Archive for November, 2008
The latest pieces from my eBay xmas fund drive:
The aforementioned OMAC;
Here’s Tony’s Abe v. Robot, inspired by the “shirtless” comic cover Dara found for me at MidOhio;
The former Ms. Sonya of Rogatine I whipped up on my own, just to have a better female figure represented on the art samples for the auction. I listed a separate auction to try to sell it; I’m interested in seeing how the hit counts compare between the two listings…
The response I got for the first week’s listing was a pleasant surprise; the second week, not so much. We’ll see how week three goes. After the Electro/OMAC combination, I’m itching for someone to come along asking for Etrigan and Mysterio.
So you’re curious about my new one-shot from Image, Archibald Chases the Dragon, but you’re not sure if you should pre-order it? Well, how about some artwork from creator Grant Bond?
And how about an official press release from Image?
“CELEBRATE THE CHINESE NEW YEAR WITH ARCHIBALD!Archibald Aardvark returns in an all-new noir mystery !
October 2008 (Berkeley, CA) – Image Comics’ Shadowline presents an all-new mature readers adventure with the greatest unknown cartoon star of yesteryear, Archibald Aardvark, as ARCHIBALD CHASES THE DRAGON!
“As always, this one’s definitely not for the kids,” said Archibald Aardvark creator and artist Grant Bond. “Having Dara Naraghi take over the writing is perfect, as ARCHIBALD CHASES THE DRAGON puts a whole new spin on the murder behind the murder of Archibald’s brother.”ARCHIBALD CHASES THE DRAGON is the third Archibald one-shot illustrated by Bond, following ARCHIBALD SAVES CHRISTMAS & ARCHIBALD SAVES EASTER, and the first written by Naraghi. This time around a tip-off about a long thought solved murder brings Archibald to Little China, in search of the mysterious “Compassionate Wind of Death”. However, it doesn’t take long before this noir tale of greed, secrets and a deal with the devil threatens to have Archibald fall victim to the red dragon haunting his dreams.
ARCHIBALD CHASES THE DRAGON (NOV082277), a 32-page two-color one-shot for $3.50, will be in stores January 7th, 2008.
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Like it? If yes, then here’s the Diamond order code: NOV08 2277. Make us rich!
Ok, we’re back to raiding the comic book collection of PANELista Tom Williams. No guessing if you’ve got this book:
(click image to enlarge)
(previous weeks: 9/12/2005, 9/19/2005, 9/26/2005, 10/3/2005, 10/10/2005, 10/17/2005, 10/24/2005, 10/31/2005, 11/1/2005, 11/2/2005, 11/3/2005, 11/4/2005, 11/5/2005, 11/6/2005, 11/7/2005, 11/14/2005, 11/21/2005, 11/28/2005, 12/5/2005, 12/12/2005, 12/19/2005, 12/26/2005, 1/2/2006, 1/9/2006, 1/16/2006, 1/23/2006, 1/30/2006, 2/06/2006, 2/13/2006, 2/20/2006, 2/27/2006, 3/6/2006, 3/13/2006, 3/20/2006, 3/27/2006, 4/3/2006, 4/4/2006, 4/5/2006, 4/6/2006, 4/7/2006, 4/8/2006, 4/9/2006, 4/10/2006, 4/17/2006, 4/23/2006, 5/1/2006, 5/8/2006, 5/15/2006, 5/22/2006, 5/29/2006, 6/5/2006, 6/12/2006, 6/19/2006, 6/26/2006, 7/3/2006, 7/10/2006, 7/17/2006, 7/24/2006, 7/31/2006, 8/7/2006, 8/13/2006, 8/21/2006, 8/28/2006, 9/4/2006, 9/11/2006, 9/18/2006, 9/25/2006, 10/2/2006, 10/9/2006, 10/16/2006, 10/23/2006, 10/30/2006, 11/6/2006, 11/13/2006, 11/20/2006, 11/27/2006, 12/4/2006, 12/11/2006, 12/18/2006, 12/25/2006, 1/1/2007, 1/8/2007, 1/15/2007, 1/22/2007, 1/29/2007, 2/5/2007, 2/12/2007, 2/19/2007, 2/26/2007, 3/5/2007, 3/12/2007, 3/19/2007, 3/26/2007, 4/2/2007, 4/5/2007, 4/9/2007, 4/16/2007, 4/23/2007, 4/30/2007, 5/7/2007, 5/14/2007, 5/21/2007, 5/28/2007, 6/4/2007, 6/11/2007, 6/18/2007, 6/25/2007, 7/2/2007, 7/9/2007, 7/16/2007, 7/23/2007, 7/30/2007, 8/6/2007, 8/13/2007, 8/20/2007, 8/27/2007, 9/3/2007, 9/10/2007, 9/17/2007, 9/24/2007, 10/1/2007, 10/8/2007, 10/15/2007, 10/22/2007, 10/29/2007, 11/5/2007, 11/12/2007, 11/19/2007, 11/26/2007, 12/3/2007, 12/10/2007, 12/17/2007, 12/24/2007, 12/31/2007, 1/7/2008, 1/14/2008, 1/21/2008, 1/28/2008, 2/4/2008, 2/11/2008, 2/18/2008, 2/25/2008, 3/3/2008, 3/10/2008, 3/17/2008, 3/24/2008, 3/31/2008, 4/7/2008, 4/14/2008, 4/21/2008, 4/28/2008, 5/8/2008, 5/12/2008, 5/19/2008, 5/27/2008, 6/2/2008, 6/9/2008, 6/16/2008, 6/23/2008, 6/30/2008, 7/7/2008, 7/14/2008, 7/22/2008, 8/4/2008, 8/11/2008, 8/18/2008, 8/25/2008, 9/8/2008, 9/22/2008, 9/29/2008, 10/6/2008, 10/13/2008, 10/20/2008, 10/27/2008, 11/3/2008)
Hey, this might actually work. I’ve already got a few nibbles on my eBay commissions, which I’m hoping will drum up some extra currency for this stay-at-home dad to finance the missus’ Xmas gift this year. When I posted the listing, I realized I might get bids from Dara’s legendary “Sea Devils” guy, or similar requests; luckily, my first couple requests have been pretty cool.
First, here’s Steve’s Abe Lincoln vs. Robot:
And next: dipping into the well of Ditko Spider-Man villains!
Coming shortly: Buddy Blank.
Geez, two DC Comics pulled out of my collection last month? I can throw in one more and bring the National Periodicals representation in the WBM series to a whopping 8%, so here goes:
I recently got a notion to track down Neal Adams Batman comics, having only read a couple of those in “best of” compilations over the years. Of course, when I was growing up, Neal Adams was the guy whose work you saw gracing the pages of… Power Records. He’d left Marvel and DC a few years before but cranked out a few comics featuring Captain Kirk and Batman for me to read while the 45 rpm was playing along. Nine times out of ten a Powers Records book was an adaptation of a book from (usually Marvel’s) back catalog with pages trimmed and adapted to the audio format. For the occasional DC character they featured, they for some reason usually generated original material, more often than not drawn by Neal Adams, so these were the only places to find these stories (though I gather some are being reprinted in Adams’ “retouched” Batman hardcovers).
Power Records #27 (Batman: Stacked Cards)
There’s some beautiful Adams artwork in this baby, though the backgrounds sometimes seem phoned in. It’s an unusual read, these many years later; there’s a heckuvva lot of wordless panels that must have been simply filled by sound effects, which is odd for this read-as-you-listen format. I get the impression that Neal must have handed these pages over to a writer who didn’t know what to do with them; some of the amusingly hokey dialogue suggests the writer wasn’t familiar with the characters or writing for comics in general– or maybe it simply reflects the lameness of most bronze age DC Comics, who knows.
A word about Batman here: I’ve often lamented the passage of “World’s Greatest Detective” Batman in favor of the portrayal of “Crazy Ninja Batman.” I’ve recently concluded that even that latter persona has passed on, replaced by “Urban Commando Batman,” complete with combat boots, a militia of followers, and a reliance on hardware that makes Batarangs seem, well, aboriginal. This isn’t an improvement. The Batman I knew was a guy who coped with his parents’ murder by waging his war on crime– the operative word there being COPED. The Dark Knight was as much a fabrication as the bored playboy; there was a real Bruce Wayne that only Alfred and Dick Grayson got to see who was actually a well adjusted guy. It was about the time readers started not being interested in the “secret identity” aspect of these characters they once related to that Bruce Wayne was jettisoned and the crazy Batman became the “real” personality. Too bad.
Back to our story: the Joker throws a rock through Commissioner Gordon’s window to tell him he’s escaped from Arkham and will soon resume his crime spree. Apparently Arkham hadn’t informed Gordon of this already, so it comes as news. A quick call on the red phone to the Batcave sends the Dynamic Duo speeding along to the Gotham Museum of Art to follow up on the clown’s threat. Along the way, they discuss medieval methods of dealing with the mentally ill; check out the look of pride on Batman’s face as his protégé suggests lobotomizing criminals.
Back in the day, Batman would interact with citizens of Gotham who seemed to regard him as any other local celebrity. Not being criminals, they didn’t need to fear him, I guess. Here’s the art museum curator leading him to a Picasso clown portrait before discovering a dead guard with the trademark grin lying in the room. Seems the Joker hung a fake on the wall to cover his trail after stealing the picture– but forgot to consider the dead guard who might provide a clue that things were not right. Batman explains that the Joker wants to protect the clowns in the painting from “the eyes of the curious who would come to laugh at their image.” This kind of overlooks the notion that that’s the function of clowns, and that the Joker is bugnuts and doesn’t need reasons for doing anything. Ah, well.
The crime fighters track the Joker down to one of his old hideouts (literally: Let’s go see if he’s at one of his old hideouts!) and stumble across another grinning dead night watchmen. The Joker empties a gun at the caped crusaders before making the mistake of engaging Bats with his fists. Check out the page below, where Neal swipes himself by recreating his iconic “charging Batman” panel from Batman #251.
The fight very quickly goes badly for the Joker, who sets the warehouse on fire as he tries to escape. Batman corners him at the end of a pier, where the madman tries to escape by swimming away. Unfortunately, the tide is out and he lands unceremoniously in the mud where he can only await arrest at the hands of Chief O’Hara stand-in Inspector Mulligan.
But wait! The Picasso is still in the burning warehouse! Heedless of the danger, Batman charges in to find the masterwork while the museum curator maintains a tense vigil, staring into the flames. We’re rewarded with another splendid iconic shot of Batman emerging from the flames with the painting; I vividly remembered this page from my misspent youth. He then unleashes his inner Adam West in his concluding remarks to the curator.
The story closes with a touching moment as Batman endorses his youthful ward’s suggestion that radical brain surgery performed on lawbreakers would be a boon to society. Now back to stately Wayne Manor!
Here’s something from Ohio’s Greatest Home Newspaper, page B-2. I’m paraphrasing.
After an unusually dry summer, the Hoover Reservoir dropped low enough to expose a submerged car. City workers found it yesterday while pulling in boat docks for the winter. You are breaking the following scene down into panels as you read this.
“Divers couldn’t see into the car, but when one of them felt around he felt what appeared to be a piece of human tissue, said fire Lt. Joe Ponzi.”
Read more comics, people! If you did, you’d know you never, *ever* feel around blindly in an underwater car. There are no good explanations for a car in the reservoir. None.
Additionally … I am changing the filter on my Brita as soon as I get home.
I have to go see this movie. Have to. It’s playing only at the Wexner Center as a part of the Zoom Family film fest. Showing on December 6th at 3:45pm.
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In other news Paul Pope’s yet to be released Battling Boy already has a movie deal? Paramount’s picked it up.
Ok, let’s take a break from politics and get back to comic books. Specifically, how you can support me in the lavish lifestyle I’ve grown accustomed to. That’s right, the life of a freelance comic book writer. I’ve got 2 new comics coming out in January, one from Image and another from IDW:
Archibald Chases the Dragon (Diamond order code NOV08 2277)
written by DARA NARAGHI
art & cover by GRANT BOND
Archibald Aardvark thought the murder of his brother was solved, but when a stranger tips him off to a cover-up, he travels to Little China in search of the mysterious “Compassionate Wind of Death”! This noir tale of greed, secrets, and a deal with the devil will have you deliciously anticipating if our hapless hero will survive long enough to stitch together a few answersOeor will he fall victim to the red dragon haunting his fevered dreams?
TAG: Archibald takes the classic animation of Fleischer Studios and kicks it out a moving car in the middle of Roman Polanski’s Chinatown.
Retailer Warning: Mature Readers only.
Terminator Salvation movie prequel #1 (of 4) (Diamond order code NOV08 4118)
Dara Naraghi (w) • Alan Robinson (a) • Nick Runge (c)
The year is 2018. With John Connor as the voice of the resistance, the scattered remnants of humanity find themselves united against their common enemy—Skynet and its Terminators. Through a patchwork system of radio transmitters, hacked satellite phones, and encrypted computer networks, resistance leader Elena Maric in Detroit and Nigerian mining engineer Bem Aworuwa have formed an unlikely friendship and drawn up battle plans to take the fight to the Terminators!
Today’s election day. Get out there and make a difference.
(comic from the incomparable Ohio native Derf)
