3:19 p.m.
A ton of people have shown up and they’ve had to get more tables out.
One page down, though at this rate I’ll only get 8 pages done. The energy drinks and the stinky marker have messed me up, but the good people of Krypton are giving 24HCD participants free drinks so I’m downing water. Fin Fang Doom is already wrapping up page 3.
1:29 p.m.
Doom DeLuise showed up, so the gang’s all here. I’m still trying to figure out what to do mine about. I had a dream last night about lawn ornaments, so I’m trying to develop that. Bawls Guarana tastes like root beer. OMD is on the radio (“Dreaming”). 22.5 hours to go.
Pictured: Fin Fang Doom. What a great beard, eh, sports fans?
12:40 p.m.
I got here late. So far most of the conversation has been about the cases of complimentary Bawlz energy drink.
12:06 p.m.
It has begun.
Omaha: Krypton Comics
Lincoln: Hiway Diner
So far we’ve got Fin Fang Doom, Doom Where’s My Car, and myself, and a number of locals.
Soon we’ll be joined by Jim Doom and (most likely hungover) Doom DeLuise.
Check back at DoomKopf.com for updates.
• The Capes Comics Lounge newsletter debuted this week, including a report that MURS stopped in the store (he had a show at the neighboring Waiting Room Wednesday night) and a much appreciated Doomkopf.com shout-out. Capes’ website is also back online at CapesComics.com.
• After picking up half a million back issues this summer, Legend Comics has begun naming a “Featured 500,000 Comic of the Week” at its online store. This week’s selection is Daredevil #181. Legend is still offering 25% off all back issues every Saturday and Sunday for the rest of 2008.
• Krypton Comics will have reps at Screaming Tiki Comic Con in Niles, Ohio this weekend.
As we wrote last week, Krypton will also be an exhibitor at the 6th annual KidzExplore Treat Street event, Saturday October 25th at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. The MAC will be decorated to provide a safe and fun environment for trick-or-treaters.
• Doom DeLuise, Fin Fang Doom, Colonel Doom, Doom! Where’s My Car?, Doomanchoo and I will all be at Krypton today participating in 24 Hour Comics Day starting at noon. I’ll be live blogging throughout the 24 hour period whenever there’s something worth sharing, so check back in periodically for updates.
If you have any comics-related news from the Omaha / Lincoln / Council Bluffs area that you’d like included in the weekly updates, send an email to doomkopf at doomkopf dot com.
Well, my friends, I got my hands on some goodies this week. I somehow got a stack of some of next week’s Marvel comics (for free!), and, in the interest of full disclosure, I figure I may as well review them now. I won’t spoil anything for the good comics, but the ones that I thought were crap may as well be spoiled. I have seven issues, and, out of those, only two were worth the cover price. So, y’know, be warned.
First up, we have Captain America #43. It’s the first issue after the epic “Death of Captain America” storyline, and I have to say, it’s darn good. I can’t imagine you expected anything less from Ed Brubaker. This issue focuses on Bucky and his past as, well, Bucky, the sidekick to Steve Rogers. Part of it’s flashback; part of it’s present-day, and all of it is absolutely great. I don’t want to spill the beans too much, so just go buy it when it hits the shelves on Wednesday. There are some big bad guys in the shadows who know that the new Cap was once the Winter Soldier, and I’m very excited to see where this story goes next.
Next up, we have X-Factor #36. Fin Fang Doom wasn’t kidding when he said that Larry Stroman is a terrible, terrible artist. Seriously, this guy’s trash. I stopped reading X-Factor after the Messiah Complex, mostly because it seemed directionless and boring, and this issue gives me no reason whatsoever to rethink that. Seriously, Longshot’s back? What the heck is that? Oh, but in case you’re on the edge of your seat, the ending sees a warehouse blow up with several prominent members of X-Factor inside. Oh no! I wonder if they’ll be okay. Wait, no, I don’t care.
Did I mention I’m kind of drunk right now? It probably shows. (more…)
I’ve blogged pretty frequently about how several of us here are participating in 24 Hour Comics Day, which begins in just over 24 hours. There’s an event in Omaha beginning at noon tomorrow, which is going to be covered by The Reader, and one in Lincoln beginning at 10 a.m., which will be covered by The Lincoln Journal Star.
I’ve been sending out feelers to other comics blogs to see if anyone else is participating, but so far, no luck (although Rokk at Rokk’s Comic Book Revolution assures me they’re in for next year). By next week, we’ll have a roundup of any of the completed 24 hour comics we can find. If your blog is participating, either send me an email or let us know here in the comments.
And if I’ve got a good enough connection, I’ll be live-blogging the event tomorrow.
UPDATE: Okay, here are several that I’ve found:
• Lopez Studios – will be posting his finished comic
• Fesworks – a 24 hour lego comic live blog
• ComicBookCulture.com – will be posting his comic Sunday afternoon; his 2007 comic can be seen here.
• Keith Chan
• Clamnuts
• Kobacake
I have no problem with superhero comics drawing from real world events in their fictional worlds. I would actually probably argue for it, particularly in the Marvel Universe, which has always been more of a real-world application of superheroics.
Secret Invasion clearly had some roots in the post-9/11 terrorist paranoia, particularly with the Skrulls’ presence being announced by way of exploding skyscrapers and attacks on military facilities. Secret War was not subtle in its 9/11 connections.
Secret Invasion always had a religious component to it, but when Secret Invasion #6 made it clear that the “He” who loves the Skrulls is “God,” it took the tribute to the headlines to another level. Even then, though, there was still some ambiguity and room for discussion. The Skrulls’ invasion, at that point, was just as related to the Crusades or Manifest Destiny as it was to modern-day religious extremism, and that is what makes these real-life connections most interesting — the ability to look at the comic symbolism and apply it in multiple debatable ways.
Where these allegories have great potential to fail is where they become too specific and too tied to the headlines. Imagine if Civil War had gone far enough to actually make one side of the superhero registration act Democrats and one side Republicans — it would’ve killed it. The fun of Civil War was in looking at the pros and cons of both arguments, independent of the struggles and failures of the heroes who took those sides. It was easy enough to make inferences about the partisanship, but it let the themes transcend the real-life issues so they could be fully applied to the fictional ones (and vice versa).
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And you’re probably like, “Well, duh, d-bag. It’s Wednesday.”
But it’s been my experience that, on weeks with a postal holiday, comic shops get their books a day late. Even the minor ones. But Monday was Columbus Day, so I didn’t go to the shop today to see what was new. I finally found “my” store in Philadelphia (Fat Jacks, 20th and Sansom, cough cough) so I was excited for my inaugural day … on Thursday. But they didn’t arrive Thursday. They arrived today.
All I can say? I’m glad Diamond sees through the lies of Columbus Day, but sad I didn’t.
In the lead: Firestorm realizes this isn’t an alternate reality, but his own reality in an altered state, so he does what Batman says: “When you’re not sure what to do next, get more facts.” To the microfilm room! After studying up on this reality’s past, Firestorm is attacked by an army of giant Amazos. After escaping, Firestorm decides he needs to find John Stewart, who he believes will be able to help.
In the back-up: Krona travels to Laboratory World 7431, and enlists the Controllers there in his quest to commune with the universe and learn everything there is to know. The Controllers decide to betray Krona and get evaporated for their troubles.
My take: In this reality, the JSA never retired and became a worldwide charitable organization. With the JSA still active, they were the ones to repel the aliens that the JLA orginally formed to combat. Any metahuman that didn’t join up with the JSA was treated as a criminal. Hal Jordan is treated like a space cop outside his jurisdiction. Aquaman is treated as dictator invading foreign soil. Martian Manhunter decides to remain in hiding so he’s not treated the same way. Flash is accepted, but “he didn’t last long.” Hmmm…
Essentially, without the Trinity, this world never came to accept superheroes. The JSA, as part of the war effort, was still seen as a group of normal people with extraordinary abilities. No one in the JSA could leap tall buildings in a single bound, or create anything they could imagine just by imagining it. Without Superman to set the example, no one in the DCU grew to believe that someone that powerful could actually be in it for the good of the world and not just for themself.