Post no. 420 is going to be about contemporary comics, since I feel they've been neglected for a while. I've been reading a number of late Sixties/ early 70s Marvels- especially Thomas and Buscema ( mostly Big John but sometimes Our Pal, Sal). But I want to talk about the present today, rather than than the past.
My school is planning a comic con at the end of June and I've been talking to the manager of a local bookshop about how they can support us. He was cautious about sourcing sale or return graphic novels from the Big Two; I had the sense they're not selling well and the manager suggested that might be due, in part, to the DC Rebirth initiative. I think price is also a big turn-off. Last year, I resolved to move to trade-waiting in the main because I have to go to Aberdeen for comics, except from my occasional visits to Glasgow. I also read a number of titles that I think are suitable for the classroom.
Today, I'm going to review what I've been reading since the beginning of 2019 and I'm ranking comics in reverse order of enjoyment. The ones I liked best, I couldn't trade-wait, interestingly enough.
Conan the Barbarian/Savage Sword of Conan: the new incarnation of REH's Cimmerian is featured in two solo colour mags from Marvel. Neither really appealed to me, even with a prose serial in each title. I just found them gory and a bit smutty. They don't have the grandeur and literary pretensions of Roy Thomas- or his little touches of flip Seventies humour.
Weirdly ( pun intended) I'm more interested in Conan's team-up with Wolverine and the former Brother Voodoo in Gerry Duggan's Savage Avengers. The series is gonzo enough to pique my interest.
Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor: I've moaned before that the first female Doctor seems hobbled with minimal media presence in the last five months. So I should be grateful for this series. But like almost every Titan series for the last five years, while the likenesses of the "Tardis Fam" are tremendous, the stories are insipid and forgettable.
Wonder Twins is a revival of the Super Friends from Exor. It's also part of Bendis's Wonder Comics imprint. I was immediately put off Young Justice and Naomi by the decompressed style, despite the introduction of fresh, new female characters like Jinny Hex.
I have a different issue with Wonder Twins: the cameo of Mexican animated hero El Dorado; jokes about Hot mess Fruit Pies; an alcoholic vampire and "failed circus monkeys" all contribute to a wacky, parodic tone. I have no problem with media poking fun at childhood cartoons but this is just incoherent.
Shazam is the long-awaited continuing series which featured the Geoff Johns/ Gary Frank/ New 52 version of the Original Captain Marvel. It would be very recognisable to fans of the movie but again, it's very decompressed. The flavour reminds me a little of Johns' defunct JSA series. I'm pleased to see Talky Tawny and Mr. Mind again, however.
Dial H for Hero is another Wonder Comics title, from Sam Humphries and Joe Quinones. I was a regular reader of the feature in the early 80s, when Wolfman and Infantino brought the character designs of readers to the page. Here, the gimmick lies in presenting the one-off heroes in different comic styles, from Manga to the "Exxxtreeme!!" Image manner of the early 90s.
Now, in true BBC style, here's the Top Five.
Marvel Action Avengers is a licensed title from IDW and features a team roster that's recognisable from the MCU. Ironically while Jason Aaron has done the same thing at Marvel with the origianl Avengers title, I'm enjoying this series far more. Matthew Manning's tongue-in-cheek approach includes "deep cuts" like the U-Foes and Count Nefaria and the exaggerated, animation-style art of Jon Sommariva is bold and playful. I definitely want to try the IDW Black Panther title next.
For "old-school" Marvel teen drama, you can't beat Jim Zub's take on the Champions.Mark Waid span off the youngest Avengers as Social Justice Warriors and now with new recruits like Pinpoint and Snowguard, this is a title with charm and freshness but one that also recalls Wolfman and Perez at the height of their powers. I especially loved the mix of myth and the domestic in the solo Snowguard story in the first Champs annual.
( I loved the Marvel Rising team from last year's multi-media platform launch. Their adventures skew a little younger than the Champions but the teams seem very similar in their role in the MU.)
Alongside Miles Morales, the Kamala Khan version of Ms. Marvel has been a great success for Marvel and gives the lie to the Fans Don't Want Diversity argument Marvel infamously cited in 2017.
Now that G. Willow Wilson has stepped down and Saladin Ahmed has launched Magnificent Ms. Marvel, I worry that the title might become a little vanilla. However, Marvel Team-Up starring Kamala and Peter Parker was a joy, starting with a flip-book premiere issue which was funny and engaging.
West Coast Avengers was recently cancelled and while it also had a wacky, parodic tone, it was sexy and clever. I enjoyed the reality tv aspect of the series and the appearances of Graviton, Madame Masque, Modok Satana and the Eel. (The EEL?!) Yet again, I'm not sure what purpose Marvel Boy serves in the MU- He bounces from title to title- Young Avengers, Royals, WCA- and I think his lack of direction might be a result of his superfluity. Nonetheless, I followed Kelly Thompson to Captain Marvel where she not only revived Echo and Jessica Drew but also Gerry Conway's Makhizmo, who has become relevant again, sadly. I want to try her Gambit/Rogue series, too.
My outright favourite is The Green Lantern by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. Retooling the Emerald Gladiator's space-faring exploits as a police procedural drama, Morrison has been able to cherry pick characters from DC's sci-fi stable: Controllers, Sun-Eaters, the Spider Guild, Adam Strange. It's been a psychedelic Space Noir and I've been mad for it so far- from the pulpy Kirby-esque cover captions to the cameos ( is Belzebeth the daughter of Starbreaker?) and the dialogue: "...drunk in charge of a planet "(!). I love it.
A brief word too for Detective 1000. I enjoyed this much more than the reverential and retro Action 1000 from last summer. There were eleven stories in total and I especially admired work from Dini, Adams and Bendis. And is that Ralph Dibny and Sue, rescued from the ignominy of Identity Crisis?! I bought the 60s Steranko cover, since that's my first memory of Batman.
So I'm still finding there's a lot to enjoy in modern comics from the Big Two. There are fresh voices; vibrant artwork; a broad and deep knowledge of their respective universes; and growing diversity and representation.
In the future: Cybermen; Catwoman; Treasury Editions that never were and the Winged Coven
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