Well, here’s something strange. Within a 72-hour period last week a half dozen people asked me if I had read the new, new Animal Man. During that same period, my daughter was asked the same question by one of her friends. Then I had lunch with comics writer Paul Kupperberg, so I asked him if he read the book. He said no, not yet, but a number of people told him he should.

Hmmmm. Word of mouth is either the best or the worst type of publicity. I noticed not a one of these folks said it was great; just that it was worth reading.

I enjoyed the original Animal Man – the one that was created by Dave Wood and Carmine Infantino in Strange Adventures 180, some 46 years ago. It was unusual in that it was only occasionally published, and the lead didn’t get his costume (one of Carmine’s best) until the third appearance nearly a year later. His run – more like a bunch of skips and hops – was brief, but it clearly had an impact on us Baby Boomer fanboys. Animal Man was more of a cool concept than a fan fave.

Because I’m not quite paranoid to believe that all those people who recommended the book to us were part of a vast conspiracy, I approached Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman’s Animal Man volume 2, number 1 without preconceptions.

Gone is the cool Infantino-designed costume, replaced by something that was clearly influenced by the original: no more contemporary in design, but with a more striking color scheme. We start with Buddy Baker’s home life, and here we indulge a bit in the married life superhero chiché. He’s not henpecked the way The Web was back in the 1960s (one of the first, if not the first, costumed hero with a “realistic” married life); Lemire cleverly uses the rough parts of family life as exposition.

It is that very family that is the root of this first story arc. In the 22-page format there’s very little room to establish the characters in this new reality and really get you deeply involved in an actual story, and Animal Man 2.1 does a better job of it than most of The New 52 stories I’ve read so far. Not as good as Mister Terrific #1 in terms of the quantity and depth of story, but more compelling from the perspective of character.

That seems to be what Animal Man is all about: character development within the framework of a family where the father has superpowers. I say “seems to be” because, well, hell, we don’t know. It’s just the first issue. But this beginning gives me hope.

I always get hinky when I think about how a DC series will get coopted as it is thrust into the DCU – sorry, make that DCnU – but I’ve learned to leave such speculation to time and historical inevitability. And hope that Animal Man beats the odds.

THURSDAY: Dennis O’Neil

Art: Pablo Marcos

PRESS RELEASE:

Sequential Pulp Comics is thrilled to have adventure scribe extraordinaire, Mark Ellis and comics’ legend, Pablos Marcos team for a retelling of H. Rider Haggard’s KING SOLOMON’S MINES. Haggard’s Allan Quatermain stories have found new audiences over and over since the character was initially introduced in 1885.

The source material is in public domain. There have been numerous films based on KSM. The latest coming in 2004 from Hallmark Entertainment and starring Patrick Swayze as Allan Quatermain. The most famous version would still be MGM’s 1950 big budget epic staring Stewart Granger and Deborah Kerr. It has just been reported that Dreamworks and Aussie heartthrob, Sam Worthington will tackle the role of Quatermain in a futuristic version of the novel.

Our writer/adapter Mark Ellis had this to say when asked how he plans to keep the material fresh when it has been in front of the public for so many years. “We plan to maintain the spirit of the story but alter sections in the original source material in order to streamline the narrative. We want to make the whole thing a bit more palatable to a contemporary graphic novel reading audience. That means tweaking characterization to some extent. Pablo Marcos, of course, is one of the few living legends of the comics and graphic novel field, and it’s quite the privilege and honor to work with him.”

Sequential Pulp is committed to honoring the wonderful writers who have come before us and we respect their vision and the integrity of their work. That being said I’ve read Mark’s story synopsis and it is fantastic. He has remained true to Haggard,his style and the essence of his storyline. He does it with great finesse taking us to the same place Haggard took us so many years ago. We hope you’ll join us on our journey to bring you one of the finest adventure tales ever written to graphic novel format.

The image above is of Pablo Marcos artwork and is designed by Melissa Martin-Ellis and Michael Hudson for promotional purposes. This will not be the actual cover for the graphic novel.To learn more about Sequential Pulp’s titles, please visit http://www.sequentialpulpcomics.com.
UPDATE! Below is the cover sketch by Pablo Marcos.

Cover sketch by Pablo Marcos

Legendary for what he has done on the page and infamous for what he has said off it, Howard Chaykin ranks among the superstars of modern comics. In [[[The Art of Howard Chaykin]]], written by Robert Greenberger, go behind the scenes with the creator whose pioneering works include American Flagg!, The Shadow, Batman, New Avengers, Dominic Fortune, Black Kiss and more. Experience the stories of Howard Chaykin’s life as only he can tell them. Filled with no-holds-barred perspective from his longtime friends and colleagues, and featuring an extensive selection of artwork from throughout his career, including many never-before-published pieces from Chaykin’s own archives, The Art of Howard Chaykin takes readers on an in-depth journey from the 1970s to today with one of the medium’s great storytellers.

“Big thanks to everybody at Dynamite for the incredibly flattering job they’ve done, making me look good in this volume,” stated Howard Chaykin.  “Since I’m always willing to mistake attention for affection, I’m basking in the love.”

“At a time when many fresh new art styles while gracing the pages of comics, there was a boldness to Howard Chaykin’s figures that set him apart,” states The Art of Howard Chaykin writer Robert Greenberger. “He carved his own path, first as an artist, then as a writer exploring the limits of what can be done in graphic arts, informed by the great illustrators that came before him. Like his work, the man is larger-than-life filled with provocative observations that are always informed and defensible. Getting to know him has never been less than fascinating and getting to write his story was an opportunity to learn more about what him tick.”

“Howard Chaykin is a good friend and is an unparalleled creator in the comics medium,” says Dynamite President and Publisher Nick Barrucci!  “We made sure to pull out all the stops to make this the definitive guide for Chaykin fanatics everywhere.  Also, having a Brian Michael Bendis forward and afterward by Walter Simonson is just icing on the cake!”

What made you decide to submit a story for the Pirates & Swashbucklers anthology?
I belong to a private writer’s site called Scribophile. A couple of the ladies and I have a group there and when a good anthology waggles its bum in our direction, we announce it. I’ve always liked the arrogance of a swashbuckler and how, no matter what, they get out of trouble and snag the girl in one swoop.

Read more of Kameron’s interviews at PensAndSwords.com.

Pulp Empire Presents: Pirates & Swashbucklers is now available at Pulp Empire.com. Until October 10^th, use the code “62QUSQGC” at our CreateSpace bookstore to receive 15% off on the book!