COMICS: petpluto Reviews Fun Home

Searching for words to describe the fantasticness of Fun Home by Alison Bechdel is almost futile, but I’m going to try. The closest I can come to fully explaining its power and mystique was actually written by someone else: a reader of my personal blog; Rebekah (I’m quoting without permission here, as always) described the [...]

COMICS: John Reviews “Metadocs: Anatomy of a Super Hero” by Joe Dunn and Rod Espinosa

As I mentioned in my previous review, I adore stories of superheroes in supporting roles. You might call them the “heroes behind the heroes,” if your mind isn’t quite as dirty as the late Dr. Frederic Wertham. Given my penchant for “hero support” stories, you can imagine my delight when I walked by a shelf at one of New York City’s fine comic shops and came across Joe Dunn and Rod Espinosa’s Metadocs: Anatomy of a Superhero. The concept is brilliant, and I’m fairly surprised at how rarely (if at all) it’s been done before: What happens when the dust settles after an epic battle and the participants (hero and villain alike) lie wounded and dying? Enter the Metadocs: A crack team of medical professionals (some with superpowers) trained and equipped to save those who save the world.

Occasionally the rest of the world DOES recognize great work!

I hadn’t planned on any more non-review posts today, but this article on ICV2 caught my eye. Apparently YALSA (the Young Adult Library Services Association) named their list of the best graphic novels for teens and young adults. I couldn’t believe how many great books are on there! Highlights include Atomic Robo, The War at Ellsmere, The Umbrella Academy, Joss Whedon’s run on Runaways, Ed Brubaker’s incredible Captain America volumes, Gwen Willow Wilson’s Cairo, Mat Johnson’s Incognegro, Jessica Abel’s Life Sucks (which I’d like to read, one of these days!), both Invincible and Astounding Wolf-Man by Robert Kirkman, Geoff Johns’ incredible Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, Gail Simone’s sleeper hit Welcome to Tranquility, as well as tons more stuff I didn’t recognize and the obligatory volumes of Naruto (which must be at least halfway decent since it sells a bazillion copies a month!) This is very exciting, and I hope that more young readers will check out these works and discover that comics aren’t just for fanboys anymore.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming!

As if today’s comic geek news couldn’t get any better, Disney has announced that they’ll be releasing the 1990s X-Men cartoon on DVD this Spring! This was the series that got me interested in Marvel comics all those years ago (followed quickly by the FOX Spider-Man animated series), and is in many ways how I will always think of the characters. Much as I love actors like Scott McNeill and Hugh Jackman, I’ll always imagine Wolverine speaking with Cal Dodd’s characteristic raspy gruffness. It will be interesting to see how well the show has held up over time, especially from a visual standpoint, but I honestly cannot imagine being disappointed by this release. It’s a good thing they’re putting it out on a new format, too, because I’m pretty sure I wore out my old Pizza Hut episode tapes (remember that promotion? I think it was the last time I went to a Pizza Hut, back in ‘94.)

COMICS: John’s Wednesday Winners for 1/28/09

Hey, everybody! It was a light week for me at the ol’ comics shop this week, so this will be a fairly short post. Let’s get things started!

THE MIDDLEMAN IS COMING TO DVD THIS SUMMER!!!!! WOOOHOOO!!!!!

That’s right, folks. According to The Middleblog, my favorite TV show of 2008 is finally getting the DVD treatment it deserves! Get ready for more fantastic fun from the Middlegang (Middlecrew? Middleteam? You get the idea) this summer, and pick up a copy of The Middleman: The Collected Series Indispensability (now back in stock at most comic shops) in the meantime!

My day, my week, and even my month are officially made. Hooray!

COMICS: John Reviews “Hulk: WWH – Damage Control” by Greg Pak, Dwayne McDuffie, Rafa Sandoval and Salva Espin

Here’s an important fact about me: I love twists on the usual superhero comic, especially those that put heroes in non-traditional roles. The most successful of these (that I know of) has been Dwayne McDuffie’s Damage Control, a collection of Marvel miniseries that follow the trials and tribulations of a construction firm tasked with cleaning up after the mess left behind by superheroes’ epic battles. I fully intend to pick up the as many of the original miniseries as I can find at NYCC this year, but for now I will have to be content with Damage Control’s brief resurgence in the aftermath (cutely renamed “aftersmash”) of Marvel’s World War Hulk event in 2007, collected in the Hulk: WWH – Damage Control trade paperback.

COMICS: John Reviews “Dynamo 5, Vol. 2″ by Jay Faerber and M.A. Asrar

If Dynamo 5 Vol. 1: Post-Nuclear Family is the story of the rise of the Dynamo 5, Dynamo 5 Vol. 2: Moments of Truth is the story of their fall. Tensions mount within the group, enemies accumulate and organize, and everything comes to an explosive head that forever alters the staus quo for these characters (but let’s not kid ourselves here. We’re talking about the world of comic books, where the status quo is constantly being either “forever changed” or “going back to what made the book great.”) In addition to the usual superheroic battles, the children of Captain Dynamo must also deal with overprotective parents, out-of-body experiences, racism, xenophobia and the shocking revelation that one of the 5 is not who s/he appears to be.

COMICS: John Reviews “Bookhunter” by Jason Shiga

While I have enjoyed reading and reviewing this series of books that feature bad-ass librarians, I have unfortunately run out of them. It may be it’s just as well, though, as Jason Shiga’s Bookhunter provides a thrilling and explosive finale. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed (and least commercially successful) of the three, Bookhunter combines the action and cliches of 1970s action movies with a clever variation on the locked-room mystery, all against a bad-ass secret agent librarian background…

COMICS: John’s Wednesday Winners for 1/21/09

Hey, everybody! It’s time for the debut of a new feature on WITWAR, in which I briefly examine some of the latest comics to hit stands each week. It’s by no means comprehensive, but it should give at least a bit of insight into the current comics landscape…