DC Preview Review for May Part 1 of 2

Jim: Well this month’s preview review has me almost giddy. A new Legion of Super Heroes series is set to start in May with Paul Levitz as the writer. I hope he can pull it off and make it new as well as paying tribute to the old. I love the old stuff, but I like seeing stories go forward.
Lee: You’re giddy over DC previews every month. I’m not sure this is anything new.
Gwen: NEW LEGION STORIES!!! YAY! *dances*

BRIGHTEST DAY #1-2
Issue #1 on sale MAY 5 •Issue #2 on sale MAY 19
40 pg (#1), 32 pg (#2), FC, $2.99 US
Written by GEOFF JOHNS & PETER J. TOMASI
Art by IVAN REIS, PATRICK GLEASON, ARDIAN SYAF, SCOTT CLARK & JOE PRADO
Covers by DAVID FINCH
BRIGHTEST DAY continues, but in ways you can’t possibly expect! What does BRIGHTEST DAY mean to the DC Universe? Is everything from here on out going to be bright and shiny? No, BRIGHTEST DAY means something else entirely, something we can’t tell you...yet. But we can tell you our heroes will need to rise up more than ever to combat the forces of evil, and a select few will uncover a secret that binds them ALL. It all begins in the specially priced issue #1!
Jim: So instead of a weekly book we are getting two bi-weekly series which equates to a weekly book. I guess with the production split between other teams this will work, but it is still another daunting task. Since the last two weeklies sucked, here is hoping these will not.
Lee: It’s a good thing that you read every press release out there because I don’t see the words bi-weekly anywhere. I think it’s a good idea to slow down production to a bi-weekly status. But, like everything it’s all going to come down to content. Good stories sell.
Gwen: I just want to know what this is going to be about. I'm looking forward to this but this is a terrible solicitation... I mean they might as well have not written anything at all!

JUSTICE LEAGUE: GENERATION LOST #1-2
Issue #1 on sale MAY 12
Issue #2 on sale MAY 26
40 pg (#1), 32 pg (#2), FC, $2.99 US
Written by KEITH GIFFEN & JUDD WINICK
Issue #1 art by AARON LOPRESTI
Issue #2 art by JOE BENNETT
Covers by TONY HARRIS
Spinning out of BRIGHTEST DAY, DC’s new biweekly event begins here! Someone is targeting the old members of the defunct Justice League International. Now, surviving members Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire and Ice have to figure out what unseen mastermind is threatening to destroy the entire Super Hero community! There are no gray areas here – it’s black and white and red with blood all over for this lost generation of Super Heroes as original JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL writer Keith Giffen is joined by superstar scribe Judd Winick (BATMAN, GREEN ARROW) for a new era in excitement! And don’t miss the monumental reteaming of Giffen and his former JLI writing partner J.M. DeMatteis on this month’s BOOSTER GOLD #32!
Jim: Of the two bi-weeklies this is the one that I will be ready to drop sooner. At least DC is giving us these as $3 books and that makes it easier to commit to these series for a few issues.
Lee: Are you kidding me? A team comprised of Booster Gold, Captain Atom, Fire and Ice? I can’t believe there’s a market for this. Hopefully there’ll be a cross over with JL Antarctica because otherwise I’m not interested.
Gwen: This just won't be the same dynamic without Max Lord and Blue Beetle so I'm not sure this is of interest to me.

BIRDS OF PREY #1
On sale MAY 19
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by GAIL SIMONE
Art and cover by ED BENES
Soaring out of BRIGHTEST DAY, the Birds are back in town! Because you demanded it, fan-favorites Gail Simone (WONDER WOMAN, SECRET SIX) and Ed Benes (JUSTICE LEAGUE, GREEN LANTERN) reunite to reinvent the book where they made their explosive debut as a team. Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress and Lady Blackhawk all return to Gotham City where they belong – and they’ve brought a couple of new friends (or are they foes?) along with them!
Jim: This has me almost as excited as the Legion book. Gail rocked on this book and when it was canned to make way for Gotham Sirens or for whatever reason I was seriously bummed out, now I’m happy again.
Lee: I’m excited about this too. Simone’s original run was fantastic! There is something to look forward to.
Gwen: *dances some more* This is excellent - about time!

TITANS: VILLAINS FOR HIRE SPECIAL #1
On sale MAY 12
56 pg, FC, $4.99 US
Written by ERIC WALLACE
Art and cover by FABRIZIO FIORENTINO
It’s a new team and direction for the Titans! Deathstroke and his mercenary team including Cheshire, Tattooed Man and other surprise members burst out of BRIGHTEST DAY #0! Get in on the ground floor here as the team is hired to assassinate The Atom! And for this team, failure is not an option! Guest-starring a major Bat-villain and the first appearance of the most dangerous, most twisted new Birds villain ever!
Jim: I’ll check this out, but good luck on making a team of bad guys work. The Thunderbolts in Marvel have a problem that they can never successfully complete a mission. So instead of coming across like some bad a** team they come across as losers. Finally Deathstroke is better as a loner.
Lee: Isn’t there already a villain team called “Secret Six?” What’s the hook?
Gwen: Eh, I'm not even familiar with the creative team on this and this is a hard story to make work.

DC UNIVERSE LEGACIES #1
On sale MAY 19
1 of 10
40 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by LEN WEIN
Art by ANDY KUBERT, JOE KUBERT & J.G. JONES
Cover by ANDY KUBERT & JOE KUBERT
It starts here! DC Comics proudly presents a ten-part history of the DC Universe spanning five generations of heroes from the dawn of the Mystery Men to present day. In this first exciting issue, the Second World War rages on, giving birth to a new breed of hero. Caped and masked urban myths become legends as they emerge from the shadows to earn their place in history. Meanwhile, explore the bizarre new heroes Dr. Fate and The Spectre and learn whether their powers are real…or imagined.
Join renowned writer Len Wein (SWAMP THING, Incredible Hulk), legendary artist Joe Kubert (SGT. ROCK), his son, the fan-favorite Andy Kubert (BATMAN, X-Men) and J.G. Jones (FINAL CRISIS, 52) as they unearth the DCU’s epic history in this event you won’t want to miss!
Jim: My giddiness is wearing off. This is another book I will check out, but Len Wein has not impressed as of late and stories rehashing the DCU history could be either really good or plain awful.
Lee: The story might stink but the art should awesome.
Gwen: Well at least it will help reset continuity... again.

BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE #1-2
Issue #1 on sale MAY 12
Issue #2 on sale MAY 26
48 pg (#1), 40 pg (#2) FC, $3.99 US
Written by GRANT MORRISON
Issue #1 art by CHRIS SPROUSE; Issue #2 art by FRAZER IRVING
Covers by ANDY KUBERT
Issue #1 1:25 variant cover by CHRIS SPROUSE
Issue #1 1:200 Sketch variant cover by ANDY KUBERT
Issue #2 1:25 variant cover by FRAZER IRVING
The most anticipated series of 2010 is here! Superstar writer Grant Morrison tackles his most ambitious project to date with THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, a special six-part series that chronicles the return of the original man behind Batman’s cape and cowl! Each issue spans a different era of time and features the dynamic artwork of one of today’s artistic juggernauts, starting with Chris Sprouse (TOM STRONG) on the extra-sized issue #1 and Frazer Irving (SEVEN SOLDIERS: KLARION) on the 40-page issue #2!
Jim: Wow I’m unexcited about this. I’m not ready for Bruce Wayne to come back. Maybe like Marvel we can have a special called “Who will throw the Batrang?” and Dick stays on as Batman. Also the variant cover stuff is going to extremely ridiculous heights anymore and I feel like DC and Marvel are doing Zenoscope amount of variants.
Lee: You knew Bruce was coming back so I’m not sure why you’re upset about this. The sad part, I think Bruce was gone for a longer period of time when Bane broke his back.
Gwen: Boo. This will only be good if Dick stays Batman and Bruce coordinats from the background. Kind of like Batman Beyond.

SUPERMAN: WAR OF THE SUPERMEN #1-4
On sale MAY 5
1 of 4
32 pg, FC, $2.99 US
Written by JAMES ROBINSON & STERLING GATES
Art by AARON LOPRESTI & MATT RYAN
Cover by EDDY BARROWS
The Battle for New Krypton! This is it! The storyline the SUPERMAN books have been building to since 2008 has arrived! Superman has never faced such a difficult challenge – how can he stop the two worlds he loves from destroying each other? General Zod has been waiting for another shot at Earth for years, and with 100,000 supermen on his side, it looks like it’s his war to win! But on Earth, General Lane has an ace up his sleeve that will level the playing field quite nicely!
Jim: This is an absolutely great idea for an event. The major Superman event of the year is done in one month as all the issues are released in May. The impacts of these events are often destroyed by the long period of time it takes between issues. Blackest Night is taking nine months to get to the end of the story. This is a very cool idea.
Lee: Actually, that is a good idea. Of course, the story has been building since 2008 so maybe they think they’ve dragged it out enough.
Gwen: I'm still not terribly pleased with all these Kryptonians running around. It makes Superman less like Superman on some level. Although I have liked how this storyline has fleshed out Kara as a character.

THE MIGHTY CRUSADERS SPECIAL #1
On sale MAY 26
56 pg, FC, $4.99 US
Written by ERIC TRAUTMANN, MATTHEW STURGES, BRANDON JERWA & JOHN ROZUM
Art by JAVI PINA
Cover by STANLEY “ARTGERM” LAU
The Shield, Inferno, Hangman and The Web are finally brought together to uncover a vast conspiracy that will change their lives and potentially ripple through the entire DC Universe! Bringing together Eric Trautmann, Matt Sturges, Brandon Jerwa and John Rozum, the four critically acclaimed writers from THE SHIELD and THE WEB, alongside SUPERMAN artist Javi Pina, this extrasized dose of high-stakes metahuman action is a perfect jumping-on point for new readers and faithful followers alike, setting the stage for the future of the Red Circle — and the coming of the MIGHTY CRUSADERS!
Jim: Note sure we needed the Mighty Crusaders quite yet, but I’m willing to give it a go.
Lee: Has anyone been reading these books? I haven’t heard much buzz about them lately.
Gwen: What is this? Is it something I should have heard about previously.

THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #1
On sale MAY 19
48 pg, FC, $3.99 US
Written by PAUL LEVITZ
Art and cover by YILDIRAY CINAR & WAYNE FAUCHER 1:10 Variant cover by JIM LEE
Fan-favorite LEGION writer Paul Levitz returns to the 31st century super team he made supreme with an all-new intergalactic era! This exciting series picks up on threads from Geoff Johns’s “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes” storyline and creates its own all-new ones, including a Green Lantern Corps tie-in and the destruction of a major planet! Rocket on board here as Levitz and rising star artist Yildiray Cinar (TEEN TITANS) revitalize one of DC’s most beloved franchises starting with an oversized first issue with a variant cover by superstar artist Jim Lee!
Jim: The Holy Grail! Paul Levitz back on the Legion. Personally I would have hoped for a stronger artist then the guy who used to be doing Nobles, but I will take what I can get at this point. I hope DC decides to give it some time and doesn’t pull the plug too fast if sales are not up to snuff.
Lee: You and Gwen are the huge Legion fans. For the rest of us, it’s just the same-old, same-old bi-annual LSH reboot.
Gwen: OMG YAYYYYY.

Part 2 Tomorrow

Scott Snyder Interview - Writer / Creator of American Vampire from Vertigo Part 2 of 3

As promised we have our second part of the interview with Scott. Scott’s new series sounds fascinating and on a personal note often I’m weary on yet another vampire tale or another post apocalyptic story line, but not only do we have some great twists on the concept the editors at Vertigo loved it enough to put it out. Vertigo’s track record is very impressive with great series like Sandman, Preacher, Lucifer, Fables, Scalped, Northlanders, 100 Bullets and more. To me when certain publishers on Vertigo is backing a book that lets you know from the start this is a great concept.

Jim: Back to American Vampire. What is the concept? Is this an unlimited series? Did you and Steve co-write the first five issues? How did you pick an artist?

Scott: The concept of the series, and what makes it exciting to us, is that it's really centered on this notion of vampire evolution – the idea that vampires are physiological creatures that over time have evolved into different species, as the vampiric bloodline has hit different populations at different times throughout modern history.

Basically, every once in a while, when the blood hits someone new, from somewhere new, it will create a mutation that branches off into a different species of vampire with different attributes. There are vampires with different characteristics, different weaknesses, different looks and that kind of thing. The vampires we all know - the nocturnal, anemic, elegant sun-fearing breed are just one species. For a few hundred years, though, there have been no new species, for reasons that will be revealed over the course of the series.

There is a secret mythology and background to how we came to understand the vampire we all know. How that dominant species came to be is part of the secret of the series. More specifically, the series centers on this brand new species of vampire that's accidentally created in the American West, almost a kind of Vampire 2.0. He's stronger and has these unique characteristics that make him thrive in the sunlight and have different claws, different fangs and different abilities and weaknesses, which are mysterious during the first issues as well. This first American Vampire – a wild, sociopathic outlaw in life named Skinner Sweet – is the focus of Steve's story. My part is set in the 1920s, telling the tale of a struggling actress in the silent film industry named Peael Jones, who has a run-in with some members of the undead.

The series is ongoing, no limit. Basically, each cycle will take on a different decade, follow the new American bloodline through different eras, picking up with star characters, introducing new ones...

Jim: How did you pick an artist?

Scott: Mark Doyle, our editor brought a couple names in for possible artists once the first issues were being scripted. We started scripting last summer actually; one big rule I make for myself is to stay at least 5 or 6 months ahead of schedule with the script, so I can look it over and re-draft a number of times before things lock.

Maybe if I was more experienced, I'd feel differently (though I doubt it); I do a good five, six drafts of most of the issues, working them over until I feel that I'm just not capable anymore of making them any sharper.

Anyway, Rafa was one of the first people Mark mentioned. I'd seen his work on Blue Beetle and was excited about him, so we had him do some character sketches and he nailed them on the first try. He just got them, and he had a real sense of what we were going for tonally with the series, what it was about, the potential to experiment... I can't wait for people to see his work on this - he's been sweating blood for the thing. He actually came up with the idea of doing two different styles for the two stories in each of the first 5 issues.

Mine, which takes place in the 20's, has this hard, precise, ink art deco feel, and Steve's, which takes place mostly in the 1880's, Rafa did in washes and grays, giving it this kind of Old West, antiquated feel. I couldn't be more grateful that Rafa agreed to work on the series. He's a major creative force behind the book - not just layouts and compositions, but character design, style, tone... We chat almost every day on AIM - he's honestly become a good friend, like Mark and Steve. We're a real team on this thing, which makes it a pleasure to work on.

Jim: American Vampire sounds very cool and now I can't wait to see issue #1. Any first night jitters as we approach issue #1 being released? How daunting was it having your name associated with Steve?

Scott: Are you kidding? How about all day jitters!

First of all, it's my first creator owned book - and it's with VERITGO! No one's more aware of that pressure than me. I'm a die-hard Vertigo fan. It's like being drafted from little league to the Majors. Which is honestly why I'm making a big effort to work way ahead of schedule and get as much editorial help as possible. If this isn't a great read, I promise it won't be for lack of trying. But the thing is - and forgive me if I sound cocky or something - I really do think the series is something very special - something new and different, with popcorn aspects and elements that have to do with history and national identity.

We make a big effort with each cycle to explore what's both heroic and monstrous about the American character during that given period and work things in thematically. In the end, I've read cycle 1 over at least thirty times, and I have to say I couldn't be prouder of it (I'm working on issue 8 right now). So as nervous as I am, I'm also extremely eager for people to actually see the thing. I can imagine there will be a lot of people who'll be skeptical - because of the vampire glut, my short track record - people who'll think I got to cut the line because of some connection or because of Steve's involvement, but the hard truth of the matter is that the series is something I've dreamed of doing for a few years now, a passion project, and it went through to green-light at Vertigo before Steve was involved.

He came on after the fact. But on that tack, as for being aware of the pressure that comes with having Steve associated with the series, believe me, I'm aware of that too. Does the extra spotlight make me nervous? Sure, but only for myself. I know Steve did an awesome job. The series is exponentially better for his involvement, and working with him was an inspiration - corny as it sounds. He's one of my literary idols, and even at my most nervous about the spotlight he brings, I wouldn't trade a fraction of his involvement for any helping of personal relief, if that makes sense.

Part 3 will be posted Thursday Afternoon!

The Best and The Rest of Last Week's Comics

This was a great way to start the month. I was very impressed with a few books that I was just curious about trying the first issue and now I’m hooked (Nemesis and “N”). I also was pleased with the ending of both Crossed and Cry for Justice. Normally first weeks tend to be not as strong, but I have to say I liked my comics a lot this week.

BEST

First Wave #1 (of 6) - Writer Brian Azzarello, Art Rags Morales, Colors Nei Ruffino. Wow, what a great first issue of this new series. My biggest gripe that this is a mini-series as I already want more than six issues. I was a little worried about Brian Azzarello on this as super heroes are not his strong suit, but none of these guys are super. I was wondering how Rags art would look as the last regular gig he was working on was Nightwing and I thought it was very good but not his absolute best. This book was his absolute best. The story and art were spot on and we are off and racing to what looks to be an exciting adventure. It is only the second book I have read this week and I believe it will win best book. Starting with the art first. I want to go a little deeper into what is making this book be so highly regarded by this reviewer. I have always enjoyed Rags Morales artwork from Black Condor to Hourman, Identity Crisis and other projects. I have felt that at times he shows the world that he is one of the top comic book artists in the business. After Identity Crisis I thought he would be the main go to guy for DC. It didn’t happen and I read different things interfere, but wow this is his best work ever and he has done great work before. No one but Rags should ink Rags and I hope he was given enough lead time to do all six issues as the work is stunning. He is one of those rare artists who have a photo realist style and a fluid style that makes him half Neal Adams and half Alan Davis and yet it is all Rags. His work hits on all cylinders and Azz’s script calls for just about everything in this first issue. See my full review here.

Demo #2 (of 6) – Writer Brian Wood, Art Becky Cloonan. Okay very, very seldom can a book or a comic actually “creep me out”, but this one did. The story is about a person who has an addiction to being only able to eat a certain type of food and he does not turn it into soylent green first. Becky Cloonan absolutely knocked the art out of the park. The story is creepy enough about this guy and his eating problem, but Becky makes it all too damn real. The heavy use of darks and the dilapidated state of his apartment makes the story eerie from the start. The title page sets the tone (as shown here). Then the actual story, we see this guy is a loner at his job, but not apparently someone who people are scared of or anything, he is just someone who keeps to himself at work. Then he asks a girl out to dinner and he tries to eat normal food and that does not go well. In the name of love he attempts to take steps to resolve his problem and enjoys a meal of himself. Finally he gets himself together enough to ask to girl over to his house for dinner and we are left to wonder exactly what is meant by that. The book leaves me with a nasty feeling just typing it. For a comic to deliver that type of an emotional response, especially on a primal level is very rare. I would not want a study stream of this type of reading, but absolutely thought this was a brilliant piece of comic art.

Sweet Tooth #7 – Writer/Artist Jeff Lemire, Colors Jose Villarrubia. This book has been coming out with no delay which is important for this type of series. There is obviously a ton of story to tell and Jeff needs to build the foundation of the series. This issue starts where we left off last issue with Jeppard burying his wife. He feels he has done what he needed to get done and now he puts a gun into his mouth but can’t pull the trigger. It was a powerful scene and was a great way to start the book. From there we get back to Sweet Tooth and start to get glimpses of the lab that he has been left in. The cliff hanger is him being knocked out and taken into the lab. For Jeppard we see him wondering and having flashbacks of him and his wife learning how to survive after the apocalypse. At the end she is telling Jeppard she is pregnant. That leads back to Jeppard getting his wife’s dead body back from the lab and begs the question what happened to his offspring. A strong series that is getting better as it goes along.

Stephen King’s N #1 (of 4) – Writer Marc Guggenheim, Art Alex Maleev. – This is the week for scary books or books that just give you a creepy feeling. This is based on a short story by Stephen King and was originally done as a series of motion comics and then redone as a regular comic. The best part about that is various things were changed to make it into a comic. This is important because Spider-Woman which is also being done as a motion comic has issues with the way it reads at times because I don’t think the same level of care was given to that format switch as I felt this book had done. I never knew this was not a comic book first. The actual story by King is great, the adaptation is well done as is the art. The simple premise; Is a mental illness infectious? If it is, is it a mental illness? I rather not do a story summary because I just want you to read it and enjoy it for yourself. Just don’t read this and Demo back to back too closely as the eerie feeling may last too long.

WORST
The Authority #20 – I have never been a huge fan of the Wildstorm stuff but I was certainly enjoying the post apocalyptic version of the Authority and the Wildcats until this last event. This is a textbook example of the wrong way to do things. Both groups had manageable casts and I was starting to get a handle on the different characters that I did not know that well. The Authority I was most familiar with as I had been following them since Warren Ellis pulled the group together. The Wildcats I had followed on and off and Stormwatch I had followed here and there over the years. I even tried Gen 13 for about a year and enjoyed the odd series Tranquility during its run. All of this is to show I have a decent familiarity with these characters, but I’m not steeped in their histories and have not followed this universe enough to recognize the entire one off characters floating around. So what does Wildstorm do to shake up the status quo they pull every frigging character ever created together, shake them up and left half on Earth and send half off to space and call it Wildcats and The Authority. What I got out of it was confusion, a lack of direction and a cast that makes me long for the days of the Legion of Super Heroes and the simple cast of 25 to 30 characters. I dropped Wildcats and I’m dropping this book now. Maybe the hard core Wildstorm fan loves this, but I now have a book that is not about the group I know as The Authority and I’m not even sure what the purpose behind this book is other then utter confusion.

Other Books I Wanted To Mention

Adventure Comics #8 –This book was a lot of fun for a dyed in the wool Legion fan like me. Plus we got three stories instead of just one. What I like best about the whole set of stories is the Legion story is being moved forward and the Superman story line finally seems to be taking off. The first story was all about the LOSH in the future and featured arguably the most important Legionnaire of all time Brainiac 5. It set up a disaster that is occurring in the 31st Century that has its origins in the 21st Century. It also explains why Brainiac 5 is named after his hated ancestor Brainiac. The second story gives us some background on why a bunch of Legionnaires have been hanging out in the past and what they need Mon-el to do for them. Both stories lead into the Last Stand of New Krypton. The last story is about a Kryptonian who has infiltrated General Lang’s operation. I love stories about undercover agent’s as often the sacrifices they make in order to sell themselves to the enemy or to blend in are the hardest for anyone to do. Eric Trautmann did a brilliant job writing this story and he seems to be a rising star at DC.

Chew #9 – Always a blast, this book is well structured and constantly amazes me with the depth of the story telling.

Cinderella #5 (of 6) – Great ending for this issue! Loved it!

Crossed #9 (of 9) – Depravity and killing and scenes of violence that are horrendous on any scale and yet the ending work very well. Ennis is a funny guy, because just when you think that he has given us a book without any hope at all, he shaves off a small slice of it and lets a glimmer shine through. A really good and “realistic” portrayal of what a post apocalyptic world could be like. This sealed the deal on wanting the hardcover collection of this series.

Jonah Hex #53 – I just hope that DC keeps publishing this book. I love the one and done adventures and the various artists are a blast. Billy Tucci turned in a terrific art job and this was another good adventure with some great twists at the end. Gray and Palmiotto do the best tales of Jonah Hex.

Justice League Cry for Justice #7 (of 7) – This series has been hurt by many, many factors, yet the ending still had some punch to it and I think made its point, only time will tell. The negatives are the obvious editorial interference. It went from an unlimited series, to a mini-series, it had multiple artists to try and get this book finished and this last issue looked like a rushed art job. It changed direction during the course of the series and never really come together as a cohesive whole. The death of Roy (Red Arrow’s) daughter was done poorly as it becomes Green Arrow’s tragedy and Roy was not even present for it. Yet, with all of these flaws and failures the ending as Green Arrow tracks down Prometheus and kills him was a strong statement and within character for Ollie. I liked it because I have always wanted Batman to kill the Joker or any super hero to stop the totally insane and murderous bad guy as opposed to capturing him and letting him kill again. The bad guy killed 90,000 people in Star City alone and killed Ollie’s “grandchild”. In my world and in a world where you look for justice and not enforcing the law, the bad guy needs to die. Now we get to see the repercussions of this play out as no one knows Ollie has crossed that line. If done well this could make the Rise and Fall storyline one well worth reading as the issues it could touch on are seldom addressed in comics.

Nemesis The Imposters #1 (of 4) – Throws you right into the middle of the story and then never lets go. I’m not 100% sure what is going on or why, but the mystery has me intrigued. In fact it has me so hooked that I’m picking up the trade of the prior mini-series about Nemesis that I dropped before it ended because it was so confused. I may have been a little premature in kicking that series to the curb as this opening issue was very good.

Realm of Kings Son of Hulk #2 (of 4) – I’m not sure why but this book has made me want to learn more about this character then what I know now. It has way too many people in it and has way too much going on with people I have no clue who they are, but I’m now curious enough about this “Son of Hulk” to want to get the trade of his own book and follow this series to its conclusion.

Sparta #1 (of 6) – I’m dropping this book and not putting it in the Worst section because it was not a poorly done book, it just did not grab my interest enough to want me to invest another $15 in the story. I understand things have to be set-up in the first issue, but it just never drew me in enough to keep me around. Often I believe some stories are better served being released as an OGN and this maybe one of them. By releasing it as a mini-series I lose interest after one issue and never hang in to get the whole story, which may be good. I’m willing to take a flier on solid talent like Lapham and buy the OGN for $20 rather than hope the story pulls together down the road.

The Sword #22 (of 24) – The battle between Dara and Malia starts up with harsh words and some shocking revelations about Malia and Dara’s Dad. We then have a fight; Malia gets pissed off and tries to kill a bunch of people revealing her true self then flies off. For the most part I have enjoyed this series, but the more I read of the Luna Brothers work the more I realize that the work from both a story structure and art style is very simplistic. Since it only has two more issues I want to follow it to the end, but their next project would have to really have a big wow factor to draw me back into another series from these guys.

Warlord #12 – Nice to see Mike Grell as writer and artist again, but he killed Travis Morgan! That took me by surprise and now his son will carry on as The Warlord. Okay I was testing the waters on this book to see if I could get into the Warlord again and this has me hooked on the story again. I love seeing a second generation of a hero and it makes it more exciting knowing anything can happen.

No matter how I try to rework or shave down this weekly review posts they always end up too long. I guess this column just ends up being what it is, but at least I have avoided ranking every book and commenting on every comic, which could really get insanely long.

Scott Snyder Interview – Writer/Creator of American Vampire From Vertigo Part 1 of 3

Scott had contacted this website and one thing lead to another and Scott consented to do an e-mail interview with us. I may sound like a broken record but getting to know some of the creators via interviewing and e-mailing back and forth is always a pleasure.

I thought it would be beneficial to break the interview into three parts. I know personally that if a post is too long that I may not read the entire post or I may just skim read it. Hopefully this method will get more people to read the whole interview.

Finally I encourage everyone to pick up American Vampire #1 coming out March 17, maybe you have heard of the young talent who is writing half of the book, a guy named Stephen King. Yeah, that Stephen King, now how frelling cool is that!

Jim: Scott, my normal first question is what is your secret or not so secret origin? In other words who is Scott Snyder and how did he burst into the comic book scene?

Scott: Not so secret. I've been a lifelong fanboy, but I've pretty much stuck to print fiction the last handful of years. In 08, a buddy of mine organized an anthology of stories by contemporary writers that had them make up new superheros - a book of origin stories (it's called "Who Can Save Us Now?").


Anyway, I wrote a story about a young man caught in the Bikini Atoll tests in the 40's, who returns home with strange side-effects ("The Thirteenth Egg"). The story got picked up for a magazine, too - the Virginia Quarterly - and caught the attention of a couple comic editors. Two of them actually came to the launch for the anthology - a reading - and pretty much just approached me afterward and asked if I was actually a comic fan or not. I told them I was (I actually had some issues in my bag that night) and one, an editor at Marvel, asked me if I'd like to pitch a one-shot for the 75th Anniversary series Marvel was doing just then.


So I pitched a story about the original Torch, it went through, and I became a comic writer. Seeing that issue come out was one of the best days of my life!


And that led to the opportunity to pitch to my current editor at Vertigo, a guy named Mark Doyle. I went in for lunch, pitched American Vampire, which I'd been considering doing as a series of stories or even a book, and Mark got excited. He helped me re-tool my pitch a lot for Will Dennis and Karen Berger, I gave it in, and they all were very enthusiastic. The series got bought right about a year ago (another lifetime best day). Stephen got involved right after the series was greenlit.

Steve got involved because I'd sent him the pitch to see if he'd be up for giving a quote or doing an intro for the trade at some point - really just seeing if he'd be up for writing a line or two. (I'd been lucky enough to get my book of stories (Voodoo Heart) to him through a close mutual connection, and he'd been kind enough to blurb the collection - we'd kept in touch since.)


Anyway, he wrote back saying he liked the character of Skinner enough that he'd actually be up for writing an issue or two if anyone would let him. I was like: if anyone will let you? But he was very serious about being a first-time comic writer, it being a new medium, wanting editorial guidance from Mark. So he started off using a loose 2-issue, outline I'd provided on the characters. But a couple weeks in, he wrote me asking if he might be able to go off the rez a little. I told him to do anything he wanted and he ended up writing 5 full issues, taking the characters to darker, better places than I'd thought of at all. It was incredibly inspiring watching him work. The guy is a genius. The series is exponentially better for his involvement and I'm excited for people to see him shine.

Jim: Okay let me back you up just a little. You have been a lifelong fan of the medium, so what were you favorite series and influences?

Scott: I was lucky enough to grow up in the 80's, so I was there for Dark Knight Returns (still have my 4 issues), Year One, Preacher, Watchmen, Sandman, Swamp Thing, Animal Man - all the usual suspects. I actually wanted to be an illustrator growing up, before falling into writing, so as a kid I often went where my favorite artists were. Jim Lee on X-Men. McFarlane on Spidey. (I used to go to these old school conventions at Penn Plaza, over by Penn Station, and for my 13th birthday I waited on this massive line for a McFarlane signed Spidey page from #319 - still on my wall).


As I got older, I really fell for certain writers - Brian K. Vaugh on Y, Greg Rucka and Ed Brubaker on Batman titles, then Gotham Central (which is one of my favorite all time works); Brian Michael Bendis on Ultimate Spidey and then Mark Millar on the Ultimates and Red Son... Nowadays there are so many strong writers in the industry it's hard to pick favorites. From Joe Kelly to Jason Aaron, Geoff Johns and Jeff Lemire to Matt Fraction, the bar is so high all around. It's both intimidating and very inspiring to be a part of at all.

Jim: I agree this is the best time for comics ever. The quality of the writing talent is amazing. I can list 20 excellent writers off the top of my head and still miss some of the best out there. Now you mentioned Bikini Atoll as the basis for your story that got you noticed. Not the normal reference, was it your confessed (on your myspace page) love of Godzilla that made you want to use that idea or just looking for a good nuclear blast?

Scott: I got the idea for the Atoll tests because my grandfather was in the navy during WWII and fought in the Pacific. I grew up listening to stories of being on a destroyer. Big influence.

Jim: Was the Human Torch you're first comic script? Did you do a full script or work with the artist?

Scott: It was. I did do a full script. Marvel sent me some examples and notes and I just went from there. I had a great editor on the book (Jeanine Schaefer) who helped me a lot. Made a number of missteps that first issue - too many panels per page, too much dialogue, starting scenes from the wrong place... Took me a number of drafts to get things solid.

Part 2 Tomorrow!

Also check out Scott’s editorial for Vertigo this month.

What I’m Getting Wednesday March 10

This week is a very light week for me. Inevitably it seems to cost me more then what my list is because I will use the lighter week as an excuse to pick up some other trade or book I have had my eye on but could not justify the extra expense when my list is bigger.

Marvel has next to nothing on my list with only PunisherMax #5, Criminal Sinners #5 and The Twelve: Spearhead One Shot. That is an amazingly short list when you think about it. The X-verse and Spider-Man side of the MU are all basically off my list so when those things dominate the new releases I’m free and clear. The Twelve Spearhead is a one shot by the artist Chris Weston, who is also the writer. I have read The Twelve, which stopped after issue #8, has been completed by writer JMS and hopefully we will get to see the completed series. The Twelve was a great examination of time lost heroes and I very glad to hear that I will get to see it brought to a conclusion.

The other category has twice the number of books as Marvel with Jersey Gods #11, BPRD King of Fear #3 (of 5), Solomon Kane Death’s Black Riders#3 (of 4), Escape from Wonderland #5 (of 6), Farscape Dargo’s Quest #4 (of 4) and Ghoul #3 (of 3). The indy category is always the biggest surprise every week as the other publishers are usually right as rain with the slate of books that they have due to come out. This is not disparaging the independent publishing schedule as most are on time, just that finding the information on their websites is less user friendly. Ghoul has been a blast, but when you add Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson together what you end up with is me buying the collected edition as well as the regular series. Bernie is a great artist and Steve Niles has been supplying stories that use Bernie’s skills to the max. Jersey Gods is another series that I’m always glad to see and as we start the third arc I’m hoping with get some hard cover collection of this book down the road, but I doubt it. I have read that issue #12 is the end of Jersey Gods for now, with hopes they may one day do some mini-series down the road. Bummer as this comic is a real blast!

So apparently every grouping doubles in size from the prior group as counting all the books under the DC Entertainment banner and I’m getting 12 from that side of the world. Vertigo leads it off with Daytripper #4 (of 10), DMZ #51 (which I’m trying to get back into) and House of Mystery #23. Daytripper is one of those books where I feel like I run out of the right superlatives to say to try and generate interest in the book. Needless to say it is a very good book and bordering on great. Each issue stands on its own with the whole probably being greater than the sum of its parts. Buy it, read it and enjoy it.

The Batman family of titles is well represented with Batgirl #8, Batman and Robin #10, and Red Robin #10. The Batgirl and Red Robin story is a cross over as the Bat titles continue to build momentum. I know a lot of what is going on is building to the return of Bruce Wayne, but I have to tell you I’m not looking forward to a return to the old status quo. The current crew under the masks is working really well and I hope Bruce Wayne’s return marks the start of two Batmen running around or something else a little different. The torch has been passed this time and going backwards would be the wrong move at this point.

The rest of DC this week is Action Comics #887, Doom Patrol #8, Justice League Rise and Fall Special, REBELS #14, Secret Six #19 and Superman Last Stand of New Krypton #1 (of 3). The Rise and Fall storyline that is running through this special, Green Arrow and an Arsenal mini-series has some real potential. Green Arrow has killed a bad guy and he had valid reason for doing so. The problem is he killed him without letting other heroes know what he did and he hunted him down and killed him, it was not self defense it was revenge pure and simple. Justified revenge in my mind, but it does get at the heart of the question of is it right to kill someone. I read a book called Buddhism Plain and Simple and it clarified the point for me that morality is a situational thing. Absolutes maybe the way systems of laws are set up, but circumstances and common sense can override laws. At least I hope that is one the themes they will explore because I think it would make a good story. The other book I want to mention is Superman Last Stand as I know this leads into the five part weekly event in May called “War of Supermen”, but it also marks that Superman is getting back into action and we are building to the Legion getting their own book again, both good things in my mind.

Finally a bit of news came out that Gail Simone is leaving Wonder Woman which has caused me to not cancel the title. That sounds a little mean, but Gail has confounded me on this title as I was constantly lost as to what was happening from issue to issue. This is the first time Gail’s work has failed to connect with me and it bummed me out as I love Secret Six and I’m sure I will again love Birds of Prey. So many great creators have tried Wonder Woman and the book never seems to work exactly right. This proves Wonder Woman is the hardest character in comics to write. Good luck to the next writer and I will give them a few issues to try and get it right.

The List - February 2010

While there's a wide gap between the top of the List and the bottom, most of the middle is really fairly equal. The superheroes seem to get relegated to the middle because of the nature of superhero books being so static while aping the motions of change. I come in jaundiced, I suppose. Some the stuff at the bottom, though, is close to being dropped altogether. More trades again this month filling out the List. Love the winter sales.

1. Madame Xanadu 20 - The cover is really pushing this one to the top in a very strong field of top ten. It's pure Hadley goodness. I would have like to have seen her on the interior art, too, but the Joelle Jones work is more than good, albeit a very different style. Less pretty, I guess. 'Course, that it has a woman who's just had sex appearing actually naked is an element of realism I appreciate. The only negative was Nimue saying to a teen Merlin "Easy there, kid". That was a far too modern expression that abrubtly took me out of the pre-King Arthur England we were supposed to be inhabiting.

2. daytripper 3 - Still hitting on all cylinders. Bras ends up dead at the end, again, but this time we have a character who was in the previous issue as a lover and possible love interest returning. This time she's an ex-girlfriend and possible inspiration for suicide. The puzzle of how all these stories connect is fascinating, but the stand alone nature of each of the stories is a fine example of short story writing.

3. The Goon: My Murderous Childhood (And Other Grievous Yarns) TPB 2 - Eric Powell's series has been a sporadic buy in TPB form for me. I actually started with volume 3 a couple years ago when I bought it on a whim at the Baltimore ComiCon and had it signed by Powell. This one appeals to my like of origin stories, but, really, what's not to like about any of the Goon stories? The mere fact that Franky's eyes make me think of Little Orphan Annie makes me smile every time.

4. Northlanders 25 - Quite possibly the lowest spot for this series since I started the List, but that's just because of all the good stuff I got this month. Plus, Wood's work here inspired me to check out a couple of his other works in TPB, which are noted further below. The battle for early, Medieval science, as against superstition and traditional bravado continues with predictably violent consequences. Good thing we have courts for this sort of thing instead.

5. Spaghetti Brothers vol 1 - Courtesy of the Martin Private Library comes the Spaghetti Brothers. This is the story of the Centobucchi family's five siblings, three boys and two girls, with one of the boys and one of the girls being twins. There was a lot about this that reminded me of Will Eisner. Some of it is that this volume is set in the '20s, I think in NYC. The art reminded me of Eisner, though, with a sort of realism to it that turned into exaggeration at certain moments. The tight focus on the family, told in a series of 8 page vignettes, reminds me of Eisner's short story work, as well as his longer form work. Written by Carlos Trillo and pencilled by Domingo Mandrafina, it was originally done in Spanish. That's one of two slight problems with it. The translation to English results in a formalized style of English at some times and some questionable slang at others. I doubt Italians in the 1920s were referring to one another as bro, even if they were actual brothers. The other slight problem is that the five siblings are such archetypes. The eldest son is a gangster. The youngest son is a cop. The boy who's a twin is a priest, his twin sister a married mother of two. The remaining sister is an actress in silent films. All of them have some secret or other. An enjoyable read within its mileu.

6. The Walking Dead 70 - The hint of what's to come, or rather the secrets to be revealed, is tantalizing. An apparent refuge always has something to hide in this zombie infested world, as our heroes know all too well. Davidson, Davidson, Davidson! Nah, nah! Heh.

7. The Question 37 - Ah, fond memories indeed. O'Neil's The Question 1-36 is, as noted previously, one of my favorite series runs ever. Not only did this Blackest Night tie in live up to that series, it moved it forward seemlessly into the Blackest Night. Of course, having O'Neil, along with Rucka, writing probably helps. Despite the galactic class threat of a dead Vic Sage up against the distinctly non super powered Rene Montoya and Lady Shiva, the fight amongst them was believably well matched.

8. Scalped 35 - As Jim mentioned, this is a wonderful stand alone story of an elderly Sioux couple living on the Rez. It's obviously set in the world of Dash Bad Horse and Red Crow, with the latter's casino making a cameo appearance, but these two have naught to do with that world of hyper violence, sex and drugs that surrounds Bad Horse and Red Crow. There's more of the poverty of the Rez and the hard scrabble lives of the everyday people living there. It's also a tale of survival with an amusing, unexpected fresh start for our protaganists.

9. Atomic Robo: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension 1 - A new mini-series. Same old fun. Coincidentally, at the same Baltimore ComiCon that I got Powell's autograph, I got Clevinger's autograph on the first issue of the first mini-series, which hadn't even been published yet at that point. Can't wait to see what outsize fun this series brings.

10. Unknown Soldier 17 - I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by the ending of this one. The man's nearly a blues song - "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." Much as I like this series, it needs a good counter-balance like Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana set series of books, lest readers think there's nothing good going on in Africa.

11. DMZ: On the Ground TPB 1 - As I mentioned, Northlanders has me checking out other Brian Wood work. I'm liking this, so I'll be getting more of the trades. Nearly as chaotic as the world of the cheesy classic Escape from New York, Wood has a lot more depth to work with here than that. Sort of prescient, too, what with the Tea Baggers espousing secessionist sentiments these days.

12. The Rabbi's Cat - I thought of putting this trade higher on the list. I really enjoyed it, but the art was a little too cartoon at times for my taste. And that cat is downright disturbing to look at, though from the picture of the cat it was modeled after, it appears to be a fairly loyal depiction. Took me a good long while to figure out this thing was set in Algiers in its opening chapter, too. I thought it might be Beirut at first. Maybe it would have been more obvious if I was French.

13. Invincible 70 - Pure Kirman goodness, of course. Reaching all the way back to the first stories told in this series, the Sequids have been hanging around on the periphery as a pending threat for all these years. Unlike the big two static sort of superhero work, this thing just keeps moving forward. Mark's crossed a line you'd never see a hero cross in the standard hero fare and still be considered a hero. And we haven't even gotten to the Viltrumite invasion yet.

14. Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love 4 - A perfectly good example of how hard it can be to put the List together. I really like this book and 14 seems kind of low for it, but I don't want to push anything else down further, either. I'm loving the law of unintended consequences that's the center of this story.

15. The Astounding Wolf-Man 21 - Really too bad that this series is ending in 4 more issues, but I can also see how Kirkman's bringing it to a logical conclusion. This is the first of the final 5 parts and the final battle (because it's Kirkman, it'll actually be final) between Gary and Zechariah is shaping up to be excellent. Can't wait to see how the Elder and the other werewolves fit into the picture.

16. Scalped 34 - This was the final issue of the last arc before the aforementioned issue 35, which didn't come out in January like it should have. A fittingly brutal end to Red Crow's battle with the Hmong and Bad Horse's vendetta against Diesel. Good thing the series drew back from this the next issue. A mental break was definitely in order.

17. Invincible presents Atom Eve & Rex Splode 3 - And the trilogy comes to an end. Back story fan that I am, I like this, but Rex is (or rather, was, being dead and all) still a tool, no matter that he went out a hero later. And, given her character, I can't figure what Eve saw in him or why she'd be surprised when he philandered.

18. The Great Ten 4 - Why is it only totalitarian societies are shown as having defenders willing to take on assignments that are going to kill them, in the name of glory for the home land? Or rather, why is that a bad thing when it's totalitarian societies but a good thing when it's done to defend your buddies while you fight in the great cause of liberty? They both think they're doing the right thing for the benefit of others who will out live them. Ah, but that can get us into the craziness that is Americans defending the loop who flew his plane into the IRS building while condemning the 9/11 attackers.

19. Secret Six 18 - More Blackest Night tie in, still following the story line started in the Blackest Night issue of Suicide Squad. The mere fact that Deadshot put one in Waller is worth the price. One complaint about Blackest Night, though. Why do the costumes the dead wore lose their color? I can't tell who half these dead guys are with all of them sporting the same death mask face and black costumes. Bloody irritating.

20. The Unwritten 9 & 10 - I had read issue 10 prior to reading 9 because I missed 9 somehow last month. Fortunately, Cards, Comics and Collectibles was able to get it for me without much delay. As a result, though, I knew some of what would happen in 9 before I read it. Great story, all the same. And 10 has Nazis and the furtherance of the concept of stories coming to life. I'm starting to think this may turn out to be as good a series as Lucifer was.

21. Superman Secret Origins 4 - See what I said above about being a sucker for origin stories. Doesn't matter if they're continuity, as long as they're well done. Gary Frank's art is a bonus. Creepiest depection of the Parasite I've ever seen. Most sympathetic, too.

22. Action Comics 886 - The Captain Atom back up is entirely wasted on me. I don't know the character and I'm not picking up any interest in him. Still loving the Nightwing and Flamebird feature, though. Throwing in the myth story that undrelies the characters is an added plus.

23. Gotham City Sirens 9 - Never get tired of Dini Bat-verse stories. That there's no Batman, Batwoman, Robin, Red Robin or any of the plethora of other Batman heroes only makes these quasi-villain stories all the more interesting.

24. Incorruptible 3 - Don't know if he'll make it as a good guy, but Max Damage's attempt to be a better guy is more interesting than the descent of the Plutonian into crazy town. Love the literalism of Origin in this, too. And we got an exact age on Jail Bait, too. At 16 she's legal in some jurisdictions, so maybe she needs a new name?

25. Irredeemable 11 - This is one where we should have seen the people having sex naked, without the coy business. It's not a kid's comic. Hell, last issue we had a guy's wings ripped off his back, and the former hero has killed millions. Some tits and ass, maybe even a penis, aren't going to send it off the charts, here. Aside from that long standing complaint, I continue to enjoy the book without being able to comprehend how it can keep going without an end point in mind. Maybe there is one and Waid's just not sharing what it is yet.

26. Batman and Robin 9 - Much better than the previous issue, which was just confusing too often. Batwoman was much more the Batwoman I know from Detective, too.

27. Batman Streets of Gotham 9 - Likable but not memorable. This one may be cut soon.

28. Batman and Robin 8 - See 26 above. Way too Morrison, and not in a good way.

29. Demo TPB - Coincidentally, I see that another Demo series is coming out imminently. These Wood stories were likable but not so great that I'm going to buy into the new series. A little too teen angst for me, I guess.

30. Blackest Night 7, Green Lantern Corps 45, Green Lantern 51 - Lumped together as usual because they're all part of the same story. It's a lovely knock down, drag out affair, but I'm not as in the tank for it as Jim. In fact, it's sending me back to my general principal of skipping these sort of epic things in monthlies and only getting them in trades if they look and sound like something worthwhile.

31. Justice Society of America 36 - Super powered and blood thirsty Nazis. That never gets old, really. It'll be interesting to see how we get back from the Nazi future we seem to be in. Funny how the old bastards have hung around so much longer than their ideas. Ok, the ideas get gussied up with new names and less severe outcomes being advocated, but really, no one goes to that extreme in the Western world anymore.

32. Haunt 5 - Still like it. Just not sure if it's going where I want to follow. It's Kirkman, though, so it deserves at least a year to get rolling.

33. The Flash: Rebirth 6 - The time delays just killed this. I'll have to go re-read all 6 issues at once to have any recollection of what was going on. Hope it was worth my coin.

34. Justice Society of America Annual 2 - Magog. A drag on any story. At least Power Girl actually asked why he'd become such an ass. Not that he answered. The whole story could have ended in 2 pages if Magog wasn't unwilling to tell anyone what was going on. Too much of a Maguffin.

35. Outsiders 27 - Don't think this DiDio guy's working out. This one seems to be headed for the chopping block.

36. The Warlord 11 - Still heading back into ground already tread. Surely there's something new Grell can tell with these characters. There's certainly plenty of development to them from the original series.

A Look Back at the Winter Olympics

I know it’s against the male stereotype, but I don’t really care much for sports. Oh, I have my favorite baseball teams (the Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves), but my “like” for the teams has more to do with their geography than their performance. Unless someone’s in the playoffs, I don’t even keep track of their record. Don’t even ask me about football! When I was in school the Hokies weren’t even any good. I don’t know how often people have asked me about the latest game when they see me wearing a Tech shirt. Usually, I didn’t even know they were playing (Although, I did watch a few NFL games this year because my son was interested and at least I can follow it these days. To think my first real football education was a Monday Night Football game that vibrated the players with their tiny little rubber football). I do like college basketball, but only if I’m seeing a live game (I probably haven’t seen one in almost 20 years). However, there is ONE sporting event that I really, really enjoy and that is the Winter Olympics.

Boy, have I been enjoying the 2010 games in Vancouver (which will have ended last Sunday when this is posted). Everyday, when I got home from work, I would tune in for some of the LIVE coverage in the afternoon and then catch a couple of hours before bed. It’s just so interesting to watch…so different! Now, that doesn’t mean I like all the Winter Olympic sports. Surprisingly, snowboarding was boring, but cross-country skiing was exciting (some of those photo finishes were awesome). I’ll take Ice Dancing over any regular figure skating any day. Especially since those commentators RUIN it all the time. You see something neat and they tell you how bad it was (enough of the triple-lutzes/double-axles already). Seeing Bode Miller ski so well (having his head together this time around) was fun and I love the Downhill, Ski Cross, and Super Slalom.

Anyway, all this Olympic watching got me thinking about the games in Lake Placid, New York or at least it got me thinking about Marvel Treasury Edition #25: Spider-Man vs. The Hulk at the Winter Olympics from January 1980. I’m pretty sure I haven’t reread it since I got it on the stands thirty years ago (Yikes!). Well, I did read it again this past week (that’s why I still keep my old back issues) and it was…WAY over the top!






It’s primarily written by Bill Mantlo (Micronauts writer supreme) and illustrated by Herb Trimpe (one of my favorite artists and a really nice guy too!). So with that power pack combo, you’d think this would be a Marvel masterwork. Unfortunately, it’s not. The story is just ludicrous (I may have liked it more when I was 9), even so it still has some good points. However, it does fit nicely into early-80’s Marvel continuity.

Peter Parker is on a photo assignment from the Daily Globe (remember when he worked for them?) to cover the Lake Placid games. One of the skiers, Brad Rossi (totally fictitious character – I know I looked it up) used to go to school with Pete. Brad along with three other athletes (a Russian skater [Maria Karsov], a French bobsleder [Claude LeBron], and a Canadian? hockey player [Bobby Lyle]) are kidnapped by Kala, Queen of the Underworld. She rules Tyrannus’ old subterranean kingdom and the Lava Men (from the Avengers) serve her. She’s at war with the Mole Man and his little bug-eyed yellow guys, because she wants the Fountain of Youth that he controls. He won’t give it to her, because she spurned his love way back in Fantastic Four #127 (I don’t actually have that issue, but those of you who just got the new FF masterworks can tell me about it!). The Mole Man also has some outcasts on his side, which he picked up in FF Annual #13 (which I do have, but haven’t reread it yet). He has given four of them some bizarre superpowers (Boulder, Digger, Landslide, and Water-Witch). Spider-man gets involved with the Mole Man’s side (he threatens to destroy the Olympic Village, if Spidey doesn’t cooperate) and the Hulk gets involved with Kala’s side (she drugs his food so he’ll obey her). Basically, it all boils down to a contest between the two sides, with the winner getting the Fountain. Let the GAMES begin!

One of the problems I have with this story is the back-and-forth between the surface world and the subterranean world is so quick and effortless. Not to mention, when the Mole Man jacks up the entire Olympic Village on STILTS!!! (“Miraculously, no one is killed!”) It looks cool, but I just can’t suspend my disbelief THAT much anymore. The weapons that Kala gives to her Olympic athletes are laughable. Let’s see, we have Rocket Skis and Power Poles, Super-Skates, Bombsled (bobsled with flame cannons), and a “Super Stick that fires Power Pucks”. The athletes only agree to help Kala, because Brad’s girlfriend, Heather, is being held hostage. Kala aged Heather, so she’ll die, if they don’t win the contest. There is a funny scene where Brad presumptuously pledges that ALL the athletes will fight for Kala, but then the Frenchmen says, “Oui, Mes ami! Though you have not asked, you speak for all of us!” It’s also strange how the diamond prisons make someone immobile, but the prisoner can still speak (I guess there is an air pocket around their head).


There are some really impressive pages, especially in the larger tabloid format. I’ve included a few for you to enjoy. I like the two-page spread that has several Marvel characters in attendance at the games out of costume (they must have all gone home after the opening ceremony, since they don’t help out later). Herb’s Hulk is always a treat for me and we get to see Hulk in armor way before Planet Hulk. There is also a moving scene where the aged Heather escapes during the contest and seemingly falls to her death. I was worried until I realized she must have fell into the Fountain of Youth.




The contest ends with the Mole Man’s side winning despite Kala’s cheating. Kala’s youth-maintaining helmet is smashed and she ages quickly. In a touching turn of events, the Mole Man who can no longer grant her access to the Fountain as it was destroyed in the contest, agrees to take her to live with him.

“Kala, though you have mocked me and spurned my love, still would I that this thing had not happened! Rise! Old you are – and ugly – but there are many such in my kingdom!”

“You – would still have me then?”

“I desired a queen to rule beside me in darkness! It matters not the way she looks – for in subterranea there are no lights to see!”

Good for you Moley!

In case you are wondering how the Olympic Village got back on the ground. Well, the Hulk simply smashes it down. (How can he do that without everything falling apart?) So, it was a fun trip back in time for me, despite my issues with some of the plot points. Maybe, I’ll reread it again in four or twenty-eight years!



Finally, we’re left with a teaser of the next installment of the Marvel Heroes at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Since, President Carter boycotted those games (because Russia was in Afghanistan – isn’t THAT ironic) the issue was never published…at least, not in it’s original form. See the similarity to the first ever Marvel mini-series?