A case of synchronicity in comics stories:

First, a quote from Mark Waid’s monster interview on AintItCoolNews:

BM: The Million Dollar Question: How did Mark Waid make his break into comics?

MW:The Million Word Answer: Writer Devin Grayson had a great quote. Shesaid, “Breaking into comics is like breaking into a high-tech militarycompound. The first thing they do after discovering you got in is goseal up your entrance so no one can ever break in that way again.”

Then over at Blog@Newsarama, they talk about the 2009 DC Bullets softball season.

Yep… that’s (part of) how I got in.

I’m just amazed– spring training? For the DC Comics team? Since when?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
Quirk Books; April 2009; $12.95

What is there left to be said about the Undead Sensation That’s Sweeping the Nation? The buzz for this book was so loud that they rushed it into publication a few months early (which no doubt accounts for the inconsistently applied British spellings in the text). Everyone and their newly risen mother has reviewed it, or at least written about it, and it’s now spending a second week on the New York Times bestseller list.

As broad farce, the book succeeds. It does a fine job of interleaving the original text with brutal confrontations with the undead, katana swordplay and ninja ambushes. There’s even a note of pathos in the fresh explanation for why Charlotte chooses to marry the dreadful Mr. Collins: she’s been stricken with the zombie plague, and wants to eke out her final days as a married woman before someone must behead and burn her. I also particularly enjoyed the revised faceoff between Lady Catherine and Elizabeth. In the original, Lady Catherine sneers at Elizabeth for not being personally educated by a governess; here, Lady Catherine mocks Elizabeth’s inferior martial arts tutelage in China—apparently true gentlewomen go to Japan to learn how to kick butt.

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Greetings, ComicMixers and Mixettes… I come to you today from the future. I’ve just returned home from a trip to the cinematorium (back in 2009, you would have referred to it as a “movie theatre”). I caught a wonderful little film based on a comic book series I have time tracked to debut this week. The book? BOOM! Studios’ [[[Mr. Stuffins]]]. While the film followed the source material closely, for this reviewer there was just a bit too much sex and violence. Who knew even in the future movies would still differ from their literary counter-parts such as to enhance the boom-booms and the titillation. Feh, feh I say!

Ok, I jest. I’m not from the future. And there’s no film (yet) for Mr. Stuffins. That being said though, I did read the first issue of this series, and it was a delight. If the quality of the rest of this book stays close to that of it’s first issue, we all may be plunking down the bucks for a blockbuster in a few years. So, do yourself a favor, put down the cash now for this series so you can join me in line later, where we can scoff at all the “normies” as they postulate where the series came from. We’ll point, and laugh, and clutch our signed issue #1 with either of the available covers (One cover by [[[Mouse Guard‘s]]] David Peterson, the other by Joe Abraham and Fellipe Martins). 

Mr. Stuffins is brought to you by Johanna Stokes and Andrew Cosby, the creative team behind the television series [[[Eureka]]] that appears on the SyFy network. The plot itself starts out like so many series we’ve read before… A scientist finds out (gasp… yawn) that his project wasn’t being funded for the good of mankind, but for (gasp…) profit! Cut to some running, some desperation, and the haphazard placement of said “research”–in this case an A.I. Secret Spy program– into the closest object in reach. It’s here we meet our titular hero to be… as the program is placed in a child’s teddy bear. Akin to Teddy Ruxpin of my own youth, the bear toy is your garden variety singing, talking, pal-oh-mine all kids would adore. Of course, if our Teddy Ruxpin’s could secure the perimeter, whilst using Krav Maga on my enemies… maybe I wouldn’t have lost so many fights in gradeschool.

Smart folks will anticipate most of the plot points, but you’ll do it with a smile. We’re introduced to our P.O.V. family mid-crisis. Faced with his parents recent separation, our “everykid”, Zach,  comes into ownership of the aforementioned uber-toy. Hilarity ensues. Kudos to artist Axel Medellin Machain, whose crisp style lends to a very easy read. Anti-Kudos to Crosby and Stoke’s laughably one-dimensional big sister. It’s hoped in future issues we’ll see more sides to her. But I digress. When Zach’s “Mr. Stuffins” activates, I dare anyone not to laugh, snicker, and giggle just a little bit. In his debut panel, I was completely sold.  The juxtaposition of Stuffins personifying something similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s John Matrix in Commando is just too perfect. While nothing will surprise you during the read, you’ll be hard pressed not to love this book anyways– thanks in large part to a script that knows when to keep danger at an arms length, backed by solid art that knows when to give readers a beat to absorb the characters’ feelings.

Parents reading this review may ask how suitable it is for the youngsters. Know that there’s no violence “on screen”, nor dirty words to read. We feel for Zach, and he’s certainly the heart of this story. While I assume Mr. Stuffins may see more violence to come, this issue is certainly friendly. While the concepts inside are typical Hollywood “Blow’d Em Up Gud!”, Stokes and Cosby have set up a book that (hopefully) will stay towards the lighter side of the genres it’s incorporating.

In Short:

Mr. Stuffins #1 hits shelves Wednesday, April 29th. Due to a fast moving script, and crisp artwork,  this book comes highly recommended. While it’s uncertain how graphic things may get, the heart is in the right place here. Add to your pull list, get ready… to get stuffed. Stuffed with awesomeness.