Monthly archives: July, 2007

Jul172007July 17, 2007January 12, 20093Commentsby Jean-Claude Van Doom

The best party I never went to

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This strange journey of mine toward becoming a semi-respected comic book journalist reached a new high today. A comic publisher (not saying who) invited me to a fancy and semi-exclusive launch party. I guess that’s what happens when you’re the only guy in mainstream media who specializes in comics.

But… The Super Party is in San Diego, during the Comic Con. And I will be very far from the Left Coast come Con time. So, no party for this journalist. I’ll be packing up my stuff (including the many boxes of books) and heading for Atlanta. Hooray for moving!

I guess I’ll just reside in the knowledge that even big-time-fancy-pants-rumormonger Rich Johnston won’t be there either. Maybe next year…


Jul172007July 17, 2007August 19, 20071Commentby Fin Fang Doom

Worst Doominoes of the Week- 7/11/07

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With Jean-Claude Van Doom on the move and Jim Doom on his honeymoon, that just leaves little old me to review this week’s comics on Doomkopf. So I’m ditching my traditional Meaningless Awards reviews for more thorough coverage of what came out this week. Luckily, Doom DeLuise is back to reviewing Countdown, and Green Lantern was this week’s Book of Doom, so I’ve already got two down. That just leaves fourteen…yeesh.

Theme of the Week- Comics can be funny

If you like to laugh whilst reading your funny books, this was a good week for you. Three books were released of the “bwah-ha-ha” variety: Deadpool/GLI Summer Fun Spectacular (Marvel), The Tick Comic Con Extravaganza (New England Comics), and Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen (Oni Press).

Deadpool GLIDeadpool/GLI was a collection of short stories all centered on the idea of everyone’s favorite merc with a mouth joining everyone’s favorite incompetent superteam. The heroes first team up to stop AIM, who are using a intoxication device powered by Dionysus, the Greek god of excess, to make all the world’s superheroes drunk so AIM could take over the world. Deadpool’s enhanced metabolism and the GLI’s lack of importance mean they’re the only heroes left to stop them. In the next story, Deadpool’s decided to take up residence in the GLI’s posh headquarters, but the team wants him gone. Big Bertha goes out on a date with Deadpool to try to convince him to leave, but it turns out Deadpool’s a chubby chaser, so Bertha’s secret identity as a smoking hot supermodel doesn’t so the trick. Next, Deadpool fights Flatman in the bathtub, featuring the never-before-seen martial art, origami-fu. Site gags aplenty in this one. A series of short Squirrel Girl stories run throughout the book, featuring her quest to reunite with her first love Speedball. Who as you know, probably isn’t quite as lovable as the last time Squirrel Girl saw him. I’m not sure this issue would appeal to anyone but fans of Deadpool and the GLA/X/I, but it was a very funny read that poked a lot of fun at some of the not-so-fun things in modern Marvel continuity.
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Jul152007July 15, 2007August 19, 20075Commentsby Fin Fang Doom

Book of Doom: Green Lantern #21

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Green Lantern 21Okay, yeah, so Green Lantern #21 wasn’t quite as wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am as our last Book of Doom, The Sinestro Corps Special, but then again the second part of a mulit-part storyline rarely packs the same punch as the first one did. The Special had a lot of work to do, setting up all the story and introducing the villains, and it had twice as many pages to do it in. Green Lantern #21 probably wouldn’t be a good read by itself, but as part two of the Sinestro Corps War, it worked.

The book did a good job of establishing everything a new reader would need to know to understand the story: the history of Hal Jordan and Parallax, the “Lost” Lanterns, the Guardians and the Book of Oa. Thankfully the Geoff Johns writing this issue was the one that wrote the easily understandable Green Lantern: Rebirth and not the one that wrote the incoherent Lightning Saga. Ivan Reis is a welcome return to the title. Reis’ style is very reminiscent of Carlos Pacheco, which is a goodthing in my book. Daniel Acuna’s art works well at times, but his fill-in on GL was not one of those. Aside from the fact that it was well-written and well-drawn, there’s really not much to say about the issue. It was solid, but not really spectacular in any way.

One thing I’ll say is that I really enjoyed how Johns is getting around the “we don’t want to pay Siegel and Schuster to use the name ‘Superboy'” thing. Sinestro simply calls Superboy-Prime “my boy.” Guy Gardner cals him “Super-Psycho Junior.” Neither time does is sound like the character is trying to get around calling him Superboy, it just seems like what they would say in that instance. Unlike Countdown, where they’ve taken to calling him “the last survivor of Earth-Prime,” or simply “Prime.” Give it up DC…just pay the cash and call him Superboy.

Now let’s see what the rest of the Legion had to say… (more…)


Jul132007July 13, 2007August 7, 20073Commentsby Doom DeLuise

Countdown: Forty-Two

Posted in 52 / countdown / trinity, reviews by

countdown 42I thought I was done with this damn series. The other night, though, I got drunk and realized that I missed blogging about how much Countdown sucks after tying one on, so I asked Jesus Christ Venereal Disease to let me take the reins once again. In a simple twist of fate, it turns out that he’s cutting back on comics anyway, so, things worked out in my favor, after all. Well, kind of. On the plus side, I get to blog about Countdown again. On the negative side, I get to blog about Countdown again. So, love me or hate me, I’m back in the game, and I’m not going to stop until this countdown has reached number damn zero. So, let’s begin again, shall we?

The cover depicts Black Mary and the Riddler drowning in a pool of clay, produced by, you guessed it, Clayface. In the issue, we get exactly two pages of Clayface, though, so it doesn’t really have any sort of impact on the series. Mary and the Riddler meet up in Gotham, where recently reformed Nigma is trying to solve the same case of theft that Mary is, so they team up, find Clayface, dispatch of him, and that’s that. Riddler suggests she seek out a mentor to help her with her newfound magic powers. This is just another boring, uninspired, throw-away subplot to show us that Mary has new powers, yet again, and that she doesn’t really know how to control them entirely, just yet. More of the same. In some cases, more of the same would be nice, but, since this “same” is so incredibly useless, well, more of it seems unnecessary. (more…)


Jul112007July 11, 2007January 12, 20093Commentsby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Goodbye, pull list

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I’m quitting comics.

Had you for a second, didn’t I? Like I could ever give up on comic books. Sadly, though, events have sort of conspired to make it impossible for me to continue some of my comics reading, at least for the time being. Today, I closed out my pull list at The Comic Book Store. (Those capital letters aren’t ironic. It’s actually called that.) I will no longer be picking up the floppies on a weekly basis. That means no more Worst to First and no more Book of Doom participation after this week.

I’ll still be hanging around, posting rants and some graphic novel reviews. I’m going to continue working on a freelance basis with the newspaper here in Little Rock to write about comics, which means I’ll still be getting some preview copies from the publishers (I hope). Things haven’t been completely ironed out yet.

If for some reason you’re curious about why all these changes are coming, let me first say it has nothing to do with any unhappiness I have with the comics industry. Comic books are really, really good right now and I’m going to miss my weekly Wednesday fix. What’s going on is that my wife and I are uprooting sort of on a whim to move to Atlanta. She’s headed for law school and I’m headed for goodness-knows-what. We may be living on the proverbial shoestring for a bit, which means no budgetary room for frivolous stuff like comics.

I’m disappointed to be joining those legions of bloggers who do little but blog about how they don’t blog often enough (I’m looking at you, 2 Guys), but that’s the way the cookie crumbles.


Jul102007July 10, 2007August 19, 2007NoCommentby Fin Fang Doom

Book of Doom: Green Lantern #21

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Green Lantern 21A few weeks ago, the Sinestro Corps Special was our Book of Doom. All of us here at Doomkopf loved it, so I figured we might as well make the Sinestro War our unofficial Event of Doom and pick the next chapter of the story as this week’s BoD. As an extra special bonus, I’ve asked Paperghost to return as out guest reviewer, since he hated the same special that the entire Legion fell in love with. Paperghost didn’t get a chance to bash the book last time he joined the roundtable, which disappointed him greatly. Now here’s his chance. Check back on Saturday to see all of our reactions.

Here’s what DC has to say about Green Lantern #21:

Written by Geoff Johns; Art and Cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert; Variant cover by Andy Kubert

The first chapter of “Sinestro Corps” explodes! Sinestro’s army of fear has gathered: Arkillo! Karu-Sil! The Cyborg-Superman! And hundreds more of the most terrifying villains the universe has ever seen!

Hal Jordan has overcome great fear throughout his life, but what fear still lingers inside him? Parallax knows, and Hal’s about to be reminded as he leads Earth’s Green Lanterns on a life-or-death rescue mission in the middle of this war. Meanwhile, the Guardians of the Universe find dissent within their ranks as a bizarre prophecy is fulfilled.

The secrets of the Green Lantern Corps and its power are about to be revealed!


Jul092007July 9, 2007August 6, 20073Commentsby Fin Fang Doom

Meaningless Awards of the Week- 7/5/07

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Runaways 27Ending of the Week- Runaways #27

It’s been three years or so since the first volume of Runaways ended. In the final issue of that series, all of the Pride died. It was fitting end to that first arc, and I really thought those characters were gone for good. So I was pretty shocked when the Yorkes appeared at the end of Runaways #27, in 1907 New York.

Logically, if the Runaways where ever going to encounter a member of the Pride again, it would be the time traveling Yorkes, who could conceivably be alive at any given point in time despite dying in Runaways Vol. 1 #18. What makes their appearance right now so interesting is that their daughter Gert is dead. Depending on what point in time the Yorkes come from, they might not even recognize any member of the group as the children of the Pride. But the Runaways will certainly remember them, and you just know Chase is going to do something pretty drastic. I’ve got an inkling that Gert will be brought back into the series thanks to some time travel mumbo jumbo at the end of the arc, but writer Joss Whedon doesn’t exactly have a good track record when it comes to happy endings for couples. It’s a shame Whedon’s only going to be on the title for three more issues, because he’s been able to keep the spirit of the title completely intact after series creator Brian K Vaughan left. Hopefully the next crew is just as good.

Writer of the Week- Robert Kirkman, The Astounding Wolf-Man # 2 and The Irredeemable Ant-Man #10 (more…)


Jul082007July 8, 2007January 12, 20091Commentby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Drinking & Drawing

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A couple Tuesdays ago, I got a free beer. I was out at one of the trendy bars in Little Rock’s River Market with a couple of pals, and of the four pints I put away, only three appeared on the tab. The other fellas earned a freebie as well (this isn’t even to mention all the attention we drew from females around the bar). And all we did was draw the waitress. And all this from a group of nerds.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketThere we are at left, from John Deering’s illustration of the first ever meeting of the Little Rock Drink and Draw Social Club chapter (we ripped the idea off from these blokes). It’s pretty simple, really. You gather some guys interested in art and/or comics and you draw stuff. Oh, and drink. So far, our group consists of four artists and myself (we all work at the newspaper here). Though I drew growing up, I represent the “no talent” side of the equation.

Even so, our first night was a ridiculous amount of fun. I’d forgotten how enjoyable it is to take a pencil and some blank pages and just goof around with whatever crazy notions crop up. Deering (who’s painting a graphic novel written by yours truly) did some predictably weird stuff beyond the group portrait, including a new take on the notion of a “nuclear” family. Other sketches included recreations of the bargoers around us or attempts at a crest for our group.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketFor a stumblebum, I earned a bit of praise for the sketch at right. But, more than anything, it was nice to just shake off the rust and start drawing again. I really wanted to illustrate comics when I was growing up, but instead I started into writing. I don’t regret that, but as Rocketo-creator Frank Espinosa told me last year, there’s no reason not to do both. For many reasons, now is a great time to jump into comic books. And, for hacks like me, you’ve got to start somewhere.

I don’t know that there’s really a “point” to this. More than anything, I just really like the concept of getting together and drawing in a crowded bar, if only because I now know it’s an easy way to get a free beer. For those artistically minded souls out there who want something a little more frequent than 24 Hour Comics, you should form your own chapter. Plus, a Tuesday night of drawing is a perfect segue into a Wednesday at the comics shop.


Jul072007July 7, 2007January 12, 2009NoCommentby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Worst to First: 7/5/07

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Right about now, Jim Doom is getting hitched. I’d like to claim that this blogging then is going on from inside the sanctuary, but sadly I wasn’t able to make the drive up to take part in said nuptials (it’s a sore topic, so let’s just let it go). Seeing as this is such a big event, I of course have to make this edition of Worst to First in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Doom, may they be doomed forever.

Well, onto the comics. As always, the ranking is a marginally considered structure decided on by me and me alone. We start with the chaff and shuck down to the kernels of illustrated goodness.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketWorst: Countdown #43

If you’d like to read my public pantsing of this very crappy book, check out the latest edition of our handy weekly Countdown review.

Verbosaphobia: Detective Comics #834

I’m not sure there’s a name for the fear of comic books that are needlessly ruined by an overabundance of expository dialogue and pointless thought bubbles, but there should be. For the first time that I can ever remember, Paul Dini does a really poor job of writing the Joker. Maybe he was kidnapped by aliens. Or Marvel.

This conclusion to the Joker’s magic ride starts in quicksand by filling two pages to brimming with the Joker explaining how we got to this point in the story, even though it wasn’t especially unclear to begin with. This just railroads last issue’s great setup. The thing that’s always been so awesome about the Joker is that he’s like a pressure cooker that’s constantly about to explode. In other words, he’s not the kind of villain who sits around and sedately recounts his exploits. A bad week for Dini.

Hollow: Thor #1

J. Michael Straczynski is the type of writer who’s always interesting to read, because at the very least he aspires to lofty places, both in literary and psychological terms. In this revival of the Thunder God, he takes a pondering and dreamy look at what it means to be dead, to be a god, to live, etc. With an awful lot of help from Olivier Coipel’s gracefully smooth pencils, Straczynski pulls together what appears to be a meaty tale. But, it’s really cotton candy. The theological conversation between Thor and Donald Blake go light on character history or actual mythology and instead just wind around in circles to a “you can become alive if you believe it” message. That means this book is surprisingly good… until you think about it.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketRegression: Criminal #7

I greatly enjoyed both the first storyline in Criminal and the first issue of this new one (I’m a week late getting to the second). This one, though, just rung a bit flat. Like the Detective issue, an overload of exposition bogged things down and the story never really ratcheted up. And the one bit of developing tension (Tracy’s early robbery coming back to haunt him) is spoiled by Ed Brubaker’s note at the front of the issue. What, did he take Ruining the Plot 101 with Dan Didio? (more…)


Jul062007July 6, 2007January 12, 200914Commentsby Jean-Claude Van Doom

Countdown: Forty-Three

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Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketYou may have noticed that I’ve taken over the Countdown review from our good friend, Doom DeLuise, who’s become so annoyed at comics (and this one in particular) that I don’t think he’ll be reading any more of DC’s big event. For now, then, I’m taking over. I suppose this is a bit of poetic justice, since DeLuise was the guy who picked up after I dropped 52 early in the game last year. That’s us Doomers, always helping each other out. So, until further notice (or I flake out again), I’m drawing Countdown duty.

Maybe I should call that Countdown doody, since that’s what this series is quickly turning into. But before I get all ranty, let’s go through what happens here:

They bury Bart. Heroes from around the eastern seaboard flock to Keystone City to drink Keystone Light… and mourn Bart Allen, aka that guy who was Flash for five minutes. Jimmy Olsen, who’s covering the event, thinks, “I don’t feel good about snapping images of people suffering.” Yeah, don’t we all just hate grief peddled as entertainment? I sure do.

The truly sad thing here is Bart’s videotaped death message. I don’t mean it was actually sad, I don’t give two hoots about Bart and never have. What’s sad is that his video just reinforced the negative stereotype we’ve all always had of the punk. “When Deathstroke shot me, like… I dunno, it just makes me think about when Troia and Omen were killed. Like, that could have be me then.” Ummm, yeah, way to leave a death message that’s vapid and has improper English!!!

The villains get… something. Those two sissy bad guys that helped take down Flash get taken down themselves, only it’s by VILLAINS!!! OMB!!! (That means “Oh, my butt”). Thanks to DC’s teasers, we know all of the bad guys are going to gang up again. Last time it was because they were scared of being mind-wiped (and because Alexander Luthor was playing them). This time it’s because they’re scared the heroes will really retaliate after Bart’s death. It’s just too similar to that big event that just happened.

The toothless trio bickers. The “good” Monitor, the zombie Robin and Donna Troy watch the funeral from afar and debate about going after Ray Palmer. After several, several pages, they decide to do so.

Palmer reveals his army. Mr. Monarch (really, shouldn’t his outfit be butterfly themed?) shows Forerunner his big army in what seems like a very “my ding-dong is huh-yuge!” kind of way. They’re in the Bleed, which I just read about on Wikipedia. Great to see a Warren Ellis creation is being used to make things not make sense. At the end of the issue, Monarch and Forerunner foreshadow that they’ll be going up against a mysterious “her” who is being used toward ruining various worlds. My guess: Granny Goodness.

Holly Robinson hot tubs. And she doesn’t even get naked. Like I’m going to believe that a former hooker is going to hot tub in a bikini in a palace where only women live? I don’t think so. (more…)