It's A Little Different, But Hey, It's Free

Who doesn't like to get free stuff?

One of the places I look for comics or trades at what I consider to be a good price is eBay. And on auctions that I've won recently, more and more of the sellers seem to be of the generous variety, including some freebies in with the items I actually bid on, won and paid for. Some don't, and that's OK; as long as you get what you paid for, you can't really complain about not getting more. But it's a nice surprise when it does happen, and like I said, it has been happening a little more often of late.

Once in a while the freebies might be making up for a mistake: for example, the wrong stuff was accidentally shipped to you. Then by way of apology, the seller ships out the right stuff and tells you to just keep the incorrect stuff as a peace offering. But more often than not, it's simply an extra comic or two slipped in with whatever else you ordered.

Being on the receiving end of this has prompted me to do the same when someone buys comics from me. I don't always have the extras on hand, but I try to include some extras when I can. Single one-off issues work great for this, I've found.

When I receive these freebies, I usually read them regardless of whether I've heard of the title before. It is a great way to find some gems I would have otherwise missed, although admittedly, such gems can be rare. With one recent order from an eBay seller, I was surprised to find the box contained a couple trades and half a dozen or so single issues I didn't order. Thinking my order had been accidentally packed with someone else's, I immediately contacted the seller who assured me the extras were just bonuses. This was the first time I received such bounty from one seller, to be sure. I haven't read all of the books yet, but was surprised to find several gems in the bunch that have me looking for the rest of the respective series. All of the extras in this instance were Image books, and here is just a bit about some of the ones that piqued my curiosity:

The Adventures of Apocalypse Al No. 1 (2014)
J. Michael Straczynski, writer
Sid Kotian, artist
 
This is a fun little book that combines detective fiction, supernatural creatures and events and no small amount of humor to very enjoyable effect. The lead character is private detective Allison Carter, the latest in a long line of investigators specializing in preventing the end of the world. In just this first issue alone, Al thwarts a would-be demon raiser, gets a tip from a dead friend, has a late-night meeting with a very creepy dude while she's in her underwear and makes a number of unscheduled jaunts to alternate realities, and this is just the set-up for this story. Yeah, more please!

The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (2007)
Kyle Baker, writer and artist

This 100-page hardcover is a whimsical little cartoon story of a family that wants to get a cat. At least Mom and the three kids do, but Dad is allergic to the critters and forbids it. But the kids think some kittens they find are cute, and Mom has seen a mouse in the house. Adorable hilarity ensues. This book is very similar to a child's picture book although there are nuances to the story that only adults will get, so I enjoyed this one with my 3-year-old daughter who agreed the babies and kittens were quite cute! This was a complete story unto itself, but I understand there are other The Bakers stories out there I might have to try.

Infinite Vacation No. 1 (2011)
Nick Spenser, writer
Christian Ward, artist

Now this tale seems like the kind of story that could make your head hurt if you try to think about it too much. The premise is that the characters here live in a world where they can buy their way into alternate realities for a price. Having a crappy day? Jump over to another reality where your day is going much better. The possibilities for change are limitless, and changing his circumstances with a few clicks is what Mark, the lead character, is used to. That is, until Mark starts to notice that his alternate selves are dying off. And not just a few of them. A whole lot of Marks are dying. What's up with that? I'm a little curious to find out.

Imperial No. 2 (2014)
Steven T. Seagle, writer
Mark Dos Santos, artist

This last one was a little more bizarre than the others because of being dropped into the story in the middle instead of at the beginning, but I think I got the gist. Imperial is a superhero looking for a replacement. Mark (Yeah, another guy named Mark.) has been chosen. But not only is Mark not very interested in the job, he's much more focused on the fact that he's supposed to be getting married to his girlfriend, Katie. That doesn't stop Imperial from showing up and bringing danger into Mark's life. This one looks pretty interesting too.

I guess all these freebies are going to cost me something after all!

===============

If you enjoy reading this blog, you can get more by liking my page on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter. And of course, if you are looking for a good deal on some of the comics I am selling off to make room in our house, please check out my main Steve's Comics For Sale site or the StorEnvy version of the site.

Batman: In Color

Tales of the Batman: Carmine Infantino (2014)
DC Comics
Gardner Fox, John Broome, Cary Bates, Gerry Conway, Don Kraar, Mike Barr and Geoff Johns, writers
Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella, Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene, Bob Smith, Steve Mitchell, Mike DeCarlo, Sal Trapani, Mike Esposito and Neal Adams, artists

I tend to run hot and cold on my opinions of Carmine Infantino as a comic book artist. At the height of his career, he was an incredible penciler, as evidenced by many of the stories in this very volume. He is most known for adding the yellow oval to Batman's chest emblem, defining the "new look" of the character in the 1960s, and for his well-known and lengthy run as the artist on The Flash. But to my eye, a great deal of his later work lacks the definition I prefer to see. Often his later comic pages could look sketchy, rushed and unfinished.

So why spend money on a tome like this, celebrating an artist whose work I don't always appreciate? The vast majority of this book comes from the aforementioned height of Infantino's career, when he worked on Batman and refined the Darknight Detective's "new look."

There are a number of covers from both Batman and Detective Comics from the mid-1960s era, but another plus of this book is that most of the interior work presented here, Infantino did for Detective. Those stories have a history of focusing more on Batman's deductive prowess and less on super-heroics. In fact, many of these stories eschew the more colorful members of Batman's rogue's gallery for costume-less street thugs and gangs. There's a later Riddler tale, as well as appearances by the Joker, Cluemaster and Blockbuster, but more often than not, the Gotham Guardian is matching wits with characters like Frank Fenton, General Von Dort, Eivol Ekdal, Frank Pragnel, Doc Hastings and Mr. Brains.

The biggest draw for me, however, are the covers of this era and the stories they inspired. Often the cover idea came first, presenting some horrific or startling scene, and then it was up to the writer and/or artist assigned to the book to build the story around that cover image. Julius Schwartz was very well-known for this technique as an editor at DC Comics, and it led to some very eye-catching covers that made young readers want to pick up the book and learn how such a thing could happen. Many of them still make me want to read the issue in question if I haven't already.

Often what was depicted on the cover might end up being a red herring for the story presented within or hint at the solution to some mystery the hero has to figure out, but often, the comics stories behind these covers were well worth a reader's time, otherwise the cover trick wouldn't have worked for very long. But one such Infantino cover presented in this book, along with the story behind it, handles things in a rather unique way. I can't say I've read every issue of DC Comics from this era — far from it — but I know I've never come across a story quite like the one associated with the cover above.

This tale pits the Caped Crusaders against a foe named the Bouncer, who has fashioned an outfit out of an experimental substance that allows him to safely rebound off any surface. The Bouncer escapes Batman and Robin in their first encounter because the unique properties of his suit catch them off-guard. After their first defeat at the hands of the criminal, the Dynamic Duo use their ingenuity to figure out how the Bouncer was able to achieve his stunning feats and devise a way to counteract his abilities. Despite Batman and Robin's resourcefulness, the Bouncer escapes from a few more encounters with the pair. But they use each new defeat to learn more about their foe until they successfully apprehend the Bouncer on Page 8 of this 14-page story. Nowhere in the span of that eight pages is Batman dead or even believed dead. Not even for a moment.

But then Page 9 is taken up entirely by images of Gardner Fox, the writer of this particular Bat-tale, in his home. Fox explains that after finishing such a story, he often retires to his "What If" room to reflect on a story before polishing and sending it to his editor. In this scenario, Fox wonders "what if" the Bouncer was prepared for Batman and Robin's latest attempt to foil his crimes. Naturally, in that case, the Dynamic Duo's plan does not work, Batman is gunned down, and the scene from the cover plays out, complete with cameos by several members of the Justice League and a surprise twist that leaves Robin still working with a partner at the end of the "what if" version.

I won't spoil all of the details of the story — the cover image is practically ordering me not to — but this was definitely one of my favorites from a thick 500-plus page hardcover that I very much enjoyed and highly recommend. Who knows what surprises you might find inside?

I Seem To Be On A Black And White Kick

True Story, Swear To God: 100 Stories (2004)
AiT/Planet Lar
Tom Beland, writer and artist

I don't remember when or where I first heard of Tom Beland's autobiographical True Story, Swear To God series, but I must have heard good things that made me curious to give the series a try. So a few years back, I purchased the first 10 issues of the second volume of the series.

I didn't know at the time I bought these issues from Image Comics that they were from the second volume of the series, but the first issue played catch-up, recapping how Tom met his fiance, Lily, on a trip to Orlando, Fla. Tom, from the Napa Valley, fell in love at first sight upon meeting Lily, who hails from Puerto Rico.

The rest of those 10 issues detail the point in the pair's relationship where Tom has relocated to Puerto Rico to be with Lily and must get used to a new culture and strange language. It's a funny, romantic, easily relatable story told in an entertaining way. And Tom's art is simple, clean and cartoony, and his characters are very expressive.

I wanted to read more of the story, so I recently went looking for issues from the first volume of the series and found the Image collection True Story, Swear To God Archives Vol. 1. Along with that volume, I also saw this trade, True Story, Swear To God: 100 Stories. While the Archives book collects the entire first volume of the title, originally self-published by Tom about meeting Lily and the early days of their relationship, the 100 Stories volume is a little different.

When Tom first met Lily, he was working as a cartoonist and page designer at a local newspaper. The cartoon strip Tom produced bears the same name as his eventual comic book series, and covers much of the same territory: his family, daily life in the Napa Valley, his budding relationship with Lily and his experiences learning about the Puerto Rican culture. The only major difference is that instead of a single, continuing narrative like in the comic book series, the True Story strip is more random slices of life.

This collection made me laugh and nod my head in shared understanding just as much as the True Story, Swear To God comic series, both volumes. My life is not identical to Tom Beland's, but the experiences he shares are told in a way that emphasizes the universal experiences we all go through. Pick up any of his books, and if you don't feel something, you're no longer human!

Here are a few more samples to enjoy:

It's Cold. So Cold. But A Great Read, Too.

WinterWorld trade (2011)
IDW Publishing
Chuck Dixon, writer
Jorge Zaffino, artist

I missed this story when it was originally serialized in 1988 by Eclipse Comics. I didn't even know it existed. But the story of the two main characters in this trade — Scully and Wynn — is being continued in a new series published by IDW and again written by series creator Chuck Dixon. Actually, I don't know for certain if their story is being continued or rebooted, as often happens in comics. But just in case it is the former, I wanted to catch up by first reading the initial adventure.

The first time I heard of WinterWorld was in the solicitations for the new version several months ago. The two characters exist in the far future when much of the planet is covered in snow and ice and every day is a struggle to survive. The descriptive copy made me curious about the series, largely because it reminded me of a great novel I had just recently read — Gordon R. Dickson's Wolf and Iron.

The Wolf and Iron novel takes place in an equally bleak future, this time caused by economic collapse and the subsequent fall of civilization. One man is trying to make his way across what used to be the United States never knowing if each new settlement will bring trade or death in the new lawless, violent reality.
In WinterWorld, the exact date and cause of the condition of the world is not disclosed. But much like an amalgamation of a couple characters from Wolf and Iron, lead character Scully is a trader making his way across the frozen landscape in a modified tractor. Using goods and equipment found in long abandoned shopping malls buried under the snow, Scully visits settlement after settlement, trading and making a life for himself and his companion, a badger named RahRah.

That is, until he comes upon the settlement where Wynn is being held. The backwards residents treat the young girl like property, but even that isn't enough to make Scully stick his neck out until the denizens of this settlement try to rob him. Wynn helps Scully and RahRah escape, which in turn leads them to take her in and care for her, even after slavers capture the pair.

In addition to the original three-issue WinterWorld series, this trade also collects a previously unpublished sequel titled WinterSea, continuing the adventures of Scully and Wynn.

Chuck Dixon provides a seat-of-the-pants adventure tale pitting two people against the worst their world and its inhabitants can throw at them. Jorge Zaffino's black and white art provides the perfect gritty visuals to bring Dixon's characters to life. I'm curious to see if the new version of the title lives up to this first collection despite there being a new art team working with Dixon to bring the current series to life.

Does This Story Ever End?

A Distant Soil
Image Comics
Colleen Doran, writer and artist

As my monthly buying has slowed recently, I've been making an effort to hunt down more things I've made notes about in the past — things I wanted to try at some point, most often books I'd heard good things about, but that I didn't have time or money to pursue at the time. One such title was A Distant Soil created, written and illustrated by Colleen Doran.

Doran is known primarily as an artist who has worked with writers such as Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Peter David, Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Giffen. I personally have seen her work in books like Wonder Woman: The Once and Future Story, Teen Titans Spotlight, Star Trek and Valor from DC Comics and Marvel Icon's The Book of Lost Souls written by J. Michael Straczynski. She is also a writer, but I haven't read anything else penned by her at this point.

I don't recall now — and wasn't in the habit of writing down — where it was that I heard or read about A Distant Soil. Most likely, it was from an episode of Word Balloon or from a column written by Andrew "Captain Comics" Smith. I tend to think it was the latter as I don't recall a Word Balloon episode featuring Doran, but I might be wrong. Anyway, one note I did write down is "similar to Aquaman." Having now read the majority of A Distant Soil, that comparison puzzles me unless it maybe refers more to similarities with Peter David's The Atlantis Chronicles — a title I own but have not yet read. Once I read Atlantis Chronicles, I'll know if maybe that was the comparison made and my note was only slightly in error, or if the two series are nothing alike and my note was just an example of who knows what.

But getting back to A Distant Soil, I recently decided it was time to finally check this series out. I purchased the three trades I found at a good price, and once they arrived in the mail, I sat down to read them and see just what this series was about. It was not what I expected, but it was good.

The Volume 1 trade, titled The Gathering, collects the first 12 issues of the Aria Press version of the series. It serves to do just that, gather and introduce readers to the majority of the large cast of characters that make up this sprawling sci-fi/fantasy epic.

First, we are introduced to Jason and Liana Scott, 17 and 15 years old, respectively. The teens have spent most of their lives since being orphaned at a young age living in a mental institution. There's nothing wrong with the youths. Both possess paranormal abilities that the authorities can't explain, including a shared telepathic rapport with each other, and so their young lives have been filled with experiments, poking, prodding and confinement.

In the latest of a series of escape attempts, Jason and Liana run into a street gang and a gruff but compassionate cop. The cop, Tony Minetti, and the leader of the street gang, Brent Donewitz, have an uneasy friendship, and the two agree to help the Scott teens lay low for a while. And that's when the aliens show up.

It turns out that Jason and Liana have their unique abilities because their father was secretly an alien fleeing his home planet, Ovanan. A huge Ovanan warship, the Siovansin, has come to hunt down the teens on behalf of the Hierarchy, the rulers of Ovanan and its vast empire of worlds. Of course, there is also a contingent of the aliens onboard the Siovansin who are sympathetic to Jason and Liana's plight and who hope to enlist their aid in overthrowing the sadistic Hierarchy.

What isn't quite so expected is that even the resistance movement onboard the Ovanan warship is splintered into different factions, sometimes to the point that they get in each other's way. Minetti and Brent help Liana escape with two of the sympathetic aliens, Rieken and D'Mer, while Jason is captured by the Hierarchy minions.

The Hierarchy tries to use Jason to find Liana, and in the process, they seem to kill the teenager. However, he is not beyond the healing abilities of Ovanan science. While in the care of the Siovansin medical staff, Jason's body is captured by one faction of the resistance. Meanwhile, back on Earth, Rieken and D'Mer recruit Liana, Minetti, Brent and nine others to their faction of the resistance and attempt to sneak back aboard the Siovansin.

That is a very nutshell synopsis of the first trade and its cast of dozens of characters. The narrative — which text pieces in the volume explain Doran created while still a child herself — is very complex, but still engaging. Doran's artwork, presented here in black-and-white only, is detailed and quite pretty to look at. I stumbled over some of the characters' appearances in these early scenes because so much of the clothing worn by the humans is very dated to some of the most outrageous '80s styles. That took me right out of the story on a number of occasions, and I thought about giving up on the story a number of times early on simply because the costuming was so jarring to me. But otherwise, I have no complaints about the art, and subsequent volumes take place mostly aboard the Siovansin, where even the humans are wearing Ovanan clothing to blend in, so that problem is eliminated.

One other thing that gave me pause in this first volume was an advertisement in the back of the book soliciting the five trades that collect the complete A Distant Soil saga. Up until this point, I'd believed I had the entire story in the three trades I'd already bought. I tried to do some more research into the series and learned that the first A Distant Soil comics were published by WaRP Graphics and the series lasted for only nine issues. Creative control and rights issues led to a split between WaRP and Doran, who tried to start over with another publisher only to have problems there as well. She finally started over a third time, self-publishing under Aria Press and combining some old and new story elements. Then in 1996, the story continued at Image, the publisher also responsible for the trade collections.

The second and third trade volumes — The Ascendant and The Aria, respectively — advance the story with all characters aboard the Siovansin. The resistance faction holding Jason revives the young man and sets him up to assassinate the god-like figurehead of the Hierarchy in exchange for information about his father. Rieken and D'Mer continue to plot with their human and Ovanan allies to overthrow the Hierarchy from within, relying heavily on Liana's help. Some characters are slain along the way and many, many more are introduced.

I managed to track down a copy of the fourth trade collection with the help of my local librarian. That volume, Coda, sees one faction of the resistance discovered and wiped out and the stakes for Liana, Jason and the others raised to impossible levels as the entire planet Earth comes under threat.

There are a few parts of Doran's narrative that feel overly lengthy, but again, the overall story is an engaging one that I would like to finish. The art only gets better and more stunning with each issue. The only problem at this point is I can't seem to find that fifth and final trade collection, Requiem, available anywhere I search. I'm not even sure the fifth volume has ever been published. In fact, I am not even certain if Doran has completed the series in single issue form at this point. Do any of my readers know any more about this series, whether or not it has been completed, and if so, where I might get my hands on the final volume of the story? Leave me a note in the comments if you can help shed some light.

History Really Does Repeat Itself

Essential Captain America Vol. 4 (collecting Captain America Nos. 157-186)
Marvel Comics
Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella, Mike Friedrich and John Warner, writers
Sal Buscema, John Verpoorten, Frank McLaughlin, Alan Weiss, Frank Giacoia, John Tartaglione, George Roussos, Vinnie Colletta, Frank Robbins, Tom Orzechowski, Herb Trimpe and Mike Esposito, artists

These massive, black-and-white collected volumes — Marvel's Essentials line and DC's Showcase editions — can be a great way to experience classic stories at a reasonable price. Or they can be a bit cumbersome to get through if you don't really have an appreciation for the character, group or time period being presented.

This volume is one of the good ones. Despite the abundance of names listed above, the vast majority of this volume is the brainchild of writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema, and that helps this volume maintain a unified voice throughout. The books reprinted here come from the mid-1970s when the title featured both Captain America and the Falcon on the cover and the real-life America was in turmoil. The creators used those turbulent times as a backdrop for an identity crisis of sorts for Captain America himself.

This series of issues brings Cap and Falcon into confrontation with a villain named the Cowled Commander and then a new version of the Serpent Society. The heroes quickly thwart the villains' plans only to have one of the Serpent Society hatch a new plan to drive a wedge between the pair and discredit Captain America in the eyes of the public. That latest plot unfolds over several issues leading into a battle with a new group named the Secret Empire, which in turn leads to yet another incarnation of the Serpent Society.

Captain America and the Falcon aren't the only heroes in these pages. Various members of the Avengers make a number of appearances, along with Nick Fury and various agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., both named and unnamed. The Black Panther and the X-Men also show up for several issues each. And a number of villains, both old and new, also make appearances at various times forcing our heroes to keep on their toes. These nefarious figures include names like the Porcupine, Madame Hydra, Yellow Claw, the Tumbler, the Eel, the Viper, Stoneface, Lucifer and, of course, the Red Skull.

The stories collected in this volume are some really great reads, but it surprised me, reading through a number of these issues for the first time, how many modern ideas began here and how many themes explored in these pages have also been explored in more recent Cap stories. For instance, issue No. 170 is where the Falcon first gets his Wakandan-engineered wings. Before that issue, he used a rope to swing around the rooftops like other non-flying heroes. And while this earliest version of his wings merely helped him glide, they look quite similar to the modern pair he wore right up until he assumed the role of Captain America in the most recent Marvel Comics issues.

Cap's girlfriend in these pages is former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Sharon Carter, the same as in current Cap comics, although her back story has undergone some revisions over the years. But Cap's former World War II-era love interest, Peggy Carter, is re-introduced in these stories and becomes a current agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., somewhat mirroring events from the modern "Captain America" films and the "Agent Carter" television series.

The conclusion of the confrontation with the Secret Empire — particularly the revelation of the leader of the terrorist organization — leaves Cap shaken in conviction and spirit. This is when Cap first decides to stop being Captain America and creates the identity of Nomad, the man without a country. The Nomad identity would return in several story lines since this time, but also, during this period when Steve Rogers is Nomad and there is no Captain America, a number of others try their hands at wielding the famous shield in his absence. The fates of these folks who try to be the new Captain America are quite different from any of those following the death of Captain America in Ed Brubaker's Cap run from a few years ago or of the Falcon assuming the mantle in the most recent comics, but there are also similarities.

These are really some great stories and some very key issues in the history of Captain America. Much of the credit for that goes to writer Steve Englehart, again the writer or co-writer on almost all of the stories from this era of the character. That single narrative voice allows the various story lines to weave in and out of each other and interconnect in a way that multiple writers would find harder to pull off. This book alone represents two-and-a-half years worth of Captain America comics at the end of Englehart's run on the title; he also wrote several of the previous issues, collected in Essential Captain America Vol. 3.

On a side note, one of the fill-in issues collected in this volume, No. 168, is a nice little diversion co-written by Roy Thomas and Tony Isabella titled "... And a Phoenix Shall Arise." This story, minus a few references to then-current continuity that dated the story, was turned into a Captain America Power Records book and record set, a copy of which I still own. If you aren't already familiar with Power Records, you should check out Rob Kelly's excellent Power Records blog (http://powerrecord.blogspot.com/) for more on these great little sets.

Switching to the art side of things, Sal Buscema lends his considerable talents to giving the look of these stories the same cohesiveness Englehart's writing does on the story side. Buscema had several different inkers on the issues included here, but the consistency in the pencils gives all of the characters distinctive looks throughout. Buscema's Cap is a strong, muscled defender of the American ideals and the quintessential silver age heroic ideal.


The drawback to that consistency shows up to horrible effect in four of the last five issues collected in this volume when penciller Frank Robbins takes on the art chores. I don't mean to attack the man's skill; I am no artist myself, so I have little room to criticize. More importantly, I have seen some absolutely gorgeous Frank Robbins art in some other titles. But his work in these issues of Captain America looks very rough throughout and downright awkward in a number of action panels. I've included a couple of the worst panels. The one on the left shows Steve Rogers in his Nomad guise traveling across the rooftops in a very strange pose, and the right one shows one of the Captain America wannabes traveling in the same manner with the Falcon. Neither image makes the subject look very comfortable, natural or heroic. These images are not typical of Frank Robbins' art in other venues, but his art on these final issues is the only downside I see in an otherwise great Captain America collection!

We Need More Fun Comics

Amazing X-Men: The Quest For Nightcrawler tpb
Marvel Comics
Jason Aaron, writer
Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines and Cameron Stewart, artists

I've talked previously about how much I like Nightcrawler and how he should be a fun, light-hearted character most of the time, at least if he's going to be portrayed correctly. I've also previously mentioned that I am not a regular follower of the various X-Men titles. I've read some of the bigger stories, and I've dabbled with the various titles and characters from time to time, but I typically am not an X-reader. For instance, I know that Nightcrawler was killed off some time ago in the X-books, but I don't know exactly when or how.

Enter the news of about a year ago that Nightcrawler was going to be coming back from the dead  — not a terribly unusual event for a comic book superhero — and I was happy to mark down a note to myself to watch for his latest solo title, hope for the best and try it when it came out. This is the story arc — presented in Amazing X-Men, not a Nightcrawler solo title — that brings the blue, furry mutant back to the land of the living. And it is an epic battle pitting a horde of demons against the combined forces of not only both heaven and hell but also purgatory! You can't get much more epic than that. And you wouldn't think a story could get much more grim than that, either.

But Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness remembered that comic books can be fun. They don't have to be grim and gritty all the time. On top of that, they remembered that Nightcrawler, the focus of this particular little story can — and SHOULD — also be fun! So they made this epic, life-or-death, playing for all the marbles, grand battle not only epic, but also fun!

The story begins with Nightcrawler in heaven, but not exactly enjoying his time there. Rather, he is daydreaming about his many adventures with his fellow mutants in all of the various teams he's fought alongside, as well as his many solo escapades. Another of heaven's inhabitants comes across Nightcrawler and chastises him playfully for not enjoying his — well, heavenly — surroundings more when along comes the aforementioned horde of demons. And who is leading this brazen attack on both heaven and hell? None other than Nightcrawler's own father, the demon Azazel.

Nightcrawler knows he can not hope to defeat such overwhelming forces on his own, and so he summons aid from his former teammates still among the living. Thus various members of this latest incarnation of the X-Men find themselves suddenly in hell, while some are transported to heaven, and still more materialize in purgatory with no explanation whatsoever. Having thus imperiled his friends' very souls, Nightcrawler must gather the various mutants together and lead them in an effort to defeat his father's latest plans for conquest.

What results is a well-drawn, expertly written romp that was FUN to read. In fact, the only weak spot in this trade is the inclusion of the sixth issue, also written by Aaron, but this time illustrated by Cameron Stewart. The change in art style for this epilogue chapter is drastic enough to be a tad off-putting. Add in that the main adventure is over, and this is merely an aftermath type of tale, and I feel that the trade would have been much better without it. It just feels tacked on and serves only to weaken the strong ending of the fifth issue.

Having said that, the rest of this trade was so good and does in fact bring Nightcrawler back to the land of the living, that I only hope the creative team on his latest ongoing solo title — Chris Claremont and Todd Nauck — follows that same formula: Don't forget to make it FUN!

I Took A Chance, And I Liked It

Take A Chance 1-5 (2008-09)
Dabel Brothers Publishing
C.E. Murphy, writer
Ardian Syaf, Aleksandar Sotirovsk and Jason Embury, artists

Here's another book I had written down to try some time without knowing a great deal about the story line. I'm trying to do better about making a note to myself of where such recommendations come from, but in the case of Take A Chance, I believe Andrew "Captain Comics" Smith wrote about the miniseries in one of his syndicated newspaper columns or in his regular feature in the now-departed Comics Buyers Guide.

Whoever it was that talked the book up, I wrote down the title and the writer, and I've periodically checked for a trade collection of the series without any luck. I don't know, maybe the series wasn't successful enough to warrant a trade. But a few months ago, I decided to look for this series in trade format in earnest so I could request a copy from my local library. I couldn't find a listing for a trade on Amazon or anywhere else I looked, so on a whim, I searched on eBay and found a set of the single issues for sale at a reasonable price.

Chance is the name of a non-powered female vigilante operating in New York City. The first issue, mostly set-up, gives a glimpse into the world she operates in. Frankie Kemp took self-defense classes, created a costume and began patrolling the streets at night after a personal tragedy heightened her need for justice. That was five years ago, she explains, and Chance started out taking down simple street thugs, pushers and would-be rapists. Then a terrorist attack on the city left a number of people dead, but also inexplicably granted a percentage of the survivors with super powers. With so many super-powered individuals running around — some good, some not so good — Chance decided it was too dangerous for her to continue attacking criminals directly. Instead, she prefers to prowl the streets documenting crimes, gathering evidence and then anonymously turning that material over to the authorities.

With all of that established, the next four issues of the series follow Chance's efforts on a specific case where she promises to take down a narcotics trafficker if a young junkie promises to stay clean. In order to keep her end of the deal, Chance must again take direct action, confronting both criminals and well-intentioned others, both powered and non-powered allies and threats.

The set-up with the terrorist attack and various people developing powers makes me wonder if Take A Chance was part of a shared universe with other titles, but as far as I know, this is the only story that features Chance. Writer C.E. Murphy is known for writing several supernatural-themed novels with strong female protagonists. Maybe that's where the shared universe idea comes from. Any of my followers out there able to offer any insight on that? Anyway, I don't know if Murphy has any other comics writing credits under her belt, but she did a very nice job on this story, especially if it is her first for the medium.

On the art side, Ardian Syaf is a name familiar to me from some more recent DC titles. He draws the main character as attractive and athletic without going overboard to the hyper-sexualized imagery some heroine books are known for. As always, I'm more of a story-person, but the art in this title services the story nicely. My one quibble was going to be the cover to the second issue, which depicts Chance taking someone down with a powerful kick, but doing it while wearing a short skirt. Chance's costume does not feature a skirt, and I hate when artists get major details like that wrong on a cover image. But when I read the issue, guess what? Chance does indeed have to engage some criminals while wearing a skirt. Frankie was out dancing with friends when they run into trouble. When she goes to change into her costume, she has only brought the top and mask portion of her Chance outfit to avoid having to conceal the full costume.

All in all, this was a great series I'm glad I tried and am happy to recommend to others. As a bonus, house ads in the back of each issue brought some other Dabel Brothers books to my attention that I want to check out. So not only did I get a great read from this story, but a trail to some other possible reads as well. Can't beat that kind of outcome when trying a new title!

My Faith Pays Off

Lazarus Vol. 1: Family
Image Comics
Greg Rucka, writer
Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Brian Level and Santi Arcas, artists

I count Greg Rucka among the writers whose work I usually tend to enjoy. I can't say I've read everything he has produced, but I am a fan of many of the things he brought to the mythos of Batman and Superman while he worked on Detective Comics, Gotham Central and The Adventures of Superman. His run on Wonder Woman is one of my favorite runs on the character and one I consider a definitive take on the Amazon princess. Not limited to DC, I also very much enjoyed his work on Black Widow over at Marvel.

I enjoyed his take on these characters so much, I decided to try his Queen & Country series from Oni almost a year ago. I purchased the entire run of that series in one lot, read it over the course of a few weeks and loved it just as much. Rucka is incredible at writing strong female leads, and I enjoyed the adventures of Tara Chase in Queen & Country enough to make the jump to one of Rucka's Q&C prose novels, "A Gentleman's Game," which was a solid, enjoyable read, as well.

Somehow, though, as much as I enjoy Rucka's writing and watch for his name when I'm placing my orders each month, I completely missed Lazarus when it debuted in 2013. I had no idea it was coming out and no idea what to expect from the series when I finally did learn of its existence. I don't even recall for certain now how I first heard the title without knowing more about it; perhaps I just stumbled across it looking for something else. But this first volume was pretty cheap by usual trade pricing standards, likely because it collects only four issues of the title instead of the more common five, six or more. Nice price. Greg Rucka writing. I decided to give it a try even though I knew not what to expect.

When the trade arrived, I could see by the simple yet dramatic cover that we have another female lead, likely a tough one as she is shown with a bullet hole in her forehead and a rather annoyed expression on her face. This does not appear to be a lady you want to mess with, especially if being shot in the head only pisses her off.

When I sat down to read the book, however, I became a little nervous. If there's teaser or descriptive copy on the front or back cover of a book, especially one like this I'm completely unfamiliar with, I always read that first. Gives me a clue what I'm in for. All of the recommendations were good; no surprise there. But one of them called this title a "clever spin on dystopian fiction." I tend not to like dystopian fiction. Too depressing. Why can't we all get along? Why can't the future be bright and happy?

But then I read the descriptive copy. It promised a world split along financial lines — wealthy families, the few who work for them, and everyone else, the majority, called "Waste." The meaning behind "Lazarus" was also explained. Each family has one individual responsible for defending the family, protecting it. That person is called the family's Lazarus. I was intrigued, and I trusted Rucka enough to dive in, hopeful once again.

So I read the trade. This isn't the kind of comic I might normally choose to read, but I'm glad I did in this instance. These four issues pulled me into this world Rucka has crafted — our world but not quite. This first arc gives us just the barest glimpse into how things work in this world, but it was enough to pull me in. I don't want to spoil any details for anyone who hasn't read Lazarus yet, so I'm kind of light on story specifics, I know. Suffice to say that there is a great deal of intrigue hinted at in these first four issues, and a very rich, complex series of relationships just within the handful of characters we are introduced to at the outset. Much, much more seems to be just under the surface. And I, for one, am looking forward to uncovering more of this world.

They Were This Close To Losing Me

Fantastic Four Vol. 2: Original Sin
Marvel Comics
James Robinson, writer
Leonard Kirk, Marc Laming, Karl Kesel, Rick Magyar and Scott Hanna, artists

I've always liked the concept of the Fantastic Four: it is a fun idea that these four individuals are more explorers than superheroes, and that above all else, they are a family. And I've read a lot of Fantastic Four stories over my collecting years that I have enjoyed quite a bit. But I've never owned and read a run that felt like the definitive FF to me.

I decided to try again when the title was relaunched early in 2014 with writer James Robinson at the helm. Robinson has produced some stories I have very much loved, but also some that have left me disinterested, so his run wasn't going to be a lock. In fact, I'd intended to sample his version of the FF in trades borrowed from the library, but then I found a good deal on the first two trades (issue Nos. 1-10) of Robinson's run and decided to gamble.

The first volume, The Fall of the Fantastic Four, didn't boost my confidence a great deal. I'd read enough advance solicitation information to already know that Robinson planned to take the team down to their lowest point before, I assume, building them back up. The road taken to do the dragging just seemed kind of long and not too inspired. I was getting bored with the story: Some beasties escape from Reed Richards' lab in the Baxter Building and commence terrorizing the good citizens of Manhattan. Eventually, the team devises a way to neutralize the threat, but not before the monsters do a great deal of damage to life and property. And then it occurs to the New York powers-that-be that maybe it isn't such a good idea for these four very well-known adventurers to live publicly in the heart of the city, keeping all manner of nasty weapons and crazy scientific inventions and other-dimensional portals and who-really-knows-what-all-else in what amounts to their back room.

So the FF are put on trial. And even their friend and ally, attorney Jennifer (She-Hulk) Walters, isn't able to defend them against most of the charges. Part of the problem with this first trade was how long the set-up drags on. But also, it becomes kind of obvious early on that someone — we don't yet know who — is manipulating events to turn public opinion and the justice system against the team, but none of the FF seem to catch on to this fact. And neither do their friends, many of whom have been victims of such a strategy before. No, they all complain about how unfair everything happening seems, but no one questions beyond that.

All of that changed with this second trade, which not only continues the downfall of the FF but also ties into a company-wide crossover event, Original Sin. I haven't read Original Sin, but the basic gist seems to be someone killed Uatu, the Watcher, and once he died, secrets he has learned from watching the Marvel Universe all these years become known to some people. In the case of the FF, Benjamin Grimm, aka the Thing, learns that one of Reed Richards' early attempts to cure him of his deformity is accidentally sabotaged by Johnny Storm, the Human Torch.

Maybe part of the reason I liked these issues better than the first five is the focus on the Thing, my favorite of the FF members, but this trade doesn't focus solely on him. There are also continuing troubles for the other three members of the team.

Best of all, we finally begin to see the FF not standing alone against all that is happening to them. The first to stand up against all of the "unfair" charges and accusations is Jim Hammond. For those not in the know, Jim Hammond is an android with the ability to burst into flame, which earned him some fame as the original Human Torch during World War II. Hammond fought Nazis alongside Captain America, Bucky, Namor and his own sidekick, Toro, in the original Invaders team. Being an android, Hammond could still be around, and has recently been reintroduced into the current Marvel Comics Universe as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Along with all of the other charges against the FF, Reed and Sue Richards are ruled unfit parents. Hammond's S.H.I.E.L.D. unit is put in charge of their son, Franklin Richards, and a number of other children Sue had been working with under the Future Foundation program. Hammond not only sees the injustices being heaped on the Fantastic Four, but refuses some orders pertaining to his new charges. In defending his actions to S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill, Hammond learns that she also recognizes the bizarre nature of the events surrounding the FF and is also suspicious of the motivations behind the trial and subsequent developments.

This still may not prove to be that definitive Fantastic Four story I was hoping for, but I'm a lot more interested in the story and where it's going after reading this second trade. In fact, I'm interested enough to order the third volume when it comes out so I can see where Robinson and crew are taking things. Can't say I felt that way after reading the first trade, and if I hadn't bought both books together, I likely would not have bought the second, which would have been a shame!

Will My Green Arrow Please Stand Up

Rather than a specific issue or story line, today I decided to talk about the wandering failure that the New 52 has wrought upon one of my favorite characters, Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen.

I first became aware of Green Arrow in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he participated in Justice League of America stories or his own solo adventures in World's Finest Comics. I missed out on the new "relevant" Green Lantern/Green Arrow series created by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams in the mid-1970s, but the new costume and personality these two creators gave to the Emerald Archer influenced his characterization for the next decade, at least, and the hero I was reading owed much to their work.

Going back and reading reprints of the O'Neil and Adams stories in 1983 is when I grew to really appreciate the character and come to see him as one of my favorites. That affection grew and was nurtured by the Green Arrow miniseries that same year by Mike W. Barr, Trevor von Eeden and Dick Giordano and was cemented by Mike Grell's fantastic Longbow Hunters series in 1987.

Having said that, I don't know why I didn't immediately pick up the Mike Grell ongoing Green Arrow series that followed Longbow Hunters. I swear, I really did love that series right from the start. At this point, I did have a local comic shop I frequented regularly for my comics, but I was not online much and hadn't even heard of Previews at the time, so maybe I simply wasn't aware of the existence of the ongoing for a while. Whatever the reason, I started in on that series about two years into the run reading forward each month as well as backward when I could find copies of the back issues I'd missed.

I was very sad to see Ollie killed off in No. 100 of that series, then being written by Chuck Dixon, and while he was a very different character, I enjoyed the adventures of Ollie's son, Connor Hawke, as the new Green Arrow. I'm not nearly as big a martial arts fan as Dixon seems to be, so some of the Connor GA stories were less to my liking than others, but I stayed with the series until it ended with issue No. 137.

After a few dark nearly-Green Arrow-less years, it was announced that Kevin Smith was going to bring Oliver Queen back from the dead in a relaunched Green Arrow title in 2001. Smith was joined by artist Phil Hester, and while I was less impressed with Hester's more cartoony art at the time, I was glad to have the character back. Smith left the title after 15 solid issues, and we were treated to one of novelist Brad Meltzer's first comics-writing turns with his excellent "The Archer's Quest"  and then after a few issues, Judd Winick took over the writing chores. Winick is one of those hit-or-miss writers to my tastes. I really like some of his books while others just leave me feeling meh. But he did a good job at the helm of Star City's resident bowman and stayed with the title for the remainder of this run and into the 2007 Green Arrow and Black Canary relaunch. That title had the added plus of fantastic art by first Cliff Chiang and then Mike Norton. The Green Arrow and Black Canary series finished its second half with excellent writer Andrew Kreisberg and then J.T. Krul on the final three Blackest Night and Cry For Justice tie-in issues.

All of that background is to show I have a history with the character, reading Green Arrow's adventures, and for the most part, enjoying most of the tales he is featured in. I don't agree with everything that happened in Justice League: Cry For Justice or the subsequent Fall of Green Arrow, but I liked both titles and could see Oliver acting and reacting the way he was portrayed in those stories. Less to my liking was the 15-issue Green Arrow: Brightest Day series where Oliver is all about his forest, but I think most of that series stemmed from editorial dictates and might not be where series writer Krul would have taken Oliver without the whole Brightest Day framework, which I liked with regards to other characters. I base this, in part, on the fact that another writer finished the final three issues of that series. I also haven't read Green Arrow: Brightest Day again since it was new; maybe my opinion of it would improve with a fresh look.

Then along comes the New 52, and everybody and everything is rebooted back to square one. Except Batman and Green Lantern, which were seeing a great deal of popular story lines already, so the rebooting wasn't quite so evenly distributed. But I was all set to accept a new, younger Oliver Queen as Green Arrow. A fresh start didn't have to mean disaster. And the first three issues of the New 52 Green Arrow were good with story by Krul and art by the incredible Dan Jurgens. Oliver has a bit of a team working behind the scenes to assist him, but subtracting a few years and changing up his costume were pretty cosmetic; I could still see this as the hero I liked, just a slightly different guy from a slightly different dimension or something.

The problem was, those three issues didn't last. Issue No. 4 saw a creative change to writer Keith Giffen, who was replaced by Jurgens by issue No. 6. Then we got Ann Nocenti, who's run on the title lasted until issue No. 16. But her run on the book was all about horn-dog Ollie who thought more with his groin than his brains. This guy wasn't really a hero so much as a screw-up. With each creative change, I liked the character less and less. And there seemed to be a lot of creative changes.

Jeff Lemire's run (issue Nos. 17-34) was very dark for my tastes and centered way too much on the mysticism of the various clans he introduced into Oliver's back story. Then elements from the CW television series "Arrow" started to creep into the book. Now, I've watched "Arrow" since the beginning, and I very much enjoy the show and Stephen Amell's portrayal of Oliver Queen. I'm very happy the show has lasted into a third season, and I'll be happy to see it continue for several more years. But it is the television version of Green Arrow. That guy exists in an equally valid, but alternate dimension from the guy I like to read about in the comics. Television and comics are two different media; they have different strengths and weaknesses, and I believe they are best served by different approaches. I love watching the TV show, but I don't want to read the TV show in my monthly Green Arrow comic.

So, why do I keep buying the monthly comic if I don't like what they're doing with the character and haven't for basically the last 30 issues? I guess that means I have more money than sense, but my wife would be quick to remind that we don't have that much money. So maybe I just don't have any sense. But the creative teams change on this title so often, every time I convince myself to just drop what I'm not enjoying, I think, "But wait, a new team and direction are coming next month; maybe it really will get better." Except so far, it hasn't.

I hope the comic will find its niche now that Andrew Kreisberg is back writing the character as I enjoyed his work on the title pre-New 52. But Kreisberg is also one of the producers of the CW televison series. I'm hopeful, but concerned as well. But I'm still buying the title each month hoping for the best. At least, for now ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoy reading this blog, you can get more by liking my page on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter. And of course, if you are looking for a good deal on some of the comics I am selling off to make room in our house, please check out my main Steve's Comics For Sale site or the StorEnvy version of the site.

Look At Me, Dropping A Title

Worlds' Finest No. 26
DC Comics
Paul Levitz, writer
Tyler Kirkham, Scott Kolins and Joe Weems, artists

I've enjoyed this title for 24 issues; former DC publisher Paul Levitz is a terrific writer, and he and his various artistic collaborators crafted fun, worlds-spanning adventures for his two heroines, one of which he created several decades ago.

Helena (Robin) Wayne and Kara (Supergirl) Zor-L were the secret weapons of an alternate reality Batman and Superman, respectively. These covert heroines aided the champions of the re-imagined Earth 2 in the New 52 continuity until Helena's father, Kara's cousin and Wonder Woman all fell at the hands of Darkseid's forces from Apokolips. While trying to avenge their fallen mentors, the girls were transported to the main New 52 earth.

True to their natures, the pair continued to fight for justice in this unfamiliar but strangely similar world while trying to find a way to return to their true home. Operating mostly under the radar of the new world's heroes, Helena became Huntress, and Kara assumed the name Power Girl. Huntress, created by Levitz as the daughter of Earth 2's Batman and Catwoman, has no super powers. Instead, she is expertly trained in deduction and fighting styles by her father and prefers to operate in the shadows. Power Girl, on the other hand, is much more outgoing and flamboyant, both in personality and habits. She adopts the public identity Karen Starr and begins to amass a fortune and scientific tech to help the pair find a way home. Despite having a public identity, Power Girl is much less concerned with hiding her costumed identity from those around her, much to Huntress' chagrin. Despite their differences, however, the two mesh well together, much like that other famous World's Finest team, Superman and Batman.

As much as I liked this title when it debuted as part of the New 52's second wave of titles, I quickly lost interest in Worlds' Finest's sister title, Earth 2, which chronicled events on the young women's home world in the absence of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. A new Alan Scott Green Lantern and Jay Garrick Flash joined established second-stringers like Hawkwoman and the Atom. Soon other heroes and menaces began to emerge. But the title differed too much from the previous incarnation of Earth 2 and the Justice Society to give me a true sense of nostalgia, and the writing and characterizations of the new versions of older heroes just didn't grab me on this title, despite Nicola Scott's always beautiful artwork. Since Huntress' and Power Girl's tales only impacted Earth 2 in flashbacks to their younger selves, it became easy to simply drop Earth 2.

Then came DC's latest wave of weekly series, all of which I opted to take a pass on. I am looking forward to the skip month Convergence titles that will be solicited while DC moves its real world offices from the east to west coast in a few months, and if need be to follow that series, I might pick up titles like Future's End and Worlds' End later on in trade form. But the concept behind neither of these titles seemed to have an impact on my favorite characters when they were announced. Then later, when it became obvious that they would at least impact heavily on Earth 2 and Worlds' Finest, I still didn't care; I'd already dropped Earth 2, and it began to look like Huntress and Power Girl would return to Earth 2 before long. Since I was no longer following the main Earth 2 title, I began to contemplate dropping Worlds' Finest when the two linked back up. And sure enough, the story presented in Worlds' Finest No. 25 and this issue do in fact bring the pair back to their own world, and I just didn't care for the story as much as before, likely because I was no longer following events on that world.

Most times when a title undergoes a major change in direction, creative teams or story lines, companies promote it as a perfect jumping on point for new readers. Equally valid, though, is the fact that most natural jumping on points also make very nice jumping off points, too. I've enjoyed these two heroines' adventures in a strange world while they tried to find their way back home. Well, now they are home, and while things are not like they remembered on their world, I've still seen them safely home and enjoyed the ride along the way. Unless something unforeseen happens to once again grab my attention, Helena and Kara are on their own again. They'll be fine; they've proven they can handle themselves.

(Now if only I could convince myself to just give up on the damn New 52 Green Arrow title, but more on that later.)

Pricey, Oh So Pricey, But Still Good

Star Trek: New Visions No. 2: "Time's Echo"
IDW Publishing
John Byrne, writer and photomontage assembler

This is another modern photonovel dreamed up and brought to reality by John Byrne using existing footage and stills from the original "Star Trek" series to create a brand new adventure of the Enterprise crew. Byrne has proven in a number of past comics under the IDW Trek banner that he gets these characters and their respective voices. So far, he has completed three of these photonovel projects and each one feels just like a lost episode of the popular sci-fi series.

This issue finds the Enterprise crew summoned to investigate a 1,000-year-old distress call apparently made by James T. Kirk himself. That story is engaging enough by itself, if a bit predictable in places, but this second regular issue of New Visions also includes a small backup story that gives an in-story reason for the departure of Yoeman Janice Rand from the series.

I wish these volumes didn't carry such a hefty price tag. The first, trial photonovel, "Strange New Worlds," solicited as a special Star Trek Annual, along with each of these first two New Visions issues have carried a suggested retail price of $7.99 for 48 square-bound pages and heavier cardstock covers. I image at least a portion of that price includes some royalties for the use of the stock images, and I also imagine the creation of these volumes is pretty labor intensive, selecting and cropping all of the various raw images into a cohesive narrative. I get all that. And I am enjoying the finished products quite a bit so far. But $8 for these books still seems a little steep for most people's budgets, so I don't know how long this series will be able to continue.

They Reeled Me In; I'm Hooked!

Locke & Key Vols. 2 & 3: Head Games/Crown of Shadows hardcovers
IDW Publishing
Joe Hill, writer
Gabriel Rodriguez, artist

I've previously talked about finally trying the first volume in this series and very much enjoying it. That first volume held a great deal of peril for the Locke family — dad Rendell, mom Nina, uncle Duncan and children Tyler, Kinsey and Bode. After a home invasion on the west coast, the family moved to Lovecraft, Maine, and the Locke family home, a mysterious old house with many mysterious doors, even more mysterious keys, and no small amount of secrets. The Locke children were just beginning to scratch the surface of the house's secrets when one of the home invaders followed them east to their new home.

The second volume in this excellent horror series opens where the first volume left off, but quickly expands the threat beyond the Locke family to many other residents of Lovecraft. Events in the first volume gave a restless spirit a great deal of freedom of movement about both the Locke household and the town of Lovecraft. But as someone who had roamed the town before, "Zack" runs into a few people who recognize him from his previous life as "Dodge." Then it's just a matter of turning them into pawns in his search for one particular key or eliminating the threat they possess in a more final manner.

While "Zack" makes friends with the Locke children in hopes of finding the elusive Omega Key, Bode stumbles across another key in the house that doesn't seem to fit into any of the door locks. This puzzles the youngster until a conversation with his Uncle Duncan reveals something strange — what appears to be a keyhole at the base of Duncan's head!

The discovery of the Head Key reveals a number of new surprises for the Locke family; unfortunately, they share that secret with their new friend, "Zack," who steals the Head Key and uses it for his own purposes, much as he does with the previously discovered Anywhere, Gender and Ghost keys.

Both volumes 2 and 3 of this series give insights into the history of "Zack" and his previous life as "Dodge," growing up alongside Rendell Locke and some of the now-adult residents of Lovecraft. And while the current Locke children do not know it yet, they are obviously in a race with "Zack" to see who will first find and unlock the secrets of the Omega Key.

After reading half of this series in borrowed hardcover volumes from the library, I am hooked enough that I again went in search of affordable copies to buy and own the series. As luck would have it, I came across a new, slipcase edition of all six Locke & Key volumes in trade paperback format, and decided to go ahead and order the series for myself. At $60, it carries a hefty price tag, but that's cheaper than buying each volume separately likely would have been. And based on what I've read so far, well worth the investment!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoy reading this blog, you can get more by liking my page on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter. And of course, if you are looking for a good deal on some of the comics I am selling off to make room in our house, please check out my main Steve's Comics For Sale site or the StorEnvy version of the site.

Getting A New Lease On Life (In My Collection)

Green Lantern: Rebirth 1-6 (2005)
DC Comics
Geoff Johns, writer
Ethan Van Sciver and Prentis Rollins, artists

Getting back to actual comics this time out, today's subject was a surprise for me. I don't mean I'd never read this miniseries before; I read it when it came out. But these issues had been placed on the "sell" pile as part of my ongoing effort to winnow down my collection. I remembered liking the story that returned Hal Jordan to Green Lantern prominence, but Hal isn't one of the core characters I intend to keep following on a monthly basis. I've previously discussed how just because I'm selling an issue does NOT mean I did not like it; rather, I am selling off quite a few comics I liked very much. Again, I just don't have the space to continue to keep the thousands of comics I own(ed).

So there I was, taking some time to scan cover images prior to adding issues to my site of comics to sell, when I came to the cover of Green Lantern: Rebirth No. 4 and noticed Green Arrow on the cover. "Oh yeah, Ollie made an appearance in this series, didn't he," I thought to myself, and flipped the book open while issue No. 3 was still being scanned. Low and behold, issue No. 4 opens in the middle of a scene with Ollie in it that is obviously continued from the previous installment.

Now, Green Arrow, aka Oliver Queen, IS one of the characters I have a pretty extensive collection of and plan to continue with, although his personal New 52 reboot has been pretty hit-and-miss so far for me. I hadn't remembered that Ollie had such a presence in this story arc, but flipping through issues 3 and 4 made me decide to re-examine the series more closely before putting it up for sale. Upon rereading Rebirth, it is clear that this is primarily a Green Lantern story, as expected. First and foremost, it is a Hal Jordan story. It is also a pretty important story for the Green Lantern Corps as a whole. And while it is not a critical piece of Green Arrow history, his involvement in the story is a pretty major one. But what finally made me decide to put this series back into my collection to keep is how key this story is to the overall DCU.

Many members of the Justice League and Justice Society play roles in this story and several other heroes from across the DCU have cameos. And while the exact nature of what is to come is not revealed in this story, seeds planted here play a major role in the Sinestro Corps War, then Blackest Night and finally Brightest Day, other series that affect the greater DCU and that I intend to hold onto.

One development in particular — the changing relationship between the restored Hal Jordan and Batman — begins in this series and is continued in a number of places including early issues of the 2007 relaunch of The Brave and the Bold, another favorite series I am holding onto. I'm not a fan of Batman never getting along with anyone, ever. But as one of the few non-powered members of an elite fighting team, I think the Dark Knight would have a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to a former comrade turned rogue announcing that he is "all better now." True to that characterization, Batman was slow to trust Hal Jordan again after the whole Parallax episode, and that begins right here.

Is this series without flaws? No, it's not perfect. But as I've come to expect from a Geoff Johns-penned story, it is a good read that takes you on an emotional roller coaster and plays up many key aspects from what has gone before as a treat for long-time readers while still being accessible to newer fans. And while I don't care for Ethan Van Sciver's interpretations of a handful of characters, by and large, his work on these larger, "epic" story lines is very pretty to look at and pulls a reader into the story quite nicely.

As I'm going back through my collection of comics, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to do with most of them. There might be a few I wish to reread one last time before selling them, but in the end, they will still be sold. Space in our house is a finite commodity, and now that we've added a third person, albeit a small one, my share of that space is shrinking. But there have been a few that will catch my eye as I work my way through characters and titles that will grab me and make me question my initial judgment. This was one of those stories. Check it out for yourself and see if you agree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoy reading this blog, you can get more by liking my page on Facebook and/or following me on Twitter. And of course, if you are looking for a good deal on some of the comics I am selling off to make room in our house, please check out my main Steve's Comics For Sale site or the StorEnvy version of the site.

Once More Unto The Breach

The Comic Book Podcast Companion (2009)
TwoMorrows Publishing
Eric Houston, writer

Another prose volume discussed in another short post this week, but this was another great find.

I first mentioned my interest in podcasts, particularly comics-themed podcasts, a while back. I started with Word Balloon posts through Newsarama, and my appreciation grew from there. For a few of my favorites, you need look no further than the listing to the left.

It's hard to imagine too many fans who aren't already familiar with podcasts. But my own interest is only a few years old at this time, and new fans discover the joy of graphic literature all the time (I hope), so the topic bears another hashing, and this tome gives me the excuse.

Eric Houston explores the world of podcasting by interviewing the creators of several popular shows. They discuss how they got into podcasting, how they go about producing their shows, and what they think of the state of comics in general. Along the way, there are also some creator interviews, reflecting the penchant for comics podcasters to frequently interview creators. And there's plenty of art, putting faces to many of the familiar voices of podcasting.

I found the book an interesting look behind the scenes of some of my favorite shows and also found a few new shows to try. I borrowed this book from the library as it didn't seem like something I would return to again and again. Still, I'm glad I checked it out, and freely recommend it to any of you who haven't already given it a try.