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| << February25, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 564.09 |
February25, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 564.11 >> |
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----------------------------------------------------------------- [8] The Nitpicker's Column Martin A. Perez magnus@montevideo.com.uy http://perdidoseneleter.tripod.com [Martin A. Perez (AKA MaGnUs) writes short stories, articles, comics and radio plays. One of his stories is about to be published for the first time, and his articles have appeared in online or print magazines like Inforol, Ururol, Kryptonian Cybernet and Strange Days. He co-produces and co-hosts a radio show about comics and related subjects, Perdidos en el Eter. An active part of Uruguay's fan scene, he's one of the creators of Montevideo Comics, the first local convention (since 2002), and one of the founders of Caballeros de Montevideo, which promotes RPGs through charity events. MaGnUs works at a tech-support callcenter, and is happily married to his wife Cindy, with whom he has a one year old son, Gabriel, who already chooses Spider- Man over Mickey Mouse, and laughs at his father's Darth Vader impersonations.] <<WARNING! THIS COLUMN MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!>> <<WARNING! THIS COLUMN MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS!>> As I write this, it's my 26th birthday, and so far, I've only gotten one physical present: a bottle of wine, which will probably be consumed at my party tomorrow night. If any of our esteemed readers care to send me a gift, just e-mail me and I'll make sure you get my snail mail address :>. Anyway, if you see my columns are hastily written, or that I miss a week here or there, it's because my new job is taking up 12 of the 24 hours a day has, and I have other stuff to do as well, like dad-stuff and such. I'm not complaining, I already said this is a great job, but it is tiring. On another front, remember the short story I got on print last year? My first printed story? Well, apparently, I'm getting some royalties money from it, and it'll be the first time I get paid for something I wrote... which means I can (just barely) call myself a professional writer. To quote Pete Abrahms (Sluggy Freelance): NIFTY! About last week's column, I wrote the last parts of it (the introduction, i.e. this part, and the final part, the two things I leave for the end) while half-asleep, so if it's not as good as usual, sorry. This week, Chris Claremont only has three nits, so if you're one of his fans, don't worry. DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics share the bulk of this issue's nits. SHAMELESS PLUG TIME! Buy Contagion: Wars Stories, the book with my first printed short story (This House For Sale) at http://www.lulu.com/content/182463 THANKS! <--------------------------------> "EXTRA! EXTRA! DECIMATION DE-MUTATES SOME, MUTATES JUGGERNAUT!" TITLE: New Excalibur. ISSUE: 04. CULPRIT: Chris Claremont (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: Yes, I know, I should lay off poor Senior Citizen Chris... but he just makes it easy for me... I at least left the New Excalibur nits from last week for this one, since I'd already featured like 80% Claremont Content in that column. Anyway, as I've said before, New Excalibur is the best thing Chris is writing these days, but still, this is the Nitpicker's Column, not the Nice Person's Column, so... On page number two, we can see the newspaper front page announcing Juggernaut's trial for the damages he caused in the previous issues, and the headline says "MUTANT FACES CHARGES IN CAPITAL RAMPAGE!"... uh... Juggie's not a mutant, and I'd think that'd be pretty clear to the Marvel Universe... of course, he was an X-Men villain and he's still widely regarded as such by the general public, so that could lead people to believe he's also a mutant. However, having been in prison several times, and obviously on the news, his status as non-mutant should be known, at least to journalists. NIT-O-METER: For all the reasons mentioned above, this gets only 4 Bazzars. <--------------------------------> "GREEN LOOKS BETTER UNDER THIS FUNNY WIG" TITLE: New Excalibur. ISSUE: 04. CULPRIT: Chris Claremont (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: In Chuck Austen's Uncanny X-Men run, Jennifer "She- Hulk" Walters represented the Juggernaut on his US trial, and afterwards, they had sex. It stands to reason, then, that she'd represent him in his UK trial as well. However, what doesn't make sense is that Jen is in her She-Hulk form in court (page four and onwards), when these days she can change back and forth. Again, Chris Claremont's lazy-ass writing. NIT-O-METER: This gets 5 Bazzars. <--------------------------------> "NO YOKO ON HER DIMENSION" TITLE: New Excalibur. ISSUE: 04. CULPRIT: Chris Claremont (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 12, TJ "Nocturne" Wagner has a D-POD (like an I-POD), with the entire Beatles collection from her home dimension (where they never split up, and the four of them are alive). Problem is, she never went back there since being left in the 616 dimension, and I kinda doubt her Exiles buddies would have time to get some of her stuff to her... they're kind of busy, y'know? I know, I know, maybe they sent her some stuff with Beak when they returned him home. Yeah, right. NIT-O-METER: This just gets 4 Bazzars, but it's a cheap scene. <--------------------------------> "AGAIN, I THINK WE'RE A WORD" TITLE: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge. ISSUE: 4 of 5. CULPRIT: Dave Gibbons (writer) or Phil Balsman (letterer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 11, panel 3, one of the rookie lanterns says "Yes sir. But we've seen a lot of action our power rings."... I'm guessing it should read "(...) action with our power rings.", for example. NIT-O-METER: Smallish thing, just 2 Bazzars. <--------------------------------> "THE COLOR OF THE SUN" TITLE: Green Lantern Corps: Recharge. ISSUE: 4 of 5. CULPRIT: Dave Gibbons (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 32, panel 2, Salakk mentions that the rookie GLs are being affected by the "yellow solar radiation". Uhm... help me out anyone who knows a bit about physics, but as far as I know, radiation does not have color... right? I mean, visible light can be yellow, but the part of the spectrum that harms you, is colorless... because it's invisible! NIT-O-METER: If I'm right about the science aspect of this (the only aspect about this, actually), this is a HUGE nit... hmm... should I give this a 10? No, no, it doesn't actually affect the story itself, so it's only 9 Bazzars. Only. <--------------------------------> "THIS ISSUE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY..." TITLE: Teen Titans V3.. ISSUE: 32. CULPRIT: Phil Balsman (letterer). NIT-TO-PICK: Actually, it's Balsman's mistake only if letterers, as I believe they do, do the lettering for the cover. On the cover, the credits read "JOHNS / DANIEL / ALQUIZA", because Tony S. Daniel is the series regular penciler, and Mario Alquiza is the regular inker; and of course, Geoff Johns is the writer. However, as reflected this issue was penciled by Todd Nauck (Young Justice, Teen Titans Go!) and inked by Sean Parsons, Nelson (who appears to have only one name, a la Logan) and Larry Stucker (who inks Nauck in Teen Titans Go). The credits inside reflect the correct artists, as you can see for yourself if you compare the interior art to the cover (done by Tony S. Daniel), or Daniel's art for the previous issues. My guess is that Balsman has a template for the cover lettering, with the usual credits on it, and he just plastered onto the cover art. Then, inside, he put the correct credits, as interior credits format tends to change from issue to issue. Thanks to COMIXFAN's Doug Glassman, who noticed this and mentioned it in his review of this issue. I was writing the following nit when I looked at the cover and a co-worker (yes, I'm writing this at work...) read out the names on the cover and I explained to him (he's not a comic fan) what each person did in this book. I noticed the discrepancy between the cover and interior credits, so I searched the web to confirm this, and found Doug's review... by the way, the txt version of January's Diamond Previews says the interior art is by Daniel and Alquiza. NIT-O-METER: This is quite a mistake, leaving people without their due credit is bad, so it gets 7 Bazzars. <--------------------------------> "I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE GREEN OR WHITE!" TITLE: Teen Titans V3. ISSUE: 32. CULPRIT: Jeromy Cox (colorist). NIT-TO-PICK: On page eight, panel six, Beast Boy's communicator (I really prefer Changeling, Beast Boy sounds like Legion Of Superheroes name, which I love, but this is the Titans) beeps in the middle of his meeting with the Doom Patrol; and in panel seven, they do a close-up of his hand holding the device... and his skin is not green, it's white (ok, not chalk white, but Caucasian). NIT-O-METER: This is a big mistake, it gets 8 Bazzars. <--------------------------------> "SUPES JUST HAD SOME HEARING PROBLEMS THAT DAY" TITLE: Teen Titans V3. ISSUE: 32. CULPRIT: Geoff Johns (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 13, the current Speedy tells a flashback where Roy "Arsenal" Harper (the first Speedy) steals the "Phantom Zone arrow" (yeah, that's cheesy) from the Fortress of Solitude, during a guided tour Superman gave the original Teen Titans. Uh... like he's gonna be able to steal something from the Kryptonian tech equipped Fortress of Solitude, when he's walking six feet behind Superman? Shea, right. NIT-O-METER: Just 5 Bazzars, it's cheap, but not story- disrupting. <--------------------------------> "THIS IS ALL MEGA-GRAMMATICALLY SOUND" TITLE: Teen Titans V3. ISSUE: 32. CULPRIT: Geoff Johns (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 18, Niles "The Chief" Caulder, from the Doom Patrol, says about the process through which the DP and Beast Boy are having their memories restored "It's all mega-scientifically sound."... Uh... "MEGA-SCIENTIFICALLY"?!?!?!? WTF??!?!!??!?! NIT-O-METER: This gets 4 Bazzars, come on Geoff, I know you're busy with Infinite Crisis and all that, but "MEGA- SCIENTIFICALLY"?!?!?!?!? <--------------------------------> "YOU! OUT TO THE DOGHOUSE!" TITLE: X-Men: The 198. ISSUE: 2 of 5. CULPRIT: David Hine (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: I know the X-Mansion is packed with refugees and all, but since many students got sent home after M-Day, and even some of the teachers who lost their powers (like Dani Moonstar) were fired and kicked out of the house, why does Magma, a former teacher at the institute, who still has her powers, gets to sleep in the refugee tents outside the house, and not in the dorms?!?!!? NIT-O-METER: Just 1 Bazzar, if Hine wanted to have Magma in the refugee camp, he could have just had her there walking around or something like that. <--------------------------------> "PINK IS MY FAVORITE COLOR... PINK IS MY NEW OBSESSION..." TITLE: Green Lantern V4. ISSUE: 08. CULPRIT: Moose Baumann (colorist). NIT-TO-PICK: On page five, Sinestro's skin is colored pink, when his race, the Korugarians, have red skin. In fact, in that same page, Guy Gardner calls him "Big Red"... well, maybe he was a bit anemic and his skin was pale... NIT-O-METER: This gets 8 Bazzars, it looks like Baumann had never read a Sinestro story in colors, or that he didn't even read Geoff John's script to this issue. <--------------------------------> "ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND WORK!" TITLE: Rann-Thanagar War ISSUE: Infinite Crisis Special. CULPRIT: Nathan Eyring and John Kalisz (colorists). NIT-TO-PICK: On page seven, Captain Comet's costume sleeves are short, showing off his forearms skin, whereas in the miniseries' issues he had long sleeves. More over, in the rest of this special, like on pages eleven and thirty four, his sleeves are long. NIT-O-METER: This gets 7 Bazzars, not a big deal. <--------------------------------> "THE NEW ALLIANCE OF REBELLING FREE PLANETS OF THE GALAXY..." TITLE: (Star Wars) X-Wing: Rogue Leader. ISSUE: 3 of 3. CULPRIT: Haden Blackman (writer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 21 Luke talks about "The New Republic"; but at the time during which this comic happens, the Rebel Alliance (actually, Alliance To Restore The Republic) had just been renamed "The Alliance Of Free Worlds", they weren't the New Republic yet. NIT-O-METER: 7 Bazzars, but this is an all-around bad miniseries. <--------------------------------> "AGAIN, WE DEFINITELY A WORD!" TITLE: The Books Of Doom. ISSUE: 3 of 6. CULPRIT: VC's Ross Wooton (letterer). NIT-TO-PICK: On page 18, the KGB agent says "I would not want to hurt girl.", when it should read "I would not want to hurt THE girl."... the rest of his grammar in this issue and the previous one is correct, so this has to be a mistake. NIT-O-METER: 2 Bazzars. <--------------------------------> "REACH OUT AND TOUCH..." TITLE: X-Men V2. ISSUE: 182 CULPRIT: Salvador Larroca (penciler). NIT-TO-PICK: Larroca is almost back at his previous standards, but he screwed up big time here... on page 19 he draws Pulse and Rogue talking to each other, and Rogue "realizes" he's touching her (his hand on her arm). Thing is, they're both wearing full bodysuits.... Nothing happen because apparently Pulse's powers cancel Rogues... or MAYBE it's BECAUSE they're NOT ACTUALLY TOUCHING!!!! NIT-O-METER: 9 Bazzars, Larroca really screwed up here. <--------------------------------> Last week we had 5 Bazzars average, which climbs up to 5.4 this week! And we have three colorist nits, which I think it's a record... of course, nobody has yet, color-wise, surpassed the Jason Todd Robin cape disaster... which was made by Jeromy Cox, who did the Beast Boy nit of this week. That's it for now, until next week, I'll be on the outlook for more nits, because (almost) nothing escapes... THE NITPICKER! _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [9] Suspended Animation Michael Vance & Mark Allen MiklVance2@worldnet.att.net http://www.starland.com/sus [Michael Vance, a professional writer since 1977 and has been published in dozens of magazines including Starlog and Jack and Jill, and as a syndicated columnist and cartoonist in over 500 newspapers. His history book, Forbidden Adventure: The History of the American Comics Group, has been called a "benchmark in comics history". He ghosted an internationally syndicated comic strip, and his wrote own strip, Holiday Out, that was reprinted as a comic book. Vance also wrote the comic books Straw Men, Angel of Death, The Adventures of Captain Nemo, and Bloodtide. He is listed in the Who's Who of American Comic Books and Comic Book Superstars. His short stories have appeared in dozens of magazines and recorded by actor William (Murder She Wrote) Windom. Suspended Animation, has been published for more than sixteen years, and Vance worked in newspapers for 22 years as an editor, writer and advertising manager. Mark Allen lives in Western Oklahoma with his wife and daughter. He has been a Baptist minister for over 15 years, and has also written for the Oklahoma news industry. Having indulged in comics for nearly 30 years, Mark now enjoys using the written word to share with others what he believes is a true, and extremely under-acknowledged, art form.] Gunpowder Girl and The Outlaw Squaw, published by Active Images, 72 pages, $12.95. Right off the bat, I'll admit that "Outlaw Squaw" might not be the most politically correct moniker for one of the main characters of a graphic novel. But face it tiger, that is one catchy title! And it's pasted onto a downright rootin' tootin', polecat shootin', rip-roarin'-good piece of sequential storytellin'! Now that I've used up all of my B-western alliterations, let me tell you about it. Gunpowder Girl and The Outlaw Squaw (referred to from this point simply as Gunpowder, for the sanity of reviewer and reader alike) is the brainchild of writer and artist Don Hudson. It's the story of a trio of female train robbers who end up running for their lives after their caper goes south. During the story, the characters overcome loss, bigotry and amazing odds, while revealing depth of character which belies the typical masked western criminal of fiction. But, don't worry; this isn't a four-color lecture on morals, talking down to readers. It's actually something of a rarity in comics, today; a western tale worth the paper it's printed on. Hudson has done comics fans a service by developing characters that are more three-dimensional than paper cutouts. He has also paid women a compliment by not taking the opportunity to exploit and exaggerate the female form for adolescently arrested male readers. The characters are believable in every way. His artwork is crisp and expressive, with clear, bold lines. No character looks alike, each retaining their own identity. What's more, Hudson is a wonderful storyteller, the word balloons simply adding to what I believe would already be a well-presented story. Gunpowder is recommended for all but the youngest of readers, due to some violent imagery. Find it at your local comics shop, online retailers or auctions, or at www.activeimages.com. If you're a fan of westerns, and don't like this book, I'll slap leather with ya! Hey, whattayaknow, I still had one alliteration left! Mark Allen For information on the exciting Oklahoma Cartoonists Collection and Toy and Action Figure Museum go to fourcolorcommentary.blogspot.com/ _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- COMICS OBSCURA Mike Curtis shandafa@cyberback.com [COMICS OBSCURA are facts Mike Curtis has dug out during his 30 years of collecting Superman and writing about comics. His website for his comic imprint is www.shandafantasyarts.net ] ONE PUPPETED HAND SCRATCHES THE OTHER Bob Keeshan, best known as CAPTAIN KANGAROO, gave a helping hand to puppeteer SHARI LEWIS many times. In return, she later added to her ensemble cast a kangaroo with familiar clothing named CAPTAIN PERSON. _________________________________________________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------- [10] ComiX-Fan Reviews Eric J. Moreels x-fan@bigpond.net.au http://www.comixfan.com/xfan [Editor's note: Some of the following reviews have spoilers to plot details. This is a TEXT ONLY newsletter so those spoilers are not hidden by HTML code as they are on the ComiX-fan site.] GENERATION M #4 Reviewer: Mario J. Ramos, mjramos86@hotmail.com Story Title: Part 4 of 5 "What America's elected public servants have always known-is that freedom isn't the choice of the voting masses. What people really want is to be safe." Writer: Paul Jenkins Artist: Ramon Bachs Inker: Josh Lucas Colors: Art Lyon Letters: VC's Joe Caramagna Consulting Editor: Mike Marts Editor: Nick Lowe Editor in chief: Joe Quesada Publisher: Dan Buckley Published by: Marvel Comics Decimation has now been the status quo for the x-books for a couple of months and of all the new series dealing with the repercussions of the House of M, I find that Generation M has been one of the most, if not the most, enjoyable read. Through the eyes of Sally Floyd, a reporter for The Alternative, a leftist newspaper, we get to see what has happened to the mutant community since what has come to be known as M-Day. Prior to the release of the first issue, I had come to believe, from what was said in interviews and solicitations, that this series would be done in a "vignettes" style, focusing on some ex- mutants throughout the Marvel Universe. The covers lead also to believe that those mutants would be the main characters. It's not the case; in fact, the characters on the covers appear for one of two pages in their respective issue (and the covers kind of spoil the surprises of what happened to them.) Like I said in the introduction, Sally Floyd is the main character, a reporter who developed an alcohol addiction problem following the loss of her baby daughter, which caused her some professional problems at The Alternative. She now has the chance to redeem herself with a column called the "Ex-mutant diaries", in which she tells the tales of some victims of the M-Day. In that sense, Generation M does include some "vignette" style segments, but they are part of a bigger frame that is a Se7en- like mystery serial killer thriller, except there's no Brat Pitt and there are more mutants. Sally started receiving photos of dead ex-mutants with the inscription "Not enough died" on their corpses and telephone calls from the killer. Paul Jenkins has successfully created here a tale of suspense in which the mystery revolves not the around the "who", as it is not really important (and probably somebody we don't know) but around the "why". The motivations of the killer seem very ambiguous, especially after what was revealed about his nature. Though, this is not just another serial killer mystery story. In fact, it is a humane story about loss, and how people cope with those losses. Sally is not a mutant, she didn't lose any powers, but she lost her baby, in that she connects to the ex-mutants. Still, the loss of some is the gain of others, as there are some ex-mutants happy with their new condition, like it's the case of Barnell Bohusk (A.K.A Beak, one of the great Grant Morrison creations) in this issue. Jenkins also plants the seeds for the upcoming Civil War, though not directly, but the political themes are there with congressman Sykes' anti-mutant campaign subplot. Ramon Bachs' pencils are well suited for this kind of story, which is about unreal characters, but told in a down-to-Earth way. The characters are the focus and Bachs' does a good job at conveying their emotions through the facial expressions. Generation M is not an "important" Decimation title. There are no huge ramifications of world-changing events, but it is an entertaining and well-written tale with three-dimensional characters. ART: 3.5 STORY: 4.0 OVERALL: 4.0 Thanks for subscribing to the Comic Book Network Electronic Magazine (CBEM) --------------------------->Disclaimer<--------------------------- This is an ANNOUNCE only mailing list, only the Editor can send messages to the list. No one else has access to the subscriber list. Replies to these messages will be received by the Editor ONLY, so you must CC: individual contributors if you want them to get your E-Mail. The E-mail to the E-mag MAY be used in future issues at the Editor's discretion UNLESS you specifically request that they not be. It is our policy to withhold names and/or Addresses, by request only, from letters of comment. All contributors are required to use their real name and have a valid Email address for their columns to be published. Send Email comments to: ComicBkNet@aol.com Material for inclusion in the Emag - press releases, solicitations, column submissions, Letters to the Editor, guesses for the trivia contest should be sent to ComicBkNet@aol.com The EDITOR, not the submitter, has final approval and edit rights on ALL material. Printed comic books and advanced copies for review in the Emag should be sent via US Mail or UPS to David L. LeBlanc 84 Heather Circle Jefferson, MA 01522-1419 TO Subscribe send a message FROM the intended address to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-subscribe@yahoogroups.com TO Unsubscribe send a message FROM the address to be dropped to: ComicBookNetworkEmag-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com You may also unsubscribe from the Egroups Web page at the short cut below. Shortcut URL to the Egroup page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ComicBookNetworkEmag All contents COPYRIGHT 2006 The Comic Book Network. 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| << February25, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 564.09 |
February25, 2006 - [ComicBookNetwork E-Mag] CBEM 564.11 >> |
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