By Britt Schramm
January 24, 2005
“See you in December.” – Britt Schramm - PftL, Thanksgiving Day 2004
Okay, so it’s not really December. Hell, it’s almost the end of January and I’m finally getting my tired ass to write a column for the good old MPS. Can someone be 35 years old and a prototypical slacker? I may be setting a record here.
Really, I’m terribly sorry for the delay but to tell you the truth, the four-color world during the holiday season is not exactly the Hot Stove League (baseball term). Then again, it’s not like I’m Pedro and leaving for a new place to write elsewhere. (Actually, I’m not too bitter about his exit to Queens. It’s kinda fitting with his “diva” status.)
So, rather than rankle my Editor-In-Chief with talks of wanting more re$pect or rehash all of the reasons for my absence (preparing for a new baby girl, the whole Christmas thing, New Year’s, working more than my fair share of hours both at my F/T job and the comic shop.. wait a minute, I thought I said that I wasn’t going to go over this crap), I’ve decided to let it all hang out and give you, the people, all of my thoughts and musings from the past month and a half in one column. You guys truly are the lucky ones, I tell ya.
And in the spirit of the NFL Championships (which I hope that the Pats pull this one out on the road in the Steel City), this column has four distinct quarters or sections. (Actually, there’s a fifth one but I couldn’t think of a better comparison. Don’t tell anyone.)
Well, what are you waiting for? Get to reading this here column before it’s the first of February.
First Down - Identity Crisis Letdown
** SPOILER WARNING – If you don’t want to know who tragically killed Sue Dibny, avert your eyes and go down to check out my observations on Hero Squared. Trust me; it’s for the best. Besides, if you did happen to read it, don’t worry. The killer’s real identity will probably change next year anyways. **
Identity Crisis #7; what can I say? How ‘bout WTF! I know that I’m not the brightest bulb in the closet but I thought that the whole mini-series would be more like Memento or a good episode of Monk instead of a retread episode of Matlock or Diagnosis Murder. (On a sidebar, I developed a soft spot for that old Dick Van Dyke vehicle when it was in re-runs on PAX-TV. But I can only watch the show when it’s fully Chachi-nated. That Dr. Jesse Travis is just way too annoying for me.)
And for all of the hype (especially from me) that the book was getting, the ending was just a real bummer. If I knew that the killer was going to be a jealous ex-wife, I would spend my time either watching my wife’s ABC soaps in the afternoon or Desperate Housewives on Sunday nights instead of the NFL. Yeah, right; that‘ll happen.
But as I was discussing this with the boys from 4CR, one of them pointed out this panel:
It’s possible that there’s more to those murders than meets the eye. Plus, from what I hear, the undercurrent of the Identity Crisis storyline is going to spread throughout DCU. Don’t be surprised that there’ll be some IC connections with some titles like Adam Strange (a great re-introduction of the character into mainstream DC continuity; Diggle and Ferry are creating a great read), Teen Titans (Future Titans storyline) and The Flash (with the new Boomerang) with a culmination in DC Countdown later this year. It should be another interesting year for DC.
Second Down - Hero Squared finally arrives
|
A Festivus miracle arrived at my doorstep last month. (Alright, maybe miracle is somewhat over-the-top. I’ll settle for pleasant surprise.) The first issue of Hero Squared arrived via USPS from the ever-gracious Ross Ritchie from Atomeka Comics. For those who haven’t read my column on non-traditional super hero comics (here’s the direct link if you don’t want to burden yourself with trying to find it), I have been waiting for this book to come out since I originally heard about it.
It was supposed to be out before Turkey Day. But tragedy struck when Joe Abraham broke his arm and couldn’t draw for over five weeks. Since I would rather not bore you with the details, click here to read the delay recap by the ever-quotable Jonah Weiland from CBR.
To bring everyone up to speed, here’s an overview of the series: Basically, imagine this parallel Earth where your mirror image is a super-powerful hero who looks like Jason Giambi prior to cycling off his ‘Roids while you struggle to keep a job and your physique resembles more like Jason Alexander. Ouchie. Then you’re told that this superhero’s arch-enemy is going to each different reality to kill all versions of you and you’re the last line of defense. Makes you wonder how different you could be if certain things went your way, huh?
I don’t normally review books here. That’s for more seasoned persons like MPS’ own Marc Mason but since I feel that it’s my duty to help out Small Press books out, I’ll give you a very brief review on the book.
The story, while it’s not groundbreaking, was solid and the combination of DeMatteis and Giffen’s words had its usual hilarious banter. The art by the aforementioned Abraham was decent but will be unfairly compared to Kevin Maguire’s work on formerly the Justice League by most people. It had me entertained throughout and even with the somewhat conventional twist at the end, I’m still looking forward to the next installment.
In other words, I say, check it out. It’s good stuff.
Third Down - Unfinished 2004 business
Reader Chet Kirkham sent a follow-up email giving his take on the lawsuit involving Marvel and City of Heroes creators, NC Soft which was written here on November of last year. Here’s what he sent:
“Okay, it took me a while to go through my notes because I'm trying to study for my other classes. Also, I had a previous e-mail that went into a detailed analysis of the
trademark issues, but it didn't send right and I lost it. Insert foul words.
Anyway, to boil it all down for Marvel to successfully bring a trademark suit against NCSoft they will have to show that their trademarks in their characters are being diluted and therefore reducing their marketability or that Marvel's reputation is being impugned by the in game recreations of their characters. Without going into a long analysis I will
just give my amateur opinion that neither of these theories will be successful.
One law student's take, for whatever that is worth.”
Hey, Chet, since it agrees with my view, your explanation works for me. Thanks for the update.
Fourth Down - Turkey Day Leftovers
God, it’s been so long since my last columns, this last bit o’ stuff seems outdated. But I wanted to include these two Thanks that I forgot (And as an added bonus, they’re both music and comic book related. I know; it’s a shocker):
Comic Book Artists on CD Covers - Thanks to Dan Brereton, Kaare Andrews and James Jean both making covers for the recent CD of thre of my favorite bands - Fireball Ministry, Beta Band and The Donnas. These covers really show that comics do truly rawk!
(Granted, FM’s “The Second Great Awakening” was released in ’03, but it seems that their label just re-issued another printing of the disc with a lame cover and that’s just is not right. Stupid corporate suits and their chokehold on music. And don’t even get me started on the whole radio business. R.I.P. WHFS!)
The Edge, U2 Guitarist - Thanks to U2’s The Edge for actually being original and not totally just reinterpreting the fine work of Danny Elfman by creating a different theme song for The Batman animated series. The series (which I totally dig) may rub some fans of the old B:TAS the wrong way but you hafta admit; the song really sets the mood for the show.
Overtime - A recently discovered hidden treasure
As I always profess, I’m not usually on the bleeding edge of comicdom and some things go under my radar. But as I was working on my store’s workstation, I was talking to my new owner and he told me of this great animated DVD called Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher by the guys who did the series in the Monkeysuit anthologies.
Not know what those series were, I picked up Volume Two: The Bride of Monkeysuit (Volume One is out-of-print in case you were wondering). As I was reading each story, I was thinking to myself, “How could I miss out on this stuff?” I’m all about Nazi Smashing and the retro art look to Rex Steele had me hooked. Take a look for yourself:
The Rex Steele DVD is really a first-class piece. The packaging is professional quality and the case itself is made from glossy card-stock. On the downside, the student award-winning animated short is only about 10 minutes. But, there are some cool extras plus there’s a CD of the short’s entire orchestral score. The total package makes it well worth the 15 buck investment. If you really need to justify it to yourself, consider it an appetizer for this Tuesday’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow DVD release.
Plus, Monkeysuit has just released a Rex Steele trade that collects all of his stories from the anthologies plus some never-before-published stuff. Just go to their site and buy them all. I highly recommend the Rex Steele trade, DVD and all of the anthologies (Parental Advisory - not each story in the anthology is all-ages appropriate) as they’re all great reads). Tell them Britt sent ya.
That’s all for now. See you next week as I put on the hat of comics pundit and state not only who will win the Wizard Fan Awards but more important, who should win. And don’t forget to keep your boards and bags together and keep your continuity straight.
Send column-specific e-mail using the link below. You can also find me reviewing Trades and Graphic Novels at 4-Color Review.
E-MAIL THE AUTHOR |
ARCHIVES
