Huge Mega Important Super Crossover, Collect Them All!!!

I am not a big fan of the huge mega-crossover event that seems to dominate comics these days. That’s not unusual. I’m not really a big naysayer of such events, either. I view them as a necessary part of the industry.

I understand those that hate them. From a purely budgetary point of view, they can be a thing of pure money-sucking evil. If you’re only purchasing a handful of comics on a monthly basis, a huge crossover that requires you to purchase several other titles to understand the basic story can be a real burden. (Confession: I purchase pretty much every major title from both of the big two, along with my several monthly pounds of indies. So crossovers rarely, if ever, force me to purchase something I’m not already getting.)

Unfortunately, crossovers often are poorly executed, with issues that don’t quite fit where they should, contradictory behavior in the same character from title to title and plots that are forcibly fragmented to maintain the timelines involved. With no coherent and clearly defined reading order, they often come out as a muddled mess.

However, when you put good writers at the helm, even though flawed, some very good work can emerge. The Civil War event at Marvel is a good example. The main title was too strained, but still readable thanks to Millar. Frontline had some interesting stuff. But the real gems were in Amazing Spiderman by JMS and Captain America by Brubaker, both of which had some outstanding issues.

The smaller crossovers, those limited to a particular character or subset of books, like the X-Men titles or the Batman titles can be better controlled than the larger ones, so they often hold up better. Except, for some reason, Spider-man crossovers.

I have been a fan of Spider-man for most of my life (since 1974 to be precise). Every time a big Spider-event comes up, I get excited. And I always end up disappointed. From the Clone Saga to The Other, every time Marvel gives it a try, they seem to fall on their faces.

And despite the track record, every time one comes up, I get excited all over again. Which is all a very roundabout way of pointing out that I’m really looking forward to One More Day, JMS’ swan song on the Spider-titles. I have no reason to expect this one to be any different than previous crossovers. But I have faith…..

(and yes, reason and faith ARE mutually exclusive)

Ruminations On Ringo And Mortality

This past Sunday, Mike Wieringo passed away.

He was 44, a vegetarian, and according to all reports, in excellent health. He died of a massive heart attack.

I wanted to write about this on Monday, when I found out. I didn’t have the words.

I didn’t know Mike well, I had only met him a few times at various comic shows over the years. He was a nice guy, easy to talk with, and a very talented artist. His work on Spider-man in the late 90’s was one of the few bright spots in a dismal period for Marvel. His Fantastic Four run with writer Mark Waid was the best that book had seen since John Byrne.

44 is far too young to lose such a talent.

In 2001, a very close friend of mine died of a similar heart attack. He was 50 and in excellent health. It was the first time I had experienced death and I didn’t take it very well. When the shock wore off, I spent weeks questioning my own mortality, something I had never done before.

Mike’s passing, sudden and expected, brought all those feelings back.

When my friend died, 50 was a long way away. I’m 39 now and 44 seems frighteningly close.

I don’t think I’ll be sleeping well for the next couple of weeks. And maybe I’ll start exercising more. Eating better. Drinking less.

Until the immediacy fades and old habits reassert themselves, as they do. Damn.

So long, Mike. Rest well.

This is The End, Beautiful Friend

The night (make that day) continues on, the clock continues to tick away. But that no longer matters. The allotted time is now and we are done. Complete. Successful, if you will.

My eyes are blurry, my attention span is shorter than it has ever been and I’m having trouble forming coherent sentences.

I have raised money for the CBLDF and I have made a new friend. Both have made this worthwhile.

A more complete roundup of my thoughts can be expected when I finally manage to pull myself out of bed.

For now, pleasant dreams…..

K. Patrick Glover

The Roundup

As we approach the final post, I’d like to take a moment to say thanks to few folks who helped make this work for me:

My wife, Tia, for staying up as late as she could and feeding me and such. And just for being here.

My employer, Les, for being patient and allowing me to blog from work for a few hours.

Cassie, for taking my shift today so I can get some much needed rest.

Dave and my new friend Sarah, for keeping me company this evening turn morning.

And each and everyone of you who read this blog on a regular basis, whether you comment or not.

And last of all, a special thanks to everyone who sponsored me. You’ve lent your support to a very important cause.

Thank you.

Boy That Bottle Looks Good

And let’s not forget about the golden Avenger.

David Michelinie and Bob Layton worked miracles with Iron Man in the early 80’s, producing real human drama and the first serious look at alcoholism in comics.

First rate scripting over gorgeously detailed artwork makes for an unforgettable run.

Ragnarok And Roll With Swiss On Rye

Walt Simonson’s run on Thor was equally as defining.

In fact, in the entire history of the character, nobody before Simonson had ever managed to make Thor interesting (or to write an issue that didn’t put me to sleep).

His run was so spectacular that it actually did the impossible, it made Thor a best seller.

On the down side, what the hell was he smoking when he came up with Beta Ray Bill?

And It Just Keeps Rolling By

5 and a half hours to go.

Wow.

Looking for my second wind. (or third or fourth wind. whatever.)

More Pepsi in front of me, trying to stay focused.

If you haven’t looked lately, you should pop over to Dave’s and Sarah’s. Dave, because he’s writing about comics, Sarah because she’s also blogging for the CBLDF.

Oh, and pop over to my sidebar there and click on the pledge link, kay?

Fantastic Things

The 80’s were good to many Marvel titles, in many cases generating runs that are definitive to this day.

Take John Byrne’s run on the Fantastic Four (from 232-293). Good, straight forward storytelling produced the best issues since the original Lee / Kirby run, and no one else has come close since.

Replacing the Thing with She-Hulk was a bizarre idea, but it worked for awhile and shook things up nicely.

The Trial of Galactus was nothing short of astonishing and the 20^th anniversary story with Doctor Doom may be the single best issue in the history of the group.

 

Sherlock Holmes and The Case of The Unconquered Medium

With his success in every other medium, books, film, TV, and even stage, I wonder why Sherlock Holmes has never managed to gain a foothold in the world of comics.

There have been plenty of attempts, A couple issues of Classics Illustrated in the 50’s, a one shot from DC in the 70’s, a pair of magazines from Marvel. The Cases of Sherlock Holmes from Renegade had a short run with Dan and Gene Day providing illustrations against Doyle’s original stories.

Warren Ellis tried his hand with an adaptation of The Sussex Vampire for Caliber.

Martin Pasko did a few minis for various companies, one pitting Holmes against Dracula, another against the Invisible Man.

So, when do we get an actual, ongoing Sherlock Holmes series?

Wait, The Duck’s A Rat Now? I’m Confused…

In 1980, fed up with Marvel, Gerber took his voice, his sense of humor and his artist (Gene Colon) over to Eclipse. He traded in his feathers for the fur of a rodent and reimagined Howard as Stewart The Rat.

The result was a brilliant graphic novel that holds up as well as any of the Howard material and in some ways better. This represented Gerber unrestrained by corporate censors and Stewart said everything that Howard never could.

From what I understand, a company called About Comics put this wonderful volume back into print last year, but I’ve yet to actually see a copy of the new edition.