Comics Roundup :Halloween Fest edition
This past Wednesday, was Halloween ComicsFest. Free Comic day in May has become an institution and Diamond is trying to push that day's success to twice a year. Below are the half-dozen comics I picked up from my comic shop. For the price (free), I was really impressed with the overall quality. Your local comic store may still have some of these. If not, I will push you to the ComicFest website. They have a variety of downloads (including, an audible.com offering of a Neil Gaiman short story).
Axe Cop (Dark Horse) - This is a collection of one and two page stories written by six-year old Malachai Nicolle and his 30-year old brother Ethan. This was one of my favorite free pick-ups. It is what it says it is. Because of the six-year old, plotwork jumps with his logic ("He eats an avocado, and becomes Avocado man."), but that's part of the fun. Of course, it wouldn't work with Ethan's pencils, which recall the best work of Dark Horse. I am not sure if I would pick up the larger collections through Dark Horse, but I could definitely see a cult crowd for this. if you like to read stories put together by kids with their boundless imagination, you will really enjoy this.
Batman Adventures/Scooby Doo Where are you (DC)- Drawn by Ty Templeton (more about him later) and written by Dan Slott. This presents two quick Batman shorts. They are not long enough to develop much of a story, but they are fun. as always, I love Templeton's artwork which gives the thing real punch. The other featured story is a Scooby Doo tale.
New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes (Red Circle)- This superhero team is the latest of Archie Comics forays into establishing an adult-oriented superhero comic. There isn't enough here to really say if they will succeed in this particular venture. I really like Ben Bates 's art and Gary Martin's inkwork. It gives it a bold look that recalls the at used in Mark Waid's recent Boom! titles. this at least has the potential for a great all-ages title, but we will have to see where it goes.
Scary Godmother (Dark House) - written and drawn by Jill Thompson. Thompson is a love-or-hate artist which appeals to the alt-comic crowd.. This would certainly be all ages, but the style and humor would certainly be lost on most kids. it's not really my thing, bu I get it, and for the Ms. Thompson fans out there, it would certainly be worth the trip to pick this short story up
Spacehawk (Fantagraphics) -written and drawn by Basil Wolverton. I suspect many of you may be familiar with the late, great Wolverton. These are two tales of 1950s pulp sci-fi comics. Appropriate for all ages, though it may be the adults who appreciate Wolverton's art and story the most.
Ultimate Spiderman/Avengers (DC)- This one features a Spiderman story by one of my favorite writers, Ty Templeton. Unfortunately, he only seems to get the all-ages work. However, this story is great. It's probably as good as any short I read in 2012. It has some great laugh-out-loud moments around a story where a robot Peter Parker is created so Spiderman can help fight school-hour crime. I like Chris Yost's Avengers story too, which is another fun all-ages short that resembles animated Avengers work. The last page (written by Todd Casey, with love from Jeph Loeb) is a classic Lee/Ditko Spiderman page with new dialogue written in for laughs. It's not the worst idea, and makes for a fun diversion.
Axe Cop (Dark Horse) - This is a collection of one and two page stories written by six-year old Malachai Nicolle and his 30-year old brother Ethan. This was one of my favorite free pick-ups. It is what it says it is. Because of the six-year old, plotwork jumps with his logic ("He eats an avocado, and becomes Avocado man."), but that's part of the fun. Of course, it wouldn't work with Ethan's pencils, which recall the best work of Dark Horse. I am not sure if I would pick up the larger collections through Dark Horse, but I could definitely see a cult crowd for this. if you like to read stories put together by kids with their boundless imagination, you will really enjoy this.
Batman Adventures/Scooby Doo Where are you (DC)- Drawn by Ty Templeton (more about him later) and written by Dan Slott. This presents two quick Batman shorts. They are not long enough to develop much of a story, but they are fun. as always, I love Templeton's artwork which gives the thing real punch. The other featured story is a Scooby Doo tale.
New Crusaders: Rise of the Heroes (Red Circle)- This superhero team is the latest of Archie Comics forays into establishing an adult-oriented superhero comic. There isn't enough here to really say if they will succeed in this particular venture. I really like Ben Bates 's art and Gary Martin's inkwork. It gives it a bold look that recalls the at used in Mark Waid's recent Boom! titles. this at least has the potential for a great all-ages title, but we will have to see where it goes.
Scary Godmother (Dark House) - written and drawn by Jill Thompson. Thompson is a love-or-hate artist which appeals to the alt-comic crowd.. This would certainly be all ages, but the style and humor would certainly be lost on most kids. it's not really my thing, bu I get it, and for the Ms. Thompson fans out there, it would certainly be worth the trip to pick this short story up
Spacehawk (Fantagraphics) -written and drawn by Basil Wolverton. I suspect many of you may be familiar with the late, great Wolverton. These are two tales of 1950s pulp sci-fi comics. Appropriate for all ages, though it may be the adults who appreciate Wolverton's art and story the most.
Ultimate Spiderman/Avengers (DC)- This one features a Spiderman story by one of my favorite writers, Ty Templeton. Unfortunately, he only seems to get the all-ages work. However, this story is great. It's probably as good as any short I read in 2012. It has some great laugh-out-loud moments around a story where a robot Peter Parker is created so Spiderman can help fight school-hour crime. I like Chris Yost's Avengers story too, which is another fun all-ages short that resembles animated Avengers work. The last page (written by Todd Casey, with love from Jeph Loeb) is a classic Lee/Ditko Spiderman page with new dialogue written in for laughs. It's not the worst idea, and makes for a fun diversion.