Summertime, time to sit back and unwind. Grab a stack of comics, maybe a nice cold IPA, and post your musings throughout the month! What did you love? What did you hate? I WANNA KNOW, Y'ALL

Poll question: COTM: SUMMER COMICS CLUB EDITION

Poll result (5 votes) Dan Didio's Infinity Man and the Forever People (1 votes) Vote Angry Birds Comics (0 votes) Vote Original Sin (1 votes) Vote Future's End (1 votes) Vote MAD Magazine (0 votes) Vote Southern Bastards (2 votes) Vote

I picked up Icon: The Mothership Connection at my LCS's sidewalk sale because it was cheap and had a P-Funk reference right there in the title. It was thick as hell so I'd just assumed it was the entire run... Turns out this was volume 2. But no big deal, if anything I was just impressed/surprised the title was around that long. Because as with many things back in those speculator 90s days, I copped the first couple issues and then went right back to being an X-Men/Spider-Man zombie. Uh, yeah... I missed out on some great comics. I KNOW.

But yo. This book is incredible. Reminded me of Morrison's Animal Man run in a lot of ways: Meta commentary, socially conscious, with a strong family element to it. Superhero antics were somewhat secondary in terms of what I connected with, but still felt 100% satisfying. The journey of the Luke Cage analog character was hilarious, surprising, and poignant. Damn it, Dwayne McDuffie was good.

While I'm tracking down the first trade, talk to me about your favorite Milestone titles, creators, moments, etc.

Sent me on a crazy Milestone search after that, found most of both Static and Blood Syndicate's runs on ebay. My memory of those is about the same as yours, copped the 1st few issues then went back to the norm. Though to be fair, I only had so much disposable income from ages 13-16, so if forced to choose between copping every issue of whatever crossover was in the X books at the time and a random issue of a Milestone book, there was no choice at all.



"I halfway hope people put "btw, rappers lie and shit" on CD covers, like a parental advisory sticker." - OKP Villain

www.twitter.com/lexlamont

See, now we're speaking my language. I still have at least 5 PTP blog pieced about Milestone in various stages of completion.

>I picked up Icon: The Mothership Connection at my LCS's
>sidewalk sale because it was cheap and had a P-Funk reference
>right there in the title.

The titles on some of their stories are one of my favorite elements of the Milestone comics. I still remember reading the Milestone/Superman crossover.= for the first time. Of course, they had to have Icon and Superman fight, so you open the issue and see that the title is "Ain't No Such Thing As a Superman."


It was thick as hell so I'd just
>assumed it was the entire run... Turns out this was volume 2.

Ha, that shit ran for about forty something issues. I think that the reason the book is so big, and jumps around a bit in terms of which issues were included, was because McDuffie saw the writing on the wall in regards to DC's treatment of Milestone, so he just wanted to get as much in a possible.


>
>While I'm tracking down the first trade, talk to me about your
>favorite Milestone titles, creators, moments, etc.

You can't really go wrong with any Milestone series (except Kobalt). Everything else they put of was top tier. Truth be told, compared to everything else out at the time, Icon was one of the best books being published. Now, in relation to the rest of the Milestone line, Icon was probably one of the weakest. Yes, the line-up was that strong.

I'm about to wild out in this post over the next month with some write ups.

>The titles on some of their stories are one of my favorite
>elements of the Milestone comics. I still remember reading the
>Milestone/Superman crossover.= for the first time. Of course,
>they had to have Icon and Superman fight, so you open the
>issue and see that the title is "Ain't No Such Thing As a
>Superman."

"Swing Down Sweet Chariot Stop and Let Me Ride" and "If You Ain't Gonna Get it On" were a couple of the chapter titles too. And there were more than a few things I caught in the dialogue along those lines. Shit, anybody annotate these yet??



>Ha, that shit ran for about forty something issues. I think
>that the reason the book is so big, and jumps around a bit in
>terms of which issues were included, was because McDuffie saw
>the writing on the wall in regards to DC's treatment of
>Milestone, so he just wanted to get as much in a possible.
>

There are definitely a lot of ideas here. Everything seemed to flow pretty well though



>>While I'm tracking down the first trade, talk to me about
>your
>>favorite Milestone titles, creators, moments, etc.
>
>You can't really go wrong with any Milestone series (except
>Kobalt). Everything else they put of was top tier. Truth be
>told, compared to everything else out at the time, Icon was
>one of the best books being published.

I believe it

>Now, in relation to the
>rest of the Milestone line, Icon was probably one of the
>weakest. Yes, the line-up was that strong.

I am having trouble wrapping my head around this statement. But in a good way!


>
>I'm about to wild out in this post over the next month with
>some write ups.
>

Yes, please!

>"Swing Down Sweet Chariot Stop and Let Me Ride"

that's not the same as Swing Low Sweet Chariot, believe it or not

check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRimW72kAtE&feature=kp

you probably already know that though

i got a home on the other side

This is cool! And kinda scratching the music itch I've been having lately. I was just listening to some Soul Stirrers the other day...

I know it's DA GOD and all that, but aside from a couple of dope moments it just felt like a lot of noise to me. Even once my eyes stopped bleeding and adjusted to the Howard Porter art, I couldn't get into it. Actually the art was better than I remembered – it helped that Icon kinda had me primed for some throwbacky superhero action. But it hurt that Icon was A++++ material and this was just ok.

People who hated on Final Crisis are wrong, but most of their criticisms apply just fine to World War 3.

his JLA 3000 is pretty effing great.

The 'World War III' title must be universal code for 'this comic is going to suck' because man, that 52 tie-in "WWIII" mini where the whole world fought Black Adam was also simply awful.

That was pretty much the definition of Batman and the importance of Prep Time.

I also liked Orion (or Sturmer) fighting the General.

Otherwise, yes, it was messy and completely fell apart by the end.

In theory it was cool but in execution what you're left with is a 2-page spread of Batman punching a dude while yelling "PROFESSOR STEPHEN HAWKING" which, as battle cries go, could use some work. I'm gonna go against the grain here and deem that one an OVERRATED BATMAN MOMENT.

Yeah, you heard me!

Went back through Trillium for the 1st time since it ended. Verdict: started strong, lost me a bit for the middle third, then really fired it up through the end. It's a far cry from Sweet Tooth good but I definitely dug it, particularly art-wise in the watercolor sections. I would normally be cool with the computer colored sections but put side by side with the watercolor it really looks lackluster. There's something about Lemire's art style that really does it for me, I kind of love how ugly his characters look - weird.

Starting to deep dive back through Saga and the word ugly does not show up anywhere in this book - it's so pretty. I liked it on first read and now I'm loving it going back through. Staples' art is obviously well thought of but I don't think many people talk about her amazing color sense - palettes are sooo good. Something about the story feels akin to Bone, where the way characters talk and act comes from our world and is dropped into this fantasy land. Makes it totally unrealistic, but in a way where the story becomes that much more fun because of it. I'm convinced that's the main reason Bone's never been made into a movie - audiences would be confused but it wouldn't be the same thing without it.

Oh yeah, also reading Kamandi, Vol. 2 during lunch on the back porch. Batshit Kirby crazy - love it.

Been skipping the IPA's in favor of Lagunitas Copper Ale lately - I'm a fan of winter beers, so it's the closest I can get to something smooth and tasty in summer. I love a good brown ale any time of year but they tend to only exist in the spring.

>Been skipping the IPA's in favor of Lagunitas Copper Ale
>lately - I'm a fan of winter beers, so it's the closest I can
>get to something smooth and tasty in summer. I love a good
>brown ale any time of year but they tend to only exist in the
>spring.

My shop marks down seasonal ales after the season, so there's usually a selection of Christmas ales on deep discount (at least 40% off, occasionally $20 or so a case if the owner's not there but the right clerk is...) Right now I've got in the house the remnants of cases of
De Ranke Pere Noel (hoppy, almost a spiced Belgian IPA)
St Bernardus Christmas (possibly my favorite)
De Struisse Tsjeeses (very good strong Belgian holiday ale)
De Struisse Tsjeeses Reserva (same as above, but aged in oak barrels)
Sint Canaris Pere Canard
Vapeur Cochonette (little bit sour Belgian)
Omeggang Adoration
Delirium Noel
Nogne O/Stone/Jolly Pumpkin 2010 holiday special

and non-Christmas ales, we've got a supply of
Brother Thelonius, which is a great dubbel from North Coast
Dogfish Head 120" IPA, a few each 2009, 2011, 2012

Also just picked up a St. Bernardus gift pack with a bottle each of the 6, 9, 12, and tripel (and a sweet St Bernardus chalice), and a Tripel Karmeliet gift pack (with huge tulip).

It's to the point where occasionally we have to buy some 'regular' beer if we're having friends over or if I'm going to play paddle & need to take beer or something. I had a few Yuenglings & Lord Chesterfields left over from an event earlier this winter, but we polished them off a while back.

...I'm on way to your house - wanna watch the World Cup and down some dark brown, spicy beers?

y'all may recall that I'm a fan of Sholly Fisch's Johnny DC work, so I was psyched to see him on the #1 of this. It was pretty great, really captured the spirit of both classic Batman & Robin and Scooby Doo, with plenty of meta commentary (or at least a bit) for the parents. I also grabbed #s 2, 3, and 4 (Batman & Ace, Bat-Mite, and the 'GO!' Teen Titans).

All that said, my kids liked Angry Birds #1 well enough and are excited about #2.

Just bottled:
-2013 raspberry, which had been sitting on oak since January. Came out beautifully.
-2014 dubbel, which had also been sitting ina plastic bucket since January. Also excellent, very happy with it esp. considering I was using old malt that was just labeled 'abbey mix' and I had no idea what I had in it. Possibly still slightly bitter as yet, will improve with age.

Am going to keg shortly (tonight if possible):
-2012 quad that never conditioned in the bottle. Going to pop the bottles, pour into kegs, force carbonate. Have about a case worth. Should be good; the flavor of the beer is excellent, I just haven't gotten into the 'cask' effect of undercarbonated beer yet.

In fact I've determined to put the kegerator back into use this summer. I slacked off last year b/c I was concentrating on big beers that need to be bottled & aged, but there's some joy in pulling a fresh draft of homebrew. Going to be starting off with a medium-body wheat beer shortly, hopefully to brew this wkd.

Also still have some samples of:
-wood sorrel saison (fantastic, sweet and spicy)
-cornelian cherry saiison (a little sour for my tastes, but not bad)
-oaked mulberry ale (great, and it's time to start shaking some mulberries down already for this year's batch)
-bottle or two left from a blonde from last summer
-plenty of cider going back to 2009. I tend to like my ciders sweeter, and these all came out super dry, much more white wine-like. *shrug*
-down to the last few bottles of a wheat quad

Plant ULTRON
BROKEN Thor
Cap gets a CHEST BOMB

Not a burst of sunshine with my morning coffee.

http://storybundle.com/humor

Load up on some dope funnybooks for mad cheap!

In fact here's a free promo code for one of y'all: QXgVR8piYkWlCzROjlD6

Thanks for supporting my shit (and putting up with posts like these)

I've been reading through my childhood comics (turns out I was really into X books as a kid in the mid 80s, particularly New Mutants) in chronological order and something keeps coming up. Annuals sucked. I almost always got them (if they were available in my local gas station) because I was a dummy completist - didn't matter if the art was terrible or if a random writer was brought in to tell a story that, at the time, only Claremont or Louise Simonson were allowed to tell. I always got em, and now I can't force myself to get to the end of the issues.

What's the word on annuals in modern times? Are they still one offs, trying to trick completists (ie: most comic readers) into buying something they don't really want anyway? Do most series even have annuals anymore?

Side topic, tie in mini-series also were usually terrible. The exception being X-Men/Alpha Flight which got me to start reading the X-books (I loved Alpha Flight for a little while there).

Made our way (with all 3 kids) through the first 4 Scooby Doo teamup issues. Really great vibe. Dunno how long they can keep it up and keep it interesting but my man Sholly Fisch is bringing it on the DCU aspects, even if it's very Bat-centric thus far (first 4 teamups were Batman '66 & Robin; Batman & Ace; Bat-Mite; and Teen Titans GO!), but the possibilities seem to be pretty damn good to me for introing the DCU at large to young readers. And it's full of lines about meddling kids, pulling masks off the bad guys, Scooby Snacks, etc. Just a really enjoyable experience for all of us.

In the Teen Titans GO issue, Scoob and the gang fought off an invasion of our dimension by Raven's uncle, Myron the Mildly Irritating. Like, ZOIKS!

Saw the ad awhile back but haven't seen it on the shelves. They were always my favorite episodes when Bats & Robin would show up on the old Scooby show (those and the ones with the Globetrotters). The boy's always been a little skittish about Scoob because of the scary elements but I think he's coming around after watching the new show at a friend's house - this book may be just what the doctor (or Ol Man Flenderson) ordered!

I gotta check for this title.

On the kids' comics front, we grabbed a Superman Family collection from the library yesterday, and so far so great.

>On the kids' comics front, we grabbed a Superman Family
>collection from the library yesterday, and so far so great.

We only got through the first chapter last night, where Lex Luthor tries to steal Superman's powers, accidentally steals Krypto's instead, and starts exhibiting dog-like behavior. Which seems pretty sound, scientifically speaking. Also learned that the super pets can talk, but not around people, because it's their secret thing. This blew my son's mind.

I also picked up a random volume of Sardine in Outer Space because the title/cover was cool.

And yo: You ever read a comic called Dungeon (Donjon in its native French)? It's mostly credited to Lewis Trondheim but Joann Sfar figures into the mix as well. I've recently heard good things but never read it before. Having trouble finding it on the library circuit.

I think Sardine probably runs a bit old for your kid. I've never really read one of the books straight through though.

>We only got through the first chapter last night, where Lex
>Luthor tries to steal Superman's powers, accidentally steals
>Krypto's instead, and starts exhibiting dog-like behavior.
>Which seems pretty sound, scientifically speaking. Also
>learned that the super pets can talk, but not around people,
>because it's their secret thing. This blew my son's mind.

The first rule about pet club is...

>I also picked up a random volume of Sardine in Outer Space
>because the title/cover was cool.
>
>And yo: You ever read a comic called Dungeon (Donjon in its
>native French)? It's mostly credited to Lewis Trondheim but
>Joann Sfar figures into the mix as well. I've recently heard
>good things but never read it before. Having trouble finding
>it on the library circuit.

I think I took a look for it when I first heard about it and couldn't find it and then gave up. *shrug*

it's interestingly condensed for such a big story...

Emma to Black Panther "Your mind is a bear trap thats been set on fire..."

Logan and Hulk getting out berserkered by Castle! CHOOM CHOOM CHOOM CHOOM CHOOM CHOOM Hulk: Was that supposed to hurt, little skull guy? Punisher: No, but this might hurt a little" **Explodes homey's chest**

Ant-Man calling the 'space ants' against Dr Strange LMFAO that still makes me laugh

LOL...Bucky figured out what time it was, blew up Moon Knight's ship, teleporting away and stranding Moon Knight and Gamora across the universe..then when we next see him he's chopping off Nick Fury's head....it's a crazily fun ride..i mean, a huge eye exploded hitting people with shrapnel of information...

.

How far behind am I

of course, FORGET all the tie ins

>of course, FORGET all the tie ins

....

KILLING IN THE NAME OF!

First issue was aight, and the same team killed it with OMAC

Aside from Scioli's Kirby-infused brilliance, which I could go on about for weeks... I feel like this comic has some of the best/funniest dialogue ever. Basil fucking Cronus, man.

Justice League clan ain't nuttin ta fuck wit
But Strange fuck with em, and bitch i love it.

...these last few issues are SO awesome...

when it hits, really feeling this arc. Plus the other v's havent showed up yet, maybe they'll help Mark against this worldwide takeover? Arent they resigned to staying on earth now?

since they feel like Earth is now their planet too and Robot wants to takeover

...i wonder what Robot has planned for that?

ROBOT STAY KILLING DA GODS!

Anyone read it yet?

The (mild spoiler) unlikely baby placement in the opening scene was stupid to the point of being a distraction, but aside from that this was pretty damn good. Felt like a 'back to basics' approach that wasn't bogged down by too much Nu52-ness, aside from the v-turtleneck costume.

But seriously, the fuck was that baby doing there

Amazing Spidey 003
Original Sin Hulk v Iron Man
Saga 20
New Warriors 06
New Avengers Annual
Fuse 05
Ms Marvel 05
Invincible 112
Outcast #1
Chew 42

https://www.comixology.com/Death-Trip-2/digital-comic/110411

I'll have a few print copies available too, later on this month. Let me know if that is something that would interest you.

I was MURDERED.

DUH DUH DUH

http://www.hankfacer.com/chubbychecker/Images/parkway7011.jpg

Thanks, man!

>I'll have a few print copies available too, later on this
>month. Let me know if that is something that would interest
>you.

http://comicsalliance.com/winged-freak-terrorizes-comics-creators-and-entertainment-pros-remember-the-summer-of-batman-89/

Lots of dope art pieces and remebrances here

I drew a comic about Prince's Batman soundtrack

"I halfway hope people put "btw, rappers lie and shit" on CD covers, like a parental advisory sticker." - OKP Villain

www.twitter.com/lexlamont

also this hipped me to Big Boi's Mash-Up MOndays. Musicmight not do too much for me but the artwork looks dope as hell.

Funny, since I just used the Robot Jug Band shot for a song I posted on Soundcloud yesterday. Two degrees of separation for me and Big Boi! Weird.

>Funny, since I just used the Robot Jug Band shot for a song I
>posted on Soundcloud yesterday. Two degrees of separation for
>me and Big Boi! Weird.

And listening now!

I caught up this weekend and really liked it.

so soon.

anyone reading captain america?

the second two arcs didn't pull me in like Dimension Z did...

BLACK CAP!
Gonna be dope.
SECOND only to ANXM and NEW AVENGERS (which be tied!!!) for first, in the HOUSE OF FUCKING FLAMES!

BATMAN ETERNAL is dat CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!
FUTURE'S END is kinda dope.
ZERO stay cray.
REMDOG, killing.
DC coming back strong.
SOUTHERN BASTARDS is SCALPED with collared greens.

talking about how dope a side scrolling, Final Fight/Streets of Rage-ish game would be for SB. Plates of BBQ & beer as power ups. After you beat the lvl 1 boss Esaw in the restaurant u see the cut scene where lightning strikes a tree and you get rewarded with Tubb's stick as a primary weapon. SHIT WOULD BE AWESOME

Quit the fam biz.
Living with my lovely gf in Denver.
Working as a housekeeping supervisor for a 600,000 square foot property.
Living life.
Never been happier.
GO CO.

>Living with my lovely gf in Denver.

...it could be a cool straight to DVD animated movie...and it opened a door or two

I like the vibe and art, probably more than I like the story being told. But there's something about it I want more of. Gun-toting space raccoons, if I had to guess.

might have to grab it for the kid - I thought the FCBD book was quite good.

The plot centers around Rocket's love life and it ain't exactly Adventure Time. I was surprised/not surprised at a couple of the lines in there

In semi-related news, that Superman Family Adventures trade is still the jam around these parts

though my 9 year old read it, not my 4 year old

ZOD DOGs, though... keep working on SFA, with the last two/three issues it was like 'man they're pulling the plug on us, we gotta throw everything into the last couple' and it's awesome

If anything it was a little wordy, but fun nonetheless

one particular cameo suprised me, bu in a good way

...he's doing all this for Bats right?? what a dedicated son LOL...

finally hit the shop after a month... made the mistake of putting the $80 bill on the credit card the Mrs. pays.... uh-oh. But but but, a lot of that stuff was for the kids, baby!

Southern Bastards #s 2 & 3 - not entirely sure how I feel about this. It's good enough fun but the whole thing with the daddy's stick and all... I dunno. Any idea what the intentions are with it? This feels like it would make a good 6-issue mini, but with the letter column and all it feels like they intend it as an ongoing. If so I'll likely lose interest. B/B+

MPH #2 - where #1 felt pretty fresh, #2 feels kinda stale. I think it's because there are so many gaps -
-How'd (presumably the only sample of) this drug wind up in a prison via a no-name drug dealer?
-How could these punks control themselves when the OG clearly couldn't?
Seems like these and other questions will be answered as the book continues but I don't think I'm interested any more. C

Trees #2 - crazy stuff. Not sure how our various stories are connected at this point aside from the trees. Big Idea Ellis but with a nice human touch, this doesn't get lost in the sci-fi. Working very well for me. A

Rachel Rising #20something - still enjoyable but the series would have been better at half the length, alas. I hate myself for saying it but this will read beautifully as a trade, though. Wonder if I would have felt like that about Strangers in Paradise if I'd beeen reading it monthly for ten years... B

Fatale #23 - I had been thinking this was the last issue. I'm happy it's not. Not sure if we were supposed to understand Jo based on that trippy sex scene or what. I don't. But it's still pretty amazing, in and out. Poor guy. A

Eye of Newt #1 - bought this thinking it might be good for the boy to grow into, but it's something he's still a few years away from, I'd guess. It's not bad, just seems heavy on the telling as opposed to the showing, and some convenient scripting items ('my worst enemy's apprentice will be yadda yadda'). Beautiful fantasy artwork, though. B/B-

Saga #20 - SPOILERS - I don't want this to descend into soap opera, which is where the Marco/Alana story appears to be going: drug addiction looming, an affair. Yawn. Plus, would Alana really use a word like 'narcotize?' The Robot storyline rocketed past our main protagonists this time in terms of interest, though. RIP Mama TV Head Princess. And still BKV's writing provides a lot of impressive thematic layering, like the way the Sextiollionstress's comment on the effect of becoming a dad plays back into Marko's story as well. B+

Scooby-Doo Team-Up #5 - Kids all still loving this one, from the just-4 to the 9.5 y.o. Lots of fun to read with them. This one wasn't as good for me - the gang hits Paradise Island, and doesn't really solve a mystery, but there's plenty of action and fun stuff and cowardice from Shaggy. B

Tiny Titans Return to the Tree House #2 - great stuff here. I went through ahead of time and translated all of Backpack's comments, which the kids loved. The Bizarro characters (including Duckzarro) were a huge hit, and the Brainiac spotlight was hilarious. A

First issue that was just ok for me. Some astounding art moments but yeah, the story didn't really move me

I enjoyed MPH 2. I like where I feel like its going. I've never read any Flash so how they present super speediness is rather cool to me. Its a lot to take in tho. That whole 'lets run across country' or the fact that the pills are gonna run out... *Shrugs* I'll stick with it. Wanna know what the endgame is...

TREES....I should really like it but.....meh. Its just weird almost for the sake of being so. Not like Saga where odd is their element, if that makes sense. The peeks I've gotten of the story dont resonate with me enough to keep going. Might wait for the trade.

Agreed on your words about SAGA tho.

Manhattan Projects #21: Best part of this to me was the incongrity of Laika, whom I'd imagined with a voiceover like they give cute little dogs in live--action movies, like Sandy Duncan, cute and high pitched, saying 'IT FUCKING HURTSSSSSS!' It's amazing how much worldbuilding a good creative team can do in such a short space (considering the clibrarians and the d'hri a different world from 'earth'). Possibly the funniest Hickman issue I've read, great mix of sci-fi concepts, action and humor even he copped the translation bit from Douglas Adams. Poor Yuri. A

Teen TItans Go #2: Sholly Fisch killed it with the first story. Teen Titans go on a reality TV talent show. Celebrity judge Darkseid's only comment: 'Dreadful, just dreadful.' B story wasn't nearly as good, focusing on Robin's snot, but the kids liked it well enough. *shrug* A first story/C second story

Silver Surfer #3: Cosmic Marvel, this is weird to me.... it's good but not great. If Allred weren't on the art I probably wouldn't have bothered, not because the story isn't good - it is - but it's not really GREAT. It's wacky, but not very funny. B-

East of West #13: Much as I love Death's female sidekick, I don't care that much about the male, so the deep magic of the past two issues hasn't done that much for me. And I was lost as to why the bounty hunter/lawman/whatever needed to take down the native dad. So *shrug* still god, but not as good as usual. But Hickman sure knows how to write an ending. B+

http://rhymetravelers.talestosuffice.com/rhyme-travelers-2-has-landed/

We also made a TIME-LOOPING CIRCULAR COMIC that you can catch a glimpse of in our PROMO VIDEO: http://youtu.be/6E8YzuKCOsA

So a few months back my wife hosted a Daisy Scouts gardening workshop and got along famously with one of the other moms, who struck me as a little bit weird. But my wife can use more friends, so we went over there for dinner a few weeks later.

They served gluten free pasta, no sauce and chicken sausages. That's it. The parmesan cheese only came out when my kids asked for it. I thought it was weird. The conversation was funny too. The mother was confident that aromatherapy provided by a chiropractor had cured one of her daughter's allergies. The husband likes Jackson Browne, which I won't complain about because I do too, but he refers to him as 'Jackson.' He also was on his way out to a men's meeting, 'powerful stuff' where they get together and, like, they're into native American culture and stuff. I asked him if he was interested in any particular group or region, but apparently an anthropological approach to the issue wasn't something he'd considered before. He pointed out that he'd made a drum, but all it was was a giant frame drum made by Remo where he'd painted a buffalo on the head.

Still, no big deal, pleasant enough evening.

Then a few weeks later my wife gets an invite to a seminar of some sort they're hosting, pitched a sort of a relationship workshop. I said no fucking way, I got a lawn to mow. But my wife still likes them so she signs up and takes the kids since there's a separate workshop for them.
Turns out it's for the Landmark Foundation, some bullshit for-profit self-help corporation with the catchphrase of learning 'what you don't know you don't know' among others; this was a recruiting workshop, since Landmark by all accounts is extremely driven by high pressure from the organization for participants to get others to attend. Fortunately it didn't work on my wife OR kids. We got a good laugh later out of reading some of the articles from skeptics. But yeah, yueeeeesh.

Still a few weeks later, my wife's set up a playdate with a new Japanese family to the area and somehow these crazy guys invite themselves. Again, not a huge deal, but a bit weird, especially when they show up with an origami book written in Japanese and expect the Japanese kids to be able to read it to their kids and do origami together. The mom leaves to go to the store, then shows up at like an hour later absolutely furious at her husband for not answering the phone because they're having people over shortly. She actually says 'I cann't come say gooodbye because WE DON'T HAVE TIME!' She'd also left 4 voicemails on my wife's phone because her husband wasn't answering.

At this point I start to think that she is just fucking nuts.

Now, during the playdate the father of the crazy family had asked me about paddle, said he wanted to try sometime, so I said I'll mention it to my wife and she can set up a day at the pool for the families and I can give you a paddle intro while they're swimming.
A week later the crazy mom emailed my wife to say 'when can we set that up?' in other words 'we can't wait to be invited so invite us now.' My wife was in good spirits so just got a laugh about it and invited them for Sunday. Nuh-uh, they said, we can't, let's go Saturday. Alright, whatever, let's aim for 4-8.

In the meantime the crazy woman, who now has a broken foot, somehow browbeats my wife into agreeing to take her to a 'pre-demo sale' (my wife goes somewhat frequently to look for cool shit). While on the road, crazy lady starts in with armchair psychologist diagnoses of my daughter (who's never had any issues, unlike my son) and tells us her own daughter had the same issues my daughter has (even though we're very confident our daughter has no issues) regarding perceptions of safe zones, strangers, etc., and they were able to cure her with, you got it, aromatherapy. Apparently they were exposing her to foul smells three times a day. Yep.

The afternoon of the pool date, though, was supposed to run 4-8. They put it back to 5, then got to our place at 5:25. Then on arriving at the pool we said 'alright let's get a swim and then we can come up for dinner (at the picnic area; we'd brought picnic dinners) in an hour or so.' They said 'NO - our kids are starving, we're eating NOW!'

Meeting just got here, more this afternoon.

I like the Sartre Twist too

>The afternoon of the pool date, though, was supposed to run
>4-8. They put it back to 5, then got to our place at 5:25.
>Then on arriving at the pool we said 'alright let's get a swim
>and then we can come up for dinner (at the picnic area; we'd
>brought picnic dinners) in an hour or so.' They said 'NO - our
>kids are starving, we're eating NOW!'
>
>Meeting just got here, more this afternoon.

So we agreeably sit down to eat, even though we're not hungry; kids manage okay and we do alright. No biggie. Then it's time to head down to the pool.
Little bit about my swim club:
It's built on a hillside. At the bottom of the hill is a pond (which was the original pool), and the locker rooms and pools. The picnic area is about 1/3 of the way up the hill, at the top of the parking lot, with a nice view from above of the pond and the pool area. Further up the hill is the tennis area and then at the top are the paddle courts. So it takes 10 minutes or so to walk from the pool to the paddle courts.

Anyway. I suggest to crazy fam dad that we head from the picnic area right up to paddle; he says no, he wants to make sure everyone's set up at the pool area. So we all walk down to the pool area, check them in as guests, head down to the pool and set up. Crazy fam mom with the broken foot then says 'where's my phone?' It turns out that she'd put it in the cooler, which of course had gone back in the car. She blames him for putting the cooler back in the car and MAKES HIM WALK BACK UP TO GET IT FOR HER. Like, she can't socialize for a fucking hour at the pool that we're paying for her to be a guest at.

Crazy fam dad comes back down with the phone, we then walk up to the top of the hill and entertain ourselves for an hour walking him through the paddle basics. Then we head back down and as we hit the top part of the parking lot, there's crazy fucking mom having clumped most of the way up the hill, broken foot and all. Clump! Clump! Glower! Glare! Clump! First thing she says is 'Crazy daughter must have gotten some dairy today. We have to go.' (She's mentioned the daughter's theoretical lactose intolerance before, which she claims causes incontinence in the 7 year old daughter.) Crazy fam dad just sighs and agrees to pack up the kids at the pool while crazy fam mom waits at the car, so she doesn't have to walk all the way back down with a broken foot. So we walk all the way back down. Crazy fam dad decides to dip in before he packs the kids, who don't want to leave, up.

My wife's gotta take a leak - she's been in the pool for an hour at this point since crazy fam mom is paranoid about the daughter (who was doing fine, but has a disabled right hand from CP) in the intermediate pool with a lifeguard on duty and nobody else swimming in it. So my wife runs to the bathroom and comes back a minute later rolling her eyes. A minute or two later crazy fam mom shows up BACK AT THE POOL, so crazy fam dad starts to pack up the kids for the walk back up to their car. My kids are staying put. Off the crazy fam finally goes after forcing their girls out of the pool.

So the kicker is that the crazy fam mom had told my wife that the daughter with the incontinence shits herself if she gets dairy; she'd taken her to the bathroom once, which was how she figured out the daughter 'must have gotten some dairy.' The Mrs. thought it was awfully weird that a mom would let a kid, who she feared would shit herself (again?) at any second, back into a public swimming pool. But, whatever, right?
BUT when my wife went to the bathroom she'd noticed the crazy fam mom darting in ahead of her very quickly, and could see the broken-foot-boot in the stall next to hers, FROM WHICH INCREDIBLY LOUD GASTRIC NOISES WERE EMANATING. PffffffffffffFFFFFffffFFFFFbbbbbbtttttttttt. So we're pretty sure the mom was the one with the issues, but was blaming the daughter for it for heaven knows what reason.

So, I don't think we're seeing those guys in a small group at any point in the near future. Thank goodness.

And, oh yeah: crazy fam mom really shouldn't have been wearing a bikini. Yeeeesh.

"I halfway hope people put "btw, rappers lie and shit" on CD covers, like a parental advisory sticker." - OKP Villain

www.twitter.com/lexlamont

I was reading all this while repeating a mantra I came up with while waiting outside K4's karate class: "Hell is other parents"

But man if there's a cake involved d's story takes it.

That's a bad combo

shoulda known at the mention of aromatherapy cures that there was no hope.

of course these people aren't hippy at all... if anything, a kind of weird combination of suburban yuppy (though the dad is actually 55, I can't imagine being that age with little kids... so maybe Muppy or something would be more correct), Jewish and new age in a way that all comes together vaguely reminiscent of Scientology.

and even if the people can't see it for themselves, naive belief in homeopathy creats a pretty big overlap in the hippie Venn diagram of one's life. They might be suburban yuppie semi-spiritual weirdos one day, find themselves moving to remote locales to "get away from it all" and "commune with like-minded individuals" the next.

when we went to do the paddle lesson, the dad pulled out an American flag bandana, rolled it up and tied it around his forehead mid-80s style.

You didn't have to sell it anymore.



"I halfway hope people put "btw, rappers lie and shit" on CD covers, like a parental advisory sticker." - OKP Villain

www.twitter.com/lexlamont

Fucking insane.

Picked this up from the library the other day. My review:

I think L_d's "Evening at the Pool" story will likely be the greatest thing I read this month, but this was almost as good. Almost as brutal, too.

About Fury fighting WWII in the desert? Or is it something different?

As the title implies it sort of covers a span of years where Fury was kind of lost. Post-Howling Commandos, Pre-Agent of SHIELD stuff. So it's kind of dealing with the early days of the Cold War where Fury doesn't have a ton of juice anymore but is still doing his badass soldier thing.

I guess the MAX stuff was a little more grounded in reality (ie sex and violence) in its day and this definitely reflects that. I don't want to spoil it but I found it interesting that in these stories Fury doesn't exactly come out the winner.

but the library never gets it, and I don't want to read it badly enough to buy it.

And Aaron's run on the title helped him make a name for himself at Marvel. It was pretty damn good too.

.

>Picked this up from the library the other day. My review:
>
>I think L_d's "Evening at the Pool" story will likely be the
>greatest thing I read this month, but this was almost as good.
>Almost as brutal, too.

Got it from the library, where it was in the non-fiction stacks under the dewey number for comics/illustration (seems to be this particular library's way of keeping questionable comics material out of the areas kids might be likely to find it.)

Pretty good. Advertised as noir from the copy, but it's not really noir except that the protagonist is a detective. I didn't mind the jumping around in the timeline - the protagonist has a brain tumor which supposedly makes time seem fluid - but I don't think it added much to the story. More convincing was the detective's decline into confusing his current case with that of his wife, and the way the story of his past unfolds from that.
All in all, it's no Brubaker noir but on the crime comics bandwagon, I'd give it a solid B.

The confusion of the city was the main thing that sticks with me about that book. I geeked out when dude came off the subway and I saw the Panera Bread *in my neighborhood*

Matter of fact I was behind Fialkov in line at the bank a year or two ago and I wanted to be all like "Tumor! Panera Bread!" but those seemed like weird things to yell at a stranger so I didn't

I believe back when you read it you posted up that Fialkov would be one to watch.

You weren't wrong, but he hasn't BLOWN ME AWAY with anything yet and I've give most of his books I've seen come out a solid try.

It was the final straw that finally got me to check out the red line subway, which is one of my favorite LA things now

But for all the hyping I did at that time, I kinda feel the same way. I'm excited that he's doing more PUNKS comics though

Going back to these - had read the first volume years ago but didn't remember much about it. Good shit. I can see why Frank Miller wanted to be involved in the English issuing of it - the hero acts as a detective almost as much as an assassin, in a way that reminds me of the best of later Batman. I just read the story where the Wolf stashes the gear in the prison BEFORE he gets arrested... he's got it all figured out without saying much of anything, plays everybody like a piano, gets the guy killed he was hired to kill and kills the guy who was behind it, even though he was the husband of the woman who hired him. And then walks off through the flames like the true G he is. DAMN.

I was surprised at the fairly specific sex scene toward the end of volume 1, especially considering this was published in like 1970 in a mass-market comics journal - but then again Japan's always had a very different attitude toward sex, in general, compared to ours.

All in all, good shit.

...his anger is so fantastic and understandable, it makes reading it, seiting it on the page, more awesome....no matter how silly the rest of the story is...

Not bad. I read most of it late at night a few days ago and had forgotten it, but when I went back and reread it this morning I was pretty impressed. Basic premise (not to spoil, but since I know so few of you dudes pick up random #1s like that) is that earth has been conquered by squid aliens. There's an Earth religion which worships the aliens. And there's a badass dude who was genetically engineered to fight the squids when they invaded. Not bad. A/A-, potential for upgrade.

beautiful book, awesome concept (gods reincarnated as pop stars destined to die young), and all kinds of goodness. power read through the first two issues, read em both again because they're so good.

Cant wait for the 3rd issue. I knew from the first 4 pages of #1 this would be something special. I also love the wild assed essays at the end. And the Hole quotes. And the coloring.... Its pretty much my favorite new book of the year, I thought it was Southern Bastards but I'm picking the Wick & Dev to be The book of 2015!

guess I'll have to fix that.

gillen is a guy who's now done two volumes of phonogram and now this, all of which seem directly influenced by 90s rock. that's, uh...maybe time to let go of the past and realize music doesn't matter that much.

that said, yeah, it works, because he's really really good. this is the guy who invented Kid Loki and the rings of the Mandarin. you're in good hands.

kids might get a kick out of the free paper masks

only copped one book and it was awful (thor 10th realm joint)

but it's all worth it if finkleman moves units.

but jeez Zero is the best book hitting the stands right now, every week it's out is a banner week.

it was awful, in the best way possible. And what a hell of a way to end it.

meant to preview this before reading with the kids, but they saw it in my stack and went crazy knowing there was a Jeff Smith book about prehistoric humans... keep in mind that my oldest, when he was 5, told his buddy that God didn't invent humans, that humans evolved from Australopithecus.

So a book by Jeff Smith about a Homo Habilis leaving Africa, and running into some Erectus and even Australopithecus along the way? Evading Smilodons? Aforementioned Australopithecus bombarding aforementioned Erectus with monkey oranges? Right up the alley.

I liked it too - among other things, seeing Smith's artwork in color for the first time (? I think?) was pretty great; whoever did the coloring really nailed it. And the story - I'm not at all sure it'll remain suitable for family reading, or that my kids will have patience with his 4-books-a-year schedule, but I'm pretty confident I'll love it.

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2014/07/21/Multiversity-map_1400x1074.jpg

So does that mean Bob is back?

I really hate Bob

Fucking Namor.

.

Last Will and Testament of Charles Xavier, cmon guys, anyone? This issue was the funniest shit to me. I really am in love with the dialouge b/t X-peoples in this book. So humourous and not in a schlocky fashion just some good ole American cynicism....

Why'd he even bring Emma! LOL

I never really liked the adventure & drama newspaper strips - I was all about the funnies. But I'm having a lot of fun reading this - it's a collection (from the library, of course) of dailies from this long-running strip apparently created by Dashiell Hammet and which apparently ran through 1996. I don't think I'd ever heard of it before.

It's more or less straight pulp, of course, but with a late-60s fashion sense - bikinis, mini-skirts, mustaches. Great villain names (Travis Clegg being a personal favorite), ethnic stereotypes (Chang Wu is a villain; also Baron Zoltoff), swashbuckling adventure and a lot of big right hooks. Great artwork, too.

One funny thing I picked up - there's frequently a foreground object, especially in first panels, unrelated to the story. One strip that object is a newspaper with the headline STERANKO FREED! over a picture of a guy wearing shades. Really cracked me up and I have no idea whether it was just a joke or a reference to an actual event.

Looks they don't have it at our library - good enough that it's worth a purchase? If so, looks like there's a few volumes out - any in particular to seek out?

I had a blast reading the old 30s/40s Flash Gordon strips recently, would love to catch up on more good newspaper stuff (I also avoided those strips on Sundays).

FATALE

not wrapping everything up as neatly as I would have loved, but Bru says everything's there if we go back and re-read. Which I may have to do.

In the meantime though I could use an annotation like the ones dude used to do for 52 back in the day...

Need to re read it all to get it

well, I really like CHEW and the MANHATTAN PROJECTS too but Mark's story has been an amazing ride. Like, how does Kirkman do this?

Anybody read POYO 1? Awesomest chicken EVER, the Walking Dead cameo (!!!) Quite enjoyed.

I got a Shitload of comix yesterday but couldnt fit them all into my phone...More updates later...but oh cop that GENIUS joint...shits gonna be FIRE

VILTRUMITE TAKEOVER VS ROBOT WORLD DOMINATION
STAYING FIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

yep

far-future: check
squidliens: check
underwater? maybe
fantasy tropes: check

about as strong a sci-fi #1 as we've seen, I think. I'm as curious about the state of the world as I am about how dude is gonna get his kids back, and that's a very good sign to me.

check it out... my kids will love these

African Hall
Adventures of Blue Morpho
Is that a fly, a grasshopper, or a rhino beetle? It is Blue Morpho, our amazing, ever-changing, bug-powered superhero! Help Blue Morpho defeat his arch enemies. You can be the comic writer and create and add your own frame into the ongoing epic adventure of Blue Morpho.

Serengeti Classroom
Bug Power!
Explore the world of bugs in comics with comic enthusiasts. Discover the superpowers of flight, strength, and much more in some of your favorite insects and heroes.

Caricature Artist
11 a.m–5 p.m
Become a bug-a-fied superhero in your very own piece of caricature art.

the theme was 'the Blue Morpho versus the Hedgehog' - they'd cooked up an origin story for each and there were a few really good examples.

My son worked pretty hard on his & included a nod to Sonic on the part of the Hedgehog.


*edit* I'm also going to have to look for a DVD colllection of The Tick cartoon now. My kids thought SPOOOOOOOOOOON! was the funniest battle cry since I'LL CHOP YOUR HEAD OFF!

.

You?

I'm as Imperius Rex as the next mafucka but....some shit is unforgivable! Hickgod continues to impress!

In Miles Morales as Spiderman him taking on the Goblin on Parkers street was rather intense...them venom blasts, yo!

Namor was....sorta....right....he had the guts to do the horrible thing to save their world...and i can't be mad at him not giving a damn bout Wakanda

...the rest of them are acting all self righteous, but they need a dude like namor around...

Panther's my man cant wait till he rip the neck off that fish, yo. That was straight disrespect but I love this king vs king battle and the reprecussions that have followed. That Thanos bomb was deployed rather perfectly its like Marvel Game of Thrones and I love it. Appreciated how much I thought about that issue After I read it, rare with the cape books! Great stuff tho. #HickGod

what a fun book to read....

Danny Slott should be be getting NICE paychecks from marvel with the way he's kept all these great Spidey stories running..i'm particularly glad that he's using JMS' run for this current arc...Spidey books have such a rich history and I'm glad Slott isn't afraid to play around from it...

I mean, all Morrison comics are, but this one IS really insular. If you didn't read Final Crisis and don't know who Nix Uotan is, I don't see how the conclusion of this issue can have the emotional impact Morrison intends.

Me? Morrisonianism is my religion, so this shit cranked for me. Everything I wanted from a Morrison comic.

***LIGHT SPOILERS BELOW***



extremely loose reading last night while a potentially lethal spider bite drove my arm insane with its itchiness inspired by all the page-turning:

I got the sense this is rather a whole critique of the nature of event comics themselves? "The Gentry" are the evil forces which just want to create endless Crises, and Morrison's heroes here are the endless multiverse of comic ideas which stretch the imagination, in spite of "The Gentry" or editorial forces that want to shape it all into the most streamlined as possible commercial pulp?

The idea first took hold on the page right after the early EARTH-7 splash, in the panel where we see "THUNDERER didn't send the S.O.S". I noticed what seemed to be a dead Captain America (which I thought was a Civil War event?) and was wondering which Multiverse DC hero that should be (Flash? but no, Flash never has a shield, the shield makes it very specific) and this was before I got to the open MAJOR COMICS parodies toward the end. It felt like Morrison's thesis was "all I want to do is screw around and create new worlds, but THE GENTRY want to lock me into this deadening commercial (i.e. event) routine" Also why we get the "DON'T READ THIS!" messages as a sly commentary that this is the wrong way to do comics.

But of course it's Morrison, so we'll see where it goes from here, but that was my takeaway from the first pass.

It had some of my favorite qualities of a Morrison comic, but some of my least favorite ones, too.

The meta-commentary is cool but I'm wondering if Da Gawd will say anything new with it.

The characters were cool but with there being so many of them, it kinda watered down the connection I had with any specific one.

The captions and dialogue was cool but it sort of became that thing where it felt less like characters talking and more like having a barrage of advertising slogans thrown at you.

Maybe I'll try and go re-read some Final Crisis to get me in the right frame of mind so I can ride that Morrison high into Multiversity. As it stands, the last thing I read by him was JLA:WW3 and it left a stank taste in my mouth.

OMG.

He's all in now - T'Challa better get his revenge by the time all this is done

.

THANOS: Greatest Avenger Ever.
Dead Panthers calling, T'CHALLA a bitch? Kill that, IMPERIUS REX.
SO GOOD.

as an artist promoting my webcomic with some freebies mostly and selling copies of a comic i ran on my anthology site

tips?

I've done a few shows. Far from an expert, but here's my 2¢

I think going in with a clear objective is good. You'll see artists there for promotion, some for book sales, others for commissions. Know what you're there for (it sounds like you do). What kind of section are you in? Which show is it?

You got freebies, so that's good.

You're promoting a webcomic so definitely make sure whatever you're handing out has your url and contact info on it. Do you do mailing lists? Could increase your retention rate.

Pack water, hand sanitizer, snacks.

Try and make your table as clean and interesting looking as possible. Think vertical, too. Little stands to prop your work up so it's visible. Stack stuff if you can. Banners make a difference but that can be a bit much for someone just starting to exhibit. They do help, though.

Be friendly, make eye contact... I find it's good to be at a standing position, it makes it easier for people to approach and converse. I like people and don't really do con commissions so I've got no excuse to be sitting with my head down.

Be able to pitch. You gotta have a brief, snappy description for your work. Practice out loud because that shit might sound john blaze in your head and come out sounding like gibberish.

Be available at your table but also try and walk around and mingle as much as you can. Have a friend watch the table while you're gone or put up a sign so people know when to expect you back.

Check the exhibitor list beforehand in case there's someone you really want to connect with. Map out a course to their tables and all that

Speaking of signs, having your prices listed is a good look. People don't really wanna ask that.

You up on Square? They'll send you a free reader for credit card transactions. They take a small cut, of course.

Oh – Here's the latest trick I learned. When someone hands you a business card, write down on the back of it some clue about them/your conversation because you may forget it afterwards, and find yourself wondering who the hell's business card that is.

Uh your work is super dope so I feel weird saying this but it applies to everyone, don't take it personal when people pass on your stuff or outright ignore it. That's just how it is. Hopefully it's a good show with an attendance that will connect with your work!

Hey good luck and keep us posted.

Expo went great. i pretty much sold out. handed out a ton of cards. all this advice came in super handy, but i forgot to make a mailing list. also should have slapped together a business card with my personal info.

did a bunch of good trades. everybody was super cool and nice. i really feel like i got my name out in the community and connected with a lot of people i had no link to.

it was small so i got to walk see everything more than enough times. connected with some of the bigger illustrators there. got an offer for a local distribution deal.

thanks for all the advice. worth doing again.

.

LEX, ABOUT TO STEAL THAT SHIP FROM YOU, BRUCE ALLAH.
HE BOUT DOWN TO THROW DOWN WITH THE SECOND COMING OD, DAT DARKSEID.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

AKA DAT JAMMY JAM.
MAGGY, BOUT TO MANUFACTURE DRUGS. MAGGY, HAS AN ARMY OF MARAUDERS. MAGGY, KILLING HUMANS DAILY.
MAGGY = MAD.

If you are not reading this series you are doing yourself a major disservice.

So nice seeing the first family fall from grace. Brilliant play. Stakes is high. Fascinating read. Grimm, going in to the supervillain slammer? Oh shit, boyeeeeeeeeeeee!

i haven't like FF this much in awhile....i like all the complicated arcs that have been done, but this is pretty great...

1.ZERO
2.New Avengers
3.Justice League
4.Invincible
5.Batman

Yours?

1. Invincible
2. SAGA
3. New Avengers
4. The Manhattan Projects
5. Original Sin Event

1. Sex Criminals
2. The wicked and the divine
3. East of west
4. New avengers
5. Ghost rider

...i swear he's the closest they've gotten to the Maestro incarnation since Big green picked a fight with the world, the FIRST time...('member when he got all those countries to come after him and then ended up whuppin on Thor in Antartica or something??)

unsurprised to read at the end that the artist lives in Japan, as it really did a fine job of capturing Tokyo's insanity, before we even get to the supernatural stuff. Y'all know I'm very particular about books featuring Japanese settings/chharacters heavily, but this may be the most satisfactory since Crossing Midnight. Also dig the idea that they're going to be trying to use Japanese folklore so heavily (albeit with some updates) and educating readers on it as well - two good essays in the back of this issue. Recommended.

Genius has a damn interesting premise. The art has a cool quality at face value, but there's something fundamentally Posery about it that turns me off. Like a dope artist drawing over computer generated layouts, I dunno. Not quite as obvious as say, the couple of times I've seen Kyle Baker do it but frustrating in a similar way. If it's an aesthetic decision, it's not my bag. If it's a short cut... I relate to the perceived necessity but c'mon. Give me that real.

Wicked and Divine was gorgeous. And cool. Almost off-putting in how aggressively it pursues that cool... I couldn't fuck with Phonogram for similar reasons, but this feels a bit more accessible than that. We shall see.

Trees has a cool premise and atmosphere to it, and it could really go anywhere based on that first issue. Which could be a good or a bad thing.

now, i love phonogram, but that's because i'm the same age as kieren and have similar music references (although i'm not quite *that* white). i think something that steeped in a relatively narrow set of influences is going to be limited in the broadness of its appeal.

what gives me hope that w&d will appeal more broadly is because there's no specific musical reference point needed, just a familiarity with the modern pop star concept.

and, of course, it's one of the best looking books on the shelf. those covers!

largely due to the overarching similarities to the excellent Satellite Sam. Kind of a shame in a way since I get very excited about Brubaker/Phillips work, and I saved this book til very last out of the 2 weeks' worth I picked up last week, and it felt... a little tired.

Maybe that's just b/c I was tired when I read it. I dunno.

OTHERS

Pop #1 - I like the idea of a world where pop stars are made, not born, but the 'Dustin Beaber' scene was terrible. C/C+, probably not to read on.

Trees #4 - this is like 5 or 6 stories wrapped up in one, so far, and I'd kind of forgotten about our bol in China. In the meantime this issue kind of brought up a case where 'telling' rather than 'showing' (unless you get too graphic) can be necessary, b/c I had no idea old girl was a tranny. The sci-fi elements intro'd here were somewhat intriguing but so far the emphasis on this book is all character development. B+

Supreme Blue Rose #2 - very odd. Can't really make up my mind on it. Very slow-moving, and I don't particularly care about the Supreme-verse (even minus Supreme), and the female lead was wearing a Kyuss shirt. Those are all negatives, and I can't really place my finger on the positives - maybe the way the story is being told, which feels dreamy and slow. Still, probably won't be reading this any more. C


Multiversity #1 - I too needed some reminding of who Nix Uotan is. I would have liked him better as Nix Uotan; 'superjudge' is one of the dumbest her names I have encountered. Minor point though.
Fortunately I'd gotten trades of some of Morrison's Action run out recently, so was able to follow a good bit of the character/analogue stuff better than I expected to. But I have no idea about Major comics. I'll be checking into some of the annotations going, so if anyone has a suggested annotator let me know. B+


All Crime Comics #3 - didn't love this one as much as at least one previous installment... maybe it was the setting (what appeared to be an alternate-future South Africa during the World Cup) not feeling appropriate for a noir. But the storytelling also seemed a bit off, and unless I don't remember something from earlier in the story, we only got background on one character. B- probably.


Black Science #8 - could be that i've been tired and rushing through my readings, but this was another one that feels a bit like it's falling apart. Focus on the kids, alright, but this is BLACK SCIENCE not bonding time. I'm also tired of Kabir at this point. B


Low #2 - depressing! #1 was all about the shit that went down and how the hot mama had hope hope hop all the way through... now we see where that'z gotten the remainder of her family, and it's nowhere good. B+

Manhattan Projects #23 - hmmm. I'm wondering if there's going to be some blowback from the kennedy family at some point. They're still pretty powerful to have JFK depicted this way.
Anyhow, loved the LBJ characterization. Love Caveman Einstein, and I don't think he even said anything. Russian developments, we'll see. A-

Saga #22 - little bit of the soap opera but not as much as I'd feared. The Robots are coming! The Robots are coming! A-

#1 came out a couple weeks ago, and it's really not bad. I've never dabbled in the Hellraiser comics before, but I was attracted to the story where a group of mercenaries was hired to steal Pinhead's pins. And it's short, but pretty sweet.

My man Sholly is absolutely killing it with this series.

Sholly's dope though so I should probably be excited regardless and check that out.

Also I should probably clean my monitor

can't believe that's not the end of the series. Also cant' believe this issue (before the epilogue) ended like that.

Really moved me

Loved the foreshadowing w Gov. George Wallace mention @vietnam tour & seeing that last panel ... Just returning from tour of duty & answering phone

And Coach's come up was crazy. Don't bully kids!

you know the thing they put over the neckerchief they wear...

so he used his Black Lantern ring!

RED ONSLAUGHT, taking out mutants and a possible inversion of Marvel heroes? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE from the jump, son. Add in some, APOCALYPSE, EVIL STARK and, MAD MAGNETO to boot? Shit sounds fucking wild!!!

SLOTTALLAH, is nothing short of HALL OF FAMING SPIDER-MAN! A multiversal serial killer of all things SPIDER vs EVERY MUFFUCKING SPIDER EVER? MORE PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE!

Both events should be hot, hot, hot, hot, hot HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ummm, SUPERMAN is truly badass. Not a typo, never in a million years would I make this claim but add in some JRJR linework, a dope origin for SUPE'S new pal, a sprinkling of murder and some metal robots...WIN!

And, LEX LEAGUE!
Come on. Fucking flame, joah!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXxNXAEHk-c

Picked up a bunch of stuff at the LCS's Labor Day sale and this hardcover of a digital first series is the first one I've had a chance to read (work's been pounding me lately). Sooo good! If you're riding that "I want my comics fun!" train that's going around lately, it doesn't get much more fun than this without being an all-ages book (though this isn't all that risque). I mean, her catch phrase is "Presto!" whenever she pulls off a heist and she never stops smiling even when circumstances seem dire. Love the line "Boredom has killed many more cats than curiosity."

The art's great, really loose and expressive with an easy going watercolor wash for the backgrounds mostly. Colleen Coover has a detailed section in the back where she goes step by step through her process - it's always interesting to see the different ways that people put Photoshop to work.

There's also a handful of 2 page backup stories by different artists. I was amazed with how excited I was to see other artist's take on the characters after only 5 issues.

Only complaint was that the characters in her little gang get almost no fleshing out, but I can definitely see that coming down the line.

Anybody else up on this one? I'd only heard about it a few times when it came out and picked it up based on the art and that the creative team are locals alone.

Holy crap, this is a great book.

Definitely the best X-Men story.

RICKY, on dat BEAST-MODE!

And yes, FUCK YOU!
Hush, is the perfect foil for...BAT ALLAH!
Cannot hate.

Don't fuck with the Beast, yo.

Good stuff this year.
The Justice League books are lava. Batman is on some next level fiyah! Future's End: JLU and Batman this week? BRAIN-MELTING HEAT!!!!!

INVINCIBLE..............FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

i thought i posted this but i guess i never hit send or something.

Expo went great. i pretty much sold out. handed out a ton of cards. all this advice came in super handy, but i forgot to make a mailing list. also should have slapped together a business card with my personal info.

did a bunch of good trades. everybody was super cool and nice. i really feel like i got my name out in the community and connected with a lot of people i had no link to.

it was small so i got to walk see everything more than enough times. connected with some of the bigger illustrators there. got an offer for a local distribution deal.

thanks for all the advice. worth doing again.

Happy to hear it was a positive experience!

Glad my advice helped. In truth, I'm still learning to follow some of it myself. But yeah, man. Keep it up and keep us posted.

United...
Mighty impressive so far. Smart, playful, fascinating and, stellar character work. The art is wonderful too but the real star of the book...are the entire cast! Such a great ensemble book. This book reminds me why I *still love DC characters.

LUTHOR LEAGUE...
Son, this book is flames. GJ, is back on the HORSE OF FIREY OBLIVION!!! You can feel the tension among the cast and, LEX is fucking threatening. I cannot wait to see how this all plays out.

STARK, TAKEOVER!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Multiversity #2 (or whatever it's called)
Hellraiser: Bestiary #2
Sirens #1

And I almost picked up Deadpool Bi-Annual #1 with the Voltron animal Transformers b/c it looked ridiculous, but passed at the last minute. I'll probably rethink at some point.

DEM VENGERS...
ILL ON THE RUN.
BUILDERS COMING BACK?
AIM TAKEOVER.
WHERE YOU BE, REED?

ETERNAL...
CLUEMASTER, DECONSTRUCTING GOTHAM.
HUSH, TAKEOVER.

UNCANNY VENGERS...
RED SKULL DEATH CAMPS

SPIDER-VERSE...
GWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN STACY. This was a super soild read. Mighty impressed.
OTTO, with a TOP SECRET KILL SQUAD!!!

Now we have Doom

So good. So dark. I have no idea how they get out of this one

I'm cool w/that this has been a good run


Like you I have no idea how they are going to get out of this, there is a lot against them.

>
>Like you I have no idea how they are going to get out of this,
>there is a lot against them.

YO REED, THEY ON US.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Wild's End #1 - hot damn, anthropomorphic animals in the British countryside face an alien invasion. Wind in the Willows meets War of the Worlds. A/A+

Jim Henson's The Storyteller #1 of 4 - If you've never watched the very brief TV series, it was awesome (I caught it on DVD with my kids a few years ago.) Classic non-Muppet Hensonism for the puppetry, spooky tales that were based on fairy tales much closer to the Grimm versions than the Disney ones... suitable for kids but a hair scary or more. Looks like this series will be similar, with a different writer/artist for each issue. This one was excellent, words built into the pictures, beautiful as we expect from an Archaia book. A+

Trees #5 - I'm actually really enjoying this. Felt good to get a few pages of each storyline this issue even if I have no idea what in at least 2 of them have to do with the trees. A/A-

CBLD Banned Books Week free flyer - picked it up for the Fone Bone cover. Made for a great conversation with the kids about why books are banned - they love Bone, it's in their school library, and they cannot understand at all why someone would want to remove it.

Also still loving East of West, Mind MGMT, Velvet, Satellite Sam...

Caught the preview of Storyteller and that artist is now on my list to get everything of theirs - still have to get to the shop to pick up the issue but it's one of the cooler things I've seen recently. I like how they didn't dictate the artists make something that looks exactly like the show (this doesn't look anything like the show but what I saw did feel like it).

Wild's End sounds great, will check that out. Trees is one I'm trade waiting on, like most things these days.

what does it all mean?

Copped that Valiant Humble Bundle yesterday, thinking maybe I should try and catch up on them a bit since a lot of what I've been reading has left me ho-hum lately.

I'm happy to report that Quantum and Woody volume 1 has restored the feeling. I tell you, if I ever swore off superhero comics completely, I'd still leave room in my heart for books like this. Irreverent buddy cop superhero comedy at its finest. Loving the relationship between the two characters and have laughed out loud more than a couple times. And there's a goat.

So um, yea. Read that. And pay what you want for a grip o' books while you're at it:
https://www.humblebundle.com/books

I WILL NOT BE TALKED OUT OF THIS.

Also, HICKGOD foreshadowed a helmet-rocking, SUE in 8 Months Later aaaand, REED is on the lam. Aaaaaaaaaaand the F4 is getting tore up...royally!

OMG! CLASSIC DC COMIC!!!
Totally badass.
JOHNS+KOLINS+LEX LUTHOR+SPOILER......





























CAPTAIN MOTHERFUCKING COLD MOVING WITH THE LEAGUE ON SOME SINISTER HIEST SHIT AAAAAAAAAAAAAND LEX BECOMING BRUCEY'S BUSINESS PARTNER AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND LEX ALLAH IN CAHOOTS WITH OWLMAN?!


















DAMN, SON.

HEAVY.
SMASH, RED SKULL.
BAD MOVE, MAGGY.
YOU JUST CREATED, RED ONSLAUGHT ON SOME HP LOVECRAFT SHIT.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

WHO IS THE HOODED AVENGER ON THE HYDRA COUNCIL?
VISION, FOOL.
He had enough of DEM VENGERS making fun of him at da bash!!!
BLACK CAP!