O Comics! My Comics!

Art: Steve Ditko from the story Deep Ruby,
appearing in Eerie #6

Why do we do it? What makes comics so important to us? What makes us stand tall in the face of mockery from obnoxious, ignorant, outsiders? What makes us suffer the sometimes rude, elitist, and cruel words that fellow fans will spew from behind the anonymity of the internet? Why do comics affect us on a deep, emotional level that few other mediums ever have or could? Why would I spend the time writing this column that is coming dangerously close to being a cry for personal validation?

The answer to all of those questions is a simple one: comics are an end in themselves. Neither comics, nor I, need any additional validation. Their very existence proves their worthiness and that they are a worthwhile pursuit.

Iceman vol. 1 - Back Issue Review

Originally published: December 1984 - June 1985

Length: 4 issues

Writer: J.M. DeMatteis

Pencils: Alan Kupperberg

Inks: Mike Gustovich

Colors: Bob Sharen

Letters: Janice Chiang

Editor: Bob Budiansky

The Review: This series sprang out of the mid-1980's Marvel miniseries initiative.  There were some real jewels in that era, some real crap and some that are just kinda so-so.  Iceman is one of the so-so ones.

The basic theme of this mini is that of relations with one's parents as we see Bobby Drake doing his darnedest to please his demanding parents while also becoming an adult man.  In this way, it is an interesting window into the times.  In the 1980's, comic books were targeted at young boys, so it makes a lot of sense to portray the parent/child relationship through the eyes of the child.  Everything is through Bobby Drake's eyes and has a very, "Why can't they just understand me and let me be my own person?!?!" vibe to it.  In 2011, when comics are more targeted at middle-aged men who are more likely to be parents themselves, so we're more likely to see the parent/child relationship explored by seeing Wolverine taking a young mutant under his wing and being exasperated by her childish behavior.  Times change...

T.M.A.C. Two Man Army Corps

For those who may not know OMAC, he's basically a futuristic version of Captain America created by Jack Kirby and gets his powers from a sentient satellite called Brother Eye. You should also know that I have only read the first issue of Jack Kirby's OMAC, and I've only read the first issue of the Dan Didio & Keith Giffen's new 52 OMAC. With the excitement for the book and the DCnU, I am doing an issue by issue comparison of both series.

It Came From (someone else's) Long Box! -- Captain America #445-448 Operation Rebirth

I think it’s fair to say that nearly all comics fans have had an experience where a good friend—whose taste in comics they trust—lends them a book or stack of comics, they read it, and the story falls completely flat for them. Not everybody likes everything. Not every story or style is appreciated by every fan and it’s not even about what’s good versus what’s bad. There’s just no accounting for taste. One person’s Watchmen is another’s Ravage 2099. I had recently had one such experience with Mark Waid and Ron Garney’s Captain America: Operation Rebirth.

A few weeks back, at our regular Summit City Ink drink ‘n draw, my friend, Andy, lent me his issues of Operation Rebirth. Andy’s a longtime Captain America fan (he’s very fond of this story) and we usually have pretty similar tastes when it comes to comics. Given his enthusiasm, and our history, I agreed to borrow and read the issues. While I would not say that the Watchmen versus Ravage 2099 comparison that I used above is in any way an accurate description of my reaction, Operation Rebirth just did not work for me.

Event Miniseries - ARGH!

Not to get into hyperbole, but there are few things more frustrating to me than the miniseries that tie into comic book "events".  You know they'll probably be mediocre, but we buy them because we don't want to "miss something."

By way of personal example, I skipped ALL of the Flashpoint tie-ins and did feel like I missed a lot reading just the main series.  Oh...I was able to figure out what happened, but it always felt like I was only reading half of the story.

On the other hand, I bought everything for Fear Itself and am now kicking myself.  When it is all over, I'll have invested WAY more time and money in the miniseries than in the event itself.  Let's run them down:

Fear Itself: Black Widow - I recall thinking this was okay and liking the art, but I don't remotely remember what happened.

Fear Itself: Deadpool - Awful and unimportant.  Uncanny X-Force has showed that Deadpool can be a real character, but this miniseries was dreadful.

Fear Itself: Fearsome Four - Terrible.  This has had the most jumbled art team imaginable.  My only excuse for this is that Marvel thought Michael Kaluta was doing this series (which would have been good), but when that fell through....they soldiered on anyway.  The high point has been a few pages with Simon Bisley art.

Fear Itself: Fellowship of Fear - Ugh.  A recap of who the Worthy are in FI.  Seem to recall this was all reprint material.  

Gotham Central is Good Police

Cop shows are as thick as thieves on the landscape of our television screens. If a show doesn't feature attention starved ex-celebrities kicking each other out of houses or people humiliating themselves for recording contracts, there's a good chance it features police officers, doctors, lawyers, or some combination thereof. Because of their ubiquity, I'm kind of burned out on them; when done well, however, shows about criminals and the people who dedicate their lives (sometimes literally) to catching them can neatly encapsulate many of the themes that make for compelling drama: social inequity, physical danger, families strained and cracking and surrogate families being built.

In comic books, there are plenty of criminals. Many of them are of the gaudy, insane variety that we do not see as reflections of ourselves and society's ills. They are pursued and defeated by beings that similarly live above and outside of society, with some notable exceptions (The Punisher, for example, in most of his incarnations.) There are not a lot of cops. Well, they're there, but they aren't cast as the heroes in these dramas. They're cannon fodder, or annoyances, or people to kidnap or kill.

While not existing outside of the world in which these gaudy, insane villains exist, Gotham Central re-casts these police officers in the role we're accustomed to seeing them in on television. They are the ones who catch the bad guys. Sometimes they are the bad guys, because they're as flawed as we are, and sometimes as flawed as those they chase.

The problem is "Comic Book Guy"...

Anyone who follows sales numbers for comics knows that our hobby is hurting.  And...if you frequent message boards online or follow interviews with creators and editors, you know that there is all this chattering about attracting the "new reader".  Heck...the entire DC relaunch is about getting new readers.

"Official Spokesman"

But, the fly in the ointment is that comic books have a severe image problem.  If you mention comic books to a "civilian, they will first think of our "official spokesman": The Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons.  Ugh....although CBG has had a few moments of heroism over the two decades that The Simpsons has been on the air, he's mostly an object of ridicule.  

No boy wants to grow up to be the CBG, no man wants to hang out with the CBG and no woman wants to sleep with CBG (or even stand next to him on public transportation).

She looks SO happy, right?

If you continue your conversation with your civilian friends, they will doubtless ask whether you watch The Big Bang Theory.  These guys are only an improvement on CBG in that they are not obese.  But they have the same basic problems as CBG: no boy wants to grow up to be those guys, no man wants to hang out with the Big Bang Theory Guys and women usually don't want to sleep with them (although it being a fictional show....the geek does occasionally get the girl).