…the only drawback is that you need either a key or sonic screwdriver to get out of the dang thing.
But after seeing this corset, I finally understand Neil Gaiman’s episode of Doctor Who.
Created by Mayfaire Moon.
Welcome back to ComicMix’s resident snark machine. So far, I’d taken a nice big steaming load all over Barry Allen, Hal Jordon, and the X-Men. Last week, for those counting, I shilled for my own book. Based on the lack of comments, I realized ya’ll don’t care bout that. I figured I needed your love back, so I should turn my attention back to being a mean so-and-so.
I wanted to folks, I really did. But wouldn’t you know it, I’m still all fuzzy inside from last week. Since it’s rare I’m not completely bitter about something, it’s high time I send up some praise for something I’m reading. Simply put, of all the books I’ve read in the past four to five years, none have been more consistently good as Secret Six. Now that’s it’s over, this article is my way of uncapping the twist-off to my bottle of Old Milwaukee, and pouring it out on the street corner. My last week of cheerful glee is dedicated to you, Catman and company.
Let’s get the wiki-notes on the series here first, for those eternally late to the party: Secret Six used to be a hero book back in the late 60s. I didn’t read it. It was retconned/updated in the late 80s. Didn’t read that one either. In 2005 though, the team was brought back as a villainous mercenary team (by way of Gail Simone) in Villains United. I read it. I liked it. A year later, the team surfaced again, in a mini-series. Bought that one too. Loved it. And in 2008, the book was given on-going status. And into my subscription pile it went.
Oh, Secret Six… how I love you. Let me count the twisted ways. First and foremost? The characterization. The book has always followed a cast of ne’er-do-wells, and it knows that. They kill. They maim. They slaughter. But it’s never violence for violence sake. Unlike the bloated 90s where villainy became a trend, here it’s used to drive the book. I’ve never liked the idea of a mercenary book. It’s akin to playing D+D. Just because your character wants money, doesn’t make it interesting. Simone, with her cast of cretins keeps the book running on a near existential exploration of what bad is. But never is that drive just there to run the book through it’s paces. Only in a single set of issues did I ever find myself musing on if the book was on cruise control. But I digress. Gail Simone’s best asset throughout the three year run was never forgetting that a team book is best served through its characters.
The heart of the book began with Catman. Once nothing more than a complete joke (see Brad Meltzer’s run on Green Arrow), Simone put the claws back on, so-to-speak. Driven by a moral code, but knowing his own strengths… he rooted the book firmly as a natural leader. By the final stand of the Six in #36, one could picture him going toe to toe with any of the cape-and-cowled, and easily being top cat.
Over time, the focus of the book shifted to many others on the team. Simone never left a teammate as just a warm body. Ragdoll, Deadshot, Scandal Savage and badass banshee Jeanette all took turns in the limelight. More than any of them though, it was the treatment of Batman B-Lister, Bane, that stole the show for me.
Once relegated to his “oh, the guy who broke Batman’s back” status, and then a brief (and terrible) turn as an anti-hero left him as a carcass of a character. Placing him at first as just the “big guy who looks good standing in the back” on the team… it was a beautifully slow burn Simone lit under the character that ultimately ended the book. It was a thing of beauty. Spoiler alerts be damned. With the books cancelation upon them, Simone and her team (including the always fantastic, and forever underrated Jim Califiore) let Bane close the book. Driven by the idea that his own moral code would bring him 666 feet under heaven, Bane snapped.
In spite of his better efforts, Simone had hid his truly evil ways under layers of humor, sincerity, and near genial moments since his addition to the book. With literally nothing left to lose, the beast hands out viles of venom to the team for a last stand in Gotham. Ten years ago, it would have been fodder for “hulked-up villains” for an issue, devoid of depth. Here? Gail lets his heart bleed out on his sleeve; It was an emotional catharsis for a character I’d grown to honestly love reading every month. If someone at DC is reading this, I only pray they don’t let this get shuffled in the impending star-wipe.
For all I’ve bitched and moaned about in my column thus far, Secret Six represented every counter argument to my problems. Barry Allen? Milquetoast personified. Try out Ragdoll, who can’t deliver a single line in 36 issues that didn’t equally creep me out, make me laugh, or give a glimmer of depth when most writers would relegate him to just comic relief. Hal Jordan? Once a cocksure ring slinger turned “just another heroic white guy.” Give me Deadshot any day. In 36 issues, he was rarely without a quip, and a “I’m here for the fun, seriously” attitude. Brilliant.
And the X-Men? They change teams more than I change polo shirts. Secret Six has too, but somehow they never lost their core. And when new members entered the team, Gail hasn’t just thrown them into the background to fill out an action sequence. Hell, with the addition of King Shark (a mort if I ever saw one) just a handful of issues before their demise, she still managed to make him a hilarious and awesome addition. I think that bears repeating. She made king fucking shark a character I liked. While Johns, Lee, and DiDio continue to de-pants its women, Gail, Nicola Scott, and eventually Jim Califiore opted to display their women with class, grit, and nuance. Class. Grit. Nuance. Someone please pay attention. This is how books need to be written.
I tried to find a counter point to the love-in kiddos. I really did. But Secret Six for the last three years has been nothing short of wild entertainment. Simone and her excellent artists brought balance to a team book that focused its time and efforts in who they were as much as what they were. I for one will miss them, and honestly, because she’s not attached to the newly minted Suicide Squad (a sister concept to this one) I have little plan to return. They say go out with a bang. Gail went out with a nuclear explosion to the nads. Until her name (or maybe Ostrander’s…) graces a villainous page again, I’ll nurse my new-found cancer left in its wake. Ain’t that a shot of Tabasco in the eye.
Please note… I don’t actually have cancer. But there’s a hole in my soul where this book dug its claws in. Knowing that it’s replacement is a book with Harley Quinn dressed as a psychoslut is such that I cry myself to sleep at night.
SUNDAY: John Ostrander
This Monday, WAREHOUSE 13 gives us their most complex episode yet – and a crossover with EUREKA as well. Allison Scaglotti is back to tell us about how life was inside a video game. Plus on the set of FINAL DESTINATION 5, the goal was to have the coolest death scene. We talk to Emma Bell and Tony Todd to see who won.
The Point Radio is on the air right now – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or mobile device– and please check us out on Facebookright here & toss us a “like” or follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.
[[[Bad Island]]]By Doug TenNapel224 pages, Scholastic Graphix, $10.99
Author/artist Doug TenNapel impressed me last year with his Ghostopolis, a fresh graphic novel for young adult readers. He’s back this month with Bad Island and I am less impressed. He has an ambitious story to tell, actually two stories that parallel and intertwine at times, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
The biggest problem I have is that this family of four castaways on a mysterious island react unlike real people, constantly taking me out of the story to scratch my head and wonder how that happened. The family set out on an enforced bonding vacation that the eldest child, teenage Reese objects to. What aspires to be a three hour tour finds the tiny ship tossed by a storm that leaves the shipwrecked and the crew left on a deserted island.
Their efforts at survival are given incredible short-shrift with dad, Lyle, proving fairly inept. There’s an unrealistic calmness among the quartet with way too much focus from younger daughter Janie’s obsession over her pet snake. That dad allows her to carry the snake corpse around is inexcusable.
When there is evidence that alien life exists on the planet, they accept this way too calmly so there’s a lot of running, screaming and activity without a great deal of rational reason.
On the other hand, the other story involves aliens but it’s still a story about a father and son. The tension between them remains the same as Lyle and Reese, but both are not well-developed enough to make you care. He gives us an unbelievable human family contrasted with an alien reality that is woefully underdeveloped.
As hinted at on the cover, there island itself is a character in the story but I don’t want to give away some of the book’s obvious fun.
While the writing fails to work this time around, TenNapel’s art and storytelling remains engaging. The color, from Katherine Garner and Josh Kenfield and an army of ten, works exceptionally well, making the graphic novel pleasing to the eye. He and the colorists differentiate the island antics and the outer space thread making it clear to readers where we are and what is happening.
I wanted to like this more than I did, but the poor characterizations and leaps from logic robbed the book of its potential power.
BEN Books is proud to announce that the Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” comic book by New Pulp Creators Bobby Nash and James Burns is now available in digital format (PDF) at The Illustrated Section. http://theillustratedsection.com/lance-star-sky-ranger-one-shot
Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!”
November, 1941. Ace Air Adventurer Lance Star accepts a dangerous mission into an enemy stronghold to stop the Nazi’s from uncovering plans for a weapon long believed destroyed. Lance flies a solo mission to Kiev where he is to plant explosives and destroy a weapons facility when he runs into an old enemy. Now, Lance is faced with a choice. Complete the mission? Or take down the Sky Ranger’s greatest adversary? He’s only going to get one shot at this. Will he choose the mission or revenge?
Featuring high-flying adventure, aerial dog fights, explosive action, and stunning artwork, Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” is pure New Pulp fun from start to finish.
Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” is now available in digital format (PDF) at http://theillustratedsection.com/lance-star-sky-ranger-one-shot
Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!”
Written by Bobby Nash
Art/Letters/Colors by James Burns
28 page Digital Comic Edition (PDF) $1.50
The print edition of Lance Star: Sky Ranger “One Shot!” is still available at http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4019
For more information about Lance Star: Sky Ranger, visit the official site at http://www.lance-star.com/
There used to be ten comic book stores within a mile of my apartment. Now, there are two.
To be fair, this is two more than most people have. And when I expand the radius to two miles, there are more than a dozen. Which, again, is more than most people have. There used to be a lot more bookstores, too, even before the Borders bankruptcy. Some of this is the ebb and flow of commerce, and some of it is specific to publishing.
Most of the comic book stores near me closed in the early 1990s, when the direct market imploded. Speculators stopped buying, and there simply weren’t enough reading fans to support so many stores. With bookstores, the same kind of competition had an effect. Instead of speculators, bookstores suffered from Internet offering lower prices and free delivery. More recently, the success of Kindles and other e-readers means that fewer readers are buying physical books.
Comic fans have been reading comics online for years. You, yourself, can read comics – for free – on this very site. It’s possible to illegally download comics you’d otherwise have to pay for, through a process I’ve always thought was too complicated to bother with. Also, I don’t mind artists and writers getting paid.
Starting next month, DC Comics will offer readers the chance to buy comics digitally at the same time (and at the same price) they are available in stores. Naturally, comic book stores are less than thrilled about this.
This is a long and winding way to get to my rant.
ADVENTURE TAKES TO THE SKIES
Pulp Aviation Ace, Lance Star takes off for another thrill-packed collection of four brand new action tales. In this third volume, Lance and his Sky Rangers face off against Oklahoma rustlers, Chinese warlords, jungle magic and a saucy British femme fatale who flirts with danger. New Pulp witers, Bobby Nash, Bernadette Johnson, Van Allen Plexico and Sean Taylor spin their yarns of incredible bravery and daring among the clouds that will hold the most jaded reader spellbound.
So release the chocks, kick the props and pull back on the stick as adventure once again takes to the skies in Airship 27 Productions latest high flying anthology. All the art for this book was provided by talented newcomer, Shannon Hall, to include twelve black and white interior illustrations and a stunning, fully painted cover. Designed by Rob Davis and edited by Ron Fortier, LANCE STAR – SKY RANGER Vol III is another quality addition to this soaring pulp series you won’t want to miss.
Get your copy now at http://homepage.mac.com/robmdavis/Airship27Hangar/index.html#lancestarvolume3
Print edition will be available shortly.
The digital edition is only $3.00. Adobe PDF Format. Some devices require Adobe Acrobat reader available free at this link: http://get.adobe.com/reader/otherversions/
Airship 27 Productions, Pulps for a New Generation.
ISBN: 1-613420-15-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-613420-15-7
Produced by Airship 27
Published by Cornerstone Book Publishers
Release date: 08/25/2011
Retail Price: $16.95
Pdf download $3
(http://homepage.mac.com/robmdavis/Airship27Hangar/index.html)
P.O.D. edition coming soon from (http://www.indyplanet.com/) $15
For more information on Lance Star: Sky Ranger, visit the official site at http://www.lance-star.com/.
Having drawn capacity crowds for its debut last summer, AniMiniCon SoHo 2011 returns this weekend featuring a great lineup of guests and events, plus the return of the SoHo Host Club, a group of young gentlemen fans of anime and manga, who interact with the crowd and ensure that every guest has a great time!
Guests include voiceover artist and host of Anime News Network TV Mario Bueno, Lizbeth R. Jimenez (creator of Sacred: The Manga) who is scheduled to do a live demonstration of manga illustration techniques; Brian Mah, animator, designer, and visual artist, who will do a live workshop on animation cel inking, plus portfolio reviews for a limited number of pre-registered students; and costume photographer Stephen Tang.
This year’s events include:
The SoHo Gallery for Digital Art has high-resolution computer-controlled screens, creating the first gallery devoted to the of display digital art, both photographic and computer-created, as well as any traditional work of art that can be scanned in at a high resolution. For AniMiniCon SoHo 2011, the screens will show anime and manga art, as well as photorealistic scenes that transform the gallery into a virtual “time and space” machine.
TICKETS: Purchase 3-day pass online = $30.00 at www.animiniconsoho.com
At the door: 3-day pass = $35.00; one-day pass = $15.00 per day
TIMES: Friday, 5pm – 10pm; Saturday, noon – 10pm; Sunday 1pm – 6pm
In episode 72 of the Earth Station One Podcast, the ESO crew (including some New Pulp Creators you might recognize) discusses one of the pulpiest movies when they discuss the fan favorite Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Join the ESO Crew as they grab their whips, put on their leather jackets and talk about the classic George Lucas and Steven Spielberg collaboration, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and it’s sequels. But wait… that’s not all. The crew also discusses the fiery 5th episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, continues with their Countdown To Dragon Con, and author Debbie Viguie takes a turn in the ESO Geek Seat.
You can listen to the ESO podcast at www.esopodcast.com/ or on find them on itunes.
Hanna-Barbera was clearly running out of steam in the later 1980s as their style of animation and storytelling was no longer in synch with its young viewers. As a result, they did an awful lot of recycling of concepts including the two season-long Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10 which took Yogi Bear, the Flintstones and the Jetsons and told longer, and not necessarily better, stories in ten stories. The ten telefilms ran during the 1987-1989 seasons and since then have been in rotation on cable’s Boomerang channel with Warner Archive slowly releasing them to eager fans who can’t get enough of these properties. Their last release from this series was The Flintstones Meet the Jetsons.
This week, from Warner Archive, comes the release of Rockin’ with Judy Jetson, a Jetsons’ film that puts the focus squarely on the teen daughter, who is usually overshadowed by the rest of the cast. That alone would make the 92-minute film interesting but it is another effort that clearly shows its writers didn’t know how to expand from the thirty minute confines to something longer.
Check out the official synopsis:
Despite father George’s disapproval, Judy Jetson is totally into Sky Rocker, the biggest intergalactic rock star around. When the teen icon announces a surprise concert, Judy writes a super awesome song and sends it to him. And – oops – the song is accidentally switched with an evil magic message from music-hating witch Felonia Funk. Bummer for Judy! Then Felonia goes one diabolical step further: she kidnaps Sky Rocker. What a buzz kill – but don’t freak out yet! Judy and her friends – along with brother Elroy, family dog Astro and music-loving aliens named Zoomies – set out to save Sky themselves. Is Judy Jetson the coolest Space Age teenage cartoon star ever?
Mistaken identity, switched songs, intergalactic evil queens, all manner of things so unlike the futuristic sitcom which was based on the family comedies that were so prevalent in the 1950s and 1960s. The closest to an evil witch was Endora on Bewitched. Anyway, the story is pretty dumb from beginning to end despite it being a showcase for Janet Waldo, who had been Judy Jetson’s voice since the series debuted in 1962. Writers Charles M. Howell IV and Kevin Hopps could have done better with the characters. Director Paul Sommer at least tried to make it contemporary with rock video montages and some quicker than usual edits.
The song Sky Rocket turned into a hit, credited to Judy but not written by her, is the memorable nonsense known as “Gleep Gorp”. While a bit of a catchy tune, it has become a YouTube hit for those who grew up on the show but was written similar to the bubble gum pop of the 1960s, not the music the intended audience was more familiar with. The feature boasts six songs, most of which are the same two repeated by different singers.
The vocal cast is a welcome, familiar addition as Waldo is joined by the original team of George O’Hanlon, Penny Singleton, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Jean Vander Pyl, and Mel Blanc. New voices include comedian Ruth Buzzi as Felonia with the rest being fairly non-descript.
Another missed opportunity, this one is only for those with a real sense of nostalgia for ‘80s H-B material.
Columns / Glenn Hauman / News
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