BC Refugees Blog

I just finished Archia Comics' Jim Henson's Tale of Sand HC , based on an unsold screenplay by Henson and his screenwriting partner Jerry Juhl, and I'm not sure what to make of it. It turns out that Henson had a bit of a screenwriting career in the pre-Muppet '60s, specializing in live-action surrealism. After an Oscar-nominated short film and an hour-long drama for NBC, "Tale of Sand" was his feature-length vision for this sort of thing but he was unable to sell it in the early '70s. Once the "The Muppet Show" and Henson's unfortunate early death came along, there was never time to go back to it. It's hard for me to imagine how this could have been successful as a movie. The main character spends the story being chased across the Western US desert and encountering machine-gun nests, lions, speakeasys, sharks, shieks, and a college football team, just to name a few. Which is great, but to me it never paid off in any significant way....

As an original Milestone Comics fan, I really wanted DC's New 52 version of "Static Shock" to succeed. I mused a little bit about why it failed in a comment here last week, and I was planning to expand that into something longer after talking about it in The Comic Book Shop over the weekend, but  DC Women Kicking Ass beat me to it . I highly recommend her analysis, including an obvious point about Ultimate Spider-Man that I had entirely overlooked. Also check out John Rozum's blog, where today he gave  a more detailed account of why he quit the book  than is quoted in the DCWKA article.

Three creators from the surrounding area celebrate their recent success with a signing event at Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware . . . . . How many of us know incredibly talented and creative artists who never follow up on their dreams, or get to bring their worthy projects to full fruition?  In many cases it boils down to a lack of funds.  Sometimes its’ the fear of losing money or worry that they may only break even instead of making just a modest profit in exchange for their investment of time, money and effort.  What if a creator could raise their financial needs in advance of their  project completion, simply by using a fund-raising campaign and giving value back to donors in exchange for their trust and faith?  Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, writes that Kickstarter is an “online threshold pledge system” for funding creative projects ranging from inde film and music to journalism, solar energy technology and food-related projects”...

We all knew it was coming--DC's teased us with it for months now. We had details on one book and hints on another, but to have a fully planned six-book lineup, with fairly impressive creative teams and a distinct purpose for each title? I have to applaud DC here, because I'm interested in each of these new titles. Batman Incorporated was the one title we all knew would be back, from interviews, announcements and even the teaser at the end of the recent oversized one-shot, Leviathan Strikes. Grant Morrison returns to finish his Batman epic, while Chris Burnham continues his path to superstardom as the sole artist on this twelve-issue run. It's probably worth noting that that series, however, is now billed as ongoing--even if Morrison leaves after the first year, it wouldn't surprise me if sales keep the title going, the same way Tomasi is now helming Batman and Robin, Morrison's previous vehicle for the franchise. Creative team details aside, Batman Incorporate...

It's hard to articulate what Daytripper, a masterpiece by twin brothers Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, is about. The back cover copy says: Meet Bras de Oliva Domingos.  The miracle child of a world-famous Brazilian writer, Bras spends his days penning other people’s obituaries and his nights dreaming of becoming a successful author himself — writing the end of other people’s stories, while his own has barely begun. Each day in Bras’ life is like a page from a book.  Each one reveals the people and things who have made him who he is:  his mother and father, his child and his best friend, his first love and the love of his life.  And like all great stories, each day has a twist he’ll never see coming… Fabio Moon says it's about "quiet moments...what you can tell from somebody's eyes. An exchange of looks. A smile." I just know it's beautiful. And powerful. And emotional. Honestly, if this book doesn't make you feel something , then you're dead ...

I can't tell you how thrilled I am to hold an actual new Peanuts comic book published during my lifetime. I wish it could have been published during Charles Schulz' lifetime too, but it's a great first effort by Kaboom! and I agree with everything  Peanuts book expert Nat Gertler has to say in his review.

  BATMAN AND ROBIN  #1 – 4  (DC Comics)  Peter J. Tomasi, writer.  Patrick Gleason, penciller.  Mick Gray, inker.  John Kalisz, colorist.  Patrick Brosseau, letterer. This book was a nice discovery for me as well as a welcome surprise.           What interests me most about this title is the relationship between father Bruce Wayne and son Damien Wayne.  It’s about respect, trust, teamwork and bridging the generation gap. It’s very much like any real-world family once the children begin to mature and think for themselves,  which usually occurs at the same time they begin to feel a little self-confident and independent.  Writer Peter J. Tomasi has a young son to help influence his characterization of Robin - - and that kind of high value experience helps to make the father-son exchanges in this book seem realistic.  So, what happens in BATMAN AND ROBIN?: In the opening Bruce deci...

  BATMAN  #1 – 4  (DC)  Scott Snyder, writer.  Greg Capullo, penciller & cover.  Jonathan Glapion, inker.  Fco Plascencia, colors.  Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt, letters.  Batman created by Bob Kane. I’m reading several Batman-family titles and enjoying them all.  But the one I look forward to the most right now is BATMAN by Snyder and Capullo.  The artist-writer team is dynamic and doing some of their best work.  Greg Capullo’s style is perfect for this title.  Scott Snyder’s writing has a feel as if he has been writing this character for decades instead of just a few years.  (I also recommend you check out his work on the current SWAMP THING , another worthwhile DC NEW 52 title.) So, what happens in this book? . . . . . Bruce Wayne makes a major announcement regarding his role in the future of Gotham City (a very impressive speech and a nice piece of writing) and strikes a partner...

  Fresh off the press - - the preliminary guest list for Baltimore Comic-Con 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con's Happy New Year! BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - December 31, 2011 - Happy New Year to the friends and partners of the Baltimore Comic-Con! The show may not be until September 8-9, 2012, but we've been very busy lately lining up some absolutely amazing guests for our 13 th annual event! We are very proud to announce our initial guest list for what will surely become the largest Baltimore Comic-Con yet! Avengers vs. X-Men #0 by Frank Cho. Laura & Michael Allred - Madman, iZombie Greg Capullo - Batman, Spawn Frank Cho - Avengers vs. X-Men, Liberty Meadows Steve Conley - Bloop Rich Faber - Roboy Red John Gallagher - Buzzboy Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez - Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman Keith Giffen - Superman, OMAC, Green Arrow Larry Hama - G.I. Joe, Wolverine, The 'Nam Dean Haspiel - Billy Dogma, ACT-I-VATE, Trip City J.G. Jones - Wanted, Doc Savage Scott Kur...

  DISCLAIMER:  This is not an attempt to categorize the “best” of 2011.  I’m not qualified to make that judgment since I have only read a very small percentage of what was published in 2011. Rather, these are personal recommendations - - those books of 2011 that are my absolute favorites and ones that I highly recommend to anyone interested in good comics reading/viewing. As in my PGHHEAD PICKS for 2010 , I used the same guideline / rules: 1) It has to be something that I wrote about on BC REFUGEES blog site.  That narrows the field, as I read more titles than I wrote about.  But, at least if I took the time to write about a book then something merited the extra attention.  2) It has to be a book that I would personally recommend to a friend - - an exceptional work that I would gladly read a second, third, or fourth time. 3) Rather than select books to fit into pre-determined categories, this is only a list of books worthy of attention.  I am ...

It's a Christmas miracle: a shocking surprise guest appearance by (the legendary) Bill Broomall -- I swear he doesn't look a day over 72 -- as he's allowed me to share his emails to his friend  Tim Truman  about  IDW 's new title  Hawken #1 & #2  by Tim and his son Ben. Hey Timbo!! I am still here and I got your e-mail about Hawken so I ran to The Comic Book Shop  in Delaware to get my reserved copy! My first comment is that the cover is fantastic but as usual, owning a few of your originals, the coloring fails to capture the depth of your work. I know the original must have captured the light brown with the dark brown more in depth than what is reproduced. As I have stated before, this is always a problem in reproducing your work. This is all the way from the Grimjack days to Hawken. Technology just has not caught up with you. At first, the black and white format took me aback, but as I made it to page 2, I noticed that the color would not add or...

BALTIMORE VOLUME 1: THE PLAGUE SHIPS trade paperback - - - If you haven’t encountered Mignola’s latest creation - - the vampire and monster slayer Sir Lord Baltimore  - -- then you are in for a treat. If you enjoy tales of a horrific nature you just can’t go wrong with his HELLBOY, B.P.R..D., etc. and now BALTIMORE. BATMAN #4 - - - Scott Snyder has opened his run on BATMAN with an intriguing tale involving a secret society/cult of Owls with their claws into every aspect of modern Gotham - - and the threads run back all the way to Bruce Wayne’s grandfather’s time.   The art is just killer. BATMAN INC:  THE LEVIATHIAN STRIKES one shot.  I enjoyed Grant Morrison’s globe trotting BATMAN, INC. and look forward to reading this. BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE trade paperback:  John Gallagher’s indie creation gets better distribution (thanks to some Kickstarter funding).  Good for all ages. DAREDEVIL #7:  Mark Waid has made this book interesting again - - an...

  STAN LEE AND THE RISE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN COMIC BOOK by Jordan Raphael and Tom Spurgeon (Chicago Review Press, 2003) A lot has been said about Stan Lee, both pro and con.  He was the major impetus for the rise of Marvel Comics in the 1960’s and into the 1970’s.  As both writer and editor he turned the dormant comic book industry around, revived it’s heart, infused it with realism and soap-operatic drama but with a light-hearted touch.  He spoke directly to the reader.  Lee was equally revered for his enthusiasm and criticized for his hucksterism.  Lee was given credit for perhaps more than he accomplished and he accepted that.  Beyond being accused of not giving due credit to Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he later became embroiled in further controversy over artists’ rights to original art and accused of being a “company man” for not staying impartial rather than taking the creator’s side in the battle.   I found this book to be one of th...

AQUAMAN #1 – 3  (DC)  Geoff Johns, writer.  Ivan Reis, penciller.  Joe Prado, inker.  Rod Reis, colorist. Nick J. Napolitano, letterer.  Aquaman created by Paul Norris. I’m sure there were a lot of readers who groaned (like I did) after reading the DC NEW 52 preview book and learned that DC was re-launching AQUAMAN yet again.  However after considering the dynamic duo writer/artist team and a synopsis that seemed interesting, I decided to give it the 3-issue chance. I’m glad I did.  So far, this is one of the best written and absolutely best illustrated of the NEW 52 titles. Ivan Reis is a superstar artist!, and Johns’ script here seems more organized and fluid than his work on the new JUSTICE LEAGUE does.            So, what happens in this series? . . . . . . This is a more aggressive, no-nonsense Aquaman as shown in the opening of Issue #1 where he majestically (full page) stands in the path of a...

  SAMURAI’S BLOOD #6 of 6  (Image /Benaroya)  Owen Wiseman, writer. Nam Kim, Matt Dalton, Sakti Yuwono, art team.  “Not all destiny contains vengeance.  But all righteous vengeance is a part of destiny.” This is the final issue of this outstanding mini-series, ending in dramatic fashion with a long 33-page final battle.  The artwork in this issue is the first thing that demands your attention; and this final issue is a perfect showcase for the cinematic style of this art team that has produced extremely high quality illustration,consistently issue after issue.  There are some awesome full page panels awaiting your viewing pleasure, full of superb detail in shading and depth, line definition and full facial expressions from fear to rage.  The art has always complimented and enhanced the story line, and served as a perfect illustrated example of the samurai philosophy expressed in the captions.  As with every issue of this series, writer ...

  There is truly something for everyone here, all ages, all genres, all interests.  If you find something you are interested in make sure to tell your local comics shop you’d like to get a copy.  Although most shops will order in the Gold books, Silver books are an option and they may be more selective.  These FCBD books are not free to the retailers (even though the per issue cost is low, it can add up) and they get more selective.  Don’t expect them to carry every single one of these.  Better to make a request. I’ve got my eye on that DUNE book!  Here’s the run down from the official FCBD press release . . . . . . . . .   Free Comic Book Day 2012 Silver Comic Books Announced From cool kids comics to the greatest super-hero fare, from classic reprints to the latest stories, it’s a wide spectrum of comics covered in the Silver comic books available for Free Comic Book Day 2012! ( Click here to see the previously announced Gold comics ) The F...