Rant Review: Detective Comics #2, Batwing #2, JLI #2, Men of War #2, Static Shock #2

If you missed yesterday's reviews, you can find 'em right here.

Detective Comics #2
Written & pencilled by Tony Daniel, Inks by Ryan Winn & Sandu Florea
After last issue's shocker ending, there was a great deal of anticipation for this issue. It takes a few pages to get back to the matter of that cliffhanger, and we still don't find out exactly what is going on with it just yet. We finally meet the new villain the Dollmaker, and while this issue's cliffhanger isn't as jolting as last issue's, it's still a doozy. Daniel's scripting is a bit less awkward than in the first issue. The first few pages, frankly, didn't exactly hold my interest, and there is a scene that is sure to rankle a good many readers, especially in light of some of the controversy surrounding certain comics in recent weeks. Still, this is a decent issue overall, and worth picking up for anyone who enjoyed the first issue.
My score:

Batwing #2
Written by Judd Winick, Art by Ben Oliver
We pick up directly from last issue's cliffhanger, and things proceed at a good pace. Oliver's art remains very nice, and this is an enjoyable issue overall. Batman is again present in the story, but as in the debut issue, he does not overshadow the titular hero. Batwing displays the stubbornness that seems a prerequisite for anyone who wishes to wear a bat emblem on their chest, and the ending promises some pretty furious action next month. This is a good, solid issue all around.
My score:

Justice League International #2
Written by Dan Jurgens, Pencilled by Aaron Lopresti, Inked by Matt Ryan
Last issue's threat is escalated in this issue, and the team still struggles to come together and work as a unit. A couple of the supporting characters begin to show a little more personality in this issue, although they're still not much more than one-note. That's one of the problems with series that chronicle the adventures of a large team such as this. It's still tough not to compare this series to the earlier version of the JLI, and the new book fares badly in the comparison. Taken on its own merits, it remains a decent read, however. This issue shows more promise than the debut issue, and hopefully things will continue to improve from here.
My score:

Men of War #2
Written by Ivan Brandon, Art by Tom Derenick(lead), Written by Jonathan Vankin, Art by Phil Winslade (backup story)
Things get a lot more confusing for Sgt. Rock. And for the readers. By the time the lead story ends, we're not sure exactly what has happened, but at least it was pretty interesting. By the time it all wraps up, it could be a pretty good story, but letting things go too long without really explaining what is happening to the readers is dangerous, and could cause a lot of people to drop the book out of frustration.
The backup story is basically the same as last issue, really a by-the-numbers affair. Winslade's art is pretty nice, though. This is a decent enough book, but I suspect that readers who were interested in a military comic are likely annoyed by the inclusion of so many superhero hijinks in the lead feature.
My score:

Static Shock #2
Written & Pencilled by John Rozum & Scott McDaniel, Inked by Andy Owens
This issue improves on the first, delving a little deeper into Static's world, at the same time, giving us a bit more info on the group of villains that are trying to do him in. There's some definite weirdness in Static's home life that needs to be explored-- does anyone know why the hell his sister has a clone of herself living with them? The action is smooth an enjoyable, and McDaniel's bouncy, dynamic style suits it perfectly. This is a fun book that helps to fill an important niche in the DCU. Hopefully, the upcoming writer shuffle won't harm it.
My score:

That's it for the ongoing books for this week. I haven't gotten to the debut issues of the Huntress and Penguin: Pain and Prejudice miniseries yet-- I made myself read the ongoing stuff first-- so look for them tomorrow.

31 Days of Halloween: Garfield's Halloween Adventure

One year ago: The Wolf Man

Let's face facts: Garfield pretty much sucks. That's a harsh reality for a child of the '80s to deal with. The comic strip has become a soulless exercise in mind-numbing routine, utterly devoid of any laughs, and on top of that, we've had to endure some truly horrific cinematic abortions.

But things weren't always this way. Back in the '80s, Garfield was king. The comic strip was still funny. We got to watch the animated Garfield & Friends every Saturday morning. And we got this Halloween special.

A cavalcade of gluttony, greed, laziness, and annoyingly catchy songs, Garfield's Halloween Adventure is a delightful throwback to the days when the networks actually paid attention to the holiday, instead of merely paying some half-assed lip service to Halloween as they do now. This animated special aired in prime time, and in those days before DVRs, the whole family gathered around the TV to watch it. (Or most of it, anyway; my dad always had the infuriating habit of channel-surfing during commercials, so we'd always miss a couple of minutes when we returned to the show.)

Garfield's hopeless owner Jon and his canine compatriot Odie are filled with the Halloween spirit, while Garfield is excited purely by the potential for some truly epic gluttony(which I guess is actually a big part of the Halloween spirit, actually). After some singing, Garfield and Odie go out on the prowl, where they meet a pint-sized Gargamel. I'm not kidding, check this out:

Various hijinks ensue-- sadly, none of them involved crashing Smurf village-- and the two housepets eventually find themselves on a mysterious island. Reluctantly entering the forbidding, run-down house, they encounter one seriously creepy old man who tells them the tale of pirates whose ghosts haunt the island.

Watching this special for the first time in years is rather an eye-opening experience. I'm always surprised these days to watch an old animated special like this; the pace is so slow, and the show spends so much time goofing around and singing songs that there's barely any time left for the main plot! Speaking of which, faded memories had convinced me that the creepy old man/ghosts on the island plot took up a good portion of the show's time, but they don't even get to the island until the show only has about five minutes left! I'm not pointing these out as if they were flaws, mind you; it's just surprising to revisit an old favorite like this and find how misleading your memories can be.

Garfield's Halloween Adventure cannot be be found on DVD currently, unless you want to go for the often-expensive out-of-"print" disc. That release includes the Thanksgiving and Xmas specials as well. Neither of those are as much fun as the Halloween special, but it's a good buy for any child of the '80s. Hopefully, they'll get off their asses and reissue it soon.

Rant Review: Action Comics #2, Animal Man #2, Swamp Thing #2, OMAC #2, Stormwatch #2, Red Lanterns #2

As always, if there is anything you might want to discuss more in-depth, just leave a comment and it'll happen.

Action Comics #2 
Written by Grant Morrison, Pencilled by Rags Morales & Brent Anderson, Inked by Rick Bryant & Brent Anderson
Another excellent issue! Most of this issue sees Superman imprisoned, as Luthor and his cronies attempt various methods of torture to test his limits. Two characters make their new 52 debut in this issue who are sure to loom large in Superman's future: John Henry Irons and Richard Corben. The final page reveal is not entirely unexpected, but still is likely to knock your socks off.
There is a supplemental section in the back with some snippets from Morrison & Morales about the creation of these first two issues, and it also shows off some great conceptual art like this:

There's also a peek at some of the Kryptonian designs by Gene Ha that we'll be seeing more of in upcoming issues. This remains one of the best and most exciting comics out there right now. I can't wait to see what comes next!
My score:  

Animal Man #2
Written by Jeff Lemire, Art by Travel Foreman
Animal Man wowed us all last month, even those of us who were expecting it to be quite good. This issue maintains that momentum, and advances the story nicely as Buddy and Maxine move forward in their journey to the Red. This is a very good issue that you'll love if you enjoyed the first one.
My score:

Swamp Thing #2
Written by Scott Snyder, Art by Yanick Paquette
The link between this series and Animal Man gets a bit more clear with this issue, as the swamp Thing we met at the end of last moth's issue lays it all out for Alec Holland, and for us. (Incidentally, the beginning of the issue seemed familiar enough to me that I'm almost positive it was a reference to an old issue of Hellblazer, but I'll need to dig that issue out to make sure. Could just be a coincidence.) Paquette's art seems somehow even more amazing this issue, and it stands out among some absolutely gorgeous books this week. This is a great series that looks to only be improving with each issue.
My score:

OMAC #2
Writing & Pencils by Dan Didio & Keith Giffen, Inks by Scott Koblish
Between Giffen's masteful channeling of Jack Kirby and the straightforward plot that never fails to make time for explosive battle scenes, this title continues to feel rather like a throwback. That's not a bad thing at all, however, as the nostalgic feeling longtime readers are likely to get from this book can go a long way toward ensuring its continued existence. This issue gives us a bit of a breather in the the beginning, then quickly explodes into large-scale action once again. OMAC may be among the most shallow of the New 52, but it's also one of the most fun.
My score: 

Stormwatch #1
Written by Paul Cornell, Art by Miguel Sepulveda & Al Barrionuevo
There is a lot going on in this issue, maybe a little too much. It's a bit tough to follow some of the action for a reader who is unfamiliar with most of these characters. It's certainly not bad though, the large cast just requires a bit more work on the reader's part. Like last issue, this is decent and certainly ambitious, but it still feels like it's not quite hitting its stride just yet.
My score:

Red Lanterns #2
Written by Peter Milligan, Pencilled by Ed Benes, Inked by Rob Hunter
This issue continues Atrocitus's crisis of faith as he intervenes in an ugly situation on another world to examine the nature of rage an injustice. The story itself is nothing special, but the characterization of the Red Lantern Corps leader is excellent, and turns what could have been a h-hum issue into something better. This series is still moving a bit slow, but it has a definite sense of purpose that makes it feel worthwhile to stick around and watch it unfold.
My score:

That's all for today, but come back by tomorrow for the rest of this week's books! Just a reminder, I'm not getting Green Arrow or Hawk and Dove anymore, so we won't be looking at those.

31 Days of Halloween: Tombstones

One year ago: Dracula's Daughter 

Today we're looking at more Halloween decorations, focusing on some of the tombstones I've accumulated over the years.

This one came from Target a couple of years ago, and only set me back around $5. (Gotta love the post-holiday clearance sales!) It's easily the largest and most impressive tombstone I have, and as such, it gets a place of honor each year so it is prominently displayed. It's about a foot and a half tall, and weighs a few pounds, so it's not likely to be tipped over by accident. The paint and weathering are very well done, and they really give it a great look. This ranks among my favorite of my Halloween decorations.

These two have been with me for several years now. The blue one came from Walmart, from a past year when they actually bothered to have a Halloween section that wasn't embarrassingly bad. It's light and prone to flipping over, so I usually put a smaller decoration or something in front of it. It has a nice look though, and the texture is pretty cool. The one on the right Came from Walgreen's, and it has a color-shifting light-up feature that I am incapable of photographing well. Both of these are rather large; the white one is about ten inches tall.

The rest of these came from Dollar Tree, the best friend of the Halloween enthusiast who happens to be dead-ass broke. Dollar Tree routinely has a far better Halloween section than Walmart, and that's just sad. I seem to pick up a couple more tombstones from there every year, and these two are the ones I've gotten so far this time around. You've surely noticed that neither of these are actually tombstones, but they feature skeletons and such prominently enough that I'm lumping 'em in with the tombstones anyway. The one on the left features a skeleton chillin' against a rather short column, while a raven looks on in envy. (Wait, what's that the bird is perched on? A tombstone!! See, I know what I'm doing!) The one on the right is a bit of a mystery. Is the Grim Reaper moping, pining for some cute girl who won't give him the time of day? Is he just worn slap out from his hectic pace of perpetual mass-murder? Is he drunk off his ass and using the fence to prop his bony butt up? And why is that asshole tree laughing at him? Alas, it seems we are doomed to remain in the dark forever.

These two are my favorite tombstones from the Dollar Tree collection. The one with the gargoyle-- and yeah, I know gargoyles have a water spout, and this is technically called a grotesque, but everyone calls them gargoyles, and I'm sticking with that-- is cool and sinister, even with that doofy skull. The other has that sassy Grim Reaper apparently mocking your ass, since he knows you're all gonna wind up underneath one of these sooner or later. What a douchebag.

These three aren't quite as interesting as the others, but they're good enough on their own merits. The middle one is my favorite out of these three. They all have some nice detail though, and they're worth a dollar, anyway. I'll probably be adding a couple more before the month is over; only time will tell.

31 Days of Halloween: Mystery of the Wax Museum

One year ago today: The Return of the Vampire

The wax museum has proved to be fertile ground for the horror genre, with numerous films, books & short stories, and TV shows using it as a staging ground.  The creation of the wax museum is credited to Marie Tussaud, who displayed her waxworks throughout Europe in the late 1700s. She opened her first wax museum in 1835 on Baker Street in London(incidentally, the street on which Sherlock Holmes made his home). Madame Tussaud's wax museums can be found all over the world today,and many include a chamber of horrors. (In researching this article, I discovered that there is even a wax museum, although not one of Tussaud's, in New Orleans, complete with a "haunted dungeon" section! How I've failed to notice it until now is beyond me, but I'll definitely check it out as soon as possible.)

1933's Mystery of the Wax Museum is one of the earliest films to use a wax museum as its setting, and it is notable for a few other reasons, as well. It was the last major feature film shot using two-color Technicolor, it was directed by the esteemed Michael Curtiz, and it boasts an excellent cast that includes Fay Wray and Lionel Atwill. Proficient was sculptor Ivan Igor (Atwill) tries to prevent his partner (Edwin Maxwell) from burning down his wax museum for the insurance money. He is unsuccessful, and presumed dead afterward.

However, Igor resurfaces twelve years later, opening a new wax museum. He is now confined to a wheelchair due to damage his limbs suffered in the fire, and he utilizes assistants to do the actual sculpting for his new museum. One of these assistants is Ralph(Allen Vincent), whose girlfriend Charlotte(Wray), quickly becomes a figure of obsession to Igor.

Concurrently, Florence Dempsey(Glenda Farrell), a reporter, is investigating the suicide of a young woman named Joan Gale(Monica Bannister). Once the body is stolen by a monstrous being, she begins to think Gale was actually murdered. As coincidence would have it, Florence is Charlotte's rommate, and while visitng the wax museum, she is shocked at the lifelike resemblance of Igor's Joan of Arc to the murdered Joan Gale. Florence's continued investigation and Igor's obsession with Charlotte quickly bring things to an explosive climax.

The script for the film was based on a story by Charles Spencer Belden called "The Wax Works." Warner Brothers began filming Mystery of the Wax Museum soon after their successful Doctor X, and used much of the same cast, as well as the same director. Doctor X was also filmed using the two-color Technicolor process; this was abandoned for feature films after Mystery of the Wax Museum due to a variety of factors, most notably the additional expense of the process, and the critical and public hostility toward it. The film was never reissued, and was actually considered lost, until a print was discovered in the late '60s.

The film is not a straight-up horror film; the central plot is a mystery story. However, with the murders, theft of corpses, and deformed villains, it certainly has some strong horror elements. The performances are good across the board, with Atwill the obvious standout. He gives the handicapped Igor a quiet dignity, and displays truly manic energy when it is called for. His performance in the climactic scene with Fay Wray is the indisputable highpoint of the film, and makes for one of the most memorable scenes from any film of the 1930s. Mystery of the Wax Museum is often overlooked in discussions of the golden age of horror films, but it is well worth the time of anyone interested in digging a little deeper into the genre.

31 Days of Halloween: Mummy stuff!

One year ago: The Body Snatcher 

Today is Mummy Monday-- I do so love my alliteration-- and we'll be taking a look at some of my Halloween stuff that is mummy-themed!

First up, we have this mummy statue that I stumbled upon a few years ago at a local closeout store. It was the middle of summer, so it was rather surprising. It's got some heft to it, and the bandages are nicely detailed. On top of that, the exposed skull glows in the dark! This statue isn't one of the most impressive pieces of horror-related things that I have, but I like it quite a bit anyway. I like to think that it's like a monster version of an Academy Award, and maybe sometimes a bunch of them even get together to hand them out. and then try to kill each other.

This distinguished fella is the Mummy figure that Diamond Select released last year. I was unable to get the online version that came with that badass sarcophagus, but I like this one a lot on its own merits. He doesn't have his arms sculpted in a folded-across-the-chest position like the online version, so he's free to be posed in a less passive position. Diamond calls this an action figure, but it's more like a plastic statue; the only articulation is at the neck, shoulders, and wrists. This severely limits the posing possibilities, but it does preserve the excellent sculpt. I admit that I was pretty annoyed that his left hand fell off when I opened him, but at least a dab of gorilla glue fixed that. I'm not gonna be taking him down and staging adventures anyway, so I don't really miss the articulation much. I do wish he had a ball-jointed head though, as that adds so much to the possibilities. You can give several different meanings to an otherwise static pose when you're able to do fine adjustments to the posture of the head. Still, the overall sculpt is great, the Karloff likeness is good, and they knocked the paint job out of the park. This is one that I keep on display year-round, not just around Halloween.

I brought this home from an expedition in the bowels of an ancient pyramid a few years back--- oh all right dammit, I got it on clearance at the Spirit Halloween store a couple of years ago. They mark everything 50% off the day after Halloween, and I scored this (along with another uber-cool decoration you'll get to see later this month) for only $12. The detail on this head is awesome, and it's one of my favorite decorations. It gets a place of honor in the middle of the arch that leads to the bathroom every year. 

Finally, we come to this Mummy action figure from several years ago. A company called Toy Island released a set of figures licensed from Universal, each of them sporting a good bit of articulation. They came in cool coffin-shaped packages, and each one included a display stand with some pretty awesome poster-style background art, and a build-a-figure piece. The insane amount of trouble I had getting my hands on most of these is a story for another time, but we'll be looking at several figures from this set this month, so maybe it'll get squeezed in with one of them. For now, let's take a good look at this Mummy. The face only vaguely resembles Karloff-- there was speculation that Toy Island had not licensed the actors' likenesses for this line-- but they did a pretty good job overall. He does look a bit like he's wearing a diaper, but there's a lot of nice detail here nevertheless. The paint job isn't that great, although they did make his head and hands a different color, as they were unwrapped in the movie, which is some nice attention to detail. This guy doesn't look nearly as cool as his Diamond Select counterpart, but he does have many more posing options. This Mummy doesn't get brought out of the box as much anymore, but he's still pretty cool.

That's it for today, pop back by tomorrow when we'll be looking at our first classic horror movie of the month!

31 Days of Halloween: From Hell It Came! (or, in this case, Youtube)

One year ago today: The Curse of Frankenstein!
I've got a special treat for you today, with a roundup of some of the wonderful, awseome, and so-awful-it's-awesome Halloween and horror-related videos to be found on Youtube. First, learn the history of this great holiday with this documentary!

Next, to give you a taste of the blazingly wonderful atrociousness of the movie to which I referred in the title, enjoy this clip from 1957's From Hell It Came! In this clip, a masterfully choreographed battle between native girl stereotypes is interrupted when the titular It intrudes! Skip to the 1:00 mark for the good stuff!

The next video is a truly amazing light show featuring the classic song Thriller!

Speaking of Thriller, I would be remiss if I did not include the actual video!

And on that note, I present to you the Indian version of Thriller! Which is better? It may be too close to call...

Hm... I can't see myself topping that one, so that's it for today! Hopefully viewing these has helped ease you more into the Halloween mood!

31 Days of Halloween begins: From the Dust Returned

It's that time again! Every day this month, I'll post something Halloween-related. Last year, I did a piece on a classic horror movie every day; for several reasons, I won't be doing that this year. Pieces on classic movies will still be posted, just not every day. Each day, I'll also include a handy link to the entry from last year, for anyone who wants to catch up on, or just re-read, last year's entry. Still with me? Then let's get rollin'!

One year ago today: The Invisible Man (1933)

Today, we're looking at a book that serves as a perfect accompaniment to the Halloween season. Ray Bradbury's From the Dust Returned is a novel that consists of several shorter stories bound together by a common thread. Young Timothy serves as the chronicler of his very large family. A foundling, he is a normal boy living among all manner of supernatural creatures. The family reunites for a rowdy celebration-- a Monster Mash, if you will-- and then disperses once more, promising to meet again a few years hence. However, it soon becomes clear that it's not easy for supernatural beings to survive in the modern world.

Several of the stories were originally printed in magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Weird Tales, and Mademoiselle(one of these things is not like the other...). Two of the stories were also included in an earlier collection of Bradbury's short stories, The October Country. This is where I first encountered them. The story Homecoming, originally published in 1946, was my favorite from that collection, so when I discovered it had been fleshed out into a full book, I immediately sought it out.

The wraparound art on the book's cover is by the wonderful Charles Addams, best known for his creation of the beloved Addams Family. The full book was intended to be a full collaboration between Bardbury and Addams, and would have featured more art by Addams throughout. It's a damn shame that it never came together in quite that form, but at least with the art used on the cover, we get a taste of what might have been.

 (Incidentally, I tried unseccessfully to find an image of the art without all the text. If anyone knows where such a thing can be found, by all means, let me know, and I'll replace this image with the unblemished version.)

From the Dust Returned is not Bradbury's best work, but it's certainly quite good.   I would love to see an animated adaption, and it seems right up Tim Burton's alley. (One can't help wondering which role he would use to shoehorn Johnny Depp into the movie, though.)  The stories are entertaining, and there are some very memorable characters. Some of the stories are better than others, naturally, but as a whole, the book is a whimsical delight. It is worthy of inclusion in an annual Halloween reading list, along with Bradbury's other most Halloween-friendly book, The Halloween Tree. (We'll return to that one later this month.)  
My score:

The DC New 52 Wrap-up

All 52 titles have been released, and the DC relaunch appears to be a huge succes, for the first month, anyway. Every single one of the new 52 sold out at the distributor level before they even went on sale each week, and some books have had to have third, or even fourth, printings. Hopefully, things won't drop off too badly in the months to come. For now, the DC relaunch looks to be one of the very best things to happen to the comics industry in quite some time.

I'll leave analysis of the sales figures and such to people who are more qualified. For my part, I've enjoyed reading so many new seires, and seeing all the discussion and enthusiasm (well, for the most part) from so many people, including a bunch who are altogether new to comics. After reading and reviewing all 52 new series, here's how they break down for me:





Love 'em! 
All-Star Western
Batman
Batwoman
Action Comics
Wonder Woman
Swamp Thing
Animal Man
Justice League Dark
Demon Knights
Frankenstein: Agent of SHADE

Pretty good! 
Batman and Robin
Batgirl
Supergirl
Resurrection Man
Green Lantern: New Guardians
Stormwatch
Red Lanterns
Justice League
Aquaman
Green Lantern
DC Universe Presents 
Green Lantern Corps
Detective Comics
Catwoman
Suicide Squad
Nightwing
Blue Beetle
Batwing
Fury of Firestorm


Not bad, I'll stick around for at least one more issue... (i.e. they're on the fence)
The Flash
Legion Lost
OMAC
Justice League International
Mister Terrific
Superboy
Batman: The Dark Knight
I, Vampire
Static Shock
Men of War
Deathstroke
Captain Atom
The Savage Hawkman
Grifter
Superman
Blackhawks
Voodoo
Birds of Prey

I don't wanna read this, and you can't make me!! 
Green Arrow
Hawk and Dove
Red Hood and the Outlaws
Legion of Super-Heroes
Teen Titans

Out of 52 comics, there are only five that I don't care to read again next month; that's not bad at all! Even some of the "on the fence" titles will get at least 2-3 more issues to impress me, depending on exactly how "on the fence" they are. The biggest surprises for me were Superboy, Deathstroke, Captain Atom, Grifter, and Voodoo; I had either low expectations or no expectations at all for each of those books, and they all wound up being fairly interesting in the end.

That's it for today; I just wanted to gather my thoughts about the whole thing and get them posted for the record. I'll continue doing the weekly comic reviews, now that I've gotten back in the habit, but I'll most likely make them a bit briefer from here on out, except for special cases.  Be sure to swing back by tomorrow, when 31 Days of Halloween kicks off!