Author: Van Jensen

Heroes Con: Day One Report

  • News
  • June 21, 2008

For those not attending Heroes Con in Charlotte this weekend, and for most of those who are, the big news is the rumors swirling around DC Comics.

There was chatter all day about DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio, and whether he might be out. The only real news, though, was that VP John Nee is resigning.

Sadly, everyone was so caught up in the rumormongering (which, so far, has turned out to be fluff) that they missed out on the panel of the weekend. The man behind the current greatest cartoon in the world, Cul de Sac, came down to talk about his strip and new collection.

That’s Richard Thompson at right, the quiet genius of the comics world. What you can’t see is the massively empty hall in front of him. Fewer than 15 people were there, and that’s just a shame.

That complaint aside, it’s been a fun if relaxed con so far with plenty of interesting tid bits:

The DC presence was pretty tense. DiDio stayed pretty gruff throughout the State of the Industry panel and dodged moderator Tom Spurgeon’s questions about the past week at DC, marred by Chuck Dixon’s acrimonious exit.

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Review: This Week in ‘Trinity’ – Part 3

It’s time we talked about Kurt Busiek.

He’s the brain behind this weekly operation and, in case you’re new to comics, he’s one hell of a writer. And there’s one particular quality that sets him apart.

His comics matter.

I don’t mean this in the sense that he does event comics (although Trinity certainly qualifies as such). What distinguishes a Kurt Busiek comic book has always been that he immediately instills the material with a sense of importance.

His big projects, like Marvels and Astro City, are perfect examples, but even in his post-Infinite Crisis take on Aquaman Busiek quickly remade that book into one that had to be read, and had to be taken seriously.

I say all this because, for a few reasons, I don’t get that sense from Trinity. So far, DC’s latest weekly series does not feel important. So far, it doesn’t matter. 

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The Weekly Haul: Reviews for June 19, 2008

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  • June 19, 2008

Let’s get this out of the way up front: Not a great week for comics. A few good eggs, but a whole lot of blah hit the shelves this week. So it goes.

In other news, I’ll be in Charlotte at Heroes Con this weekend, so if you make it there, give me a shout. Or, if you’re the creator of one of the books I just called "blah," you can punch me in the face.

Book of the Week: RASL #2 — As usual, the only complaint with Jeff Smith is that he and deadlines are like oil and fire. And yes, oil and fire is worse than oil and water. Trust me.

This issue was supposed to come out last month, but it’s here now and it’s a dandy of an issue. I’m a fan of Bone and Shazam!, but without pause I’d call RASL his best work yet.

The dimension-hopping lead’s troubles continue as he learns an organization of some sort has caught onto his little exploits and is in hot pursuit. Smith throws in a lot of sci fi, but with his unwavering command of the medium he never lets the story out of noir territory.

This is the most serious and adult story Smith has done, which is certainly of note, but I find more interesting his experimentations with story structure. He’s pushing himself to new levels, and we get to enjoy the ride (stop-and-go as it is).

Runner Up:

X-Factor #32 — This issue doesn’t have that usual snap-crackle-and-pop of Peter David’s dialogues and monologues, but that’s by design as we see the fallout of Arcade’s near-complete destruction of Mutant Town.

It’s one big exhalation of an issue, with Madrox crumbling mentally (as ever) and the team rallying (sort of). David uses the moment to make a big paradigm shift with the team and the series, set up brilliantly with a series of reverses involving government stooge Val Cooper.

Really, though, the big draw is David’s intro update on his family. Those always kill me. Someone pay him to write a third person memoir, please!

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Comic Depicts Bear Stearns Implosion

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  • June 18, 2008

Comics just keep popping up in new and unexpected places. To wit: Financial publication Portfolio has posted a webcomic of sorts that explains the dramatic fall of investment firm Bear Stearns earlier this year amid the ongoing mortgage crisis.

For those who aren’t especially interested in economics, it’s about as exciting as watching CNBC (maybe a half-step above paint drying and grass growing). But, at the very least, Portfolio’s interactive viewer is quite nice.

Also, the comic doesn’t go into enough detail to explain what landed Bear Stearns in such hot water to begin with.

Oh, and here’s the uninformed and (largely) unintelligible take on comics from a blogger at Blogging Stocks:

Graphic novels are generally targeted toward a market the could best be described as anime freaks: junior high and high school kids who shop at Hot Topic, listen to bad music, and read graphic novels.

Let’s just chalk this up as the latest lesson that comics and finances are oil and water.

Review: ‘Bottomless Belly Button’ by Dash Shaw

Review: ‘Bottomless Belly Button’ by Dash Shaw

Dash Shaw has a strange habit of defining things, of explaining all the elements of his world in minute detail.

In his new 700-plus page graphic novel Bottomless Belly Button (Fantagraphics, $29.99), that microscopic focus takes on monumental scope as Shaw relates the foibles and piccadiloes of the Loony family when the patriarch and matriarch announce a divorce after decades of marriage.

The family (the parents, their three children, one spouse, two grandchildren) gather at the family’s beach house, and Shaw begins by explaining “there are many types of sand” before giving an eight-page summary of these types.

We’re then introduced to the family through a sequence of diagrams, charts and vignettes, quickly establishing their characters and relationship dynamics. In short, their behavior is befitting of their name.

Shaw told me recently that he uses such definitions to orient readers, and from this point [[[Bottomless Belly Button]]] truly takes off in a story that mirrors The Squid and the Whale while never falling into that film’s cold, intellectual trappings.

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Robert Downey Jr. to Star in ‘Cowboys & Aliens’?

  • News
  • June 17, 2008

Robert Downey Jr. must have enjoyed his foray into comic book films as Tony Stark in the breakaway success of Iron Man. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Downey is in talks to star in another long-in-development comics property, Cowboys & Aliens.

While the armor-clad Marvel Studios’ film rises above the $500 million mark in ticket sales, Downey is looking at the Western/sci fi mashup from the Platinum Studios comic by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley. The property now is at Dreamworks/Universal after bouncing around the studio circuit for about a decade, but now is supposedly set for a 2010 date.

The story centers on an Old West battle between the Apache and Western settlers, including a former Union Army gunslinger named Zeke Jackson (Downey), that is interrupted by a spaceship crashing into the prairie near Silver City, Ariz.

The story draws a parallel between the American imperialist drive to conquer the "savage" Indians with its advanced technology and the aliens’ assault on Earthlings, who must join together to survive the invaders’ attack. …

The most recent draft by "Iron Man" and "Children of Men" writers Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus clearly hit the right notes, as the project looks to gain its major players quickly.

No word on how this affects plans for the planned Iron Man sequel. As you’ve read here at ComicMix, that one is supposedly set for May 2010, which would mean a crowded plate for Downey.

Review: ‘The Joker: The Greatest Stories Ever Told’

This summer is a big one for Batman’s deadliest foe, the Joker, with the deceased Heath Ledger giving an apparently mesmerizing take on the clown prince of crime in [[[The Dark Knight]]].

And just in time comes the latest printing from DC of The Joker: The Greatest Stories Ever Told ($19.99), which offers some of the character’s legendary moments from his debut in 1940 in Batman #1 to last year’s macabre Christmas tale from Paul Dini.

First, lets dispense with the hyperbole of the title. There are some great Joker moments here, but several of the character’s biggest aren’t included. There’s nothing from [[[The Killing Joke]]],[[[ A Death in the Family]]] or [[[Dark Knight Returns]]], for example.

More than anything, this is a great primer on the Joker, charting his characterizations over his six-plus decades of existence as he became quite likely the most recognizable evil-doer in comics.

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Mixed Bag for ‘Incredible Hulk’ Opening

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  • June 16, 2008

The opening weekend results for Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk pretty closely mirrored my experience catching the film on Friday afternoon: The theater wasn’t packed, but everyone had a good time.

According to USA Today, the new Hulk came through with $54.5 million for its first weekend take, which is actually less than Ang Lee’s Hulk took in the opening weekend in 2003 ($62 million). And while critics didn’t especially love the new take on the green goliath (Rotten Tomatoes gives it approval from 64 percent of reviewers), fans seemed to dig the Louis Letterier-Edward Norton combo.

CinemaScore notes the new Hulk earned a very solid A- from viewers, which bodes well for continued success. The 2003 version brought in almost nothing after the first week on the way to becoming a massive flop.

The showing I caught was between half and two-thirds full, and for the most part the audience seemed completely sucked into the movie. The only complaint came after the semi-endless credits when no extra features rolled. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed the flick.

This was also a pretty competitive weekend for movies. According to USA Today ticket sales increased from the same weekend last year, and a string of movies did well. Kung Fu Panda took second with $34.3 million, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Happening took third with $30.5 million and a couple others were above $13 million.

‘Ten-Cent Plague’ author David Hajdu on ‘The Colbert Report’

‘Ten-Cent Plague’ author David Hajdu on ‘The Colbert Report’

  • News
  • June 14, 2008

David Hajdu, author of the excellent comic book history The Ten-Cent Plague, went under the gun on The Colbert Report on Wednesday to talk about the book. The full segment, which is just as inane as expected, can be seen below.

The book is pretty much required reading for comic book fans at this point, as it richly describes the frenzied war against comic books launched in post-World War II America. For more on The Ten-Cent Plague at ComicMix, read my review right here and a great debate about the issue in the comments of this post.

Review: ‘Emiko Superstar’ by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the fourth in a series of reviews of the five books coming out from DC’s Minx imprint this year. Previously, Van Jensen reviewed Rebecca Donner’s Burnout, Cecil Castellucci’s Janes in Love, Brian Wood‘s The New York Four and Ross Campbell’s Water Baby. -RM]

There are no shortage of comics that feature an "ordinary" central character who decides to venture into the "strange" side of life. Emiko Superstar (Minx, $9.99) follows that well worn path, but it takes a surprising turn and ends up as quite a pleasant read.

Emiko is a teenage girl, something of a dork living a boring suburban existence. A summer of mindless minimum-wage labor is interrupted when Emiko sees a public outburst from an "art freak" and learns of an underground arts scene.

An outsider trying to break into a group of outsiders, Emiko unsteadily inserts herself into the scene, learning all the expected lessons (freaks are people too, you can discover yourself through art).

Ho hum, right? Except not quite, as writer Mariko Tamaki twists the book cleverly, pointing out that cool outsiders have as many problems as most people. That revelation is balanced by another, of the serious problems seemingly normal people have.

Life’s a big mess, Emiko learns, and sometimes you have to work hard to get through. Who can’t relate to that?

Van Jensen is a former crime reporter turned comic book journalist. Every Wednesday, he braves Atlanta traffic to visit Oxford Comics, where he reads a whole mess of books for his weekly reviews. Van’s blog can be found at graphicfiction.wordpress.com.

Publishers who would like their books to be reviewed at ComicMix should contact ComicMix through the usual channels or email Van Jensen directly at van (dot) jensen (at) gmail (dot) com.

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