(courtesy of Comics Bulletin)

Strangers In Paradise, by Terry Moore,  is really structured like a sitcom. It's got a supporting cast of zany characters, there are 6 volumes (just like 6 seasons of a sitcom), and it's got a will they/won't they? love story. However, for all my TV knowledge, I can't figure out which network would air this thing. The title isn't a clever play on words, so it couldn't air on USA. It's about lesbians, but not the hot kind, so no Showtime. The plot kinda goes off the rails at points, in Nip/Tuck fashion, but it's too gyno-centric for F/X. I guess we'll just throw it on Lifetime between some Meredith Baxter Birney movies.

Here's the deal: Francine Peters and Katina "Katchoo" Choovanski have been friends since childhood. Francine's chubby and has low self-esteem, so she dates douchebags. Meanwhile, Katchoo had a rough childhood, so she's grown into an empowered feminist who doesn't live by society's rules. Right there, you've got a Thelma & Louise situation, and Katchoo struggles to make Francine see how wonderful she is. Then, you begin to see that there's more to Francine & Katchoo than just "sista girl empowerment". A couple of times, they get close but Francine pushes away because she wasn't raised to think that was OK. Enter David: a struggling artist who falls madly in love with Katchoo, but she's having none of it, as she's just not into nice guys. So, there's our love triangle. David loves Katchoo, Katchoo loves Francine, and Francine loves Katchoo, but won't give in to those feelings. Simple enough, right? Brace yourself for what's next.

See, it turns out that there's more to Katchoo than simply an abusive father. She moved away from Francine during high school, and the details of those years had been a mystery. It turns out that Katchoo was a high class escort, working for madame/businesswoman Darcy Parker. Katchoo was Darcy's best girl, and they'd even become lovers for a time. Darcy only pimped her girls out to politicians, which earned her a bit of political clout. One night, Katchoo and another call girl decided they'd had enough, and they plotted a way out of Darcy's empire. They stole some money, and a politician ended up dead. Fast forward to the present: Darcy has figured out that Katchoo stole her money, and sends a bunch of muscle after her to get it back. At this point, Katchoo's trying to live a normal life as an artist, while trying to figure out if she loves Francine or David. Then, we find out that David is *spoiler alert* Darcy's brother, who actually knew about Katchoo's past. Oh, and the muscle sent after Katchoo? It turns out to be her own twin sisters, Tambi and Bambi - sired by the same abusive father. Yeah.

Then there's some kind of weird flash forward thing, where Francine & Katchoo are now Camryn Manheim & Melissa Ethridge, raising their two adult daughters in a log cabin or something. One of the daughters is trying to be a writer, and she decides to write about the love story of her "2 moms". So, then the story basically turns into the series finale of Roseanne (remember that? Dan DIED?! Becky actually married DAVID?! Of course Jackie was gay!). So from this point on, it's not clear if the events are actually happening, or is they're just the result of creative license being taken in order to make the book-within-a-book more interesting.

I could get into all the side characters, like Casey and Freddie, but they're just the comic relief, and I'd hate to spoil the INSANITY they bring to the table. Basically, when the story starts to get too heavy, Casey gets a boob job or Freddie gets emasculated by a woman. Haha!

The beauty of all the characters is that they're flawed. Even a guy like Freddie has a sympathetic side, and you start to understand why he is like he is. I will say, however, that the series is uneven. It goes from Three's Company to Twin Peaks at the drop of a hat. Not to mention that it's too damn long. Indie books don't have to keep the same schedule as Marvel and DC, as there's more involved with the production of a self-published book. That said, it felt like Terry Moore just got to the point where he was just writing the book to write it; it stopped feeling like it was headed anywhere. There's even the false ending in volume 5, where you learn that Francine & Katchoo are happily together, with kids. So, why the reset button? It's not like they had a time machine or anything, so why get temporal with things? The last 2 volumes don't really make the reset seem worthwhile. We end up with more out of place characters, like Francine's husband Brad, and his rock star brother, Griffin. If SiP is a sitcom, volume 5 is the season where the main couple have a baby and/or Cousin Oliver/Pam/Seven comes to live with the family. It just wasn't necessary. Oh, and David gets a brain tumor.

Due to the way that the story ebbs and flows, it almost feels like the periodical isn't the right format for the book. Its pacing lends itself better to the world of the newspaper strip, akin to Funky Winkerbean or something. I guess it was groundbreaking to tackle a soap opera like this in the comic format. Sure, there had been romance comics in the early days of the industry, but those stories were typically done-in-one tales. This was a multi-year, multilayered story that's really impressive in scope when you look back at it. I do, however, feel bad for anyone who read this in sequential form, as the story tends to gain and lose momentum almost without warning. In all, it was an impressive experiment to build an indie series around such an intense, soap operatic format, but I don't know if it resulted in an even, well-rounded story.

So, last weekend the rain was too much of a nuisance for any of the local yard sales to take place, but I was still jonesing for a treasure hunt. That meant that I had to find someplace indoors, which led me to the Civitan Flea Market. Located in Arlington, VA, the Civitan Flea Market occurs on the first Saturday of each month, from the months of April to November. I checked it out for the first time a few months back, and I liked what I saw. Since it takes place in a multilevel parking garage, it's open rain or shine. Basically, a vendor pays about $20 to set up in a parking space, and you're left to just make the rounds. From what I could tell, vendors don't seem to have "regular" spots, so I walked around to see if I noticed any of the good vendors from my first trip. But we know you're not here for the words - you're here for the haul!

Recently, I've been buying up all the cheap Calvin & Hobbes books I run across. Here's a little confession: I really hated C&H up until about 2 months ago. I know most of my peers fondly look back on the series, but I just never "got" it. I think I had the misfortune of always tuning in when it was one of the, for lack of a better word, "preachier" strips, so I just always felt it was overrated. That said, as someone who had a myriad of imaginary friends, this series was pretty much right up my alley. So, I found a collection at a yard sale a few weeks back, which has led to the acquisition of 2 more collections.

As a fanboy, this is one of those things that I guess I'm expected to have read. I'd never really come across it, and it always seemed a little too much of a Sandman gateway book anyway. Since I'm neither a cutter, nor do I work at Hot Topic, I always shied away. Well, on this particular day, I guess I was kinda desperate to buy a comic, and this was the best I could do. The vendor wanted $3 for it, which I felt was kinda steep. Then, she told me that it was for her grandson's college fund. I couldn't let the guy suffer through student loans as I had. I forked over the three Georges. Then, I asked her where he was thinking of going for college. She replied, "Well, he's only 16 months old right now." Huh. All I could say was, "Well, I guess you've got a couple more sales ahead of you."

I'd seen this book during one of the Borders liquidation sales, but couldn't bring myself to pay what they were asking at 25% off. This, however, is not only an advance reader's copy but it was also a quarter! I'm a sucker for preview and promo items, so this was just what the doctor ordered. The seller had placed a sticky note on it, saying it was "Perfect for fans of Family Guy and The Daily Show". This might just be an oversell - kinda like how every comedy compared itself to The Hangover for a whole year.

If you dare claim there was a better game for the Nintendo Entertainment System, I will slap you in the face and kidnap your dog.

Stallone was supposed to be in Beverly Hills Cop. They decided they wanted to go in another, more comedic direction. He made this instead. And it was GLORIOUS. I love this movie for the odd product placement. Just imagine: Pepsi paid to have one of their soda fountains shot up in a standoff; a Christmas-themed Toys "R" Us commercial is playing in the background, as Stallone cleans his gun and eats cold pizza!

I wouldn't buy season sets of this show, but I am sucker enough to fall for "The Mike Judge Collection". Sure, it's a best of collection, but it's a multi-disc best of. Plus, I trust Mike Judge. The man went on to give us Office Space and King of the Hill. It'll be worth it if "Teen Talk" is one of the episodes featured. "I'm Lolita, and this here's Tanqueray. You boys wanna go back behind the bleachers and make out?"

And now we come to the reason for this post's title. You may not be able to tell, but this is a deck of Batman Begins playing cards. It was purchased for three reasons:

1) I love Batman

2) I love shiny things/holograms

3) They were $0.25

Now, I knew what I was getting into. The seller told me that someone earlier in the day had counted the cards and that while the deck was missing an Ace, there were THREE Jokers. Now, I'm used to quirky merchandise, so I wondered if it was supposed to have 3 Jokers. I mean, "Joker" kinda means a little more in a Batman-themed card deck, so maybe that was the novelty. Still don't know. I don't even play cards!

This is Tri-Klops. He's from He-Man. That is all.

This is Lothor - the "big bad" from Power Rangers Ninja Storm. While he was far from the most menacing villain, I always loved his aesthetic. It's not everyday you see an evil alien ninja in a luchadore mask. The articulation sucks, like most Power Rangers villain figures, but he still looks cool standing around.

A Nightwing doll! How cool is that?! Yes, I'm calling it a "doll" because that's basically what this is. Sure, his body is probably based on a G.I. Joe style body, but he's got a cloth outfit and hard plastic head. He appears to have mustard or something on his chest, but I don't care. Nightwing doll for $1!

I got this from my favorite vendor. Last time, she had some great Batman stuff, and this was just as cool. If you're not a comic person, this is an unused cover from X-Men: Alpha, which kicked off The Age of Apocalypse. This event started just as I was getting into comics, and I haven't experienced something that riveting since. A lot of comic crossovers are cyclical now, but this was actually a fresh idea. Anyway, this appeals to my love of comics, as well as my love of shiny thing/holograms. Oddly enough, I don't remember this as having a holographic cover gimmick; it shipped with a foil cover gimmick, so I wonder if this was some sort of retailer exclusive.

These came from the same vendor as the X-Men cover. It may not be immediately apparent, but the "Vote DC" poster is actually a promotional item from the Marvel vs. DC event. You'll notice Batman hiding Captain America's shield in his cape, as Superman brandishes The Hulk's pants. Below that is a poster for 1991's X-Men #1. I collect comic promo items that are typically only available to retailers, so these 2 posters were great finds.

Well, that's all she wrote for the flea market. Next month is the last one of the season, so I'm pretty sure I'll go check it out one last time. In the meantime, I've got my hands full with the thrift stores. Tune in next time, where I'll show ya some autographed stuff I came across!

1. Justice League #1 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee

Great idea, but we all know that this is the creative team for, at best, the initial arc. By #6, we'll still Johns on board, but we'll have a Kubert or Scott McDaniel on art. You could do worse, but this is a book that deserves to ALWAYS have A-list talent on it.

2. Justice League International #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti

I like Booster Gold, so I'll give it a shot. I just don't have the love for the JLI that a lot of fans seem to have. I'm here for Batman and Booster.

3. Teen Titans #1 by  Scott Lobdell, Brett Booth and Norm Rapmund

All hail our Image overlords. Seriously, this is more DV8 than Teen Titans. At least Tim Drake's still around...

4. Suicide Squad #1 by Adam Glass and Marco Rudy

Another concept for which I've never had much love. It's got Harley in it, though. Crazy, redesigned Harley.

5. Action Comics #1 by Grant Morrison and Rags Morales

This is an iconic comic cover:

This is NOT:

Good luck with that.

6. Superman #1 by George Pérez and Jesus Merino

Meh. This would mean something in 1988. Perez doesn't exactly "bring all the boys to the yard" these days.

7. Superboy #1 by Scott Lobdell and R.B. Silva and Rob Lean

Loved the writer 20 years ago, but don't know those artists.

8. Supergirl #1 by Michael Green, Mike Johnson and Mahmud A. Asrar

These guys kept Superman/Batman chugging along, but I think I was the only one buying that book. Liked Asrar on Dynamo 5, though.

9. Batman #1 by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo.

Same problem as Action - this  cover isn't dynamic enough for a book that's being relaunched after 700 issues:

10. Detective Comics #1 by Tony Daniel

Can't believe Daniel's still on this franchise. He came along because Kubert couldn't stay on schedule. Then, they reward him by making him the artist AND writer once Morrison went off to do what he does, resulting in a run that felt like filler. Now, they shift him over to Detective to do more of the same?

11. Batman: The Dark Knight #1 by David Finch

Relaunched after 2 long-delayed issues. Yeah, this'll work. Paul Cornell or Peter Tomasi will be on this book in a year.

12. Batgirl #1 by Gail Simone, Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.

She is HEALED! Barbara Gordon can WALK, and it is a MIRACLE! This one's causing a lot of chatter online. I'm kind hoping hoping the last panel of #1 shows her getting shot.

13. Batwoman #1 by J.H. Williams III, Haden Blackman and Amy Reeder

Do we really need this is the one, true Batchick is back on the prowl? I get that it contributes to DC's "diversity", but she feels pretty redundant at the moment. Plus, Williams is the draw. No one's gonna care once Calafiore gets put on the book.

14. Catwoman #1 by Judd Winick and Guillem March

Winick, eh? How long before Selina gets a trusted confidante who's then diagnosed with HIV? That's the Winick Special right there!

15. Red Hood And The Outlaws #1 by Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort

I like Rocafort, but Red Hood is kinda like Hush: less is more. Don't keep him in the spotlight. Plus, a team comprised of Arsenal and Starfire hardly makes it a "must read".

16. Batwing #1 by Judd Winick and Ben Oliver

'Cause we've all been wanting to read Bat Panther. Nobody likes reading Black Panther, so who thought putting bat ears on that concept would be a winner? This is an affirmative action ploy right here.

17. Nightwing #1 by Kyle Higgins and Eddy Barrows

Surprise, surprise. Not. We knew it was coming, but we thought it would come through a more organic process than what's seemingly taking place.

18. Batman And Robin #1 by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason

Why does this book still exist? It was created as the "new flagship", a la Astonishing X-Men so that Morrison would have his own sandbox to play in. Once his stuff expanded to other titles, this book's purpose ceased to exist. It's superfluous.

19. Birds Of Prey #1 by Duane Swierczynski and Jesus Saiz

No Gail and no Oracle. This title hasn't fared as well when Gail's not at the helm. Also not sure about the lineup. However, if they're still in Gotham, I'll check it out.

20. Green Lantern #1 by Geoff Johns, Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy

Doesn't seem like anything changes here. Good for its fans.

21. Green Lantern Corps #1 by Peter J. Tomasi, Fernando Pasarin and Scott Hanna

See #20

22. Green Lanterns: New Guardians #1 by Tony Bedard, Tyler Kirkham and Batt

This will be the first Green Lantern book of DCnU to be canceled.

23. Red Lanterns #1 by Peter Milligan, Ed Benes and Rob Hunter.

This will be the first Lantern book of DCnU to be canceled.

*NOTE: Since there seems to always be a Green Lantern mega event on the horizon, I suspect this book, along with New Guardians will be canceled "as a result of those events" - even though it'll really be due to sales.

24. Aquaman #1 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis

It's Johns, so it shows DC's committed, but Aquaman, at his best, has still been considered a joke.

25. Wonder Woman #1 by Brian Azzarello #1 and Cliff Chiang

I came for the art, but I stayed for the story. Seriously, I love anything by Cliff Chiang. Can't say the same for Azzarello, but I'll give it a chance.

26. Flash #1 by Brian Buccellato and Francis Manapul

Who? I mean, I know Manapul - he's supposedly the reason the last series was so late, but this other guy. I assume Flash will have a high profile, due to Flashpoint,  but this ain't a team that instills confidence.

27. Green Arrow #1 by JT Krul and Dan Jurgens

JT Krul, huh? He did the lambasted Rise of Arsenal, but people swear he's good. Pass.

28. DC Universe Presents #1 by Paul Jenkins and Bernard Chang

Anthology books don't do well, but Jenkins is a good name to have on this. Plus, it'll serve a key purpose in the beginning, as it will help to explain the new status quo in areas not covered in the established series.

29. Savage Hawkman #1 by Tony Daniel and Philip Tan

Ha! Hawkman's always been a continuity bitch, and Daniel's writing it. I saw it won't last 2 years.

30. Blue Beetle #1 by Tony Bedard and Ig Guara

Glad Jaime's back. It's another diversity book, and it could be DC's Ultimate Spider-Man if handled right.

31. Fury Of Firestorm #1 by Gail Simone, Ethan Van Sciver and Yildiray Cinar.

This is just City Guys with nuclear powers thrown in. Look at that cover. They should really be back to back, with their arms crossed. "They're from different worlds, but they find out they have more in common than they thought." Sitcom 101.

Plus, Gail doesn't have the best track record as co-writer on a book about young heroes. Her run with Byrne on The Atom left a LOT to be desired. It's debatable whether that was due to her or Byrne. Then, her Gen 13 run was also pretty lackluster, but that could also be attributed to that fact that it was a stale franchise. I just don't think she has the same grasp on the "young voice" that writers like Bendis and Kirkman have.

32. Mr Terrific #1 by Eric Wallace and Roger Robinson

Affirmative action hire! Kiss this goodbye.

33. Captain Atom #1 by JT Krul and Freddie Williams II

JT Krul again, and another character nobody really gives a shit about. Won't see year 2.

34. OMAC #1 by Dan DiDio, Keith Giffen and Scott Koblish

Didio on a Kirby concept. Since it's Didio, they won't cancel it until it's only selling 10 copies, but the writing will always be horrible.

35. Static Shock #1 by John Rozum, Scott McDaniel and Jonathan Glapion.

Who? Only one I know here is McDaniel. He's got a nice, kinetic style, but I don't know how this'll play. Basically, Static and Blue Beetle are courting the same audience. If they're aiming for a new audience, this is good, as it could bring in diverse readers. If we're counting on those already reading comics, they hate minority characters.

36. Hawk And Dove #1 by Sterling Gates and Rob Liefeld

This is a joke, right?

37. Deathstroke #1 by Kyle Higgins, Joe Bennett and Art Thibert

He's had his own series before, but he's another character where less is more. Don't try to turn him into an anti-hero, or try to make us sympathize with him.

38. Legion of Superheroes #1 by Paul Levitz and Francis Portela

Levitz knows the Legion, I'll give him that. This is also, like, their 9th reboot since I've been born.

39. Legion Lost #1 by Fabian Nicieza and Pete Woods

Fabian Nicieza AND Scott Lobdell? DC really broke out the time machine, huh? Hope we get some hologram covers out of the deal!

40. Grifter #1 by Nathan Edmondson, CAFU and BIT

So, Wildstorm's back, eh? It could work.

41. Voodoo #1 by Ron Marz and Sami Basri.

Wasn't she a stripper? I don't entirely remember. Based on the cover I've seen, and the fact that Marz is writing it, I get the feeling he's just gonna use some of his Witchblade ideas over here. After all, more people will read this than those buying Top Cow books.

42. Stormwatch #1 by Paul Cornell and Miguel Sepulveda

Martian Manhunter's in The Authority? It might work.

43. Animal Man #1 by Jeff Lemire, Travel Foreman and Dan Green

Jeff Lemire is that indie darling DC keeps trying to push on us, but just like "fetch", I don't know if it's gonna catch on.

44. Swamp Thing #1 by Scott Snyder and Yanick Paquette

Here's your Swamp Thing, hippies. It's even got that Scott Snyder y'all love so much. I feel like this might be a "be careful what you wish for" situation, where having ST in the main DCU isn't as awesome as you thought it was going to be.

45. Justice League Dark #1 by Peter Milligan and Mikel Janin

Better hope this is a mini. Sure, it's Milligan, but this is just Shadowpact all over again.

46. Demon Knights #1 by Paul Cornell, Diogenes Neves and Oclair Albert

See #45

47. Frankenstein: Agent Of SHADE #1 by Jeff Lemire and Alberto Ponticelli

I like Frankenstein. I like SHADE. I also realize this is just Hellboy and the BPRD. Luckily, I like this character more than I do Hellboy - that is if it's the same characterization as in Seven Soldiers.

48. Resurrection Man #1 by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and Fernando Dagnino

Doesn't see year 2.

49. I, Vampire #1 by Josh Fialkov and Andrea Sorrentino

Might've worked as a low-selling-as-singles-but-sells-respectably-in-trade Vertigo title, but I don't see it working as a mainstream DCU book.

50. Blackhawks #1 by Mike Costa and Ken Lashley

A cool, honor-bound group of pilots is now updated into a band of infojock mercenaries. Like Checkmate, I think this concept would be cool woven throughout the universe, and maybe given a mini here and there, but I don't think it's a viable ongoing concept.

51. Sgt Rock And The Men Of War #1 by Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick

There are folks who love war comics. Then again, that war is typically WWII. The Big One. All that. Not sure if modernizing it will work, based on common opinions of our current wars. However, it's the DCU, so all the battles will take place in fictional places, like Bialya, so it won't matter.

52. All-Star Western #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Grey and Meridat.

It'll march along  just like Jonah Hex did. "A rose by any other name..."

So, those are my initial thoughts. I hope I wasn't too mean. If anything, I kinda wanted to make a note of this point in time so that I can come back to it when the books ship, and see if I still feel the same. What are your thoughts on the new lineup?

and this:

?

What irks me about the comic industry is that the first image gets derided. It's for an upcoming IDW series spinning out of their Infestation event, but the comments on blog posts have been things like "Do her breasts have to be that big?" Nothing is known about the series at this point, but it's already been judged by the size of her breasts. It'll probably be written up as just another example of "cheesecake art", or will be cited as another example of how comics are a male-dominated industry where women are objectified. Fine.

Now, let's look at that second image. In case you missed them, her breasts are friggin'  HUGE. For some reason, however, this series NEVER seems to get bashed in the same manner as superhero comics. Whenever the sexuality of Love & Rockets characters is brought up, it's just brushed off. I tried reading Love & Rockets, and I just didn't get it; too much going on. First, there's some lesbian motorcycle mechanics, and then there's some kind of promiscuous, busty chick named Luba, and I'm not sure if the stories ever cross over. The series is the work of Los Bros Hernandez, and it's revered by all those who like to spell out the genre as "comix". You know - the high-brow set. A big reason I couldn't get into the series was her giant rack. You open up a random Hernandez book, and you see some large-jugged chick in the middle of doggystyle, yet the busty zombie hunter is the one who gets all the flack? I'm not saying that one is necessarily worse than the other, but I wish they were treated according to the circumstances.

I get really tired of people assuming that hero comics are for the uncultured fanboy, while also assuming that everything the indie world puts out somehow lends a sense of cultural validity to the medium. You see Britt, and don't like what you see, fine - it's not for you. I read about Maggie and Hopey and Palomar and Luba, and decided I'd rather have a root canal. All I'm saying is you can't act like you don't see those things, when they're just as prevalent as Britt's. Are we saying Luba's breasts are OK because they lend to her sexuality, therefore lending to the story as a whole? Are we saying Britt's breasts aren't OK because they would impede her zombie hunting abilities? Let's get our stories straight, people!

Oh...where to start with this book? Normally, I use this column as an excuse to get snarky, but this is the rare occasion where I can actually "talk shop". You see, How I Made It To Eighteen is reminiscent of the kind of submissions that started coming in near the tail end of my time at Diamond. For those of you just tuning in, I used to be a brand manager for Diamond Comic Distributors - the largest comic book distributor in North America. Basically, my department decided which books ended up in comic shops. Well, let me rephrase that: my department decided which non-DC, Marvel, Image or Dark Horse comics ended up in shops; based on their contracts, those publishers can put out whatever the Hell they want. So, basically, I was assigned to what's known as "the small press". I worked with sizable publishers, like Fantagraphics, IDW Publishing and Oni Press, but I also worked with a lot of one-man shops. It wasn't a very "happy" job, as I was constantly crushing someone's dream. These people had wanted to create comics all their lives, and here I was telling them that they weren't good enough for widespread exposure. Who was I to judge them, ya know? It's just that over time, you start to see a pattern in what sells. A lot of the time, these comic hopefuls had great ideas, but just didn't have a good marketing plan worked out. They felt that just getting into the Previews catalog would be enough publicity, as it would get them in front of the eyes of the country's comic retailers. Sadly, a Previews blurb is NEVER enough. If they had just taken more time plotting their attack, they might've had a better shot on the stands. In other cases, the book just wasn't what we felt would move in the "direct market" comprised of comic shops. How I Made It To Eighteen would fall into the latter category.

How I Made It To Eighteen, by Tracy White, is a semi-autobiographical tale about "one girl's struggle with depression and addiction." I got that from the cover blurb. Before we tackle that, let's back up for a minute. Prior to reading this book, I had no frame of reference for the writer. According to Ms. White's included biography, she's been making webcomics since 1996. While that's an impressive length of time (this book was published in 2010), it could be argued that the audience for webcomics and that of published comics are two different animals. Not everyone can crank out a PvP or a Penny Arcade, so you often find that people follow webcomics because they're free, but wouldn't spend their hard-earned cash on a print collection of them.

One thing the book had going for it was the fact that it came from a book publisher and not a comic publisher. Roaring Book Press doesn't really have much of a track record in the comic industry, but as an imprint of Macmillan, it has some clout in the "real book" world. Had this been submitted by a first-time creator, who was storing inventory in her garage, it probably never would've made it into stores. Diamond's primary focus is on the +3500 comic specialty shops in the US, and this wouldn't have appealed to many of those accounts. A book like How I Made It To Eighteen isn't going to make waves in most comic shops, but it'll do alright in a Borders, which is what I think to myself every time I see a copy of it on the shelf as I'm looking for the latest volume of Jack of Fables.

Ignoring the subject matter of the book, the art is the main reason that How I Made It To Eighteen wouldn't appeal to your "typical comic shop". This is a little known secret, but we rarely read the books that were submitted. There were just too many of them. If the art was good, the book could sell. If it was bad, the book couldn't. However, in the rare case that the art was mediocre, that's when we'd read it so that we could see if the writing tipped the scales in the book's favor. Otherwise, you're left to sink or swim based on your art. After all, comics are a visual medium - if it doesn't look good, maybe it should be prose. To look at the art in this book, it's clear that it came from a webcomic background. It's rough and rushed - fine if you're trying to keep some sort of consistent online schedule, but nowhere near polished enough if you want people to pay. Then again, what is "art"? It's all subjective, so maybe it's not my cup of tea, but it may appeal to someone else. With that in mind, let's talk about the story itself.

How I Made It To Eighteen is somewhat based on the author's life, though events and names have been changed to protect other people. The main character, Stacy Black, is a recent high school graduate who has found herself at a crossroads. She doesn't want to go to college, but she doesn't exactly have a plan for her life. She's obsessed with her emotionally unavailable, yet controlling, boyfriend, and she has a strained relationship with her mother. Through a series of events, she finds herself checked into Golden Meadows Hospital, and the book follows her struggles with depression, addiction, and eating disorders. Now, let me say that I get the draw of this premise: on paper, this should be a great book to share with young women who might be going through similar circumstances. By no means do I wish to belittle Ms. White's experiences, and many young women might be able to relate to her struggle. It's for these same reasons, however, that I feel the book is a letdown. Considering the heft of the subject matter, it might be unrealistic to expect everything to be neatly wrapped up in a little bow by the end. That said, I did expect to get more out of the book than I got. The book doesn't indicate that it's a part of a series, but it feels incomplete - almost as if the entire story isn't presented here. If this had been a documentary, we would've just been forced to digest the information that was captured, and we'd have the understanding that the footage was edited the best it could be, given what was available. Here, however, the author is in control of the narrative, but it doesn't feel as if she realized it. The book travels at a somewhat slow pace, but it feels like the ending was thrown together in order to satisfy a deadline. Has the character of Stacy made any progress by this point? Yes, but the reader isn't given enough information from which to draw any conclusions. I guess the editor felt the same way, as the book ends with a tacked on epilogue page, which has as much substance as those movie end credits that flash a character and say "Bobby went off to 'Nam. He never came home."

This is the kind of book that comic snobs LOVE, as it shows you can do more with the comic medium than just feature capes and boobs. Well, you can use comics to tell autobiographical tales, but the successful ones are a lot better than this. The book has promise, but it doesn't stick the landing. I can forgive the art, as its minimal, rough look doesn't mar the narrative in any way. What I can't forgive is the fact that it just doesn't seem like it was mapped out before it was put on the page. As I said before, a lot of small press books fail because the creators don't seem to be thinking long-term. Ms White might be skilled in the webcomic format, but I'm not sold on her printed work.

This week marked the release of Scarlet #1, the new creator-owned Marvel/Icon comic from Brian Michael Bendis and Alex Maleev. While the duo were well-known for their successful run on Daredevil, I went into this book with mixed feelings. Why was that? Well, I guess you could say that it's an example of "In Real Life Made Me Hate You". Let's take a step back in time, shall we?

Brian Michael Bendis was the first comic writer whose work I purchased solely because of the writer. In the past, I bought X-Men because everybody bought X-Men. I bought Batman because, well, he was Batman. Bendis, however, made me stray outside of that. I never really cared much for Avengers, since they were D-listers at the time, but Bendis got on the book, and I followed suit. While his overarching stories may not be consistent, he's a master of dialogue. He's pretty much popularized the "talking head" comic in the modern industry, much to the chagrin of many fanboys. I, however, LOVED his work. I read his autobiographical comics, like Total Sell-Out and Fortune & Glory, plus I even gave Powers a try (still don't get the hype on that book). Based on Avengers and his Ultimate Marvel work, I think it was safe to say that Bendis was my favorite writer in comics. With that in mind, of course it would have been an honor for me to meet him.

Fast forward to 2008, at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Bendis was making the rare convention appearance out East, and I saw this as my chance to finally get to meet my favorite writer. I got in line for his table EARLY, as we knew he'd be signing, but no one seemed to know when. On top of that, he was doing back to back panels, which seemed to be running over schedule. I'd been to a handful of Baltimore shows, so I knew I wasn't missing much on the floor. If you've seen Howard Chaykin once, then that's all you need. Bendis, however, was the goal. I must've stood in that line for over 4 hours. Sure, I had some interesting fanboy conversations over the course of that time, but I still wasted the better part of the day in that line. When I finally got up to Bendis, he spent the time chatting away on his iPhone. I don't think he even looked at me. He kinda scrawled his autograph on my comic (which, by the way, didn't look nearly as good as the potentially fake autograph I'd bought at a show some years earlier. At least that one looked like it said "BENDIS"). Before I could really say anything to him, he handed it back and briefly moved the phone aside to say, "Here ya go, champ", in the manner of your mom's new boyfriend who didn't care enough to learn your name.

Now, I know that whole thing sounds like I have a sense of geek entitlement, but I really expected more. A lot of people have asked, "Well, what did you expect him to do?" I really can't tell you, but I certainly expected actually get to say something to him. I'm sure everybody says the same, trite "I love your work", but isn't that part and parcel of the convention signing experience? At least pretend he cares about his fans. Whenever you read these stories, someone in the comments will say "Well, maybe he was tired" or "'Maybe he was having a bad day". None of that seemed to apply here. He was happy and spry; he just wasn't present. Never meet your heroes, kid. Anyway, my opinion of him kind of took a hit after that, while his star has only continued to rise. I was already grandfathered into his earlier series (like New Avengers and Ultimate Spider-Man), but I wasn't sure I wanted to get on that horse again. Petty, I know. So, this is where I was coming from when I heard about Scarlet. Due to the buzz surrounding the book, I decided to give it a shot. In retrospect, it's a great book that I'm not quite sure I should've read.

I don't want to ruin it for you, because the story has an angle to it that should be experienced by the reader. As a quick elevator pitch, Scarlet is the story of a woman who, upon realizing that the world isn't fair, decides that she's going to change all of that - by any means necessary. It's a book with a message, and it's a potentially dangerous message. It's almost like Falling Down, the Michael Douglas movie where one bad day pretty much sets an average Joe on a self-destructive path. I say it may not have been the book for me because of what my life has been going through as of late. It speaks to me, and it probably speaks to other readers as well. This familiarity will be good for the book's accessibility, but do we really need to make angry people any angrier? It could almost be seen as inspirational, but what is it inspiring? It takes the notion of "The World Is Screwed Up", but follows it up with a "So, What Are You Going To Do About It?"

Seeing as how it's the first issue, it's not exactly preachy, but focuses more on providing background info on Scarlet. It will be interesting to see how the book proceeds, seeing as how Bendis has said it's not meant to be a political book. After all, this means that it will be a battle cry for a revolution that doesn't specify the end goal. It almost sounds like an invitation to chaos, while it could also follow the notion that society has to be fully destroyed before it can be rebuilt. It's an interesting concept, and I look forward to seeing where the book is headed. I hate to admit it, but Bendis has still got it. Maybe one day, I might get the chance to tell him that.

Now, I was actually supposed to volunteer for the show, as I first learned about it when I was in Marc's store a few months back. He had a really good idea: he was already hosting a Free Comic Book Day signing in his store, so he figured he would just offer those guests an extra night's hotel stay, and have them as his guests for the show. On top of that, he was going to make sure that all of the local shops had flyers available on FCBD, so that he could take advantage of the newcomers who might be flocking to stores. Considering his guest list was going to include Frank Cho (Ultimate Avengers 2, Liberty Meadows), JG Jones (52, Marvel Boy), Jo Chen (Buffy Season 8 covers), and others, it sounded like it couldn't fail. Of course I wanted to be on board with that! He told me to show up early, and he'd put me to work. Well, fast forward to this morning, as I didn't get to sleep until 7 AM because I'd been up working on restoring older entries to the site (I'll explain that situation in another post). So, considering I wasn't getting to sleep until about 3 hours before the show started, I simply muttered "Fuck that noise", and went to sleep.

Over the past few days, I guess I lost most of my interest in the show when it didn't seem like anyone really knew about the thing. I was in a comic shop yesterday, where I overheard someone talking about it, but their account of the thing was riddled with misinformation. On top of it, these were the retailers, themselves, and not just some fanboys standing around. So, it was becoming apparent that those flyers hadn't made the rounds as planned. Also, the website was only updated intermittently. By Thursday, in total, there had only been about 5 update posts - none of which contained any major information, outside of the list of creators who'd be present. The only show-exclusive item was a variant cover of Witchblade, which would benefit the Hero Initiative. That's good for the Hero Initiative, but the whole "Show Exclusives" part of the site looked pretty sad, as nothing else was being listed alongside it. It's almost like, "Why bother?"

The worst crime of the site, however, was that it didn't even list information pertaining to the price of regular admission. It stated that tickets would be available at the door, and not in advance (unlike the Baltimore show). Also, admission would be $5 IF you signed up for the e-mail newsletter. What if I don't want to sign up? Well, there's no information for that scenario. Guess I would just have to find out at the door...

So, I woke up around 11:30, and really debated whether or not I wanted to even bother with it. I had told Marc I'd volunteer, but it's not like he really cared. He'd be OK. The main thing, though, was that I didn't really know how to get to George Mason University. Sure, there's Mapquest, GPS, and all that, but I hate the thought of trying to navigate a college campus. Cornell was basically the entire town of Ithaca. I knew GMU wasn't that big, but I didn't want to waste most of the day wandering around aimlessly. I checked the con's site, only to see that they had uploaded a map of the campus, showing the location of the show, as well as the lot (Lot A) which was the only one open to con guests. Nice of them to post this...on May 1st. Yeah, they did it yesterday. The day before the show.

Honestly, though, I really just wanted to go so that I could finally meet one of my twitter pals. He's one of the few people I can actually have a tweetversation with, and I think he'd be a cool "real life" friend. I knew he was making the trip from Baltimore, so if he could do that, then I could suck it up and drive to VA.

I headed down to GMU, but I was looking at the map on my phone, as I didn't have the chance to print it. The Zoom option didn't want to work, so I was flying blind. Once on campus, I couldn't, for the life of me, find Lot A. Driving around Patriot Circle, the signs about the show/lot simply ran out. I ended up parking in the lot for a shopping center across the street from the campus. I didn't want to risk tickets/towing by parking in the wrong campus lot, and I don't mind walking. If I had found Lot A, it would've been a "5-10 minute walk" to the show. I'm not sure if that estimate was for the "normal" person, or for us geek types, who don't have much in the way of cardio training.

I wandered through campus a bit, and actually walked past Lot A. It wasn't much closer than the shopping center, so I didn't feel too bad about my choice. Since the main campus seems to be configured in the middle of a circle, it wasn't too hard to figure out the general direction of central campus. That said, all of the buildings, while nice and new, all pretty much look the same. Every now and then, I'd see a fat kid carrying a bag of comics, coming from the general direction in which I was headed, so that was an encouraging sign. Eventually, I just had to suck it up, and ask some kid where the Student Union was. Luckily, it was right around the corner from where I was. Keep in mind, this whole walk, which was in the CORRECT direction, contained NO signage to imply that I was headed in the right direction. I couldn't have been the only one to experience this. Sadly, I arrived just in time to receive a tweet saying that my twitter pal had just left.

Anyway, once at the student union, there was nothing outside to indicate what was going on inside. No "DC Comic-Con Here!" sign. The only clue was that there were more slovenly kids with bags of comics, and a line at the ATM. Once inside, I realized that it wasn't exactly a well-oiled machine. Admission turned out to be $5, so I guess the newsletter tactic was a bust. The problem was that, after I paid the money, the guy manning the table was more concerned with me filling out a raffle ticket than with giving me my wristband. People were bunching up around me, so once I was done, his partner tried to charge me another $5 before he'd give me the wristband. I told him I'd already paid, and the 1st guy co-signed it, so I got my wristband. That's when I entered the "ballroom" where the show was being held...

You know your grandma's church? The one that's old and drab 'cause only old people attend? The one where they hold bazaars in the drab auditorium? The same auditorium which has a stage up front, as they sometimes use it to present the Christmas Cantata? Well, that's exactly what this venue was like. It had a very "flea market" vibe to it. The entire room was filled with vendor tables, while something seemed to be happening onstage. I started to make the loop, but people were just in the way. This is a common problem with conventions, as everybody wants to bodyblock the longboxes until they're done looking through them - very territorial.

As I'm walking through, I realize I recognize a lot of the vendors. After all, I used to frequent those little comic shows they hold at the Crowne Plaza in Tysons. Yup, there was the guy with one arm. There was the jerk from Columbia. There was the dude who always gives me the stink eye. The gang was all there. As I continued around, something became VERY apparent to me: the vendors had only brought their older comics OR their junk. So, if you were new to comics, your only options were overpriced yellowed books from the '70s or a bunch of $1 bin books from the mid '90s. I was kind of offended by this, as it implied that none of the vendors had taken the show seriously. Just as the place looked like a church bazaar, they were treating it as one. As I walked around, I overheard a lot of grumbling amongst the vendors, as the show clearly hadn't met their expectations. Now, I'm not sure if they were unhappy with the turnout, or the lack of sales, but I have to lay some of the blame on the vendors themselves. Outside of the shitload of unnecessary Deadpool variant covers released over the last few months, the vast majority of vendors didn't have any books published within the last five years. On top of that, it was a great show for anyone looking for cheap trade paperback collections, but the single comic offerings were piss poor. One guy was selling "new comics", one of which was an issue of Amazing Spider-Man that came out six months ago. Now, considering that series comes out thrice-monthly, that book is basically a year and a half old, when compared to other comics. That's not NEW.

I made about 5 loops around the room, and couldn't find ANYTHING on which I wanted to spend money. It was all junk. Hell, I was so disgusted that I passed up the FCBD books that some guy had leftover from yesterday. I bought the DC Comic-Con exclusive Witchblade because it was the show's ONLY exclusive, and I wanted to have proof of the show's existence in case it's never held again. It helped out the Hero Initiative, though I've never exactly been sold on that organization (look up its guidelines some time - there's a a VERY narrow pool of creators who even qualify for its assistance).

The saddest part of the convention was the lone Joker who was skulking around the show floor. This dude looked terrible! I mean, his costume was good, but he just looked depressed, and I'm not sure if it was part of his cosplay. I think he just felt out of place, as he was the ONLY one in cosplay that I saw. They were granting free admission to anyone who showed up in full costume, but he's the only one who looked like he may have taken advantage of that offer. In any case, I eventually saw him hiding behind a pillar, fervently texting someone. Maybe he was asking Batman to come and take him back to Arkham. After all, that HAD to be a better option than where he was at the moment!

Oh, remember the commotion onstage? Well, that's where those big name creators were set up. It was so awkward, however, as they were elevated over the rest of the show floor. To add to that, any fans wishing to get signatures & sketches had to wait off to the side of the stage. When it was their turn, they went up, as if they were about to receive a diploma. I'm being overly dramatic, but it really looked like an elitist setup, as we were all waiting to "pay tribute". I already had signatures from all of them, so I didn't even give it a second thought.

While on Loop #5, I noticed one vendor, who also happened to be the only vendor who was even remotely friendly to me, had a bunch of old toys for sale. Really old toys. That's when I saw them: the Hasbro figures from the Stargate movie. Kurt Russell as Jack O'Neill, James Spader as Daniel Jackson, and nary a trace of likeness rights between them. Despite looking nothing like the actors, I LOVE Stargate, and I couldn't shake a stick at the price tag of $3 each. As I took Daniel and O'Neill to the vendor, he laughed and told me he would cut me a deal for all of them. There were 6 figures, and he said he'd give them to me for half price. Now, I'm normally a sucker for a deal, but I really had no use for Lt. Kawalsky and Horus figures. I mean, Kawalsky looked just like O'Neill, but had a different color shirt, and I don't care about grunt soldiers from a defunct toy line. I could've had them all for about $3 more than I spent, but I just didn't want more junk in my apartment. I'm gonna hang Daniel and Jack on the wall, like the kitsch that they are. I simply had no use for the others.

The very second after I completed that transaction, I headed for the door.  I didn't care about the raffle, or the door prizes, or spending another second in that place. I walked out the door, and didn't look back.

While I had major problems with the venue, I think my main disappointment came from the fact that I had held such high expectations. It's really a matter of semantics: this was not a convention, but a show. A comic convention is an experience. There are vendors, panel discussions, and it provides fans with the chance to meet their favorite creators. A comic show, however, is simply about selling. Vendors bring their backstock inventory, and hope to unload some of it to people who are trying to fill holes in their collections. Shows don't always have guests, and when they do, they don't tend to be "marquee". This show definitely fit the latter definition. It was geared toward the collector, and the older collector at that. It didn't serve as a proper introduction for the new fan, nor as encouragement to the casual fan. I'm a collector, and it didn't even fit my needs, so I'm left to wonder what was the target audience for this show. It's got some reputable names behind it, so maybe this was a case of "1st year mistakes". I didn't exactly have an amazing time, but fanboys are gluttons for punishment, so I'm not giving up on it completely. After all, there's always next year...

Back when I worked in the comic industry, I was the Diamond contact for any publisher whose name began with a letter between "E" and "R". This exact range would change over my tenure, but one publisher that I never lost was Nantier Beall and Minoustchine Publishing, AKA NBM Publishing. Now, NBM had a respected reputation in the industry, yet they weren't putting out the books with the big name creators. There was no Moore or Gaiman coming from their corner of the market, so some of their best books sort of got lost in the shuffle. On numerous occasions, I would get calls from Terry Nantier, telling me that he felt they deserved more of a push for their titles. These phone pleas would be followed up by meetings at conventions, where he would again tell me that he wanted more promotion. At times, it was less of a request, and more of a demand. I'd tell him that I would do what I could, but I never really got any cooperation from the Diamond side of things. In any case, a few books would come across my desk, and I'd put them aside for when I was done reading Ultimate Final Invasion, or whatever was going on with the Big 2 at the time. Well, since I've got nothing but time on my hands, I finally got around to some of those NBM books, and all I can say is, "I'm really sorry, Terry!" NBM really has some great stuff in their library, and I only hope that he's now getting the promotional attention that he always wanted.

Since these books were by Rob Vollmar and Pablo G. Callejo, plus the fact that I read them together, I figured it was only natural that I review them together.

The Castaways HC

Though it was actually the more recent of the two books, I actually read The Castaways first.
The Castways is the Great Depression-era tale of Tucker Freeman, a young boy who finds himself trying to emulate his estranged father, by riding the rails in the hope of a better life for himself. As the book starts, we find Tucker peeking at the collection of postcards that his father has sent home over the years. It seems that Mr. Freeman used to regularly leave home for long periods at a time. One day, he simply never came home. As a result, Tucker, along with his mother and siblings, were forced to move in with his father's sister. A devout Christian woman, Tucker's aunt was also a raging disciplinarian bitch. One day, she tells Tucker that he's not pulling his weight, and that he's at the age when he should strike out on his own, so that she would have one less mouth to feed. She gives him a few dollars, and tells him to leave immediately. Tucker hops the next boxcar out of town, and begins his journey to the unknown. Along his journey, Tucker meets Elijah Hopkins, a kindly old black man who's also living the hobo's life. Elijah takes Tucker under his wing, and teaches him the rules of the vagabond lifestyle. Tucker and Elijah bond during their time on the road, and when Elijah discovers that Tucker didn't exactly want to leave home, he's forced to make a decision on what path he feels would be best for the boy.

I found this to be such a touching story in short package. When the book started out, I found Callejo's art style to be a bit jarring, as he tends to express every crease and wrinkle on the characters' faces. The fact that it's a two-tone book just exacerbated the fact that many of the old characters had a California Raisins-esque quality to them. His approach is quite European, which is understandable since most of his work tends to be for European publishers. By the end, however, I felt that his style was exactly what the story needed. Vollmar is great at expressing emotion, and he is quite gifted at writing significant moments between characters. I enjoyed every second of this book, and my only regret is that it took me 3 years to finally read it.

Bluesman HC

Next, I tackled Bluesman, which was actually the first collaboration between Vollmar and Callejo. Originally published as a 3-part, pseudo-prestige format series, Bluesman follows traveling guitarist, Lem Taylor, as he makes his way through rural Arkansas in pursuit of his next gig and next meal. Joining Lem on the journey is piano player, "Ironwood" Malcott.

The most significant aspect of Bluesman, from the get-go, is that Vollmar has done his research on the period. There are several historical references cited which serve to explain the lifestyle of a traveling musician in that era, as well as how he would be received by the rest of society. This background really helps to set the mood and boundaries of the tale. In early '20s America, there was a class of man that simply traveled the rural south, relying upon the kindness of strangers. They would pay for their room and board with a song, and then set out for the next town. This was a complicated "occupation", as many felt that these people should get "real" jobs so that they could make a real contribution to society. They looked down on these layabouts, as they "weren't about nothin'." At the same time, these people also enjoyed the entertainment provided by the traveling bluesmen. The best venues to play were, of course, speakeasies and juke joints, the locations of which weren't exactly common knowledge during the days of Prohibition.

We first meet Lem and 'Wood, as they wake up on the wrong end of a gun, due to the fact that they've been caught by the farmer in whose barn they were sleeping. Before the farmer is about to shoot them, Lem begins to preach and tells the farmer that he was a traveling holy man. This allows Lem and 'Wood to escape, but only after they sing a few hymns for the farmer's wife. They hit the road, and end up in a town called "Hope". It's here that we first see how society feels about traveling bluesmen, as they walk into a restaurant, and are ejected the minute the woman in charge notices Lem's guitar case. She knows that they're going to rely upon her charity, as they clearly don't have any money. Again, Lem revs up a sermon so powerful that it leaves the woman in tears. Not only do they end up with their supper, but they also get a tip about a juke out in the woods that might provide them with their next gig.

The men soon find themselves at Shug's joint, where an impromtu performance earns them a 2-night engagement. Shug is impressed enough with them that he allows them to sleep in his shed, and promises them a bigger take the next night. Well, on the second night, a local talent scout catches their act, and tells them that he wants them in the studio to record their songs. He tells them to be in Memphis within a week, and he'll take care of the rest. It all sounds so promising, and that's when Vollmar cites a passage which points out that a traveling bluesman's success was always fleeting, no matter how close at hand it may seem. This is the part of the Behind The Music where the shit would hit the fan.

Lem was the responsible son-of-a-preacher-man, who grew up in a devout Christian household, and was never allowed to play his guitar in the presence of his father. Despite the rift that it caused in his family, he knew that his life had been changed the first time he heard the blues. Ironwood, while a bit older than Lem, was a LOT less responsible. Lem lived off strangers out of necessity, but you could tell that 'Wood enjoyed it. He was simply a layabout, and the two men weren't on the same page, as far as their goals were concerned. Plainly put, 'Wood was trouble, as Lem found out on the second night. After their gig, 'Wood convinced Lem to accompany him home with Tarene, one of the waitresses at the juke, despite Shug warning them against it. They get back to the cottage, and if Barry White had lived that long ago, they'd have put on one of his albums. Everybody was about to get some ass, when a truck rolls up out of the blue. In bursts Wyatt, the white owner of the house and, apparently, the waitress. Everyone scrambles to hide, but it's no use, as he has noticed 'Wood's hat on the floor, signaling that his woman's cheatin' on him. At that point, action happens pretty fast, as Wyatt starts to beat the shit out of Tarene. Tarene chokes Wyatt in self defense, but he kills her by smashing a lamp against her head. He's about to shoot her, as 'Wood comes out of hiding and charges him with a knife. 'Wood gets half of his head blown off, as Wyatt ends up with 'Wood's knife in his chest. With his remaining strength, Wyatt tries to shoot Lem, but the gun's out of bullets. Lem's in shock regarding 'Wood's death, and Tarene's cousin, Maisy, tells him that he needs to leave before people show up, asking questions. When Lem leaves, Maisy finishes off Wyatt with the butt of his own gun.

Lem sets on the the run, and the book almost becomes a companion book to The Castways, as Lem embarks on a hobo's life similar to that depicted there. While Lem's on the run, Maisy hangs herself, and Wyatt's father brings a lynch mob to town, demaning justice for his dead son. As far as he's concerned, any black person could be punished for the crime, as the true injustice was that a white man had been killed, and he was convinced that one of the "town niggers" had done it. Luckily, the town has a fair sheriff, who won't bend to the mob mentality. At this point, the book splits between the story of Lem on the run, as well as the sheriff's investigation.

By the third act, everyone's on stage, as the confrontation takes place in the middle of the woods, just before a tornado is about to hit. This section of the book is not only powerful, but it also lends a bit of the supernatural to the book. When we last see Lem, we're pretty sure that he'll never make it to Memphis to record that record. The epilogue, however, leads you to believe that may not have been the case, providing an ending so emotional that I defy you to finish the book with a dry eye.

As I said before, I'm sorry that it took me so long to discover the work of Vollmar and Callejo, but their work is a true example of "comics as literature" and I truly feel that it raises the bar on the medium to a new level. Definitely check these out!

OK, when I first started on this project, I knew that I would have more to say about some books than others. Usually, if it just didn't resonate with me, I'm going to have less to say. Well, welcome to that installment, as the following 3 books don't even warrant individual entries. This isn't to say, however, anything about their quality; unlike most fanboys, I'm going to take the high road, and say that they just weren't my cup of tea.

First up, we've got You Have Killed Me, which is an Oni Press book by Jamie S. Rich and Joelle Jone. Full disclosure: I LOVE Oni Press. I was their account manager when I was with Diamond, and they're some of the nicest guys in comics. At this point, I've read quite a few Oni books, so I'm familiar with their usual creators, as well as the general style of their books. Not to generalize too much, but a lot of Oni books revolve around mid-twenties slackers who get tangled up in some sort of high-jinks. Their most popular example of this genre is the Scott Pilgrim franchise, but it can be seen in other books, like Pounded! and Labor Days. Jamie S. Rich has come to be a master at this genre, and You Have Killed Me is, pretty much, the same thing, only set in an early 20th century, film noir universe.

I'm not even going to go through all of the twists and turns of the plot. If you've ever experienced ANYTHING noir, then you already know where this is going: murder, mob, jazz, and a double-crossing dame. That's it. I felt that it zigzagged more than it needed to, which served to confuse the plot. Another impediment was the artwork of Joelle Jones. It seemed that she was only working with about 5 different character models, so it was difficult to figure out who the characters were at times. Was this the femme fatale in this panel, or was it her dead sister? I know that kind of misdirect was integral to the plot, but it got worse in other places. There was a skinny black character model and a fat black character model. If there were 2 skinnies in the room, you didn't really know which was which. "They all look the same!" I know Joelle's a talented artist, as she was responsible for the recent Dr. Horrible one-shot from Dark Horse, as well as some work on Fables. I had been hearing a LOT about this book quite a while before it came out, and I feel that the delays may have been due to the art side of things. In order to get the book finished, I fear she may have cut some corners.

In the long run, I didn't feel this book lived up to the emo library that Oni has built over the years. If you're an indie completist, go ahead and give it a try, but don't say I didn't warn ya.

Next up, we have Olympus, an Image series by Nathan Edmondson and Christian Ward. Going into this, I knew nothing about the creators or the subject matter. I think I may have said this before, but I know next to nothing about mythology. Yes, I realize they're the classics, and the learned folks would look down on me for my ignorance. That said, most of the mythology I know is stuff that I picked up from watching Xena and Hercules.

As far as the plot of Olympus, I don't really wish to get into the details, as I'm afraid I wouldn't do it justice, given my ignorance of the source material. Over the course of the story, there were points that I could tell would be meaningful to those familiar with the duo, but I was not one of those people. Ultimately, the series followed immortal brothers Castor and Pollux as they alternated between Earth and Hades. It seems that they die every year, only to come back and do it all over again 12 months later. A threat gets loose from the underworld that threatens the immortal realm. So, Castor and Pollux set out to preserve themselves, as well as the rest of their ilk. That's pretty much what I got out of it.

I will say that the art is the driving force of Olympus. It's the sort of thing where, even if you don't wish to read it, you would still get a kick out of "looking at the pretty pictures". Christian Ward brings a trippy, almost watercolor quality to the book. It can, at times, be a bit hard to follow, but I certainly think it fits the otherworldly nature of the book. I wanted to like this book, as I knew there was good stuff there that I just didn't understand. There is certainly an audience out there for this book, and I'm just sorry that I'm not it.

Finally, we've got Dark Minds, an Image series by Pat Lee. That pretty much says it all right there. If you're familiar with comics, you know why. If you're not, here's the CliffsNotes version: Pat Lee is a bit of a snake oil salesmen in the comic industry. He loves drawing robots, but he ruined his reputation by stealing the work of others - either through outright infringement or lack of payment to artists in his stable (for more, just check his wiki Talk page ),

Well, it seems ol' Pat's at it again! I'm gonna make this quick for ya. Have you ever seen Ghost In The Shell? Have you ever seen, pretty much, any anime concerning cyborgs or clones? Then, you already know this story. Hackneyed notions of "I'm a clone, so why do I have these memories?" or the popular "Why is this giant, multinational conglomerate trying to kill me? They created me, after all!"

The most jarring aspect of the book is that it's almost like it had no editor. It did, however, have an editor: Pat's brother, Roger Lee. I hope he wasn't paid. They really could've used a crash course with a Scott McCloud book because they don't seem to understand how to lay out a comic page. The speech bubbles don't flow correctly, seriously disrupting the flow of dialogue between characters. That same dialogue also sounds like it was written by someone whose native language is NOT English (the Lees are Canadian, so don't go there with me). The art, too, is flawed, as there are scenes with anatomically atrocious characters posed around immaculately drawn sports cars. Lightbox, anyone?

Dark Minds is an earlier Pat Lee "masterpiece", and he went on to have a pretty successful career after acquiring the Transformers license for his company, Dreamwave. His financial dealings eventually led to the company's demise, and he hasn't worked much in recent years. When this book was published, it was at the dawn of the manga craze. You could shit in a bag and call it "Neo Tokyo", and fandom would think you were a fucking rock star. Well, Pat Lee was the Elvis of that movement. The King is dead, folks, and it's about time.

Look, I don't do much preliminary research for these things. Sure, we live in a world where Wikipedia is just a mouseclick away, but I'm not on wiki when I'm reading these books. If something stands out to me, I might research it further, but I don't check to see what has come before as I'm writing these. That said, I know next to nothing about the Lone Ranger. I know he's a hero on a horse named Silver. I know he's masked, and I also know he has a sidekick, named Tonto. That's where it ends. So, that's what I took with me into reading this book.

Dynamite Entertainment presents The Lone Ranger, a pretty solid story by Brett Matthews & Sergio Cariello. I feel the need, however, to explain an oddity of the "Dynamite process". You see, they hire "name" artists to do character desgins, then pass the actual books on to somewhat lesser known artists. In the case of The Lone Ranger, the character designs are by John Cassaday, whom most know by his work on Astonishing X-Men and Planetary. Now, I'm sure that John brought something to the table, in terms of visualizing the characters, but I don't really know why he gets a credit. I mean, he listed in the credits just like he was there for the whole process, but it's almost like he wrote the screenplay, but not the final script. It's clearly a marketing ploy, so that his name will attract interest on shelves. I understand this, but I'm still bothered by it for some reason. I feel that it takes away from the work and time that Cariello's putting into the book, month in and month out.

So, The Lone Ranger wasn't always alone. You see, he was a Texas Ranger, along with his father and brothers. One day, out on patrol, all but one of them are killed in an ambush. Left for dead, the Lone Ranger wakes up in the desert, only to find that he's about to be killed by a masked assailant. At that moment, he's saved by a well-timed arrow from a mysterious man on a horse. We find out that this man is a Native American, named Tonto, who proceeds to nurse The Ranger back to health.

Meanwhile, Black Bart, a mysterious black man travels the frontier, killing all rangers and relatives of rangers. He was the one who had ordered the original hit, and when he finds out that a ranger survived, he sets out to finish the job. After some back and forth, The Ranger and Tonto form an uneasy alliance, as Tonto agrees to help him get his revenge on those who murdered his family.

It turns out that one of The Ranger's brothers was married, but had kept the wife and child a secret, so as to protect them. The Ranger knew about this secret family, and sets out to protect them before Black Bart reaches them. Tonto uses himself as bait to distract Bart, while The Ranger continues on. In the end, The Ranger manages to save his remaining family, returns to save Tonto, and leaves an incapacitated Bart with a knife. You see, over the course of the adventure, The Ranger remembers a lesson that his father had taught him: sometimes the job calls for killing, but once you start killing, it changes you. The Ranger knows that Bart's evil, but he won't allow him to change him. Bart's trapped in a derailed train, with little hope of survival. The Ranger won't finish him, but he leaves him with the means to finish himself, should he choose to do so. With everything wrapped up, The Ranger and Tonto make their partnership official, and Tonto first calls his friend "Kemosabe" as they race to the horizon.

In all, it was a solid read. It was a great origin story, which left the door open for many more stories to tell. There was a b-story involving the railroad as it moved west. It's clear that it's development would be important or the development of the nation, but it's also a political goldmine. We meet a character, Butch Cavendish, who seems ready to take advantage of that expansion. It's clear that he hired Bart to round up a gang to take out the rangers, but his full intentions aren't known at this point. The story felt somewhat decompressed, as the whole thing took place over 6 issues, when it probably could've been done in 4. That said, I'm putting the book in my "to keep" pile. For now.