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Lone Justice #4
Published by ComicMix, February 2008
Lone Justice proves you can go home again - but sometimes you shouldn't!
Credits: Mark Wheatley (Artist), Mark Wheatley (Colorist), Mark Wheatley (Letterer), Mark Wheatley (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)
More: Lone Justice
Comments (10)
Russ Rogers (10:25 AM on Wed Feb 4, 2009)
A man who plays with toy trains is either addled or sinister. I don't know why I have that impression, maybe it's from Gomez Adams. Neil Young would probably disagree.
I like Mrs. Solstice. Sort of a matronly "Alfred the Butler." Her name implies that she might have a "secret origin" or super powers herself! What if she's the widow of Dr. Solstice! Dr. Solstice was either a super-villain that LJ fought and defeated; or a Super-Scientist/Inventor, who helped develop LJ's arsenal of toys, tricks, weapons and vehicles! What if Dr. Solstice was both, a reformed super-criminal, who assisted LJ with his super-gadgets. The "Q" of the Lone Justice Team. I know, turning Lone Justice into a team, that's a bit of an oxymoron And forgive me, I'm on a kibitzing riff here!
Lone Justice remains excellent. Since it's first issue, three weeks ago, it's become the Best Comic Currently Published by ComicMix! Wait, since the debut of Lone Justice, it's been the ONLY new comic on ComicMix! I LOVE Lone Justice, but the links in the header are looking ridiculous.
Read free online -Lone Justice (new) | Lone Justice | Lone Justice | Lone Justice | The Pilgrim | The Original Johnson
It's not Wheatley and Tinnell's fault for getting their pages out on time. But, in two weeks, people new to the site will think that "Lone Justice" is the only comic on ComicMix.
One tiny quibble with LJ#4. Some of the ballooning seemed awkward. Balloon tails wrapped around other balloons or swept off panel with extra long tails that sometimes even went behind character's heads. The ballooning was internally, stylistically consistent. So maybe I just have to get used to the style. I just found some of the balloons distracting, not as transparent as usual. It reminded me that I was reading a comic. It's one of those niggling details, that once I noticed it in one panel, I started to pick up on it in other panels.
OK, I won't end on a sour note. I love the colors in Lone Justice. The muted tones, leaning toward rusty sepias and hazy blues, set a dark, warm vibe. Cozy and menacing. And, here's something that was ENTIRELY transparent until I really looked closely at the colors, the color of the borders and gutters! It's faded pulp paper! So perfect. So clever. It's an obvious choice once you think about it. But I hadn't thought of it. It was just so natural, just there. But Mark Wheatley (or Robert Tinnell or Mike Gold) thought of it, and that shows the kind of attention to detail that is making "Lone Justice: Crash!" something very special.
MARK WHEATLEY (2:30 PM on Wed Feb 4, 2009)
I think you might be doing Mrs. Solstice an injustice to spin off her story to another character. But you are plugged into this tale to an uncanny degree. And while I don't think we will be seeing a LONE JUSTICE TEAM anytime soon - consider it an underpinning of this story that people are a part of their community, supported by it or opposed by it.
Your comments on the lettering remind me of a time years ago when I was just starting to get a handle on typesetting, type design and sentence structure. I became so conscious of the words on the printed page that for about a year I found it impossible to read any novel or short story. I would get distracted by noticing how the type was set. Irregularities in the type (back when it was printed from hot lead) were suddenly catching my eye when before that my imagination was filled with images of the story. That said, I have intentionally moved a step away from the "newspaper comics" level of lettering I was using on EZ STREET to something a bit more challenging. My reasoning is that LONE JUSTICE:CRASH! is a graphic novel being created by Scott and Danny Fletcher for the comic market. So they would push it a bit. Probably more than I am actually doing!
As for the pulpy paper - that is entirely the selection of the pulp collector on the team (me!). And if you are really curious - I can tell you that the pulp paper is a direct scan from a 1931 issue of BLUE BOOK. I was aiming for 1930 pulp paper, but there was a nearly blank page from 1931 that worked just fine. Hopefully, readers will not notice the anachronism!
Russ Rogers (4:56 PM on Wed Feb 4, 2009)
You are right, it was a bit sexist of me to think that Mrs. Solstice and the reformed Super-Scientist Super-Villain "Dr. Solstice" couldn't be the same person. Actually, I did think of that earlier, but Mrs. Solstice just doesn't have that Marie Curie (mad super-scientist) mystique about her.
Are there any plans to have Lone Justice interact with actual Historical Figures from the period? If so, I vote for Madame Curie and Nikola Tesla for starters. Nikola Tesla was the epitome of "Mad Super-Scientist!"
MARK WHEATLEY (9:52 AM on Thu Feb 5, 2009)
Actual Historical Figures? You mean other than LONE JUSTICE!?
Marc Alan Fishman (4:45 PM on Sat Feb 7, 2009)
Lovin' it Mark. It took me till the weekend to crack it open, but yet again you deliver a fine chapter. Kyle (my co-plotter, and fellow unshaven comic creator) and I agree we like the underpinnings of a more historically conscious "masked vigilante" who's story takes place in such a tumultuous time. It adds a layer of desperation and wonder that you can't get in a modern book. Kudos! And also, I should note I love your color palates and inking... it's unlike so much of what I read these days, and it's always refreshing to see such saturation and contrasting warm and cool scenes.
MARK WHEATLEY (9:57 AM on Sun Feb 8, 2009)
Thanks Marc! It is great to get comments from someone who obviously has given a great deal of thought to what goes into making a comic and telling a story. Between you and Russ I think ComicMix has two of the best fans available! Although I think your fan status in in danger of being revoked now that you work here. Hopefully you are training young fans to take on the responsibilities should you be drafted into the major leagues!
BTW - I think fantasy always has more power when it is staged against a background that seems real. Two great examples are LITTLE BIG by John Crowley and WAR OF THE FLOWERS by Tad Williams.
Marc Alan Fishman (3:03 PM on Sun Feb 8, 2009)
I'll look em up soon Mark, for sure. And trust me... it seems like unshaven comics is still a few millenia away from being drafted. Or atleast it feels that way most of the times! :)
I'll look forward to the next installment.... and if you see my articles up here on comicmix, be sure to comment! Have a great weekend!
MARK WHEATLEY (10:27 PM on Sun Feb 8, 2009)
Yeah - the problem is - when a lot of that draft stuff happens - it is a very close shave.
Marc Alan Fishman (2:39 PM on Mon Feb 9, 2009)
That's why unshaven comics has beards... when the draft happens, we want something to be there to shave off.
MARK WHEATLEY (3:08 PM on Mon Feb 9, 2009)
Now, that's using your follicle!