Saga Returns in August

After a few months off, Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples return with Saga #13 on August 14!

James Robinson is leaving DC Comics and his last issue of Earth 2 will reportedly be issue #16!

R.I.P. Dan Adkins!

Joe Quesada has released artwork and discusses the editorial side for his version of Neil Gaiman and Todd McFarlane‘s Angela character that will make her first appearance in Age of Ultron #10 on June 19! The link also briefly discusses the future return of Marvelman and the upcoming Disney/Marvel Animated Movie Big Hero 6!

DC has announced cancellation of four more titles – Demon Knights, Dial H, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Threshold will all end in August, however, Legion of Super Heroes MAY return as a new “Justice” Legion title and Threshold is basically becoming the new Larfleeze series!

Robocop: The Last Stand is Boom! Studios’ adaptation of Frank Miller’s Robocop 3 screenplay!

Gambit will end with issue #17 in September!

Howard Chaykin is writing and drawing a new Buck Rogers mini-series for Hermes Press!

Dynamite Entertainment is teaming up Tarzan and John Carter for the first time in The Lords of Mars four-issue mini-series!

Marvel and ABC have released a full-length trailer for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which has been picked up and will reportedly air on Thursdays at 7pm in September!

Check out the trailer for Disney XD’s upcoming Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. cartoon!

Have you seen the Spock VS Spock Audi commercial?

KC Carlson. Art by Keith Wilson.

by KC Carlson

This has been a weirder-than-normal week. Lately, it seems like every time I turn around, some corporation or other is doing something dumb to keep me from reading comics I enjoy, or saying something in print that flies in the face of established comic book history — which some might call outright lying, but instead I’ll play their game and call it “revisionist history”, just like they do.

None of these things are very serious offenses to my (or frankly, anyone’s) comic book psyche. But every little dig, every little slight, eats away at the once rock-solid fabric of what comic books mean to many long-time readers. And inevitably gets them to start thinking that either a) it’s time to get a new hobby, or b) I’ve already got plenty of comics that I love — why do I keep putting up with new stories that I don’t enjoy as much and never seem to end?

CASE #000625: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL

Infinity

Imagine my surprise when I read this year’s Marvel’s Free Comic Book Day entry and got to the short preview in the back for the upcoming (and admittedly awesome-looking) Warren Ellis / Mike McKone Avengers: Endless Wartime. It’s being advertised as “Marvel’s First Original Graphic Novel”.

C’mon! That’s not correct! Marvel has been publishing “graphic novels” in one form or another since 1982, when they launched a new publishing line of longer (usually 48 or 64 pages) comic book stories in a larger (magazine-sized) format, which came to be known as the Marvel Graphic Novel. They even have their own Wikipedia page! Although that page does not list all the unnumbered graphic novel titles Marvel has published over the years — just the original numbered (until they weren’t) ones, the ones branded Marvel Graphic Novel.

How do I know all this? Because I just unpacked a box of all of the Marvel Graphic Novels and put them on a bookshelf last week. I’m pretty sore from carrying this incredibly heavy box up two flights of stairs only to discover that everything in that box might be a figment of my imagination. Marvel, you got some ‘splainin’ to do!

The Death of Captain Marvel

Some of these graphic novels are quite famous. The very first one may be one of the most important — “The Death of Captain Marvel” by Jim Starlin. It’s one of the most moving and thoughtful works of the Marvel Universe. Not only does it break comic book tradition by having the character dying in bed, surrounded by all his friends and loved ones, instead of in a huge battle with an unbeatable foe, but remarkably, it’s one of the very few comic book “deaths” not to be undone years later, by some other, lesser, talent. (So far.) It’s a confirmed classic, and it’s the “real” first Marvel original graphic novel. Hands down. Plus, it’s a must read.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

Other important Marvel GNs: X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson (inspiration for the X2: X-Men United film); The New Mutants by Claremont and Bob McLeod (the “pilot” for the popular 100-issue series and revivals); Daredevil: Love and War by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz; The Sensational She-Hulk by John Byrne; and Amazing Spider-Man: Hooky by Susan K. Putney and Bernie Wrightson, mostly for his amazing art.

The Death of Groo

Many Epic Illustrated and other creator-owned projects were published as Marvel Graphic Novels, including Dreadstar by Jim Starlin, Void Indigo by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik, The Swords of the Swashbucklers by Bill Mantlo and Jackson Guice, Marada the She-Wolf by Claremont and John Bolton, Alien Legion by Carl Potts, Alan Zelenetz, and Frank Cirocco, and The Death of Groo by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones. Early appearances of Walt Simonson’s StarSlammers, Dave Cockrum’s The Futurians, and Elaine Lee and Michael Kaluta’s Starstuck were also published as Marvel Graphic Novels.

Interestingly, the MGN The Shadow: Hitler’s Astrologer by Denny O’Neil and Michael Kaluta continued the creators’ adventures of the character from DC’s The Shadow series in the 1970s.

Marvel’s Tom Brevoort recently responded to the controversy at his New Brevoort Formspring with some great corporate doublespeak about the original Marvel Graphic Novel line, stating: “… none of them really fit the parameters of a Graphic Novel in the way the term is recognized today, for all that the line that they were a part of was called Marvel Graphic Novels. They’re really European-style albums, and not truly long enough in most cases to be considered a genuine graphic novel. So that’s the difference.”

So there you have it. Corporate handwaving at its very best. They’re not really graphic novels because they weren’t long enough… and because we said so. Also: Does this mean that Captain Marvel isn’t really dead? Or am I jumping the gun for next year’s big revisionist revelation? (Jeez, I hope not…)

CASE #000666: DC’s NEW 52

Legion of Super-Heroes #22

DC canceled Legion of Super-Heroes (one of my favorite series and one which I was proud to edit for many years for DC) a couple days ago, making it the first time since 1970 (aka 43 years) that DC hasn’t had an ongoing LSH title, or had announced plans for a shortly forthcoming one. Perhaps they do have something in mind for the future — SF time/dimensional travel may come in handy to dig out of the ever-downward spiral that is seemingly the “New” 52 — but then again, they might not.

The LSH has no major film in the works. No TV series. The last (only) animated series was deemed a failure despite many (but not enough) fans. Word on the street is that its concept is “too complicated” for mass success. (To which my personal reply has always been, “And the X-Men isn’t?”) In a corporate sense, the Legion of Super-Heroes is probably dead in the water. Long Live the Legion!

Legion of Super-Heroes #0. An issue edited by KC Carlson.

The idea behind the Legion is quite old-fashioned, after all. A bunch of kids from different planets, each with a talent that isn’t anything special where they come from, team up and discover that they can do more together than apart. They form a club, with weird entry rules and tests, that leaves out as many people as it lets in (who then go on to form their own club). As the series continued over the years, there was a whole platoon of various characters and powers and planets, a lot to keep up with — but that was also part of the charm. Maybe all those ideas just require too much work from the reader these days.

Or maybe the concept’s regular retreat to the reboot gave it all the problems of a long-running history without the benefits. If you liked something, it might no longer exist — but you still knew about it and wanted it back. Keeping things straight was difficult, and there was a nagging uncertainty that they could pull the plug again at any time.

Legion of Super-Heroes: The Great Darkness Saga. A classic by Paul Levitz and Keith Giffen.

Plus, their last writer was from a different generation. Long before he was Publisher or President of DC Comics, Paul Levitz was a big fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes, ultimately becoming one of the series’ most important and influential writers. He was especially active in the era in which the LSH was extremely popular (second only to the peak of the New Teen Titans). Later, as Paul rose up the corporate ladder, he instinctively knew that the culture in which creative and memorable comic books were developed would never flourish in an overly corporate structure, and he strove to keep the growing “Hollywood” pressure out of the heads of as many comic creators and editors as he could (mostly by keeping the DC comic book office in its historical home of New York City during times when Warner wanted it in California).

After leaving his position as an executive of DC Comics, Paul went back to his first love, writing the Legion, ironically becoming perhaps the Legion’s last guardian, given seemingly lackluster editorial support.

Legion of Super-Heroes #4

As for the New 52, I’ve been very vocal about it not being very much fun to read, at least for me. I read all of the first issues, immediately dropped at least half the titles, and continued to drop two or three more every couple of months, after realizing that they were not living up to their potential. The obvious and not-so-obvious editorial tinkering, indifference, or the rapid replacement of notable creative talent with people that I’ve never heard of — and whom I assume work cheaper than the creators that they replaced — didn’t help.

In more recent months, I haven’t had to keep cutting back on titles — DC is now providing that service for me! (So I can’t say that they haven’t done anything nice for me lately.) Unfortunately, they’re rapidly getting down to the few I still enjoy.

I would not be surprised to see, within a year, DC only publishing new comics starring the Big 5 characters, the JLA (and maybe a rumored potential spin-off — Justice Legion?), and whatever they’ve got going in TV, movies, and videogames at the time.

And maybe not even that many. Let’s remember that Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is the company that can’t get a JLA project going. Can’t figure out a Wonder Woman project. Keeps fumbling the Superman franchise. (We’ll find out for sure very soon.) While DC keeps playing “Why so serious?” with their media projects, Marvel’s fun and action-packed films pile up millions of fans and box office receipts. How embarrassing will it be for DC if Marvel’s underdog Guardians of the Galaxy film is a major hit, and DC still hasn’t got a Wonder Woman or JLA media version announced? Need I go on?

READING IS FUN… DAMENTAL!

Steve Canyon Vol. 1

I need to remind myself of the key rule of comic fandom: If you don’t like what you’re reading, read something else! Every comic book that you are losing interest in (or has been canceled out from under you) frees up the money you need to try a Steve Canyon collection, or an Uncle Scrooge hardcover, or some classic Simon & Kirby stuff. (I just got the forthcoming Simon & Kirby: Science Fiction book from Titan. Yay!) Or maybe even some classic Marvel (Masterworks and Essentials) or DC (Archive and Showcase Presents) stories. There’s a lot of really great (and time-tested) material out there. Disappointed about what you’re reading? Don’t go away mad! Just read something different!

__________________________________

KC CARLSON: Should probably go re-read my favorite old Marvel Graphic Novels before Marvel erases my memory of them. They have that technology, right?

Um… what was I just talking about…?

WESTFIELD COMICS is not responsible for the stupid things that KC says. Especially that thing that really irritated you.

Classic comic covers from the Grand Comics Database.

Free Comic Book Day 2013 is now but a memory, so we got together a number pictures from different sources and have put together a little gallery of just some of the revelry to preserve those memories just a little while longer. See ya next year on Saturday, May 3rd! Click on all images to make BIGGER!

Westside in High Point Center

Eastside On Willy Street

Fantastic Four: Crusaders and Titans

by Robert Greenberger

Seemingly concurrent with the return of co-creator Jack Kirby to Marvel, writer/editor Roy Thomas was inspired to dive into his bag of tricks and find some new foes, some old characters to revive, and tweak the lineup of Marvel’s flagship title Fantastic Four. That run of stories is being collected in Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans, collecting issues #164-176 from 1975-76. Roy is aided and abetted by interior artists George Perez, Rich Buckler, and John Buscema. More than a few of the covers are by Kirby, inked by his former FF collaborator Joe Sinnott and it’s a nice reminder of how strong their work together is. Kirby was past his prime at this point while Sinnott was able to make the work look as good as it had years earlier. In fact, Sinnott was the visual secret engine to the run in the decade after Kirby left. He was pressed into service to take the work of John Romita, Buscema, Perez, Buckler, and others and make it consistently look like the best of the Kirby/Sinnott days.

The volume opens with the revival of the Crusader, originally known as Marvel Boy. A 1950 creation of Stan Lee and Russ Heath, Robert Grayson and his parents fled the Nazi menace and relocated to Uranus. The planet turned out to be inhabited and he grew up among them, developing higher than normal intelligence and telepathic powers. At 16, it was decided Robert would pilot the Silver Bullet back to Earth and, using power-producing pills from his hosts and a pair of wrist bands that would emit blinding “atomic radiance” from his father, fight crime on Earth. He headlined his own title, although weak sales rapidly saw it renamed Astonishing and he was gone after six installments, the latter five nicely drawn by Bill Everett.

Roy had the FF find Grayson in a state of suspended animation and altered the backstory so the gauntlets were now “Quantum Bands” and the source of his powers. It was a nice nod to the Atlas era even though he was now positioned as a villain and then was seemingly killed off (the Quantum Bands, of course, are still around and Grayson avoided death and is now an Agent of Atlas).

After a fill-in from Buckler and Dan Adkins guest-starring the Hulk, Roy kicked things into gear with a storyline that once more robbed Ben Grimm of his Thing persona. However, with a four in the team’s name and a clear need for power, Reed goes out to recruit a replacement. Unlike the last time this happened, when the Inhuman Medusa temporarily filled in for Sue Richards back in issue #130, this looked to be more of a permanent need. Mister Fantastic went out and hired a hero: Luke Cage, who arrived just in time to help them stop the Wrecker.

Roy was masterminding the overall storyline which showed a shadowy foe manipulating events surrounding the team; no easy feat as page counts dropped during this run from eighteen to seventeen pages. Things nicely build to a satisfying revelation in issue #170.

From there, we return to visit one of Roy’s favorite places in the Marvel Universe: Counter Earth. Roy created this planet, revolving around Sol like our own, and set Warlock’s adventures there only a few years earlier. Now the golden ape Gorr brings the team there to stop Galactus’ herald, the Destroyer, from summoning the consumer of worlds.

In a taut three-parter, the FF fail, Galactus arrives, and Counter Earth’s creator, the High Evolutionary, wants to go mano-a-mano with the cosmic entity to save the world. The Thing returns just in time for the climax and unexpected arrival of the Impossible Man. The resident of Poppup then takes center stage in the final story in the collection, a light-hearted change-of-pace tale that actually lists Lee, Perez, Thomas, Kirby, Sinnott, John Verpoorten, Marv Wolfman, Archie Goodwin, Gerry Conway, and, Marie Severin as guest stars.

The pace is unrelenting and there’s something for every taste in this collection, a representative sampling of 1970s superhero action at its finest.

Purchase

Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans

Beau Smith

by Beau Smith

From 1991 through the year 2000, I worked for Todd McFarlane. I was his head of promotions, VP of sales, marketing, Executive of Publishing, writer, you name it; I pretty much did whatever job Todd asked of me. It was a great job(s) and I really enjoyed being there, from just five of us working for him, to the point where it was well over 100.

It was never dull. Never.

Boof And The Bruise Crew #1. Art by Tim Harkins

Todd was one of, if not the most, interesting person I’ve worked for. He is truly 50/50 on being creative and a very instinctual businessman. It seems that when Todd was in high school and college, it was a very creative time for him. As legend has it, those were the times when he came up with the idea for not only Spawn, but another interesting group of characters as well. Those characters were Boof and The Bruise Crew.

It was around 1993-94 when we at Todd McFarlane Productions had a lot of business folks knocking at our door. The success and sales of Spawn as well as the start of McFarlane Toys, had everyone’s attention, especially those who saw a chance to do business with Todd and make some money. Walmart was one of those folks. Paul Burke, who had worked for Todd for a long time, was a real navigator in making this happen.

We had done some early business with Walmart a few years before, thanks to Paul, but now they were wanting to amplify that business. Being a family friendly retailer, the darker side of Spawn was a bit edgier than they really wanted to go. But they were very much interested in Todd creating something that would hit the ages of grade school to high school. That was when Todd dug into his old school notebooks and pulled out Boof and The Bruise Crew.

Todd’s schedule was, and is, hyper-intensive. His 9 to 5 day is jammed to the gills. He always made a point to shut off at 5 and dedicate the rest of the time to his wife and family, without fail. I can say that my greatest admiration for Todd has always been the fact that he is one of the best fathers and husbands I have ever seen. His art and business sense will always pale in comparison to him being a husband and father.

Boof #1 Art by John Cleary

So, I was working in my office here in West Virginia when my fax machine (You remember those…right?) starting spewing pages and pages of sketches and hand written notes from Todd. No sooner had I started cutting the pages from the roll (Thermal paper that came on a tube), when Todd called. He went on to explain that this was what he wanted to develop for Walmart as a comic book and possibly toys, plush animals, trading cards, and more. He told me about coming up with these characters when he was in school and that they needed fleshed out with background, back stories, and character details. He wanted me to look them over and see if I would be interested in fleshing them out and writing a six issues series for the character Boof, aimed at high school kids that liked Beavis & Butthead as well as Ren & Stimpy (both very popular at the time with the general public and with Todd) and then another six issue series with Boof and The Bruise Crew aimed at grade school and middle school age kids.

It didn’t take but a glance at the sketches to know that I wanted to do it. Besides, in those days, Todd paid very well and I didn’t want to miss out on that paycheck.

According to Todd’s notes, the character Boof and his friends were aliens from another planet and were on Earth due to some spaceship malfunctions. He had given all the characters names; Boof, Bunny, Zeek, Opee, Caddy, and Sarge. It was up to me to fill in the rest. At the time, Todd was kinda busy with another character that he created called Spawn. You may have heard of him.

We tossed around the idea of offering the two series to the direct comic book market, but we knew there was really no demand for kid stuff or humor comics at the time. This was the early 1990s and mainstream superheroes were wearing the sales crown. If memory serves me correctly, we had a guaranteed pre-sell of 300,000 issues for both six issues series from Walmart. Not bad for a humor book, eh? Of course, they had the option for more if needed.

Boof #1 Art By John Cleary

Todd and I talked about artists for the books at length. For the Boof series, we wanted someone who had a resemblance to Todd’s own work only more exaggerated. Todd was always receiving submissions in the mail and pulling out the ones that interested him. One of those was from a young artist from Kentucky named John Cleary. John had done some tryout stuff for Erik Larsen on Savage Dragon as well.

John was a very nice kid and full of passion, but not a veteran of the business, so it was part of my job to help him along into the big pool. John’s style truly was an exaggerated version of Todd’s. At times, it was like Todd on some sort of acid trip, which is a scary thought if you know teetotaler Todd.

Boof. Art By John Cleary.

John filled every panel up with art and added loads of detail. You could also tell that he really wanted to do superhero/horror stories because in each issue of Boof, all the characters looked evil, even when they were doing good deeds. By issue six, everything and everybody looked pretty scary.

Boof And The Bruise Crew #3. Art By Tim Harkins.

For Boof and The Bruise Crew, we wanted a true Saturday morning cartoon look, very open and very friendly without being My Little Pony. The artist I had in mind was Tim Harkins.

Boof And The Bruise Crew. Art by Tim Harkins

Tim, a Kubert School graduate and teacher, was already well established in comic books as a letterer for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, as well as most other publishers. He was also a noted inker. What most in the comic book world didn’t know was that Tim was also a fantastic penciler and writer of strips and gags in magazines such as Cracked, CARtoons, and other humor related publications. Tim had a real Jack Davis style that could be detailed or very open. He was perfect for the job and Todd agreed. Tim also plotted the Bruise Crew issues with me. We had a ton of fun and I really appreciated his knowledge of gag work.

With the creative teams all in place, we kicked the books into high gear and started the machine. I have to say, other than working with Pat Lee on Wynonna Earp, I had never worked with artists that stayed this far ahead of schedule and turned in such professional work. No cutting corners and no sloppiness. John and Tim were full throttle pros.

As we were working on the issues, word got out (not that it was any secret) of these books to the direct market. Retailers were in somewhat of an uproar that they were not offered the books. They were right. They should’ve been offered the books, even though we knew they probably wouldn’t come close to matching the then current Image Comics numbers. We still should have given them the chance to sell them.

We ended up working out a deal with Walmart so that we could offer the books to the direct market. The stipulation was that the books could be sold to the direct market six months after their release in Walmart. We also gave the direct market their own exclusive covers. Walmart didn’t have to do this, after all, it was their exclusive. But they wanted to work with Todd and this showed their passion to work with him.

Again, if my feeble memory serves me right, I think we sold right around 40,000 of Boof #1 and Boof and The Bruise Crew #1 within the direct market with the rest of the series having lower sales in accordance to usual mini-series percentage drops. As we suspected, the direct market didn’t do gangbusters with the series because they were humor comics, but I was glad they were out there and readers got a chance to pick them up if they wanted.

Boof And The Bruise Crew. Art by Tim Harkins.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed writing them and putting out something that wasn’t all gloom and doom. For a while, it really looked like both series were going to end up as TV animation series; there were a lot of studios that were knocking on the door. Both Boof series also came very close to being a McFarlane Toys toy line. In the end, Walmart didn’t do as well with the comics as they thought they would and interest soon died out with them. They also had second thoughts on the ads that were in the books and the fact that Todd’s comics were not what you would call family friendly enough for Walmart. In reality, it all ended up the way we figured considering the market then and where interests were.

I would’ve loved to have seen the Boof series go into other mediums. In the Boof series, I modeled the kid characters after my own three sons by name, Nick, Dana and Brad, as well as our dog, Buddy. It would’ve been fun for them to see themselves on the screen and in video games.

I have to thank Todd not only for the great paycheck….but the total freedom he gave me in writing these books. Todd has always been great for hiring people for what they do best and then letting them do it. You just have to remember that he owns it at the end of the day.

If you get the chance to find Boof or Boof and The Bruise Crew, please give them a shot. (There are some available as back issues right here at Westfield. You can find them here. – ed.) They truly have that 90s humor feel of Beavis & Butthead as well as Ren & Stimpy, lots of poop and fart jokes, over the top cartoon violence, and even a couple of catch phrases that should have caught on. On a personal note, I also doubled the size of my house and we bought two brand new vehicles. Thanks to you, Boof, for a while, I was thrillin’ and skillin’!

Not sorry for one money grabbin’ moment,

Beau Smith

The Flying Fist Ranch

www.flyingfistranch.com

Roger Ash

by Roger Ash

People seem to like making lists of favorite (or least favorite) things and I thought I’d join in on the fun this week. So I’m presenting a list of 10 meaningful comic covers. These may not be my favorite covers (though some of them are), but they all hold some sort of special meaning to me.

Walt Disney Comics Digest #1

1)      Walt Disney Comics Digest #1 (Gold Key) – I got this comic from my parents when I was a kid and I read it to death, often on long car trips. The cover on my copy is partly missing and the pages are ragged, but it’s all from repeated reading. This comic has been much loved.

Laff-A-Lympics #4

2)      Laff-A-Lympics #4 (Marvel) – I was a big fan of the Laff-A-Lympics cartoon as a kid and when I saw this cover on the spinner rack of a local store, I had to check it out. I’m glad I did because aside from being a fun comic, it got me to look at the other comics on the rack. This led directly to my next cover on the list.

Howard the Duck #25

3)      Howard the Duck #25 (Marvel) – This is the book that really got me into collecting. Steve Gerber & Gene Colan’s work on this book became the watermark of what I considered good in comics for years. Gerber’s run on Howard remains my favorite comic to this day.

X-Men #137

4)      X-Men #137 (Marvel) – The death of Phoenix. Probably the biggest comic event of my youth. A fantastic story. It’s the first time a comic made me cry.

New Teen Titans #1

5)      New Teen Titans #1 (DC) – I was very much a Marvel Zombie growing up and this book is what got me to start reading DC’s. While I didn’t know any of the characters aside from Robin, the creative team of Marv Wolman & George Perez convinced me to try the book. Absolutely fantastic series and still one of my favorites.

Fantastic Four #232

6)      Fantastic Four #232 (Marvel) – As much as I enjoyed his art on X-Men, John Byrne’s work on Fantastic Four as writer and artist topped that for me and remains a favorite. This run also reenergized Fantastic Four and brought it back to the forefront in many reader’s minds.

American Flagg! #1

7)      American Flagg! #1 (First) – Aside from being a great series, Howard Chaykin’s American Flagg! is one of the first indy series I got into (indy meaning, at the time, anything not Marvel or DC). This led to all sorts of great comics like Cerebus, Critters, Love & Rockets, Eclipse Magazine, Scout, and many other enjoyable series.

Four Color #199

8)      Four Color #199 (Dell) – I read Carl Barks’ duck stories as a kid, but I had no idea who he was. I just knew these were fun Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics. As I got more into comics, I learned more about Barks and his outstanding body of work. My favorite story of his is “Sheriff of Bullet Valley”, and his cover for Four Color #199 in which it appeared is one of my favorites.

Batman #251

9)      Batman #251 (DC) – After I started reading DC comics, a friend loaned me this issue. Wow! This stunning story by Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams shaped my view of the Joker. He was no longer the jokester played by Cesar Romero in the Batman TV series, but a deadly and frighteningly unhinged villain.

Thor #337

10)   Thor #337 (Marvel) – I just love this cover by Walter Simonson and it’s such an iconic image. It also ushered in one of the best and most fondly remembered runs on Thor ever. It holds a special meaning for me as the first book I wrote was the Modern Masters volume on Simonson.

So, there you have it. Ten covers that I like and have meaning for me. How about you? What covers stick out in your mind? Comment below and join in the conversation.

Now, go read a comic!

Classic comic covers from the Grand Comics Database.

Nightwing: Old Friends and New Enemies

by Robert Greenberger

Mike Gold had a bold idea. He wanted DC Comics to produce a weekly comic book, 48-pages thick and mimic the success of Britain’s 2000 AD. Executive Editor Dick Giordano was intrigued by the notion of a weekly, having tried without much success to use the Charlton characters to launch a weekly, something I discussed in detail way back in Comic Book Artist #9. But here was Mike, newly arrived from First Comics and brimming with fascinating ideas, among them Wasteland and this weekly, anthologies to explore new ideas. Somehow, it was decided that Action Comics would house this bold new idea, starting with the upcoming issue #601.

Mike announced Barbara Kesel and I were working on features for this book and we hashed out characters to be featured and who would edit which ones. He had figured out that staggering storylines and characters would mean every few weeks we could create an event, goosing sales just as the retailers might begin lowering their orders. He knew the weekly would feature Blackhawk based on his success with the Howard Chaykin-produced prestige format miniseries and since Green Lantern’s solo book was being cancelled, he could find a new home here. Superman, of course, had to be a fixture, having not missed an issue since 1938. Mike hit on the notion that it would be done like a weekly Sunday page, keeping Curt Swan, who had lost out on drawing the Man of Steel in the John Byrne revamp, connected to the hero. We then drafted a list of other then-popular characters that might not sustain a solo book but could easily handle a rotating feature.

It fell to me to figure out a rotation based on writers reporting on the length of their serials plus determining which hero would grace each cover. For me, the best part of working on that book was commissioning the covers, getting people like Alex Toth, John Severin, and Mike Kaluta to contribute. In some ways, the covers were the best part of the series. Anyway, the rotation meant that Black Canary would be the first new feature to be added followed a few weeks later by Nightwing.

Action Comics Weekly #613. Cover by Michael Kaluta.

At the time, Nightwing was incredibly popular thanks to Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s handling of him in the pages of New Teen Titans. Barbara, who was working with Marv on the title, got the Nightwing gig and of course that meant she was now editing her boss. Over the 42 issues of the series, there were two Nightwing serials, both involving Speedy, playing off their friendship from the Titans. For the first time ever, the two serials along with Nightwing’s origin are being collected in Nightwing: Old Friends and New Enemies. The solicitations unfortunately are using the weak Gil Kane cover instead of the more atmospheric Kaluta cover or a choice between the more content-accurate Jon Bogdanove & Murphy Anderson or Tom Grindberg covers.

Kicking things off will be the Dan Mishkin-penned origin from Secret Origins #13, a time when the series was also 48-pages, pairing a Golden Age story by Roy Thomas with a more commercially viable modern age origin edited by yours truly. Dan fit this in between New Teen Titans #16-19 as Dick, just turning 20, tells his backstory to Jericho while hanging out on Tamaran. Given the acrobatic nature of the character, I turned the art over to newcomer Erik Larsen, who was already working with me on Doom Patrol.

Action Comics Weekly #618. Cover by Jon Bogdanove & Murphy Anderson.

From there the book moves into the serial from ACW #613-618 by Wolfman, Chuck Patton and Tom Poston. “The Cheshire Contract” has Speedy ask Nightwing for help in stopping Cheshire from assassinating an ambassador. Given Nightwing’s recent split form Batman, the two former sidekicks take time to discuss what this has meant to the former Boy Wonder. This turns out to a pivotal Speedy tale in that he has been chasing Cheshire so he could finally meet Lian, the child they conceived together.

The second serial, “Rocks and Hard Places”, was longer — nine parts – and a bit more ambitious so Marv brought in his animation pal Cheri Wilkerson to cowrite then take over. While mostly unknown today, from 1984-1992 she was a prolific animation scribe, having worked on the Batman and Superman animated series among countless others. Illustrating the tale was New Talent Showcase alum Tom Mandrake although the schedule required Vince Giarrano to step in and pencil two parts for Tom. The story, running from issues #627-634, picks up with Speedy in Ireland, taking time off from heroics to bond with Lian. This also picks up on the revelation that he had been fired from the CBI, the government agency he headed for a time and something was definitely rotten. They investigate, getting framed for a crime in the process, and the two have to expose the corruption.

For the record, there was also a solo Speedy five-parter towards the end of ACW’s existence. Written by Mark Verheiden with art by Louis Williams, Frank Springer, and Frank McLaughlin, it was the first story to show Speedy attempt to raise Lian as a single, super-hero parent. The action also takes place at an AIDS clinic, one of the earliest comic book references to the insidious disease. A shame it wasn’t included here.

Purchase

Nightwing: Old Friends and New Enemies

Classic comic covers from the Grand Comics Database.

Free Comic Book Day

This year’s Free Comic Book Day is tomorrow, Saturday, May 4.

Both Westfield Comics locations will be open from 10am – 6pm and will be giving out copies of this year’s offerings from all the comics industry’s participating publishers while supplies last.

The West side location in High Point Centre will again be hosting local artists and creators including Jeff Butler, Cory Carani, Ed Dunphy, Jordan Gunderson and Jeffrey Moy! You can also buy sketch cards that will benefit The Hero Initiative. There will be our usual mystery buy (you choose a random card not knowing what you may get) for a $5.00 donation. Iif you don’t want to take a chance, you can also request a specific character from one of the artists on hand for a donation. Members of the Wisconsin Ghostbusters will be appearing and we also hope to have in attendance members of the 501st Legion and a certain wallcrawler you may have heard of!

At the East side location characters such as Wonder Woman, Deadpool, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, and Casey Jones will also be appearing from approx. 10am – 1pm!
Hope we see you in person on Free Comic Book Day!

If you can’t make it to either location, Free Comic Book Day books will also be available at WestfieldComics.com beginning at Midnight!

Westfield Comics – West
7475 Mineral Point Road
Madison, WI 53717
Phone: 608-833-4444

Westfield Comics – East
944 Williamson St
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-663-5555

The Owl #1 Alex Ross cover

J.T. Krul has written such comics as Captain Atom, Soulfire, and Teen Titans. Now, he takes on The Owl at Dynamite, which is available for preorder this month. Westfield’s Roger Ash recently asked Krul about this upcoming project.

Westfield: For those unfamiliar with the character, who is The Owl?

J.T. Krul: Fifty years ago, Nick Terry was a cop in Yorktown. In order to have an even bigger impact keeping the city safe, he donned a mask and cape and named himself The Owl. Eventually, he brought his girlfriend, Belle, into the act as she became his Owl Girl. For years, they lived and fought side by side against the worst criminal element. The Owl had an array of gadgets and devices at his disposal, including his signature roadster.

But that time has passed. Along with many other heroes in the Project Superpowers universe, the Owl was locked in a mystical urn, suspended in limbo in order to seal away all the world’s greatest evils. It wasn’t something he did willingly.

Now, he’s been freed and is really just trying to put his life back together, both in the mask and out of it. He may have lost everything and everyone he knew, but at his core, he’s still a man trying to do the right thing – protect those who can’t protect themselves and work outside the system to keep the people safe.

Westfield: What attracted you to the character?

Krul: The Owl is a true hero in every regard. His motivation doesn’t come from some terrible tragedy. He is not looking for revenge or getting off on punishing the wicked. He wants to help people, pure and simple. Unfortunately for him, the world he finds himself in is neither pure nor simple.

I written many street level characters before, from Batman and Robin, to Green Arrow and Doctor Mid-Nite. I enjoy dealing with grounded characters in these settings. They cannot possibly hope to relieve the world of all that ails it, but they don’t let that stop them from doing what they can. I think I’d liken him more toward Tim Drake/Robin or Doctor Mid-Nite in that it’s a very altruistic notion. He’s not a broken man or damaged goods.

For the Owl, he’s not the problem. It’s the world that is damaged. But will the grime of the city rub off on him?

Westfield: What can you tell us about the story?

Krul: At its core, this story is really about a man returning to a city and a world that he doesn’t recognize anymore. Nick cannot help feel nostalgic for the times he lived in. Obviously, he didn’t think it was perfect; otherwise, why would he become a vigilante? But he does see our present day as being bleak and dark, filled with desperate people fighting for their very lives. The criminals are more ruthless and the weaponry is more advanced. The way some seem to relish violence is very unsettling to him.

From a personal standpoint, Nick is trying to find where he belongs. Everyone that he knew is dead and gone, most tragically Belle. But just because she is dead and the Owl was locked away, that doesn’t mean their legacy didn’t carry on. The question is – what will the Owl think of its evolution?

On a more visceral level, it’s got cops, robbers, gangsters, psychotics, hitmen, and enough blood and bullets to go around.

The Owl #1 Ardian Syaf cover

Westfield: You’re working with artist Heubert Khan Michael on the book. What can you say about your collaboration?

Krul: It’s been great working with Heubert. I actually met him awhile back at NYCC and was really taken with the pages he had on display in artist’s alley. Given the Golden Age link to the Owl, I guess it was serendipity that his samples featured the JSA.

Heubert brings a lot of energy to the page for the action, but also the touch of emotion needed for the quieter scenes. One of the benefits of working in comics these days is the ability to collaborate with artists all over the world. He’s dedicated, talented, and super nice. What’s not to like?

Westfield: If this miniseries does well, would you like to tell more stories about the Owl?

Krul: Absolutely! We’ve really only scratched the surface on the Owl’s story. And as a writer, I look for worlds that offer a lot of room to shape and mold events and characters. The Superpowers universe has that big time. There’s tons of potential.

Westfield: Any closing comments?

Krul: Just a big thanks to Nick and Joe and everyone at Dynamite. I’ve been fortunate enough to work with them in the past and was eager to partner up with them again. I hope everyone checks out the Owl!

Purchase

The Owl #1