Posts Tagged ‘Greg Rucka’
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For dubbing our San Diego condo “Hive Five Headquarters,” we sure were quiet during the actual convention. Surely, the other blogs were covering all of the actual news stuff (OMG EYE-STABS) while we were out, you know, having fun and stuff. But we wouldn’t be much of a comic blog if we didn’t talk about San Diego Comic-Con itself, so here’s the day-by-day goings on through the eyes of us High Fivers.
Wednesday, July 21
Not much really goes on at Preview Night, but it’s always nice to get the lay of the land. Early access to the floor and first pick of whatever is for sale is cool and all, but that’s more or less all that happens. The highlight of Preview Night (for me) was definitely getting Bill Willingham to sign my copies of Ironwood #7-10 (pfft, don’t judge me). He was shocked when I pulled them out of their bags, and for a minute I thought the whole exchange was going to be super-awkward, but then he jovially asked for our I.D. cards and starting sharing some insider information with us, like how his former studio mates’ mugs are hidden in the cover art of issue #10.
Maggie’s Preview Night highlight? Shaking Michael Dorn’s hand and mumbling “Thank you,” like a big dumb fangirl.
Aside from that, I managed to pick up Power Man and Iron Fist #50, Flash Volume 1 #289 (first Firestorm back-up, the first thing George Pérez ever did professionally) and DC Comics Presents #17 (Superman and Firestorm team-up, a huge hole in my Ronnie Raymond collection). Hell yes.
Thursday, July 22
All the other blogs are putting in their two cents about this, so we might as well follow suit. Yes, Westboro Baptist Church protested Comic-Con and it’s “worship of false idols.” While High Five! unilaterally agreed with Warren Ellis’ plan of “ignore, ignore, ignore,” some attendees opted to counter-protest. Whatever, go for it. My biggest problem was that while most of the signs mocked religious intolerance (I did laugh at “the Cylons destroyed the 12 Colonies for your sins” and Maggie loved the “Kill All Humans!” sign wielded by a Bender), some of the signs in the counter-protest (namely “Fuck God”) were just as offensive as Westboro’s signs, more or less giving Phelps and crew exactly what they wanted. Oops.
Inside the convention center, we got Hava all badged up and headed straight for the “BOOM! Irredeemable/Incorruptible” panel. Highlights included the potential for character-specific one-shot tie-ins and listening to Waid and Peter Krause discuss their writing process. Oh, and the Irreedemable perfumes by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (friends of Hava’s, plug plug plug).
Later we hit up the “Mondo Marvel” and “DC Comics 75th Anniversary” panels. Holy shit, I could listen to Dennis O’Neil (Green Lantern/Green Arrow!) and Jerry Robinson (creator of Alfred, Robin, and the freakin’ Joker!) talk all day. Fun Fact: According to Jerry Robinson, Batman’s sidekick was NOT named after the bird, but after Robinson’s own childhood nickname.
Maggie and Hava tried to hit up the “Geek Girls Exist” panel but the place was well over capacity and half-full of dudes. Bummer! Still, rather than pout, the girls gave up getting in and held their own Geek Girls panel at a bar on Fifth Street, because this is San Diego Comic-Con, and you can always find something awesome to do when your original plan falls apart. Big congratulations to the Geek Girls’ Network for hosting a massively successful panel!
Later on, Maggie went over to w00tstock and met Wil Wheaton and Aaron Douglas and Matt Fraction while Hava, Jon, and I went to the BOOM! Studios’ Fifth Anniversary Drink-Up and spent upwards of an hour and a half chatting up Peter Krause. Hell of a way to end a night.
Friday, July 23
Friday was Room 6DCE day. After sitting through the “Marvel Video Games” panel (and, I’ll admit, “Marvel vs. Capcom 3” looks pretty rad), the barrage of DC panels began.
First up was “Spotlight on Grant Morrison” and, my god, that was entertaining. Between his bajillion impressions, he announced the release of an Absolute We3 and revealed that Seaguy: Eternal will be coming sooner rather than later.
Next up was the “Batman: The Return” panel. The stage was packed, with Grant Morrison, Bryan Q. Miller, Gail Simone, Paul Dini, Paul Cornell, Judd Winick, Scott Snyder, Frazer Irving, David Finch, Dustin Nguyen, and Mike Marts (I probably forgot somebody). Biggest news was that Morrison will be replaced by Peter Tomasi on Batman and Robin while Morrison starts a new Batman team-up book called Batman Inc. Paul Cornell will also write Knight and Squire (which we’re all pretty psyched for) and a Batman Beyond ongoing was hinted at. Also, the whole panel kept joking about how Dick Grayson is about to get “a bullet in the brain” meaning that I’m pretty sure Jon and I were right (at least about something).
Next was the “Superman: Man of Tomorrow” panel with J. Michael Straczynski, Jeff Lemire, Sterling Gates, Shane Davis, and Paul Cornell. Straczynski discussed his upcoming run on the “Grounded” storyline in Superman (nothing we didn’t already know) and the Superman: Earth One graphic novel he’s writing, with art by Shane Davis. Cornell revealed that Neil Gaiman’s Death will be a major character in Action Comics #894. The biggest news (to us, at least) was that the Phantom Stranger would be a major character in an upcoming Superboy book by Jeff Lemire. YES.
The last panel of the day was “DC Nation.” Dan DiDio, Straczynski, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Jim Lee (flanked by fans in costumes, including a Darkseid who stayed frighteningly in-character) revealed a few future projects, but nothing too crazy. Mostly that Geoff Johns will write a book starring Bart Allen and the other speedsters called Flash: Speed Force, that he’s writing a Dex-Starr Valentine’s Day special, and that he has an upcoming secret project with Grant Morrison.
On the way out, after nearly six hours parked in 6DCE, we ran into fellow blogger Kelson from Speed Force. Who’d have thought people from the internet have, like, faces and stuff!
Maggie and Hava headed over to the Geek Girls Tweet-Up while Jon and I went to Tweet House Party on the U.S.S. Midway and watched William Shatner, Brent Spiner, and LeVar Burton promote a website they knew nothing about and then run away to a VIP area. At least we got to be serenaded by Alice Cooper’s son’s band (Oh God. No).
Saturday, July 24
By this point, we were exhausted, and we still needed to get a ton of shopping done. The only panel we attended on Saturday was “Avatar Press and Max Brooks” where they talked endlessly about Crossed and Lady Death before casually mentioning that Warren Ellis is working on a second volume to Ignition City and that Supergod #4 is fiiiiinally ready to ship next Wednesday. While there wasn’t much news on the Ellis at Avatar front, listening to Max Brooks riff for 45 minutes was a hoot. He even touched on inter-fandom animosity, saying, “Everyone gets to have something, even teenage girls who are afraid of penises. Suck my blood, but don’t touch my tits!”
The rest of the day was dedicated to buying books and gathering sketches (we’ll share those in a separate post) and autographs. Jon managed to track down a sweet copy of October 1976’s Captain Britain #1 (complete with mask) and Maggie got June 1967’s Strange Adventures #201 (featuring an old Animal Man story that’s screaming for the Silver Age Recap treatment).
The most awesome thing of all, however, was talking extensively with Frazer Irving (who drew a three-second Batman for Maggie even though he wasn’t supposed to) and getting a bunch of books signed by Grant Morrison. Oh, and this.
We win at everything.
Sunday, July 25
I guess Hall H had nothing going on because the Exhibit Hall was fucking packed. Everybody walking past the immense line to get signatures and sketches from Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Francis Manapul asked what the deal was and then walked away, unimpressed by some of the best artists in the business.
Maggie gathered 3 out of 4 signatures for her copy of 52 #1 last weekend, with a bit of Con luck on Sunday. We were talking with Greg Rucka at the Oni Booth about some of his upcoming books, including the next issue of Stumptown and a new Queen & Country novel. As Rucka signed some comics for Maggie, up walked Geoff Johns. Rucka signed 52, then turned around and handed it to Johns for her. The two writers shared an “Aw! Remember the good old days!?” moment, and Maggie did a fist pump because in case you didn’t know, now that Johns is running half the DCU, his signing lines are enormous.
The only panel we attended on Sunday was the “DC Town Hall Meeting.” Dan DiDio and Jim Lee really, really wanted to know what we thought of digital comics. (Answer: We like them, but don’t you dare fuck with our weekly books.) Also, Maggie may have terrfied poor Mr. DiDio. He brought it on himself though, when he asked (albeit jokingly) if she didn’t mean to be at a Harry Potter panel instead. Sorry, DiDio. You mess with the bull, you get the horns.
We’ve got more San Diego news in store, including some reviews and the High Five! Sketchbook, San Diego edition. Stay tuned!
Back when it was announced that Spider-Woman #7 would be the end of the series, Bendis mentioned in his press statement that he and frequent collaborator Alex Maleev had been working on a project for Icon Comics. I got extremely excited for this mystery book before I completely forgot about it (as I’m wont to do). And I have to admit, when it comes to the creator-owned properties of Brian Michael Bendis, I’m pretty much clueless. I’ve never read Powers or any of the Jinxworld books (which is apparently blasphemy). When I picked up Scarlet #1, I did it while blindly thinking of Spider-Woman rather than Sam and Twitch. I know, I’m a terrible person.
Scarlet tells the story of the titular character, a young girl who is sick of getting fucked over by a hopelessly corrupt world. After a horrific event in her life, she decides to take up arms and start a revolution, using her own brand of vigilantism to try and clean up the mess starting with her own hometown of Portland, Oregon.
I have to admit, I’ve never seen a book quite like Scarlet and, as weird as it sounds, I couldn’t help but think of old episodes of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. Bendis has smashed the fourth wall and, much like Rogers singing to you while putting on a sweater, Scarlet addresses you directly while strangling a cop to death. For the entire duration of the first issue, she speaks to nobody else but you in a sort of stream of consciousness way, explaining why she has decided to take this path.
Alex Maleev (in his first creator-owned project ever!) also takes the opportunity to experiment in Scarlet. At one point she discusses why her life was so normal and it is presented with a slideshow of the same milestones every kid goes through (which, to Bendis’ credit, came across as the perfect way to make somebody identify with the protagonist). And, much like Rucka and Southworth’s Stumptown, Maleev helps present Portland as a character rather than just a setting, including landmarks and settings from all over town. It’s somewhat refreshing to see similar styles Maleev has used in his Marvel superhero projects in a much more realistic setting.
No shit, I recommend this book. While most books have at least one glaring flaw, I was hard pressed to find anything I didn’t like about this one. I mean, aside from an awkward reference to Twilight. That was kind of weird. But I’ll let it slide.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna stop being a pretentious dumbass and go buy as much Powers as I can get my hands on.
Over the past couple months, some people have been going batshit crazy over the fact that Kevin Keller (who is – wait for it – GAY) transferred to Riverdale High to spend eternity in high school with Archie and the gang. Granted, this is a big step for a property that allowed Spire Christian Comics to make a bunch of super-conservative comics starring the Riverdale gang back in the seventies, but there are plenty of other important (and often borderline offensive) gay moments in comics that the refreshingly normal Kevin Keller doesn’t even hold a candle to.
(10) Mikaal “Starman” Tomas joins the Justice League – Since its debut, the Justice League has been one of the least gay-friendly teams around. Considering how many members have come and gone from the team’s rosters in its 50 years of existence, it’s amazing that there hasn’t been a single gay member on the League until now. Following his Cry for Justice series, James Robinson took the opportunity to insert Starman into the team in May 2010’s Justice League of America #46. Considering how familiar the Justice League brand is, even to casual readers, I’d say this is a big leap forward in acceptance of LGBT characters in mainstream comics.
(9) Superman and the pink kryptonite – Well, this happened. You know how different colors of kryptonite have different effects on Superman? Well, in April 2003’s Supergirl Vol 4 #79, a Superman from an alternate timeline is exposed to pink kryptonite that causes him to, um, really, really like Jimmy Olson’s bowtie. I don’t know what’s better; an oblivious Lois in the back wondering what’s gotten in to the Man of Steel or Jimmy Olson in the foreground looking both slightly weirded out and very, very confused. Either way, it’s kind of awesome that DC (and not some parody/middle-aged woman’s slash fiction) had the guts to make a character as quintessential to comics as Superman gay, even if it was for all of one panel.
(8) BOOM! Studios’ 3rd Anniversary Party – In 2008, Californians were up in arms over Proposition 8, which would prevent same-sex couples from getting married. Meanwhile, BOOM! Studios was getting ready to celebrate its third year of operation by throwing a big party at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. After booking the bar, BOOM! discovered that Doug Manchester, owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt, had recently donated $125,000 to ProtectMarriage.com, masterminds behind Prop 8. So what does BOOM! do? Probably one of the greatest “fuck you” moves of all time, turning their own 3rd Anniversary party into a gay pride party.
(7) Rawhide Kid miniseries – This is one of those things that falls into the “one step forward, two steps back” category. In 2003, Marvel comics revived its 1950’s cowboy hero Jonathan Clay, the Rawhide Kid, gave him his own title, and decided to retcon him as a homosexual. This marked the first time that a mainstream comic company had actually given a gay character their own book (albeit a limited series), which is rad. Only problem is, Marvel decided to put The Rawhide Kid: Slap Leather on its MAX imprint (which is pretty much just full of comics meant to offend everybody) and make him the most stereotypical gay character ever. And, um, guess what? As of last Wednesday, they began releasing volume two. Yay?
(6) Buffy and Satsu – The Buffyverse has always been kind to gay characters ever since Willow came out in season four of the television show. Still, it was a bit of a surprise when during Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Eight #11-12, fellow-slayer Satsu admits to being in love with Buffy and, following a fight with Twilight, the two of them comfort each other. Granted, it was just a two-time thing, but it was executed respectfully and cemented a bond between the two characters.
(5) Apollo and Midnighter from The Authority – When Warren Ellis created the Authority, Wildstorm’s Justice League parallel, he decided to make Apollo and Midnighter (their Superman and Batman, respectively) a non-overtly gay couple. Following his run, Mark Millar took over and decided that the perfect way to close the first volume of The Authority would be with a wedding between the two heroes, celebrated by the masses rather than frowned upon. Now, if only Midnighter would have worn something a little less ridiculous to it.
(4) Renee Montoya and Kate Kane headlining Detective Comics – In August 2009, Greg Rucka (who we’ve applauded time and time again for his work with female characters) got his hands on Detective Comics. With Bruce Wayne lost in time and Dick barely getting the cowl, somebody had to get top billing. Enter Kate Kane as Batwoman and Renee Montoya as the Question in issue #854 as stars of the main and co-features respectively. Now that the “Elegy” storyline is complete and Rucka has left DC, JH Williams III will be co-authoring an ongoing Batwoman book with W. Haden Blackman (X-Wing: Rogue Leader), the first time a gay character has had their own ongoing book.
(3) Valerie Page in V for Vendetta – In Alan Moore’s V for Vendetta, Britain is taken over by Norsefire, a fascist group, who criminalizes homosexuality (along with being Jewish, Pakistani, black, or Muslim). Popular lesbian actress Valerie Page is incarcerated and writes out an autobiographical letter to whomever finds it detailing her persecution. Just before she is scheduled to die, she slips her letter into the cell next to hers with the hope that they will escape. This letter ends up in Cell V, acting as the impetus which causes its occupant to destroy the internment camp and become the vigilante V. Later, this same letter is given to V’s protégée, Evey, which causes her to become his successor.
(2) Hulkling and Wiccan’s GLAAD award – For a company that fucked it up so bad with The Rawhide Kid, Marvel attempted to make up for it with the teenage romance between Hulkling and Wiccan (first hinted at in Young Avengers #7). Allan Heinberg, the writer for Young Avengers, is openly gay himself and decided that making the pair of heroes a couple would give gay comic readers something they could identify with. In 2006, both Heinberg and Marvel received a GLAAD award in recognition of this decision.
(1) Northstar coming out – In March 1992’s Alpha Flight #106, while the team fights Mr. Hyde, Northstar happens upon and and takes in Joanne, a baby dying of AIDS. Turns out that fellow Canadian superhero Major Mapleleaf’s own son was a homosexual and died of AIDS, causing him to freak out and attempt to kill Joanne. To stop Mapleleaf, Northstar confesses that he too is gay. Northstar’s coming out issue received all sorts of media attention, what with comic books still being considered children’s fare (the Comics Code Authority banning gay characters outright) and it being a whole five years before that episode of Ellen. Truly, this was the most groundbreaking moment for gays in comics.
10 (tie). Walking Dead – Robert Kirkman
I can’t help feeling like this book should probably be #1 on our list. It isn’t (not even in my own personal ranking) because a few others were more popular, had greater impact, etc. But for sheer quality- in both concept and execution- The Walking Dead stood peerless in the 2000s. The book starts from a simple question: “What if every zombie movie you’ve ever seen didn’t actually have to end?” Series creator Robert Kirkman anchors the horror in his characteristically well-drawn characters, each of whom has the opportunity to show complete emotional range and complex, totally natural motivations usually absent from traditionally truncated zombie genre fare. Protagonist Rick Grimes and company endure a hard-fought existence that calls into question the nature of concepts like morality, justice, society and sanity when life becomes a nonstop pursuit of one goal: survival. And that makes anything possible- when the story doesn’t have to work itself to resolution after 90 minutes, all of the rules change. To spoil even one moment of The Walking Dead for a new reader would be criminal, but suffice it to say that nobody is safe, and in a world like this, any/every “normal” person can and will be pushed to things you’d never expect possible. And it is, in all likelihood, the best currently ongoing series in comics.
-Brendan
10 (tie). All-Star Superman – Grant Morrison
I love Superman. I love him as a supporting character. After 80 years as the flagship superhero of comics it feels like everything there was to say about Krypton’s last son has been said. In fact, it was said before a guy like Grant Morrison was even in the biz. Going in to All-Star Superman I felt this way. Then, for 12 marvelous issues I was convinced I needed to know more. Who knew Big Blue had one last arc of good reading in him? I’m sure at some point there will come another author who finds something entertaining to do with Superman, but in the waning years of this last decade it was nice to see creative duo Morrison and Quitely tell me something about Kent I didn’t already know, and wrap it all up so tidily that I felt a sense of closure when it was all said and done.
-Jonny
9. Final Crisis: Revelations – Greg Rucka
Whoa, whoa. Hold on a hot second. A tie-in to an event that’s better than the event itself? That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
You’re dumb, and here’s the proof. While Final Crisis was a little, um, disjointed, Revelations was straight up Biblical goodness. Basically, while Darkseid is busy mind-raping everybody with the Anti-Life Equation, newly-appointed Question Renee Montoya is fighting off the Religion of Crime in Gotham (if you ain’t read it, you’re now officially confused). Meanwhile, newly-appointed Spectre (and Renee’s ex-partner since Batman: the Animated Series) Crispus Allen is serving out justice on God’s behalf for those held responsible for the death of the Martian Manhunter. Basically, the book is a team-up between these two: the Huntress, and Radiant, God’s angel of mercy in a battle against many of Darkseid’s Justifiers and Vandal Savage (who is possessed by Cain from the Bible).
-Rob
8. Y: The Last Man – Brian K. Vaughn
Sort of a weird thing happened in the last decade. Since Hollywood’s bankruptcy of original intellectual properties, we’ve seen so many mediocre, utterly forgettable comics adaptations that we’ve forgotten a time when not every book was viewed in terms of its potential to sustain a film or television franchise. Instead, we’ve begun new lives in an alternate universe where your Aunt whose favorite musician is Michael Buble can tell you who Harry Osborne’s dad is, and the more intellectual set might deign to deride a new theatrical release by saying something like “Eh… I think it would have been better as a comic book.” A shining example of the opposite in effect, Vertigo’s Y: The Last Man is one a truly few number of titles that openly begs to be realized in moving pictures small or large. The story of the last living carriers of a Y chromosome on Earth (20-something Yorrick Brown and his monkey, Ampersand) moves along a pace that perfectly balances its dual nature as both an episodic and serial narrative while introducing us to a hugely diverse cast of female (naturally) characters who all have different goals and motivations driving them to live in a new world without men. At times, the book could be almost soapy in how relationships progress and evolve, and I’d be lying if I said I loved the plot’s final resolution, but for 60 issues Y exhibited an undeniable quality that said this is just the kind of great story- and storytelling– that’s fit for today’s enlightened masses. It’s no wonder that series co-creator Brian K. Vaughn wound up plying his trade doing just that as a writer on ABC’s Lost.
-Brendan
7. Astonishing X-Men – Joss Whedon
Poor Piotr. He spends all that time being good while falling for that underage Lolita, Kitty Pryde. Then he dies. And then, suddenly, he comes back to life and she’s of age! They bump legal uglies and everything is coming up Colossus! Until, you know, Ord shows up with a giant space bullet pointed at Earth and Kitty Pryde has to phase into it and ride it into deep space to save all of us. Yup. Joss Whedon has made a career out of cockblocking and then killing off your favorite characters in everything he touches (see: every girl Xander ever got involved with).
Oh, yeah, plus this book gave us Abbie Brand and S.W.O.R.D. (which is kinda cool) and features art by John Cassaday and Simone Bianchi that is just fucking gorgeous. Now, with Warren Ellis at the helm and the announcement of a few more Astonishing titles, I’m curious to see where they take this from here.
-Rob
6. Invincible – Robert Kirkman
I’m not really much of a fan of Image Comics. I’m not sure if it’s just the stigma that comes with the name (and, yes, I’ll admit that Liefeld’s name does subconsciously affect my opinion) but I just can’t get into it. I’m sorry. Get over it.
Now that I have that out of the way, let’s discuss Invincible. The story of a young man who develops superpowers and decides to use it for the good of mankind yadda yadda nothing new. So what sets it apart exactly? Well, for one, our main character (conveniently named Invincible) has some, well, let’s say family issues with his father, fellow super-being Omni-Man. Pair that with his kid brother’s budding powers, dealing with his girlfriend/classmate/former superhero partner, and the government jerking him around, it is actually a very compelling superhero story. Needless to say, it’s a far cry from the other stuff on Image’s line-up. So far.
Why do I say this? Well, Invincible has all ready had a crossover with Savage Dragon, Astounding Wolf-Man, and Brit (which, might I add, was done surprisingly well). With Invincible #60, they’ve decided to throw Spawn, Witchblade, and Pitt (oh, Pitt) into the mix and, well, that’s where I get a bit dodgy. I can’t bring myself to read Image United but here’s hoping that it doesn’t turn a great book like Invincible into just another Image title.
-Rob
A new decade has begun, and with it, High Five! Comics will soon be unveiling our special “20 (Or So) Best Comics of the Decade” event (take THAT, Siege). But before we reveal the big list, we’ll start with a series of supplementary entries from HF!C’s contributing writers about those comics we each individually loved, but that didn’t quite have the mojo to make the final ranks.
Today, Maggie talks about some of her personal favorite books from the last decade.
Empire – Mark Waid & Barry Kitson – Maggie’s #16
The story of a Dr. Doom-esque supervillain and a sort of intellectual precursor to Waid’s smash hit Irredeemable, Empire asked “So what does a supervillain do once he’s actually managed to take over the world?” Golgoth, the despot in question, is the most heartless bastard I’ve ever seen in a comic, utterly beyond redemption – maybe even uninterested in it. Waid & artist Barry Kitson published the first two issues independently before going bankrupt, and the series was completed under the DC imprint. Well – maybe not completed. Empire‘s final issue drops off abruptly, the victim of editorial shuffling. Still, Empire is full of great twists and turns, you notice more and more detail each time you read it. If you like Irredeemable, you’ll like Empire.
Detective Comics starring Batwoman – Greg Rucka & JH Williams III – Maggie’s #14
The ex-West Point cadet lesbian step-daughter of an heiress, Kate Kane is both highly improbable and yet more realistic in origin than most other DC heroes. Greg Rucka and JH Williams III’s Batwoman run in ‘Tec made Kate sexual without sexualizing her – or turning the book into an afterschool special about lesbianism in comics. Williams’ inspired panel design and his ability to shift art style from page to page truly made Detective Comics a cut above the rest.
Honorable Mentions
Two other books would have easily made my top twenty if they were more than two issues in. BOOM! Studios’ NOLA & Th3rd World Studios’ The Stuff of Legend. If this were best of the year rather than Best of the Decade, they’d easily be top ten.
And somehow, I forgot to put Mouse Guard on my top twenty when we started this whole project. Dangit. Mouse Guard rules.
Don’t forget to check out Rob, Brendan, and Jonny‘s lists too!
A new decade has begun, and with it, High Five! Comics will soon be unveiling our special “20 (Or So) Best Comics of the Decade” event (take THAT, Siege). But before we reveal the big list, we’ll start with a series of supplementary entries from HF!C’s contributing writers about those comics we each individually loved, but that didn’t quite have the mojo to make the final ranks.
Today, Jonny talks about some of his personal favorite books from the last decade.
Wonder Woman – Greg Rucka (Jon’s #10)
It’s been said that Wonder Woman is the least relevant character in the DCU. Comic fans have consistently loved her as a concept, but this love was born from a feeling that she should matter rather than feeling that she did. While she gets credit for being the most significant Golden Age lady-hero and the certainly the longest running, we forget that her stories have rarely been interesting and have been largely antithetical to feminism. DC wanted her to be important, but they never knew how to make her important. This led to so many decades of reinvention that it eventually became offensive. All of that changed in 2002 when Greg Rucka did a 3 issue mini-series called Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia. The success of this little story landed Rucka 31 issues of in-continuity Amazonian drama that gave us something we’d always wanted. While it may be disappointing that it took 61 years and a dude to find something interesting about the alpha-female of comics, the important thing is that it finally happened. And what a delight that was.
Tom Strong – Alan Moore (Jon’s #13)
In the 1980s Alan Moore effectively turned the comic industry on its head with a body of work so glorious and enthralling that he could have retired in 1987 and remained the guru-god of comics the rest of his life. We never forgot that (and neither did he) but the fact is he kept writing. And in a decade fraught with Moore-shite like Promethea and Lost Girls it’s refreshing to know that Alan was still capable of churning out great stories that proved to be radically different than his previous dark works like Watchmen or Marvel Man. Dystopia be damned! Tom Strong showed that the Father of the Dark Age was able to stay relevant 20 years later and still write stories better than most of his contemporaries in the naughties.
FreakAngels – Warren Ellis (Jon’s #17)
Ok, so the title sucks. You know what other title sucks? “The Beatles”. Ok, so it’s steam punk. Well, Wolverine wears yellow spandex. Now that we agree a title and theme don’t always discredit art let’s talk about what Warren Ellis has done with his crew of 12 twenty-somethings and the world they destroyed. FreakAngels made my list for three reasons. First: it’s damned good. FreakAngels has a large cast of cantankerous, bickering characters, it has a great setting, and a story that really does make you beg for more. Second: this has got to be the best story you can get for absolutely FREE on the internet. Third and most important: FreakAngels has acknowledged modern technology and been among the first of it’s kind to embrace digital media. Way to go Warren.
Muppet Robin Hood – Tim Beedle (Jon’s #19)
A comic featuring characters licensed by TV-land was something I never thought I’d get behind. As a rule licensed works are lame, soul-less, and trite. And yet I cannot deny how fun the BOOM! Studios’ line of books is. Most of their licensed catalog is enjoyable, but Muppet Robin Hood takes the cake. Maybe it’s my undying love of the Muppets, or just my admiration for any publisher turning out this many kid’s comics that don’t suck, but I couldn’t resist thiscaper. Kermit Hood, Sweetums Little John, and Fozzy Tuck are here in a work that should have been a movie, and made me giggle just as much as their variety show did when I was a kid.
See Brendan’s favorites that didn’t make the cut here.
I know we’ve said it about a billion times, but we’ll say it again; Greg Rucka knows how to write for the ladies (both characters and readers). Rucka’s latest Oni Press book, “Stumptown,” kicked off this week, and it doesn’t disappoint.
Rucka is well known as the “chick guy”; he’s one of very few writers in comics who not only write about women, but consistently get it right. More remarkable than his ability to channel brilliant, complex, female characters is his ability to make them all markedly different from one another. Occasionally, Stumptown’s Dex parallels Renee Montoya a bit (private investigator, cracking jokes under pressure), but the similarities end there. Stetko, Chace, Kane, Montoya, and Dex could all kick your butt to next Tuesday and most of them are borderline alcoholic, but these women are anything but carbons copies of one another.
A Stumptown opens, Dex is yanked from the trunk of a car, wisecracking all the way, and promptly shot in the chest. Well. Damn. We spend the rest of the book finding out how she managed to get herself into this one. We meet Dex’s special needs brother Ansel (Whenever Dex meets up with anyone, or speaks to anyone on the phone, they ask how Ansel is. After a while, I noticed everyone was asking how Ansel was, but almost nobody asked Dex how she was doing. I started to wonder if anyone liked her at all.) Dex appears to be Ansel’s sole guardian, and they live together in a sweet craftsman house, which doubles as the homebase for Dex’s Stumptown Investigations.
I’ve never been to Portland, but Matthew Southworth’s artwork makes me feel as though I have. Southworth is a Seattle-dweller himself, but he spent lots of time in Portland taking pictures and driving around, making sure he got Portland just right. In the first issue’s afterword, he mentions that there’s nothing more frustrating than reading a book set in your hometown and realizing the writer or artist got it all wrong – so he went out of his way to achieve accuracy.
Stumptown’s first issue is solid. Go buy it. Now. I drank Newcastle with it, but I get the feeling I need to pick up a six pack of something from a Portland microbrewery to really appreciate this.
As I said in my last post about Greg Rucka’s female characters, I’ve been hunting for a copy of his four-issue run on Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra for a while now. I finally came across a copy earlier today, in a discount bin at my favorite hometown comic shop. I snapped it up and immediately sat down to read. As he’d done with the Huntress and other angst-ridden female characters in the past, Rucka took another crack at defining what drives angry, tragic vigilante women and his conclusions were, as usual, thought provoking.
In everything I know of normal continuity, Elektra Natchios is the kind of character who seems to hold no allegiance to anyone except the highest paying bidder for her ninja assassin skills. I know that Frank Miller tied Elektra’s decision to become an assassin to the death of her Greek ambassador dad, Hugo at the hands of terrorists in Daredevil Vol. 1 #168. Elektra watched her father die. Fuck. So she quit school and joined the Hand.
But this is the Ultimate Universe! Continuity be damned! This is Greg Rucka’s chance to add his feminist flair to an extremely well-known character!
Just a heads up, I’m totally gonna have massive spoilers coming up. (I mean, come on, the issues were released in 2001-2002. But you know. You’re warned. Just in case.) In Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra, Elektra still attends Columbia University and ends up dating Matt Murdock pre-tights, but those are pretty much the only parallels to regular continuity. Rucka gives Elektra much humbler beginnings; her father is a mere Greek immigrant who runs a dry cleaning business in Queens, her mother died of breast cancer (rather than as the victim of a hitman). In lieu of a bunch of ambassador-murdering terrorists, her first real nemesis is the school’s token macho rich white kid (think Stan Gable from Revenge of the Nerds). She emasculates him in front of his peers and he retaliates by raping one of her two best friends and hiring some street thugs to firebomb her dad’s shop (unlike Miller, Rucka lets Hugo live). After charges are dropped against Rapist Arsonist Jerk, Elektra’s gateway act of vigilantism is to break into his loft and threaten him with physical violence. As a means of protecting her from herself, Matt suits up for the first time (although not in the traditional Daredevil garb) and is forced to decide whether or not he can be in a relationship with a girl who is willing to kill in the name of justice.
OK, re-cap over. Time for me to get to the fucking point. Both versions of Elektra strive for justice while using completely unjust methods, but what is remarkable is that both versions turned to vigilantism even though their early years couldn’t have been more different. The Elektra of the normal Marvel Universe was born into a family of corruption and violence and the Ultimate Universe version was born into innocence and, uncharacteristically for a comic book character, contentedness and happiness. This makes the Ultimate Elektra’s decent into the underworld all the more tragic (especially what she’s become in Ultimate Spider-Man). Basically, Greg Rucka has managed to take Elektra and make her much more relatable without sacrificing the heartache and complexity of the original character.
Anyways, I highly recommend this read, even if the trade is now out of print and you’ll spend forever looking for it. Pair it with some decent merlot.
My friends will tell you, I can grow one hell of an Alan Moore beard. I love walking around shirtless while listening to Thin Lizzy’s “Emerald” on repeat. For every glass of water I drink, I have three glasses of beer. I have man hands and I have man feet and I have man junk. I am a man.
SUPER MANLY
Now that I have that out of the way, I’d like to tell you about Renee Montoya, Helena Bertinelli, Kate Kane, Carrie Stetko, Tara Chace, Elektra Natchios, and Diana Prince. Any one of them could kick the ever loving shit out of me without even trying. Who do I have to blame for this?
Gregory Rucka.
His current run on Detective Comics is the best example of how formidable his female characters can be. This title’s main feature is Batwoman (who is putting up one hell of a fight against this weird-ass Alice and her Cain cult). My favorite, however, is the second feature starring the Renee Montoya version of the Question. [Astute readers will recall that Renee first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series as a Gotham cop – M]. Rucka previously worked with the Vic Sage version of the Question in Huntress/Batman: Cry for Blood and has pretty much been in charge of Montoya since Sage passed the torch to her in 52 (which Rucka wrote with Johns, Morrison, and Waid). Rucka wrote for Montoya again in Five Books of Blood and in Final Crisis: Revelations (which is my absolute favorite tie-in to that event). I think Rucka put it best with what he wrote across the cover of my copy (and Maggie’s copy, and probably a lot of people’s copies) of Detective Comics #854: “She kicks ALL the ass.”
Hot damn.
I never much cared for Wonder Woman books before I picked up a copy of The Hiketeia at San Diego Comic-Con. Holy fuck, that book. The premise is that a girl murders some pornographers in Gotham City, runs to New York, and requests shelter from Diana with some weird plea ripped from “the Iliad.” Diana has to take her in, despite Batman wanting to bring the girl to justice. Fuck yeah, you gotta find and read that book. His run in volume two of Wonder Woman expanded on the idea of Diana Prince being completely willing to sacrifice everything (up to and including her fucking eyesight) for the greater good.
Oh man, and his Oni Press ladies. Carrie Steko from Whiteout [Now a major motion picture! -M] kicks ass after getting her fingers chopped off Margot Tenenbaum-style (if Margot’s birth family lived in Antarctica). Then, she goes back for fucking seconds. In the first issue of Queen and Country (the entirety of which is linked to in the “Gateway Drugs: Your Mom” post), Tara Chace, alone in Kosovo, snipes a dude in the dome and escapes with nothing but a UN jacket and a naked photo of herself (yes, I know, that sentence was weird to type, too).
Unfortunately, I have yet to read either Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra or Huntress/Batman: Cry for Blood. They’re both pretty much on the top of my want list and I’ve been trying to hunt down a copy, but to no avail. Hell, the only time I’ve ever actually seen a physical copy of Cry for Blood was in the hands of some guy in a Mexican restaurant after preview night at SDCC. I stood there staring at it until that awkward realization that his entire table was starring back. Hey, Mr. Rucka. If you read this, wanna tooootally hook me up with one (pwetty pwease)?
Needless to say, Greg Rucka, you are gifted at writing for women that make me feel like a namby pamby little puss-puss. I commend you on that. If I had to read one more comic where the females either seems helpless or seem to fall out of their clothes every other page (see: 90% of comics in the 1990s and a weird, disturbing little percentage in the 50s, eek), well, I’d pretty much give up on comics being anything but a fucking circle jerk. Well done, Greg Rucka. Your female characters have made my testicles retreat into my torso, but you know, in a good way. Wait. What?
Gateway Drugs: Your Mom
Posted on: August 19, 2009
Getting your mom into comics might very well be an impossible task for a lot of people, but here at High Five! we’re always trying to drag others down with us. Here are a few valiant ideas for getting your mom into comics.
Is your mom into 24? CSINCIS Las Miami? Or even just Law & Order? Then give her Greg Rucka’s Queen and Country *, starring Tara Chace, designated Minder Two, spy extraordinaire for her royal majesty the Queen of England. She’s a british lady spy, and no one writes strong female characters quite like Greg Rucka. Pick up the Definitive Edition, Vol. 1 from Oni Press. Tara Chace could kick Jack Bauer’s ass and STILL have time to go to the bathroom. From there you could probably get your mom involved in Rucka’s Wonder Woman run.
Or maybe your mom is more into the fantastic. Did she like The Princess Bride? Or Labyrinth? Or really any of those weird 80s fantasy movies? Give her Fables. Fables is the story of fairy tale and folklore characters exiled in New York. The first two trades are a bit all over the place, but once Willingham and Sturges got this book going, it rose above it’s premise and became totally awesome. I’ve found that Fables is generally a good entry point for anyone – new readers already KNOW the backgrounds of these characters, there’s no sense of being overwhelmed by decades of continuity and in-jokes.
What about a Star Trek mom? I know people have Star Trek moms, cos I was at a buddy’s graduation party once and I made a joke about Romulan ale. Then his mom bopped over to me making Romulan jokes and I spent the rest of the party talking to her. Oddly enough, I’m going to recommend you take her straight to the super-heroes. Green Lantern: Rebirth. Geoff Johns sets up a great big space opera in this title, and it’s still running to this day. It’s damned good, and I’ve seen new readers who’ve never even HEARD of Green Lantern convert to DC after reading this title. This book pretty much requires a mom that was already a total geek.
Of course, all of these options assume that your mom is already at least a little bit of a media-junkie. If your mom isn’t really into TV or movies, you might be out of luck – some moms are just never, ever gonna read a funny book.
*Queen & Country #1 for free! You’ll need a program to unzip & read it.
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