The Shadow #1 Alex Ross Cover

Garth Ennis is the fan-favorite writer of such books as Preacher, The Boys, and The Punisher. Now, he takes aim at pulp legend, The Shadow from Dynamite Entertainment. Westfield’s Roger Ash contacted Ennis to learn more about his plans for the book.

Westfield: What appeals to you about The Shadow?

Garth Ennis: Great character with a great look – the hat, the scarf, the coat, the twin 45s. He has a strong sense of the dramatic, even the theatrical, and he often engineers complex and tortuous ends for his foes. Big tactical thinker, very dangerous. Shows mercy when appropriate. Considers himself an agent of fate – sees the bigger picture, knows how to move the pieces around the board. And, of course, the power to cloud men’s minds – which comes in handy when he’s taking on odds of twenty to one.

Westfield: What can readers look forward to in the book?

Ennis: Six issues of action and intrigue in one of the most romantic and intriguing eras of human existence – the 1930s. The New York waterfront, the Pan Am China Clipper, the Fabulous Orient in the shape of the Shanghai underworld. Fiendish villains, sinister Germans, lots of derring-do, a beautiful heroine and – of course – the Shadow himself.

The Shadow #1 Howard Chaykin cover

Westfield: Will you be bringing back any of The Shadow’s classic supporting cast?

Ennis: Margo Lane was the only one that appealed – a brave and resourceful young woman who soon finds herself out of her depth. As the Shadow tells her, this time it’s not just colourful villains and dens of intrigue – this time the stakes are much, much higher.

Westfield: What can you say about artist Aaron Campbell’s contribution to the book?

Ennis: Delighted to be working with Aaron. Fantastic attention to detail, great storyteller, extremely professional.

The Shadow #1 John Cassaday cover

Aaron Campbell is the artist of such books as Dynamite Entertainment’s Green Hornet: Year One and Sherlock Holmes. Now he teams up with writer Garth Ennis to tell new stories of The Shadow. He recently talked with Westfield’s Roger Ash about his work on the book.

Westfield: What attracted you to the project?

Aaron Campbell: What wouldn’t attract me to this project? It’s the Shadow, it’s Garth Ennis! The Shadow is an awesome character in an awesome time. I mean what’s not to like? It’s New York City and other exotic locals in the 30s, WWII is getting ready to start. You have the old school mystique of eastern mysticism wrapped up with a badass gunslinger. Plus, The Shadow is one of those characters that everyone is aware of but very few know much about so there’s this chance for readers to explore something completely new.

Westfield: How much design work are you doing on the series?

Campbell: Well, I spent the first couple weeks working closely with Nick [Barrucci] on the look of the character and for the most part it’s going to be the Shadow that we are all familiar with. Black cape with the red lining, big floppy fedora, trench coat and red fluttering scarf, dual m1911 pistols. Looking back through all the existing material you’ll find though that there’s never been one consistent way of depicting him. His costume has always had little differences here and there and the individual styles vary dramatically. For my part I’ll be sticking to what I know and the style I’ve been developing, which is to say heavy on the shadows, a certain adherence to reality, and an almost fanatic devotion to place and time.

The Shadow #1 Jae Lee cover

Westfield: Have you enjoyed your collaboration with Garth Ennis?

Campbell: It’s still pretty early on in the project for me to comment too much about this but I think I can safety say that it’s going to be awesome.

Westfield: Any closing comments?

Campbell: Just that from what I’ve seen of Garth’s story so far The Shadow is in very good hands.

Preorder

The Shadow #1

KC Carlson

by KC Carlson

After three somewhat lackluster months, it looks like the comics industry has suddenly snapped back into life (must have not seen its shadow), with lots of cool new stuff, as well as new volumes of interesting ongoing series. Plus, the landscape is starting to get cluttered with Batman, Avengers, and Spider-Man stuff. (Hmmm, wonder what those three things have in common?) So let’s get right to it, publisher by publisher. For fun, we’ll save DC and Marvel for last — and start with a blast of dynamite!

The Shadow #1

DYNAMITE: Big news here is an all-new ongoing series for The Shadow, written by Garth Ennis and art by Aaron Campbell. Since this is a Dynamite production, there will be (touches pinky to lips) one meeellion covers! (Wait — I’m now being told that there are only four — one each by Alex Ross, Howard Chaykin, John Cassady, and Jae Lee. Double drat!) Speaking of Chaykin, his version of The Shadow (published by DC back in 1986 as one of their early Mature Readers titles) is being reprinted under its previous collected title, The Shadow: Blood & Judgment. Westfield will be all over these: Roger is doing interviews about the new book (set in the original time period of the late 1930s) and Bob Greenberger will be looking back at the Chaykin collection.

The Art of Ramona Fradon

Chaykin also recently sat down for a lengthy interview with legendary artist (and Comic Book Hall of Fame member) Ramona Fradon, which will be the basis for The Art of Ramona Fradon — a new 144-page hardcover retrospective of her astonishing career. Beginning in 1950, as a pioneering woman illustrating superhero comics, she’s best known for her lengthy run on Aquaman, co-creating Metamorpho (with Bob Haney), and drawing almost the entire run of DC’s original Super Friends title in the 1970s. She’s also worked on Shining Knight (her first assignment), Superman, Batman, Plastic Man, Freedom Fighters, and (for Marvel) Fantastic Four and The Cat. When Dale Messick retired from the newspaper comic Brenda Starr, Fradon got the assignment and drew the strip until her own retirement in 1995. The forward for The Art of Ramona Fradon will be by Walter Simonson, and the book is also available in an edition signed by Ramona Fradon.

The Adventures of Venus

FANTAGRAPHICS: The Adventures of Venus is an example of Love and Rockets creator Gilbert Hernandez’s rare work in all-ages comics, collecting the adventures of Luba’s niece Venus in a 104-page B&W hardcover. It reprints all of Hernandez’s stories from the kids’ anthology Measles, adding an all-new story done just for this collection . . . Fans of Linda Medley’s amazing Castle Waiting have been waiting a long time for the next installment of this wonderful series. In April, the wait is over, as Volume Two continues with the long-awaited #16 . . . Also in April, but now on the order form, is Volume Three of the acclaimed Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse reprint series, this one subtitled “High Noon at Inferno Gulch.” This 280-page high-quality hardcover focuses on the Wild West with two epic stories by Floyd Gottfredson — “A Race for Riches” and “Bat Bandit!” Plus, lots of shorter stories and over 50 pages of supplementary features including behind-the-scenes artwork and vintage publicity material. This is one of the best collections of vintage newspaper strips out there — among an amazing number of other great series! Oh, my wallet!

America's Got Powers

IMAGE: Images has several interesting products of note this month. First up is America’s Got Powers #1 & 2, the first of a six-issue series about the biggest Reality TV show in the world — a competition between super-powered teens to win fame and fortune (and get laid backstage). It’s written by edgy English television presenter (and big-time comic book fan) Jonathan Ross with dynamic art and covers by Bryan Hitch (known for, just for starters, Ultimates, Stormwatch, Authority, JLA, and Fantastic Four). This could be just the thing to kill off Reality TV! . . . One of the least likely comic titles to return — Supreme — does exactly that with issue #63, featuring an unpublished script by Alan Moore and illustrated by… guess who? (Sorry, you’re wrong… it’s Erik Larsen and Cory Hamscher.) It’s the legendary “lost” issue of Supreme. Because nothing sells more comic books than Alan Moore projects without Moore’s involvement! . . . In Jonathan Hickman’s new espionage thriller Secret, the title enigma threatens to bring down two of the largest governments in the world, in a new ongoing series with art by breakout talent Ryan Bodenheim.

Popeye #1

IDW: There’s a brand-new Popeye four-issue miniseries coming from IDW, and Segar fans should take note. It’s written by Roger Langridge (The Muppets), with art by rising star Bruce Ozella, and their work looks to be faithful to the roots of the character/strip. Ozella provides a cover that evokes both Action Comics #1 and Segar, and there’s also a variant cover by the legendary Jules Feiffer!

Richard Stark's Parker: The Score

The third volume of Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of Richard Stark’s Parker is on the way. The Score involves Parker getting involved in the ultimate heist — robbing an entire town. How can anything go wrong? Yet, somehow, it does. 160 pulse-pounding pages! If you’re not reading Cooke’s Parker, you’re missing out on pure adrenaline! . . . Speaking of Darwyn Cooke (who suddenly seems everywhere), he’s also providing the cover to Rocketeer Adventures 2 #2. Inside, there’s all-new work by Walter Simonson, John Paul Leon, Paul Dini, Bill Morrison, and others.

Hero Comics 2012

The 2012 version of the Hero Comics benefit book features work by some of the creators who have benefited from the Hero Initiative, as well as new stories starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Zombies vs. Robots, Rex Mantooth: Kung-Fu Gorilla, and others. Covers by J. Scott Campbell and Joe Jusko . . . Volume Two of the wonderful and acclaimed Alex Toth visual biography, Genius, Illustrated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell, is now available to order. 288 oversized pages cover Toth’s career from the 1960s to his death in 2006, featuring art (many complete stories) from Toth’s comic book work from Warren, DC Comics, Red Circle, Marvel, and his own creator-owned properties, as well as samples of his animation work at Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears. Massively recommended!

Wally Wood: The Complete Galaxy Illustrations

Wally Wood: The Complete Galaxy Illustrations covers a different side to Wally Wood’s comic career by spotlighting over 200 drawings and color paintings for science fiction magazines of the 1950s, mostly for Galaxy. Wood historian Roger Hill has tracked them all down for this 160-page hardcover collection of seldom-seen (most never reprinted) artwork by one of the industry’s master artists. This promises beautiful reproduction, as over half of the artwork is reproduced from originals or from Wood’s personal file copies.

Groo vs. Conan #1

DARK HORSE: Too dumb not to be true! Groo vs. Conan, a four-issue miniseries, begins in April. Conceived by Mark Evanier (writer) and Sergio Aragones, with additional (serious) art by Tom Yeates. Will Groo defeat Conan? Will Conan annihilate Groo? Will Groo destroy everything in sight and then (probably) fall down? At least one of these things is probably true! . . . The Goon #39 will be of interest to anyone who’s even been mildly annoyed by the comic book trends of the recent past, as creator Eric Powell completely re-launches the Goon, with horrible new costumes, variant Goons based on different colors, a promised “Death of The Goon”, and various other SHOCK FACTORS! — all in a blatant attempt to catch the attention of the Mainstream Media. If you don’t like it, Powell promises to change everything again in just five issues!!! Sounds like my kinda comic! . . . Since Larry Marder’s Beanworld sightings are about as rare as Dan DiDio actually answering a question at a convention panel, I’d be remiss in not mentioning a new mini-collection. Tales of the Beanworld Volume 3.5 is a 64-page hardcover collecting never-before-reprinted material from Beanworld Holiday Special, MySpace Dark Horse Presents #14, and Asylum #1-6 — as well as all-new pages that begin the highly anticipated “summer” cycle of stories — all in full color! Someday the beans will rule the world!

Batwoman Vol. 1: Hydrology

DC COMICS: Say goodbye to six New 52 DC comics this month, as OMAC, Hawk and Dove, Mister Terrific, Static Shock, Blackhawks, and Men of War all end with their eighth issue. Next month, say hello to six brand-new (or returning) titles: Batman Incorporated, Earth-2 (starring the Justice Society), World’s Finest (staring Power Girl and the Huntress), Dial H (as in For Hero), The Ravagers (spinning out of Superboy and Teen Titans), and G.I. Combat (featuring The War That Time Forgot and rotating back-ups Unknown Soldier and The Haunted Tank) . . . More New 52 collections are also on tap, with hardcovers for Detective Comics and Batwoman and TPBs for Animal Man, Catwoman, Green Arrow, Justice League International, and Stormwatch. Most of these collect the first six issues of each series . . . The first New 52 DC Direct product is also being solicited, including a Batman Action Figure and a Batman Black and White-styled statue, both designed by Jim Lee.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series #1

Previously previewed, the all-ages Green Lantern: The Animated Series #1 debuts in April, inspired by the soon-to-debut Cartoon Network animated series. The comic book adventures will be written by Art Baltazar and Franco (Tiny Titans) and illustrated by Dario Brizuela . . . Northlanders wraps up a long and adventurous run with issue #50 in April.

Showcase Presents: Sea Devils

Those looking for older, esoteric DC series collections will be pleased to see Showcase Presents: Sea Devils Volume 1, collecting Showcase #27-29 and Sea Devils #1-16. This includes much great work from Robert Kanigher, Bob Haney, Russ Heath, Irv Novick, Gene Colan, and others. Normally, the Showcase books are black & white, but wouldn’t it be great if DC could spring for a small color section to reproduce those wonderful full-color wash covers from that era, several of which adorned Sea Devils issues? . . . Also soliciting now are Sgt. Rock Archives Volume 4 (by Kanigher and Joe Kubert), a deluxe Challengers of the Unknown Omnibus reprinting all of the early Jack Kirby stories in full color, and a trade paperback edition of the acclaimed James Robinson and Tony Harris Starman Omnibus Volume 1. Of more recent vintage is a collection of the cult classic Legion Lost miniseries by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Olivier Coipel, and Pascal Alixe, along with a recent overview of the “old” DCU — DC Universe: Legacies, written by Len Wein and illustrated by a host of DC greats including Joe Kubert, George Perez, Andy Kubert, J.H. Williams, and Walter Simonson.

AvX logo

MARVEL: The big thing this month for Marvel is Avengers vs. X-Men (or AvX). I’m mostly on board, despite the fact that this series’ logo (or at least the logo being used for promotion on current covers) looks like something that should be stamped on drums of radioactive waste. Very much hoping that the series itself doesn’t make the same connection in my head. Marvel stayed pretty true to their word and kept the number of titles tying-in to a minimum. So far it looks to be just the Main Avengers books (Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Avengers) and the two main X-books (Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men). Then there’s the lone spinoff title, AvX: VS. (I’m sorry, did you just sneeze random letters? Gesundheit! Jeez, everybody’s sick this time of year…) AvX: VS is a six-part miniseries offering an extended look at some of the bigger battles from the main book (AvX) — only done by different superstar creators.

AvX Vs. #1

I’m very curious about where this book is going to go, in terms of where the Marvel Universe will “be” when it all wraps up. It promises to expand upon two of Marvel’s long-running storylines, both involving two of their most powerful (and some might say “most screwed-up”) female characters — the Scarlet Witch and Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix. I’ve already seen plenty of internet speculation that Marvel will follow DC and re-do their universe at the end of AvX. I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Mostly because, with the exception of some major shifting of their timeline (moving 1960s events to the 1990s, a la Captain America’s Avengers origin), Marvel’s foundation is rock solid. DC’s was not and should have been fixed (not “patched”) long ago. So, DC took the big gamble on revamping their universe, in their effort to chase declining sales. Early on, it seems to have worked, especially in gaining a new, younger audience (while hopefully not alienating all their old fans).

Avengers. Vs. X-Men #2

Marvel’s sales are also declining, but instead of starting over from scratch, their strategy seems to be going back and reemphasizing what they have always been the best at, since almost Day One — conflict with other Marvel heroes. I call it “The Big Fight”. Sub-Mariner vs. the Human Torch. Thing vs. Hulk. Thor vs. Hulk. Namor vs. Fantastic Four. Avengers vs. Defenders. Spidey and the X-Men vs. everybody (including themselves). The Big Fight is part of Marvel’s history — and lifeblood. It’s time for Avengers vs. X-Men.

Avenging Spider-Man #6

More Marvel this month: The Omega Effect, running in Avenging Spider-Man #6, The Punisher #10, and Daredevil #11, has these long-time rivals teaming up. Written by Mark Waid and Greg Rucka, art by Marco Checchetto . . . Just in time for the Avengers movie, Captain America and Bucky becomes Captain America and Hawkeye with #629. (Next logical step: Hawkeye and Trapper John.) . . . Venom joins the Secret Avengers in Venom #15 . . . Marvel’s all-ages line is being completely revamped this month with two new titles based on Marvel’s animated series: The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Adventures #1 and Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures #1 . . . It looks like something really bad is happening to Rhodey in Invincible Iron Man #515 . . . Moon Knight is canceled (again) this month with issue #12 . . . In celebration of the title’s 15th anniversary, the New Thunderbolts meet the Original Thunderbolts in issues #172 & 173, with covers by original Thunderbolts artist Mark Bagley . . . Finally, the Human Torch eats roommate Peter Parker’s cereal in FF #17. That fight might be even bigger that AvX!

Avengers: The Art of the Avengers

Marvel Books: There are even more Avengers collections available this month, including The Art of the Avengers, specifically about the movie. I won’t list them all here, but go check ‘em out . . . It’s probably not specifically for this market, but Avengers vs. X-Men: It’s Coming is a very interesting sampler of what you need to be familiar with for the upcoming event. It includes issues of Avengers: The Children’s Crusade, X-Men: Schism, Magneto: Not a Hero, X-Men: Second Coming, House of M, Avengers: X-Sanction, and Point One. That’s a lot to know . . . Never thought it would be collected: John Byrne’s X-Men: The Hidden Years Volume 1 is on this month’s order form. It’s 328 pages, reprinting the first 12 issues, plus material from X-Men (‘91) #94. The series told “lost stories” of the original X-team between their cancellation after (Uncanny) X-Men #66 up until the team was re-launched in Giant-Size X-Men #1. Except it didn’t get that far because it was unceremoniously canceled by the Bill Jemas administration, and Byrne vowed he’d never work for Marvel again. (And hasn’t!) If you’re into “implanted continuity”, X-Men: The Hidden Years was one of the best.

Bart Simpson’s Pal Milhouse

SHORT TAKES: Bart Simpson’s Pal Milhouse #1 is the next in a series of Bongo one-shots about Simpsons characters and features work by Pat McGreal, Gail Simone, Bob Smith, and Carol Lay . . . Roger Langridge’s Snarked is being collected, although BOOM! neglected to mention how many issues are included. It’s 128 pages of color material, including behind-the-scenes content and commentary by Langridge . . . Writer/artist Ted Naifeh’s Courtney Crumrin debuts from Oni Press in her first ever full-color comics series. This fantasy adventure is perfect for young readers!

KC CARLSON: Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? I have no idea, so I’ll have to get back to ya!

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

*Dark Horse has announced that they’re collecting 2011′s The Guild One-shots in The Guild Volume 2 Softcover this August, but before then, we’ll see The Guild: Fawkes One-shot in May featuring Will Wheaton’s villainous character from the hit webseries.

*Mark Waid is ending his Boom! Studios titles, Irredeemable and Incorruptible with issues #37 and #30, both being released in May.

*Nate Simpson’s Nonplayer #2 from Image is about 2/3 completed. And, the movie rights have been acquired by Warner Brothers.

*The final League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century #3 – 2009 is currently scheduled for June, but Alan Moore has revealed that he will quickly follow it up with the 48-page Nemo: Heart of Ice, a story of the Captain when he was in his twenties.

*Besides working with Brian Michael Bendis on a 6-issue arc of The Avengers beginning with issue #25, Walt Simonson has also announced The Judas Coin graphic novel, coming from DC this September, that will span nearly 2000 years of DC history!

*The New 52 title DC Universe Presents begins a new 3-issue storyline in issue #9 this May written by James Robinson starring the Challengers of the Unknown!

*Frank Cho has postponed the release of his Guns and Dinos book from Image Comics until at least later in the year siting his commitmnet to a new project coming from Marvel Comics and a screenplay he’s writing based on his Zombie King comic.

*Looks like DC is doing away with the name of Billy Batson’s alter ego, Captain Marvel, and just calling him Shazam! (So, whenever someone asks his name, he’ll change back to Billy? Huh.)

KC isn't quite himself

by KC Carlson

Tex Avery Raid Bugs

I don’t know what it is about winter illnesses, but it seems like I get something brand new every year. (This year it includes hallucinations — spiders! — waking up soaking wet [but not feverish] every morning, and the warping of the timestream. Every time I think I’m feeling better — POW! — I’m sick all over again, six hours later.) I guess we’ve been so successful in killing off (hopefully), for good, many of the traditional childhood illnesses that plagued us for decades that the bad bugs have to come up with something more sinister and ooky every year. And by bad bugs, of course, I’m seeing the old animated (by Tex Avery) evil insects who came afoul of Raid pesticide in the classic commercials. (Of course, using all that Raid back then may be part of why we’re all sick now.) Anyway, being sick sucks because we miss work, can’t play, fall asleep every seven minutes, or can’t write about comic books for more than seven minutes at a time. (And, boy, does falling asleep while typing really bolster the old self-confidence!)

So, the intelligent reader may be asking, what does being sick have to do with comic books?

Only everything.

Chances are you might have been sick in bed when you read your first comic book. Or it might have been the first time you had the opportunity to re-read your stash of comics, all at once. (If you had measles or chicken pox, you weren’t going anywhere for awhile. So, hope you had plenty of reading material!) Plus, inevitably, you got exposed to “new” comic reading experiences. Since you were too sick to go out and buy your own, you had to rely on mom or pop to get your comics — and sometimes they didn’t exactly follow instructions.

[Fred Hembeck once published a hilarious strip about reading comics while being sick as a kid. His mother stopped at a drug store on the way home from a doctor visit and parked by the front window so he could give a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” as she held up different comics in the store window. Now, that was a great mom!]

Sugar & Spike. One of KC's favorite comics.

My mom was pretty good about getting me stuff also — she knew I liked DC Comics, especially the Superman titles, Justice League of America, and The Flash, and she knew I liked Sugar and Spike (she did too!), so I got a lot of those, as well as various Archie comics, which she also liked. After the Batman TV show debuted, she brought home lots of Batman comics, which were okay, but I didn’t really appreciate them until later.

While I was sick in bed as a child, I read my first Imaginary Story. My first Death of Superman story. My first Bizarro story (love at first sight). I first discovered the magical hold comics could have when I read Adventure Comics, starring the Legion of Super-Heroes, while I had the measles. (I looked like I fit right in.) And I read a lot of really strange Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane stories. When I was sick, I read and re-read all my Justice League and Flash comics, and I was fascinated when my mom would bring home an occasional (not requested) Green Lantern or The Atom comic. Or even better, a Teen Titans or Challengers of the Unknown. Or best of all, House of Mystery starring Robby Reed and Dial H for Hero. These always made me feel better, even if I couldn’t get out of bed yet.

A COMIC THAT MADE ME SICK

One day when I was sick in the winter of 1965, Mom brought home this comic book:

Tales of Suspense #74

It was my first Marvel comic book, and it was a pretty traumatic experience. Marvels didn’t always have the best distribution in my area, so I wasn’t used to regularly seeing them. So when my mom brought one home with a batch of DCs I already had, I was pretty disappointed, but I tried not to show it. Luckily, they knew us at the store where she got the comics, so in a few days (when new comics came in), she was able to trade the DC doubles for new ones I didn’t have.

I kept the Tales to Astonish. And I really tried to read and enjoy it. But I couldn’t. Back then, TtA featured both Captain America and Iron Man in separate 10-page stories. I didn’t know either character, but I could figure out that Cap was a good American hero from his costume. But Iron Man — at first I thought he was a robot! Except not as cool as Superman’s robots. Since both of the stories were serialized, I had no idea what was going on. Cap was fighting some big robot called the Sleeper. (What a dumb name!) Iron Man’s friend got turned into the Freak. (Another dumb name!) Plus, for a minute I thought the Sleeper and Iron Man knew each other because they were both robots, and… well, I got so frustrated with the comic, I think it made me cry. (I was eight.) Stupid comic!

Eventually, I stumbled onto an Amazing Spider-Man comic somewhere, and I really liked that. Spidey was funny and had good villains (mostly), and I could relate that he was kinda nerdy. So Spidey ended up being my “gateway comic” into the Marvel Universe, and it was my favorite Marvel comic until I discovered the Avengers. (I liked that they always argued with each other. Boy, that didn’t get old…)

Eventually, in my teens, I started collecting Marvels. And I know exactly when. It was the same month that Fantastic Four #100 was published (cover date July 1970). By then, I had two paper routes and was rolling in dough (at least for a 14-year-old), so I started buying all of the Marvel superhero books beginning that month. Eventually, I went back and collected most of the back issues. (At least the ones I could afford. I remember once seeing a Fantastic Four #1 for $10 and a Daredevil #1 for $6 and thinking “I’ll never spend that much for a comic book!” The regular cover price of comics at that time was either 12¢ or 15¢.) And when I re-read that Tales to Astonish later, it wasn’t so bad. Although I still hated the Sleeper. And of course, Stan did endless stories about it. (Even worse: Jack Kirby quit Marvel two months after I started collecting Marvels. Somehow, I felt responsible.)

Reading comics in a sickbed may be close to a universal shared experience for many people. I know that it was a pivotal moment in many comics creators’ lives, when they made a childhood decision to actually figure out how make comics. I’ve read numerous biographies where that life-changing decision came while in a sick bed. Unfortunately, being sick this week meant that I wasn’t really able to properly research all these comic book and newspaper creators, although I know Dick Giordano’s and Len Wein’s early histories by heart. If you can think of others, please help out in the comments below.

So, comic books and childhood illness. They go together like Superman and Batman (oops, not any more). Okay, like Booster Gold and Blue Beetle (except one of them is dead). Or maybe like Wonder Man and the Beast (nope, one of them is insane). Okay, maybe those are bad examples, but you gotta forgive me — I’ve been sick this week.

WHO’S WATCHING THE REFRIGERATOR?!

Supreme #63

In other news, Wednesday (yesterday) was Alan Moore Day, as we got to see the solicitation in Previews of one of Alan Moore’s old Supreme scripts, finally going to be illustrated — by Erik Larsen. Reportedly (although this may not be correct), the script was recently found under Rob Liefeld’s refrigerator, where it was keeping the ‘fridge from wobbling. There was no immediate word of what will be used to replace the now-absent script, so perhaps Liefeld will have to put up with wobbly veggies and ale for a while.

Something else happened to bring up Mr. Moore’s name on Wednesday, but I’m having trouble recalling it….

Oh, yes, you may have heard that DC officially announced their Before Watchmen project, after months of speculation. In fact you may have read that right here.

Watchmen by Moore & Gibbons

DC has certainly stacked the deck with Top Name creators for the project, like Brian Azzarello, Darwyn Cooke, J. Michael Staczynski, Adam Hughes, Adam and Joe Kubert, Amanda Conner, J.G. Jones, Lee Bermejo, and two guys associated with the original Watchmen — Len Wein (original editor) and John Higgins (colorist). Two names closely associated with the original Watchmen graphic novel are not involved. Artist Dave Gibbons declined to participate but gave his blessings in a statement. Writer Alan Moore also declined to participate, and not surprisingly, he was not thrilled that this was happening. Anybody who’s been around comics for more than a day probably knows why. (If you don’t, try searching for “Alan Moore’s disagreements with DC Comics”. Warning: Make sure you have a couple of days free before attempting this.)

Later that day, a large portion of the internet melted, as fans were not shy about sharing their opinions on the announcement. (Nor, reportedly, bothering being civil with each other. What a shocker.)

My random thoughts:

Wow, that’s a pretty powerhouse lineup of talent for Before Watchmen. One might ask why DC didn’t bother to line up that much talent for the New 52. Not that one would be expecting an answer.

Isn’t it interesting that this project got underway probably seconds after the door hit former DC Publisher Paul Levitz on the way out?

A lot of fans have noticed that the original Watchmen series was only 12 issues. Before Watchmen will consist of at least 35 comics. C’est la vie.

Also, will DC “Hold the Line” at $2.99 for this? Probably not if Warner corporate has anything to say about it. After all, they’re not just going to give these things away, are they?

Watchmen Babies

Re: the length of Before Watchman. With the failure of the Green Lantern film as a potential tentpole for a new wildly profitable series to replace Warner’s beloved Harry Potter series, wouldn’t seven different Watchmen prequel series be great bait? (Although, while the Watchmen film was loved by many fanboys, didn’t most of the general public just scratch their heads? Seriously, I think Warner would do much better with an animated Watchmen Babies series for TV!)

ASHCANNED

Part of the reason that I’m so cynical about Watchmen is because I started working at DC Comics around the time of that long wait between Watchmen #11 and #12. Because of that, I’m a proud owner of a first-generation photocopy of the legendary “Al Gordon ashcan” for Watchman #12. You see, Al Gordon, as well as being a legendary inker for decades*, was also in the running for being the most legendary Watchmen fan, ever. He would pester any DC editor he could find to send him advance photocopies of the Watchmen issues before they were published. The wait between #11 and #12 was obviously driving Al crazy, as he was calling DC every day wondering were his photocopy was. He managed to tick off several people. So, some unidentified DC staffer made sure that Al got the very first photocopy of Watchmen #12 — but not before that mystery person gathered together a bunch of other unidentified DC folks (possibly named Carlin, Helfer, and Bove) to alter the photocopy. Dialogue was re-written and re-lettered. Panels and pages were out of order, and some were from previous issues. Key pages of the story “unfortunately” got jammed in the photocopier and “smeared out” key story points. Plus, Al’s copy was completely missing the last few pages (DC probably hadn’t gotten them yet), although “The End” was carefully lettered on the last page he was sent.

*Al Gordon is probably more legendary for keeping DC’s editors on the phone for hours. See original Ambush Bug specials edited by Michael Eury for more information.

An altered Watchmen panel

A few other copies of the ashcan got smuggled out of the offices. I’m pretty sure that both Alan and Dave got a copy along with the explanation. It was one of the greatest practical jokes in comics. I enjoyed its postmodern, dada, auto-destructive take on the series, and I actually prefer some of it to the real issue. (I think Watchmen was the greatest 11-and-a-half-issue miniseries ever.)

These new guys will have to go some to top that.

I never got to work much with Alan Moore while at DC, although I did have to call him with some questions when I was putting together a collection of some of his work (either Swamp Thing or V For Vendetta – both were plagued with crazy production problems), and although I was racked with nerves, he was most generous and gracious with me, although at odds with DC’s management by that point. I did get to work with the amazing Dave Gibbons on the two Amalgam issues of Super Soldier (Superman smushed up with Captain America) — two of the comics I am most proud to have worked on. I can see both sides of the issue, and it’s too bad that creators’ wishes are often overlooked by corporate property owners focused on profit instead of art.

KC CARLSON SEZ: And now the spiders are crawling out of my eyeballs… Is it possible that I hallucinated this entire column?

WESTFIELD COMICS SEZ: KC is obviously delirious. Not that you could actually tell the difference. We are not responsible for him, or what he types — real or imaginary. No way. No how.

Editor’s Note: KC also wrote about Walter Simonson’s recently announced original graphic novel for DC, The Judas Coin, over at Comics Worth Reading. Take a look and learn more about this exciting project here!

Classic comic covers from the Grand Comics Database.

Watchmen

DC Comics has officially announced “Before Watchmen,” the long-rumored prequel to the classic Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. The prequel will include seven miniseries:

Rorschach (4 issues )by Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo

Minutemen (6 issues) by Darwyn Cooke

Comedian (6 issues) by Brian Azzarello & J.G. Jones

Dr. Manhattan (4 issues) by J. Michael Straczynski & Adam Hughes

Nite Owl (4 issues) by J. Michael Straczynski & Andy and Joe Kubert

Ozymandias (6 issues) by Len Wein & Jae Lee

Silk Spectre (4 issues) by Darwyn Cooke & Amanda Conner

Each issue will also include a 2-page back-up story called Curse of the Crimson Corsair by Len Wein and John Higgins. Plus, there will be an epilogue issue.

For more on the project, check out this article in the Los Angeles Times.

What do you think? Are you excited for these upcoming miniseries?

Roger Ash

by Roger Ash

One of the things I really enjoy about comics is the collaborative effort involved. Often it’s a group of people (writer, penciler, inker, colorist, letter, and editor) working together to put out the best comic they can. But there are times when the combination of writer and artist produce something magical; something that is more than the sum of the two parts. Today I’m going to talk about a few of my favorite writer/artist teams.

Before I go any further, I want to say that I am well aware that there are numerous outstanding comics where the jobs I mentioned above are done by only one or two people. There are many fine writer/artists whose work I enjoy including Walter Simonson, Stan Sakai, Carl Barks, Terry Moore, Bob Burden, Matt Wagner, and Darwyn Cooke, just to name a few. (Though there is some collaboration there too as I can’t think of Simonson’s work without the contribution of letterer John Workman, for example.) This column is not by any means meant to say one way of working is better than another. Not at all. I simply want to spotlight some of the classic teams who have brought me reading pleasure over the years.

The Fantastic Four by Lee & Kirby

The classic writer/artist team, and the one many people judge others by, is Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. While they both did wonderful work with others (and Kirby on his own), the comics they did together are my favorite. There was a period during their classic run on Fantastic Four when they were just firing on all cylinders and month after month they introduced characters who would become major players in the Marvel Universe including Galactus, the Silver Surfer, the Inhumans, and the Black Panther. What they did together – the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, and so many others – was pure comic book magic.

X-Men by Claremont & Byrne

In my early days of comic collecting, one of my favorite comics was Marvel’s X-Men and a big reason for that was the creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne, along with inker Terry Austin. There are many who look at this period of time as the classic period of the All-New, All-Different X-Men – and with good reason. While the team was introduced by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum in Giant Size X-Men #1 with Claremont taking over scripting duties over Wein’s plot in X-Men #94 and full writing duties in #97, it was the Claremont/Byrne era that defined these characters for years to come. Byrne’s art captured perfectly whatever Claremont’s scripts required, whether super-heroic action or quieter character moments. But X-Men wasn’t their only work together as a team. They also provided memorable stories in Marvel Team-Up (including the first appearance of Arcade) and Iron Fist (where Sabretooth debuted), as well as other comics. Something about their collaboration just clicked and produced something special.

New Teen Titans by Wolfman & Perez

Another classic team that came together around that time was Marv Wolfman and George Perez. While I certainly enjoyed the comics they produced with others, their coming together on New Teen Titans was a revelation. For someone new to DC Comics like I was, the only character I knew in the series was Robin and that was from the Batman TV show. Wolfman and Perez introduced me to the “real” Robin as well as other long-running DC characters I knew nothing about (Kid Flash, Changling/Beast Boy, Wonder Girl) and told me all I needed to know to enjoy their adventures as well as introducing well-rounded new characters (Starfire, Raven, Cyborg). It was a great introduction to the DC Universe. Their comic Crisis on Infinite Earths set a standard for event crossovers that has remained untouched and their History of the DC Universe was required reading for DC fans for years.

The Justice League by Giffen, DeMatteis & Maguire

One of the more fun teams to come along was writers J.M DeMatteis & Keith Giffen and artist Kevin Maguire. They ushered in the “Bwah-ha-ha” era of Justice League where humor met superheroic action head on. Part of the reason the book worked so well in my opinion was Maguire’s art. So much of the humor depended on the character’s personalities, body language, and facial expressions. Maguire was able to make the characters act which is more difficult to do than you might think. There seem to be very few people on the fence about their collaborations; people either love how they infused humor into the comics, or they hate it and think it somehow lessens the heroes. The fact that people still talk about their work together on Justice League today and that they did two follow-up stories (a story in JLA: Classified and a miniseries) and one special with the characters I think shows that many more people feel the way I do about their work together than don’t. Their work on Marvel’s Defenders and DC’s Metal Men is also great fun and has the same tone as their work on Justice League and is also worth seeking out.

There have been other great writer/artist collaborations over the years, but these are some of my favorites. Now it’s your turn. Who are some of your favorite creative teams? Comment below and join the conversation!

Now, go read a comic!

Wayne Markley

by Wayne Markley

This time out I am going to return to a more upbeat subject and look at some of my favorite adventure strips from years gone by from newspapers that have been collected in hardcover collections in recent years. But, before I get to these great books, many of which I have discussed in the past, I would like to say a few words about my last column which a few people told me was too negative. I try to be fair and honest in this column and as a general rule if I do not care for something I just do not review it or mention it. But I still stand by my complaints about Justice League last time. Having read issue number five this week, I was pleased to see there are only two splash pages, instead of five, but if you average out the number of panels per page for the entire book, it comes out to almost three panels a page. I am not asking for Matt Wagner’s 16 panels to a page, but three? Plus there are four inkers and three colorists on this issue, and it was still a week late. This shows you how late the book was really running at one point. It is still a beautiful looking book even with multiple inkers and colorists, and it is a very good story, but again for $3.99, I cannot recommend it. One last thing that Timbotron (who has a very good comics review column at http://comicperday.blogspot.com/) pointed out to me is splash pages sell for a great deal more on the original comic art market than a standard page does. Not that this is a reason as to why DC has so many splash pages lately, but I would not rule it out as a factor. Now on to some positive stuff!

Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles

I mentioned a few column back the amazing collection of Noel Sickles Scorchy Smith conveniently called Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles. Noel Sickles is largely forgotten by today’s comic and comic strip fans even though he was very influential on Milt Caniff (who shared a studio with Sickles) and many others. Given the time period he was doing Scorchy Smith, 1933, his work is downright amazing. Over the three years Sickles did Scorchy Smith, all of which is reprinted in this beautiful oversized hardcover, you can see how his own art style developed. His work is almost the opposite of what Foster and Raymond were doing in terms of illustration, yet it was perfect for the non-stop adventure stories he was telling, almost like watching a movie in pictures. It is a rip roaring adventure strip that has you turning page after page because the action never stops. It is a shame that after three years on the Scorchy strip Sickles left to do commercial art and other projects not related to comics for the rest of his life. But those three years are breathtaking when read in one sitting.

Complete Terry & the Pirates

Speaking of Sickles, his office mate, Milt Caniff, is another master of the adventure strip. I could not talk about great adventure strips without mentioning Terry and the Pirates. One can see a great deal of Scorchy Smith in the early Terry and the Pirates, in tone and pacing, but Milt Caniff quickly struck out into completely different territory with this strip about soldiers of fortune who traveled the world in search of adventure and a dollar. The stories here are high adventure, with Terry and the gang in constant danger and trouble in the most exotic places. What really makes this strip is Caniff’s constantly involving storytelling and his innovative villains. It is different from Scorchy, yet it has the same rapid pacing and page turning storytelling that Scorchy had. It is very hard to read Terry and the Pirates and not get sucked into it and spending a whole day reading one volume. IDW has conveniently collected the complete run of Milt Caniff’s Terry in six beautiful volumes. While on the topic of Caniff, I want to once again remind readers that the first volume of the complete Steve Canyon recently came out. Steve Canyon is very different than Terry in terms of pacing and the type of stories, but they are just as good.

The Complete Dick Tracy

One of the longest running comic strips out there, and I think one of the most misunderstood is Dick Tracy. Over the almost 80 years the strip has been running it has had its ups and downs. There have been some periods of the strip where I scratch my head and wonder what they were trying to do. But luckily IDW has been reprinting the complete Dick Tracy, so far up to 1950s, and it is great. If you only know Dick Tracy from the movies or the walkie talkie wrist watches or the hokey cartoon from the 60s, then you are missing out. The early work by Chester Gould was a straight adventure strip with cops and robbers. It was about kidnapping, murder, blackmail, and standard material that makes up prime time crime television every night. The strip chugs along at a quick pace and never gets boring. By the mid-1940s Gould had started to ramp up an idea he played around with in the early years, that of the deranged and twisted villain with a gimmick, such as Pruneface or the Mole, or any number of other villains. At this point, in the 1950s, the strip was at its peak in that it was filled with wild and crazy villains, and action packed storytelling and does not have the sillier aspects that crept into the later strips.

Rip Kirby

Another four volume set that is fantastic reading is the complete Alex Raymond’s Rip Kirby. Raymond was a master draftsman who was well known for his beautiful work on Flash Gordon, (now being collected in stunning full color hardcovers), but to me, Rip Kirby was his finest work. Rip Kirby was a detective in the traditional sense. He was more Ellery Queen than Dick Tracy. He solved cases with his head (and occasionally with his fists) and there were always beautiful women by his side and with Alex Raymond drawing them, how could they not be beautiful? Rip Kirby is not an adrenalin thrilled rush like Scorchy or Terry, but it is a stroll through a beautiful world where you have to think and follow the story which can be a challenge as the artwork is so beautiful it is easy to forget what you had just read.

X-9: Secret Agent Corrigan

And finally, we have the first three volumes of the complete Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson Secret Agent Corrigan. This is planned to be a six volume collection reprinting all of the Secret Agent Corrigan strips Goodwin/Williamson did together. (And I hope they reprint George Evens’ work on it after Williamson left). Secret Agent Corrigan is another newspaper strip that goes back to the 1930s, originally called Secret Agent X and drawn by that Alex Raymond fellow. But by the time Goodwin and Williamson took over the strip it was the late 1960s. I have often argued that in addition to being one of the nicest people to have ever worked in comics, Archie Goodwin was one of the best writers in comics. He effortlessly tells stories ranging from Bigfoot in one tale to a mad scientist in the next to a femme fatale threating the security of America in the third story. All are told seamlessly and flow like a beautifully woven rug. Al Williamson is at his best here. Well, it is hard to find a bad Williamson story, but with Secret Agent Corrigan he brings a realistic style that is a marvel to look at. Be it the jungles of South America to downtown Washington DC to Moscow, you feel as if you are there. The pacing of these stories is more akin to Rip Kirby, where it is a story being told, and not a race to finish an adventure, but it is a journey that everyone should take.

That is if for this time. As always I thank you for your time in reading this blog and for your comments and e-mails. Opinions written here are mine and do not reflect the thoughts of Westfield or their employees, though I doubt anyone would argue these columns suggestions. I hope if you find yourself with some extra money you try one of these collections. I am sure you will be glad you did. Comments, feedback, review copies are welcome and can be sent to MFBWAY@AOL.COM.

Thank you.

*AMC has upped their order on Season 3 of The Walking Dead from 13 to 16 episodes.

*Following February’s Ralph Wiggum one-shot, Bongo Comics has announced a Bart Simpson’s Pal, Milhouse one-shot for this April co-written by Gail Simone!

*According to a recent Rob Liefeld tweet, his Image Comics book with Robert Kirkman, The Infinite has come to an early end.

*Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier and Thomas Yeates’ Conan VS Groo 4-issue mini-series begins in April from Dark Horse!

*Looks like the FX Network’s Powers TV show is in limbo, for now.

*The Complete Series DVD of Bob Newhart’s short-lived show, Bob, from 1992-1993 is being released on April 3. Newhart played the creator of a fictitious superhero called Mad Dog in the first season (which had a 6-issue tie-in series published by Marvel around the same time) and changed to creating greeting cards for the second season.

New DC Comics logos

Yesterday, DC Comics officially unveiled their new logo designs. You can read more about them on DC’s blog, The Source. Now that you’ve seen them, what do you think?

Beau Smith Cocked & Loaded.

by Beau Smith

It used to be that the two most feared, badass characters in the Marvel Universe were Wolverine and The Punisher. Their popularity guaranteed extra sales in whatever book they either starred or made a cameo in.

Amazing Spider-Man #129

For the record, The Punisher first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #129 and Wolverine debuted in The Incredible Hulk #180. These two guys started out as villains, and quickly morphed into what we now call “anti-heroes”. What that basically means is that unlike the superheroes that came before them, they would kill people with little or any remorse.

The Debut Of Wolverine

This mirrored what was going on in films and TV in the late 1970s and early 80s with the torch being passed from John Wayne to Clint Eastwood. It was also a result of what happens when long time comic book fans become the creators writing comic books. They take the base of their childhood comic book heroes and inject their current adult tastes into them so that they can better enjoy the characters. It’s purely selfish reasons, but in the process, they end up sticking because of the legions of comic book readers who also liked seeing their childhood heroes become more relevant to their more mature tastes. In time, this became a major part of the reason we don’t have young readers like we used to. Comic books have not been consistently written for all ages in a very long time. Not only have the comic book creators continued to write for a mature audience only, but this has been reinforced by more, if not all, the people on the business and editorial end also being second and third generation comic book fans turned professional. It’s good for some, but also limits comics for everyone. It also limits the writers from being able to tell any kind of story.

This breaks down to why our beloved comic book reading base has remained older, and mostly male. We really won’t get a wider base of younger or female readers until this changes. If left singularly to print only, comic books would continue to just appeal to the same aging male readership. But with technology rapidly (hyper-rapid) changing the way we consume entertainment, this is all going to change and widen with or without the consent of the current publishing establishment. Those that don’t embrace it will be left in the printed dust. I’m not saying printed comics will die as a whole, of course not. But they will take other forms that need to have attention paid to if publishing and retail are to make money from it.

Present Day Bad Boys

Getting back to The Punisher and Wolverine, have you noticed that they aren’t quite as “must read” popular as they once were? It’s not because they, as characters, have gotten soft. It’s because every other character got hard.

Those two characters created such a wave of anti-hero popularity that creators started adding an edge to all the characters they touched. Publishers encouraged it because they saw more money in having characters with a tougher, rule bending way of thinking. Comic book characters went from being done in black & white and four color to almost totally gray. The rules melted into a murky world where nobody is really good or bad; they’re somewhere in the middle. Don’t try and set your moral compass to that.

Superman: Kill Is Just Another Four Letter Word

I’m sure publishers will mutter the tired old cliché that pop culture reflects the changes in reality. Well, that’s partly true, but if everything looks and acts the same, then people’s attention will drift into another direction. Comic books cannot afford attention deficit disorder right now.

It’s time that comic book creators and publishers of mainstream heroes get a little more compelling with their characters. Things are changing fast and only those that can remain smart and fast enough to keep up will remain in the race. Superhero comics can’t regress to the 1990’s Image and Marvel Lite. Let’s move forward.

Your amigo,

Beau Smith

The Flying Fist Ranch

www.flyingfistranch.com