a new perspective. The first series being the adolescence of Seaguy, the sequel being his teenage years, and the future sequel being his adulthood. If you aren’t familiar with the first series, it is essential that you read it before reading this one.  You just can not go on without reading that first.  BIZZARO EXCELLENTE!